Family Biography

Mom and Pop came to the United States in 1903. Pop was born in on 11/13/1884 in Lomza, Poland. His father's name was Adam Rutkowski and his mother's name was Catherine Malahowska. Mom was a Polish Lithuanian born 12/10/1885. Receipt of Pop's social security records indicate that he was not from the Kracow area, but from Lomza, which is a city that is NE of Warsaw. You can find some information about what the surname Rutkowski means here. Lomza was at one time a province as well, but is now mostly contained within Podlaskie. You can see it's location here.

They were married in Poland. Soon thereafter, Pop came to the United States, and Mom followed shortly after Pop. Pop was only 19 years old when he moved to the U.S, and despite his young age had served in the military for awhile in Poland before leaving. Their first child was Alec, born in 1907. The last of the nine children was Vic, born in 1922.

Mom and Pop were fortunate during the Depression because Pop was never out of work, and most of the boys found jobs too. Eddie recalled that the family never lacked what they needed, that he could buy nice clothes with his earnings, and that overall they enjoyed a very happy childhood and were a very close family.

All the children attended Polish/Catholic school except Eddie and Vic, who went to Hamilton High. Eddie explained that he and Vic both wanted to attend public school, and the only reason he could go to Hamilton High was that Vic wanted to as well; because Vic was the youngest, they were able to persuade their parents to let them have their way.

All of the boys, with the exception of Alec, served in the military during WWII, and all of them made it through, although Yosh was lost for a year in Iceland. Joe was the first of the family to die, and the only one of the immediate family to die at a young age. He was returning to Massachusetts after visiting Alec at the shore, and his car hit a pole. He was pronounced dead at Philadelphia Naval Hospital. There were no skid marks at the scene, and the cause of the accident is unknown. He died at the age of 42.

Mom and Pop spent their entire lives on the property on Steward Ave. in Trenton, New Jersey. They first lived in the small bungalow, then built and moved into the Big House next door as their family grew. Various family members lived on the property as adults. Ina lived with Mom & Pop while Eddie was overseas during the war, and at the same time Beverly, Joe's daughter, was living there too. Joe lived there when he wasn't overseas while Beverly was there. Jean and Danny lived there briefly before Jean married Tony, and Steffie, George, and Carole lived there while their house was being built, right after Ina and Eddie moved out. Walt and June lived in the big house for quite a while. After Mom died, Yosh lived in the big house, which was sold after Yosh's death. Vic still lives in the original bungalow on what remains of the family property.

Other family members had also immigrated to the U.S. and settled in Trenton. Pop had a brother named Thadeusz, whose son Stanley (Stanislaw) served as a district attorney in Trenton for a time and was a good friend of his cousin Yosh. Thadeusz had two other sons and a daughter; one of the sons died during WWII. Mom had a brother named John Matuk (needs verification), who also lived in Trenton. They had other relatives, and there are undoubtedly many cousins still unknown today. A female cousin attended Pop's funeral, but her name is not known at this time.

Pop died at the age of 80. Mom died only a few short months after Pop died. Many family members died of various illnesses between the late 1980s through the early 1990s. At the present time, only Walt and Vic are left.