My great-grandmother, Anastazja Bombich Jakubowski, was born on June 8, 1870 in Lessen,
West Prussia, Germany, which is now Lasin, Poland(pronounced Washin). Her name is pronounced ah-nah-STAHZ-yah and is
the Polish form of Anastasia. Her nicknames were Annie and Anna. Anastazja's parents were Joseph Bombich and Franciszka(Frahn-CHEESH-kah)
Kowalski Bombich.
Her husband, Johann (Yo-Hawn) F. Jakubowski,
was also born in Lessen. His birthdate was January 4, 1867. He was also called John or Jan(YAWN). His parents
were Jakob Jakubowski and Felisa(FAY-lee-sa) Gesicki Jakubowski.
Anastazja and Johann were married
between June 1890 and January 1891. They left for the United States at the end of 1891, when Anastazja was a couple
months pregnant with their first child. They had just one piece of baggage with them and traveled to the U.S. on the
SS Werra, which left from Bremen port and made a stop at Southampton port before coming into the Port of New York on November
20, 1891. Their destination is listed as New York on the ship's records, but they ended up in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,
where Anastazja's sister, Anna, lived.
Anastazja and Johann lived in Wilkes-Barre
for the rest of their lives and rented several different different homes there. Their last name was eventually changed
to Jacobs. I have never been able to find out if it was legally changed or just grandfathered.
They had 11 children between April
1892 and June 1913(Jakob, Franciszka, Franciszek, Piotr, Elizabeth, Maria, Pawel, Joseph, Roman, Teodor, and Helena).
Unfortunately, there was a high child mortality rate in the U.S. at that time, and five of their children died before the
age of six.
Anastazja was a housewife, while Johann
worked in the building and construction trades. Both were very active in their church, which was St. Mary's Church of
the Maternity in Wilkes-Barre. He was among the first organizers of the church and she was a member of the Altar and
Rosary Society, St. Vincent DePaul Society, and the Third Order of St. Francis.
Anastazja died on July 10, 1934, and
Johann died on January 20, 1941. They are both buried at their church's cemetery in West Wyoming, Pennsylvania.
