Family Group Sheet
Unknown
b. USA
d.
[no known marriage]
Anna Nellie Kucy
b. ca 1896, Austria
d.
dau of Frank and Anna ( ) Kucy
Only known child:
Bernice Kucy/Eller b. Dec. 9, 1917 University Hospital, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw Co.,
Michigan and immediately placed for adoption. Bernice was adopted March 24,
1919 by Albert and Sophi (Hul) Kolodziej She Married Oct. 16, 1943 Michael Peter
Palczynski and is still living.
GOAL:
To discover as much as we can about the birth mother of Bernice, Anna Kucy Eller.
WHAT WE KNOW
 The name Kucy is used for both the mother and the infant on the birth
record, but subsequent records record both the mother and infant’s name as
Eller.
 The birth record names the mother Anna Eller, b. Russia age 21.
 The birth record names the father “unknown,” occupation… works in a forge
shop.
 An Anna Kucy, age 22, b. Russia married a Daniel Eller in Detroit August 12,
1917 – a little more than 5 months before the child was born.
 The baby was born December 9th at University Hospital in Ann Arbor and the
mother signed a release for adoption on Dec. 22, 1917.
 The baby was released to the House of Providence (orphanage) in Detroit,
where she was baptized (Feb. 21, 1918) and placed for adoption )March 24,
1919. House of Providence does not have the more complete records from
the years 1903-1920.
 Daniel and Anna Eller are living in Detroit in 1920; no children. The Anna of
this record was born in Austria, native tongue Russian.
CHRONOLOGY and Worksheet ; last updated April 13. 2013
Ca 1896 Anna Kucy b. Austria
See 1919 FBI report below; it is possible that she is related to John Kucy who
was born Wygnanka, Austria. (explained below)
1900
We don’t know where she is in 1900; 4 years old.
1910
We don’t know where she is in 1910; 14 years old.
I used a subscription database, Fold3 , to do some City Directory work for
Detroit. We’ll talk a little about city directories in class.
http://www.fold3.com
1916
 No Kucy in Detroit City Directory
o (nor are there Kucy entries in earlier city directories)
(Detroit City Directory; copy on Fold3.com 1916 p. 3209 )
12 August 1917 Detroit, Wayne Co., Michigan
Dan Eller, age 25 years b. North Carolina, son of Jacob and Kitty Eller
Anna Kucy, age 22 years b. Russia, dau of Frank and Anna Kucy
"Michigan, Marriages, 1868-1925," index and images, FamilySearch
(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N3R5-3ZZ : accessed 12 Apr
2013), Dan Eller and Anna Kucy, 12 Aug 1917.
1917 City Directory
 Anna Kucy, Cook res 135 National Ave. in Detroit
o The same address as given on the birth certificate, so our Anna.
o This is between Spruce & Perry
o Street & Ave Guide lists G.N. Smith and Wheeler Smack as occupants
(owners)
 There are no other Kucy surnames listed in this city directory.
 C Dan Eller, bartender lives 585 Continental Av.
o Between Freud and Jefferson
o The Street and Ave Guide lists V.J. Manor as the occupant (owner?).
(Detroit City Directory; copy on Fold3.com)
Dec. 9, 1917
Anna Kucy gives birth at University Hospital, Ann Arbor, Michigan to
daughter Bernice Kucy; birth certificate names the mother Anna Nellie Kucy ,
age 21, res. 135 National Ave., Detroit. The father is an American, working at
the Forge Shop… name “unknown”
(Original birth certificate, obtained in Feb. 2013)
Dec. 22, 1917 the mother signs the release form Anna Eller and the infant is
referred to as Bernice Eller. Anna signs the name Eller on all subsequent
documents.
Feb. 21, 1918 the infant is baptized at the House of Providence in Detroit.
(Adoption papers)
1918 City Directory- No Daniel Eller.
 An Anna Eller dom 123 Rhode Island Av (HP) – but this Anna Eller was
in the 1915 and 1915 directory so is not Anna (Kucy) Eller.
 No Kucy entry
1918 Detroit City Directory on Fold3
However, also in 1918…
Draft registration in Detroit for a Jack Kucy who states he is 39 years old,
residing 53 Home Street in Detroit, b. Oct. 20, 1878 in Austria –Ukranian.
Works at the Detroit Shipbuilding Co. in Wyandotte and names as his closest
relative John Kucy (brother), res. 99 Delray Ave. in Detroit. He is medium
height, medium weight, gray-green eyes, brown hair, partly bald.
U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Ancestry.com
Since John isn’t listed by surname, I used the Street and Avenue Guide to see
who is living at 99 Delray in 1918. The names are Anthony Francz and John
Ubick.
