u/gizmohgchi

So, my 3rd generation grandfather- was an abusive alcoholic. There is a chance he had ran away from his wife (Mary Mann/St. Dennis? Unsure about her. I can give you more information if you want to help on that.). I looked at his death document (I'm unable to get the image), but from the information I found, there's someone named: Joan E. Gerdes. From my memory last I checked, it looked like he had changed his name to Joan E. Gerdes to run away from the responsibility of Mary. But I'm looking at it again- and there's no information on this Joan Gerdes. No grave, no information besides being on the death certificate of John.

I wouldn't think that there's a chance they're alive- since John is dead and unless he married quite a young girl born likely from 1930-1940 (who could still be alive then).

Edit: So for some reason I forgot some pretty vital details?? I'm out of it today I guess

John Ruff: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/PZT8-TGF

Mary Mann/St. Dennis: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/PZTZ-14W

Mary was part Cree (from her moms side?)- we've had issues finding her and we're not positive the parents listed are her actual parents. The birth year we had before was 1902- but it's only a 3 year gap.

Asking for help AGAIN, but it's another good mystery for you guys!

I come from a family with a super-uncommon surname, to the point where literally everyone who has said last name, is related to me, and has been *mostly* contained in the area where I'm from. The other spelling that comes from Germany, is Wallowy- which is also pretty rare.

The furthest I've been able to back to it on my own is to a man named "Ludwig Fred Waloway", born on 25 August 1882, Austria.

This man has been a thorn in our sides for a while, for both me and my dad, for we have a good amount of information on him, but we lack his parents. And we'll probably lack his parents parents. And probably even lack his parents parents parents!

So, my challenge for you, is to help me trace back to Waloway surname as far as we can. Only 13 graves can be found on find a grave (and one was unfortunately recent.).

Link to Ludwig Waloway: https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/GPY1-Q9W

Apologies for begging for help again so soon, but this might be a tough one to crack.

Her name was Patricia Ann Mullen (1930-2012). I have almost everything on her, to her grave, where she died, who she was married to, and her obituary.

"So what's the problem?" You might ask.

She was adopted.

So, being the tough nut I am- I thought I could crack this cold case all by myself. Turns out, I was wrong- and I think I got some gray hairs trying to find any records of her adoption.

She's only my great grandma, her only son died in 2011 meaning I have nobody who might even have a hint on her parents, and my mom has no idea either The only details we might have on her biological parents, is that there was a rumor that she was the: "Illicit child of an amorous train conductor" as my mom eloquently put it. Patricia also heard from her mom that her biological mother was a nurse, BUT she had an older sister who treated her more like a daughter. I don't know how my mom got that information, but she knows a surprising amount of our family history.

Here's the exact quote from my mom of the response she got when she tried to find out Ms. Mullen's biological parents:

"I tried to reach out to people on 23 and me and a biological relative tried to talk to her mom about it and her mom iced her out."

So- with all the information I've given you... does anyone have an idea on where the hell I could possibly find that ladies biological parents?

Edit: I skimmed through and I don't think I added it for some reason, but her adoptive parents were named Grace and (Eu)gene Mullen.

Alright- where to begin? Our main characters in this story are Michael Baranski and his lovely wife Apolinia Kowalcziyle.So, we already have one issue: Their Austrian. Big and unpronounceable last names if you couldn't already tell. And they were the ones to immigrate from Austria! Which means, there's a chance their names are spelt wrong. I've looked for other last names for Apolinia, and the one I found was Kowalczyk, 5th most common surname in Poland. So, I look up 'Apolinia Kowalczyk' on Find A Grave, along with her birth date (1885). ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! Same with Michael, given the last name of Baranawsky. Nothing. I tried the Americanized version of their names that were given on their confirmed immigration records: Mike and Paulina (or Polly in one case). Still nothing.

It's been a burning hole in my family tree- I'm desperate for tips or anything. I can't find graves, death dates, nothing. Is this a dead end or is there hope somewhere?