The Story of John Augustus Fiegen

John was born somewhere in Prussia in or about the year 1820. We don’t know anything about his parents or siblings. What John didn’t know was that his life would end just 44 years later in a foreign land and under circumstances he could not possibly have imagined.

Whether he came to the USA by himself or with family is unknown but April 3 1845 found 25 year old John standing at the altar of a church with Maria Elizabeth Hoffman in New Trier Township Illinois. Their home was on what is now Illinois Road, Wilmette, and was then called Reinwald Avenue in the Grosse Point area which was incorporated as Gross Point Village in 1874, and annexed by Wilmette in 1924. From various records we know that John was a carpenter and also served as "Constable of the territory of New Trier". Physically he stood 5 feet 6 ¾ inches tall with hazel eyes, dark hair and sandy complexion. Between 1845 and 1862 he and Maria would have 11 children, though 3 died at birth, one at age 5 and another at 10. Of the remaining 6 children only the first-born, Anna Maria would live a long life. Which turned out to be a good thing for me, but we won’t go into that here.

April 12 1861 was the official start of America’s Civil War. Whether for patriotic or other reasons, John apparently enlisted in the Union army soon thereafter, because his service record indicates that he was a veteran when he enlisted in Chicago in March, 1862 as a Private in Company A Twenty-third Illinois Infantry Volunteers. On March 8 1864 in Greenland Virginia John mustered in for a third enlistment. There’s no doubt that he was a veteran and had seen many battles when hostilities began at the second battle of Kernstown Virginia on July 24 1864. John wouldn’t live to fight another battle. His official military record states that he was…"wounded and taken prisoner at Winchester, Va. on July 24, 1864. Not been heard from since." He was 44 years old.

Now, that statement “Not been heard from since”, plus the fact that records from the infamous Andersonville prison contain a similar name have led to some confusion about John’s fate. But the facts are that in 1868 his wife Maria applied for a widow’s pension, and John’s former company commander in a sworn affidavit said that John had died of his wounds and that his fellow prisoners had buried him on the Kernstown battle field on or about July 24, 1864. A second affidavit was submitted by a fellow prisoner who said he had helped to bury John on the battlefield. Maria’s pension was granted…she received $12 per month.

The army does a good job of supplying records. In response to my letter requesting information regarding John I received numerous documents including his service record, the two affidavits mentioned above, Maria’s pension application, and the one I treasure most…a four page letter to his wife written from Winchester Virginia on June 13 1864 just 11 days before his death – probably the last letter he wrote. It’s written in German, and though I’ve tried several times over the years to find someone to translate it have had no luck. I’ll hold on to it in the hope that some future technology will enable me or someone else to hear John’s words to his wife from that battlefield so many years ago.

John Augustus Fiegen was my great-great-great grandfather.

Tom

The Story of Unknown Filipowicz.

Jaskiewicze is a small village 3 km north of Indura (formerly Amdur) in the Grodno region of Belarus. Variations of the spelling are Yazkevichi, Jaskevichi, Jaskieviche and there are probably others. One day long ago around the year 1740 a male Filipowicz was born in this village. We don’t know his given name, or the names of his parents. Nor do we know his wife’s name who in 1763 would give birth to Peter and at some later date his brother George. There were probably more children but their names for now are lost in time.

Unknown Filipowicz, like his ancestors before him and several generations after him lived as bonded peasants on a huge estate owned by the family of Vandalin Voitekhovich Puslovski encompassing the village of Jaskiewicze and much of the Grodno region. The peasants had no rights; could not leave the estate without written permission from the landowner and could not even utilize the fruits of their labor with the exception of that which was given back to them by the landowner for their subsistence. Their condition was very close to that of the slaves in the United States during that same time period.

On February 13 1794 Unknown’s son George and his wife Kristina were parents to twins - Janush and Elizaveta. That apparently worked well for them so they did it again on August 27 in 1797 with Lavrentij and Viktorija. Perhaps the children were in answer to his brother Peter, who earlier with his wife (another Kristina) were parents to George (1785), Bartholomew (1786), and Victoria (1789). At this time there were two poor but thriving Filipowicz families in Jaskiewicze, with lots more births to follow. We won’t bother to detail all of them. The one we want to follow is Bartholomew’s son, Bartholomew B. Filipowicz who was born on July 17 1817. And here’s why.