1918 Detroit City Directory on Fold3.com
March 24, 1919 the infant is adopted by Albert and Sophie (Hul) Kolodziej
1919 City Directory
 No Kucy entry
 Danl Eller mach hd bds 225 National Ave.
o Remember Anna living on National Ave when she gave birth.
 I also checked to see who was living at 99 Delray and it was Anthony Francz.
1919 Detroit City Directory on Fold3
By the way – you can’t rely on the search for “Kucy’ on Fold3. I had to look at each
directory. The search engine missed some occurrences.
May 1, 1919 Look at this FBI Report, found when I searched for Kucy Michigan on
Fold3.
A serendipitous discovery; perhaps no connection at all, but worth noting because
there are so few Kucy discoveries in Detroit and they may be all connected.
FBI REPORT
Re: Bolsheviki Activities / John Kucy res 199 (Possibly the 1st digit it not a 1)
Delray Ave., Detroit, Michigan and is employed by the Great Lakes
Engineering Co. Subject of Austria having been born in Wygnanka, Austria.
Entered the United States from Canada at Duluth, Minnesota January 10,
1915 (16?) without inspection by immigration officials.
A member of Branch #1 Ukranian Federation Socialist Party… [other
information on his activist nature].
Prior to going to Canada he had been arrested in Austria for assault and
battery. On one occasion he attacked and severely injured a member of the
Detroit police Dept. He was arrested in Detroit April 28, 1918 at the Arena
garden for inciting to riot and was tried in the Police Court, found guilty and
sentenced to a fine of $50 or 6 months imprisonment.
Fold3.com searching for Kucy surname
So far I’ve not found neither a Jack Kucy nor a John Kucy in the City Directories, but
both are living in Detroit. These are the only other Kucy names I find in Detroit up
to now. I have no way of knowing if they are related; I’m just filing the
information for now.
1920
CENSUS:
Ward 17, Detroit, Wayne Co., Michigan
1544 1/2 Kirby
Daniel Eller
25 head b. NC NC NC inspector auto factory
Anna Eller 24 wife date of imm unknown Austria-Rus Austria-Rus Austria-Rus occ: none
Fredrick Eller
22 brother NC NC NC moulder foundary
Frank D Eller
19 brother NC NC NC grinder foundary
Mable Eller
19 sister in law OH GER GER occ: none
One Kucy is in the 1920 Census for Detroit
Thorbow Kucy age 40 single, born Michigan parents b. Canada. English spoken
in the household. A laborer. One of several lodgers in a house at 209 Lafayette
Blvd.
Because he is from an English speaking family in Canada I’m not as interested in
him as I am in those born Europe, but we do now have another Kucy.
Now look at the 1920 City Directory….


Samuel Kucy, lab. H 7790 (15441/2) Kirby
o Reverse Directory shows that this is Kirby Ave E between Baldwin and
Van Dyke.
o I rechecked the census to see if he was there but mis-indexed. He is not
at this address.
9 Eller listings, but not a Daniel, Anna, Frederick or Frank.
1920 Detroit City Directory on Fold3
TO DO: Follow up on Samuel Kucy (this will not turn out to be as easy as it sounds)

It can not be coincidence that a man named Kucy lives at the same address as
Daniel and Anna, in the same year.
So far we have found only four other people in Detroit named Kucy
 Two brothers:
o Jack Kucy registering for the draft
o John Kucy the subject of an FBI investigation.
 Samuel Kucy, who has to have some connection as he resided at the same

address as Daniel & Anna.
Thurbow Kucy, b. Michigan, parents b. Canada.
1922 City Directory
 Daniel Eller, glass grinder h 5801 Hamilton Ave.
o also living at 5801 are Henry Eller and Grace Eller.

o As his wife, Anna would not have been listed separately; failure to
name her does not mean she isn’t there.
No Kucy entry
1922 Detroit City Directory on Fold3
1923 City Directory:
 Daniel Eller, glass grinder h 5801 Hamilton Ave.
 No Kucy entry
1923 Detroit City Directory on Fold3
No further directories are online or I would have kept checking them; I want to follow the
family.
Then at FindAGrave, I find this…
1926 Burial in Grand Lawn Cemetery, Detroit.
Is this the burial of the above Daniel Eller?
Grand Lawn Cemetery
Daniel Eller
1890-1926
HUSBAND
We really want to see the 1926 and 1927 and subsequent city directory to see what we
find.
Detroit City Directories will most likely be available at the Detroit Public Library, which
also is a great place to do Detroit research.
http://www.detroit.lib.mi.us/featuredcollection/burton-historical-collection
One nice advantage to working with City Directories there is that you should be able to
also work with maps of Detroit to better place where these people are living.
