Mary, Mary, Which Tracz Was It You Married?, Research As It Is Series

Copyright 2025, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

This continues a series of posts, done in an efficient (make that as fast as possible) manner to share some research on the ancestors.  This is NOT intended to be the end all to end all report.  It's a work in progress, to show you what I have found, right or wrong. Kind feedback is welcomed via comments.

Let’s begin - - 

Meet - -  Mary Maryanna Waselewska Waszelenska.  

BE AWARE - - This search, these names, this heritage, all demand that one be forgiving about spellings.  My general operating rule of "Spelling Don't Count" is in full affect herein.  And, sorry, this is not going to be short and sweet.  SIGH.

First Mary, with her first husband, Joseph.

Mary, with her second husband, Thomas.  

Some basic facts about Joseph, husband # 1, to date, this is all I have recorded. I have not discovered a marriage date for the couple.

Joseph Kowalski

in the 1920 United States Federal Census

Name:Joseph Kowalski

Age:34

Birth Year:abt 1886

Birthplace:Poland Russia

Home in 1920:Detroit Ward 7, Wayne, Michigan

Street:Alexandrine Ave E

House Number:518

Residence Date:1920

Race:White

Gender:Male

Immigration Year:1912

Relation to Head of House:Head

Marital Status:Married

Spouse's Name:Mary Kowalski

Father's Birthplace:Russia;Poland

Mother's Birthplace:Russia;Poland

Native Tongue:Polish

Able to Speak English:no

Occupation:Cupola Tender

Industry:Foundry

Employment Field:Wage or Salary

Home Owned or Rented:Rented

Naturalization Status:Alien

Able to Write:No

Household Members Age Relationship

Joseph Kowalski 34 Head

Mary Kowalski   24 Wife

Theodore Kowalski   5 Son

Roman Kowalski   3 Son

Wadeslawa Kowalski   1 Daughter  ** Actually a SON

Joseph Kowalski

in the Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952

Name:Joseph Kowalski

Gender:Male

Race:White

Marital status:Married

Death Age:36

Birth Date:19 Jan 1886

Birth Place:Russia Poland

Death Date:27 Nov 1922

Death Place:Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Father:John Kowalski

Mother:Katherine Paluzanski

File Number:020382

We note his bride's name is recorded, with maiden name, spelling a bit different, of course.

No Find A Grave memorial for Joseph has been located as of January 2025.

This is where Mary's story starts getting muddy.  She then marries a Tracz, given name Thomas.

Mary Kowalska

in the Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952

Name:Mary Kowalska

[Mary Waszelenska]

Gender:Female

Race:White

Age:28

Birth Date:abt 1895

Birth Place:Poland

Marriage Date:Apr 1923

Marriage Place:Michigan, USA

Residence Place:Detroit, Michigan

Father:Joseph Waszelenska

Mother:Margaret Larhowska

Spouse:Tom Trach

Record Number:245801

Mary Tracy

in the 1930 United States Federal Census

Name Mary Tracy

[Mary Tracz]

Birth Year abt 1898

Gender Female

Race White

Age in 1930 32

Birthplace Poland

Marital Status Married

Relation to Head of House Wife

Homemaker? Yes

Home in 1930 Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Map of Home Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

Street Address Forest Ave E.

Ward of City 9th

Block 504

House Number 2267

Dwelling Number 74

Family Number 62

Age at First Marriage 25

Attended School No

Able to Read and Write Yes

Father's Birthplace Poland

Mother's Birthplace Poland

Language Spoken Polish

Naturalization Alien

Able to Speak English Yes

Household Members (Name) Age Relationship

Thomas Tracy 42 Head

Mary Tracy 32 Wife

Anna Tracy 3 Daughter

Helen Tracy 1 Daughter

Theodore Kowalsky 14 Stepson (Step Son)

Roman Kowalsky 13 Stepson (Step Son)

Wladytav Kowalsky 11 Stepson (Step Son)

Wanda Kowalsky 8 Stepdaughter (Step Daughter)

Mary Tracy

in the 1940 United States Federal Census

Name:Mary Tracy

Respondent:Yes

Age:45

Estimated Birth Year:abt 1895

Gender:Female

Race:White

Birthplace:Poland

Marital Status:Married

Relation to Head of House:Wife

Home in 1940:Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

Map of Home in 1940:Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

Street:Alexanderine Avenue E

House Number:1815

Inferred Residence in 1935:Detroit, Wayne, Michigan

Residence in 1935:Detroit

Citizenship:Alien

Sheet Number:7A

Attended School or College:No

Highest Grade Completed:Elementary school, 8th grade

Weeks Worked in 1939:0

Income:0

Income Other Sources:No

Household Members Age Relationship

Thomas Tracy   47 Head

Mary Tracy 45 Wife

Wander Tracy   19 Daughter ** Wanda

Raymond Tracy   18 Son

Anna Tracy   13 Daughter

Helen Tracy   11 Daughter

Thomas Tracy   9 Son

Mary Tracy   5 Daughter

Thomas dies in 1944, we know that he registered for the World War II Draft before his death.

