{"id":27,"date":"2026-10-06T12:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T17:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefamilyopus.com\/?page_id=27"},"modified":"2026-10-08T08:37:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T13:37:54","slug":"theofilia-sophie-samuel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thefamilyopus.com\/?page_id=27","title":{"rendered":"Theofilia Sophie Samuel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Family albums<\/a> \u00b7 Francine\u2019s family overview<\/a> \u00b7 Samuel \/ Samul family<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this page:<\/strong> Names, dates and open questions<\/a> \u00b7 Sources and evidence<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her husband Frank Samul \/ Samuel<\/a> names her as Sophie in his naturalization petition and reports that she was born on March 20, 1881 in Russia. She appears as Teofila in the 1920 census and as Sophie in the 1940 and 1950 records. The same husband, children and place appear across these records. That makes them useful to compare. [1]<\/a> [3]<\/a> [4]<\/a> [5]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1940 Sophie was living with Frank and several of their children. By April 1950 she was recorded as a 69-year-old widow in her son Leo\u2019s Sayreville household. These records preserve her later family setting, but do not identify her European town or name her parents. [4]<\/a> [5]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her daughter Loretta\u2019s published 2005 obituary names her mother as Sophie Syroweic Samuel. That provides a specific later-source spelling of the maiden surname. An original marriage or birth record is still needed to resolve its spelling and establish her parents. [8]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

The family-held memorial card prints the combined name Theofilia Sophie Samuel<\/strong> and bears February 3, 1953<\/strong>. It does not label the date as death or funeral. Card source note<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Names, dates and open questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Birth.<\/strong> March 20, 1881 is reported by her husband\u2019s petition; an independent birth record has not been obtained. [1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recorded names.<\/strong> The family details in these records strongly support identifying Sophie and Teofila as the same woman. A family-held memorial prayer card prints the combined name \u201cTheofilia Sophie Samuel.\u201d The name written by the 1910 census taker appears to be \u201cTheofilo,\u201d but the reading is uncertain. [1]<\/a> [2]<\/a> [3]<\/a> [11]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maiden surname.<\/strong> Syroweic is the spelling in Loretta\u2019s obituary. Other proposed spellings have not been settled by an original record naming her parents. [8]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Death and memorial evidence.<\/strong> A family-held memorial prayer card for Theofilia Sophie Samuel bears February 3, 1953. The card does not label this as a death or funeral date. A New Jersey death index lists Theofilia Samuel in Sayreville in February 1953, state file 07610. The combined name on the card and the matching month and year strengthen the identification of that index entry with Sophie. Her civil death certificate has not been inspected; the exact day is attributed to the card. [11]<\/a> [9]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parents.<\/strong> Sophie\u2019s parents remain unproved. Candidate names are not presented as established members of this family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A marriage-index lead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A New Jersey marriage index lists Francis Samon and Teopila Seronik in Middlesex County between July and December 1900. Their names and location make this a promising lead, but the date differs from the 1910 census\u2019s eleven years married. The original marriage certificate is needed to verify the couple and read their parents\u2019 names, if recorded. This entry is not yet established as Frank and Sophie\u2019s marriage. [10]<\/a> [2]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research note: Sirowik \/ Sirowick leads<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Gneisenau<\/em> passenger list of April 17, 1906 records Boleslawa Sirowik, 16, and Jozef, 14, going to a Sayreville contact read as Franciszek Samol (surname uncertain), described as a brother-in-law. Their last residence is unclear. The contact has not been established as Frank Samuel, nor the passengers as Sophie\u2019s relatives. [12]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1910, Joseph Mickiwitz\u2019s Sayreville household includes wife Boleslawa, 19, with reported immigration in 1906, and Anna Sirowick, 60, widowed, recorded as his mother-in-law. This is a promising comparison with the passengers, but their identity and any relationship to Sophie remain unproved. [13]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A further lead appears in the original 1915 New Jersey census. Joseph Serowik, recorded as about 22, is in the same South River household as Joseph Kobrzynski and Bronislawa, continuing across sheets 27B and 28A. The form does not state relationships, and these pages name neither Sophie nor Teofila. His identity with the 1906 passenger and any relationship to Sophie remain unproved. [16]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ages also conflict with possible Polish matches. Cieciory birth acts name Boles\u0142awa (1891) and J\u00f3zef (1894) as children of Piotr Serowik and Anna Kuli\u015b; they would have been 14 and 12 at the 1906 arrival, rather than 16 and 14. Boles\u0142awa would still have been 18 at the 1910 census, and Anna\u2019s reported age there is several years older than the mother\u2019s ages in the Polish acts imply. No inspected record establishes these people as Sophie\u2019s family. Her parents and European birthplace remain unproved. [12]<\/a> [13]<\/a> [14]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 1903 death act offers another comparison with this possible Polish family. Piotr Serowik, a 70-year-old farmer born in Cieciory, died there, leaving his wife Anna n\u00e9e Kuli\u015b widowed. It names his father as Jan and his mother as unknown. His age does not fully agree with the father\u2019s ages in the two birth acts. The death record names no children and does not connect this household to Sophie. [15]<\/a> [14]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further research<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Her parents, exact birthplace, parish, and original surname spelling remain active research questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources and evidence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

