Dryjowicz Family History

                  Peter Dryjowicz was born on October 29, 1869, in Pest (now Budapest). He married and had two living children, Frank; born on November 28, 1898 when Peter was 29 years old and then Cas who was born on January 14, 1900.  His wife, Hedwig Niemiec, born in 1876, was seven years younger than Peter. I believe that she died either in childbirth or on the boat to America with her newborn daughter.  Peter came to America with Frank and Cas when they were in their teens and was able to send for his wife shortly afterwards.  Of course, she never made it over. Peter and his sons settled in Detroit, Michigan.  Apparently, Peter re-married and his wife was called Mary Dryovage but I have no record of her birth date or maiden name.  Peter was apparently a quiet man, but one who also had a twinkle in his eyes at times and as an European, was viewed as rather crude in his ways, like peeing off the porch (this according to my brother Pete who’s proud of this apparent fact!)  I know that his grandson, Henry, my dad, loved him very much. 

                Frank Dryovage met Stella Kropic (born August 28, 1898) shortly after arriving in America (I don’t know how few years it was).  A 1918 newspaper announced the marriage of Frank at age 21 to Stella, aged 19, which conflicts with the birth dates we have that list them both as born in 1898. One guess is that Stella was two years younger and born in 1896, since the records Frank kept had other incorrect birth dates, including my own.  The other even better guess is that they were both 19 years old when they married, given the birth date of 1898 and the marriage date of 1918.  I can remember my Grandmother, Stella, telling me that she lost her American citizenship when she married Frank, a Pole. Both had to take citizenship classes at the same time.  If this means that she was not born in the USA, I don’t know what her birthplace was.  Her mother, Francis Kropik died on December 21, 1962, but I don’t know when or where she was born.  Her father apparently left his wife and family when the three children, Stella, Frank and Mary Kropik, were rather young.  Francis Kropik remained so bitter towards her husband that she forbid her own children to marry. Her daughter Mary was engaged once, but then ended the engagement and never was known to be in relationship again. Frank, the youngest I believe, never married, and was slightly mentally retarded. He worked at the Hostess Bakery Factory.  Mary also worked her whole life, but I’m not sure of where. All three children remained in the Detroit area, Mary and Frank lived in their mother’s house and then moved to Garden City in a small house to be near Stella and Frank Dryovage.  Once Frank Kropik died, (Jan 23, 1973), Mary moved into Frank and Stella’s upstairs room till her death on December 30, 1973 (though this seems incorrect, I think I remember Mary outliving Frank by a number of years, not just one). 

                When Stella married Frank, they had to elope because her mother, Francis Kropik was not about to approve of the wedding.  I believe she accepted her only son-in-law fairly well over time, because when I was child we visited her often. I’m sure there are some painful stories about the beginning of Stella and Frank’s married life though, because I remember my grandmother telling me lots of sad stories when I was a child.  They lived in Detroit, near Stella’s mother, and had three boys: Ed, Henry (my dad) and Albert (known as Babe). Then they had a later-in-life daughter, Grace, who was the apple of everyone’s eye.  All three boys ended up serving in World War II; we’ve seen pictures with all three in uniform. I think Grace must have been less than ten years old at this time.  The youngest, Babe, who was the hero of the family even before going to war (due to his physical prowess and ability to beat up kids who were harassing his oldest brother), ended up in the Navy.  His ship went down and he was declared dead. Even though he was only 19 or so at the time, he had a wife and a daughter, who are still in the Detroit area, though I’ve never met them. (Or, they may be in California, all I know is that a couple of my siblings have had contact with Donna, who’s either Babe’s wife or daughter). 

                I think my dad, Hank, was the last to marry, which he did at the age of 33.  My mom, Kathleen Theresa Naughton, was 25; they married in Detroit, and moved into the house my dad had helped his folks build on Bock Street in Garden City (around 1949?) They lived in an upstairs flat while my grandparents lived in the main house. Grace married Dick Inglis and they raised five children in Toledo, Ohio, at about the same time my five siblings and I were raised near Detroit, in Garden City. Ed married Bernice (known as Be) and they had one child, Debbie and lived a mile away from us. My other grandparents, John and Catherine (Katy) Naughton lived a mile in the other direction. 

                If I remember right, my grandparents passed away in this order: Catherine Naughton (when I was five), John Naughton (I was in the final year of High School or perhaps early college), Frank Dryovage, and then Stella Dryovage both during my college years.  My Uncle Cas and his wife Gladys lived a lot longer. They raised a family in Muskegeon, Michigan so we didn’t see them as much, but they often visited Grace and we’d see them there. They were a class act and I have many fond memories of waltzing with my great uncle.

                Now, this is how I think the story basically goes. However, my Aunt Grace believes we’re from Strasbourg, Germany and thinks that my Uncle Ed, who’s taught me what I know, was making things up and had the story wrong. So, who knows?  I’d love to integrate other people’s stories into this one and we can see if we can at least make it a really juicy story! So, send your version on to me and I’ll add it in! I’d especially like to get what my Aunt Grace knows included, as she’s the last of the Dryovage’s besides Babe’s daughter, who I’ve not met yet.