For over 150 years, Milwaukee has been home to a large community of people of Polish descent. The Milwaukee Polonia Project hopes to show the interweaving, intertwining family trees that resulted in this community. It is hoped that, eventually, all the families can be connected to one another. The Milwaukee Polonia Project is also a means to explore our common history and celebrate our shared heritage.

THE ACTUAL DATABASE OF THE TREE IS NOW LOCATED AT THE MILWAUKEE POLONIA PROJECT TREE at Tribal Pages. (We still have much work to do, so don't assume that families are shown completely.) YOU DO NOT NEED A PASSWORD TO ACCESS INFORMATION ON DECEASED INDIVIDUALS.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

A Celebration of Labor

In honor of the up-coming Labor Day, I give you an article that appeared in the Milwaukee Journal on September 6, 1957, in which Management and Labor co-celebrated the lifetime service of two Milwaukee meat-cutters:


Connected Individuals:  Stanley Napientek

Individuals still to be connected:  Walter Karwoski


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Freatured Profile #17 - Eugene W. Wasielewski

Eugene W. Wasielewski (1912 - 1972)

(Photo supplied by Paul Wasielewski)
Frank Wasielewski (Featured Profile #14) had three sons.  The eldest, Stanley, followed his father into medicine.  His second, Thaddeus (Feature Profile #15),went into law, and then politics.  His third son, Eugene, went into engineering where he eventually made significant contributions to both the development of jet engines and the manned space flight program.

Eugene was born in Milwaukee in 1912.  After graduating from Bay View High School, Eugene went to the University of Michigan where he earned his Bachelor's degree in aeronautical and mechanical engineering and his Master's degree engineering mechanics.  His first job, in 1935, was working as a student engineer for Allis-Chalmers.  He then went to work for the Fairfield Aircraft Engine Company researching aircraft engines and compressors.  His early work in axial-flow compressors led to their adoption into later jet engines.  He went on to become the Executive Engineer of the Stratos Division of Fairfield.  Other jobs in the private sector were for the Curtis-Wright Company and the Borg-Warner Corp. in Milwaukee.  However, his main contributions were in public sector employment.

His first job in the public sector was as an assistant engineer for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1937,  Ten years later, he returned to the NACA as project engineer where he designed the Propulsion Systems Laboratory, at that time, the largest facility in the world for testing turbojet and ramjet engines.  He also directed the development of supersonic wind tunnels.  In 1955, he was named as the Assistant Director of the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory (now known as the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field.)

He left that post in 1956, but in 1960 he returned to the public sector when he joined the Goddard Space Flight Center  (official website:  here) where he became the Associate Director.  He was the principal official for institutional management of the Center and for the operations of Goddard's world-wide tracking and data acquisition network.  He also was the primary Goddard liaison with industrial organizations.  Eugene remained at Goddard during the glory years of the American space flight during which they went from launching the first manned rockets, to putting men on the moon.

Eugene died of cancer in 1972 leaving his wife and five children surviving.

Relation to Nearest Featured Profile (Frank S. Wasielewski, Featured Profile #15):  son.

Path From Nearest Featured Profile:  Frank S. Wasielewski > son,  Eugene W. Wasielewski
(Eugene is also the brother of Thaddeus F. Wasielewski, Featured Profile #16)

Sources: 

"History of Goddard Space Flight Center," on Wikipedia

"Space Aide Dies in East of Cancer,"  Milwaukee Journal, July 14, 1972, p. 13 on Google News.

"Wasielewski Honored at Farewell Party," on the NASA website regarding the history of the Propulsion Systems Laboratory

"Wasielewski" on Encyclopedia Astronautica

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Status Update - August, 2012

Family Names Added Since Last Update:

 
Adamczak
Antczak
Basterski
Buretta
Cholody
Debna
Filipski
Gralinski
Grzegowski
Jasnoch
Kasprzyk
Kendziorski
Kienitz
Kleszczynski
Kmiec
Konicke
Koziatek
Lapczynski
Mendel
Misiak
Okoniewski
Olender
Orczykowski
Ponczek
Pregowski
Rembalski
Sedlak
Tanska
Tomkowiak
Turenske
Wysinski
Ziemnicki
Zodrozny
Zurawski

Number of Profiles Added Since Last Update:  362

New Intra-Connections (Lucht to Fons):

75)    .... Joseph Latus > son, Henry Latus > wife, Florence (Kopczynski) Latus > mother, Agnes (Brodowski) Kopczynski > brother, Joseph Louis Brodowski > daughter, Clara (Brodowski) Konicke > daughter, PRIVATE (Konicke) Dembinski > husband, Donald Dembinski > mother, Helen (Sikora) Dembinski > brother, Alois Sikora > wife, Agnes (Zabinski) Sikora > sister, Alice (Zabinski) Marciniak > husband, Fabian Marciniak > father, Frank Marciniak > sister, Elizabeth (Marciniak) Sromalla ....

