Surname Saturday: GUOKAS

Thanks to Osvaldas Guokas, a contact in Vilnius, Lithuania (and apparently a distant cousin), who reads my blog, I've suddenly been able to jump from going three generations back on my mother's paternal line to five:

1.  My mother - Geraldine Margaret Guokas
2.  My grandfather - Charles Peter Guokas Jr. (1903 - 1967)
3.  My great-grandfather - Charles Peter Guokas Sr.  (1863 - 1939)
4.  My great-great-grandfather - Jonas Guokas (ABT 1821 - BEF 1898)
5.  My great-great-great-grandfather - Antanas Guokas

Osvaldas found the marriage record for Jonas Guokas and my great-great-grandmother, Marija Šukytė:

Osvaldas tells me this says that on February 14, 1856, Jonas Guokas, 35 years old, from Celkiai, and
Marija Šukytė (which sounds like sounds like Shukeete), 20 years old, were married.  Parents are Antanas Guokas and Marija Va... Guokas, and Antanas Šukys and Liudvika Gacinskytė (Gacinska) Sukys (Šukienė).

He also found and sent a death record for Marija Šukytė Guokas (Marianna Shukisova Gokasova in Russian).  She died July 5, 1898 in Celkiai village. She was the widow of Jonas Guokas (Yoanna Gokasa in Russian). She was 60 years old. She left her sons Antanas (Anton), Kazimieras (Charles Sr.), Juozas (Joseph), and Petras (Peter), and daughters Agota and Apolonija.  She is buried in Smilgiai in Lithuania:

Charles Sr. is my great-grandfather who emigrated to and settled in Houston along with his younger brothers Joseph and Anton.  We have heard from some descendants of Peter, who settled in Alexandria County, Virginia, and this seems to verify that they are kin.  We also knew that Agota married an Ignacius Radauskas and stayed in Lithuania, but their son Leo was living with Charles Sr. in Houston in 1910, the year after he immigrated (at age 14), and wound up in Chicago; and their daughter Anastasia wound up in the Baltimore, Maryland area and married a Joseph Polianski.  Apolonia is a new family member to me.

Osvaldas also explained that last names vary for men and women in Lithuania, and for women also by marital status.  For example, his mother is Genovaite Guokiene. His [single] daughter is Izabele Guokaite.  His grandfather is Justinas Guokas. "As you can see it is some difference on the end."

Thanks to this information, I've been able to add numbers 48 through 51 to my Ahnentafel chart, and more details to numbers 24 and 25.

© Amanda Pape - 2012 - click here to e-mail me.