DOWSKI or DAWSHKA

In the following notes, place-names are given in their modern Russian forms, and personal names, as closely as possible, in their original Polish forms, as despite their residence in Russia there seems to be little that this family was ethnically Polish.

Where the spelling of Polish names is in doubt, we have attempted to ascertain the most standard form from such sources as the International Genealogical Index (IGI). It is hoped that this will not cause confusion, or give offense to any of the persons concerned; and of course any errors pointed out to us will be gladly fixed.

This principle has had to be invoked even in the cases of the surnames of the families under discussion, in the absence of any record of how they were spelt prior to their bearers’ immigration to Canada, and has necessitated a certain amount of reconstruction. The spellings Dawshka and Dowski, used respectively by our Canadian branch and by an American branch of the family, are etymologically impossible in Polish, and probably represent a name like Daczko, Daczka, Doczka, or perhaps Doczkał; we have tentatively adopted the spelling Daczko here. The spelling Yessis is equally inconceivable in Polish, and must surely represent Jessis.

The transliterated Russian č and š (these characters may not display correctly in older web-browsers) are pronounced like English ch and sh, respectively. The Polish c is pronounced ts, j like English y, ł (a crossed l, which also may not display correctly in older web-browsers) roughly like our w, and w roughly like our v. The sz sound is like a French j produced with the underside of the tip of the tongue touching the hard palate, and the cz is pronounced the same as the foregoing, preceeded by a t sound. Other sounds are approximately as in English. At least this is our understanding, although we are ready to be corrected.

I should like to thank my mother, Kathleen Ellen (Blythe) (Dawshka) Dobson, of Winnipeg; my aunts, the late Marie Nellie (Dawshka) Sigurdson, and the late Sophie (Dawshka) Yager, both of Winnipeg, and the late Judy (Parcinkowski) Dawshka, of Victoria, B.C.; Catherine (Burtney) Ostapchuk, of Scarborough, Ontario; Bill and Beverly (McGuire) Burtney, of Scarborough; Hank S. Dowski, of Cheektowaga, New York; Julian Dowski, of Paris, France; and Barbara (Moore) Dowski, of LaFayette, Colorado. Karen Sinotte, an Ostapchuk descendant, provided valuable information on that connection. Mr. G. Ortell, of Astoria, N.Y., a professional genealogist, furnished valuable advice regarding place-names. None of these persons, however, should be held accountable for any errors of fact or interpretation that may appear herein.

Unbeknownst to us, a brief record of the Dawshka family, apparently based on first-hand knowledge, was written by Anne Carritt for the centennial history Arizona 1882-1982 (Arizona, Manitoba, 1982), p. 59. It only came to our attention in 2014 after a digital edition was published, and we now incorporate extracts from it below.

1. ____ Daczko, of Naruszewicz (now Nareshevichi [Нарешевичи]), a village near Baranovichi in Belarus. It is believed that he was of Polish ancestry; and certainly the children of his son Jan spoke Polish, not Russian. He had two children of whom we have knowledge:

1. 2Jan Daczko.
2. 3Katarzyna Daczko.

2. Jan [or Julian?] Daczko, of Naruszewicz, is believed to have been born ca. 1870 and to have died ca. 1900, aged about 30 years. There is no question that he was dead before 3 November 1913, when his son Piotr (in the latter’s immigration record) listed as next of kin “mother, Anna Dowshko [sic], Norestewiczy [sic].” he married by 1893, Anna ____, born ca. 1869-70, died 28 February 1955, aged 85 years, at Fox Memorial Hospital, Carberry, Manitoba, Canada, “following a short illness,”^[1] and buried in Carberry Plains Cemetery, section D, row 15, lot 14.^[2] According to her death notice, his widow, “the late Mrs. Dawshka, was born in White Russian and came to Canada in 1938; she has since made her home with her son Nicholas at Melbourne.” Anne Carritt (whose account errs in having Anna accompany her son to Canada in 1929) states that “although Mrs. Anna Dawshka never learned to speak English, she enjoyed Canadian life and … helped with the garden, the housework and her grandchildren.”
    Known issue, probably born at or near Naruszewicz (birth order inferential):

