About Julie Cabitto
Passionate about family history!
I love pictures and stories! I love to learn about what people did, what life was like for the entire community. I started this website to share what I’ve been learning. But I also want this to be as collaborative as possible. Do you have pictures or stories you would like to share? I’m looking for stories about all ethnicities, religions, schools, jobs, families etcetera. Lets learn and share together.
Julie (baby) with Paul & Catherine Sanetra
My great grandfather, Paul Sanetra, told me he was an orphan and spent most of his life looking for his family. Then he asked me if I would help him find his family. He started telling me stories he remembered. Paul was born in Evanston, Illinois (near Chicago) about a year after his parents immigrated from Żywiec-Zabłocie, Poland. Paul had 2 sisters he’d never met, Bronisława and Jadwiga. He last saw his brothers and father on the orphanage steps in October 1918 after his mother died from the flu epidemic. Paul wrote many letters (for at least 60 years) looking for his family! He paid translators to write letters to Poland. Paul never did find his brother Stanisław, last seen in October 1918 or his sister Bronisława who disappeared between Ellis Island and the train station in Chicago where the family went to meet her February 1911. These are our two big 100 year old unsolved mysteries. This image is part of Jadwiga Sanetra’s letter to her brother Paul. She was happy they found each other and asked if he had found Stanisław or Bronisłwa yet. Years after my great grandfather Paul Sanetra died, I discovered he had a twin who died soon after birth. Her name was Julia.
part of Jadwiga Sanetra’s letter in 1963
Polish families from Żywiec-Zabłocie, Polska 