Family Picture Time Machine

Who will remember us in 150 years? Will we be worth remembering?

One of my retirement projects is scanning and restoring old family pictures. During long, tedious, pixel by pixel restorations I ponder the people whose images emerge in greater clarity. How do these people connect, through time, to my present family? Occasionally, after searching old records, or browsing crumbling photo albums, my detective work is rewarded with discovery of new family history.

I've been lucky to inherit many old photos and ancestral relics like this old, stained picture. Who are these people? (All the images below should change back and forth between the original and the restored. If they do not, please click on the image itself, otherwise you will not see the restoration. I don't understand why the images are sometimes properly animated and other times not.)

The Ostrokolowicz family in approx. 1888 (Click to enlarge)

The bearded man is my great grandfather, John (Jan) Ostrokolowicz. At least I think his name was Jan. I can find no record of him besides the (probably erroneous) name, Victor, written on the back of this photo. To the left of John is his son, Xavier. Standing to the right of John is his teenage daughter, Ursula. Seated next to John is my great grandmother, Scholastica Ostrokolowicz. On her lap is my grandmother, Barbara. This picture was so incredibly stained in crucial places (like faces and faded white clothing) it was truly a monumental restoration task. The picture was taken in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania by, "Richard Dabb, Photograph Bazar, East Center Street, Near L.V.R.R. Depot", probably in 1888, not much later than Scholastica's arrival in America. The Dabb photography business claimed, "Duplicates can be had at any time. Negatives preserved." Where are these negatives after 123 years?

Scholastica came to America by ship in 1887 from Suwalken, Prussia. Suwalken is now Suwalki, Poland. Suwalki is located just north of Augustow, a city in northeastern Poland near the border with Lithuania. The ship was named Hammonia, the Latin name for Hamburg, and left Hamburg, Germany on April 6, 1887.

SS Hammonia built in 1882

Here is part of the passenger list for the Hammonia showing the barely legible names of my great grandmother, Scholastica, and accompanying children.

Scholastica and her companions are listed at the bottom of the right page (click to enlarge)

Here is the portion of the list containing just Scholastica and her companions from Suwalken. The nearly indecipherable script and German column headings were initially difficult to understand.

(click to enlarge)

The Hammonia arrived in New York on April 18, 1887 after a voyage of 12 days. Below is the more legible passenger list upon arrival in New York.

(Click to enlarge)

Here is the relevant portion:

(click to enlarge)

The members of this traveling group from Suwalken, Prussia (Suwalki, Poland) were:

• Stanislaus Danielowitz - age 22 or 23(?) - workman - transient
• Scholastica Ostrokolowicz - age 30 - wife - 2 pieces of baggage - transient
• Ursula Ostrokolowicz - age 15 - child - transient
• Severin Ostrokolowicz - age 9 - male child - transient
• Marie Ostrokolowicz - age 11 months - female baby - transient
• Urban(a)(?) Ostrokolowicz - age one month(!) - male baby - transient
• Vincent Ostrokolowicz - age 25 - son - transient

Some things make sense and others don't. Ursula appears a few times in family pictures and is recorded as married in the 1900 census of Shenandoah, PA. Severin is most likely Xavier in the 1888 Ostrokolowicz family picture above. Marie is probably my grandmother, Barbara, though I have no idea why her name would be changed. The male baby, Urban, may have died. There are no records of him known to me. Vincent is too old to be Scholastica's son if the listed ages are correct. I have no idea whose son he is. Stanislaus Danielowitz may have been a friend or neighbor from Suwalken traveling with the group. Finally, where is Scholastica's husband? Scholastica is listed as a wife. She has several children. Where is her husband, John (Jan, or Victor)? Perhaps John came to America first and then sent for his family. I could not find his name on any earlier passenger lists, although I did find a Jan Ostrokolowicz on a later passenger list. It's hard to believe his wife and children would be sent to a new country ahead of him, but, apparently, that is what happened.

The best candidate for Scholastica's husband is listed as Jan Ostrokolowicz on two passenger lists from two different ships headed from Europe to America in the same year as Scholastica's journey. First, Jan traveled from Hamburg, Germany to England on a ship named Kaiser on December 9, 1887. The passenger list for that journey is below. Jan was 40 years old, came from Suwalken, and his destination was Shenandoah, PA.

(click to enlarge)

Next, Jan traveled from Liverpool, England to Philadelphia.

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It would be nice to find some clarifying record of the Ostrokolowicz family in America. Apparently, an unfortunate fire destroyed many records from Shenandoah, PA. I searched all 249 pages of the 1900 census of Shenandoah and could find no traces of any Ostrokolowicz's even allowing for spelling variation. Nevertheless, the Ostrokolowicz's had several pictures taken in Shenandoah. Here's the restoration of a picture of Scholastica and two of her daughters, Johanna, on the left, and my grandmother, Barbara, on the right.

Johanna, Scholastica, and Barbara Ostrokolowicz, approximately 1894-1896

(click to enlarge)

The town of Suwalken, Prussia (Suwalki, Poland) became a garrison town in 1870. Perhaps the mysterious Jan, husband of Scholastica, was a member of the military there? Here's the photo restoration of the elusive Jan and his son, Xavier.

 Jan and Xavier Ostrokolowicz sometime between 1891 and 1894(?)

(click to enlarge)

Jan is wearing the uniform of the Polish Ulani Organization. Ulan means a Polish lancer, a Polish cavalryman armed with a lance.
 

One more restoration example: the now beardless, but still elusive, Jan with his daughter, Barbara, and his son, Xavier. Based on the fact my grandmother looks about 12 years old here, I would guess this picture was taken around 1900. This restoration took a long time:

Barbara, Jan, and Xavier Ostrokolowicz around 1900(?)

(click to enlarge)

I personally knew my grandmother, Barbara, and her sister, Johanna, who, for some reason, was known as "Aunt Tess". I even heard Grandma and Aunt Tess speak to one another in Polish. Scholastica's daughter, Ursula, married and changed her name to Susan. All the other Ostrokolowicz's are lost in historical obscurity! There seem to be no traces of them in the entire United States! It's quite possible the surname was changed from Ostrokolowicz to something easier for Americans to spell. Maybe I'll never know.

Would I admire these people in real life? I'd like to believe my ancestors were noble, courageous, hardworking, and kind. But what if they were actually ignorant, coarse, spiteful, and unbearable? What if they left their European homes not to seek a better life but to escape misdeeds? What if their neighbors drove them out? I'm not particularly eager to know any unpleasant facts like these. Who will remember us in 150 years? Will we be worth remembering?