Since it helps me get caught up quicker, I am going to make this weeks post really easy on me. I am just going to list all the surnames that I have proven for my lines so far.

The names below are for my husband’s lines.

If you have any of these surnames, feel free to send me a message. Always looking to make new connections and meet new family members!

I already wrote about some of the challenges in my genealogy research with the “Keetley” and “Brinson” surnames back in Week 2, which you can read about here and here.

Another family name that has been challenging to research is Gornowicz. There are several spellings that I have found so far, Garnewitz, Garnowitz, Gorenowicz, Gorniewicz, Gornovitz, Gornovitch, Gornowytz, Gorowicz, Jornowitz, Janowitz and even possibly Gornova. There are probably a lot more than these out there.

I have not researched the family extensively at this point, so some of the following information is only guess work right now. Over the next several posts I will lay out what I have so far.

Mary Gornowicz was the wife of Levin Elliott, my husband’s 2x great grandparents. Mary’s parents were Michael Gornowicz and Helen Krager/Krieger.

Michael and Helen’s daughter, Juliana, immigrated to the U.S. from Germany in 1892 on the “Weimar“. Listed next to her on the passenger list is a family of “Krieger“, who look to be a widowed mother and her 4 children. I am not sure if they are any relation to the Gornowicz family, but they were staying in Baltimore, at 1626 Lancaster Street.

In 1894, Juliana’s parents and siblings joined her in the U.S., travelling on the “America“. The family came in through the Port of Baltimore, Maryland and were going to live with their daughter at 1626 Lancaster Street. (The same address as the Krieger’s from 2 years earlier!!

There were 6 family members that came on this ship:-

• Michael aged 59
• Helene aged 48
• Franz aged 25
• Stanislaus aged 14
• Marie aged 9
• Rosalie aged 5

Even placing Juliana within this family, now age 19, there are some big gaps between the ages of the children. Maybe there are others that died young, immigrated on other ships or some they left behind. Definitely needs more research!

The 1900 census has eluded me so far, but I found Michael in a 1901 City Directory still living in Lancaster Street, so he must still be around somewhere.

In 1902, Michael is listed as living at 1626 Lancaster, with “Jas”. Who is this? Is this Stanislaus?

In 1903, Michael is listed as still living at 1626 Lancaster, this time with Frank.

By 1906, Michael has moved to 2218 Essex Street, where he lived until late 1910. James is also living at this address with Michael in 1906, 1908 and 1910. In 1907 James is gone again, but there is a “Danl” living at this address. Who is this?

The 1910 Federal Census finds Michael and James Gornowicz living with the James Elliott family at 2218 Essex Street. The census shows that there are 2 families at this location, and whoever gave the information to the census taker said that Michael owned his own home and the Elliott family were renting theirs.

As a side note, James Elliott is married to woman named Julia, who I suspect is Juliana Gornowicz. I am still looking for a marriage record, obituary or one of their children’s records to answer this question with 100% certainty. (I’ll write more about Julia in 2 weeks).

When Michael died in November 1910, the estate docket for his will listed his son Stanislaus as living at 2218 Essex Street. There was also a surety bond paid by Frank, and he was living at 2216 Essex Street. (I’ll write more about Frank next week!)

Unfortunately the book that Michael’s will is in is missing from FamilySearch’s website. There are 3 will books for 1910 and I need the middle one!! I am not sure if it was missed in the scanning process or if the book is lost. I am still looking, hoping it’s out there somewhere.

I have no information on Rosalie or Helene, after they got off the boat in Baltimore. I have looked for this family in obituaries and at Find-A-Grave.com, and haven’t found anything there either.

If you are related to this family or know anything about them please feel free to leave me a message. I’d love to hear from you! Thanks.

I pondered this one for a while as I couldn’t easily come up with something to write about. I know of only a couple of religions that my research has revealed so far, but nothing worth really writing about. So I chose something closely related to a church.

While researching one of the Elliott families of Dorchester County, Maryland, I came across 2 listings for Baptisms at the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Dorchester Circuit.

The family in question is William Elliott and Amanda Horseman. They had at least 8 children that I know of. Below is a copy of the 1880 Federal census where all the children are listed.

1. William E.
2. Prudie A.
3. Oliver
4. James
5. Octavia
6. Levin G.
7. Clarence (who is listed on 1880 but not as their child)
8. Adaline (who was on the 1870 but not the 1880)

When I found the family listed on the website http://www.collinsfactor.com, they were under Churches in East New Market.

Baptisms of 1866-1872

One thing I noticed about this group of baptisms is that the oldest son, William, is missing. He did not die before the baptism date as he is on the 1880 census. Maybe he was missed in the transcription of the records or the records were destroyed.

Baptisms of 1873-1879

This group of baptisms raised a few red flags. Octavia is listed as being born in August of 1878, but the baptism date is 8 months earlier in January 1878. Maybe this is a typo by the website creator that I got the information from or maybe even the minister. A date of 1873 would make more sense, and a 3 could be easily mistaken for an 8!

The other thing I noticed is that Levin and Clara look to be twins. The interesting thing is that I can find no mention of a Clara anywhere. There is Clarence on the 1880 census, a male that is the same age as Levin, but he has no relationship designation to the head of household. Could Clara and Clarence be the same person? Is the name Clara Betrice also a typo?

I would need to look at the actual church records to answer all these questions. If you are related to any of these people, please feel free to contact me.

Rachael was born 24 October 1927 in Awendaw, Charleston County, South Carolina. She was the daughter of Daniel J. Legare and Helen Sadie Elliott.

The first newspaper article I found for Rachael was about her appendicitis operation in 1943.

Then I found one where she was visiting her sister Helen in 1944.

While researching Rachel, I found other newspaper articles, that I have not included here, from the early 1940’s when she had received School Honor Roll mentions.

The article above and to the left lists Rachel as being one of The Medical College of the State of South Carolina’s recent nursing graduates in 1947.

The main reason for this post is shown at the right. My father-in-law had told me about his Aunt Rachel who had drowned as a young woman. So I went looking online and found the following newspaper article.

Rachel’s death came less than 2 months after she graduated.

I cannot imagine what it must have been like for Rachel, her friends and her family that day.

The panic she must have felt knowing she was in serious trouble. The guilt her friends must have felt for not being able to save her.

Then there’s her family, knowing she was out there in the water somewhere, all alone, until the early hours of the morning when her body was found!

Rachel was 19 years old, a young woman with plans for the future.

There were many “In Memoriam” notices in the papers over the years from her parents and siblings, her family obviously missed her deeply.

She was unmarried and had no children, but she will not be forgotten!

You can see her headstone at Find A Grave # 41839832.