My Polish Connection
Katarzyna Zmudzinska was born on Nov 24, 1887 in the village of Mosty Male in Galicia, Austria.
The village of Mosty Male is now located in southern Poland very near the border
with the Ukraine, 34 nm northwest of Lviv. Her parents were Blazi Zmudzinski and Anna Jasniuk and she had sisters named Tekla, Anna and Marynka and brothers named Mikolaj and
Michal. Of this family it was believed that only Katarzyna and Anna came to the United
States, Katarzyna came in 1907 and her sister Anna followed in 1910.
Recently it was learned that brother Michal also came to the United States
probably in the 1950s.
Photos: Left: Tekla, Anna (mother) &
Michal Center: Anna (sister) & Katarzyna
Right: Michal, wife Anna & her brother & sister
Katarzyna departed from Antwerp, Belgium on January 26, 1907 on
the ship Westernland and arrived in the United States on February 10,
1907. She was processed at Ellis Island and arrived in New York where
she worked in 1907 and 1908 as a housemaid for a Mrs. Bryan and for a Mrs. Blumenfeld. It was during this time in New York that she met Karol Dominik Bykantowicz, a house guest of her employer. Dominik Bykantowicz also
used the name K. D. Bennett
or Charlie Bennett. He was born April 17, 1872 in Russia or probably Russian occupied Poland.
Katarzyna received letters from her friends telling of higher wages and better 
opportunities in the Kansas City area and
in pursuit of the American dream, in 1909 she moved to Kansas City, Kansas. Dominik Bykantowicz promptly followed her to Kansas and they were married. In 1910 they had a daughter that they named
Adelka Bykantowicz (Edna Bennett) and in 1912 another daughter was born who they named Helena Bykantowicz (Helen Bennett).
Photo: Dominik, Katarzyna, Edna & Helen
Dominik and
Katarzyna owned and operated a grocery store, K. D. Bennett Groceries, located at 29 S. James Street in Kansas City, Kansas.
During the very hot summer of 1918, one August morning after walking to the store, Dominik suffered a sudden heart attack and died at the age of 47.
Photo: Katarzyna with Edna &
Helen
After Dominik's death,
Katarzyna married Michael Fitz. He was born
Mikhail Ficzaj on July 19, 1891 in Ganya, Hungary (Czechoslovakia), his father was Mikhail Oliksov Ficzaj and his mother was Anna Laurishi.
Michael left the port of Fiume, Italy/Austria on December 28, 1908 aboard the
Caronia. He arrived in New York on January 3, 1909. Katarzyna and
Michael had two children, Anna Fitz born in 1919 and Michail Fitz in
1921.
Photos: Left: Mikhail & Katarczyna Fitz, Right:
Michail & Anna
Katarzyna died July 5, 1959 and is buried in Mount Calvary Cemetery in Kansas
City, Ks. Today she has many descendants who would like to know more about
their Polish roots and the family she left behind in the land of her birth.
Bykantowicz Family Photos
Unidentified Photos - Photos
from the Slavic community in Kansas City, Ks.
