Monday, March 6, 2017

Miscellaneous Vidunas stuff

Mary Vidunas Yorski with
Joseph and Lois Howell Vidunas,
1940s Kingston PA

This is a photograph of Joseph A. Vidunas with his mother Mary Vidunas Yorski and his wife Lois Howell Vidunas.  I wonder, is this a different set of insignia on his uniform?

I suspect the photographer is Louis A. Vidunas, his brother for a couple of reasons.  The photographer is a man, as evidenced by the shadow of a man's hat; and this photograph is owned by Joseph's grand nephew, Louis Vidunas III.

As far as I know, my dad has never seen this photograph of his parents.










Postcard of the Panama Canal from
Joseph to his brother Louis A. Vidunas, 1932

Back of the postcard of the Panama Canal from Joseph
This is the front of a postcard sent from Joseph on arrival at the Canal Zone in 1932.  What this tells me is that when Joseph was shipped to the Canal Zone because of the attack on Pearl Harbour, it was not his first trip.








Here, he writes
"Breezed in this afternoon.  I've got about 8 Atlas Beers under my belt and I'm going round for more.  Hot as h--l. Wish you were here.  Joe."

Postcard is owned by Louis' grandson, Louis Vidunas III.



SS Patricia,August Vidunas arrived 1901


These images are from the Ellis Island site.  The first one is a postcard of four sister ships, including the SS Patricia.  August arrived on this ship in 1901









SS Patricia Promenade Deck

This is a photograph of the promenade deck of all four sister ships.  Did August Vidunas walk these wooden planks?  How crowded was it?  Was it cold?  Did he get sick?












Naturalization for Andrew Yorski 1914

In his declaration of intent for Andrew Yorski to become a legal, naturalized citizen, he reports that he is 26 years old, a miner with fair complextion and black hair, brown eyes, and a scar and coal marks marring his face.  He is of average build, 5'10" and 195 pounds.  He was born in Cahy Slaszy Poland.  It is written as Russia Poland because it was considered property of Russia at the time.

His address is 38 Penn Street in Kingston, that he left Hamburg Germany but cannot remember the ship he sailed on, arriving at New York 15th May 1903.  The Czar of Russia then was Nicolas II.

I love to see the real signatures of my ancestors, and although he is related by marriage, he is still important, and this appears to be his true signature.  Sometimes the clerk will sign for the applicant, but this looks like the real deal.



Veteran's Compensation Andrew Yorski 1934

On this Veteran's Compensation application, we see that Andrew Yorski was in the Army for a grand total of six months.  That's a very short time, but I'm sure he was very glad to be done with it.
















Death Certificate 1946 for Andrew Yorski
This is the death certificate for Andrew Yorski, also spelled Yarski.  He died at Moses Taylor hospital in Scranton, Lackawanna County PA.  he lived at 20 Penn Street, Kingston, Luzerne, PA.  His wife, born 1887, died before he did.  He was only 59 years old at the time he died.  His occupation was laborer.

Step daughter Anne Vidunas (who seems to not be married at this time) was a nurse who cared for her mother before she died, did she care for Andrew?  She gave the information for the certificate, and she also lived at 20 Penn Street in Kingston.  Andrew died at 9am on the 7th of October, 1946.  He died of Cirrhosis of the Liver.  In parenthesis is the word "Biliary" and I think this is another name for the condition.

Andrew is buried in Pringle Cemetery, Luzerne County, PA.  The funeral director looks like William A. Shukwictus, 232 Zerby Avenue, Kingston PA.  This address is the funeral home across the street from the church.