Asking me to pick a favorite photo, brings out this question to me: in what category? For what topic? On my genealogical journey, this picture to me is one of the best. It is the results of patience, steadfastness, and perseverance.
It started in 2007 when I was searching for my paternal grandfather’s name in the Ellis Island Records. He was not there. I had been told by my aunt, his daughter, that he came in 1912. Searching through pages and pages of documents, I kept looking for the elusive Franciszek Slabik. After a three year search, one Sunday morning, I said, “Frank, I am going to find you today. This is your day.” He was from Poland, but it was a time that Poland was not recognized as a country. I looked with an open mind. Bingo…there he was.
In Polish, the letter L can has a slash through it. In transcribing the records, the transcriber had written STABIK. He listed his country as Austria with Polish as his language. The town I know that he was from was listed. Bingo…
In 2017, I chose to have his name along with my grandmother’s name (immigrated to America in 1906) inscribed on the Wall of Honor at Ellis Island. Their names appear on Panel 761. Along with my husband Dan, we made a pilgrimage there…to breathe the air they breathed, to see what they saw when they arrived.
Why it this a favorite? It is a tribute to my grandparents. It is in honor of the granddaughter who never gave up looking for them. It is a beginning of an American story.
Once Upon A Lifetime: Tales And Vignettes Of My Ancestors 