Janowski

Periodically over the past few years I've looked for evidence of the identity of My paternal Grandmothers parents.  Their names are unknown to our family or to the distant cousins I've contacted (such as a relative of great uncle Wesley's son).  I have several candidate names but none that are reliable enough to rise beyond speculation.  I have an old photo (shown above) that includes Jadviga Janowski (left), her brother Wesley (right), her friend (possibly a cousin) "Aunty Muskel" (center).  The couple sitting are presumably Mr and Mrs Janowski.  The photo was taken at 48 William street in New Britain, Ct. in, I estimate, about 1920.  The address is written on the back of the photo.  (Not sure who the child is).

Jadviga's nationality has been a source of mild curiosity.  She had always maintained she was Lithuanian.  Aunty Muskel stated (at Jadviga's funeral) that she was Polish.  The area that is now Lithuania has changed hands over the years and the extended family reports that they are Russian and Lithuanian at various times.  Almost universally the Janowskis in New Britain report their "Ethnicity" as Polish, and their nationality or allegiance as Russian or Lithuanian.

Below is the modern geography of the region.  Lithuania is bordered by Belarus, Poland, and Latvia.  Both Russia and Germany have controlled the region.  So the reality is: the Janowskis are from a region with shifting influences and it seemed to make more sense to people of the time to report both ethnicity and nationality.