TO DO: Get this death certificate or other information about the 1926 death of Daniel
Eller. Why? Because we need to confirm that this is (or is not) the husband of Anna. If
it is –as seems very possible—then we will want to look for a subsequent marriage for
her.
How to get a Detroit Death Certificate:
1. Is it on the Seeking Michigan site? No… seekingmichigan.org DISCOVER-DEATH
RECORDS collection ends with 1920. These are also on FamilySearch.org.
SOON… this collection will be expanded on both sites and 1926 should
appear then. We can wait or get it the old fashioned way.
a. Because Detroit death records are kept by the city, not the county, I want
to confirm that we will be able to find them on these sites.
2. Is it on FamilySearch.org -- see above (this is a joint effort)
3.Where can we find the records?
4.The FamilySearch Wiki disappoints… it fails to inform us that Detroit recorded
deaths separately after 1894 and deaths in Detroit will not be found in the county
records.
a. Let’s look at another site that gives information about vital records:
vitalrec.com – MICHIGAN – WAYNE CO.
http://vitalrec.com/micounties4.html#Wayne
i. I believe there is a microfiche index to these deaths at the Burton
Collection, Detroit Public Library.
5. We can check and see if Detroit death records have been filmed (Class demo)
If so, we can avoid writing to Detroit.
FamilySearch.org CATALOG Michigan, Wayne, Detroit – vital records (no,
they have not been filmed.
6.Find the cemetery record for Daniel
a. Has it been filmed? (familysearch.org)
b. http://grandlawncemetery.com/
After 1926 – if it turns out this is the right Daniel Eller, then we might
 See if we can find an obituary for him (any children?)
 Look for a remarriage of Anna Kucy Eller after 1926.
o (That’s not going to prove as easy as we hope!)
What Michigan marriage data collections are on FamilySearch.org?
Michigan, Marriages, 1822-1995 -- index, no images.
This is an index of marriages that have been extracted or submitted over the
years, but does NOT include all marriages. When we check this, we find no
likely marriage, but we can not think there isn’t one based on that.
Michigan Marriages 1868-1935, with images
This should be quite complete, ignoring potential indexing or other problems,.
(This is where we found the marriage of Anna to Daniel.)
Go back to vitalrec.com, Wayne Co. for information on how to get marriage records
from there.
 (Marriage records are kept by the county, not the city)
 You can order the record from the state for $27.00 or from the county for
$22.00.
o Occasionally a record can be found in one location, but not the other,
but usually they are available from either.
o I prefer the county because it was the original; copies are sent to the
state.
o Look at FamilySearch – a wuzzle.
1929 City Directory
 Several Ellers, but no Daniel or Anna
 A Frank, no Frederick.
 One Kucy – a John Kucy, (Margaret), laborer h 5228 Elmer.
o The Street Guide shows this block as between McGraw and Kirkwood.
o They are there in 1929 also.
1929 Detroit City Directory, digital copy at UMich Library Digital Collections
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=genpub;idno=ACS8107.1928.001
Might he be the same John Kucy named in the 1919 FBI report? TO DO: Because the
name Kucy shows up so rarely in Detroit, it seems worthwhile to do a little more
research on him and see where he comes from.
1930
No city directory available online
No Kucy indexed in census, living in Detroit
Shall we do more city directory work? Or wait until we find out when Daniel
Eller died and see if we can find a subsequent marriage record for Anna?
If we want to follow up on John and Margaret Kucy, we will do more city directory
work. Go to the Detroit Public Library; try to work with City Directories and maps.
1940
No Kucy indexed in census, living in Detroit
Yet, 1942 John Kucy is in Detroit; he enrolls in the “old men draft registration”
Name:
Event Type:
John Kucy
Draft Registration
Event Date:
Event Place:
Gender:
Birth Date:
1942
Detroit, Wayne, Michigan
Male
23 Aug 1888 Czortkow, Poland
LIVING 4237 Western in Detroit.
World War II Draft Cards (4th Registration) for the State of Michigan
Affiliate Publication Title:
Affiliate Publication Number:
Affiliate ARC Identifier:
623283
GS Film number:
1670132
Digital Folder Number:
004683517
01860
Image Number:
This will be the John Kucy (wife Margaret) who dies in Arizona. How do I know
that?
Social Security Death Index
Name:
SSN:
Last Residence:
Born:
Died:
State (Year) SSN
issued:
John Kucy
381-03-5578
85719 Tucson, Pima, Arizona, United States of
America
23 Aug 1888
Sep 1982
Michigan (Before 1951)
Should we see if we can find out more about him? Get his
 death record ?
 obituary??
If we can’t find a second marriage record for Anna, I think we will have to work with
these other Kucys to see if we can find reference to her in their obituaries or other
documents. John is the one I’ve been able to track at this point; that’s why I select
him for the next step. I’d also like to find Jack and Samuel.