The Douse family of Centralia, Pennsylvania descends from three brothers from Lithuania who originally bore the surname Daukša in their native country. Those three immigrant brothers who first settled in Centralia, Pennsylvania were:
- Jonas Daukša, a.k.a. John Douse, born 1859 (person view | descendant chart)
- Petras Daukša, a.k.a. Peter Douse, born 1860 (person view | descendant chart)
- Mykolas Daukša,a.k.a. Michael Douse, born 1861 (person view | descendant chart)
Of the three brothers, Petras was childless, although he assumed responsibility for two of his brother Jonas' sons.
Origin[]
This Douse family has not yet been linked to any of the other Daukša families of Lithuania, as no living descendant has yet been found who has knowledge regarding the location of the family's home within Lithuania prior to the family's arrival in the United States. Likewise, the common parents of the three immigrant brothers is yet unknown. Researcher Kevin Borland is currently attempting to locate more living descendants to obtain additional information.
Migration[]
In the early 1900s, branches of the Centralia Douse family migrated to Lincoln Park (Michigan), Jersey City (New Jersey), and Raleigh County (West Virginia), while Mykolas' family remained in Pennsylvania.
Photographs of the Early Generations[]
There are no known photographs of the three proginators. Of their 15 combined children, photographs of 3 have been obtained thusfar:
.jpg "Joseph Douse (closeup).jpg (16 KB)")
Living Family Branches[]
As of November 28, 2007, there are 6 confirmed living family branches in the United States, although it is suspected that 5 additional branches may also have living descendants.
Branch 1: Descendants of Jonas' grandson Charles Shotis[]
Rosemary (Shotis) Obrec of Michigan is the oldest living descendant of Jonas' grandson Charles Shotis (1898-1993).
Branch 2: Descendants of Jonas' grand-daughter Lizzie (Rice) Zdrojewski[]
Thomas DeFalcon of Florida, is the oldest living descendant of Jonas' grand-daughter Elizabeth Tresa Rice (1901-1985).
Branch 3: Descendants of Jonas' grand-daughter Eva (Rice) Siney[]
Rose Mary (Siney) Monroe of Fort Myers, Florida, is the oldest living descendant of Jonas' grand-daughter Eva Marie Rice (1903-1994).
Branch 4: Descendants of Jonas' grandson Peter Rice II[]
Robert Rice is the oldest living descendant of Jonas' grandson Peter Rice II (1908-1962).
Branch 5: Descendants of Jonas' great-grand-daughter Anna (Olsen) Visser[]
Anna (Olsen) Visser of Huntington Beach, California, is the oldest living descendant of Jonas' grand-daughter Katherine Rice (1914-1987), and she is the proginator of all of Katherine's living descendants.
Branch 6: Descendants of Jonas' grand-daughter Margaret (Rice) Szczesny[]
Kathleen (Szczesny) Borland of Florida is the oldest living descendant of Jonas' grand-daughter Margaret Rice (1924-2007).
Suspected branches 7 - 11[]
Further research is required to determine whether there are living descendants of each of the following grand-children of Jonas (branches 7-10):
- Annie Shotis (1900-aft1920)
- Agnes Shotis (1904-aft1920)
- Alda Shotis (c1914-aft1920)
- William Douse (1934-2005)
Additionally, it is highly probable that there are living descendants of Mykolas Daukša (1861-bef1920) (branch 11).
Genetic Ancestral Research[]
Paternal ancestry of the three brothers[]
Unfortunately, no candidates for a Y-DNA study have yet been identified at this point, as none of the known living descendants have a direct paternal line to the common father of the three brothers. A donor would have to be a living descendant with a direct paternal line to either William Douse (1934-2005) or Mykolas Daukša (1861-bef1920). For the purpose of comparison, one descendant of a yet-unrelated Daukša family of Lithuania has donated a Y-DNA sample.[1]
Maternal ancestry of the three brothers[]
Since there are no known female siblings of the three brothers at this point, mt-DNA testing to determine their common mother is not yet possible.
Wives of the Three Proginators[]
- Jonas married twice. His first wife died in Lithuania. Her name is unknown. Researcher Kevin Borland has a direct maternal link to Jonas' first wife, and will undergo genetic testing when funds permit. Jonas' second wife can probably be determined by ordering the social security applications of his two children from his second marriage in Pennsylvania. Researcher Kevin Borland is in the process of ordering the documents.
- Mykolas married a woman by the name of Helen in Lithuania. Her maiden name is presently unknown, and will likely remain as such until a living descendant of that branch can be identified.
- Petras married a woman by the name of Anne in Lithuania. Her maiden name is also unknown, and since they had no children, the only possible way of determining her maiden name is by locating the family back in Lithuania.
See Also[]
- Daukša (surname) (standard Lithuanian form)
- Dauksha (surname) (common transliteration of Lithuanian Daukša into an unmodified Latin alphabet, using Lithuanian-English transliteration rules)
- Dauksza (surname) (common transliteration of Lithuanian Daukša into an unmodified Latin alphabet, using Lithuanian-Polish transliteration rules)
- Daukshaw (surname) (variant American transliteration of Lithuanian Daukša originating in Pennsylvania)