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Dyszkiewicz Family History
Thanks to Tom peters, we have the passenger manifest for Aniela when she sailed at the age of 61 from Poland in August of 1896 to join Lawrence and Marya who had already preceded her to Newark, New Jersey. An assumption could be made that she did this after her husband died in Poland, but we have no evidence of that. Traveling with her are her two granddaughters, 8-year-old Josepha Dyszkiewicz and 9-year-old Aniela Dyszkiewicz. They are listed as coming from Czudec, Galicia. Tom also found the Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church 1892 baptism record for John Vincent Dyszkiewicz which lists his parents (Lawrence and Marya) as being from Siworski, Austria. According to Tom, Austria means Galicia. He further believes that Siworski is Wysoka Strzyzowska, a town which is near Czudec.
Galicia was a historical and geographic region spanning what is now southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. Today, Wysoka Strzyzowska, or Strzyzow for short, and Czudec are located in the remote southeastern portion of Poland, about 80 miles east of the Ukrainian border. For more about this, click here.
April 12, 2023 note - In February of 2022, we received an email from Hubert Kubasiewicz who lived in Warsaw, Poland. He had discovered this webpage and revealed that he was descended from a man named Wawrzyniec Dyszkiewicz. We exchanged several emails with him and were able to determine that his Wawrzyniec Dyszkiewicz and ours were not the same. We were still exchanging emails when he abruptly stopped communicating on February 25. We reached out to him several times but got no response. Just a comment: Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 25, 2022.
Lawrence and Marya had twelve children. The first child born to Lawrence and Marya that we have documented was Valoria Dyszkiewicz born in Czudec in 1882. The birth of Valoria was followed by Aniela in 1887, Josepha in 1888, Edward in 1889, and Stanley in 1890, all born in Poland. It was in 1890 that Lawrence left Poland and went by himself to America. He made his way to Newark and worked as a blacksmith in a wagon shop. In 1891, he was joined by Marya, Edward and Stanley. At first, the family lived at 118 Court Street in Newark. Eventually, they moved to 644 South Eleventh Street where they stayed for many years.
While still living at 188 Court Street, Marya gave birth to their first child born in America. This was John Vincent Dyszkiewicz in 1892. This was followed by Henry Dyszkiewicz in 1893. They were followed by four daughters and a son. By the time Sophie Dyszkiewicz was born in 1895, the family had moved to 97 Mercer Street in Newark. When my grandmother Frances Dyszkiewicz arrived in 1897, they were living at 644 South 11th Street in Newark.
A few years later Marya gave birth to a boy who was never named because he died stillborn on May 5, 1900. In 1901, Louisa Dyszkiewicz was born. There was one more child, Adolphina Lilla Dyszkiewicz, born July 10, 1904. Lilly, as she was affectionately called, died less than a year later on April 14, 1905. She was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange, New Jersey.
It should be noted here that many members, if not all of the Dyszkiewicz family, changed their name to Smith. While we can't be certain, it was either to change it to something more easily pronounced, or to hide the fact they were Polish. In any event, trying to locate documents about their lives became much more difficult.
Thanks to Mary Alice Kessler, whose husband Philip Kessler, is the grandson of Valoria Dyszkiewicz, we now know that Valoria was the firstborn of Lawrence and Marya. Valoria was born on November 15, 1882 in Czudec. The family called her "Helen." She arrived in America around 1887 when she would have been about 4 years old, although some sources say she was 11. She was living with her parents in Newark when she married a sailor named William Kessler on November 8, 1901. Helen and some of the other members of her family had changed their surname from Dyszkiewicz to Schmidt or Smith.
William Kessler was born in Hanover, Germany on November 11, 1880. He was barely a year old when his parents brought him to America in 1881. His parents were William Kessler and Amelia "Emilie" Matilda Daly. When Helen married William, he was serving in the U. S. Navy and stationed in the State of Washington. While he was away, Helen continued living with her parents. On November 9, 1902, Helen gave birth to a son. This was William Kessler, Jr.. Sadly, he did not live long. Barely 10 days old, he died on November 19, 1902. He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange, New Jersey.
On December 10, 1903, Helen gave birth to a second son, named Arthur William Kessler. Leaving the baby in the care of her mother, Helen and her younger sister Josephine worked in a corset factory. Eventually, Helen and Arthur moved to Washington to be closer to William. It was there that she gave birth to two more boys: Paul William Kessler in 1912 and Francis William Kessler in 1914. They would move two more times. First to San Francisco where the last child was born, another son named Eddie William Kessler in 1918. Finally, they ended up in San Diego where they would remain for the rest of their lives. Some family members recall that Helen had a very stern disposition.
