Golba somewhere in America???

[kjmck]

Hi again,

This post is a long shot. Before my grandfather passed away in December of last year, he told me that an uncle of his emigrated to the U.S from Poland. Unfortunately, because my grandfather's family moved to southern Poland, they did not remain in close contact with their northern family, so he couldn't remember a name for this Uncle.

So. I am looking for a male Golba who would have emigrated from Poland between 1900 - 1930 at a guess. My grandfather mentioned San Fransico. This man's parents were Ludwik Golba and Apolonia Szlufcik, and two of his brother's were called Wincenty and Stanisław Golba, and the family were from a place called Kielce.

As I said this is a long shot! But if anyone can point me in a direction to look or can offer any help themselves it would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Keelan

[Genealiza]

Have you tried searching the Ellis Island website?  Try it also with different spellings.

www.ellisisland.org

There is also the following which contains census, some b/m/d records and other documents.  If you find your family on Ellis Island and see where their destination is, you can focus in on other records with the Family Search website.

www.familysearch.org

[usaPetticrew]

Using the exact search guidelines of male, Golba, born in Poland, here's what I found from Ancestry.com, in the U.S. censuses:

There were no hits for the 1900 or 1910 censuses.

1920: 21 Golba males enumerated, born between 1869 and 1895.  Unique names: Frank, Michael, John, Joseph, Alex, Julius, Valenti, Jacob, Peter, Stanley, George, Ignatz, Steve, Thomas.  Most were in eastern U.S.; furthest west was Chicago, Illinois.

1930:  34 Golba males enumerated, born between 1869 and 1913.  Unique names:  many of the same as 1920, plus Stanislaw, Zigmund, Julian, William, Stanly, Kazimir, Ignacy, Velma, Walter, Mikolaj, Andrew, Walenty, Edward, Stane.  Most were in eastern and midwest U.S.; furthest west was Johnson County, Kansas.

Record for:
Stanislaw Golba     wife Mary, resided in    Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts    b. abt 1877    Poland

1940:  25 Golba males enumerated, born between 1873 and 1910.  Unique names:  many of the same as 1930, plus Nick and Ignatius.   Most were in eastern and midwest U.S.; furthest west was Chicago, Illinois.

Record for:
Stanislans Golba     wife Mary, resided in    Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts    b. abt 1877    Poland

If you can give any idea of the birth year or range of years for this uncle, that might help.  When was your grandfather born, for starters?

[usaPetticrew]

I can add that there is a Frank Golba buried in San Diego, CA.  Found on Findagrave.com:

Birth:    Jan. 27, 1901
Death:    Mar. 4, 1972
 
Inscription:
Kansas Pvt US Army World War II
 
His wife was possibly Sophia Golba, who was buried next to him.

Birth:    Apr. 1, 1890
Death:    Nov. 1, 1961
 
Inscription:
Beloved Wife

I reiterate, if you can give some idea of birth range for this uncle you seek, that would help narrow down the possibilities.  When were his parents married?  When was your grandfather's father born?  Was this uncle an older or younger brother to your grandfather's father? 

[kjmck]

Hi there,

Apologies for the late replies.

usaPetticrew - My grandfather was born 25 February 1922 in Czortków, Poland (This is now part of the Ukraine). But the Golba family were from a place called Kielce further north in Poland. My great grandfather was Stanisław Golba, and Stanisław had a brother called Wincenty Golba. Wincenty was born in 1900 but Stanisław's date of birth is unknown, estimated between 1880 - 1895. My cousin recently told me that my grandfather was contacted by Lawyers in the US who were dissolving the estate of Joseph (Józef) Golba, so this could well be the Uncle who emigrated. This Uncle's D.O.B is the same for Stanisław - Unknown. Also - When talking about this with family, both Chicago and San Francisco came up.

The parents for all three boys were Ludwick Golba & Apolonia Szlufcik, and I am in the process of obtaining marriage certificates for both my Great Grandparents Stanisław Golba and Katarzyna Jasiak, and my great great grandparents Ludwik and Apolonia Golba, but it is taking a while.

Keelan

[kjmck]

Genealiza thank you for the advice I will be looking into the websites you have suggested

[usaPetticrew]

Here are some records for various Joseph Golbas.

Home in 1920:     Bremen, Cook County, Illinois   
Joseph Golba   40, b. Poland, laborer,  immigrated 1900
Mary Golba      34
Carl Golba      11
Mary Golba      10
Anna Golba      8
Josephine Golba   5

Home in 1930:     Harvey, Cook, Illinois
Joseph Golba   49, immigrated 1910
Mary Golba   44
Carl Golba   21
Anna Golba   18
Josephine Golba   15
Charles Golba   4

Home in 1940:   Thornton, Cook, Illinois
Joseph H Golba   60, naturalized citizen
Mary Golba     55
Carl Golba     31
Ellen Marie Golba   19
Charles Golba   14
Mary F Golba   1

U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes:
Joseph Golba    b. 19 Mar 1879    Poland        
Address:  14738 Wood Street, Harvey, Illinois. 
Naturalization:  4 Feb 1936, U.S. District Court, Chicago, Illinois


Home in 1920:    Hartford Ward 2, Hartford County, Connecticut
Joseph Golba    36, b. Galacia, laborer, immigrated 1912, boarder, married but no wife listed with him.

