Sentimental Sunday: Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, 1934-2018

I was sad to hear from my cousin Osvaldas Guokas of the recent death of my second cousin once removed, Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, at the age of 84.  I had hoped to meet her next summer in Lithuania and thank her for sharing so many stories and photographs of the Radauskas family.

Here is a hand-drawn Radauskas family chart that Aldona shared with Osvaldas about a year ago (click on it to see it full-size).  The couple in the center is Aldona's grandparents, Ignacijus (Ignas) Radauskas and Agota Guokaitė Radauskienė.  Agota is the sister of my great-grandfather Charles Guokas Sr.

Here are what some of the words or abbreviations in the chart mean:
Sūnus = son
Duktė = daughter
Vaikų neturėjo = has no children
Mirė = died
Gim. (Gimė) = born
JAV = USA
A.t.A. = abbreviation fot amžiną Tau atilsį, meaning eternal rest (i.e. R.I.P.)


© Amanda Pape - 2018 - click here to e-mail me.

Those Places Thursday - Radauskas Homes in Chicago, 1923-1973

After our visit the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture and eating some Lithuanian food at Mabenka on August 8, 2017, during our visit in Chicago, we drove around to look at sites where my Raudauskas (kin on my Guokas side) Lithuanian relatives used to live.

Leo Radauskas (1889-1973) stated on his 1926 petition for naturalization that he had been residing in Illinois since August 15, 1920.  He was definitely there on October 18, 1923, when he submitted his declaration of intent to become a citizen, and listed 3548 S. Halsted in Chicago as his address, in the Lithuanian neighborhood of Bridgeport.  Here is how that address looked in August 2017.  It's the same building; the Cook County Accessor's website says the building is (at least) 114 years old.  Leo lived here through at least September 1928, when he returned to Chicago after his trip to Lithuania to find a bride (Ona Tamošiūnas Radauskas Marcinkus, 1907-1988).  They were not at this location in 1930, and based on the Census that year, this location consisted of a single apartment above the main floor storefront.

3548 S HALSTED ST

Leo Radauskas home, from at least October 1923 to at least September 1928

I haven't found Leo and Ona in the 1930 Census (yet), but by 1935 they are living at 3258 S. Union, according to Ona's naturlization petition dated in January of that year.  This is half a mile away from the Halsted address, on the less-busy street of S. Union Avenue, but still in an apartment building.  Here's how that building looked in August 2017.  That's how it looked in 1935 too, as the accessor's office says this building is 104 years old.  Leo and Ona were here until at least 1947, so their daughter Bernice Ann Radauskas Dylo (1940-2004) spent her early years here.  

3258 S UNION AVE

Ona and Leo Radauskas lived here from at least January 1935 to at least 1947

Leo's youngest sister, Agota Radauskas Phillips Zaker (1902-1980), was living at the address pictured below in 1930, according to the Census, with her then-husband John Phillips (b. Jonas Pilipavičius in 1889) and their son Albert Phillips, born in 1928.  John and Agota were divorced by 1938, and on the 1940 Census, Agota and Albert are living with Leo and Ona just a few addresses down at 3258 S. Union.  Here's how 3315 S. Union looked in August 2017 - the building is 103 years old, so it looked about the same in 1930.

3313 S UNION AVE

home of Agota Radauskas Phillips Zaker and first husband John Phillips in 1930 Census

Sometime after 1947, Leo, Ona, and Bernice moved to the more residential Marquette Park neighborhood, to an apartment at 6223 S. Albany Avenue.  (Agota remarried in 1942.)  Ona and Leo were living at this address when Leo died in 1973.  Here's how this building looked in August 2017.  This building is 95 years old.

6223 S ALBANY AVE

Leo and Ona Radauskas moved here sometime after 1947, and were living here at the time of Leo's death in 1973

Below are views of 3258 S. Union, 3313 S. Union, and 6223 S. Albany, showing more of each building.

And here is a map showing the locations of the buildings - the first three in Bridgeport in the upper right corner, and the last is the green peg near the bottom of the page in Marquette Park.  The diamonds mark other features in the area, such as the Balzekas Museum in West Lawn, and a couple more sites I'll discuss in a future post.

© Amanda Pape - 2018 - click here to e-mail me.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Agota and Steponas Radauskas, 1921

Agota Radauskaitė (1902-1980) visiting her older brother Steponas Radauskas (1899-1944) while he was in the Lithuanian army,  1921.

