Polockus – Miliunas Blantyre Ancestry

Katie Polockus Hughes enquired to Blantyre Project with the following query, “Hi Paul, I’m looking for any information on the Milunas or Miliunas family who lived in Blantyre. They lived in Bairds Rows and then in other areas of Blantyre. I’m researching my Polockas tree trying to source info and my great grandmothers maiden name was Milunas, so trying to find out if they were related to my family.”

I’ve been looking at the Miliunas / Polokus connection and found this REALLY difficult. There is nothing much at all about the Milinuas family in Blantyre and looks like they left in 1921. I don’t think they were here long at all.

Your Polokas side of the family is much easier, tracing back to Jonas Polokas a farm labourer, whom I’m sure you know married Ona (Ana) Miliunas. Their son also Jonas Polokas married Mary Callaghan when Jonas was 23 and Mary 18 on 7th February 1915, marrying at St Josephs. Jonas perhaps could not write as he was asked to make a “mark” on his certificate. He was a colliery pony driver living at 180 Glasgow Road. Mary (daughter of William and Ann Summers (Yes thats true!), lived at 16 Forrest Street, moving in adulthood from their Craighead (Bairds Rows) home. Her father died young, her mother remarrying a man with surname Ryan. Jonas and Mary lived at 58 Bairds Rows after they married, the pull of her family home must have been strong!

In 1918 Jonas Polokas was discharged from the army in Hamilton having fought in WW1. He is noted in the papers as being “Russian” . His date of discharge from the Labour corp in the British Army was 6th May 1918, important as his third son was just about to be born. I’m sure you probably know….sons Joseph Polockus named after his uncle was born on 24th August 1914, then William Bernard Polockus after another uncle was born on 26th Feb 1916 then John Polockus born on 31st May 1918. The name appears as Polockus, rather than Polockas, after Jonas got married, so he may have chosen to adopt that name. Jonas died in 1968 at Burnside Crescent.

The presence on Victor Miliunas in 1916 in Blantyre is too co-incidental and I’m sure this man can be traced back to a male within Ona’s own family, perhaps a brother who came to Blantyre or a nephew? Victor went back to Lithuania in 1921, and knowing my own Eastern European ancestry, I would imagine records are not as precise as they were in Scotland.

I wish you well with your search for Miliunas family. (although I’m sure you may have much of this information which is available in the public domain). If its OK, I’ll make a little post about this on Blantyre Project in due course, then at least its up on Google for future researchers or other interested parties. Cheers.

Katie later emailed me again to say, “My grandparents Jonas & Mary Polockus had 14 children all in Blantyre. My father Michael born 1937 was the youngest, he was well known in Blantyre as a singer, he and his sister Helen. I have gf army papers, his name on the Hamburg manifest when he arrived in Grimsby and I have him in the 1911 census and also valuation rolls. His name is distorted so many times that it’s difficult to find the correct name. I have been trying for 25 years to break this wall to no avail . Once again thank you for your help. I enjoy your page so much”

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