[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, \u201cFrank Samul Petition.pdf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2] 1910 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville Township, enumeration district 44, sheet 11B, April 20, 1910, dwelling 157, family 161, lines 63\u201369; NARA roll 899; Internet Archive image n1123.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3] 1920 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville Borough, enumeration district 65, sheet 16A, January 15, 1920, lines 1\u201310, stamped page 259; NARA T625, roll 1057; Internet Archive image n526.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4] 1940 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville, enumeration district 12-147, sheet 6A, April 9, 1940, lines 19\u201325; NARA T627, roll 2363, image m-t0627-02363-00015.jpg; National Archives catalog record 131817046.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5] 1950 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville, enumeration district 12-240, sheet 73, April 11, 1950, lines 3\u20136; National Archives catalog record 307595345, image New_Jersey-185423-0022.jpg.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[8] \u201cLoretta Suchcicki,\u201d Charleston Post & Courier, December 18, 2005, published obituary hosted by Legacy.com; names her parents Frank Samuel and Sophie Syroweic Samuel.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[9] New Jersey Death Index, 1953, L\u2013Z, Theofilia Samuel entry, state file 07610, February 1953; Internet Archive image n257. Index entry; the civil death certificate has not been inspected.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[10] New Jersey State Archives, Index to Marriage Records, May 1848\u2013December 1900<\/a>, Francis Samon and Teopila Seronik, Middlesex County, July\u2013December 1900, retrieval reference Drw 518. 65-S40. Index entry only; the certificate has not been inspected and identification with the Samuel household remains unconfirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[11] Family-held memorial prayer card for Theofilia Sophie Samuel, bearing February 3, 1953; Matthew A. Maliszewski Funeral Service, South River, New Jersey. Owner-supplied photograph, uploaded October 5, 2026. The date is not explicitly labeled as a death or funeral date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[12] New York passenger list, Gneisenau, April 17, 1906, list 4, lines 29\u201330; Ancestry collection 7488, original image NYT715_693-0072.<\/a> Names, ages and contact read from the original; the contact\u2019s surname and last residence remain uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[13] 1910 U.S. census, New Jersey, Middlesex County, Sayreville, enumeration district 43, sheet 24B, April 29, 1910, dwelling 375, family 445, lines 75\u201385; Joseph Mickiwitz household; Ancestry collection 7884, original image 31111_4330922-01069.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[14] Turo\u015bl parish, Cieciory births: Boles\u0142awa Serowik, 1891, act 124, lower right<\/a>; J\u00f3zef Serowik, 1894, act 12, lower left<\/a>. Both name Piotr Serowik and Anna n\u00e9e Kuli\u015b; neither names Sophie. These are comparison records, not an established pedigree for Sophie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[15] Turo\u015bl parish, 1903 death act 53, Piotr Serowik of Cieciory; Skanoteka, unit 5505 (deaths 1900\u20131912), image 052-057.jpg, middle entry on the left page.<\/a> Death recorded as July 13\/26, 1903; registered July 15\/28, 1903. The paired dates are retained as written. Original act checked; the widow\u2019s surname Kuli\u015b was confirmed by comparison with the same handwriting in adjacent act 54. The mother is recorded as unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[16] New Jersey State Census, 1915, Middlesex County, Borough of South River, enumeration district Second: sheet 27B, June 19, lines 97\u2013100, Joseph Kobrzynski household<\/a>, continued on sheet 28A, June 21, lines 1\u20138; Joseph Serowik on line 6<\/a>. Ancestry collection 61558, images 48182_554658-00763 and 48182_554658-00764. Both original sheets were checked. Household continuity is supported by the adjacent sheets and absence of a new family number before line 9; the form has no relationship-to-head column. Access may require an Ancestry subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to the Samuel \/ Samul family<\/a><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Family albums \u00b7 Francine\u2019s family overview \u00b7 Samuel \/ Samul family On this page: Names, dates and open questions \u00b7 Sources and evidence Her husband Frank Samul \/ Samuel names her as Sophie in his naturalization petition and reports that she was born on March 20, 1881 in Russia. She appears as Teofila in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":17,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-27","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nTheofilia Sophie Samuel - The Family Opus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Theofilia Sophie Samuel - The Family Opus\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Family albums \u00b7 Francine\u2019s family overview \u00b7 Samuel \/ Samul family On this page: Names, dates and open questions \u00b7 Sources and evidence Her husband Frank Samul \/ Samuel names her as Sophie in his naturalization petition and reports that she was born on March 20, 1881 in Russia. 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