As stated above, Helen and William's second son was Arthur William Kessler, born in Newark, New Jersey on December 10, 1903. When he was 16 years old he was living with his parents in San Diego and working as a messenger for the railroad. By 1930 he was still living with his parents and working as a mechanic in a garage. Around this time his life became somewhat complicated. It appears that he became involved with his Aunt Louise Dyszkiewicz, who was two years older than Arthur and living in New Jersey.
In 1920, Louise was living with her parents in Newark at 644 South 11th Street. She was employed as an inspector for a roller bearing company. Shortly after giving birth to a son on November 26, 1921, Louise married the father, Charles Maas, in December of 1921. The son thus became Charles Maas, Jr.. They lived at 939 Grove Street in Irvington, New Jersey. At some point, the couple divorced. Louise gained ownership of the home and she and her son continued to live there while she worked as an operator for the telephone company. She also rented space in the house to two other large families. At some point, Arthur came from California and moved in with Louise and Charles. He worked as an auto mechanic.
On June 27, 1928, Arthur and Louise traveled into Manhattan to get married at the New York City Clerk's Office. Possibly to hide the fact that Louise was marrying her nephew, they slightly altered their names for the marriage certificate. Arthur became "William A. Kessler" and Louise was "Emily L. Schmidt." Louise stated this was her first marriage, ignoring her marriage to Charles Maas in 1921.
Around 1937, Louise, Arthur and Charles were back in San Diego. Arthur had adopted Louise's son who then became known as Charles Arthur Kessler.
Arthur was 6 feet tall and weighed 210 pounds. He had blue eyes, blonde hair and a light complexion. He also had a distinct scar on his right side. By 1950, Arthur was working in a hotel. After Helen's husband William died in 1939, Helen moved in with Louise, Arthur and Charles. Louise's brother John came from New Jersey to also live with them, possibly after the death of his wife Catherine.
After graduating from San Diego High School, Arthur and Louise's son Charles was working in the surgery department of Camp Lockett Hospital when he enlisted in the U. S. Army on his twentieth birthday, November 21, 1941. He trained with an Army Air Force bombardier unit and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served honorably through the entire war and was discharged on January 7, 1946. Although Arthur was not his biological father, they had almost identical physical characteristics: blue eyes, blonde hair and a light complexion. They were both tall, Charles at 6' 1" but much skinnier at 155 pounds.
Louise and Arthur lived at 5824 Balmoral Drive in San Diego. There were a few family members who had an unfavorable opinion of Louise, including Arthur's younger brother Eddie who referred to her as a "witch.". Regardless, Louise was an instructor in ceramics in city schools adult classes when she died on May 31, 1959. She was only 58 years old. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego. Arthur died on January 5, 1967 at the age of 63. He was buried with Louise at Holy Cross Cemetery. It does not appear that Charles ever married. He was 85 years old when he died on June 7, 2008. He was buried at Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery in San Diego. His grave marker is inscribed with "He lived a full life."
Paul William Kessler was born in Charleston, Washington on October 4, 1912. This was nearly 10 years after the birth of Arthur, Helen and William's second child. The first child William Jr. died in 1902. Paul's birth certificate states he was the third child born to Helen and William. So, they went nearly 10 years without producing any more children. Unusual, but don't forget William was in the Navy. Perhaps he was stationed far away (for 10 years?) from Helen during that time.
Paul was a few years old when his parents settled in San Diego. He graduated from the private Catholic Saint Augustine High School in San Diego and began working for the Consolidated aircraft manufacturing company (Convair). He had the same physical characteristics of his brother: 6' 1" tall, weighed about 190 pounds with blue eyes, blonde hair and a light complexion.
On August 31, 1940, Paul and Joyce Louraine Deeter drove 170 miles from San Diego to apply for a marriage license in Yuma, Arizona. Joyce was the daughter of Marion L. Deeter and Louraine Margaret Getty. Joyce was born in Oakland, California on March 30, 1918. A few years before her marriage to Paul, Joyce was only 14 years old when she married a sailor named Forrest McReynolds Lukins on March 30, 1933. Forrest was born in Riverside, California on January 20, 1910. His father was John Lukins and his mother Pearl McReynolds. Riverside is a suburb of Los Angeles. The marriage took place in nearby San Bernardino. Joyce was just a week away from her 15th birthday. Forrest was 23.
