Richie C.'s Page

I should tell you, I guess, a bit about this family that I am researching.  People always tell me that Melsbach is not a Lithuanian name.  True!  They were from Altweid and Irlich Germany and about 1750, they answered a call to go to Ostpruessa to 're-populate' an area that had been hit by the plague.  They lived there for over 100 years and may have changed their names slightly to Melsbakas - - at least I've seen that name in the Zebra.  About 1860, Mekie Melsbach had a son, Joseph George.  In 1872, there was another son born in Lithuania, William Joseph.  About 1888 - 89, Joseph left and came to Meriden Connecticut.  A year or so later, his wife, Elizabeth Broziene, and thier daughter, Mary Margaret, came to Connecticut also.  About 1895, his brother, William came and married Annie Zemaitis in Meriden.  Elizabeth's 3 brothers and maybe a sister also came but they changed their names completely.  We have these 2 photos of the Anskaitiene family in the old photo album, but we don't know yet how they 'fit'.  Probably sister, mother or grandmother of either Joseph or Elizabeth as the photo was in their album.  I, like everyone else, am trying to find where in Lithuania the family lived.  I know the men did blacksmith work here after they came and that Anna's father was a blacksmith in Lithuania.  Not much to go on, huh?

These 2 photos are my only clues actually from Lithuania.  I was hoping that the dress of the women might give an indication of the region that they are from.  Ona's dress is particularly interesting as she has a stripped blouse and a dark damask apron and dark flowered head piece.  I hoped they might provide a clue.  They don't seem like farm women to me in this photo.  Also she is holding a white envelope of some sort right in front on her lap.  It would almost seem like this had an importance or significance to have such a family photo made and I wondered if anyone might guess as to why such a photo was taken.  ??  In the photo of the girl in the dark heavy dress with the white scarf, it strikes me that she is standing in front of a fence but otherwise it looks like she in almost in a wide open field.  The land is quite flat and open behind her as though she is really out in the country side.  The fence seems too low or not sturdy enough to hold in livestock, however.  Is such countryside typical in Lithuania or in a certain region in Lithuania?  Her dress is quite different from the 5 women in the other photo.  Does her dress style indicate a specific region?  Would a farm woman dress this way?

Success! I found my g-grandfather and g-grandmother in the 1900 Census for Somerville, MA. They were incorrectly listed as Tinton and Tintorn - looks as though the auditor was writing in script and the person transcribing the form mis-named them! However, this has now brought on more questions as their marriage date is different from what i have as are their birth dates. I guess it's back to Lithuania to validate that info.

by the way - i am able to both read and speak lithuanian if there's ever anything that I can do for anyone in this group.

I hope you're ready for this one :-) I have a lot of information:
ggrandfather - Jonas Gintautas was born in Rokiskis, Abeliu Km., Lithuania in 1874. He married Viktorija Petrulyte in Pandėlys, Rokiškio raj., Lithuania in 1898. They would have come to the US between 1898 and 1900 because my grandfather, John [Jonas] Gintoff [Gintautas] was born in 6/30/1900 in Somverville, MA, along with his two siblings - Emilija [Amelia] Gintoff [Gintautas] 1902 or 1904 depending on which document you're looking at, and Povilas Gintoff [Gintautas] who was born in 1905 in Somverville according to my families history, but there is no birth record of a Povilas Gintoff [Gintautas] in Somverville. There is a Joseph Gintoff who, according to the MA Archives, was born to my ggranfather and ggmother. Not sure yet if Povilas and Joseph are the same person or if Joseph was another child who did not survive. My ggrandfather died in 1924 in Rokiskis, Abeliu Km., Lithuania of a heart attack. I have a letter from a great aunt describing the incident. Therefore, the family would have had to have moved back to Lithuania before 1924.

One new anomolie that I just found when I requested a few birth records from the MA archives is that the maiden name of my ggrandmother on my grandfathers' and his sister's birth records is not Petrulis, instead it is Berteroniz, while the maiden name on Joseph Gintoff's [the yet to be determined sibling] is closer to her real maiden name Petronis.

My main goal right now is to figure out when my ggrandfather and ggrandmother arrived in the US and when they returned to Lietuva.

I have checked all of the available resources for immigrants into the US through eastern ports, starting from 1885 through 1900, but I can't find a clue.

Thanks - happy to be here. Both my parents were born in Lithuania so I'm finding it difficult doing research here in the states. I do have a great grandfather who came to the states where he and his wife bore 3 children, and then went back to Lithuania. I have found my grandfathers' birth certificate, however there is absolutely no other record of his family being in the US - they're not listed on any of the census' [1900, 1910, 1920 or 1930], no immigration records. I'm at my wits end on how to continue - not sure if anyone can help with any ideas.

The name was listed in the manifest as Trakimavicuite. 

She immigrated in November 1924 and was married around 1926/1927 with first KNOWN child born in Connecticut in 1927. Not certain if she ever made it to Pennsylvania. 

The name was listed in the manifest as Trakimavicuite. 

She immigrated in November 1924 and was married around 1926/1927 with first KNOWN child born in Connecticut in 1927. Not certain if she ever made it to Pennsylvania. 

Alas...what a difference a day makes! A kind soul via one of the ancestry.com posts I left on a message board appears to have found the manifest for the individual we knew as Anna Trakimas. She is listed as Ona Trakimaviciute, arrived 11/23/1924, going to uncle Joseph Kazlaukas in Connerton PA, from dad Motejus (last name same as hers, incorrect as a maiden name) in Buktiniku LT. She was born in Stoneburn Scotland, but the family may have moved to LT at some point.

So now my question is...where is Buktiniku (sp?)