Helena Kalinowska (1887-1962) married Boleslaw Smolinski (Smolnek) in their homeland, Poland, though, strictly speaking, there was no Poland during the 19th century. The country was partitioned and divided among Germany, Austria and Russia. My Kalinowska and Smolinski ancestors resided in what was known as Russia-Poland.

My grandfather was the son of Boleslaw Smolinski and Rose (or Rosa) Koziol. According to notes left by my mother, this was Rose Koziol's second marriage. She would later marry for a third time, to Felix or Peter Pubak. Boleslaw and Rose had three sons, Boleslaw, Ignacy and Jozef, who after they settled in the United States were known as William, James and Joseph Smolinski.

During my early childhood I met a woman named Babka whom I believe was Helena Kalinowska's mother. That's the extent of my knowledge about my grandmother's family.

The 1910 United States census data provided interesting information. According to that census, Boleslaw Smolinski (my grandfather) was 26 years old at the time, living at 319 Second Street, Solvay, New York, and employed in a steell mill. His wife, Helen (or Helena), was 24. They had four children – Wanda, 5; Boleslaw Jr., 4; Helen, 2, and Edward, an infant.

Sharing the house with them, according to the census, was Stanley Smolinski, 56, and his wife, Rosa, 45, both born in Russia-Poland. Also in the house were Ignacy (James) Smolinski, 22, and Joseph Smolinski, 20.

I'm assuming Stanley and Rosa were Boleslaw's parents, though I'm curious why the name Boleslaw would be translated two different ways, as Stanley for my great-grandfather, and as William for my grandfather and one of my uncles.

In any event, by 1920, Stanley and Rosa were gone, perhaps back to Poland, and Joseph was in the United States Army. He eventually would live in Highland Falls, New York, near West Point where he was stationed for the rest of his life.

[NOTE: Among the zillion things available online is a 1910 Syracuse directory which lists residents of Solvay. This particular directory seems to list only adults employed outside the home, which is why it includes only four of the ten Smolinskis from that year's census. However, in this directory there is no one named Stanley, but there is someone identified as Berwis Smolinski. In the 1911 directory is a note that Berwis was returned to Poland, aka Russia-Poland.]

After my grandparents, Helena and Boleslaw were married in 1903, they emigrated to the United States and lived in New Jersey where they had a daughter (Wanda), then returned to Poland where son Boleslaw (William) was born. They moved back to the United States and settled in Solvay, NY, where they had two more children, Helen and Edward.

One of many unanswered questions is whether my grandparents were the first in their family to live in Solvay or whether they followed Boleslaw's brother, Ignacy. When Boleslaw's younger brother, Joseph, arrived also is unknown, as is the year Boleslaw's parents came to the United States and how long they stayed.

My grandfather Boleslaw deserted his family, probably in 1912 or 1913, leaving his wife to raise their children by herself. Apparently he settled near Elmira. His whereabouts became known to his wife, but she refused to see him after he wrote to her, requesting a visit. From then on Boleslaw was a closed subject to our branch of the Smolinskis.

Apparently he started another family, which the Solvay Smolinskis discovered by chance many years later in Washington, DC, when Tim Smolinski, son of Tom and Edie Smolinski, met another Smolinski who worked at a store near Falls Church, Virginia. Seems that Smolinski, who was from the Binghamton, NY, area, recalled hearing that his grandfather had lived in Syracuse where he had been married previously. That man could well have been my grandfather, but we've never been able to verify it.

My grandmother's brother-in-law, Ignacy (James), remained in Solvlay with his wife, Strina (excuse the spelling if it is incorrect) and their two daughters, one of whom was named Agnes (or Agness). I don't recall any visits with the family, though they lived only a few blocks from our house.

However, there were occasional visits to Highland Falls, NY, to see Joseph Smolinski and his family. I doubt whether Boleslaw was ever discussed during these visits.

Joseph Smolinski and his wife had three children, Olga, Mary and Joseph Jr., who became a priest. Olga married and had a son, Ray Mesaris, who lived with his grandparents after his parents died. Ray spent a couple of summers with my Uncle Bill Smolinski and his family next door to us on Russet Lane. (It was Ray who provided a memorable moment recorded elsewhere on this website in a story about the Ethan Allen All-Star Baseball Game.)

JACK MAJOR