In 1863 a land reform took place in the Grodno region. We don’t know the hows or whys of it, but the end result was that the peasants acquired title to plots of land. An official document transferring the land reads in part:

“According to the order of His Emperor Majesty, the purchasing documents was given to peasants of village Jaskievichi, the former dependant peasants of landowner Vandalin Voitekhovich Puslovski." Among the peasants named was:

"Varfolomej Varvolomeevich Filipovich (Bartholomew son-of-Bartholomew Filipowicz)…got a plot of land:

One garden lot - 953 sazhen (1 acre)

One tilling lot - 8 desjatin 1654 sazhen (23.5 acres)

One haying lot – 1 desjatin 791 sazhen (3.5 acres)

Total – 10 desjatin 998 sazhen (28 acres)

And just like that the Filipowiczes and other peasants were freed and became land owners. Though he had long ago passed on, Unknown Filipowicz would have been pleased.

Property owner Varfolomej Varvolomeevich Filipovich…well, let’s stay with Bartholomew B, along with his wife Rosalie went on to have five kids and many grand kids on their new land. One of them was Kasimir, born January 13 1862 who married Christine Lukaszewicz on November 7 1882. They were married at Trinity Catholic Church (constructed in 1825) in Indura. Jaskiewicze apparently didn’t have a Catholic church as all marriages and christenings took place in Indura.

Kasimir and Christine were parents to Mikhail, Ivan, Michelene, Ignatius, Cecelia, and Vikentiaj in that order, as shown by the first official Russian census of the region in 1897. The new-found freedom and land probably didn’t improve living conditions all that much and like many people during that era some of the Filipowiczes decided to find their fortune elsewhere. Of Kasimir’s children Ivan was the first followed by Mikhail and Cecelia, to try their luck in America, initially settling in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Michael (Mikhail) passed through Ellis Island on June 7 1910. He lived with his brother Ivan (John) and worked at a paper mill. Sometime later he returned to Jaskiewicze, married Theofila and again came through Ellis Island January 30 1913, though his bride didn’t arrive until six months later.

Theofila had just 5 years to enjoy her new life in America. She died on October 26 1918 at the age of 25 during a flu epidemic in Bellows Falls, but not before giving birth to Stanley, Henry and Edward. For whatever reason Michael with his boys left Bellows Falls shortly after his wife’s death, eventually settling in Milwaukee. Michael has passed on, as have his sons, but they left sons to carry on the line.

There are no Filipowiczes living in Jaskiewicze today. The village, never large is almost deserted. I can’t help but wonder what happened to those 28 acres. A few Filipowicz descendents are living in Indura, but they’re mostly older folks…the young have moved elsewhere.

I wonder if Unknown Filipowicz ever gave thought to the kind of life his descendants would have? Could he even imagine a life of freedom and land ownership for his progeny in Jaskiewicze, let alone later generations living a completely different life style in a foreign land? And of course he couldn’t know that some 270 years later a distant grandson living in Peru would be thinking and writing about him. Unknown Filipowicz was my great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

Tom

About being an NGO in Peru

There really aren’t that many steps involved in becoming a legal NGO (non-governmental organization) in Peru. The trick is to get each of them accomplished within a reasonable amount of time and effort…something that’s easier said than done.

An NGO begins with “el libro de actas” - the book of minutes/records/acts. The primary purpose of this book is to record minutes of each meeting, but it also contains the organization’s constitution plus any official documents relating to the organization’s activity. Pages 2 – 7 of Promesa Peru Chiclayo’s book contain our constitution, spelling out in detail who we are, what we intend to do and how we will do it. The 1st page is reserved for a statement by a notary decreeing that we have met all legal requirements.

Following the notary’s okay the next step is to register at SUNARP. In our case our application was initially rejected because we weren’t specific enough about what we wanted to do, which is why we ended up with a 6 page constitution. Contrast that with the one page necessary to register Promesa Peru Inc. as a corporation in the state of Wisconsin. The rejection meant starting the process over again…drafting a new constitution, getting a notary’s approval and resubmitting to SUNARP. And each step requires the fee be paid again. The document in the photo conveying legal status (document numbers and individual names have been deleted) on us seems so simple when compared to all of the time, effort and expense to get it.

