Kuchenbach
29 Mar 2007 / #1
Hello!
I am new to Polish research, however not an amateur to genealogy. I am wondering if anyone has ever heard of a Polish surname SPOKE. This gentleman has been very elusive for most of my research. He has been noted throughout my research in all documents as John Charles SPOKE, no variations, born 15 Sep 1886 (World War I documentation).
There are a few individuals I have found in the 1910 US Census which could be him, although questionable at this point.
I don’t believe he was in Canada prior to 1911 Canadian Census.
He had applied and received two homesteads in Alberta: the first, July 1913: states he was born in North Dakota, previous residing in Brisco, British Columbia, as a fireman (on a train); the second, Oct 1919, a Soldier’s Grant states he was born in Minnesota. I checked Minnesota and North Dakota naturalization records and birth records, nothing.
In Sep 1919, a Roman Catholic, he married in Edmonton at the First Presbyterian Church – his marriage was brief. Marriage document states he was born in Minnesota, MN parents being John SPOKE and Mary – naturally!?
He was naturalized in Canada, however before the 1917 period where only a nominal index card stating he was an American citizen, granted citizenship 23 Oct 1916 (when he was overseas). However, he states in his Canadian WWI Attestation papers (enlisted Feb 1916) that he was born in Russia-Poland, and previous occupation was a [train] ‘fireman’. In his divorce papers his wife testifies that ‘he was Polish, had no friends, and was mean’.
He lived most of his Canadian life in a hamlet called Perryvale, Alberta, Canada. Tax records, municipal and federal voter’s lists attest to this, plus clippings glean from the local newspaper. In this little ‘speck in the woods’ he was a sand merchant until his death in March 1936, prior to the 1940 National Registration in Canada.
Of all the variable documentation, I tend to believe the WWI Attestation Papers that he was born in Russia-Poland. If anyone can make any constructive suggests on a new line of tactics to find this individual, please advise.
I am new to Polish research, however not an amateur to genealogy. I am wondering if anyone has ever heard of a Polish surname SPOKE. This gentleman has been very elusive for most of my research. He has been noted throughout my research in all documents as John Charles SPOKE, no variations, born 15 Sep 1886 (World War I documentation).
There are a few individuals I have found in the 1910 US Census which could be him, although questionable at this point.
I don’t believe he was in Canada prior to 1911 Canadian Census.
He had applied and received two homesteads in Alberta: the first, July 1913: states he was born in North Dakota, previous residing in Brisco, British Columbia, as a fireman (on a train); the second, Oct 1919, a Soldier’s Grant states he was born in Minnesota. I checked Minnesota and North Dakota naturalization records and birth records, nothing.
In Sep 1919, a Roman Catholic, he married in Edmonton at the First Presbyterian Church – his marriage was brief. Marriage document states he was born in Minnesota, MN parents being John SPOKE and Mary – naturally!?
He was naturalized in Canada, however before the 1917 period where only a nominal index card stating he was an American citizen, granted citizenship 23 Oct 1916 (when he was overseas). However, he states in his Canadian WWI Attestation papers (enlisted Feb 1916) that he was born in Russia-Poland, and previous occupation was a [train] ‘fireman’. In his divorce papers his wife testifies that ‘he was Polish, had no friends, and was mean’.
He lived most of his Canadian life in a hamlet called Perryvale, Alberta, Canada. Tax records, municipal and federal voter’s lists attest to this, plus clippings glean from the local newspaper. In this little ‘speck in the woods’ he was a sand merchant until his death in March 1936, prior to the 1940 National Registration in Canada.
Of all the variable documentation, I tend to believe the WWI Attestation Papers that he was born in Russia-Poland. If anyone can make any constructive suggests on a new line of tactics to find this individual, please advise.