Parents, Brothers and Sisters
of
Stephen (Szczepan) Prusik

Julian Prusik

Julian appears to be the first of his immediate family to emigrate from Parciaki, Poland in 1904. He was 16 when he arrived in New York. His Ellis Island record block 16 "Whether going to join a relative..." states yes to join "half brother Jan Kardasz, 5 Stillmann Str. Boston, Mass. Both the 23 year old Szcepan Prusik arriving 1906 and 17 year Szczepan Prusik arriving in 1907 state in block 16 that they are joining Brother Julian Prusik in Mass (1906-E. Dedham, 1907-Boston).

Szczepan (Stephen) Prusik

A recent letter (March 15, 2010) from Aunt Stella describes Grandfather beautifully. "...Last night I was thinking how I loved Easter. I remember running to church at 5:00 A.M. I just loved it. I was in a prosession. I had to wear a white dress and had a basket of flowers to throw on the floor. I was about 7 years old (~1919) I ran and skipped all the way and was so happy to do that. My father was also very proud of me. He always made sure I had a very nice dress and white shoes. I always had scabs on my knees because I fell many times running. I also ran to the store and it was about one mile. I don't remember being unhappy. We didn't have much but never went hungry. I loved my father very much. Jean and Walter were too young to remember him. My neighbors got me a doll (the only one I had) and Chester broke it. It was like those dolls that Bonnie has..."

Mom and Aunt Stella with Grandfather Prusik.

Grandfather became very ill sometime between 1925 and 1929. He spent the rest of his life being cared for. I can only speculate from the stories I heard. It is my understanding that he worked in the shoe factory's leather tanning process. Could the strong chemicals here have caused his illness? No one will know. Even today they are still cleaning up (EPA Superfund site) the tanning chemicals from the old EJ Factories.

Walenty (Valentine) Prusik

I could not find great Uncle Valentine's Ellis Island record. Here is a 1964 newspaper photo of him with his wife Antonette. Uncle Walter e-mailed us this news clipping in February 2002. They were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in 1964, therefore were married in Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1914. They must have moved to Binghamton with Grandfather Stephen. The saying then was "Which way EJay's?" for the better jobs, pay and housing that came with the Endicott and Johnson (EJays) Shoe Factories.

                        Valentine is also Mom's (Genevieve Prusik{Chiaramonte}) Godfather.

Stanislaw Prusik

Here is a photo of Stanislaw Prusik (in uniform), Uncle Chester and Stephen Prusik. Aunt Stella remembers him and confirms that he returned to Poland soon after this visit. In his Ellis Island documentation, it says he resided in the US (Binghamton, NY) 1913-1918. He was a solder in Haller's Army. The Haller's Army Database listed his home as Minersville, Pa (75 miles south of Scranton). He may have just enlisted in the Army here.

" Dzien Dobry Zosia, (Hank Walczyk e-mailing Aunt Pat)
Czy ty rozumiesz po polsku? Dobrze, ze ja troche gadam po angielsku. Otuz jest tak; Stanislaw Prusik, born abt 1896 in Parciaki, was your father's younger brother. He came to the USA in 1913, however, in 1918 he went to Europe with General Jozef Haller's Army, made up of Polish, and Polish - American men from USA and Canada. They did not partake in fighting during WW I, but after the end of the war, they were transported from France to Poland, to fight the Russians (Bolsheviks). As you know, Poland fought a brief war with the Red Army in 1920. Anyway, after the war with Soviet Russia ended, these Polish - American troops returned home. The manifest for Stanislaw Prusik, dated 17 Aug 1922 - was his return to the USA. He was going to rejoin his brother Szczepan (your father), who at that time, according to the manifest, lived at 279 Prospect St. in Binghamton, NY. I have no idea what happened to Stanislaw after then. (there is possibility, that he returned to Poland for good)"

Here are the Ellis Island Documents for Stanislaw Prusik in 1922...
1922 Manifest               1922 Ship               1922 Passenger Record

This web page is dedicated to Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanow (July 26, 1030-April 11, 1079) was a Bishop of Krakow known chiefly for having been martyred by Polish King Boleslaw II the Bold. Stanislaw is venerated in the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Stanislaus the Martyr (as distinct from Saint Stanislaus Kostka).