On September 11, 1934, Joyce gave birth to a son named Donald Forrest Lukins in San Diego. When Donald was less than 1 year old, Joyce and Forrest had a second son. This was Daniel Leonard Lukins, born in Fort Bragg, California on October 3, 1935. Fort Bragg is about 700 miles north of San Diego, probably where Forrest was stationed at the time. Little Daniel died less than four months later on January 19, 1936. He was buried at Ocean View Cemetery in Fort Bragg. His grave marker is captioned "You Are In Our Hearts."
At some point Joyce's marriage to Forrest folded. Oral family history says that Joyce met Paul Kessler while they were both working in the logging camps at Fort Bragg. Even though we know Paul and Joyce didn't apply for a marriage license in Arizona until August of 1940, they were living together as husband and wife in San Diego in April of 1940. Paul adopted Joyce's son as Donald Forrest Kessler.
When Donald was ten years old, his mother gave birth to her third child, this time with Paul as the father. This child was Guy William Kessler, born in San Diego on January 12, 1944. Tragically, baby Guy lasted less than two months, dying on March 8, 1944. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Joyce gave birth to a fourth child on November 27, 1944 named Donna Joyce Kessler, who died the same day, possibly prematurely. According to more oral family history, because Joyce had lost two babies so close together, the family doctor brought her a baby girl to adopt. Joyce Lorraine Kessler, born May 17, 1945, was legally adopted by Paul and Joyce.
Joyce became pregnant again and on September 4, 1946, Philip William "Butch" Kessler was born, weighing a little more than 5 pounds.
Donald had just turned 19 when he married 16-year-old Barbara J. Bryson on September 25, 1953. According to family oral history, Paul was trying to get Donald hired on at Convair when they realized there was a problem. Turns out Joyce was never divorced from her first husband Forrest Lukins. So, on August 5, 1947, Joyce finally got an annulment in San Diego for her marriage to Forrest. Then 4 days later, she and Paul returned to Yuma, Arizona to be officially wedded on August 9, 1947.
Donald and Barbara's marriage endured for 20 years before ending in divorce in February of 1973. Even though they were divorced, they remained close, even living together some of the time. On December 27, 2007, 73-year-old Donald died and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego.
Paul was promoted to a supervisory role at Convair. He worked there for 30 years before retiring in 1968. Ten years later, he and Joyce were living at 350 Broadway in Chula Vista, a suburb of San Diego, when he died on January 16, 1978. He was 65 years of age. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery. Joyce was 71 when she died on February 22, 1990. She was buried with Paul at Holy Cross Cemetery.
Francis "Frank" William Kessler was born in Charleston, Washington on May 4, 1914. He enlisted in the U. S. Army immediately after the start of World War II but a few years before the United States entered the war. on December 5, 1939. Like most of the Kessler men, Frank was 6' 1" tall, weighed about 160 pounds with blonde hair and a light complexion. Unlike the others, he had hazel-colored eyes. He also had tattoos covering both forearms. In 1940, he was stationed at Fort McArthur, not far from Los Angeles. At some point he became engaged to Anne LaSalle who lived in Hollywood, California. No record of a marriage between the two has been found.
After serving more than 3 years in the Army, Private First Class Kessler received a certificate of disability discharge (CDD) on May 26, 1943. Although we do not know the circumstances of his disability, the discharge was an honorable one and carried no stigma.
Frank was 72 years old when he died on December 13, 1986. He was buried at Riverside National Cemetery located about 50 miles east of Los Angeles.
Helen and William's fifth and final child was Eddie William Kessler. He was born near San Francisco in Vallejo, California on November 20, 1918. He enlisted in the Navy on November 12, 1937 just before his 19th birthday. The Navy was his career. While on leave in 1941, he and Margaret Lucille Felkner drove to Yuma, Arizona to get married. Margaret was born in Blandburg, Pennsylvania on June 3, 1918, the daughter of Jack W. Felkner and Pearl E. Roles. When she married Eddie, she used her mother's maiden name of Roles.
Not long after the marriage, Eddie was stationed aboard the USS Henley destroyer in Hawaii when the Japanese launched their sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. The Henley was one of the few ships that wasn't destroyed and was able to shoot down several enemy aircraft.
