Pelak - Poland to Michigan
Seeking information on Stanislaw (Stanley) Pelak (b. 5-8-1892 Poland / d. 10-16-1976 MI, USA) and/or his brother Albach (Albert) Pelak. Stanley emigrated to Grand Rapids, MI, USA in 1908, a few years after Albert. They were both cabinet workers in the furniture trade. Catholic. Stanley married Katarzyna (Katherine, Katerina) Kukawski (1898-1936), also of Poland, in 1922ish in Grand Rapids. She emigrated to G.R. about the same time with her brothers, Valentine and Lawrence. I do not know where in Poland they are from, so even leads on where other Pelaks and information can be found would be helpful.
|
Re: Pelak - Poland to Michigan
I noticed that we both had Stanley Pelak's from Michigan in our family tree but wanted to let you know that the Stanley I was referring to was born in 1928 and not in 1982.
Thought I'd save you the trouble. :) I know we're not related on the American side but I'm sure SOMEWHERE down the line we're cousins. I"m not planning on tracing my family history outside of the US though.
Best of Luck on your search!!! Lauren
|
Re: Pelak - Poland to Michigan
albert pelak was my grampa, my mothers name was irene pelak hay. i know he had a brother named stanley. alberts wife was victoria. they had 4 chidren. one died as a baby then their was joseph pelak, irene pelak and donald pelak. i have pictures.
|
Re: Pelak - Poland to Michigan
Yes - you and my dad are cousins. Would love to exchange info/pictures! Please reach me at swimminginpaper(at)yahoo.com.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Jennifer
|
Re: Pelak - Poland to Michigan
This must be Maureen. Hi, this is your cousin Kathie(Pelak) Smith. How are you? Where are you living now? I was looking for information on grandpa Pelak for my brother Ron's grand daughter. I did get quite a bit of information from our cousing Dan Pelak years ago. I have Albert's parents name and his grand parents names. I would love to hear from you. Are you able to e mail me from this message? I think I last saw you at your fathers funeral, 5 or 6 years ago. I always thought Albert & Stanley came to America together, when they were like 17 and 18 years old. Hope to hear back from you. Your cousin, Kathie
|
Re: Pelak - Poland to Michigan
DO you have any male Pelak (cousins) from this line that you could get a DNA sample from? I did a lot of research on my Pelak side but was unable to find documents linking to other Pelak families that came to USA. My Pelak came from Kotow where at least half of the houses had someone named Pelak living in them at one time! I also have ancestors from Labowa and Kamianna, etc... If you could get a male with the name Pelak tested we might find a connection. My great uncle tested for me. See Family Tree DNA for more information. Thanks, Katherine
|
Re: Pelak - Poland to Michigan
My grandparents are Pelak (Bolislaw and Anne). Do you kn ow if they are any relation to you. I am looking for a Poland string to the Family tree. For some reason my grandparents avoided talking about Poland. I know my mom had an Uncle Stanley and a the entire family lived in Hamtramck and Detroit in the same general area.
|
Re: Pelak - Poland to Michigan
Perhaps, but if so, it'd be cousins (Bolislaw and Stanley) at best. To my knowledge (and verified by obits) there was only Stanley, Albert and a sister who remained in Poland. Both Stanley and Albert remained in Grand Rapids, as did most, if not all, their progeny. I haven't heard of any other family coming to the US.
It's frustrating because the area they came from changed hands so many times. And many times, the names - surnames and given - change with their immigration.
I'll keep your inquiry in mind as I continue banging my head against the brick wall and let you know if I find any connection or lead that might be beneficial for you. You never know!
|