Where I can find and request a household register in Philadelphia?

Question

My great-grandmother (Zur Pelagia) lived at this address with her daughter- Zur Mary (my grandmother) between 1907 and 1910. They were of Polish nationality. I need a record from the household register, as it may contain information about their nationality. Are there such registers, and where can I request such information?

Comments

I did some sleuthing at Ancestry … there is a Family Tree connected to the 1910 census.

Mikołaj Zur

BIRTH: Abt. 1863 in Ksiezpol, Lubelskie, Poland

DEATH: Deceased

Pelagia Skrobańska

BIRTH: Abt. 1871 in Ksiezpol, Lubelskie, Poland

DEATH: Deceased

Children:

Anastazja Zur

Daughter

BIRTH 1893  in Ksiezpol, Lubelskie, Poland

DEATH

Szczepan Zur

Son

BIRTH 1896  in Ksiezpol, Lubelskie, Poland

DEATH

Adam Zur

Son

BIRTH 1897  in Ksiezpol, Lubelskie, Poland

DEATH

Błażej Zur

Son

BIRTH 1899  in Ksiezpol, Lubelskie, Poland

DEATH

Eudoksja Zur

Daughter

BIRTH 1902  in Ksiezpol, Lubelskie, Poland

DEATH

Mary Zur

Daughter

BIRTH 1907  in Pennsylvania

DEATH

The tree is largely unsourced, but if you have an Ancestry account you might try contact the owner of the family tree.

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Could you please tell me who created this family tree? Unfortunately, I am unable to add a payment method to access my Ancestry account and see who created this tree. I would be very grateful to you!

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Good morning!

The name of the tree is “Tzap Family Tree” and the owner is “rdumore”.

I think you need to be logged in to contact the member. If it is helpful this is a link to the family group. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/75322777/family/familygroup?fpid=372384211827&sid=372369828977

I recently had a small billing problem with Ancestry, so I called their customer service number and they were very helpful.

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Thank you very much! You've been very helpful. I've written a letter to support "Ancestry" :)

Answer 1

I suspect the only documentation you will find are the census records. A few states had state censuses, but I don’t think Pennsylvania did (when I did a search for this topic nothing came up). So you will need to rely on federal census records.

Pelagia and Mary are in the 1910 census, as boarders at 2111 Carlton which is described as in the rear of 2105 Carlton, which in turn is rented by John Murphy. There are also other boarders at this address. All the boarders were born in “Russia Pol.” Except Mary who was born in Pennsylvania. Pelagia had 6 children, all of whom are living, and she is a widow aged 35. The birthplace reflects the fact that most of Poland was part of the Russian Empire. There is no immigration date for Pelagia. Her native language is Polish.

Comments

Thank you very much! I found the 1910 census, and from its contents, I understand that Mary Zur was not Pelageya's biological daughter, as she is listed as a border in the census. However, I need a document that will contain information about nationality. It is possible to find Mary's birth certificate since she was born in Philadelphia?

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The relationships indicate how people are related to the head of household, not to each other. On the 1910 census, John Murphy is the head of household and the next person listed is his wife Rose. All of the other people are boarders in John's house.

So Mary may or may not be Pelagia's daughter. This census record doesn't tell us that.

Answer 2

If you Google 'Philadelphia City Directories' you'll get a number of hits for different years and formats.  It looks as if the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Temple University, and several web sites claim to maintain a collection of directories, but I didn't go through the specific offerings.  I doubt if they would give you any info about nationality though.

Answer 3

Hi Joann,

I checked the Philadelphia Birth Indexes, however, I did not find any Mary Zur listed. There is a Mary Zura in the indexes. Please note this Mary Zura is not your Mary Zur. Here is the link for the Philadelphia Birth Indexes if you want to view them your self.  https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Archives/Research-Online/Pages/Birth-Indices.aspx#.VubWctCb3IA

I had a very dear friend of mine look some information up for your Zur family.

Mikołaj Żur - BIRTH: Abt. 1864 in Księżpol ?, Lubelskie, Poland   (church records from this period are missing) Parents: Piotr Zur & Ewa Potocka

DIED: 19.02. 1903 - Record #16 - Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland

Marriage: 24.07.1888 - Record #9 - Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland

 Pelagia Skrobańska -  BIRTH: 1871 - Record # 102 - Józefów, Lubelskie, Poland 

Parents: Aleksander Feliks Skrobański & Aleksandra Maria Hetner* - (*In the Russian language, H is often the same as G, so surnames can be read as Hetner or Getner)

 Children:

Anastazja Zur - 

BIRTH 15.08.1893 in Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland

 Szczepan Zur - 

BIRTH 13.02.1896 in Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland

Adam Zur - 

BIRTH 7.04.1897 in Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland

 Błażej Zur - B

IRTH 20.10.1899 in Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland

Eudoksja Zur - 

BIRTH 30.07.1902 in Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland 

DIED 25.08.1902 in Księżpol, Lubelskie, Poland

 Mary Zur - 

BIRTH 1907 in Pennsylvania

Please note that Mikolaj Zur died in 1903. Therefore, he was not the father of Mary Zur.

I hope this helps some. Have a wonderful day!