This photograph is 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.

Friday's Faces From the Past: Bronė and Steponas Radauskas, BEF 1943

This is a photograph of Bronislova "Bronė" Skačkauskaitė Radauskienė (1905-1961) and her husband, my first cousin twice removed Steponas Radauskas (1899-1944).  I don't know when the photograph was taken, only that it had to be before Steponas' untimely death in early September, 1944.  More likely it was prior to 1943 (because a photograph from that year shows him with far less hair), but I think it was after 1930.  Bronė is thinner in this photo than she was in one taken in that year.

Bronė was born December 28, 1905, the daughter of Petras Skačkauskas.  She and Steponas were married January 29, 1929, in Šeduva, in the Radviliskis district municipality in Lithuania.  They had three children, daughter Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė (born 1934), son Antanas, who was born about 1934 and died about 1935 (perhaps a twin to Aldona?), and son Petras Radauskas (1937-2004).  Bronė died July 7, 1961, and is buried with Steponas and Antanas at the Rozalimas cemetery.

The photo in this post came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of  Bronislova "Bronė" Skačkauskaitė Radauskienė and Steponas Radauskas (tėtis means dad or daddy or papa in Lithuanian).   Thank you Aldona!  Thanks also to Osvaldas Guokas, who has been sharing all these photographs and information with me!


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

Wordless Wednesday: Anastasia Radauskas Polianski, 1892-1978

Anastazija Radauskaite was born January 22, 1892, in Gikoniai village, Lithuania, the fifth of twelve children and the oldest daughter of Ignatijus (Ignotas) Radauskas (1858-1913) and Agota Guokiete (Guokas) Radauskiene (1861-1942), the older sister of my great-grandfather Charles (Kazimieras) Guokas (1863-1939).  

Anastasia came to the United States in 1912, and married fellow Lithuanian immigrant Joseph Anthony Polianski (1890-1952) on June 1, 1914, at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church in Baltimore, Maryland.  They had two daughters and two sons between 1915 and 1934, and eight grandchildren.  Anastasia died in January 1978.

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

Tombstone Tuesday: Nellie Julia Polianski Kane, 1915-1943

photo courtesy I See Dead People at FindAGrave

Nellie (Anelė) Julia Polianski Kane (1915-1943), my second cousin once removed, is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brooklyn Park, Anne Arundel County, Maryland.  Nellie was born in Maryland, the oldest child of Lithuanian immigrants Joseph Anthony Polianksi (1890-1952) and Anastasia Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978).  She grew up in Baltimore and graduated from Eastern High School there in February 1933.  According to the 1933 yearbook, The Eastern Echo (page 38), "Polly" could usually be found talking and had a hobby of skating, an ardent aversion to reading essays, and a secret ambition to be a nurse.

On the 1940 Census, Nellie is living with her parents, younger sister Helen, and younger brothers Joseph Jr. and Eddie on Pennington Avenue, and working as a bookkeeper for an insurance company.  Just down the street is Vincent Kane, a college graduate from Pennsylvania about her age, doing office work for a chemical company (Nellie made more money than him the previous year).

Sometime after that census was taken (on April 11-12, 1940), Nellie and Vincent Thomas Kane (1915-1989) married.  He enlisted in the Army on February 11, 1941, and served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, ending his military career on his birthday in 1975 as a major.

Nellie died on February 12, 1943, in Huntsville, Alabama, so I am guessing Vincent must have been stationed there about that time.  They had no children.


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

Sentimental Sunday: Anastasia Radauskas Polianski with daughters Nellie and Helen, ABT 1930

The photo above is of Anastasia (Anastazija) Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978), in the center, and her two oldest children, daughters Nellie (Anelė) Polianski Kane (1915-1943), on the left, and Helen (Elena) Eugenia Polyanski Hulshoff (1916-2007), on the right.  Anastasia looks a lot like she did on her trip to Lithuania in 1930, and the girls look to be in their early teens, so I'm guessing this photo was taken about 1930.

The photo came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of Steponas Radauskas, brother of Anastazija.   Thank you Aldona!  Thanks also to Osvaldas Guokas, who has been sharing all these photographs and information with me!


