Re: Polish surname changed from O'Chefski (NOT correct spelling) to Shultz?
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In reply to:
Polish surname changed from O'Chefski (NOT correct spelling) to Shultz?
M. Morris 9/10/08
I am eldest child of June Marjorie Lawson who married Sumpter Quilla Porter, Jr. at Riverside Christian Church, Jacksonville, Florida, October 19, 1941. I was born 30 April 1943. Her parents were Richard Percival Lawson who married Martha (don't know middle name) Schultz in Brooklyn, New York. Martha Schultz came with her family from Poznan Poland and Cracow Poland in the late 19th century. According to stories I have heard, their name in Poland was Oelschevsky (no one seems to know the exact spelling; family stories say that the name translated to 'mayor of the village'). When they went thru customs in New York, they were told that Oelshevsky did not sound "American" enough, and that an easier name must be used, so Schultz was decided on. Since Martha Schultz was Catholic, and Richard Percival was not (his father's family was from Vermont, and his mother's from Canada (one generation back), Martha's family refused permission for them toget married. So, they eloped. And Martha's family gradually accepted Richard. They lived in the Greenpoint section ofBrooklyn (the Polish section). Richard worked for the US Longshoreman's Commission. I have a newspaper copy of his obituary with greater detail, which I will send you. An uncle of Martha entered the US at Charleston, and was 14 yrs old when the earthquake hit in 1886 (not positive if that is the correct year, as it has been many years since I verified the info I had. There are stories of him watching the church steeple collapsing. The Lawson family moved from Greenpoint, Brooklyn, New York in 1926 to Savannah, Georgia when a new longshoreman's regional office was opened. He was commissioner. The office then transferred to Jacksonville in the late 1930s, where my g'daddy Lawson was regional commissioner for the se US states, and the 'offshore' islands. Their address was 4071 London Rd., Jacksonville, Florida. Martha had rheumatic (or scarlet) fever as a child, had a weak heart, and died August 1944. Richard re-married November 21, 1946 to Beulah V. Offutt (West Virginia). Martha and Richard (died 1961) are buried in Oaklawn Cemetery, Jacksonville, with g'ma Beulah nearby (she died in 1994 (almost 99 yrs old). G'daddy's eldest daughter, Clare married William Stuart from Long Island, then lived in Jacksonville from then on. G'daddy's youngest is Grace, who married John DeVoe, and live in Michigan. Their children are Martha (1945), Ben (1949; died of cancer a couple of years ago), Bob, and Bill. Auntie Clare and Uncle Bill are also buried in Oakland Cemetery near g'daddy Lawson, g'ma Lawson, and g'ma Beulah. Their children are Richard (1944), Nancy (1947), William (Billy) (1949).Before Poland was opened to non-Poles, only someone of proven Polish descent was allowed to receive a special permit to enter the country to find any relatives that had survived WWII. My mom and dad spent weeks in Poznan and Cracow. They were unable to find any survivors. How are we related, exactly, M. Morris?`
More Replies:
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Re: Polish surname changed from O'Chefski (NOT correct spelling) to Shultz?
M. Morris 3/12/09
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Re: Polish surname changed from O'Chefski (NOT correct spelling) to Shultz?
Barbara Porter 11/05/08