A final step, registering with SUNAT and parallel agencies is not obligatory as I understand it, but carries with it a tax exempt status which would allow us to receive donations of physical property from outside Peru without paying a tariff. Several of our board members are sorting through the regulations to see if registering with SUNAT would be worth the effort and expense.

Now that we’re a legal entity throughout Peru, there’s nothing left to do but help people…right? Well…it’s not that simple. Technically before we can consider sponsoring a project we need to receive a formal proposal, similar to the one we were given by the director of the Jorge Chàvez Dartnell School in Monte Hermoso.

At the conclusion of a project we are required to receive for our records an official document from the organization we have helped acknowledging our assistance. This example document is signed by all three school directors at the school in Collique Alto and recognizes the school supplies recently given to students.

As we become better known in the area there is no shortage of proposals coming to us. In fact this morning Maribel and I were invited to visit a school to learn about several projects they would like to implement. We need to discuss this situation with all of our board members, but Maribel and I are inclined to pass on this one. Perhaps in a future entry we’ll discuss the school and why we don’t feel it is a fit for us.

Tom

A Pyramid Complex at Ucupe.

Go to any small village in the Lambayeque Region. Ask anyone you see if there are ruins or archeological sites in the area. The answer will almost always be no. Ask if there are ‘huacas’- an object that represents something revered, typically a monument of some kind, and chances are they can direct you to several of them. That was the case recently in Ucupe, a very small village on the Pan American highway 25 miles south of Chiclayo. A forty minute ride in a collectivo (private passenger cars that serve as public transportation) is about the only method of transportation.

The pyramid complex of huaca el Pueblo is one-half mile west of the village. Looking at the complex today it’s hard to imagine that in 2008 it was the center of archeological focus with the discovery of the tomb of the “Lord of Ucupe” and a fabulous wealth of artifacts. See “The Lord of Ucupe” for photos and description.

The main pyramid designated E-1 by the excavation team has several obvious places where excavation (or looting) had taken place and afterwards attempts had been made to restore the original appearance. There is no security or restrictions at the site. In fact there is nothing that distinguishes it from the rest of the desert landscape. The lack of recent looter digging or any other signs of activity seems to indicate that locals and archeologists have no further interest in the pyramids.

The ground of the complex is covered with more pottery shards than I have seen anywhere in the region. Most of the pieces appear to be of the Moche culture and are practical rather than ornamental. The young girl is Kathy. Her house is near the base of the pyramids. She told us that two years ago several gringos had visited the site to “study it.” This would have been the excavation sponsored by the National Science Foundation. She said that “after the study stopped and everything was covered with dirt” to her knowledge there have been no visitors to huaca el Pueblo.

Beside the many pottery shards another feature unique to this site is the horizontal lines on the adobe bricks. I have not seen that at any other site in the region. The lines are on all four sides of the bricks, and are in the interior as well as exterior parts of the pyramids. Bricks at the site of Señor Sipan have markings that supposedly indicate the person or group who made them, but those markings are only on the top of the brick.

At the base of one wall there appears to be remnants of a mural. The colors and placement remind me of several murals at the Ventarron site near the town of Pomalca.

Kathy told us of a legend regarding the gap at the top of the main pyramid. According to her none of the villagers come to the pyramids at night, because the gap opens and swallows anyone in the area ”and they are never seen again.” When I asked her if she believed the legend, she simply smiled, but added that she doesn't come here at night.

It had been an interesting but very hot day and after hiking back to Ucupe I was looking forward to returning to Chiclayo. During the next half hour we watched several full colectivos zoom by. I didn’t want to let on to the ladies, but I was starting to get a little apprehensive about our prospects for the evening. Knocking on doors begging for tamales and sleeping under the stars on a bed of sand has never been my strong suit. But not to worry…when the women had talked themselves out, Maribel got up and motioned to an approaching bus. It was one of those big double deck highway busses with reclining seats and air conditioning that travel the length of the Pan American highway. To my amazement it pulled over. It didn’t completely stop, but it pulled over on the shoulder, opened the door and slowed down long enough for us to board, which Maribel and Betzy did with style and I somehow managed with all the grace of a drunken peg-legged pirate. It felt good to get home.

Tom

In Today's Newspaper...

...there is an article about our effort to help the school kids in Collique Alto. The article is featured in La Industria’s Chiclayo edition. It talks about donations from the United States and Canada and also about our philosophy of helping people to help themselves.