1. Julia “Lena” Daczko,^[3] born 1894-95, died in June 1969, aged 74 years, at Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. She married by 1916, in Poland, William Myslow. They would appear to have come to Canada in the 1950s, and the 1955 death notice of her mother calls her “Mrs. Julie Myslow of Hamilton, Ontario.” Issue:
   1. Anna Myslow, born 1915-16, died 1928, aged 12 years.
   2. William Myslow, Jr., born ca. 1920-22, alive in 1976. He married Mary ____. Children, all born in Canada: Linda, William, Darlene.
2. 4Piotr Daczko (Peter Dowski), born 5 July 1895 at Minsk.
3. 5Mikolaj (“Nicholas”) Daczko, born 4 November 1897.
4. Jan Daczko (Jr.). He is said to have married and had two children. He was never heard fom after being sent to Siberia during World War II, and it is believed that his wife died shortly thereafter. He was clearly presumed dead in 1955, as he is not mentioned as a survivor in his mother’s obituary. The present whereabouts of any children is not known.

3. Katarzyna Daczko, died some time in 1939-1945. She married before 1902, Wasyl Ilukiewicz, who died shortly after 1945. They were living at Panacz, in the powiat of Siniawka, Poland, by 1902 (the latest possible date of birth of their daughter Krystyna), and were still there in 1930 when “Wasyl Ilukiwicz” is listed as this daughter’s next of kin (see below). Issue (order uncertain):

1. Nusta Ilukiewicz; married Tomasz Táfa. No issue.
2. Krystyna (“Christine”) Ilukiewicz, born 1901-02 (aged 28 in 1930), died 11 March 1973. As Krystüna Ilukiewicz, single woman, domestic servant, aged 28 years, born at Panacz, Poland, ethnicity Ukrainian, she departed on the Oscar II from Copenhagen, Denmark, on 2 April 1930, and arrived at Nova Scotia on 12 April 1930; the record states that her nearest relative was her father, Wasyl Ilukiwicz (sic), of Panacz, and that she was destined for Rembrandt, Manitoba.^[4] She married 6 June 1930 at Winnipeg,^[5] Sylvester “Mike” Burtney, born 1900-01 (calculated), died shortly before 9 September 1970 at Meleb, aged 68 years.^[6] Their marriage record calls them Michael Burtney and Christina Lukewich. They were living at Meleb, near Arborg, Manitoba, in 1931, when their daughter Catherine was born.^[7] However, in 1963, Sylvester Burtney, retired, and Christina Burtney, housewife, are found at no. 5 Valerie Road, Scarborough, York County, Ontario.^[8] His death notice reads, in part: “Suddenly on September 6th, 1970, Sylvester (Mike) Burtney aged 68 years of Meleb, Manitoba. He is survived by his beloved wife Christina, one son William, and daughter Katherine Ostapchuk, four grandchildren and seven cousins…. Requiem mass on Wednesday 10:30 a.m. in St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church, Rembrandt. Rev. G. R. Spolitakevich officiating. Interment in the churchyard cemetery.” Issue:
   1. Catherine Burtney, born 11 June 1931 at Meleb, Manitoba, died in March 1992 at Toronto. She married 15 August 1952 at Winnipeg, Manitoba, Mikalo (“Michael”) Ostapchuk, born 5 August 1918 at Berlo, Manitoba, died 13 July 1984 at Toronto, son of Walter Ostapchuk, of Meleb, by his wife Anna Keryluk. In 1963 Michael Ostapchuk, carpenter, and Katherine Ostapchuk, housewife, are found at the same address as her parents, no. 5 Valerie Road, Scarborough, York County, Ontario.^[9] In 1976 they were living at 24 Six Nations Ave., Scarborough, Ontario M1H 1R5. They had two children.
   2. William (“Bill”) Burtney, born 5 September 1936, alive in 1985. He married 18 May 1963, Beverly McGuire, born ____. In 1985 he was working for the Canadian National Railway, and his wife for Estée Lauder. Their address was 158 Sedgemount Drive, Scarborough, Ontario M1H 1Y2. They have two children.
3. Petra Ilukiewicz; married Wera Kopot, sister of Uri Kopot below. They had three sons: Julian, Wasil, and Wanya.
4. Elzbieta Ilukiewicz; married Uri Kopot, brother of Wera Kopot above. They had two sons: Michał and Wanya.
5. Michał Ilukiewicz, killed 8 December 1974 by a truck while crossing a highway. He married Wera Jessis, who may have been a kinswoman of Marya Jessis, wife of Mikolaj Daczko (no. 4 below). He had an only daughter, Katarzyna, who married Wladimir Dyduck and had two children.

