Tombstone Tuesday: Zakers, St. Casimir Cemetery, Chicago

This is the grave marker for Konstantinas "Tony" Zaker (born Zakarauskas, 1893-1976) and his two wives, Helen Tamolevich Norkavic Zaker (1894-1942) and Agota Radauskas Phillips Zaker (1902-1980), in section 24 of St. Casimir [Lithuanian] Catholic Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois:

photos above and below used with permission of Michael Z at FindAGrave.com

© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Agota and Virginija Radauskas and Friends

The photo below dates from sometime before August 1922, when Agota Radauskas Phillips Zakar (1902-1980) came to the United States.  Agota is standing on the left.  Seated in front of her is her older sister, Virginija Radauskas Palujanskas (1896-1968).  The other two women in the photograph, taken in Lithuania, are unknown.

Continuing Agota's story from the previous post:  sometime after marrying Konstantinas Zaker, they moved to Kenosha, Wisconsin.  They were there in 1966, as another third cousin, Mary Gina, the granddaughter of Agota's and Virginija's older sister Anastazija (Anastasia) Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978), remembers visiting her there.  Mary Gina says, 

We referred to her as "Agotyte" (pronounced "Ogatete")...She eventually had a farm in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where I stayed for a week visiting her.... I helped in the barn with the cows.... When we all went to Chicago to Bernice Radauskas' wedding in 1966, Agotyte was there and she asked if I wanted to stay for a week. I flew home to Baltimore by myself a week later.

I wondered if the "tyte" part of her nickname comes from teta, the Lithuanian word for aunt.  But our mutual third cousin in Lithuania, Osvaldas Guokas, tells us "Agotytė...is level of diminutive.  Agotytė is pronounced in English like Agoteete."

By the way - Virginija Radauskas married Petras Palujanskas (1891-1954), the younger brother of Anastasia Radauskas Polianski's husband Joseph Anthony Polianski (Juozapas Palujanskas or Palijankas, 1890-1952)

Agota's obituary, below, I believe came from Draugas, the Lithuanian newspaper in Chicago.  

Osvaldas provided a translation, down to the fold line:

Amžiną atilsį - Rest eternal Agnes Zaker

Phillips

Lived in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Before lived in Chicago,  Illinois. 

Died October 22, 1980 at 7:14 in the evening,  she was 78 years old.  Born in Lithuania,  Panevėžys county, Rozalimas district, Gikoniai village. Lived in America 58 years. 

She leaves in sadness son Albert Philips, daughter-in-law Julaine, 3 grandchildren -  Gary,  John and Sharon,  brother's wife Ona Radauskienė with family;  in Lithuania brother's wife  Bronė Radauskienė and family and children of sisters, other relatives,  and friends. 

She was the widow of Konstanto (Konstantinas) Zaker. 

The obituary goes on to say (from what I can figure out from other sources) that Lack-Lackawicz at 2424 W. 69th Street in Chicago is the funeral home, and the service will be at Nativity B.V.M. Church (Svc. M. Marijos Gimino).  She will be buried in St. Casimir (Kazimiero) Lithuanian cemetery.

Photos from the cemetery will be in the next post.

Both the photograph and the obituary came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of Steponas Radauskas, a brother of Agota and Leo.   Thank you Aldona!  Thanks also to Osvaldas, who has been sharing all these photographs and information with me!

© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: More About Agota Radauskas Phillips Zaker

The photograph above is of Agota Radauskaitė Phillips Zakar (1902-1980) and her sister-in-law, Ona Tamošiūnaite Radauskas Marcinkus (1907-1988).  It was taken by Walter J. Stankunas, popular Lithuanian photographer in Chicago from at least 1916 to at least 1942.  His studio was located at 3315 South Halsted Street.  Ona's husband and Agota's older brother, Leo Radauskas (1889-1973), was living just two blocks away at 3548 South Halsted from at least 1926 to at least 1928.  Ona (more about her in a future post) did not arrive in the United States (in New York City) until December 10, 1928, so it's likely the photo was not taken until 1929 at the earliest.

Agota's first husband was fellow Lithuanian Jonas Pilipavičius (born 1889), who changed his name to John Phillips.  They married in June 1927 and had a son, Albert, in May 1928.  On the 1930 Census, Agota, John, and Albert are living at 3313 S. Union Avenue (in the heavily-Lithuanian Bridgeport area) in Chicago, and John works for a punch press company.  They have a boarder named Jim Konsurevitch, a Lithuanian immigrant about the same age as John, who works as a salesman for an automobile company.