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

Tombstone Tuesday: Leonas and Ona Radauskas, St. Casimir Lithuanian Catholic Cemetery, Chicago

Here is the marker for the graves of Leonas "Leo" Radauskas (1889-1973) and his wife Ona "Anna" Tamošiūnaite Radauskas Marcinkus (1907-1988), at St. Casimir [Lithuanian] Catholic Cemetery in Chicago, Illinois:

photo by Christine Sheets Nutile via FindAGrave

The words "Ilsekis Ramybeje" at the bottom of the cross are Lithuanian for "Rest in Peace."  Here are photos of the engravings for Leonas and Ona at the base of the stone:

photo by Christine Sheets Nutile via FindAGrave

photo by Christine Sheets Nutile via FindAGrave

There are two other names engraved on the stone.  On the far right, it says "Agota Zakaras 1902-".  This was supposed to be for Leonas' sister Agota "Agnes" Radauskas Phillips Zaker (1902-1980), but she is buried in the same cemetery next to her second husband.  

The other name, on the far left, is "Justin Kiskunas 1892-1978."  He was buried in the plot on February 13, 1978, with "o.t. [one-time?] permit #161," according to the burial record available at FamilySearch.org.  That record shows only that his home address was Toronto, Canada.  Some Canadian records at Ancestry.com (not fully accessible to me, since I don't have a world membership there) indicate that he was living in Ontario province in 1972.  

My third cousin Osvaldas Guokas discovered a birth record for Justinas Kiškūnas that proves he is Ona's uncle, younger brother to Ona's mother, Agota Kiškūnaitė (born about 1875).  They were both children of Baltramiejus Kiškūnas and Ona Dzinkus Kiškūnienė.


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

Sentimental Sunday: Steponas Radauskas and Family, ABT 1943

This is a photograph from Lithuania in about 1943 of my first cousin twice removed Steponas Radauskas (1899-1944), his wife Bronislova "Bronė" Skačkauskaitė Radauskienė (1905-1961), his son Petras Radauskas (1937-2004), and his daughter Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė (born 1934).  They also had a son Antanas, who was born about 1934 and died about 1935 (perhaps a twin to Aldona?).

Steponas Radauskas was born February 14, 1899, the tenth of the twelve children of Ignatijus Radauskas (ABT 1858-1913) and Agota Guokaitė Radauskienė (1861-1942, my great-grandfather Charles Guokas' sister) from the village Gikoniai in the Rozalimas parish.  He married Bronislava Skačkauskaitė January 29, 1929, in Šeduva, in the Radviliskis district municipality in Lithuania.

My third cousin Osvaldas Guokas tells the following story about Steponas.  During the Nazi occupation in World War II, Steponas Radauskas was a seniūnas - village elder. He was friendly with all in the village and always informed them when Nazis were coming for "contributions." One person from Gikoniai remembers that when Steponas warned them, this person quickly tried to catch a hen in the yard and hide. But the Nazi soldier came during this action. He remember that Steponas Radauskas said some words to the soldier in German, and there was no problem.

According to Osvaldas, Steponas Radauskas found a Russian grenade lost in the fields near the end of World War II.  He tried to detonate it in the nearby river Daugyvenė.  But something went wrong.  People from the nearby village of Gikoniai heard an explosion and when they found Steponas, he was dead from very serious injuries in the belly area.

Steponas, Brone, and Antanas are all buried in the Rozalimas cemetery.

The photo in this post came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of Steponas Radauskas and the little girl in the photo above.   Thank you Aldona!  Thanks also to Osvaldas Guokas, who has been sharing all these photographs and information with me!

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

(Not-So-) Wordless Wednesday: Joseph Polianski Jr. and his Lithuanian Uncles, 1930

In 1930, my first cousin twice removed Anastasia (Anastazija) Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978) traveled back to Lithuania to visit members of her family of origin who were still living there.  She took her then-youngest son Joseph Anthony Polianski Jr. (1924-2002).  While there, the family members still in Lithuania had a portrait taken with their American daughter/sibling and her son.  Joseph also posed for this picture with his Lithuanian uncles.

Standing from the left are brothers Ignacijus Radauskas (Jr., born 1894), Steponas Radauskas (1899-1944), and Kazimieras Radauskas (born 1886). Sitting are Petras Palujanskas (ABT. 1891-1954), the husband of Virginija Radauskaitė and the brother of Anastazija Radauskaitė Polianski's husband Joseph Sr.; and Joseph Anthony Polianski Jr. (1924-2002) from America, son of Anastazija Radauskaitė Polianski.