4. Piotr Daczko (Peter Dowski), of Erie Co., New York, born 5 July 1895 at (now Nareshevichi [Нарешевичи]), near Baranovichi, Belarus (despite the fact that his birthplace is given as Poland in the 1930 and 1940 censuses), died 1986, and buried with his wife in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Buffalo, Erie Co., New York.^[10] As “Peter Dowski” he appears as an unmarried man in the 1920 Census of Buffalo, which calls him a laborer, gives his birthplace as Russia, and states that he had been in the country since 1914.^[11] In fact he arrived on 3 November 1913 at the port of New York, having sailed from Glasgow, Scotland, on the S.S. Columbia; the ship’s manifest lists him as Peter Dawshko (which cannot possibly have been the correct spelling of his name), aged 18, of fair complexion, brown hair, and grey eyes, in good health, unmarried, a labourer, born at, and last permanent residing at, “Nerestewizy, Russia,” destined for Buffalo, New York, and notes that he could read and write, and had $25 in his possession.^[12] Immediately above his name in the list is that of “Josif Dawshko,” aged 20, also from “Norestewiczy,” but who is not known to have been a brother, and whom we treat at the end of these notes. To the question put to them of whether they were “going to join a relative or friend,” the two men named the same contact, a friend, Karol Swaristew (?), of 205 Kentucki (sic) Street, Buffalo. Immediately beside their names occur those of two other men from Naruszewicz, Konstantin Esis (aged 20) and Fedor Klewec (aged 25). He is probably the Peter Dowski who was naturalized by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in 1923.^[13] Piotr married some time in 1920-27, Mary Chowaniec, born 25 March 1908 in New York State, died May 1972 at Buffalo, Erie Co., New York,^[14] daughter of Thomas Chowaniec (1877-1935), of Cheektowaga, by the latter’s wife Katherine Stachewicz (1878-1938). Thomas Chowaniec and his wife were both born in Poland. At the taking of the 1930 census Peter Dowski and his wife were living with her parents at Cheektowaga, Erie County, New York, when he was a railroad worker; her parents’ surname is mistakenly given as Howaniec.^[15] Their son Henry informs us that in 1947, Peter and his family made a three-day train trip to visit his brother Nicholas, at Carberry, Manitoba, Canada, where they spent one week. At the time of his wife’s death in 1972 Peter was living at Buffalo. He was reportedly living at New York City in 1976. Issue:

1. Julian Dowski (erroneously called “Julius” in the 1930 census), born 29 December 1927 at Buffalo, alive in September 2003. He married (1) before 1953, Jacqueline Antalek, born 29 April 1929. He married (2) Anne-Marie Dewasmes, born 31 August 1939 in France. He is retired, and by 1990 was living with at Paris, France. By his first wife he had five children:
   1. Julie Ann Dowski, born 7 March 1953 in New Jersey; married Allan Travis, born 7 June 1952. They have four children:
      1. Jessica Travis, born 21 July 1976. By Kevin Dominique she has twin sons named Kody and Kacy, born 29 July 2001.
      2. Erika Travis, born 22 September 1977. By Artie ____ she has a son, Collin Robert, born 15 September 2001.
      3. Stacey Travis, born 27 February 1981.
      4. Kevin Travis, born 19 May 1982
   2. Robert Dowski, born 4 July 1954 in New Jersey. He married (1) Ginny ____, born 19 July 1954, and they have two children. He married (2) Jacqueline Taladay, who has two girls from her first marriage, Julia and Alexandra. In 1986 he was a financial analyst for IBM in Atlanta, Georgia. Issue:
      1. Jennifer Dowski, born 19 October 1979.
      2. Ryan Dowski, born 6 January 1984.
   3. Karen Dowski, born 31 May 1958 at Kingston, New York; married (1) Tyrone Small, born 5 July 1954 in Barbados. She married (2) Melvin Haynes. Issue:

      (By first husband:)

      1. Kimburley Small, born 19 November 1981.
      2. Pamela Small, born 30 April 1984.
      3. Erin Small, born 20 December 1986.

      (By second husband:)

      3. Adam Haynes, born 14 August 1995.
   4. Peter John Dowski (who changed his name to Peter John Schuyler), born 4 May 1963 in Massachusetts; married Roseann Kitson. Issue:
      1. Isabelle Carolyn Schuyler, born 8 October 2003.
   5. Rebecca Ann Dowski, born 21 July 1965 at Poughkeepsie, New York, murdered with her friend Cathleen Thomas shortly before 12 October 1986 on the Colonial Parkway near Williamsburg, Virginia. At the time of her death she was a student at the College of William and Mary, Williamsburg. They were the first victims in the Colonial Parkway Murders, believed to be the work of a serial killer who has never been identified despite an ongoing FBI investigation.^[16]
2. Alice H. Dowski, born 1928-29 (aged 1 year in 1930) in New York State, died in May or June 1990. She married Mark W. Miazga, of Buffalo, N.Y., who survived her. There were no children of this marriage.
3. Edward Raymond Dowski, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, born 10 February 1935 (?), alive in 2009. He married Aldona Slapelis, born 6 March 1939 in Lithuania, alive in 2009. He is now retired. They have two children:
   1. Edward Raymond Dowski, Jr., Ph.D., born 9 January 1961. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, with a dissertation which demonstrated a method for improving the automatic focusing and depth-of-field of camera lenses, which he named wavefront coding. He and his graduate advisor, W. Thomas Cathey, along with R.C. Mercure, subsequently formed a company, CDM-Optics, of Bolder, Colorado, to develop products based on the new technique. The company was acquired in 2005 by OmniVision Technologies, which has released wavefront-coding-based mobile camera chips under the name of TrueFocus sensors.^[17] He married 1 July 1995, Barbara Jean Moore, M.S., born 14 August 1965. They live at Lafayette, Colorado, and do not have children.
   2. Capt. Donna Anne Dowski, born 3 October 1962. She married 9 July 1988 at St. Mary’s Church, Newport, Capt. Michael P. McGunigal, M.D., son of Thomas and Deana (____) McGunigal, of Clarkville, Maryland. They live at Monument, Colorado, and have two children:
      1. Kevin McGunigal, born 13 April 1994.
      2. Sean McGunigal, born 19 February 1995
4. Henry (“Hank”) S. Dowski, Ph.D., alive in September 2003. Dr. Henry S. Dowski is an Associate Professor in the Department of Elementary Education and Reading at Buffalo State College. He is living (2003) at 3 Pendlewood Drive, Cheektowaga, NY 14225. He married in 1958, but divorced in 1983, Shirley Meager. He married (2) in 1984, Leona (“Lee”) Wodowski. By his first wife, he has six children:
   1. Mike Dowski, born 28 July 1959, died 6 June 1987 of a brain aneurism.
   2. David Dowski, born 29 January 1961. He married Meijia Wang, and they are living (2003) at Randolph, New Jersey. They have a one daughter:
      1. Alison Dowski, born 14 September 1999.
   3. Susan Dowski, born 26 January 1963. She married (1), but divorced in 2002, Arnold Kraft. She married (2) in October 2003, Paul Winnie, born 6 October 1954. She and her second husband live at Akron, NY. There are no children.
   4. Cindy Dowski, born 16 September 1964. She married Ronald (“Tim”) Mt. Pleasant, born 3 July 1962, and they are living (2003) at Niagara Falls, NY. They have three children:
      1. Timothy (“Drew”) Mt. Pleasant, born 29 May 1984.
      2. Kyle Mt. Pleasant, born 21 July 1995.
      3. Cierra Mt. Pleasant, born 4 February 1999.
   5. Kathy Dowski, born 18 February 1966. She married Tom McDonnell, and they are living (2003) at Batavia, NY. They have two children:
      1. Caitlin McDonnell, born 2 September 1998.
      2. Meghan McDonnell, born 11 July 2001.
   6. Mary Dowski, born 28 February 1968, living at Nampa, ID. She is unmarried (2003).

5. Mikolaj Daczko (Nicholas Dawshka), born 4 November 1897 at Naruszewicz (now Nareshevichi [Нарешевичи]), near Baranovichi, Belarus, died 17 November 1969 at Fox Memorial Hospital, Carberry, Manitoba, Canada, aged 72 years, of heart failure, and buried 19 November following in Carberry Plains Cemetery.^[18] He married before 1922, in Poland, Marya Jessis (“Mary Yessis”), born 28 July 1897 at Sieniawka or Siniawka (now Sinyavka [Сінявка]), near Baranovichi, Belarus, died 14 July 1974 at St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba, aged 76 years, and buried beside her husband 17 July following,^[19] daughter of Jan and Anna (____) Jessis.
    Mikolaj Daczko was a farmer and carpenter in Byelorussia. He fought as a soldier in World War I. He immigrated with his wife and three eldest children to Pratt, Manitoba, Canada, during the latter half of 1929, and they were awarded a certificate of naturalization on 5 October 1934.^[20] He farmed at Pratt, later at Melbourne, and finally at Carberry until his retirement in 1965. He is described as of Melbourne in the 1955 death notice of his mother. Anne Carritt says: “About 1935 they moved to 14-10-13. In 1938 they bought 23-10-13, where they lived and raised registered Hereford cattle until 1958, when they sold out to Ron Calvert. They already owned N.W. 14-10-14 near Carberry [purchased in 1950 from Hector Calvert^[21]], so Mr. and Mrs. Dawshka, now living alone, moved and made their home there. Nick farmed until his death in 1969. Mrs. Dawshka lived on at the farm for a few years. Later she lived with her daughter Sophie in Winnipeg [actually at Rosser, Manitoba] until [shortly before] her death in 1974.” His death notice reads, in part:

On November 17, 1969 after a short illness Nicholas Dawshka aged 72 years of Carberry, Manitoba. He was born in Poland, and came to Canada in 1929. He came to the Carberry district in 1935. He retired from farming in 1965. He was predeceased by a son Carl in January 1969 [and] a sister Lena Myslow in Hamilton in June 1969. Surviving is his wife Mary; son Con of Winnipeg; two daughters Mrs. T. Sigurdson (Marie) and Mrs. R. Yager (Sophie) both of Winnipeg; brother Peter of New York, and ten grandchildren. Funeral service was held November 19 at 11:00 a.m. in the United Church, Carberry. Rev. T. Mercer officiated. Pallbearers were Roy Bailey, Elmer Mott, Roy MacDonald, Carl Zarbo, Charles Carritt, Peter Surminsky. Burial was in Carberry cemetery.^[22]

    Issue:

1. Marie Nellie Dawshka, born 17 March 1922 at Naruszewiecz, died 11 May 2000, aged 78 years, at Donwood Manor Personal Care Home, Winnipeg.^[23] Before her marriage Marie taught at various schools throughout Manitoba. She married 6 April 1945 at Winnipeg, Thomas Gunnar Sigurdson, born 16 October 1910 at Geysir, Manitoba,^[24] died 15 September 2000, aged nearly 90 years, also at Donwood Manor Personal Care Home, Winnipeg, son of Tómas Sigurdsson and María Þóra Halldórsdóttir, of Geysir and later of Steep Rock, Manitoba.^[25] A local history says of him: “He went to the Geysir School and grew up in the Geysir district. He moved to Steep Rock, Manitoba, bought land and raised cattle…. In 1937, when there was a shortage of feed in Saskatchewan, he took a contract hauling all hay available from Reykjavik, Manitoba and surrounding districts across Lake Manitoba to Steep Rock, Manitoba. From there, it was shipped to different towns in Saskatchewan. From 1938-1944, he was fishing and freighting along Lake Manitoba. In 1945, he married a school teacher, Marie Dawshka, from Carman, Manitoba…. Tom and Marie moved to Winnipeg, where he worked at various jobs [including at Universal Construction] until his retirement in 1975. Tom is a fine craftsman. In his leisure time, he makes a variety of stringed instruments including guitars, banjos and violins.” In 1992 they were living at 233 Emerson Avenue, Winnipeg. In 1999 they were living at 302-1745 Henderson Highway, Winnipeg. They have two sons:
   1. James (“Jim”) Thomas Sigurdson, born 17 February 1946 at Steep Rock, Manitoba; married Michelline ____.
   2. Douglas (“Doug”) Alexander Sigurdson, born 1 September 1948 at Steep Rock, Manitoba. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Manitoba. In 1972 he and his friend Suzanne Gillies founded Plug-In Gallery in Winnipeg, and remained its co-directors until moving to Toronto in 1979. In the early or mid-1980s he was co-ordinator of A-Space, an art gallery there. In 1989 he was appointed Executive Director of the Visual Arts Branch of the Canada Arts Council, Ottawa. He was appointed interim Head of the Visual Arts Section in January 2009, and received the same position permanently in May 2009.
2. Constantine (“Connie”) Dawshka, born 30 October 1924 at Naruszewiecz, died 20 February 1974 at the St. Vital Hospital, Winnipeg, aged 49 years, and buried in the Assumption Cemetery.^[26] He married 20 June 1953, at St. Ignatius Church, Winnipeg, Jadwiga (“Judy”) Elzbieta Parcinkowski, born 7 September 1930 at Dobrawola, Poland, died 13 May 1992 at Victoria, British Columbia, of lung cancer, and buried in Royal Oak Burial Park.^[27] He apparently disliked the name Constantine, and never used it in its full form. Nonetheless, his name was certainly Constantine (as stated in his record of naturalization) and not Conrad, as we have occasionally heard stated. He was a driver for Winnipeg Transit for the twenty years preceding his death. At the time of his death he was living at 163 Matheson Ave. E., Winnipeg. His widow Judy lived there until 1986, when she moved to Victoria, B.C. They have four children:
   1. Charles (“Charlie”) Dawshka, born 25 February 1954 at Winnipeg, alive in 1985. He married 24 July 1982 at Lima, Peru, Flor Pocha Hildago, born 31 January 1956 in a remote jungled area of Peru, daughter of Fernad Hildago and Esther Armas. They are living at Victoria, British Columbia, where he has worked in mines and oil-drilling, among other things. Their address in 1985 was no. 310, 1419 Stadcona Street, Victoria. Only child:
      1. Tanya Dawshka, born 8 November 1982 at Victoria.
   2. Ronald (“Ron”) Dawshka, born 3 April 1955 at Winnipeg, alive in 2006. He took a degree in Cpmputer Science and was working in 1985 at Victoria, B.C. He married Janet ____, and they have two sons. In 2006 he was a Client Manager for the Education & Corporate Client Unit, Client Manager Branch, Management Services Division, British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education.
   3. Patricia (“Patty”) Anne Dawshka, born 9 January 1959 at Winnipeg, alive in 2006. She married (1) 10 July 1982 in St. Mary’s Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Winnipeg, but divorced about 1982, Erlin (“Erlin”) Uwe Kauker, born 21 July 1959 at Ettlington, West Germany. She and her first husband lived at Victoria, British Columbia, where they both served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Their address in 1985 was 307-345 Michigan Street, Victoria. She married (2) Joe ____.
   4. David Robert Dawshka, born 1 February 1958 at Winnipeg, alive in 2006. He received his M.A. in Clinical Psychology at Guelph University in 1982, then worked at Kenora, Ontario, from 1984 to 1986. He married 20 July 1985 in St. Mary’s Cathedral (Roman Catholic), Winnipeg, Ana-Maria Fernandes, born 4 August 1963, daughter of Joaquin Fernandes, of Winnipeg. They moved in 1986 to Flin Flon, Manitoba, but by 1988 moved to Morden, Manitoba. In 2006 he was a Behavior Specialist with Family Services and Housing, Community Service Delivery, Rural & Northern Services Central. His wife owns and manages Dimensions Fashions, a women’s clothing store, which she established in 1988. Children:
      1. Christina Maria Dawshka, born in July or August 1989. She has studied at the University of Winnipeg.
      2. Nicholas (“Nico”) Andrew Timmy Dawshka, born before May 1992. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Winnipeg in 2013.
3. Sophie Violet Dawshka, born 7 July 1929 at Naruszewiecz, died 10 October 2006 at Meadowood Manor, Winnipeg, aged 79 years.^[28] She married 30 June 1961 in the First English Lutheran Church, Winnipeg, Robert (“Bob”) Roy Yager, born 22 April 1930 at Winnipeg, died 26 December 2010, at Victoria, B.C., aged 80 years,^[29] son of Rudolph Yager and Katrina/Katharina Rath.^[30] Their cremated remains rest together at Chapel Lawn Funeral Home, 4000 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg. Although she had only recently turned 16 at the beginning of her appointment, Sophie was the teacher at Arizona School District no. 478 in Arizona (now Worby), southeast of Austin, Manitoba, in the year 1945-1946.^[31] She later attended the University of Manitoba, graduating with a B.Sc. and a B.S.W. Between earning her two academic degrees, she worked as technician in the Provincial Veterinary Laboratory, Winnipeg, and in 1957 contributed to an article published by members of its staff, entitled “An Outbreak of Swine Erysipelas in Turkeys.”^[32] She and her husband farmed at Rosser, Manitoba, and he also worked at M M Greenhouses and was a general contractor under the name of Yager Builders Ltd. After his retirement about 1996 they moved to Winnipeg, and were living in 1999 at 407-175 Pulberry. The last surviving member of her family, she was survived by her husband, who moved shortly afterwards to Vancouver, British Columbia. Her death notice states, “Sophie treasured her time as a school teacher, as a social worker and especially as a wife and mother to her family.” She and her husband adopted two children:
   1. Barbara Ruth Yager, born 28 July 1966 in the Misericordia Hospital, Winnipeg, alive in 2011. She studied Sciences at the University of Manitoba. She met her future husband while working at Toronto, and they have returned there after living for some time at Norwalk, Connecticut. In 2011 she began a new position with the Bank of Montreal as Deputy Chief Accountant. She married Darrell Cheung. They are the owners of Satori Urban Wellness in Toronto.
   2. Roger Kendall Yager, born 15 November 1967 in the St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg, alive in 2011. He studied Engineering at the University of Manitoba. He married Corinne ____, and they have one child, a daughter, Isabella Yager. They are now (2009) living at Vancouver, British Columbia.
4. Carl George Dawshka, born 17 February 1933 at Pratt, near Austin, Manitoba, died 28 January 1969 at Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, aged 35 years, and buried there 31 January following in Hillside Memorial Cemetery, section 5, row 18.^[33] He married 27 December 1958 in St. Edward’s Church (Roman Catholic), Winnipeg, Kathleen Ellen Blythe, born 23 July 1934 at Winnipeg, alive in 2011, daughter of Alan Blythe, of Winnipeg, by his wife Jessie Clara McCullough. He received his early education in schools in Melbourne, Manitoba, and attended high school at St. Paul’s College, a private Roman Catholic school in Winnipeg. Carl received a B.A. in 1954 from St. Paul’s College at the University of Manitoba, and a B.S.W. in 1956 and an M.S.W. from the University of Manitoba in 1959. From 1954 to 1961 he was a social worker for the Provincial Government in Northern Manitoba. In 1961 he went to Portage la Prairie, where he and his family lived at 15 Sunset Drive (a street which, incidentally, he named). He was Regional Director at Portage for the Department of Health and Social Services, Social Services Division. He and his wife were members of St. John’s Church (Roman Catholic) in Portage, and Carl belonged to Rotary International.
       His widow, Kathleen, who received her B.A. from the University of Manitoba in 1955, was also a social worker before their marriage. She married (2) (as his third wife) 12 April 1975, but separated from in 1984, and divorced 21 December 2000, Ross Victor Goodwin Dobson, born 15 April 1934 at London, alive in November 2011, son of Walter Dobson, of London, Ontario, by the latter’s wife Doris Eva Goodwin. From 1979 until her retirement in the summer of 1999 she was the social worker for the Emergency Department of Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg. She married (3) (as his third wife) 24 February 2001 in Christ the King Church (Roman Catholic), Winnipeg, Ronald Douglas Slate. She has lived since 1973 at 4 Cromer Bay, Winnipeg R2M 4C5. In 1998 Kathleen legally resumed the surname of Blythe, which she has retained through her third marriage.
       Carl Dawshka and his wife adopted two children:
   1. John Blythe Dawshka (the present writer), born 7 November 1961 at Brandon, Manitoba; unmarried. He has been commonly known as John Blythe Dobson since his mother’s second marriage, and legally assumed the name on 9 April 2015. He received a B.A. (4-year) in Dramatic Studies in 1987, a B.A. in English in 1988, and a B.A. (Honors) in History in 1990, all from the University of Winnipeg. He started as an assistant in the U. of W. Library in 1982, worked there in the Reference Department from 1986 to 2000, in the Systems Department from 2000 to 2017, and in the Scholarly Communications Department from 2017 to the present. He has been a contributing editor to The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record since 2010, and was elected a fellow of the American Society of Genealogists in 2012, and of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society in 2014. He lived at 23-10 Balmoral Street, Winnipeg, from 2000 to 2005, and has lived at 1170 Spruce Street, R3E 2V3 since 2005.
   2. Ann Marie Dawshka (who briefly used the surname Dobson after her mother’s second marriage, and since her marriage goes by the surname Johnston), born 14 November 1963 at Winnipeg. She studied for two years at the University of Winnipeg, and later worked as a baker and veterinarian’s assistant. She married 15 June 1996 in the Roman Catholic Church, Lorette, Manitoba, Kieran Johnston, born 18 July 1964, son of Desmond and Betty (Lowe) Johnston, of Winnipeg. She and her husband live near Dufresne, Manitoba, and are the owners of Quickdraw Embroidery, which they operate out of their home. Issue:

      (natural child, by Allan Wishnowski:)

      1. Jessica Blythe Dawshka, born 24 January 1986 at Winnipeg. She married 7 July 2006 at the home of her mother near Dufresne, Manitoba (but they have since separated), Patrick Michael Leonoff, son of Les and Shaun (Wankling) Leonoff, of St. Anne, Manitoba. Blythe is presently living with her two children in Winnipeg (2021). Issue:

         (by Adam Kyle Emerson:)

         1. Caleb Michael Dawshka, born 16 October 2002.

         (by her husband:)

         2. Mikalah Blythe Leonoff, born 4 April 2006.

      (by her husband:)

      2. Maeve Kathleen Elizabeth Johnston, born 23 September 1997 at Winnipeg.
      3. Hugh Desmond Johnston, born 19 December 1999 at Winnipeg.

Some Unplaced Daczkos

Osip Daczko, born 1869-70 (aged 32 in 1912) at Naruszewice. As “Osip Dawschko,” aged 32 years, of light complexion, light brown hair, and grey eyes, born at, and last permanently residing at, Naruszewice, Russia, he arrived on 29 November 1912 at the port of New York, having sailed from Hamburg on the S.S. President Grant. His nearest relative in his home country was his wife in Naruszewice, whose name appears to read “Juliann Dawschko.” He sailed with three other men from Naruszewice — Simon Nowik, Szczepan S…inko (illegible), and Piotr Schlolinz — and all three were bound for Buffalo, New York, and he was going to join a friend, Stefan Karpiewik, there.^[34] We have not found later record of him at Buffalo.

Josef Daczko, born 1892-93 (if he was aged 20 in 1913) at Naruszewice. As noted above, his name appears immediately above that of “Peter Dawshko,” in the manifest of the S.S. Columbia, arriving 3 November 1913 at the port of New York from Glasgow, Scotland. He is recorded as “Josif Dawshko,” aged 20 (?), of light complexion, dark hair, and brown eyes, in good health, unmarried, a labourer, born at, and last permanently residing at, “Nerestewizy, Russia,” destined for Buffalo, New York, and notes that he could read and write, and had $25 in his possession; his next of kind was his wife, “Katja Dawshko,” of “Norestewiczy.” His age has been overwritten and the reading is uncertain.^[35] He thus married before 3 November 1913, Katja ____, who at least temporarily, remained behind in Byelorussia. There is no reason, on chronological grounds, that Josef could not have been a brother to the Piotr with whom he travelled, but he was completely unknown to any members of the present family who were still alive in the 1970s. We have not found any really convincing match for him in the 1920 or 1920 census of New York State, not have we found a likely immigration record for his wife.

Notes

From the Genealogy Page of John Blythe Dobson
URL = johnblythedobson.org/genealogy/ff/Dawshka.cfm
This page written 15 June 1999
last revised 20 November 2021