Thomas Trach

in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

Name:Thomas Trach

Gender:Male

Birth Date:7 Mar 1883

Residence Place:Michigan, USA

Military Draft Date:1942

Next of Kin:Mrs Mary Trach

Thomas Tracz

in the Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952

Name:Thomas Tracz

[Tom Trotz]

Gender:Male

Race:White

Marital status:Married

Death Age:55

Birth Date:27 Mar 1889 ** Year differs from WWII Draft Registration

Birth Place:Poland

Death Date:4 Jun 1944

Death Place:Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

File Number:323529

**We note his parents names are not recorded, and we have not discovered them in research up to now.

Thomas is now present on Find A Grave, with a photo of his stone.  The memorial was posted in March of 2023.  The memorial # is 251412613.  His memorial is not linked to Mary's.  

Following up on Mary, after Thomas' death we find:

Mary Tracz

in the 1950 United States Federal Census

Name Mary Tracz

Age 52

Birth Date abt 1898

Race White

Birth Place Poland

Marital Status 2

Relation to Head of House Head

Residence Date 1950

Home in 1950 Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Street Name Flower Ck

Apartment Number 4735

Dwelling Number 137

Farm No

Acres No

Citizenship No

Occupation Category H

Worked Last Week No

Seeking Work No

Employment Status No

Household Members (Name) Age Relationship

Mary Tracz 52 Head

Also:  Mary Tracz, age 15, daughter, born Michigan

Mary Tracz

in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014

Name:Mary Tracz

Social Security Number:380-18-7961

Birth Date:16 Oct 1895

Issue Year:Before 1951

Issue State:Michigan

Last Residence:48207, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Death Date:Nov 1969

Tracz Mary Kowalski

in the U.S., Newspapers.com Obituary Index, 1800s-current

Name:Tracz Mary Kowalski

Gender:Female

Death Date:3 Nov 1969

Obituary Date:5 Nov 1969

Obituary Place:Detroit, Michigan, USA

Newspaper Title:Detroit Free Press

Spouse:Thomas

From the Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, published on November 5, 1969:

     "TRACZ-KOWALSKI

     MARY, Nov. 3. Beloved wife of the late Thomas. Funeral Friday 9:15 a.m. from the Wujek Funeral Home, 19301 Van Dyke near 7 Mile, to St. Albertus Church at 10 A.m..  Interment Mt. Olivet."

Here is where I discovered an issue, and the probability that there is another Mary, married to another Tracz (again, all spellings accepted.). See Find A Grave memorial, #213213251, with the dates as follows:

Birth: 16 Oct 1895 Poland

Death: 3 Nov 1969 (aged 74) Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA

**Those dates are of the Mary that married Thomas, and had been previously married to Joseph. 

However, her maiden name is recorded as:  Lukasziewicz.

Linked to the memorial we find images of a marriage register and a divorce decree, with this note in the bio:

"In February 1921 she married Casimir Tracz in Detroit.  She divorced him in 1942."

Research note:  Casimir is also found recorded as: Kazmisz, remember, spellings.

We also note that there is a photo of a headstone on which both of her married names are inscribed.

By either spelling, these documents are NOT Thomas, and remember, we do have this marriage:

Mary Kowalska

in the Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952

Name:Mary Kowalska

[Mary Waszelenska]

Gender:Female

Race:White

Age:28

Birth Date:abt 1895

Birth Place:Poland

Marriage Date:Apr 1923

Marriage Place:Michigan, USA

Residence Place:Detroit, Michigan

Father:Joseph Waszelenska

Mother:Margaret Larhowska

Spouse:Tom Trach

Record Number:245801

So, off I was to attempt to discover who this other Tracz was, and who was his "Mary".  It took hours, this is my current take:

Kazmierz Tracz

in the Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952

Name Kazmierz Tracz

Gender Male

Race White

Age 25

Birth Date abt 1896

Birth Place Poland

Marriage Date 5 Feb 1921

Marriage Place Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Residence Place Detroit, Michigan

Father Michael Tracz

Mother Carolina Adock

Spouse Mary Micztal

Record Number 208666

We note from the extraction when she is the focus of the search that her father's name is noted.

