Sirup-Miezis Family

This is a start at documenting the family of my grandfather, William Miezes. He was born in 1892 in Riga, Latvia, and came to America with his mother as a boy in 1908. His father had come to America before them, in 1906. My grandfather died when I was a baby, so I have no memory of him. What I have are the stories I was told, and the personal papers of my grandfather and his parents, and their family photos.

Researching William Miezes family history is difficult. One problem is the language difference. The other is the fact that almost every document has a different variant of their surnames, and the surname was changed several times after arriving in America until an Americanized version they were satisfied with was finally settled on. The Latvian documents cause further confusion as Latvia was ruled by Russia at the time, and the documents were in either Russian or dual Russian and German. The Russian documents "Russianized" their names, and the German documents "Germanized" their names. None of the official documents I have are in their native Latvian language. I have been told that William and his parents spoke Latvian, German, and Russian, and after arriving in America, spoke English as well.

I don't know why they left Latvia. Possibly it was related to the political turmoil there in 1905. I was told they did not like being ruled by Russia, which was under Czar Nicholas II at the time. My grandmother, William's wife, told me that the family of William's father, John Sirup-Miezes, were farmers, but other than that, he never discussed his earlier years. John had hopes of returning to Latvia, but never did, or never was able to. I have been told that although John emigrated to America, many of his relatives emigrated to Argentina, and did very well there. I have a photo of a marriage celebration with many people, in what looks like a tropical or semi-tropical climate. I was told it was a photo of Latvian relatives in Argentina.

In addition to the documents I've put online here is a brief outline of what I know of the family. Over time I hope to add photos and more information.

Generation I

William Miezes
born 8 February 1892 at Riga, Latvia, died 16 November 1957 at San Diego, CA, USA
son of John Karlov Sirup-Miezes and Pauline Laura Apin
married 22 March 1920 at Chicago, IL, USA with Anna Gustafva Anderson

Generation II

John Karlov Sirup-Miezes
born 11 April 1867 at Nauksenu, Valmiera, Latvia, died 2 Oct 1942 at Chicago, IL, USA
son of Karl Sirup-Miezes and unknown
married 30 May 1891 at Riga, Latvia with
Pauline Laura Apin
born 8 December 1866 at Riga, Latvia, died 21 May 1936 at Chicago, IL, USA
daughter of Peter Apin and Anna Martinson?
from this marriage:
- 8 Feb 1892 William Miezes

Generation III

Peter Apin
born circa 1840 at Latvia, died ??
married with
Anna Martinson?
born circa 1843 at Latvia, died 17 January 1914 at Riga, Latvia
from this marriage:
- 8 Dec 1866 Pauline Laura Apin
- son Apping : emigrated to Cleveland, OH, USA, had children there
- Minna Apin married Mr. Krummin, emigrated to Chicago, IL, USA, had children Charles Krummin b. 1901, Anna Krummin, Alfred Krummin and Lydia Krummin Post