Portage County Historical Society
Family Vignettes Page 4
taken from the May 19, 1992 Stevens Point Journal
The Glennon Family
James Glennon was born in County Roscommon and his future wife, Julia Fleming, in County Tipperary, both in Ireland. They were married in this country and came to Stevens Point in 1857.
James Glennon was a cook in logging camps and on lumber rafts that were floated downriver to market. The rafting crews needed a cook because they lived aboard f or the three weeks that it took to reach the usual destination, St. Louis, Mo.
The Glennons were the parents of 10 children. One son, Edward, founded the Gazette, a weekly newspaper that later merged with the Journal, and another, Frank, was one of the owners of the Moll-Glennon Store which operated in downtown Stevens Point for many years.
The Glennons have numerous descendants here.
Submitted by
George Rogers
Stevens Point
The Glodosky Family
John Glodosky arrived in Portage County around 1892. It was no accident that he had chosen Smokey Spur in the town of Stockton as his destination. His sister, a Mrs. Wanta, had long been a resident of the Bevent area and had suggested he move here. Probably John’s biggest surprise was that so many Glodowski families had already settled in the area. Thus John felt it necessary to change the spelling of his name.
His trip to America began when he and his wife, Paulina Bruske, left Germany. Our family has always assumed these ancestors were Polish and that the German connection was merely a border fluctuation. Nonetheless, in 1871, they arrived in Newtown, N.Y. Their five sons and daughter were born in this New York City suburb.
John ran the saloon in Smokey Spur. His daughter Mary, who was married to August Meronek in 1893, was in charge of the Post Office. Smokey Spur also boasted a potato warehouse.
Only one of John’s sons, Frank, used the changed spelling of Glodosky. Possibly because from the time Frank arrived in Smokey Spur he had his eye on a Miss Frances Glodoski. They were married at the Fancher Church on Jan. 26, 1904.
Frances’ parents, born in Poland, were already longtime Portage County residents. Michael, her father, came to Polonia in 1868 with his parents Matthew and Anna. Anna Kostuch, Frances’ mother, lived in Alban since 1871. She was the daughter of Peter Kostuch.
Frank and Frances remained in Arnott until 1908, when Frank was transferred by his employer, the Soo Line Railroad, to Ashland and finally settled in Chippewa Falls. Chippewa Falls is where they would remain and raise their family. The now locally “odd” spelling of Glodosky would have been lost if Frank’s son Harold had not moved to Stevens Point in 1940 to manage the Lyric Theater.
Submitted by
Patty Glodosky Geis
604 Opportunity Lane
Plover
The Anton Glodowski Family
Anton Glodowski was born Oct. 13, 1835, in Kartuzy, Poland, son of John Glodowski and Mariana (Zierczik) Glodowaki. He married Julianna Shulfer who was born Jan. 6,1839, also in Poland. She was the daughter of Joseph Shulfer (1814-1861) and Marianna (Derra) Shulfer.
Anton and Julianna came to America about the year 1862, from the land which was then referred to as Prussia.
According to a June 1880 census, their occupation was listed as farmers. They became parents to 12 children: Theophil (Rose Kostuch), Martin (Frances Gilmeister), Anton died at the age of 12, Mary (Joseph Gliszczynski), Agatha (John Herek), Martha (Frank Trzebiatowski), Alex (Mary Sikorski), Rose (Andrew Trzebiatowski), Peter (Mary Trzebiatowski), Elizabeth (John Miller), John (Martha Sopa) and Barbara (Alois Konkol).
All of these children settled around the Stockton area and farmed, and raised families of their own.
Anton died April 16, 1906, and Julianna died Sept. 8, 1926. They are both buried in the cemetery at St. Mary of Mount Cannel of Fancher.
Submitted by
Lucille (Printz) Poesehel
1990 GlIkay St.
Stevens Point
The John Glodowski Family
John Glodowski was born in Suleczyno parish, Gdansk province, Poland. His wife, Antonina Krefta, was also born there. They were married in Poland. They had a daughter, Mary, in 1859 and a son, Joseph, in 1861.
On May 10, 1862, the family left from Hamburg bound for Quebec on the ship “Elbe.” Family tradition says the baby, Joseph, died during the voyage. Also immigrating on the same ship were Albrecht and Marianna Krefta, Antonina’s parents. Her sister, Julianna and brother-in-law, John Gawin, also moved at this time with their children, Juliana and Franz.
By Nov. 6, 1863, the Glodowskis entered into an agreement to buy 40 acres of wild land - the SW¼ of the NE¼ of Section 12, Township 24 North of Range 1 - town of Sharon. In the 1870 census, John and Antonina Glodowski were in Dwelling No. 143 in the town of Sharon. Living in close proximity were members of both sides of the family. In Dwelling No. 144 were Antony and Julia Glodowski and three children. In Dwelling No. 145 were Jacob and Frezina Gawin with four children. In Dwelling No. 148 lived John and Julia (Krefta) Gawin with their daughter and her parents, Albert and Mary Krefta. Jacob and Paulina Glodowski lived in Dwelling No. 147 with their daughter. Albert and Catharine Gawin lived in Dwelling No. 148 and Joseph and Mary Gawin with their son lived in Dwelling No. 149. In 1880 these same people still lived together with the addition of the Frank Eichendorf family. His wife was Josephine Krefta, another sister of Antonina Krefta Glodowski.
John and Antonina Glodowski had the following children: Mary (John Kizewski), Joseph (died at sea), John F. (Rosa Repinski), Peter (Lucy Karcz), Martin (first married Martha Wesorska, second married Anna Bigalka), Frances (Frank Shulfer), Leon died at age 10, Julie (John Cisewski) and Charles (Martha Zynda). Many of their descendants remain in Portage County today.
John Glodowski acquired land and continued to farm in the town of Sharon, town of Stockton and finally in the town of Amherst. His sons received farmland from their parents when they married. John Glodowski was a big, powerful man. He and his wife were members of Fancher Church.
Submitted by
Diane Wysocky Anderson
Poulsbo, Wash.