The Genealogy of the Monkovski/Markin Family

Marriage Record of Velvil Monkovski and Bejla Pienazek, December 31 1865, Wasosz, Poland

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Some very exciting genealogical news arrived this week!  Nineteen family records of the Monkovski family in Poland were obtained and translated, thanks to Jose Gutstein, who runs a site about the town of Szczuczyn, Poland.  The earliest record was from 1848 and the latest from 1899.  My knowledge of this family is greatly expanded!  For a link to Jose's site, click here
The story began with a box of old pictures from my mother-in-law, Lillian Gerstein.  The pictures belonged to her mother, Rose Krause, who was born Rose Monkovski in Szuzczyn, Poland.  The only picture that Lillian could identify was of her grandmother. The other picture, was identified by Lillian's cousin, Libby Fretzen.  Eventually, this name, Uncle Chiam Pesach Monkovski, led to finding many more family members.

Belja Peysakowna Pieniazek, Lillian Gerstein's and Libby Fretzen's grandmother, the picture that started my genealogy search.

 Chiam Pesach Monkovski and family, identified by Libby Fretzen.

Velvil (Wolf Berek) Chajmowicz Monkovski, 1848-1898, born possibly in Wasosz, Poland.  He was the son of Chiam Monkovski and Leja (Leah), employed as laborers in Wasosz. Chiam was deceased. Velvil worked as a tailor. 
Belja Pienanzek was born in 1849, possibly in Wasosz.   Her parents, Pejsach Pienazek and Sora Mendlowna Nochymowna, were glaziers. She is listed on the marriage record as a maiden, her parents were deceased. They married on December 31, 1865 in Wasosz, Poland.  At that time, this part of Poland was ruled by Russia.  However, the legal documents were written in Polish.

Velvil and Bejla were the parents of at least seven children.  I am guessing this because there are
gaps between the births of  several of the children, for instance, Chiam Pesach in 1869 and Nochim in 1875.
Several of the Monkovski children Americanized their surname to Markin when they immigrated to the United States.

• Chiam Peysach, b. 1869, death unknown.
• Nochim, 1875-1898,
• Rose Krause, 1887-1956,
• Jacob (Jankiel) Markin, b.1890,
• Fanny Markin Center, 1891-1967,
• Eva (Chawa) Markin Krause, 1896-1982. 
• Daughter, first name and birth year unknown,  who married Jankiel Ross, and was the mother of Libby Fretzen. 

There is so much more in the records, but way too much for one blog post. 

Two Mysteries (The Genealogy Kind) Solved

Genealogy research is like solving a puzzle.  You have most of the pieces but you just can't find that one missing piece to complete the puzzle. There are plenty of mysteries in my family trees, most unsolved, but happily, I did find that missing piece for two of them.

The Mystery of the Sashes.

Katherine Rychly and Olexa Pylatuik

The wedding picture of my great aunt Katherine Rychly and Olexa Pylituik contained a mystery.  As you can see in the picture, they were wearing sashes with their wedding attire.  I asked their daughter, if she could tell me about the sashes, and she said that she was wondering about them herself. 
When I was going through boxes of old stuff, I found a picture of my grandfather John Koshuba, and his brother, Joseph Koshuba, both rearing a uniform with the same sash.  The answer came from  a reader of this blog, who send me an link to the University of Minnesota Media Archive--Connecting Our Collections With Yours.  The sashes were worn by members of a Ukrainian Society, The Zaporozs"ka Sich in Minneapolis Minnesota. 

Peter Wons, Joseph Koshuba, John Koshuba

Zaporozs'ka Sich Society 1914

 The Mystery of the Grandmother's Name

This a portrait of my husband's great grandmother.  It came to me in a box of old pictures from my mother-in-law, Lillian Gerstein after she died.  My sister-in-law had it and when she moved, she gave it to me.  My mother-in-law told me that her mother's name was "Bellie", so I wrote it as Bella, or Belle.  I was never sure that it was her correct name.  The light went on in my head when I was looking through old family pictures from the Gerstein family.   My husband's great aunt's first name was Beile.  Perhaps the woman in the portrait was really Beile.  In my research for this blog, I came across a site for the town of Szczuzcyn, Poland, where my husband's ancestors once lived.  I contacted the site administrator and found out that the mysterious woman was Bejla Pienanzek, who married Wolf Berek (Velvil) Monkowski, and was the mother of my husband's grandmother, Rose. 
To connect with the Szczyczyn Site mentioned here:

For more information about Szczuzcyn, click on this link