September 24, 1912
Family legend has it that Mary Pugacz met Stanley Lichota as a boarder at a boarding house run by Josephine, the mother of Mary.
Stanley’s father was Joseph and his mother was Katarzyna Sadowska. A record exists of these parents marriage taking place in 1884 at Dobrowoda, Swietokrzyskie, Poland. The Catholic Church located there is St. Mary Magdalene.
The event took place at the parish of Dobrowoda in Kikow in the then occupied Russian section of Poland.
His father was Jozef aged 35 and a peasant.
His mother was Katarzyna Sadowska aged 27.
Witnesses were Wojciech Lichota (age 30) and Franciszek Bojdo (age 40). Both were identified as peasants.
Godparents were Antoni Lichota and Ewa Gora.
Stanley arrived at Ellis Island on August 6, 1910 aboard the SS Bremen. He is listed from Kikow, Kielce and, of course, is indicated as being Russian since Poland did not exist at the time. Kikow is city not far from Dobrowoda. Kielce is another location that is mentioned in Stanley’s documents. Kielce is one of the larger administrative cities in the then Russia and now Poland. So reference for any of these locations might be how we might refer to the county or the nearby major city if we live in a distant suburb. He is shown to be 18 (born 1892). We know he comes to the Scranton area to work in the coal mines. You will note the variety of birth years in the early documents related to Stanley but the baptismal record is dated April 3, 1892 so an April 1, 1892 birth date makes sense.
Stanley and Mary are married on September 24, 1912. On the marriage license application, Marianna (now Mary) is listed as a dressmaker and Stanley is a laborer and lists his age as 22 (born 1890).
On April 25, 1914 a son Joseph is born but he only lives until July 31, 1914. At that time of Joseph death the family was living at 106 Lincoln, Olyphant, Pennsylvania. I have visited Olyphant. The Lincoln address continues to be boarding property. I also looked for a cemetery where Nicholas and Joseph might have been buried. I was unsuccessful. The Glinsky funeral is listed on the death certificate for young Joseph. I contacted them but they have no records as a flood some years ago ruined all of their records from that time frame.
So here we have a family that has endured two significant deaths consisting of a married couple, a widowed mother, and a 12 year old child (Anna). Stanley was working in the coal mines, Josephine was still running the boarding house, and I suspect Mary was bringing some income as a seamstress. They may well have wondered why they left Poland. In the end, they did what so many immigrants did, they looked for a better opportunity. A later document, shows that Anna was in school in Olyphant into 1916 and Stanley registers for the WWI draft in mid-year 1917 in Detroit. It was between these times that the family found its way to Detroit.
Beginning in 1914, Detroit was becoming an industrial boom town. In early 1914, Henry Ford announced that he would pay workers $5.00 per day which effectively doubled their salary. Other industrialist had to match that offer to attract workers. The Dodge brothers were building the massive Dodge Main facility at Hamtramck. Briggs, Budd and Fisher Body enjoyed the fruits of being suppliers to the Detroit auto manufacturers that would come to dominate the market. There was a growing need for laborers. Our Lichota and Pugacz families followed so many to Detroit. I do sometimes think that given the high accident and mortality rate of working in the coal mines of the early 20th century, I may owe some of my existence to Henry Ford.
Family legend does say that the family passed through or spent some time in Buffalo, NY. To date, I have found no evidence of that, but if they did it probably meant they came across via train or the Erie Canal from whence they could take a train or ferry to Detroit.
Our next information comes on June 5, 1917, when Stanley registers for the WWI draft. He is living with his family at 118 Yemans Street in Hamtramck. He is shown as being a carpenter and working all around the city. The registration says he has gray eyes and brown hair in addition to being short of stature.
On May 29, 1919, Stanley files a Declaration of Intent to become a citizen of the United States. On that declaration he lists Kikow as the location of his birth. He is 5 ft. 3 inches tall weighs 155 pounds and has grayish blue eyes with brown hair. His occupation is mechanic.
In the 1920 Census (January 3-5), the Lichota family is now living at 581 Trowbridge in Hamtramck Stanley is shown as 28 years old (born 1891-2) and is a packer working in an auto plant. Mary is now 28 and shown to be from Grodno. They have two children, Stanley Jr. age 3 yrs. 7 months, and Sophia age 1 year 7 months. Anna and Jozefa (Josephine) are living with them. Two boarders are shown at the same address. One of them is Anthony Bojda, a man who would be a lifelong friend and to my memory a coworker from the coal mines and perhaps an as yet unlinked relative.
