UPDATE: Jan and Regina (nee Bochnia) Krupa Family Group (1840s - 1910s)

This is an update to the original family group posting on December 27, 2015. See the revision history at the bottom of the post for what changed.

Overview

Regina and Jan Krupa

Jan and Regina Krupa are my Great-Great Grandparents. Specifically, they are my maternal Grandmother’s maternal Grandparents. Their daughter, Anna Krupa married Joseph Kazmierski. Anna and Joseph’s daughter, Irene (Kazmierski) Sejda is my Grandmother.

Jan and Regina were born in what was then Austria, but what is now Poland, in the 1840s, immigrated to the United States in the 1870s arriving in New Orleans from Hamburg. They appear to have lived in Texas for a few years before settling in Chicago before 1880. They had nine known children, one of whom appears to have died on the boat on the way to the U.S. and another who died in childhood. Jan died in 1905 and Regina passed away in 1916.

Family Group

Jan (also known as Johann or John) Krupa
b: 1842, Austria Or Poland
d: 18 Jan 1905, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
Married Regina Bochnia in about 1865
b: 1848, Poland (Austria)
d: 22 Dec 1916, 8323 Burley Ave, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States

1. Bronislawa “Bertha” Krupa
   b: 1870 or 1871, Poland
   m: 5 Oct 1885 to Joseph Wysocki
   d: Nov 1951
2. Stanislaus Krupa (never married)
   b: abt Apr 1872
   d: bet 29 Mar 1873 and 19 May 1873
3. Josephine Krupa
   b: 19 Feb 1875 (?), Galveston, Galveston, Texas, United States
   m: 12 Nov 1890 to Ignatius Stupikowski
   m: 17 May 1892 to John Gulgowski
   d: 18 Jul 1934, 3003 E. 80th Street, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
4. Frances Krupa
   b: 29 Jul 1878 (?), Texas
   m: 22 Oct 1895 to Konstanty Swiontek
   d: 25 Jun 1964, Lutheran Deaconess Hospital, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
5. Mary Krupa
   b: 16 Sep 1878, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
   m: 23 Oct 1900 to Alexander Swiontek
   d: 18 Jun 1966
6. Antoinette Krupa
   b: 3 Jun 1880, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
   m: 1 Oct 1897 to Ignatius Granacki
   d: 7 Jul 1947
7. Andrew Krupa (never married)
   b: 25 May 1882, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
   d: 4 Oct 1890 from diphtheria
8. Kathryn Krupa
   b: 16 Jun 1886, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
   m: 17 May 1911 to Frank Sliwinski
   d: 13 Oct 1923, South Shore Hospital, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
9. Anna Krupa
   b: 10 Dec 1888, Chicago, Cook, Illinois, United States
   m: 11 Nov 1908 to Joseph Kazmierski
   d: 6 Mar 1962, 8324 Kooy Drive, Munster, Lake, Indiana, United States

Additional details on the Jan and Regina Krupa family can be found in our research files.

Bertha Wysocki, Josie Gulgowski, Frances Swiontek, Tennie Granacki, Mary Swiontek, and Anna Kazmierski. (Source: Terry Mascenic via Tennie Granacki's Find-A-Grave memorial)

History

Jan Krupa was born in the early 1840s, probably in January 1842, in what was then Austria but is today Poland. Interestingly, his gravestone lists his birth as 1831, but I am fairly sure this is an error from other sources that list his age, such as the ship’s manifests and his death certificate. The 1900 U.S. Census indicates he married Regina Bochnia in about 1865. Regina appears to have been born in 1848, probaby on November 9th, although, like Jan, there is some discrepency in her birth date. Her gravestone indicates an 1842 birth. However, the ship’s manifests and her death certificate indicate the 1848 birth date is more likely.

Regina and Jan, with children Stanislaus and Bertha, departed Hamburg, Germany on 29 March 1873 aboard the S.S. Germania. They arrived in New Orleans on 19 May 1873, but only Bertha is listed with them. According to some stories from family members, one or two of their children died on the ship over. It appears that Stanislaus may have died since he was listed as an infant on the departure manifest but is not listed on the arrival manifest.

After arriving in the United States, it appears that Jan and Regina initially settled in Texas because two children, Josephine and Francis, were born there. I am not sure where they lived or what their occupation was in Texas. Sometime before 1880 they moved to Chicago, Illinois. Mary, Antoinette, Kathryn, and Anna were all born in Chicago. In addition, it appears they also had another son, Andrew, in 1882. Andrew appears to have died of diphtheria in 1890.

In 1884, Jan became a naturalized U.S. citizen. Under the rules in place at the time, Regina became a citizen when Jan was naturalized. By 1888, Jan appeared in the voting records, indicting that he registered and voted. It appears that Jan was a laborer but there are no specific records of what he did or who he worked for. According to census records, neither Jan or Regina could read or write and neither spoke English.

Also by 1888, Jan and Regina settled at 8323 Superior Avenue later 8323 Burley Avenue in Chicago (Superior Avenue became Burley Avenue on 30 July 1916). According to the 1900 U.S. Census, Jan and Regina owned this home.

Jan Krupa died in January 1905 in Chicago and is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Calumet City, Illinois. Regina died in December 1916 and is buried with her husband.

Jan and Regina Krupa's Gravestone at Holy Cross Cemetery, Calumet City, Illinois (Source: Lori Kotlowski via Jan Krupa's Find-a-Grave memorial)

Jan and Regina’s children had long lives except Stanislaus, who appears to have died as an infant during the voyage to America, Andrew, who died at age 8 from diphtheria, and Kathryn, who died of Hodgkins Disease when she was 34 years old.

Interesting Finds

• My Aunt gave me a box of artifacts and memorabilia, much of which contains information from this family. This includes some interesting artifacts, which I intend to add to this blog. It also contains some pictures which I will try to digitize and share in the hopes that the people in the pictures can be identified.
• Jan appears in the Voter Registration index in 1888 – and it says he cast his vote.
• I have the deed for his cemetery plot and the receipt for the gravestone, which are very unusual artifacts. I will attempt to post them sometime in the future.
• In December 2015, I found two things that I had not heard before. First, while I knew Josephine Krupa was married to John Gulgowski, I found out, conclusively, that she was married to Ignatius Stupikowski before she married John Gulgowski. Unfortunately, I don't know what happened to Ignatius. Second, it appears that Jan and Regina had a second son, Andrew, who died at age 9.

Things left to do

• Get Jan’s Naturalization paperwork. This should be easy to find.
• See if I can find where they lived in Texas between arriving in New Orleans in 1873 and arriving in Chicago before 1880. 
• Determine where in Poland they were born and identify their parents.

Revision History

27 Dec 2015 – Original post

3 Jan 2016 - Multiple changes based on research over Christmas break

1. Updated the number of known children to reflect the son who was born in 1882 and died in 1890.
2. Updated Jan's death date to 18 Jan 2015 which is confirmed by church records.
3. Added marriage dates to children from church records
4. Added second husband to Josephine Krupa based on church records
5. Updated Mary's, Antoinette's, Kathryn's, and Anna's birth dates based on church records
6. Added question marks to Josephine's and Frances' birth dates because they appear to be too late. For example, there is no way Frances could be born in July 1878 when we know, conclusively from church records, that the next daughter, Mary, was born in Sep 1878
7. Added details for Andrew Krupa, another son who died in childhood