Mary Micztal

in the Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952

Name Mary Micztal

[Mary Lukasiewicz]

Gender Female

Race White

Age 23

Birth Date abt 1898

Birth Place Poland

Marriage Date 5 Feb 1921

Marriage Place Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Residence Place Detroit, Michigan

Father Jos Lukasiewicz *********

Spouse Kazmierz Tracz

Record Number 208666

Cassimir Tracz

in the U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942

Name Cassimir Tracz

Gender Male

Birth Date 26 Oct 1894

Residence Place Detroit, Michigan, USA

Military Draft Date 1942

Next of Kin Stanley Klimek **

**We believe that this reflects the fact that Mary had divorced him as in next record.

Mary Tracz

in the Michigan, U.S., Divorce Records, 1897-1952

Name Mary Tracz

Marriage Date 9 Feb 1921

Marriage Place Wayne

Decree Date 25 Jun 1942

Decree Place Wayne, Michigan, USA

Spouse Kazimierz Tracz

State File Number 82 97896

Docket Number 325868

Divorce Status Granted

Kazmisz Tracz

in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Name Kazmisz Tracz

Birth Date 26 Oct 1896

Birth Place Poland

Death Date 14 Sep 1945

Claim Date 29 Oct 1945

SSN 367090857

Notes 02 Sep 1977: Name listed as KAZMISZ TRACZ

Kazmisz Tracz

in the Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952

Name Kazmisz Tracz

[Kazmirz Tracz]

Gender Male

Race White

Marital Status Divorced

Death Age 48

Birth Date 26 Oct 1896

Birth Place Poland

Death Date 14 Sep 1945

Death Place Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Father Tracz

File Number 340989

**Neither parents names recorded on document, wife of Mary Lukasiewicz is shown, divorced.  He died in County Jail Hospital.  (Image was viewed.)

Buried, per death certificate, Woodmere Cemetery, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.

No Find A Grave memorial, has been located.

For a while, I had no idea what happened to Mary, widow/divorcee of Kazmisz. Did locate her, remarried:

Mary Tracz

in the Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952

Name Mary Tracz

[Mary Lukasiewicz]

Gender Female

Race White

Age 47

Birth Date abt 1899

Birth Place Poland

Marriage License Place Wayne

Marriage Date 8 Jun 1946

Marriage Place Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Residence Place Detroit, Michigan

Father Joseph Lukasiewicz

Mother Caroline Adach

Spouse Frank Kostrzewa

County File Number 675893

State File Number 355707

Mary Kostrzewa

in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014

Name Mary Kostrzewa

Social Security Number 368-20-7281

Birth Date 22 Aug 1897

Issue year Before 1951

Issue State Michigan

Last Residence 48210, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA

Death Date Apr 1970

She does have a Find A Grave memorial, # 142545461, which includes a photo of her stone, with hubby Frank, her given name on the memorial is Maria.

Mary of Kazmisz, is NOT Mary of Thomas.  The Find A Grave memorial for Mary, widow of Thomas, #213213251 has the correct dates, photo of her headstone, maiden name is wrong and the documents attached to her memorial at this time (January 2025) are from the other Mary, wife of Kazmisz, no linking to the memorial for Thomas is in place (January 2025).

Reminder, the Mary we are interested in has a short death notice with both of her married names noted in the paper:

From the Detroit Free Press, Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, published on November 5, 1969:

     "TRACZ-KOWALSKI

     MARY, Nov. 3. Beloved wife of the late Thomas. Funeral Friday 9:15 a.m. from the Wujek Funeral Home, 19301 Van Dyke near 7 Mile, to St. Albertus Church at 10 A.m..  Interment Mt. Olivet."

No attempt to research any family connections between the men has been made as of now.  I am not convinced by what I have found so far, that I will be able to find such proofs.  I was not interested in the Tracz lineages, I was interested in the Kowalski lines as it connects via marriage to Man's heritage. I have no current plans to continue this search.

* Disclaimers, I use Find A Grave, Ancestry dot com, FamilySearch, several newspaper subscriptions, free sites, such as Virginia Chronicles, Virginia Chancery Cases online at the Library of Virginia and more to research my ancestors.  I pay for subscriptions, full price.