Later that same year, a daughter Julia would be born on April 28, 1920.
On January 24, 1921, daughter Sophia died of diphtheria. Sophia was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit. Her grave did not have a headstone. I visited this grave site with my parents when I was in my early teens. It was in an area devoted to children’s graves many from the years of 1918-1919 with their loss from the great influenza after the Great War. It was wooded area with a few small headstones and more small markers that contained deteriorating pictures and words of love and loss. Sofia rested in an unmarked grave. It was a stark sight. A more recent visit, revealed that all remnants of those children’s graves are gone. Only a grassy landscape remains.
Somewhere after the death of Sophia, the family moved to 9409 Mt. Elliott in Detroit. On September 14, 1922 another daughter Anna Lucy was born and delivered in the home. She was followed by a final child, Edward Nicholas born on January 4, 1925.
The next census occurred on April 9, 1930. The Lichota family remains at the Mt. Elliott address (home value listed as $4,700) and consists of Stanley age 38 currently working as a carpenter, wife Marian or Marion who can read and write but does not speak English. The children are Stanley Jr. (14 years old), Julia (10), Anna (7) and Edward (5). Only Julia and Anna are attending school which we know was nearby Resurrection Roman Catholic School.
Anna Pugacz has since married Stanley Rulkiewicz and has two children Edward and Stanley and is living on Dwyer in Detroit along with her mother Josephine.
On August 14, 1935, the Social Security Act was enacted with the first application forms distributed in November, 1936. On December 2, 1936 Stanley made application. The form ( see Documents) appears to be provided by his employer (Chrysler Corp., Plymouth plant on Mt. Elliott). He indicates that he was born on April 1, 1892 at Kikow, Poland. His father is Joseph Lichota and his mother is Katherine Sadoski (anglicized spelling).
Our last available census is taken April 17, 1940. The family continues to reside at their Mt. Elliott home. Stanley is employed as a carpenter in the auto industry. Mary is not employed outside the home. Son Stanley Jr. is not listed as he had already left the house and married Bernice Borys on August 21, 1937. Julia (19) is working as a seamstress on a WPA project and had attended school up to the 10th grade. Anna (17) is working as a nurse helper at a hospital and left school in the 9th grade. Edward (15) is still attending school.
On that 1940 census, the family next door is shown as that of George Edward Speare. He is the oldest brother of James Richard Speare. Anna Lucy would marry James Richard on September 14, 1940 at Resurrection church which is the beginning of my story to be told on another page. Julia would wed George Wittner on Jan 17, 1942.
On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations. The “World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942″ is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft”. This registration was different from the others conducted by the government. Its sole purpose was to gather information regarding manpower resources in the United States. The registration included men born between 27 April 1877 and 16 February 1890 – ages 45 to 64 and listed their industrial capacity and skills that could be used for military support during World War II. Stanley was never drafted.
More information will be made available with the release of the 1950 Census data in 2022.
The children of Stanley and Mary found their mates for life. Anna married James Richard Speare on September 14, 1940 and Julia married George Thomas Wittner on November 25, 1941. Son Edward remained a bachelor all his life. Edward was drafted into the U. S. Navy in early 1943 shortly after his 18th birthday. Manpower needs of WWII drafted him before his graduation from High School.
Pictures of Mary seem to be rare. Below is one probably taken in May of 1949 as Thomas Speare has a sleeve bow emblematic of a first communion.
Mary is 55 to 57 years old in this picture. She would live until June 23, 1958 suffering in the last weeks of her life from a stroke. She died in the front bedroom of their house at 9409 Mt. Elliott in Detroit. It was the same bedroom she gave birth to her daughter Anna. She died in the arms of her husband Stanley.
During her last years she suffered from Parkinson disease which is a neurodegenerative disease. A picture taken in 1958 illustrates the physical toll it took on her.
Stanley Lichota would live until February 22, 1981. He is buried next to Mary at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Detroit, Michigan. Nearby are the graves of her sister Anna, her husband, and mother Jozefa.