Primary Documents. More Questions.

The thinking in genealogy research is that only the information on primary documents can be trusted. A birth certificate, a death certificate. A marriage license. The information contained in these documents should be reliable. Should be. As I learned with my father’s birth certificate, even the primary documents can contain errors. But at least the dates should be right.

After two hours in the LDS Family History Center, I have found the birth and baptism records for six of John and Julianna’s nine children. This is mostly good news. I have facts now that come from primary sources. Good news. The data contradicts every other “fact” I have uncovered so far.

For example, according to the census of 1900, John was born in January of 1867. The fact is, he was born on, January 27, 1868.

According to the ship records on castlegarden.org, Helena was 12 years old when she arrived in 1888. Her birth record shows that she was born on May 10, 1870. The ship record is a primary document as far as establishing when the Paszkiewicz family came to America.We know for a fact when the ship sailed. The ages of the passengers are not verified. Helena was not 12 when she arrived, She was 17.

It turns out that all five birth records I have found for the daughters are off by about five years, compared to the census and ship records I had previously.

Beyond that, the new information shows that I may have made some flawed assumptions. The 1900 census asks females how many children they have had, and how many are still living. Joseph arrived in the US in 1886 with his son, John. Julianna arrived in 1888 with eight Paszkiewicz females. All under the age of seventeen. It is not a stretch to assume that these were the eight daughters of Julianna. Yet, the birth records may prove otherwise.

The ship records indicate that Josepha was 16 when she arrived in the US. That would make her birth date approximately 1872. The official birth records show Ladislawa being born on June 4, 1872. I have yet to find a birth record of Josepha. It could be that Josepha is older than John. Or, it could be that she is related in some other way, and not a daughter at all.

The official church birth records show Ladislawa being born on June 4, 1872, as I mentioned above. According to the ship records, Wladislawa was a nine month old baby when she arrived in 1888. No mother could be off on the age of their daughter by 16 years. Especially when she is only 17 years old. This baby Wladislawa is either a relative or a second daughter of Julianna with the asme name.