Agnieszka “Agnes” Szaroleta Grzeskowiak (1854-1918) was my 2nd great grandmother. She was married to my 2nd great grandfather, Albert Grzeskowiak (1849-1931), whose stabbing you read about here. Both immigrated to the United States around 1880 and settled in Detroit, MI.

Here they are in a photograph probably not long before she died at the age of 63.

And here is a much earlier photograph of Agnes and Albert with their growing family. I believe my great grandmother, Marianna Grzeskowiak Pawlowski (1879-1941), is the older girl (dark dress) 2nd in from the right. These are the only two photographs I have seen of Agnes. I am on the hunt for others that possibly exist.

Here is a wedding photograph of Agnes’s daughter, my great grandmother, Marianna. Sitting next to her is my great grandfather Adam Pawlowski (1879-1959).

You can read about how I found information on Marianna’s birth (in Poland) here.

There is much I do not know about Agnes’s life, but here are seem of the details I have filled in:

• She came to the U.S. around 1880.

• In 1900 and 1910 she lived at 339 E. Canfield Ave, Detroit MI (present day 1315 E. Canfield).

• Between the years 1875 and 1898 Agnes and Albert had about 13 children, the first 3 of which were born in Poland (including my great grandmother). The rest were born in Detroit.

• She died of liver cancer on September 16th, 1918.

• Agnes is buried in a family plot at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Detroit.

Here is her death certificate confirming some of these facts.

And here is a video I took last year at Mt. Olivet Cemetery to document the Grzeskowiak family plot.

There is a lot I would still like to know about Agnes and her life. There are few, if any, people alive today that might remember even second hand stories about her. Plus, I have been researching the Grzeskowiak family for several years through newspaper clippings and I have found no mention of Agnes.

As always, the search continues!

This is the 39th of 52 weekly posts planned for 2018. It was inspired by the #52Ancestors writing challenge issued by professional genealogist, Amy Crow Johnson. The challenge: once a week, for all 52 weeks of the year, write about a relative in your family tree.