Family albums · Francine’s family overview
On this page: Family connections · People in this branch · Timeline · Places · A careful reading of the family records · Names in the records · Sources and evidence
This branch follows the Samuel family in Sayreville, New Jersey. The strongest early records connect Frank Samul, also recorded as Frank Samuel, with his wife Sophie, called Teofila in the 1920 census, and their children. Their American household is well documented; their precise European origins and the generation before them remain unresolved. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
The family-held memorial card prints the combined name Theofilia Sophie Samuel and bears February 3, 1953. It does not label the date as death or funeral. Card source note.
Two generations of Frank Samuel
Robert Frank Samuel’s published obituary names his parents as Frank and Viola Wistuba Samuel. The younger Frank’s obituary transcription also names Viola as his wife and Robert as his son. [11] [7]
The 1950 census records Frank E. Samuel with his wife Viola M. in Sayreville; their household continues onto the next sheet, where Robert F. Samuel is listed as a son. This original household record independently supports the parent–child connection reported in Robert’s obituary. [12] [11]
The connection to the older Frank and Sophie is supported by the 1940 household, which lists Frank Jr. as a son, and by sibling evidence: Frank’s obituary names Loretta as his sister, while Loretta’s obituary identifies her parents as Frank and Sophie Syroweic Samuel. Taken together, these records strongly support the link between the generations. This is a conclusion based on several records considered together, not a conclusion supplied by the younger Frank’s unread birth certificate. [4] [7] [8]
Viola and Frank’s wedding. An original October 14, 1940 newspaper report names the couple as Viola Marie Wistuba and Frank E. Samuels Jr. It identifies Viola as the daughter of Mrs. Mary Wistuba of 12 Haag Street and Frank as the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Samuels of 575 Main Street. Their Saturday wedding at St. Stanislaus Church is dated October 12, 1940 by inference from the Monday publication date. [14]
An unconfirmed marriage-index lead. The 1940 New Jersey marriage index lists Ladislana Wistuba with Frank Samuel Jr. The newspaper establishes a wedding for Viola Marie Wistuba and Frank E. Samuels Jr., but does not identify Ladislana as another name for Viola. The index entry remains a separate, unconfirmed lead pending the marriage certificate or another record linking the names. [13] [14]
People in this branch
Frank E. Samuel (the younger Frank): Husband of Viola Wistuba Samuel and father of Robert Frank Samuel; his profile separates the conflicting birth-date reports.
Frank Samul / Samuel: A Sayreville laborer whose citizenship papers preserve his own account of his birth and migration.
Sophie / Teofila Samuel: Documented with Frank and their family across several censuses. Her profile now includes a memorial card bearing the combined name Theofilia Sophie Samuel and February 3, 1953; the card does not label the date as death or funeral. Her maiden surname and parents still need further proof.
A household through time
These milestones follow the records of Frank and Sophie’s household. Dates reported in a later record are distinguished from the date that record was made.
1910 · Sayreville. Frank and his wife appear with their children in the census. His work is recorded as brick-factory labor. [2]
1913–1918 · Citizenship records. Frank made his declaration of intention in November 1913, filed petition no. 3076 on December 19, 1917, and was admitted as a citizen on June 13, 1918. The packet preserves his account of an 1890 voyage; that voyage has not been independently verified. [1]
1920 · Sayreville. The census records Frank with his wife Teofila and their household. His work is listed as labor in a rubber-tire factory. [3]
1930 · 575 Main Street, Sayreville. The census records Frank Samuel, 61, his wife Sophie, whose age is overwritten and can be read as 49 or 59, and eight people listed as Frank’s sons and daughters: Edward, 25; Stephen, 16; Annie, 21; Frank, 14; Victor, 12; Joseph, 10; Laura, 7; and Leon, 6. They lived in an owned home valued at $7,000, with a radio. Frank and Edward were brick-yard glaziers. Stephen was a “Sewer” in an industry apparently written “Taylor shop”; Annie was a bunch maker in a cigar factory. Sophie’s age at first marriage is clearly recorded as 27. [16]
Frank’s recorded age, 61, conflicts with his naturalization-reported birth on December 15, 1872. The younger Frank’s age, 14, also differs from the petition’s December 30, 1916 birth date. Sophie’s overwritten age prevents a confident marriage-year inference from this census. The relationships are to Frank as head and do not establish every child’s maternity. Stephen, Laura and Leon are retained as written, without assuming they are Stanley, Loretta or Leo. [16] [1]
1940 · Sayreville. Frank and Sophie are recorded together with several of their children. [4]
1945 · A dated memorial card. A family-held prayer card names Franciszek Samuel Sr. and bears “21go Maja, 1945” (May 21, 1945). It supplies 1945 memorial evidence, but does not label the date as death or funeral. The exact day is attributed to the card; the civil death certificate has not been inspected. [15]
1950 · Sayreville. Sophie appears as a widow in her son Leo’s household. Together with the 1940 census, this supports placing Frank’s death between the two censuses. [4] [5]
Places in the records
Sayreville, Middlesex County, New Jersey is the documented setting of this household in the 1910, 1920, 1930, 1940 and 1950 censuses. The 1910 source calls it Sayreville Township; the 1920 source calls it Sayreville Borough. Those source descriptions are retained in the citations. [2] [3] [16] [4] [5]
View a locator map of Sayreville in Middlesex County. Sayreville is highlighted in red. This 2007 map provides geographic orientation; it does not locate the family’s home or reconstruct census-era boundaries. Map by Arkyan, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, via Wikimedia Commons; CC BY-SA 3.0.
