14 March 2025
Dear Wujek (Uncle) Josef,
Where are you? What happened to you? How did you spend the rest of your life? Oh, if you could only whisper your secrets to me, Josef Slabik!
This is all I know about you…
* You were born in 1879 in Turaskowka, Poland, a small village in the Carpathian Mountains. You are my grandfather’s older brother.
* You came to Manchester, Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, to work in a mill.
* You married Karolina Makara on 21 October 1902 at Saint Hedwig’s Roman Catholic Church. Father T. B. Puchala officiated the ceremony while Antonio Rozmus and Veronica Makara (Karolina’s sister) were your witnesses.
* You and Karolina gave birth to your daughter Maryanna on 19 October 1905.
That is where your paper trail ends…nothing more about you. Nothing more about your sweet Karolina and your precious Maryanna. No census records, no mentions in city directories, not one note in any newspaper, no naturalization papers, an absolute nothing! These brick walls are so hard to scale.
Wujek Josef, please whisper a clue to me…please tell me in a dream…anything to break down this wall so I can find you.
With love and affection…your niece,
MaryAnne Slabik-Haffner
Once Upon A Lifetime: Tales And Vignettes Of My Ancestors 