Family albums · Francine’s family overview
Wistuba family · Samuel / Samul family
On this page: Family connections · Life in the records · Family photographs · Travel photographs · Dates and open questions · Sources and evidence
Viola Wistuba Samuel grew up in the Wistuba household in Sayreville, New Jersey, and later appears with her husband Frank E. Samuel and their son Robert. A Social Security applications-and-claims index connects her maiden and married names and identifies her parents as William Wistuba and Mary Turbank, preserving the index’s spelling. [1] [2] [3]
Family connections
Parents: William and Mary Wistuba, whose household is described in the Wistuba family branch. The 1930 census records Viola as their daughter, while the Social Security index names William Wistuba and Mary Turbank as her parents. Mary’s surname appears as Turbak in a candidate marriage index; these spellings are retained rather than silently treated as identical. [1] [2] [4]
Sisters: The Wistuba family account brings together census and later records for Viola’s sisters Sophie, Jane and Mildred.
Husband and son: Frank E. Samuel, the younger Frank in the Samuel / Samul family, and Robert Frank Samuel. The 1950 census records this household across two sheets. Robert’s published obituary independently names his parents as Frank and Viola Wistuba Samuel. [3] [5]
Life in the records
1921 · Conflicting birth reports. The Social Security index reports February 20, 1921, in Sayreville. A Middlesex County birth-index candidate for Viola Wistuba gives March 20, 1921. A family-held memorial card for Viola M. Samuel also prints March 20, 1921, although its dates have no explicit birth or death labels. The card adds support for the March date, but the original birth certificate is still needed to resolve the conflict and confirm the indexed child’s parents. [2] [6] [10]
1930 · With William and Mary. Viola appears as a daughter in their Sayreville household. [1]
1940 · With her widowed mother. The census records Viola among the children in Mary’s Sayreville household. It records Mary as widowed but does not establish William’s exact death date. [7]
October 1940 · Marriage to Frank. An original newspaper report names the bride as Viola Marie Wistuba, daughter of Mrs. Mary Wistuba of 12 Haag Street, and the groom as Frank E. Samuels Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Samuels of 575 Main Street. They married at St. Stanislaus Church on Saturday. October 12, 1940 is inferred from the newspaper’s Monday, October 14 publication date. [9]
The report says Viola graduated from the local schools. Helen R. Wistuba was maid of honor, and Sophie Wistuba was among the bridesmaids; their relationships to Viola are not specified in that report. [9]
1950 · With Frank and Robert. Viola M. appears as Frank E. Samuel’s wife on April 17. Their son Robert F. is listed on the next sheet of the same household. The census does not give Viola’s maiden surname. [3]
August 1979 · Death and memorial evidence. The Social Security applications-and-claims index reports death in August 1979. The family-held memorial card bears August 18, 1979 beneath the March 20, 1921 date, without explicit birth or death labels. The exact August day is attributed to the card; an original death certificate has not been inspected for this profile. [2] [10]
Family photographs
Travel photographs
Related photographs: Viola and Frank’s wedding photograph · Photographs of Viola and Frank together · Viola with her mother, Mary Wistuba · Viola’s retirement photograph with her sisters.
Dates and open questions
What the Social Security index establishes. Its linked names are Viola Wistuba, Viola Wistuba Samuel and Viola Samuel. This index draws on Social Security records and supports the link between her names and parents. Her original application has not been inspected. It does not establish Ladislana as another name for Viola. [2]
Birth and marriage certificates. The 1921 birth-index entry supplies neither parents nor a specific town. A separate 1940 marriage index pairs Ladislana Wistuba with Frank Samuel Jr.; that bride’s identification as Viola remains unconfirmed. The newspaper supplies independent evidence of Viola Marie Wistuba’s wedding, with October 12, 1940 inferred from its publication date, but does not explain the different given name in the index. [6] [8] [9]
Earlier generations. William’s parents and Mary’s earlier family remain open research questions. The Wistuba branch’s evidence notes explain why proposed ancestors have not been added to the established direct line.
Sources and evidence
[1] 1930 U.S. census, Sayreville Borough, Middlesex County, New Jersey, William Wistuba household, lines 17–23. Family-held census image, page 2. Printed Ancestry image reference: NJT626_1368-1029, collection 6224. The saved census image was re-read for this draft.
[2] U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007, Ancestry, record 44437307, Viola Wistuba / Viola Wistuba Samuel / Viola Samuel. Indexed birth: February 20, 1921, Sayreville; parents William Wistuba and Mary Turbank. The database transcription was checked; the original application has not been inspected. The same indexed record reports death in August 1979.
[3] 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.
[4] New Jersey brides marriage index, 1915–1919, T–Z, archive leaf 100: Mary Turbak; William Wystuba; state file 40322; year 16. The original index image was checked. This remains a candidate match to the Sayreville household; the full certificate has not been inspected.
[5] “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.
[6] New Jersey Geographic Birth Index, Middlesex County, 1920–1924, reel 68, archive leaf 556: Viola Wistuba, March 20, 1921, volume 78, page 213. The original index image was checked. This entry may refer to Viola, but the match is not confirmed: it gives no parents or specific town.
[7] 1940 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville, enumeration district 12-149, sheet 1A, April 2, lines 1–7; NARA T627, roll 2363, image m-t0627-02363-00079.jpg. The original image was checked; Mary is recorded as widowed.
[8] 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.
[9] “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.
[10] Family-held memorial card for Viola M. Samuel, bearing March 20, 1921 and August 18, 1979; Maliszewski Funeral Home, South River–Sayreville, New Jersey. Owner-supplied photograph, uploaded October 5, 2026. Neither date is explicitly labeled as birth or death.