Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Massachusetts. Show all posts

Thursday, June 14, 2018

Albina Viduniute Baliutiene Zekas

#NotMyVidunas

about 1890, birth

This one will be short and sweet.

I found a record for a Miss Albina Viduniute who married Julijanas Zekas in Pennsylvania.  At first, I thought they were the same Zekas family with Albin and Josephine as children living in Pittsburgh PA, but then I found the marriage record for Josephine who lists her mother's maiden name as Green.  Well, just goes to show you that you cannot extrapolate information unles you truly! know it absolutely connects with your person.

Albina Viduniute 1910 marriage
We can glean quite a bit of information from this document, but not nearly enough, don't you know.  The marriage was 29 May 1910 in Lawrence Massachusetts.  Her maiden name was Albina Viduniute (the female unmarried variation on Vidunas), and that, at the tender age of 20, she was already a widow, and her first husband was Baliutas (her married name would be Baliutiene) and that he died before 1910.  

We know that her new husband is Julijanas Zekas, and her new married name would be Albina Zekiene.  Based on his age on the marriage document, we can calculate he was born about 1887 in Lithuania to parents Mykolas Zekas and Antanina Jenavyciute Zekiene.  His address is 125 Elm, Lawrence MA and he is a Mill Operative.



Albina was born about 1890 in Lithuania to parents Ipolitas Vidunas and Mare Zitkauckyte Viduniene.  The document shows this is her second marriage and that she is widowed.  Her address is 82 Allen, Lawrence MA, and she also is a Mill Operative.

They were married by Reverend A. Jusaitis, a Priest. 

I have run several searches but found nothing I can really claim for this family.  Here is her profile on Family Search as well as her Geni.com Profile.

Interestingly, on my Legacy Family software I have Ipolitas Vidunas with no marriage, a child of Kazimeras and Ona Zautraite Vidunas.  Are they the same man?

So, that's it!  Not much.  If you have information to add, let me know using the comment form on the right, or make a comment below.  Hope this information finds the right Vidunas folk!

Miscellaneous Information

Mill Operative

So, let's explore some other things.  We can look at the occupations, Mill Operative.  What was it like to work in the mills?  A google search with terms including 1910 Mill Operative Lawrence MA came up with some interesting information.  It is a non-creditable source, but Wikipedia is a good place to start your search.  We will both start and finish here.  


1912 Lawrence Textile Strike 1.jpg
Massachusetts militiamen with fixed bayonets surround a group of peaceful strikers
from WikiPedia

Two years after our happy couple married, the textile industry in Lawrence Massachusetts went on strike.  Apparently, the manufacturer applied a two hour pay cut because the law changed making hours shorter for women.  The Industrial Workers of the World started the strike which eventually included nearly every mill in Lawrence.  It lasted for more thant two months in the darkest part of winter.  People died, people were framed.  IWW leaders finally sent the hungry children around to sympathetic families in New York, New Jersey, and Vermont in an effort to create a sympathy vote.  This brought about congressional hearings, exposure of the shocking conditions in the mills, and ended when the mill owners decided to give workers raises of up to 20 percent.  A year after that, however, the IWW was effectively broken in Lawrence.   1912 Lawrence textile strike, Wikipedia

Residences

Julijanas Zekas address was 125 Elm, Lawrence MA.  Let's see what that looks like today.


One single map to show where both Julijanas Zekas
and Albina lived.  Blue circle is his place, pink circle is hers.
Check out how close proximity they were.  And, just off the bottom of this screenshot is Washington Mills, were I believe they worked.

125 Elm Street


125 Elm Street

Well, there isn't really 125 Elm Street, so we will look and move on.


Albina Viduniute address was 82 Allen, Lawrence MA.  Let's see ....


82 Allen
It is confusing for this address, as well.  I think this is the place, but.  Oh well.


The Mill where they worked

Washington Mills
from Google Map

You can see how close the mill was to where they lived.  I don't know for sure, but I think they would have worked close to where they lived.


Overhead view of Washington Mills
from Google Maps Satellite 2018


Washington MIlls Lofts
from Google Maps Street view 2018

This is the front of the Mills, which has been made into apartment lofts.





1910 Advertisement Cola
from The Des Moines Register, Des Moines IA
10 September 1910
downloaded from Newspapers.com March 2017


Resources
Wikipedia. (2018). 1912 Lawrence textile strike. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1912_Lawrence_textile_strike

https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LBPG-N4N

https://www.geni.com/people/Albina-Baliutiene-Zekas/6000000078449232679

https://morningsonmaplestreet.com/lewis-hine-project-index-of-stories/lawrence-massachusetts-textile-mills/





Thursday, April 12, 2018

Albert Vidunas of Massachusetts

#NotMyVidunas

Singing Meadowlark 2014
by BadBird Photography
used with permission


Below is information about Albert Vidunas.  Now, you have to understand that there seems to be at least two Albert Vidunas' here.  I will try to separate them, and explain who I think is whom.  It does get confusing sometimes, so if you have some clarification, I would really like to hear.  There also seems to be variations or spelling errors, Albart T., Albart Thomas, Algart T., Algart Thomas (I suspect these all are variations for the same man.  Is he, however, also an Albert?

Let's start with the Massachusetts Albert Vidunas, who I think not related -- at least I don't have proof now.   I have posted about a couple of Alberts who are NOT my Vidunas.  I think this one may be related to the California Albert Vidunas, but I'm not too sure.




1925, of Massachusetts

    Albert Vidunas 1925 MA Marriage Index
    indexed as Vidun

The index for Massachusetts Marriages shows Albert Vidun married in 1925, Lawrence, Massachusetts.  Note the truncated last name.  

1930, Massachusetts

While I have yet to find any census record for this man, I do have record from the City Directory.

Albert and Emily Vidunas
26 Milford Street, Lawrence MA


Albert Vedounas, 26 Milford Street, Lawrence Massachusetts.  
Lawrence MA City Directory 1930, from Ancestry.com 2017

This is an abandoned lot now, but you can see, through the trees, the Brook Street residence they move to later.

1934 - 1951, Massachusetts

Albert and Emily Vidunas
33 Brook Street, Lawrence MA

Albert Vidun, wife Emily Vidun; 33 Brook, Lawrence MA.  Occupation Operator
Lawrence, MA City directory 1934, from Ancestry.com 2017
Note that his name is truncated.  In 1942, his occupation changed to Wet Finisher

They lived here for a very long time, nearly 20 years.  Then they disappear about the same time California shows up.  So, ....



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