Sadly, Agota and John were divorced on July 27, 1938, due to his cruelty.  Agota got custody of their son, and John was required to pay $7 a week in support, according to his 1941 petition for naturalization.  Below is a photograph of John from his August 1938 Declaration of Intention:

On the 1940 Census, Agota and Albert are living with Leo and Ona at 3258 S. Union in Chicago, still in the Bridgeport district.  Agota, like Ona, works as an upholsterer for a wholesale furniture company. 

On September 26, 1942, Agota married another Lithuanian immigrant machinist, widower Konstantinas "Tony" Zaker (1893–1976).  He was born August 25, 1893 (or 1894 or 1895, all three years are given on various documents), in Upytė, Panevėžys, Lithuania.  He entered the United States at New York City on April 28, 1913, on the SS Kleist, under the name Konstantas Zakarauskas.  He married Helen Tamolevich Norkavic, also a Lithuanian immigrant who was a widow with three daughters, on April 25, 1920, in Chicago.  Helen died on May 18, 1942.  Here is a picture of Konstantinas from his March 1931 Declaration of Intention:

More about Agota (and Konstantinas) in future posts.

The photograph at the top of this post came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of Steponas Radauskas, a brother of Agota and Leo.   Thank you Aldona!  Thanks also to my third cousin Osvaldas Guokas in Lithuania, who has been sharing all these photographs and information with me!


© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Wedding Wednesday: Agota Radauskas Phillips Zaker, ABT 1927

This beautiful bride is my first cousin twice removed Agota Radauskaitė, the youngest of seven children (who survived to adulthood) of my second great aunt  Agota Guokaitė (1861-1942, the older sister of my great-grandfather Charles Guokas Sr.) and Ignacijus Radauskas (1858-1913).

Agota Radauskaitė was born on May 2, 1902, in Gikoniai village, Smilgiai Parish, Rozalimas administrative division (Valsčius), Lithuania.  According to her first husband's petition for naturalization, she arrived in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 14, 1922.  It is likely that she spent some time with her older sister Anastazija (Anastasia) Radauskaitė Palijanskas (Polianski) (1892-1978), who was living in Maryland, but she ultimately went to Chicago, where another older sibling,  Leonas (Leo) Radauskas (1889-1973), was living.

Agota married Jonas Pilipavičius (born December 21, 1889, in Lygumai, Siauliu, Lithuania) in Chicago, Illinois, on June 25, 1927, when she was 25 years old.  According to his naturalization records, Jonas arrived in New York City from Hamburg, Germany, aboard the SS Kaiserin Auguste Victoria on July 11, 1911.  He had been living in Chicago since at least May 1926, and went by John Phillips at least by the 1930 Census.

I believe this photograph is from their wedding.  The style of dress, the "Juliet" cap for the veil, and the huge bouquet with trailing ribbons were all common for 1920s weddings.

Agota and John had one child, a son named Albert Phillips born in May 1928 in Chicago.  Unfortunately the marriage did not last - more about that in a future post.

This photograph came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of Steponas Radauskas, the older brother of Agota.   Thank you Aldona!  Thanks also to my third cousin Osvaldas Guokas in Lithuania, who has been sharing so much with me!


© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Happy Father's Day!

My dad, Frederick Henry Pape, my sister Mary, and me in a pool during a summer vacation trip to New Mexico in 1966.


© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday: Lithuanian Radauskas Relatives, Rozalimas Cemetery

Some time ago, my Lithuanian third cousin Osvaldas Guokas sent me some photographs of tombstones with our family names on them from the cemetery in Rozalimas, Lithuania.  Here is one where I know how the people buried here are related to me:

Steponas Radauskas is my first cousin twice removed.  He is the son of my second great aunt Agota Guokaitė Radauskienė (Guokas Radauskas) (born in 1861, the older sister of my great-grandfather Charles Peter Guokas Sr.) and Ignatijus Radauskas (ABT 1853-1913).

Steponas was born February 14, 1899, in Gikoniai village in Lithuania, the tenth of the twelve children of Agota and Ignatijus.  Two of his older siblings, Leonas (Leo) Radauskas (1889-1973) and Anastazija Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978), and his younger sister Agota Radauskas Phillips Zaker (1902-1980), came to the United States.

On January 29, 1929, Steponas married Bronislava (Brone) Skačkauskaitė (1905-1961) in Šeduva, in the Radviliskis district municipality in Lithuania.  This is just 17.4 kilometers from Gikoniai.  You can also see from the map below that Rozalimas and Smilgiai are nearby.

The last name on the tombstone is Steponas' and Brone's son (sūnus in Lithuanian), Antanas, who was born about 1934 and died about 1935.


© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Sentimental Sunday: Odin Frederick Pape, 2002-2017

Yesterday my brother Brian and his wife Paige lost their 15-year-old golden retriever, Odin Frederick, described by Brian as "'the best dog we ever owned' and whoever owned us."  He was a great companion in all their adventures and pretty lively (albeit slower) when I last saw him a few months ago.  Here are some pictures of him from the past:

Above:  Odin in May 2002, shortly after Brian and Paige got him.

Below:  Paige and Odin, May 2002.

My brother Brian captioned these two photos from June 11, 2002, as follows:

Above:  "Odin - I need a file and hacksaw."

Below:  "Odin - Which to chew first."

Above:  My son Eric with Odin on our visit to Texas in August, 2002.

Below:  Odin in early 2009

Above:  Brian with Odin on June 24, 2011.  Our family had all gone together to see "Late Nite Catechism" in Austin that evening - good times.

Below:  Brian with Odin at my parents' home in Austin on March 13, 2016.

Above:  My brother Mark with Odin on the right, and Odin's housemate Thorin on the left, at Thanksgiving at Brian and Paige's home in Austin, 2016.

© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Family of Agota Guokaitė and Ignacijus Radauskas, early 1913

My third cousin Osvaldas Guokas sent me another wonderful picture from Lithuania:

This is the family of my second great aunt, Agota Guokaitė (Guokas) Radauskienė (Radauskas, 1861-1942), the older sister of my great-grandfather Charles (Kazimieras) Guokas Sr. (1863-1939).  She and her family lived in Gikoniai village in Šiauliai County in Lithuania.  Gikoniai is a little south and west of the village of Čelkiai, where Agota and Kazimieras and many of their siblings were born.

Agota and her husband Ignacijus Radauskas (1858-1913) had at least twelve children (that we have found so far),  and at least seven of those lived to adulthood.  Three of those children moved to the United States.

In the photograph above, standing, from left, are Ignas Radauskas (Ignatijus Jr., born 1894), an unknown person who may be son Justinas Radauskas (born 1888), Anastazija (Anastasia) Radauskaitė Palijanskas (Polianski) (1892-1978), Kazimieras Radauskas (born 1886), Virginija Radauskaitė Palujanskas (born ABT 1897), and Steponas Radauskas (1899-1944).

Sitting from left, are an unknown person (who may be Agota's brother Antanas Guokas, Osvaldas' great-grandfather, who may be Agota's twin), Agota Guokienė Radauskienė, Agota Radauskaitė Filipavicius Zakarauskas (Agota Radauskas Phillips Zaker, 1902-1980), and Ignacijus Radauskas (Sr.)

Ignacijus Sr. died on June 5, 1913, so we know the picture was taken before then.  Son Leonas (Leo) Radauskas (1889-1973) is not in the photograph, because he was in Houston, Texas, in the 1910 Census, and in Houston city directories through 1913.

Anastazija went to the United States sometime between the time this photograph was taken and June 1, 1914, when she married Juozapas (Joseph Anthony) Palijanskas (Polianski), whose brother Petras married Virginija in this photo.  Later, around 1922, the youngest daughter, Agota, also went to the United States.  I have not been able to find her in any census or other document, but we are unsure about her married last name.

This photograph came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of Steponas Radauskas. As Osvaldas says, "She saved it in perfect condition to our days."  Thank you Aldona!


© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Tombstone Tuesday: Lithuanian Palijanskas Relative, Smilgiai Cemetery

My Lithuanian third cousin Osvaldas Guokas went to the parish cemetery in Smilgiai on June 2 and took lots of pictures.  This one is for someone not directly related to me, but instead is the father-in-law of a distant relative.  That relative and her husband apparently paid for this grave marker:

photos above and below by Osvaldas Guokas, 2 June 2017

Describing the very top of the marker, Osvaldas said,

"On Lithuanian tombstones you can see

AA or A (cross) A

It means: Amžiną atilsį - Rest eternal."

The words "cia ilsisi" mean "here rests."

Osvaldas provided the translation for the rest of the marker.  He said the "text is in Lithuanian but in an interesting old style grammar."

Father Juozapas Palijanskas died 1902 May 22, was 55 years old;

Memory from son and daughter-in-law from America

Juozapas and Anastazija Palijanskas

Anastzija is Anastasia Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978), who immigrated to America about 1912-1914, and married Joseph Anthony Polianski (1890-1952) in Baltimore, Maryland, on June 1, 1914.  More about them in a future post.


© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Happy Birthday to My Son Eric!

My son Eric and me in the summer of 1988.

© Amanda Pape - 2017 - click here to e-mail me.