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


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

Sentimental Sunday: Radauskas Family in Lithuania, 1930

In 1930, my first cousin twice removed Anastasia (Anastazija) Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978) traveled back to Lithuania to visit members of her family of origin who were still living there.  She took her then-youngest son Joseph Anthony Polianski Jr. (1924-2002).  While there, the family members still in Lithuania had this portrait taken with their American daughter/sibling and her son.

Back row from left: Petras Palujanskas (ABT 1891-1954), husband of Virginija Radauskaitė and brother of Anastasia's husband Joseph Polianski; Steponas Radauskas (1899-1944) and wife Bronė (Bronislova Skačkauskaitė Radauskienė, 1905-1961), daughter of Petras Skačkauskas; Bronė (Bronislova) Tamošiūnaite Radauskienė, wife of Ignacijus Radauskas (Jr.) and cousin to Bronė Skačkauskaitė Radauskienė; Ignacijus Radauskas (junior, b. 1894); Kazimieras Radauskas (b. 1886).

Front row from left: Adelė Palujanskaitė, daughter of Petras and Virginija Radauskaitė Palujanskas; Virginija Radauskaitė Palujanskienė (1896-1968), Joseph; Anastazija; Agota Guokaitė Radauskienė (1861-1942), mother of Virginija, Steponas, Ignacijus Jr., and Kazimieras, and Anastazija; and Teklė Savickaitė Radauskienė, wife of Kazimieras Radauskas.

I would have posted this picture sooner, but we were unsure of the identity of the little boy until recently (we thought he might have been Joseph's younger brother Edward, born in 1934).  My third cousin Mary Gina showed the picture to Joseph's widow, who confirmed it was him.  Mary Gina says, "I remember my mother telling me that her brother, Joseph, went to Lithuania when he was a child."  I also found the passenger list for Anastasia's and Joseph's return to New York City on August 20, 1930.

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

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

Mappy Monday: Chicago Nostalgia Trip

I just got back from a week-long visit to Chicago that included visits to all the sites in green (both pegs and diamonds) and orange.  Diamonds are museums or libraries; pegs are mostly houses, apartment buildings, or churches.  Green indicates an original building that I visited and/or photographed; orange means the original building is no longer there but I visited the site.  Blue indicates facilities I didn't get to visit this time that are still standing; red means I also didn't see it this visit but the original building is gone.  Purple pegs and yellow stars are other points of reference for this visit, not relevant to family history.

You can use the plus or minus in the lower left corner to enlarge or reduce the size of the map.  Click on a marker to read more about it - and maybe even see a photograph!  You can also click on the map and drag it around to better view different areas.

Markers are in Wilmette, Evanston, Rogers Park and West Ridge in far north Chicago, and Bridgeport and Marquette Park in the near south side of Chicago.  There are a number of other markers for places on the north side of Chicago that I was not able to visit on this trip; those will be for the future!

Watch this blog for future posts on these sites!



View Evanston and North Chicago, Illinois in a larger map


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

Wedding Wednesday: Radauskas Mother and Daughter, 1983 and 1966

Continuing the story of Ona "Anna" Tamošiūnaite Radauskas (1907-1988):  After the death of her husband Leo Radauskas, my first cousin twice removed, in 1973, Ona remarried on July 2, 1983, to widower Michael William Marcinkus (1899-1987),  another Lithuanian immigrant.  Here is a photo from their wedding:

Another photo from the wedding, a section of which is below, is of Ona and her and Leo's daughter Bernice Ann Radauskas Dylo (1940-2004).  

Here is a photo of Bernice (Bronyte in Lithuanian) from 1955:

And this photo is from Bernice's June 1966 wedding to Donald J. Dylo (1941–1996) in Chicago.  That's her father Leo Radauskas in the white jacket behind her.

The first three photographs in this post came from the private album of Aldona Radauskaitė Zigmantavičienė, the daughter of Steponas Radauskas, a brother of Leo Radauskas.  The last photo came from my third cousin Mary Gina Hulshoff-Stitz, whose grandmother is Leo's younger sister Anastasia Radauskas Polianski (1892-1978), and who attended Bernice's wedding.  Thank you to Aldona, Mary Gina, and my third cousin Osvaldas Guokas, who sent me Aldona's photos.

