Dziennik Związkowy Death Notice Index 1930-1949
This online index is a compilation of death notices appearing in the Dziennik Związkowy, one of Chicago's Polish daily newspapers, for the years 1930-1949. It is similar to the Dziennik Chicagoski death notice index. The index was compiled by James J. Czuchra.
The Dziennik Związkowy was a publication of the Polish National Alliance, a fraternal insurance company. It was published daily except for Sundays and holidays. Why does the index cover only certain years? Time and access to copies of the newspapers were big issues. With the time available to me, I focused on the 1930s and 1940s.
The 1930's portion was indexed in the late 1980s but was never published due to the difficulties one might encounter in getting access to the newspaper containing the death notice. The 1930's portion of the index does not include as much detail as the 1940's portion. It also only references the first day the notice was published in the newspaper. The notice may appear again on successive days. The page number is meaningless for this section as they were not recorded during the index creation. The black outlines around the notices are prominent enough that you easily recognize the page when you get to it.
The 1940's portion of the index was prepared from digital images I made. They are not high quality but good enough to read on the screen of a computer. Unlike the 1930's portion, reference is made to each day the death notice was published so there can be multiple entries for the same person. "Detail" is only provided on the first day of the notice and not repeated in the index. Understand that the notices are usually more detailed than the scant information that made it into the index.
Generally speaking, surviving relatives are listed but in very rare cases, a deceased relative may have been mentioned. The index does not distinguish between them but would be clear when reading the notice. Listed parents may be the biological parents but it was not uncommon to have step-parents listed as well. If the relationship was close, a step-parent might be listed as though they were the biological parent.
- About the Index Format.
exact match: enter the name exactly the way you want it found (e.g., Adam will find ONLY Adam).
match first: enter the first part of name to be matched (e.g., Adam will find Adam, Adamik, Adamowski).
wildcard search: enter any part of the name (e.g., Adam will find Adam, Adamik, Adamowski, and Hadam).
Provided you are using "match first" or "wildcard search", you may use the % character to represent any number of letters and the _ (underline) character to represent one specific letter. Additional explanation here.
Death Notice Index Format for the Dziennik Związkowy: 1930-1949
by James J. Czuchra
Description
The names in this index are extracted exclusively from death notices that families paid for. These are generally easy to find in the newspaper since individual notices had a thick black border around the text.
The Surname and Given name columns are self-explanatory as to what they are. The other column headings will now be explained.
Record Type Column
When the Type column is blank and little other information appears on the line, it means this is a repeat record appearing on a different day (the Date of Notice changes). While the notice is usually identical on successive days, it may be more complete or corrected due to incomplete funeral arrangements and haste in getting the notice published as soon as possible.
"d " mo/da/year
This is the main index entry of a person who died. The date here is the date of death.
"nee"
The indexed name is a deceased woman's maiden name. The Notations column will tell what her married name is- the name you will be looking for in the newspaper.
"mem #"
These are anniversary (of death) memorials. The number tells how many years have passed since the death. While these records are not usually as detailed as the death notice, some might be particularly useful for World War II casualties-- these often restating the date of death.
"alias"
This is a cross reference to another name the person may have used or was mentioned without explanation in the notice. The Notations column will tell the name you will be looking for in the newspaper.
"wife's name"
This is the name (with maiden name) of the wife of a deceased man. The Notations column will tell you his name that you will be looking for in the newspaper.
"1st husb."
This is the surname of a deceased woman's first husband. The Notations column will tell you her name at death- the one you will looking for in the newspaper.
"2nd husb."
This is the surname of a deceased woman's second husband. The Notations column will tell you her name at death- the one you will be looking for in the newspaper.
Notations Column
"see" name
The name included in the Notations column is the name of the deceased person whose death notice you will be looking for.
"nee" surname
This is the maiden name of the woman whose death is listed.
"husb." given-name
This is the name of the husband of the woman who died. He may or may not be alive as of that date. You need to check the death notice for that.
"wife" name
This is the name of the wife of the man who died. She may or may not be alive as of that date. You need to check the death notice for that. If a surname appears here, it is the wife's maiden name.
"1st husb." name
This is the surname of a woman's first husband.
"aka" name
This is another name the person may have used or was mentioned without explanation.
"par." name(s)
These are the names of the deceased person's parents with the father's name given before the mother's name. Usually a surname in this section is the maiden name of the mother but not always. Sometimes families were blended so the named individuals are not always parents by blood.
"2nd husb." name
This is the surname of a woman's second husband.
Month/Day/Year
This column gives the date the notice appeared in the paper. Death dates and notes are not repeated in the index when a notice appeared on additional days.