** My judgements may or may not be correct.  Transcriptions may or may not have errors.

*** Links, URL's, for the most part will not be included henceforth on my posts, as so many of them change and then I have to come back and try to re-discover and relink.  Frankly folks, I have no desire to spend my limited time here on this side of the sod with those kinds of do overs.  As researchers, or just members of the internet community, sites such as Find A Grave are easy to find, some are free to use and with the information I am sharing with you, hopefully, you can duplicate the research/findings. That said, I have seen memorials at Find A Grave be removed.  If you have questions, I suggest you leave a nice comment for me. OR find the method I have outlined on my blog for contacting me.

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Nick Names, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks

Copyright 2025, CABS for Reflections From the Fence

It's been a while folks.  For the past 2 years, and specifically for the past 3/4 year, I have been cleaning up data base GEDCOM failures, self inflicted, of course.  I have been pushing the project, as Moriah and her laptop companion are both getting a bit long in the tooth (old) and that age has started presenting in unexplained crashes and other weirdness all computer users are all too familiar with; there was the issue of Parallels and Windows 10 vs Mac.  As of this month I finally finished the reviews necessary (to me, they were necessary).  I finally feel and hope that I have found all missing files and can move on with my genie life.  I hope it means I may do a bit more writing.

SOOOOOOO - - - 

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow, who year after year posts "challenges" her followers to share thoughts and/or photos in whatever manner suits each individual. Blogs, social media, or just in your personal memories.  Here are the prompts for 2025 (yes, I am using a link, her links I hope/feel are gonna be around for a bit).  52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks 2025.

Her challenges are always good.  Since I have participated before, several times, I find it a bit difficult to write to familiar challenges.  Nicknames.  This immediately brought to mind one particular family, they LOVED nick names.

These nicknames are the children of Charles Stuart (Stewart) and his two wives.  Charles was born around 1814, reportedly in Maine.  He died in 1881. 

His first wife was Jane Perry, who reportedly died about 1846.  

Charles and Jane, according to my research as it stands today, had three children:

Bread Printer, male, per family history stories acquired this moniker "when he was a small boy he sat in a pan of bread."  His real name, Joel Albert.

Lamb, female, again, according to family history stories, acquired her nickname was "Lamb" because she was gentle and innocent.  Her real name, Mary Ann.

Toad, male, was so named, yes, according to family history stories, he was so fat when a baby, that if he got on his back he could not turn over....  His real name James.

After Jane died, Charles married secondly Margaret Ann Sharp.  I have nicknames for 6 of their 11 children.  Margaret was born about 1827, in New Brunswick, Canada and died in 1901.

“Nug”, that same set of family history stories tells us - - 

Nug, Hug, has got a mug

And can't get a drink of water."  

Nug, for the record was male.  I have never researched the "poem", so, no clue as to where it came from, made up by the family or a reference to some phrase, story, song, rumor? of the time.  His real name, Charles.

Next child, also male had a nickname was "Soup", because he liked soup so well.  Real name, William H.

Next child, also male, when a baby and was learning to talk he said "Nick, Nick" so much that he was always called Nick by the family.  The name fit him for he was always full of the old  nick.  He told funny stories in a funny way and could do many tricks. Real name George Edward.

Next child, a male, died young, I have no record of a nickname for this child.

 John was his given name.

The following child was a female, who also died young, and again, I have no record of a nickname. Elizabeth Jane was her given name.

Next up, another female, whose nickname I have found as “Maggie”, yes, for Margaret.  Also reported to have the nickname of “Keaty” by the family history stories.  She was Margaret Althea.

Next child reported in the family histories is a male who died at less than one year of age.  I have no more information on him.  Given name, Frank.

Next child, female, I have no nickname recorded, she lived to a ripe old age of 87.  Name, Sarah Ann.

Next child, male, no information on death, burial or possible nickname.  Given name, Eugene.

Next child, a male, lived a good long life, dying at age 82, his family history stories tell us he went by the name of "Big" because he was such a large boy.  We do find in his adult years a nickname of “Link”.  Given name, Lincoln Ellsworth.

The last of the 11 siblings was known as “Angel”.  No explanation of the name was recorded in my database. Given name, Alice Matilda.

I have many nicknames in my data base, however, these are special, basically, because I have some family history stories as to why.  

* Many MANY thanks to the researchers of this family that preceded me.  Some as long ago as 100 years ago.  Special thanks go to their descendants that continue the research and were very kind to share written works with me.  Much of this information is based upon that research and that sharing.

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