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Faronica Nicolai was born in December 1849 in Germany. Her mother is thought to be Elizabeth Drosdowski and her father's surname is unknown but thought to be Rhode. Very little is known about her childhood in Germany. Her father died shortly after she was born and her mother then married Paul Pajewski. Faronica's mother then had at least three sons and perhaps another son or daughter with Paul Pajewski. The known sons were Michael (1854), Franz (1862), and Johann (1865). Possibly the other sons name was Andrew. The name and age of the daughter is unknown. By 1872, when Faronica was in her young twenties, her mother and stepfather had died.
Faronica married Martin Nicolai about 1874 in Germany. A g-grandson of Martin and Veronica suggests the marriage took place in Dortmund, Germany as per a record found in the IGI. Martin was a year younger than Veronica and was born in November 1850 in Germany. Martin and Faronica had at least two children in Prussia. These were Anna, born 1881-82 and Bertha, born 1882-83. In the summer of 1882, Faronica's half brother, Michael Pajewski immigrated to the United States. Perhaps he wrote her about the opportunities and that he was happy there. So in 1883, Martin and Faronica, both in their young 30s, decided to immigrate. In June, they purchased a rail ticket to take their family of four from Prussia, near Danzig to Antwerp, Belgium. In Belgium, they purchased a fare on the Nederland and sailed for New York. They arrived 23 June 1883 at Castle Garden on the southern end of Manhattan. Young Anna was one, Bertha was an infant and Faronica was 6 months pregnant. After being processed at Castle Garden and getting their money exchanged, they purchased a ferry ticket from Manhattan to the New Jersey to find a train to the Midwest. Their intended destination was Michigan, which was probably the location of Faronica's half brother, Michael Pajewski. Perhaps work was slow in Michigan or Mike was ready to move on, but the Nicolais only stayed a short time. And by September the Nicolai family had moved to Wisconsin where their daughter Minnie was born in September 1883. The Nicolai children are: Anna born 1881-82 in Prussia, Bertha born 1882-83 in Prussia, Minnie born in September 1883 in Wisconsin, Elizabeth born in October 1885 in Illinois, Mary born in June 1889 in Illinois and Martin born in December 1891 in Illinois. The Nicolai family only stayed in Wisconsin a few years and by 1885, they had moved to Chicago. In 1900 they lived at 5041 Justine and in 1910 they lived at 1510 W.51st in Chicago. These addresses are in the same neighborhood as her half-brothers Michael, Frank, and John Pajewski. For the 1900 Census, Martin and Veronica Nicolai lived at the same house address as Matthew and Mary Abend. Years earlier, Veronica's half-brother Michael married Augustine Abend. Martin and Veronica were also godparents to a number of the children in the Pajewski, Abend, Paswa, and Soneke families. These linkages suggest that the Pajewski, Gainowski, Abend, and Pastwa families knew each other in the old country or became close friends after their arrival in Chicago in the 1880s. At the same Nicolai at 5041 Justine address in 1900 was the John Ruinkaretz family. This is a new family name but perhaps it is also part of an extended group of close immigrant friends that stuck together. As follows is a transcript of a late-1977 obituary for Martin M. Nicolei, Martin and Veronica's son born in December 1891. In the late 1800s, the spelling in the records was usually Nicolai or Nicolay, but in the early 1900s appears to have been changed to Nicolei. This obituary shows the married names of Martin's three sisters. The obituary is as follows:
Initial Web Publication Date: 07/06/03 |
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