mums216 Sroka Family Papers, 1842-1980s Finding Aid Finding aid prepared by Linda Seidman. Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Amherst, MA
2003

University of Massachusetts Amherst. All rights reserved.

 Finding aid encoded using Perl scripts and edited in XMetal 2.0. Encoded by Eric Cartier. 2003-07-28 Finding aid written in English. 2005-09-23 mu189 converted from EAD 1.0 to 2002 by v1to02-5c.xsl (sy2003-10-15). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst Sroka Family Papers, 1842-1980s Finding Aid Manuscript Number 216 Compiled by Linda Seidman 1988 Encoding funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

2003 University of Massachusetts Amherst. All rights reserved.

 Collection Overview Sroka Family Sroka Family Papers 1842-1980s MS 216 1 box (0.25 linear ft.) Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst Polish family who emigrated to the United States in 1912-13 and settled in Chicopee, Massachusetts, working in meat packing firms and textile factories, and also as seamstresses and farmers. Includes birth and wedding certificates, military and employment documentation, residential and passport applications, photographs, and lists of baptisms, weddings, and deaths. Also contains a family history written by Gary Sroka, correspondence, payment book for the Society of St. Joseph (Chicopee, Massachusetts), and a news clipping. All materials exist as photocopies and are written primarily in Polish, German, and Hungarian, though some are in English, Ukranian, and Russian. English, German, and Polish Biographical Note

Jan Sroka was born in Poland on July 14, 1882, the eldest child of Szczepan Sroka. Jan lived and worked on the shifting border between Austria and Hungary mainly as a cheese maker from 1902-1912, although in 1905 and 1912 he was active in the military. On June 10, 1909 Jan was married to Anna Babiec, born January 21, 1892. Matilda, the first daughter of Jan and Anna, was born in 1910 and soon afterward the young couple decided to emigrate to the United States. Jan arrived on Thanksgiving Day in 1912, and Anna and Matilda arrived in March of 1913. Upon arriving, Jan worked at Hunts meat packing firm in Springfield, Massachusetts, and soon bought a house in nearby Chicopee. Four children were born in the United States, Filomena in 1915, Mieczyslaw in 1916, Alice in 1918 and Irene in 1922. Anna was a seamstress, and during the Great Depression both she and her daughters worked in textile factories in Chicopee and Springfield. To support the family, Jan and Anna farmed as well.

 Scope and Contents of the Collection

Documents and photographs carried by Jan and Anna Stroka from Poland to the United States in 1912 and 1913, respectively, as well as family papers from 1913 to 198?. Most of the papers are in Polish, German and Hungarian, although some are in English, Ukrainian and Russian. Documents include birth and wedding certificates, military and employment documentation, residential and passport applications, an affidavit confirming age and residence, photographs, and lists of baptisms, weddings and deaths. Family papers include a family history written by Gary Sroka, grandson of Jan, which traces five generations of the Sroka family; correspondence, photographs, payment book for the Society of St. Joseph (Chicopee, Massachusetts), pay stub from Walt Manufacturing Company, and a news clipping. All materials exist as photocopies.

The collection is open for research.

 Preferred Citation

Cite as: Sroka Family Papers (MS 216). Special Collections and University Archives, W.E.B. Du Bois Library, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Acquired from Gary Sroka, 1988, via Stanley Radosh as photocopies. Family retains originals.

Processed by Linda Seidman, 1988.

 Search Terms Sroka Family. Sroka, Gary. Polish-Americans--Massachusetts. Sroka Family. 1 1 The Sroka Family of Chicopee, Massachusetts, by Gary Sroka (English) n.d. 1 2 Sroka family weddings, baptisms and deaths (Polish) 1842-1898 1 3 Birth certificate for Anna Babiec, b. 1892 (Polish) 1892 1 4 Wedding certificate for Jozef and Anna 1909 1 5 Application for travel passport for Jozef (Polish) 1912 1 6 Affidavit confirming age, residence, etc. for Anna (Polish) 1913 1 7 Employment documentation (Work Book) for Jan Sroka (German, Polish, Russian, Ukranian, Hungarian) 1899-1910 1 8 Employment documentation in various cheese factories 1905-1910 1 9 Military documentation (Infantry Log Book) card #37 1905-1912 1 10 Photo (photocopy) of Jozef Sroka in military uniform of Austro-Hungarian Empire n.d. 1 11 Application for permanent residential status in town of Toporz for Jozef Sroka, age 30 (Hungarian) 1911 1 12 Payment book, Society of St. Joseph, Chicopee 1913-1960 1 13 Letter from Janos Dvorzsak in Hungary to Jozef (Hungarian and Polish) 1926 1 14 Letter from Jan Sroka, Kosice Slovenia to ? 1932 1 15 Pay stub, Walt Manufacturing Company, Springfield 1943 1 16 Letter from Aniela to John J. Sroka 1947 1 17 Photographs 1912, n.d. 1 18 Newsclipping re Ann Sroka, and her real estate card n.d.