Yesterday’s Fearless Female post focused on my great grandmother’s immigration record. That record, which I have had for quite some time, led to a hint that I never picked up on before. That hint led to another and … I found her sister Maria! I knew, from a family letter, that my great grandmother (Bessie Matys Hruszczak) had one brother (Frank) and three sisters. It was Frank’s daughter who wrote me. She (Catherine Matys Rothermal) had also said that Bessie was the youngest of the five and that she never met the other three girls. So, I did the worst thing one could do; I assumed those three never came over and simply did not focus on them. Shame on me! Yesterday when I reviewed Bessie’s passenger list, I noticed the person listed above her (Antoni Storosz) was a 38 year old married man who was also from Fraga in Austria and was coming to Coatesville ( Chester County , PA ) as well. He was coming to see his brother in law – who happened to be Bessie’s broth...
by Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman