Genealogy Chat

Sheila was born in Preston Lancashire in 1930. Her parents were John Lawrence Law and Christine nee Halstead. In 1949 she married Czeslaw Szelest in Preston and had 1 son Edmund born the same year. All 3 emigrated to America in October 1952 as Czeslaw had a brother living there. They had a daughter Victoria who I’m given to understand was born in America but I don’t know where or when. They had sailed from Southampton to New York. I know that Sheila died in America and I wondered if anyone can help as to where or when.
Many thanks.

Have you tried looking for info yourself?

The familysearch website is free

I have tried but didn’t know that family search covered America.

Was she born Sheila H Law? She's the only one born 1929-1939 of freebmd with correct mmn.

There is this, but the parents names don't match up.

U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007

Name: Sheila H Szelest
[Sheila Gordon]
[Sheila Szelest]
Gender: Female
Race: White
Birth Date: 10 Aug 1930
Birth Place: England, United Kingdom
[Unk, United Kingdom]
Death Date: 1 Jan 2001
Father: Dave Gordon
Mother: Mary Selfridge
SSN: 109280045
Notes: Oct 1952: Name listed as SHEILA H SZELEST; 01 Mar 1983: Name listed as SHEILA GORDON; 09 Nov 1992: Name listed as SHEILA SZELEST

U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-2018
Name: Sheila H. Szelest
Gender: F (Female)
Birth Place: Preston, England
Source Title: Holcombe Fisher
Source Location: Flemington, NJ, USA
Spouse: Czeslaw Szelest
Children: Edward Szelest, of Hillsborough, NJ
Parents: Katherine Law
(Unless Edward is a different child, Edmund could have changed his name)

U.S., Departing Passenger and Crew Lists, 1914-1966
Name: Sheila H. Szelest
Departure Date: 6 Oct 1955
Departure Place: New York, New York, USA
Ship: Britannic

There's an Edmund Szelest on the same manifest

https://tinyurl.com/yd2rhavn

Sheila H Szelest
August 10, 1930 - January 26, 2001

Obituary for Sheila H. Szelest
Sheila H. Szelest, age 70 years, of Brooklyn, NY, died on January 26, 2001 at her residence. Born in Preston, England on August 10, 1930, she was the daughter of Katherine Law. She was a homemaker. Sheila is survived by her husband, Czeslaw Szelest, and their son, Edward Szelest, of Hillsborough, NJ. Interment in Newell Cemetery, Stanton, NJ.

No mention of a Victoria or an Edmund. Might it be a different Sheila? :-S

From Findagrave.com

Sheila Szelest
BIRTH 10 Aug 1930
DEATH 25 Jan 2001 (aged 70)
BURIAL
Newell Cemetery
Stanton, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA
MEMORIAL ID 134687660
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134687660/sheila-szelest

Czeslaw Szelest
BIRTH 10 Jul 1925
DEATH 13 Nov 2007 (aged 82)
BURIAL
Newell Cemetery
Stanton, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, USA
MEMORIAL ID 134687465
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/134687465/czeslaw-szelest

Photo of both their headstones on the links

Czeslaw's obituary which does mention Victoria


Czeslaw (Chester) Szelest
November 13, 2007

Czeslaw (Chester) Szelest, age 82 years, of Brooklyn, NY, died on November 13, 2007, at his home.

Born in Poland, July 10, 1925, he had resided in Brooklyn, NY since 1952.

A truck mechanic with Mack Trucks, Maspeth, NY, he retired in 1990.

He was a British Army veteran of World War II.

His wife, Sheila Law Szelest, died in 2001. Surviving are a son, Edmund Szelest, of Hillsborough Township, NJ; a daughter, Victoria Szelest, of New York City, NY; and a sister in Poland.

Funeral Services will be held on Monday at 11 AM in the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. Interment will be in Newell Cemetery, Stanton, NJ. There will be no calling hours.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Guardian Angel Roman Catholic Church, 2978 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11235.

https://tinyurl.com/ybxhgssn

certainly seems the right parents

Marriages Sep 1929
Halstead Catherine Law Preston 8e 1482
Law John L Halstead Preston 8e 1482

There is a Victoria M Szelest on the U.S. Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2
She was born Jan 1957.

She's not listed at the same address as her parents, although Edmund is.

Czeslaw Szelest
10 Jul 1925 2956 W 8th St, Brooklyn, NY

Sheila Szelest 2956 W 8th St, Brooklyn, NY

Edmund Szelest
(dd) Nov 1949 2956 W 8th St, Brooklyn, NY

Victoria M Szelest
(dd) Jan 1957 5164 W 50 St 4a, New York, NY

As the last date entered for the index is 1993, there's a good chance both the children have moved

Shirley, the entry on the Social Services Application has thrown me, unless they've incorrectly transcribed it

Father: Dave Gordon
Mother: Mary Selfridge

Not Christine Halstead & John Law

familysearch is an American site (Latter Day Saints)

This *might* be Edmund's address. On the other hand, as the entry has the suffix of Jr, it could be a different person. May be Edmund's son??

https://www.whitepages.com/name/Edmund-S-Szelest-Jr./Flemington-NJ/nrq9tn8

Previous locations
Hillsborough NJ
Bridgewater NJ

Linked family Karen B Szelest

Many thanks to all who have replied and been very helpful. It is appreciated.
Why Sheila son is called Edward in her obituary and reverts back to Edmund in his father’s I don’t know. Also don’t know why Victoria isn’t mentioned in her mother’s. Maybe a family problem.
Sheilas father was my uncle who after her parents divorced married my mother’s sister. Sheila kept in touch with him until his death in 1972.
I don’t know anything about the Sheila Gordon mentioned on the social security application and claims. If it is the same one I wonder why her parents are listed as Dave Gordon and Mary Selfridge. Very odd.
Pat

The application & claims list all the names the person was known by. Like you, the surname Gordon seems confusing. May be the transcription had ‘slipped a line’ & has combined 2 different entries?

Adapting the transcription notes, this is the what someone else’s might look like

Notes: Oct 1952: Name listed as Susan H Davis; 01 Mar 1983: Name listed as Susan GORDON; 09 Nov 1992: Name listed as Susan Helen Gordon; Jan 2008: name listed as Susan Smith

The assumption would be that sometime between Oct 1952 & Mar 1983, the mythical Susan H Davis married a Mr Gordon.
By Jan 2008, she was going by the surname of Smith.

You can accept the confusion between Christine & Katherine in the funeral notice as that error would be down to family memories.

Is it possible that Victoria died before 2001, and that is the reason why she wasn't mentioned in her mother's obituary??

Don't think so Sylvia. She's mentioned as 'surviving' in her father's obituary, He died November 13, 2007.
As KJA suggests, she may have been estranged at the time of her mother's death.

DET .....

I missed that.

There is a Victoria M Szelest born jan 1957
On the U.S Public records from June 2006 to Nov 2007 living in Astoria New York
Also Edmund born 1949 living Brooklyn 1996 to 2004

Thank you for that Elizabeth. Unfortunately I don’t know how to access the records.
I’m not sure when Victoria was born other than she was born in America in the 1950s. If she is down on the records still with the surname of Szelest then I take it she hasn’t married.
P.

‘Chester’s’ obit said he’d resided in Brooklyn since 1952.

The date for the Victoria given in the Public Records Office listing is Jan 1957. The day is available but had been removed from the post as she’d hopefully be living. Assuming it is the same person, she would have been born when her family was living in Brooklyn. It’s possible she may have married or cohabited since 1993; there’s no way of knowing.

The availablity of US records are different from the UK. Some, like the Public Index Records are online & give exact dob. On the other hand, virtually no state publishes freely available BMD indexes that recent.
Unfortunately for us, neither obituaries list the names of possibly spouses, if there any, or the deceased’s grandchildren.

If you wanted to make contact, it might be worth writing to Edmund Jr at the address given on the earlier white pages (phone book) link.

If you are concerned about clicking through, all the blue hyperlinks are to safe sites.