Translation: The document above is vital record extract from the original of the “Tsekhanovets Roman Catholic Church book on marriages for 1891, recorded on the back of page #28, under #3 as follows: 22 January 1891 at Tsekhanovets Roman Catholic Church Kazimier Olszewsky, keeper of this church, upon three announcements (banns) which were made first on 6th, second on 13th, and third on 20th of January before the people who came to the liturgy, peasant, billeted soldier Nikolay Pugach (also known as Pukhalsky) never married 25 years of age, from village Grodek, of Kuczyn parish, Lomzha governorate with menschanka Josepha Tyminska, never married 22 years of age from Tsekanovets of this parish. Upon preliminary careful investigation and request of written confirmation on the lack of obstacles to the marriage and upon finding no obstacles, and after the mutual consent expressed by both parties by external signs, son of peasants Benedict and Lucia nee Wengrzikow legal spouses Pugach, and daughter of Rokha and Lucia nee Sedlacka legal spouses Tyminski were legally joined in the official ceremony in prescence of respectable witnesses (Mr) Wojtkowski, Szickowsky and many others attending the ceremony.
The stamp at the top left of the document is dated 1907. This is the year that Jozefa and the two daughters emigrated to the United States to join her Nicholas who had already arrived. Jozefa probably obtained this document ahead of her leaving Russian occupied Poland as proof of their marriage. In the Russian zone, the priest acted as the secular as well as religious registrar. So both parish and state births (baptisms), marriage and death records would be kept by the parish and a copy would also be made for the government. This document is not the original marriage document but a transcript of the information on the original as indicated by the page and item number referring to the records consulted.
The name Puhacz appears to be a Russian translation of the Polish name of Pugach or Pugacz. They were married on January 22, 1891 at the Roman Catholic Church in Ciechanowiec, Poland which is listed as where Josephine resided. This is the same town that Josephine listed as her residence on the registry at Ellis Island. The church was most likely The Holy Trinity which still exists. The priest Kazimier Olszewsky presided over the ceremony with Mr. Wojtkowski and a Mr. or Mrs. Szickowsky serving as official witnesses. Banns had been read on the 6th, 13th, and 20th of January.
Josephine is shown as the daughter of Rokha and Lucia nee Sedlecka and is 22 years of age. Nicholas parents are Benedykt and Lucia nee Wengrzikow. Benedykt’s parents were Wojciech and Petronela Bazelowna of Kuczyn parish. There is a Benedict (Benedykt) birth shown in the records being born in 1817 with a twin brother, Joseph. Nicholas is 25 years old and is from the village of Grodek of Kuczyn parish and is listed as a peasant and billeted soldier.The three towns or villages of Ciechanowiec, Grodek and Kuczyn are quite close to each other.
It appears that Nicholas had at least four siblings: Joseph (d. 1903), Jan (d. 1913), Apolonia (married name Madra, d. 1916), and Urszula (married name Nagorka, d. 1928). Nicholas, like all men, was subject to 15-25 years of Russian military service. His service began on January 1, 1887. The service appeared to be in the form of what we might call the National Guard. His duty appeared not to be continuous but sporadic and he needed to be ready at all times to be called up for any required military mobilization. Attached is a copy of the surviving records of his military service along with a rough translation. To summarize, he served with an artillery brigade and was identified as a bombardier as well as a ploughman in his civilian life. It is indicated that he was granted permission to leave for service to other areas, which he might have done for employment purposes.
In the military record it indicates that he needs to report with his own boots of no less than nice inches height and underwear of the appropriate quality. He can purchase those items from the army for 5 rubles (boots), 50 kopechs (shirt) and 35 kopechs (underwear). For providing a good winter coat if mobilization is between Sept. 1 and Feb. 1st he will be reimbursed 4 rubles.
Our next document is of a Nicholas on a ship departing from Hamburg. The name of the ship and date of sale is unknown at this time. There are several similar names in the Ellis Island records but none so clear as to be sure which is our Mikolaj Pugacz. We know in time he came to Olyphant, Pennsylvania and we presume he came to work in the coal mines.
Our next earliest information on Josephine comes with her arrival at Ellis Island on August 3, 1907 aboard the ship Graf Waldersee. With her are her two daughters, Anna and Marianna. Anna is age 4 ¾ and Marianna is 15 and shown as a farm laborer. Jozefa is 39 and identified as housewife. Marianna and Jozefa are shown to both be 4 feet 11 inches tall and possessed $129 between them. This would seem to be a considerable sum in 1907. The Ellis Island record shows them as bound for Olyphant to meet up with Nicholas.
Nicholas appears with his wife and two daughters in the 1910 census living on Race St. in Olyphant, Pennsylvania. He with wife and daughters lived with a number of residents listed as borders on Race Street. Shortly after the 1910 census is taken the name of the street is changed to Lincoln. Future documents show that the house is at 106 Lincoln.
This census data was taken on April 15, 1910. Nicholas lists his arrival as 1902. His daughter ,born in 1902, wrote to me many years later and indicated that her father had left for America when she was a baby. While this is possible and calls into question the man referred to earlier who arrived in 1906, it would mean that his wife would have been pregnant when he left since their daughter Anna Pugacz was born in August, 1902. Nicholas indicates that he had worked 52 weeks in the previous year and certainly explains why the coal mines were such a draw for so many immigrants seeking a better life. The oldest daughter Marianna (Mary) was born February 2, 1894. Please note that Nicholas name is shown as something like Pegaiskin.
Shortly after this census, Nicholas died on what was his 45th birthday (October 16, 1910) at Olyphant, Pennsylvania. Once again, the spelling of the name is different being shown as Mike Pogatch. It is not hard to guess how Mikolaj Puhacz became Mike Pogatch in the ears of an English speaking world. In many subsequent family documents Mikolaj is identified as Michael including his daughter’s (Anna) marriage certificate. In the 1910 census, Nicholas and Josephine are identified as only speaking Polish.
His death was the result of cancer of the stomach. He was identified as being a mine laborer. The informant on the death certificate is listed as Pogatch who is probably his wife. The undertaker is shown as Joseph Glinsky. I contacted this funeral home a few years ago. They indicated that a major flood had ruined all of their records from this time frame as they had for the nearby churches.
This death must have brought real tragedy to the widow and her daughters. Marianna was near 18 years old and Anna was near 8. Attached is a copy of a life insurance policy in the amount of $1000.00 dollars on the life of Nicholas. However, there are no signs of official signatures so it is unknown if it was ever paid. In any case, family legend says that Josephine came to run a boarding house. In all likelihood this was located at 106 Lincoln in Olyphant as other documents will show. This property still stands. A visit circa 2002 indicated that it was still a boarding house. In time an important boarder in my life will come to that house. But first we need to learn more about Josephine and her daughters.
As stated earlier, Josephine (nee Tyminski) is the daughter of Rokha and Lucia nee Siedlecka and is 22 years of age at the time of her marriage on January 22, 1891. We can trace her lineage further. Her paternal grandparents were Maciej Tyminski and Marianna Jawinska. Her maternal grandparents were Franciszek Siedlicka and Marta Kaczkowska. These names are lifted from what are probably Russian language records so the ending in “a” may be actually “i or y” in Polish. All of them are listed as being from Ciechanowiec. Lucia Siedlecka parents were Franciszek and Marta Kaczkowski. Roch parents were Maciej and Marianna Jazwinska. Roch and Lucia were married in 1858 at Ciechanowiec.