Try FamilySearch Simple Search in Beta

Thanks to the Simple Search function being tested by FamilySearch.org, I know when and where Frances Walasyk died. I had been looking on the usual genealogy websites but no luck. Until now.

Simple Search is a plain language search tool in beta. No complicated search forms, no special wording or numbers, no range of dates. Really simple. And, after testing a few queries, I discovered it's both simple and effective.

To start, go to the Family Search Labs page and click on the experiment called Try Simple Search. In the search box, you can type your query or even speak it (click on the microphone at bottom right of query box). Then click the search button.

Frances was the mother of my aunt Dorothy's life partner. Frances seemed to disappear from official records after the 1940 US Census and after signing an Alien Registration AR-2 form later in 1940. Could Simple Search find her? 

Surprisingly, my simple query (shown above) returned one result, only one. It was precisely what I needed: a legal document related to Frances's estate. She died on March 5, 1948 and a week later, her daughter Leona (aka Lee Wallace) petitioned the court for power of attorney to settle the estate. A simple question answered in seconds. 

Your actual mileage may vary, and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. My other Simple Search queries for other ancestors returned pages and pages of results, some highly relevant and some less relevant. I'm still experimenting with filtering results by year, place, collection, and so on.

I definitely recommend giving this experiment a test or three!

Remembering Leona Walaszczyk, Former Director of the Macy's Parade

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Polish-born Lee Wallace (1903-1989) was the head of public relations for Macy's in New York and therefore the boss of the store's hugely famous Thanksgiving Day Parade. In fact, 2024 is the 100th anniversary of this incredible parade!

The Parade always took place around the time of Lee's birthday, November 24th, so I doubt she had time for any personal celebrations. Lee was my aunt Dorothy Schwartz's beloved life partner. 

Walasyk to Wallace

Before I began writing this post, I reviewed my research and looked for anything new. It wasn't so long ago that I found out Lee had Americanized her surname from Walasyk to Wallace. 

Now I've uncovered a 1951 newspaper legal notice mentioning Lee and her brothers and their children. New news about Lee's original surname!

Walaszczyk to Walasyk to Wallace

Published in the Record newspaper of Hackensack, New Jersey, the notice announces that the undersigned will apply for a judgement authorizing them to "assume other names."

Interestingly, Lee was using the name "Leona Z Wallace" as long ago as 1936, when she applied for a Social Security number. I have a copy of that application. I wonder why the family, together, took legal steps to change to the Wallace name in 1951? (Update: A BlueSky follower suggested it might be due to one or more of the Wallace family members intending to apply for a US passport. That sounds quite likely!)

Anyway, by discovering their original surname was Walaszczyk, I was able to find her and her parents and siblings in the 1915 New Jersey Census and the 1920/30 US Census records. Her father Anthony was a silk weaver, as was her mother Frances. Lee's parents never simplified their surname to Walasyk, but her brothers did, and after their parents passed away, they all ultimately switched to Wallace in 1951.

Happy birthday to Leona Z. Walaszczyk (pronounced VALASHCHICK), who headed the most well-known Thanksgiving parade in the United States, with my Auntie Dorothy at her side.