For week 13 of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks the theme was “Nearly Forgotten.” I don’t think that it is widely known that my Grandpa Ed had an older brother named John. Grandpa Ed’s parent’s (Frank Szeliga and Caroline Ogrodnik) had four children:
- John Szeliga b. 5 Sep 1915 and d. 9 Jun 1932
- Edmund Sheliga b. 21 Oct 1922 and d. 7 Jun 2019
- Dorothy Szeliga b. 18 Jun 1924 and d. 14 Apr 2004
- Frank Szeliga b. 8 Mar 1926 and d. 8 Feb 2009
Here is a picture of John in 1923 when he would have been 7 or 8 years old:
John was born in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania in 1915. I have a transcript of his birth certificate, but I cannot order a copy of the original one until after 105 years have passed – so I should be able to order it January 2nd, 2021 from the Pennsylvania State Archives. Here is the transcript of his birth certificate:
John passed away when he was 16 years old. Grandpa Ed said: “John got a cut on his arm from a tin toy. Caroline wanted to take him to the hospital, but John said not to worry. An infection formed and by the time they did take him to the hospital it was too late. Caroline never was the same after that – she blamed herself for his death.”
Uncle Frank Szeliga (John’s other brother) said: “John Szeliga was buried in the Polish Cemetery St. Stanislaus. He was about 17 years old when he died. He was a good baseball player. He had gangrene in his leg, they amputated it and he passed shortly afterwards.”
I also have research notes from Grandpa Ed saying: “John was supposed to be doing something (like chores) instead of goofing around when he got his cut that led to his death. So he hid the cut from his mom not wanting to get in trouble until it was too late and he got blood poisoning (sepsis).”
John’s name in Polish was spelled Jan. He is buried in St. Stanislaus Cemetery in Buffalo, NY. Grandpa and I visited there and I took this picture of his tombstone:
1915-1932
Our Dear
Son
I hope that by posting some of John’s story, that he will not be forgotten.