Frank’s naturalization packet reports Hamburg and New York as the ports of his 1890 journey, but no passenger record has yet independently established the voyage. It gives his birthplace as “Calvar, Russia.” That historic wording has not been securely matched to a modern town, so no European hometown or migration route is plotted here. [1]
A careful reading of the family records
The petition lists a son Frank born December 30, 1916. A Middlesex County birth-index entry for Frank Sanul gives the same date, volume 45, page 393. The index has no parents or town, and the original birth certificate has not been inspected, so the identification remains a strong candidate. The petition’s precise date remains important evidence, but two later records conflict with it: the 1950 census lists Frank as 32, and his 2000 obituary transcription reports age 82. Neither fits a December 1916 birth, so the discrepancy remains open. [1] [6] [12] [7]
Names in the records
Samul and Samuel are both retained as recorded spellings. The naturalization packet does not document a legal surname change. The petition’s eldest child appears to read “Willi,” but that reading and any identification with Walter or Wladislaw need care. Alex and Stanley or Stanislaw are not treated as the same person without further proof. [1] [2] [3]
Further research
Current priorities are Frank’s parents, the exact identification of “Calvar, Russia,” Sophie’s original maiden surname spelling, and a parent-naming marriage or European birth record.
A New Jersey marriage-index candidate names Francis Samon and Teopila Seronik in Middlesex County in the second half of 1900. The original certificate is still needed to test the identification. The candidate and its source are discussed in Sophie’s profile.
Sources and evidence
[1] Middlesex County, New Jersey, Court of Common Pleas, Frank Samul naturalization packet: petition no. 3076, filed December 19, 1917, p. 1; oath and order of admission, June 13, 1918, p. 2; declaration of intention, November 1913, p. 3. Digital copy supplied for this research, “Frank Samul Petition.pdf.”
[8] “Loretta Suchcicki,” Charleston Post & Courier, December 18, 2005, published obituary hosted by Legacy.com. Names her parents as Frank Samuel and Sophie Syroweic Samuel.
[11] “Robert Samuels,” King-Lynk Funeral Home & Crematory, January 6, 2018, obituary hosted by Legacy.com. Names his parents as Frank and Viola Wistuba Samuel. The notice’s title uses Samuels; its parentage statement uses Samuel.
[12] 1950 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville, enumeration district 12-242, sheets 9–10, April 17, household 79. Frank E. Samuel and Viola M. appear on sheet 9, lines 29–30; Robert F. Samuel appears on sheet 10, line 1, in the continued household. National Archives images 185425-0010 and 185425-0011. Sheet 9 · Sheet 10. Both original sheets were checked; the census itself does not give Viola’s maiden surname.
[13] New Jersey brides marriage index, 1940, archive leaf 572: Wistuba, Ladislana; Samuel, Frank, Jr. The original index image was checked. Identification of this bride as Viola remains unconfirmed; the marriage certificate has not been inspected.
[14] “Two Sayreville Girls Married Saturday in Church Ceremonies,” The Daily Home News (New Brunswick, New Jersey), October 14, 1940, p. 8, “Wistuba-Samuels” section; ProQuest document 2264668552. The original newspaper page was inspected. The report gives Saturday as the wedding day; October 12, 1940 is inferred from the Monday publication date. The printed groom’s surname is Samuels. Access through ProQuest may require a library subscription.
[15] Family-held memorial prayer card for Franciszek Samuel Sr., bearing “21go Maja, 1945” (May 21, 1945); funeral imprint Mateusz A. Maliszewski. Owner-supplied photograph, uploaded October 5, 2026. The date is not explicitly labeled as death or funeral.
[16] 1930 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville Borough, enumeration district 12-108, sheet 10B, April 29, 1930, 575 Main Street, dwelling 176, family 186, lines 67–76; National Archives microfilm, reel 1368; Internet Archive image n1086. Original image inspected; Sophie’s age is overwritten.