76)    ....John Kobza > son, Andrew Kobza > daughter, Evelyn (Kobza) Cesarz > son, PRIVATE Cesarz > wife, PRIVATE (Czerwinski) Cesarz > sister, PRIVATE (Czerwinski) Kasprzyk > husband, Ervin Kasprzyk > father, Joseph Kasprzyk > sister, Mary (Kasprzyk) Sikora > son, Alois Sikora ....

77)     .... Emily (Lewandowski) Zuber > husband, Edwin Zuber > sister, Agnes (Zuber) Bessa > husband, Clemens Bessa > mother, Pearl (Kuligowski) Bessa > mother, Antionette (Andraszczyk) Kuligowski > brother, Andrew Andraszczyk > son, Joseph Andraszczyk ....

78)    .... Clemens Bessa > father, Henry Bessa > sister, Emily (Bessa) Perszewski > daughter PRIVATE (Perszewski) Eskowski > husband, Myron Eskowski > father, Walter Eskowski ....

79)     .... Norbert Grosz > wife, Jennie (Lewandowski) Grosz > step-mother, Frances (Mendel) [Pogorzelski] Lewandowski > sister, Helen (Mendel) Serocki > husband, John Serocki > brother, Frank Serocki > daughter, Eleanor (Serocki) Myszkowski > husband, Edwin Myszkowski > father, Leon Myszkowski > Robert Myszkowski ....

80)    .... Frances (Mendel) [Pogorzelski] Lewandowski > brother, Stanley Mendel > wife, Martha (Wachowiak) Mendel > sister, Mary (Wachowiak) Stasiewicz >PRIVATE Stasiewicz > wife, Patricia (Piszczek) Stasiewicz > brother, Robert Piszczek ....
81)    .... Frances (Mendel) [Pogorzelski] Lewandowski > first husband, Valentine Pogorzelski > brother, Felix Pogorzelski > son, Edward Pogorzelski > wife, Helen (Kafura) Pogorzelski > mother, Lucy (Erdman) Kafura > brother, Andrew Erdman > Veronica (Kitzke) Erdman > brother, Stanley Kitzki ....

82)   .... John Serocki > sister, Johanna (Jennie) (Serocki) Mogilka > husband, Roman Mogilka > brother, Stanley Mogilka > wife, Tillie (Galasinski) Molgilka > father, Stanislaus Galasinski > brother, John Joseph Galasinski > daughter, Rose (Galasinski) Zielinski > daughter, PRIVATE (Zielinski) Komassa > husband, Earl Julius Komassa > father, Julius Harry Komassa > father, Michal Komassa ....  

83)    ....Frank Serocki > wife, Salomea (Paczkowski) Serocki > sister, Pelagia (Paczkowski) Stasiewski > husband, Peter Stasiewski > sister, Anna (Stasiewski) Kulwicki > John Kulwicki ....

PCN: 3.89

Historicals:
August, 2012: 3.89
July, 2012:  4.57
June, 2012:  7.75
May, 2012:  9.33
April, 2012:  16.67
March, 2012:  16
February, 2012:  12.8
January, 2012:  19

Newly-Discovered Changed Names:

Brodowski to Brody
Brzycki to Bradley
Kasprzyk to Kasper
Lewandowski to Lewis
Skonieczny to Skoney

Newly-Discovered Alternate Spellings:

Adamczak Adamcsak
Bureta Burreta
Camp Kempf
Datka Statcha
Debna Debny Dembny
Grzegowski Grzekowski
Pasterski Garstecki Basterski
Stanny Stama
Starczyk Starsiak
Steinman Steinberg
Szlyzinski Slizewski
Zbink Sbornek
Zuraski Zurawski
Zwadziszek Zwadziszczanka