Eddie and Margaret had two daughters. After serving in the Navy for more than 20 years, Eddie retired on March 5, 1958. In 1963, he and Margaret moved to Scotts Mills, Oregon. Eddie enjoyed gardening, hunting, swimming and building model airplanes and ships. He and Margaret were members of the Catholic Church. Margaret was an avid reader and enjoyed knitting and camping.
Eddie died the day after Christmas, December 26, 2000. Exactly one month later, Margaret followed him on January 26, 2001. They were both 82 years old. They were buried together in Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon. Their grave marker states "Beloved Parents."
William was only 58 years old when he died on October 1, 1939. He was buried at Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery in San Diego. Fourteen years later, Helen joined him there after dying on September 5, 1953. She was 70 years old.
The second child Aniela Dyszkiewicz was born in Poland in 1887. All we know about her is that she arrived in America with her sister Josepha and grandmother Aniela in 1896. She does not appear in any of the census records. What eventually became of her is a mystery.
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Child number two, born in Poland in 1888, was Josepha "Josephine" Dyszkiewicz. She is well documented. The family called her Josie. After arriving with her sister and grandmother in 1896, she eventually married, on November 20, 1907, Arthur Kessler, who later became known as Otto. Otto was born in Newark on February 17, 1882. He had two brothers. One was William Kessler who married Josepha's sister Helen. So, we have two brothers who married two sisters.
Otto worked as a metal polisher for a metal goods factory. Sometime later, he became Sergeant of the guard of night watchmen for the Butterworth-Judson Corporation in Newark, a chemical and acid manufacturing plant. Later, he would work for the Titeflex Metal Hose Company in Newark. Otto was 5' 9" tall, weighed about 165 pounds, with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was also ahead of his time for sporting several tattoos on his hands and arms.
Initially, Otto and Josie lived at 648 South Eleventh Street, two doors down from Lawrence and Marya and Josie's younger siblings. It was at 648 South Eleventh Street where Josie and Otto's two daughters were born. The first was Florence J. Kessler, born on New Year's Day in 1909. On May 14, 1910, the other daughter was born. This was Lillian H. Kessler. Living with them was Josie's grandmother Aniela Mazurkiewicz, known by the family as Nellie.
By 1915, Otto, Josie, Florence, Lillian, and Nellie were living in Irvington at 9 Standard Place. Around this time, Nellie became ill and went back to live with Lawrence and Marya. She died there on April 19, 1917. On her death certificate, the doctor noted she died from "general sclerosis due to age. Although Marya told them her mother was 65 years old, she was actually 86. She was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange, New Jersey.
By 1920, they had moved to 739 South Grove Street in Irvington, then to 31 Lenox Avenue, and finally next door at 35 Lenox Avenue.
Josie and Otto's daughter Florence Kessler was working as a stenographer for the telephone company when she married John Leonard Kistner in 1931. Around 1938, they moved to West Orange, New Jersey where John worked for various car dealers before establishing his own used car dealership. He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, the son of Leonard Kistner and Sophie Schmidt. He and Florence had two children, Judith "Judi" Kistner, and Ronald Kistner. Ronald was born on August 22, 1941. He served as a private in the U. S. Army during the Vietnam War.
Otto and Josie were still living on Lenox Avenue in Irvington when Otto died right before Christmas on December 22, 1964. He was 82 years old. He was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, New Jersey. In 1968, Josie moved to live with Florence and John in West Orange. She was about 90 years old when she died there on July 27, 1978. She was buried with Otto at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.
John Kistner died on February 3, 1989 in the Northfield Manor Nursing Home in West Orange. He was 87 years old. Nearly ten years later, 89-year-old Florence died on February 15, 1998 at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. On March 12, 2020, two years after his mother, Ronald died and was buried at the Brigadier General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Arneytown, New Jersey. He was 78 years old.
Josie and Otto's daughter Lillian Kessler was also working as a stenographer, for a chemical company, when she married Frank Quinn in Manhattan on February 24, 1937. Frank's parents were Edward H. Quinn and Margaret Doyle. Frank was a widower who worked as an advertising agent for a radio company. He was born in Maplewood, New Jersey on May 25, 1866. Yes, that's 1866. He was 44 years older than Lillian. They lived at the Governor Clinton Hotel in New York City. Along with all the amenities one would expect at a luxury hotel, they also had a live-in maid named Venetta Randolph from Norfolk, Virginia. Also living with them was Frank's son Frank Jr., born in Maplewood around 1920. In 1938, Lillian gave birth to a daughter, Patricia Ann Quinn.
