Index Format

Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notice Index:  1930-1971

by James J. Czuchra

Description

The Dziennik Chicagoski was a daily (except Sunday) Polish language newspaper published in Chicago from 1890-1971. In 1967, Dziennik Chicagoski cut back on publication to five times a week, the Friday and Saturday editions were combined as one. It was not a secular newspaper. It was decidedly Roman-Catholic. In that sense, one should not expect to find death notices for persons of other ethnic groups, religions, or localities.

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. This is not the comprehensive approach taken by William F. Hoffman in compiling notices prior to 1930. Not all Roman-Catholic Polish Chicagoans had death notices published. Part of the reason may have been the expense, but it also was not as customary as we today might think.

May through August 1964 were missing at the library and could not be indexed. Notices for 1971 are incomplete since some issues were not filmed and finally because the newspaper ceased publication.

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

"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 generally useful genealogically speaking, some might be.

"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.

"first 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.

"secnd hus"

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.

surname

If a Notations column begins with a surname, it 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.

"/f" 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. Usually a surname in this section is the maiden name of the mother but not always.

"/s" name

This is the surname of a woman's second husband.

Month/Day/Year

This column gives the date of the first time a notice appeared in the paper. A notice may have appeared on additional days and should be checked out.

Conclusion and References

This has been a brief introduction to the index. For years prior to 1930 check out the series of books, Index to the Obituaries and Death Notices Appearing in the Dziennik Chicagoski, 1890-1899, 1900-1909, 1910-1919, and 1920-1929 or access them online.  The series was published by the Polish Genealogical Society of America and the data was compiled by William F. Hoffman and Thomas Hollowak.

You may also find The Study of Obituaries as a Source for Polish Genealogical Research, by Thomas E. Golembiewski, published in 1984 by the Polish Genealogical Society of America to be of value.

How to obtain copies

Please fill out Obituary Request Form.

Last Updated on November 8, 2008