Does anyone know how I would go about obtaining church records (baptismal, marriage, death, burial, etc.) in the U.S.? I tried contacting certain churches via email but had no luck. Is there a certain time frame before records can be shown to the public? Would I have more luck if I wrote to the churches? Also, are records limited to ancestors, or can I get info on collateral relatives (aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, siblings, etc.)? What is the normal fee for an individual records? Ty for your time.
Would I have more luck if I wrote to the churches?
yes, in every church /parish, someone is designated for the records dept. so I would write, it might take them a week or two depending on whats going on and what you want, but yes, writing is much better.
I would like to start with the Catholic and Orthodox churches in Joliet, IL. The problem is, I don't know which they attended. My great-grandfather Wasyl Kocielko attended the Orthodox church, while his wife Helen Pilip went to the Catholic church. Wasyl is buried at Mt. Calvary Cemetery (Orthodox) in Joliet, and Helen is buried at Elmhurst. My grandfather Dominic is buried next to his mother, and, I believe, his brothers are in the cemetery, too. I have no burial information for his sister Anna Lewicki, who lived in Hamtramck, MI. Wasyl and Helen's children were brought up as Catholics, but they could have been baptized and had other doings in the Orthodox church. The only Orthodox church I found in Joliet was St. Nicholas. Helen's sister was married at Holy Cross Church in Joliet, so my great-grandparents may have been married there as well. If I wrote to the churches and asked for all records for the Kocielko and Pilip families, would they send them? Do I need to specify a person/people? Wasyl's sister Tekla attended the Orthodox on Rice St. in Chicago. The only related church I found was St. Nicholas Ukrainian Church. The problem is, I don't know the first and last name of her husband. I only know the first name of their son Nestor/Nester. Could I ask simply for Kocielko records? Sorry for all these questions, and thanks for your help.
I would like to start with the Catholic and Orthodox churches in Joliet, IL. The problem is, I don't know which they attended. My great-grandfather Wasyl Kocielko attended the Orthodox church, while his wife Helen Pilip went to the Catholic church.
Well usually the groom Marries in the brides church. least in some cases. in poland. you might have to write to both. let me see what I can come up with on the ancestry tomorrow, I will see how close they are to either church and maybe I can find some type of record online. if not its going to be all mail but maybe we can narrow some research down a little :)
One thing I can tell you, I have called the cemetary, not always do you get a good response, but I have called and told my purposes and they gave me the info or called me back with the funeral home, the church (if they had a obit) and family members involved. so that is another option.
I have no burial information for his sister Anna Lewicki, who lived in Hamtramck, MI.
I will look her up too :) and what I find I will email to ya :)
oops, lol forgot to say, no problem :) I am going to look :)
:)
Koach, ok heres what I found and found right away :)
1930 cencus says Basil kocielko - Wife helen children joseph, dominic, paul, anna, chester, john all in that order.
Wasyl was spelled wrong on cencus, of course. in 1930 he worked for the railroad and was a car repair man.
both him and helen are aliens (not naturalized) so you can obtain records from the immigration offices with freedom of information act form.
Wasyl and Helen married when he was 32 and she was 17 <~young chickadee :) and he immigrated 1906 and she immigrated in 1909 so as soon as she came off the boat, he must have asked her to marry, because the marriage date I come up with is 1909 :)
the street they live on is Luther avenue in Joliet illinoise. and the house number is 124, which there are others living there, so that leads me to believe they live in apt building of some type in their own unit.
I am going to check out the drafts now, see if he signed up, he more then likely did, so I am saving these for you.
Luther ave - now just have to do a map quest, see how far that is from the cemetarys and churches. they didnt have cars right away so , more then likely they would have lived close to church. so do a map quest, and you now have a estimated date of marriage, it shouldnt be to hard to find their marriage and baptismals now since you can have them look for the marriage, and if they find it out of the two parishes then you can the rest of the birth dates etc :)
:) :)
Koach, email me via here, and then I will email you the cencus and drafts etc because you are blocked, so I can send you the records :)
I didn't realize I blocked emails from here. I fixed it. The story I heard about Wasyl and Helen was that they met in Chicago. Both of them were born in Lubno, Dynow, Poland, so it's possible they knew each other in Europe. Their residence at 1316 Luther Ave was a house, not an apartment. Maybe they lived in an apartment prior to the house. My father said it was like a haunted house. It was torn down and made into a park. Thanks once again. :)
St. Cyril and Methodius church is the closest to Luther Ave. Holy Cross church, where Helen's sister married, is pretty close, too. I didn't realize that so many Catholic churches exist in Joliet. It's going to be harder than I thought, lol.
Koach, The Archdiocese of Joliet has many Catholic Parishes.
Holy Cross Catholic Church address is: Rev. Christopher Groh, Pastor Holy Cross Church 901 Elizabeth Street Joliet, IL 60435-4684 USA
Sts.Cyril and Methodius Church address is: Rev. James Pajkos, OFM, Pastor Saints Cyril and Methodius Church 704 Landau Avenue Joliet, IL 60432-1938 USA
St. Nicholas Church was a Russian Orthodox church but is now: Annunciation of Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Parish 14610 Will Cook Road Homer Glen, IL 60491 USA
They are also connected to the original Mt. Calvary Cemetary, so you might ask them if they could advise you on how to obtain burial records.
Most churches and cemetaries in the US are very busy and are understaffed, especially when it comes to searching for records. Genealogy is very popular in the US now and everyone is searching for records.
You might want to send a letter of inquiry as to how to obtain their records, if they still have them and if there is a service charge. I would include your E-mail address so that they might want to answer you this way.
I wish you success! GrandeSande PS. Do you have a FHC in Poland ?
I was looking at some of the records. found them in 1920 and there is decrepancies of dates. do you have a actual date of marriage? besides what I had come up with?
ok, going to try to send the cencus. still looking up the draft. for some reason the name must be way off on spelling because it isnt coming up .
No, I don't have an actual date of marriage. That's why I wanted to obtain a record from one of the churches. Their oldest son Joseph was born on Feb 7, 1914, so it could've been later than 1909.
Get in touch with Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church,(the old St Marys Assumption). It is located in Homer Glen Illinois. They have all the old records there. They also have a web-site,(as does St Nicholas). I am an old member of St Marys Assumption. Ken Dutka
Thanks for your tip. I'll give them a try. I got the marriage certificate of Wasyl and Helen from the County Clerk, but I'm still looking for my grandfather's baptismal certificate.
Are they limited to baptismal certificates from NY, or do they have some for the rest of the country?
Basicly I knew the church where things took place or i found out where they were living at the time and called the churches near by.. Also called the Polish american hall to find out Polish churches in the area and I was told about St. Hedwigs church in floral park so I gave them a call and gave them the dates I had and withen 2 weeks I got the certificate in the mail.