Before the family left Poland and settled in Newark, two sons were born in Poland, Edward Dyszkiewicz in March of 1889, and Stanley Dyszkiewicz in September of 1890. By 1910, 20-year-old Edward was working as a mason and 18-year-old Stanley was a file cutter. Since they both changed their surname to Smith soon after this, it's been impossible to track them beyond the 1920's.
While the Dyszkiewicz family was still living at 188 Court Street in Newark, Marya gave birth to their first child born in America. This was John Vincent Dyszkiewicz on January 5, 1892. By 1910, 16-year-old John was working in a button shop and soon changed his surname to Smith. By sheer luck, I did locate more information about John when his obituary, as John Smith, showed up while searching for his sister Josephine. On September 15, 1917, John Smith married Catherine Madeline Goebel in Newark. Catherine was born in Newark on November 25, 1890. Her parents were Melchoir Goebel and Mollie Linsteiner. Prior to the marriage, Catherine worked in a Newark bakery. John was manager of the Fine Fair grocery store in Irvington.
On June 26, 1925, John and Catherine welcomed their only child, LeRoy John Smith. LeRoy was born in Irvington. When he was 18 years old, he was 5' 9" tall, weighed about 135 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair and a light complexion. He served with the U. S. Marine Corps during World War II and later joined American Legion Post 16. In the early 1950's LeRoy was hired as a salesman for Drake's Cakes in Irvington and East Brunswick. He also served as trustee of the Irvington Public Library.
Somewhere along the way, LeRoy got married and had three children, Richard Smith, Diana Smith and Nancy Smith. They lived at 173 Hillside Terrace in Irvington, and later in Livingston, New Jersey.
After working as a manager for Fine Fair, John moved to San Diego, California to work for the Convair division of General Dynamics and Aeronautics Corporation. He lived with his sister Louise and her family in San Diego. Louise's husband Arthur Kessler, who was also Louise's nephew, had a brother, Paul Kessler, who also worked at Convair. John retired from Convair in 1961 and moved back to New Jersey to live with LeRoy in Irvington. John died there on June 6, 1965. He was 73 years old.
LeRoy worked 35 years at Drake's Cakes before retiring in 1988. He moved to Springfield, New Jersey. He was 74 years old when he died four days after Thanksgiving on November 29, 1999.
On July 1, 1893 Henry Dyszkiewicz was born in Newark. In 1910, 15-year-old Henry worked in a novelty shop. He appears to have changed his name to Smith as early as 1917. What we do know is that he was 5' 6" tall, weighed about 150 pounds, with brown hair and eyes and a ruddy complexion. When he was 23 years old and still living with his parents, he worked as a "plater" for the Splitdorf Electric Company. On June 25, 1918, he enlisted in the U. S. Army but only lasted five months and was discharged on November 21, 1918. Later, he worked construction jobs and was also a self-employed painter. As far as can be determined, he never married. He was 74 years old and living at 165 Linden Avenue in Irvington when he died of a hemorrhage on December 13, 1967. He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange.
Sophie Dyszkiewicz was born in Newark on October 29, 1895. In 1910, 14-year-old Sophie was working as a trimmer in an underwear factory. On October 4, 1916, she married Michael Kramer at St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in Newark. Michael was a plumber and later worked for the Kreuger Brewing Company in Newark. He was born in Brooklyn, New York on August 27, 1890, the son of Henryk Kramer and Malgorrata Dauenhauer. Michael was 5 feet 10 1/2 inches tall and weighed about 180 pounds. He had gray eyes, brown hair and a ruddy complexion.
By 1916, Marya and Lawrence were still living at 644 South 11th Street in Newark. Living with them was Marya's mother, Aniela (Malecki) Mazurkiewicz. In December of that year, Aniela became ill and was treated at the home by Dr. Lewis Weiss. On April 16, 1917, Dr. Weiss was called back to the home when Aniela suddenly collapsed. By the time the doctor arrived, Aniela was already dead. The official cause of death was listed as "old age." She was 65 years old.
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Sophie and Michael lived first in Irvington before moving to Chapman Street in Newark and raising two daughters, Mildred Kramer, born 1917, and Claire Kramer, born around 1921. By 1930, Sophie's brother Henry was living with them in Newark. In the early 1920's, the Dyszkiewicz siblings changed their surname to Smith. Mildred was a schoolteacher. Sophie was into ceramics. I still have some of her exquisite creations. Michael died in 1966; Mildred in 1978. They are interred in a mausoleum at Hollywood Memorial Park in Union, New Jersey. Sophie was 86 years old when she died in Maplewood, New Jersey on November 24, 1981. She is with Michael and Mildred at Hollywood Memorial Park.
