A photo of my grandfather, Richard Zalewski, in the middle with his sister Irene on the right and their cousin, Jerry Strelka, on the left. Based on the ages of Richard and Irene, I would estimate the date of this photo to be 1923 or so. It was more than likely taken in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The TONEY surname shows up in my wife’s family tree starting with her great-great-grandmother, Idona (TONEY) POWELL. The surname is also her connection to the American Revolutionary War. So, if all data is correct she should be a proven Daughter of the American Revolution. There is much paperwork to get that finished. Maybe we’ll work on it someday for her (or my future daughter.)
The line than extends to her father, Jesse TONEY, who is known to have fought in the Civil War. Next is his father, William TONEY, born in Virginia and later died in Wisconsin. William’s father is Carey TONEY, who not only lived to 101 years of age (depending on which info is correct), his wife lived to be 100. Carey is my wife’s TONEY ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War. This was written some research that we had found:
He joined the American Army in the Revolution, passed through several campaigns; was present and took an active part in the siege of Yorktown and was an eye-witness to the surrender of Cornwallis in 1781, saw Gen Washington and Lafayette a great number of times during the siege; recollects and describes the personal appearance of Lord Cornwallis, his staff & etc.
The TONEY line than continues on to Carey’s father, William. Then it’s William’s father, Alexander William TONEY and his father William TONEY. According to the info we have, which may or may not be correct, William was born in 1660 at Buckingham County in Virginia. There is a lot of other research out there for the TONEY family, as they must have spread their seed far and wide from Virginia.
This is a photo of my great-grandfather, Joseph ZALEWSKI, and my grandfather, Richard ZALEWSKI. Date is unknown, but Richard looks to be about 2 or 3, so this is probably somewhere around 1923-25. I’m assuming it was taken in Milwaukee, Wisconsin as that was where Joseph and his family lived at the time.
Troka/Zalewski/Szulta
This is a picture of the men of the Troka, Zalewski, Szulta, and other families. The photo includes both my great-grandfather and his father-in-law, my great-great-grandfather. Also included are some great uncles and some other family members. Here are the names of everyone in the photo. Back row: Joseph Zalewski (my great-grandfather), Leo Troka (my great-granduncle), Steve Kolasinski, John Szulta (my great-great-granduncle), Roman Troka (my great-granduncle) – Front row: Barney Kuszewski, Jos. Malzewski, Joseph Troka (my great-great-grandfather), Ignatz Urmanski.
This is from my grandparent’s wedding, Richard & Mary Jane (CORRIGAN) ZALEWSKI on October 11, 1947 at St. Gall’s Church in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I particularly enjoy the two kids on the sides of the church. I’m not even sure if they’re part of the family.
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I received this photo from another researcher that is also looking into some of my Polish family. They also just happen to cross with my ZALEWSKI family. This is a photo she sent me that is from July 1941 that includes my great-grandfather, Joseph ZALEWSKI, on the right and my great-uncle Robert ZALEWSKI in the middle. I’m not sure who the other man is at the moment, but he looks sorta familiar. It says it was taken at “the lake” but I’m not sure where that is. There are a lot of lakes around here. My grandfather, Richard ZALEWSKI, is probably away at Navy school in Florida around this time. Robert and Richard’s mother, Emily, would have just recently passed away unexpectedly in May 1941 from a stroke.
I like how my great-grandfather looks like he just stepped out of The Sopranos with that big ol’ cigar in his mouth. Well..a Polish version, like The Sopranskis or something.
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My first Treasure Chest Thursday. It seems like this will replace the “Tell Me Thursday” posts I used to do. I compressed that into Wordless Wednesday. I can’t guarantee I’ll have a post for every Thursday, but I’ll try.
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This is my great-grandfather, Joseph Zalewski’s, badge from when he was a Milwaukee Police Officer. He became a police officer on February 1, 1918 after returning from World War I. He served until he retired on September 21, 1951. In the recent collection of documents I received was a letter written to him from the Chief of Police about his resignation.
I’ve decided to start putting the descriptions with my Wordless Wednesday posts instead of posting them the next day. I feel it’s sometimes confusing and more work to post the same thing twice rather than just saying it all on one day. I will still call it Wordless Wednesday, since that’s the name that everyone uses, but it will have words. Sue me.
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This is a photo of my great-great-grandother, Clara (Szulta) Troka and her two daughters, Francis & Emily. Emily is my great-grandmother who married Joseph Zalewski. Francis was better known as Sister Mary Clarentine when she joined the convent. There is no exact date written on this photo, but if I would have to guess I would say it was taken around 1910-1911 since Francis looks very young.
GYR of SE Wisconsin
