I am working on my husbands family’s geneology. His family always said they were Polish or White Russian but records that various members of the family have put together simply say Russian. I have spend hours and hours searching for the family but am totally at a loss where to go next. Can someone help me? This is what I have of the family records. In Canada,my husbands grandfathers name was Joseph Antypowich.
Joseph (Josef, Yusif) Antypowich (Antipowich, Antipovich, Antipowicz, Antipovicz, Antipowitcz, Antepovitcz, Chwatt? Chavit??)
Born in 1852 in Russia
Married in 1879 in Russia to Julianna Kulchitsky (Kulchytsky,Kulezycki, Kulczycki) In Canada the family knew her as Helen and most of them didn’t realize that her name was Juianna until it showed up on the 1906 and 1911 Canadian Census, and later again on a baptisimal record for her son John.
Julianna was born in Russia in 1866-1868 ( Family stories say she was 15 when she got married)
Living children of this marriage born in Russia(Poland) before they immigrated to Canada in 1904 were:
Simeon Chwatt Antipowicz born Aug 12, 1881 in Kovov, Odessa, Russia.
Cornella (Kornella) born 1883 in Russia.
Victor born July 17, 1888 in Kovov, Torhaewacka (Torhaevaa??)) Russia . Victor married Lena Melashenko born March 22, 1892 in Petroka, Harkow, Russia. She was the daughter of John F. Melashenko and Ywdokia Hardenko.
John born July 1891 in Torhaevaa, Russia.
Michalena born in 1893 in Rusia
Johanna born May 27, 1902 in Crimea, Russia
Pertosi (Parask? Bertosi? – he was called Joe in Canada) born in1903, in Russia.
Note: They had several other children that died. One child, Olga, who was born in 1892 died in 1904 before the family left. Truthfully they had children almost regularly on a yearly basis. They lost at least 5 other children from what the family records show.
Family stories say that the family came to the port in Halifax in June of 1904. I searched every ship record for the port of Halifax in 1904alifax inin and found nothing. So then I checked passengers lists for Montreal, Quebec in 1904, I did not find a family of 9 with any of the variations of Antypowich on any of the ships. But I did find a family of 9 that arrived in Montreal on July 12, 1904 on board the SS Halifax., which had boarded passengers at Rotterdam and Havre. Normally I would not have even looked at the group because the name was in no way Antypowich, it was Chivat. However, they were listed as being “Poles” and there were 9 of them and I instantly saw that some of the names were the same as the Antypowich family: Simon, Victor, John, Michalena, Partose, and Johanna. Closer examination showed that the fathers name was Yusif ( which I later learned is apparently a Bulgarian form of Joseph); the mothers was hard to decipher but it ended with “anna” and the other child was recorded as Codela which I reasoned could be Cornella or possibly a form of it. The birth years of all the family with exception of the two youngest children were off by a variety of years. Remarkably though, all of the listed children were born in the same chronological order as the Antypowich family I was looking for. This family’s destination was Winnipeg and I knew that was where the Antypowich family went before they started out for Saskatchewan.
I searched the 1904 and 1911 Canadian Census records and I did not find this Chivat family again. I also looked at the records of people crossing from Canada into the USA. I didn’t find them.
The family stories say that Joseph said that the family name had got changed at immigration because of language differences. I always imagined that was in Canada. But maybe it was in Russia or Rotterdam or maybe from Havre if they boarded there??. Then just recently I got some copies of land application from the Saskatchewan government and found Simon was recorded as Simon Chwatt Antipowicz on his application for land.. None of the existing family can remember anything about that name nor can they explain it. From what I know about that generation of the family and from looking at their hand writing, I do not think the family had any education but Simon was the oldest child and I would think he might have known what his name was back in Russia. Is it possible that the familys name was actually CHWATT and it got changed at immigration to CHIVAT. But then where did the Antipowicz name came from? Was it a patronomic? At the time the family members were making application for land every one of them spelled their Antypowich surname a different way.
Another thing is that the last time I talked to one of John Antypowichs daughters she said her father said that they recorded some of the children as being younger than they were, because the tickets for passage were less expensive for younger children. This could account for the difference in birth years for the Civat family—if they happen to be the same family.
Thank you
Gloria Antypowich
glantypowich@telus.net