Genealogy: Czermerys/Czemerys
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Czermerys/Czemerys Name History

For more information, see http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=SHOW&db=girlmommy&recno=0

There are two accounts of the origin of the name Czermerys. Some sources say Czemerys is a Polish name with Scottish roots. Around the 1700's, Scots from the town of Merrilees came to Poland. Mirys or Merys was a Polonized form of "Merrilees", and the "Cze" prefix denoted a landholder. However, a personal e-mail from William Hoffman, author of the book "Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings" states, "It is highly unlikely the Cze- part is a prefix. Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions CZEMERYS in his book _Nazwiska Polakow_ [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it derives from the archaic noun _czemierz_ or _ciemier_, in more modern Polish _ciemierzyca_, a kind of poisonous plant, Veratrum, "hellebore" in English. These plants could be used to produce an alkaloid that was used for medicinal purposes. Presumably this name began as a reference to one who grew this plant, or lived in an area where it was common, or perhaps one who prepared medicine from it, or used such medicine. As of 1990, according to the _Slownik nazwisk_, there were 235 Polish citizens named CZEMERYS. There was no significant concentration of the name -- it was found in small numbers all over Poland. There was also one Pole who spelled it CZERMERYS, living somewhere in Bialystok province".
The extra first "R" is only found recently in one branch in the U.S., seemingly resulting from a misspelling on a birth certificate in 1940. The authentic Polish pronunciation is "Cheh-MARE-iss", though branches of the family in the U.S. pronounce it "Seh-MARE-is" or "Smeers".


Stanley Karwacki, Mary Pikul, Walter Podyma, Rose Pikul Podyma, John Czemerys, Mary Gasiewcz
John Joseph Czemerys(1896-1929, son of Lawrence Czemerys and Josephine Kowalska) was a friend of Walter Podyma, and stood up for him in his first wedding, to Rose Pikul, cir. 1915. John and Walter had come over from Smierdyna, Poland together in 1912, and lived a few doors down from each other on Van Rensaeler Street in Buffalo. Both John and Rose later died from tuberculosis.

Wedding of John and Josephine: John, Josephine, Helen Pikul, Clara Majka, other two men unknown
After the death of her first husband, Rafal Gawlak, in 1922, Josephine Bryla Gawlak (1896-1944, daughter of Michael Bryla and Maryanna Bednarz Bryla of Nowodzice, Poland) married John Joseph Czemerys on June 7, 1923. She had three children, Stanley (b.1919), Walter (b.1920), and Helen (b.1921) from her first marriage. Together, she and John had daughter Josephine Marie (12/27/1924-12/14/1955) and son Edward Joseph (8/22/1928-6/12/1987).
John Joseph Czemerys
This is the picture placed on his casket at his funeral, April 26, 1929.
Wedding of Josephine and Walter: Walter Podyma, Josephine Bryla Gawlak Czemerys, Josephine's cousin Sally, man's identity unknown
After her second husband John's death, Josephine married widower Walter Podyma on January 29, 1930. Walter had three children (Irene, Walter, and John) from his first marriage to Rose Pikul, and in 1931, Walter and Josephine had a son, Tony Podyma.
Josephine Czemerys, cir. 1934
Standing: Walter Gawlak, Irene Podyma, Josephine Bryla Gawlak Czemerys Podyma, Helen Gawlak, Josephine Czemerys. Front: Tony Podyma, Edward Czemerys
This is Josephine Bryla Gawlak Czemerys Podyma with five of her six biological children from three marriages, and her step-daughter Irene.
Josephine Bryla Gawlak Czemerys Podyma, Walter Podyma, and Josephine Czemerys, ca. 1943
Josephine Czemerys, Joan,George,and Roger Mead. ca. 1953
Josephine Czemerys had a son in 1940. She married George Mead, and together they had four children. Josephine died of cancer in 1955, at the age of 31.

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska
Some recent research I've done indicates that it's likely the mother of John Joseph Czemerys, Josephine Kowalska, was the first cousin of St. M. Faustina Kowalska, born Helena Kowalska near Lodz, Poland in 1905.

Click on above image for more information about this saint and her works.