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

Sentimental Sunday: Trys Damos - Ona and Two Agotas, ABT 1937

From left: my second great aunt Agota Guokaitė Radauskienė (1861-1942), sister of my great-grandfather Charles Guokas (1863-1939); her daughter-in-law Ona (Anna) Tamošiūnaitė Radauskas (1907-1988), the wife of Agota's son Leonas (Leo) Radauskas (1889-1973); and Ona's mother Agota Kiškūnaitė Tamošiūnienė (born ABT 1875).

Ona visited her mother and mother-in-law in Lithuania, and brought them new (and nearly identical) dresses from the USA.  I'm thinking the visit might have been in September 1937, as I found Ona on a passenger list traveling from Gothenburg, Sweden, to New York City at that time (click on the image to enlarge it):

As you can see, Ona is on the passenger list as a U. S. citizen.  She became one on April 25, 1935.  Here is her petition, which provides lots of useful information on her date (June 17, 1907) and place (Smilgiai, Lithuania) of birth, the date (October 8, 1928) and place (Smilgiai) of her marriage to Leo; his date (June 22, 1895- the year is not right) and place (Kovno, Lithuania - more specifically, in Gikoniai) of his birth, and the dates of his U.S. entrance (June 28, 1909, in New York City) and naturalization (December 23, 1926 in Chicago).

And here is her oath of allegiance:

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

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

Sentimental Sunday: Leo and Ona, 1934

The photograph above is of Leonas "Leo" Radauskas (1889-1973), my first cousin two times removed on my Guokas (maternal grandfather's) line, and his wife, Ona "Anna" Tamošiūnaite (1907-1988) .  It was taken about 1934.

In an earlier post about Leo, I related the story about his return to Lithuania in 1928 to seek a wife.  I wonder if the photo above was taken about the time Ona had to appear in the district court in Chicago in her quest to become a U.S. citizen.

Here is Ona's certificate of arrival, which is part of her 1934-35 petition for naturalization.  In Lithuania, Radauskiene is the married woman form of the last name Radauskas.

Here is the left side of the passenger list for the November 29, 1928, sailing of the S.S. George Washington from Bremen, Germany, to New York City, arriving on December 10, 1928 (I "cut and pasted" to move Ona's information directly under the column headings at the top of the page).  Click on it to enlarge it.  It says she was born and last lived in Jasoniai, although her petition for naturalization lists both places as Smilgiu (probably Smilgiai).

And here is the right side of that same passenger list - click on it to enlarge it.  It shows that her mother's name is Agata (probably Agota) Tamosuniene (the married woman form of the surname Tamošiūnas), and that she is going to be with her husband Leo Radauskas of 3548 S. Halsted Street in Chicago.  It also tells us that she's never been to the United States before, she plans to reside there "always" and become a citizen, and that she is 5'7" (tall for that era), fair complexioned, with blonde hair and blue eyes.

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


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

Wordless Wednesday: Leo Radauskas and Two Ladies, Chicago, 1937

The photograph above is of Leonas "Leo" Radauskas, 1889-1973, my first cousin two times removed on my Guokas (maternal grandfather's) line, and two unknown women.  It was taken about 1937.

I'm guessing that the two women might be co-workers from one of the famous hotels or restaurants where Leo worked in Chicago in his long career as a chef.  According to an obituary, besides the Edgewater Beach Hotel mentioned in the earlier post about Leo, he also worked at the Morrison, the Imperial, and the Latin Quarter.

The Morrison Hotel, at the southeast corner of Madison and Clark streets downtown, had at least three restaurants - the famous Boston Oyster House, the Terrace Garden dinner theater, and the Grill restaurant.  It also had private dining rooms and hosted banquets, so Leo would have been very busy as a chef.  This hotel was torn down in 1965-66.

The Latin Quarter at 23 W. Randolph was also a dinner theater restaurant.  And the Imperial House was a fancy French restaurant, in Chicago at 50 E. Walton from at least 1952 to at least 1965.   According to a May 22, 2002 article in the Chicago Tribune, it "specialized in fresh food, flown from anywhere on the globe, it seemed. Meals were stately affairs, a rear-guard action against the 'speeded up' tempo of American dining, according to Patricia Bronte in her 1952 restaurant guide, Vittles and Vice. The menu offered 85 variations on Caesar salad."

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

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

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.