Coming to America
Płock is a city in the city-county of Płock, county of Płock in the Masovian (Mazowieckie) Voivodeship. The official and full name of the city is Stołeczne Książęce Miasto Płock (Princely/Ducal Capital City of Płock). Płock was the capital of Poland from 1079-1138. In 2009, 126,000 people lived there. Płock is known to have been occupied since the 10th century (AD 900s), a fortified location on the Vistula's bank confirms this. Płock is located at a critical junction on shipping and land routes and therefore has a high strategic value. It belonged to the Russian Empire in the 19th century, and during that period the city began to industrialize. Today, the main industry is oil-refining. Biała is a village in the Gmina Stara Biała, county of Płock, in the Masovian Voivodeship and is the seat of its gmina. In Polish "biały" means "white" or "pure". Biała is the feminine form of the noun. The gmina that Biała is located in is considered a rural area, the gmina has a population of about 10,000 (in 2006) that live within its 42.9 square miles. Biała is first mentioned in 1378 as a ducal village and in 1495 as a royal village. Most the land (~70%) has been cleared there and is used for farming today.
Teofil Piusinski was the first of our ancestors to come over to the US sometime in 1905. A ship manifest from 1905 has yet to be located for him, so it's not known what ship he took and from where he departed in Europe. He did return to Poland in 1908 (according to his 1910 manifest). It's possible he remained in Poland until the fall of 1910, after marrying Stella Mielczarek sometime earlier that year. On November 5, 1910 he boarded the S.S. Rotterdam (the 4th ship on the Holland-America Line [HAL] to bear the name), pictured to the right. The ship was built by Harland & Wolff Ltd. in 1908. She was 667 feet and 7 inches long, and displaced 37,000 tons. She had 2 4-cylinder quadruple expansion engines and 2 fixed props. Her top speed was 16.5 knots or about 19 mph. She could carry 3575 passengers (2500 in 3rd class) and had a crew of 470. She was one of the first ships used by HAL for pleasure cruises. Her maiden voyage was in 1909 where she traveled between Rotterdam, Netherlands to New York. During the winter she cruised on the Mediterranean Sea. She was decommissioned in 1940 and turned to scrap metal. (1940 video of the last voyage of the S.S. Rotterdam). Joe, however, did not travel with his wife. He left her in Poland to follow him 2 weeks later. The reasoning for this is unknown, perhaps, after their wedding, Stella wanted to spend a little extra time with her family before leaving. Joe arrived in New York on November 14. Although he was not a US citizen at the time, he was stamped as a "non-immigrant" so I am unsure if he had to go through Ellis Island again or just through customs. Below are the two pages of his manifest, he is on line 24. (Click images to open a larger version.)
His surname is spelled Piłuszynski and he gives his first name as Teofil. His usual occupation was fire-man, he couldn't read or write, he was a Russian Pole, and underneath where it is stamped "non-immigrant" it reads Utica, NY as his last residence. While in Poland he stayed with his father, Teofil, in Biała. His final destination was Utica, NY for which he already had transportation arranged. He paid his own passage and has $59 with him, he reported he had been to the US before from 1905-08. His address where he could be found was 11 1/2 Potter Ave., Utica, NY where he was staying with a man he lists as his brother-in-law, Alexander Grendzewski. Joe was in good health with blond hair, grey eyes, a fair complexion, standing at 5'4". Under "marks of identification" is written "pock marked." He lists his place of birth as Płock. According to Edith, the only possession her father brought with him from Poland was his accordion. He may have brought that on this trip, or his earlier one in 1905. Just before Joe arrived in New York, his new bride was boarding her own ship in Rotterdam and heading across the Atlantic to start a new life.
Left: the S.S. Ryndam (also spelled Rijndam), c.1919, after is had been turned into a troopship for the US Navy during WWI. (U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.)
Stanisława departed from Rotterdam, Netherlands on November 12, 1910, just 2 days before her husband would arrive in New York. She sailed on the S.S. Ryndam. The S.S. Ryndam was also built by Harland & Wolff Ltd., located in Belfast, Ireland, in 1901. She was used as a steel passenger liner for HAL. In 1915 the ship was rammed by a Norweigian vessel in American waters. Several nearby US battleships went to her aid. In 1918 she was acquired by the US Navy to use during the first World War. She was returned to her owners in 1919, and scrapped in 1929. The ship was 560 feet long and displaced 23,650 tons. Her top speed was 15 knots (just over 17 mph). Stella arrived in New York on November 23rd (Thanksgiving that year was the following day). Before any of the passengers could disembark, a group of doctors would have come aboard the ship to check 1st and 2nd class passengers as well as make sure no passenger had any highly contagious disease. Afterwards, Stella had to wait to take a ferry to Ellis Island where she would be examined by doctors to ensure she was healthy and then questioned about the information she'd given for the ship manifest to ensure it was correct. Afterward she would have been issued her "landing card" and then she could pick up her luggage and take the ferry over to New York where she either met Joe before heading to Utica or picked up a train to take her to her new home where he was waiting. Below is her ship manifest, click the images to see larger versions. Stella's information appears on line 12.
Her surname is spelled Piłuszynska (the feminine form of her husband's). Her occupation was housewife and she could not read or write. Most recently, she had been staying with her father, Francis Mielczarek, in Biała. She brought with her $50 and had paid for her own passage. She already had transportation arranged to Utica where she would make her home at 11 1/2 Potter Ave. She was in good health upon arrival. She was recorded as 5'3" with blond hair and grey eyes. She had no identifying marks. She listed Biała as her birthplace.