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My grandmother, Frances (Dyszkiewicz) Smith, was born in Newark on October 28, 1897, one day before Sophie's second birthday. On November 21, 1925, Frances married my grandfather, John Murphy. Unfortunately, Lawrence was not there to see them married. He and Marya were still living at 644 South 11th Street in Newark when he died on November 18, 1924, a year before John and Frances were married. He was 73 years old. Marya moved in with her divorced daughter Louisa at 939 Grove Street in Irvington. Marya died there from the effects of diabetes at the age of 66 a few years later on March 31, 1927. She and Lawrence are buried together in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in East Orange.
John and Frances were living on Kuna Terrace in Newark when my father, William Murphy was born on October 22, 1929. John worked as an engineer for the phone company. He died in Irvington on December 7, 1963 at the age of 65. Frances died five years later on December 16, 1968, when she was 69 years old. They are buried at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, New Jersey.
Lawrence and Marya were living at 644 South 11th Street with their seven children who ranged in age from two to twelve, tragedy struck the family when Marya gave birth to a stillborn baby boy on May 5, 1900. No name was recorded with his birth or death.
Eleven months after losing the infant boy, Marya gave birth to Louise Emily Dyszkiewicz on April 4, 1901. In 1920, Louise was living with her parents in Newark at 644 South 11th Street. She was employed as an inspector for a roller bearing company. Shortly after giving birth to a son on November 26, 1921, Louise married the father, Charles Maas, in December of 1921. The son thus became Charles Maas, Jr.. They lived at 939 Grove Street in Irvington, New Jersey. At some point, the couple divorced. Louise gained ownership of the home and she and her son continued to live there while she worked as an operator for the telephone company. She also rented space in the house to two other large families. At some point, her nephew Arthur Kessler came from California and moved in with Louise and Charles. Arthur was the son of Louise's older sister Helen. He was only two years younger than Louise. He worked in Irvington or Newark as an auto mechanic.
On June 27, 1928, Arthur and Louise traveled into Manhattan to get married at the New York City Clerk's Office. Possibly to hide the fact that Louise was marrying her nephew, they slightly altered their names for the marriage certificate. Arthur became "William A. Kessler" and Louise was "Emily L. Schmidt." As stated before, some of the members of the Dyszkiewicz family changed their surname to Schmidt or Smith. Louise stated this was her first marriage, ignoring her marriage to Charles Maas in 1921.
Around 1937, Louise, Arthur and Charles were back in San Diego. Arthur had adopted Louise's son who then became known as Charles Arthur Kessler.
Arthur was 6 feet tall and weighed 210 pounds. He had blue eyes, blonde hair and a light complexion. He also had a distinct scar on his right side. By 1950, Arthur was working in a hotel. After Helen's husband William died in 1939, Helen moved in with Louise, Arthur and Charles. Louise's brother John came from New Jersey to also live with them, possibly after the death of his wife Catherine.
After graduating from San Diego High School, Arthur and Louise's son Charles was working in the surgery department of Camp Lockett Hospital when he enlisted in the U. S. Army on his twentieth birthday, November 21, 1941. He trained with an Army Air Force bombardier unit and attained the rank of Staff Sergeant. He served honorably through the entire war and was discharged on January 7, 1946. Although Arthur was not his biological father, they had almost identical physical characteristics: blue eyes, blonde hair and a light complexion. They were both tall, Charles at 6' 1" but much skinnier at 155 pounds.
Louise and Arthur lived at 5824 Balmoral Drive in San Diego. Louise was an instructor in ceramics in city schools adult classes when she died on May 31, 1959. She was only 58 years old. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in San Diego. Arthur died on January 5, 1967 at the age of 63. He was buried with Louise at Holy Cross Cemetery. It does not appear that Charles ever married. He was 85 years old when he died on June 7, 2008. He was buried at Fort Rosencrans National Cemetery in San Diego. His grave marker is inscribed with "He lived a full life."
Finally, we come to Marya and Lawrence's twelfth and final child. This was Adolphina Lilla "Lillie" Dyszkiewicz. She was born in Newark on July 10, 1904. By this time, Lawrence was nearly 53 and Marya was around 45. Sadly, little Lillie lived for only nine months. She died on April 14, 1905 and buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.