Thanks for your help. Without you this doesn’t happen.

Tom & Maribel

Awww…do I have to go to school?

Wednesday, March 9th and it’s the first day of the new cycle at I.E.P.N 10841 Jose Carlos Mariategui school in the village of Collique Alto. National schools officially open throughout Peru on March 1st but in the less populated areas opening day is determined by the individual communities.

This is the class room of Mrs. White; one of 11 such classrooms. Her students are in the second grade of primary, which contains 6 grades in total. The secondary level has 5 grades. Mrs. White has been teaching at Collique Alto for 8 years. Today will be mostly orientation. Students will receive their government supplied text books and be given the notebooks, pencils, pens, rulers, erasers and paper provided by you, some of which are displayed on the desk. Thanks to the amount of donations received we were able to purchase additional items for the younger kids such as scissors, glue and a coloring notebook, and for the higher grades bi-color pens.

All of the 18 registered students for Mrs. White’s class were in school plus one unregistered student (no problem…we had purchased extras so were prepared). When she commented that it was unusual to see so many students on the first day, we asked what she thought accounted for the additional kids (we were hoping to hear her say Promesa Peru…we’re only human). Instead she replied, “Who knows?” :(

We think these kids know. Some of these folks provided money and some are contributing in other ways. Gracias.

Kinder is in a different building on a separate piece of land. Monica (in shorts), who is the kinder director told us 10 days ago that she had 12 kids registered. She phoned two days ago to say she had 3 more. Maribel suggested we plan for 20, and that’s exactly how many kinder students were there.

Did we accomplish anything today? No doubt less than we’d like, but perhaps more than we’d expect. There’s no question in our minds that the large number of kids at school today were there because parents had gotten the word that Promesa Peru was providing school materials. We’d like to believe that what we provided is opportunity. That’s really all we can do. Now it’s up to the kids and their parents to continue the momentum. There may not be a future president in any of these photos (though I wouldn’t bet against the girl looking at the camera) but if not it won’t be because you weren’t there for them. They know that. Thank you.

In appreciation:

I’ve got a dilemma

I’ve got a dilemma, or at least it feels like one to me. The intent of this blog is to record my experiences in Peru, and secondly to provide some insight to daily life in Chiclayo to family, friends and others who may be interested. Since the formation of Promesa Peru – a charitable organization Maribel and I are members of, I’ve been devoting a lot of entries to that activity. The truth is I really don’t want to do that…not on this blog. I’d prefer to write about visits to small towns, or archeology sites, or interesting people or situations, or some facet of everyday life.

What I’m struggling with is this…I believe strongly in the work Promesa Peru has done and is doing and there are still many situations where we could be helping people to help themselves, but not enough people know we exist. Getting donations is all about numbers of readers and until enough people find the Promesa Peru web page the only means we have to reach them is this blog. Now, I’m not interested in having the world’s most read blog and if people lose interest in what I have to say that's okay, but I don’t want readers to leave because every other entry is asking for money.

We’ve recently tried another approach to reach potential donors. We sent emails to fifty Peruvian restaurants across the United States and Canada, asking them to make our brochures available to their customers, and in return offering to list their restaurant on this Promesa Peru web page:

https://sites.google.com/site/promesaperuchiclayo/home/hungry

As of this writing we’ve received eight replies. We know there are hundreds of Peruvian restaurants in the United States alone, but even those with web pages often do not have an email address so are difficult to reach. If you clicked on the page address you may have noticed there is only one participating restaurant in New Jersey, and none in Los Angeles or Miami where thousands of expatriate Peruvians live who might help us if they knew we were here.

So instead of asking you for a donation, can I ask this of you? Do you have a favorite Peruvian restaurant nearby? Would you be willing to ask them if they would display our brochures in exchange for free advertising? After they’ve said yes, and I can’t imagine why any restaurant would not want to do that, send an email to me at promesaperu2@gmail.com with the restaurant’s address and contact name and we’ll have brochures in the mail within two business days.

Please think about it - if we can reach thousands of people through a restaurant network I won’t have to use this blog to ask for donations, which will solve my dilemma, and you won’t have to experience that, "geeeze…he’s asking for money again!” feeling. Sounds fair to me.

Tom