Home in 1920:    Stamford Ward 2, Fairfield County, Connecticut
Joseph Golba   b. abt 1875 in Poland, immigrated 1904, married but no wife listed with him.

Home in 1920:   Toledo Ward 10, Lucas County, Ohio
Joe Golba    44, b. Galacia, laborer, immigrated 1912, boarder, married but no wife listed with him.

[kjmck]

Do you think a Marriage certificate for this Joseph and Mary Golba would throw up parent's names? I don't know what sort of info American marriage certificates have on them?

[usaPetticrew]

At Familysearch.org, I found the following records for that Joseph Golba of Cook County, Illinois.  These are free records so you can see them yourself.

United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
Name    Joseph Golba
Registration Date:    1942
Residence:  14738 Wood Street, Harvey, Cook County, Illinois.
Birth Date:    19 Mar 1879
Birthplace:  Makuw, Poland


Illinois, Cook County Deaths
Name    Joseph Golba
Event Type    Death
Event Date    29 Dec 1959
Event Place    Harvey, Cook County, Illinois, United States
Address    14738 Wood Street
Age    78
Marital Status    Married
Occupation    Laborer
Birth Date    19 Mar 1881
Birthplace    , , Poland
Funeral Home    The Olen Mortuary
Burial Place    Calumet City, , Illinois
Cemetery    Holy Cross
Father's Name    Stanley Golba
Mother's Name    Eva
Spouse's Name    Mary Golba
Informant's Name    Mary Golba

You can see from this death record that his parents were Stanley and Eva, so he must not be the Golba you seek.

I tried to search for any Golba with father = Ludwik and mother = Apolonia, but came up with no matches.

Then I tried searching for any Golba with birthplace Kielce, and got one match:

United States World War I Draft Registration Cards
Name    Thomas Golba
Residence:  1450 Robinson Court, Niagra Falls, New York
Event Type    Draft Registration
Event Date    1917-1918
Event Place    Niagara Falls City, New York, United States
Nationality    Russia Poland
Birth Date    13 Oct 1890
Birthplace    Kielce, , Russia Poland
He had a wife and 1 child.
Physical:  Gray eyes, brown hair, medium height and build.

United States Census, 1920
Name    Thomas Golba
Event Place    Niagara Falls Ward 3, Niagara, New York, United States
Gender    Male
Age    29
Marital Status    Married
Race    White
Race (Original)    White
Relationship to Head of Household    Brother
Relationship to Head of Household (Original)    Brother
Birth Year (Estimated)    1891
Birthplace    Poland
Immigration Year    1913
Father's Birthplace    Poland
Mother's Birthplace    Poland

Household    Role  Gender  Age   Birthplace
Catharine Warzecha    Head    M    43    Poland
Thomas Golba    Brother    M    29    Poland
Joseph Gucza    Boarder    M    30    Poland


United States Census, 1930
Name    Thomas Golba
Event Place    Niagara Falls, Niagara, New York, United States
Age    40
Marital Status    Married
Race    White
Race (Original)    White
Relationship to Head of Household    Head
Relationship to Head of Household (Original)    Head
Birth Year (Estimated)    1890
Birthplace    Poland
Immigration Year    1908
Father's Birthplace    Poland
Mother's Birthplace    Poland

Household    Role  Gender  Age   Birthplace
Thomas Golba    Head    M    40    Poland
Katherine Golba    Wife    F    40    Poland
Zigmund Golba    Son    M    17    Poland
Sophie Golba    Daughter    F    8    New York
Boleslaw Golba    Son    M    6    New York

You can see all these records at Familysearch.org, including the original images.

Since Thomas' first son was born in Poland, there would be no marriage certificate in the U.S., for Thomas and Katherine.

Additionally, I found these on Ancestry.com:

Social Security death claim:
Name:    Thomas Golba
SSN:    106161823
Birth Date:    13 Nov 1890  (the day and year are the same, the month is different from that on the draft registration card.)
Death Date:    16 Oct 1954
Claim Date:    21 Oct 1954

The above record might be the right Thomas, as I found city directories for Niagara Falls for 1954 and 1955.  In the 1954 directory, Thomas is listed with wife Katherine named, at 125 22nd, apartment 2.  In the 1955 directory, Catherine Golba is listed and designated as "widow of Thomas", at the same address. 

Thomas appeared in these Niagara Falls city directories as early as 1916, at that time with an address of 1415 Robinson Ct.  There were several other Golbas listed in that city, for that year:  Ignitius, two John, two Joseph, Michael and Valentine.

The following might have been the same Thomas Golba, on a ship's list.  It listed his final destination as Niagara Falls, NY, on the original page image.  However, the 1909 arrival is before his first son's 1913 birth in Poland.:

New York, Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Name:    Tomas Golba
Arrival Date:    25 Mar 1909
Nationality:    Russia
Race:  Polish
Last permanent residence:    stupileo??  (hard to read)
Age:    18
Gender:    Male
Port of Departure:    Antwerp, Belgium
Port of Arrival:    New York, New York
Ship Name:    Gothland

Another Social Security death claim, for the daughter:
Name:    Sophie Bertha Golba
[Sophie B Golda]
SSN:    106164275
Gender:    Female
Race:    White
Birth Date:    11 Jan 1922
Birth Place:    Niagara Fall, New York
Father Name:    Thomas Golba
Mother Name:    Katherine Gromna
Death Date:    25 Dec 1995
Type of Claim:    Original SSN.
Type of Claim:    Death Claim