Detailed Genealogy and Historical Information
Michael E. Byczek's lineage in Chicago, IL is one of the oldest in the city's history dating back to 1835.
He has conducted extensive historical and genealogical research to preserve these family chronicles since the early 1990s. As an attorney, Michael E. Byczek advocates verified and accurate genealogy through moral-based analysis and ethical historical research. The Byczek family has published their genealogical narratives online for almost 30 years.
Numerous comprehensive biographical documentaries have been compiled and are
available online.
View a ten-generation
interactive family tree or a
tabular chart showing the exact lineage for each ancestor.
Not all genealogical questions have answers due to lack of documents that still exist. Records from particular time periods did not always provide useful information. Michael E. Byczek, as an attorney, has taken extraordinary precautions to derive accurate insight from such scenarios. These conclusions are based on balance of probabilities, whether it is more likely than not, and highly plausible to be true. Such narratives are also evaluated on the basis of logic, reasonableness, and common sense in the context of reliable historical analysis.
Rooney Research in Chicago, IL and Counties Tipperary and Kilkenny in Ireland
Michael E. Byczek registered a federal copyright for a
362-page documentary of his 3x-great-grandparents William and Julia Rooney titled
The Biographies of William Rooney and Julia Phelan - Old Settlers of Chicago (
TXu002469190).
A
116-page collective documentary was compiled about William and Julia Rooney's daughter Kittie A. Rooney and her husband Edward H. Talbot (2x-great-grandparents).
Talbot Research in Chicago, IL; Taunton, MA; and County Tipperary in Ireland
Extensive research was conducted into Edward H. Talbot's (2x-great-grandfather) business ventures as a Chicago real estate promoter.
View the 104-page comprehensive documentary
Historical analysis of records from Co. Tipperary in Ireland has revealed the most likely Talbot lineage going back to Michael E. Byczek's 6x-great-grandparents.
View the 156-page summarized documentary along with a
104-page biography of Edward H. Talbot's parents Thomas Talbot and Hannah McDonald (3x-great-grandparents).
A
70-page documentary was compiled for Edward H. Talbot and Kittie A. Rooney's daughter Marie T. Talbot and her husband Martin J. Flanagan (great-grandparents).
Flanagan Research in Chicago, IL; Port Huron, MI; and Counties Mayo and Westmeath of Ireland
Review of church records has identified Collinstown, Co. Westmeath in Ireland as the most likely origin of the Flanagan family prior to settling in Port Huron, MI (United States).
View the
135-page collective documentary of the Flanagan lineage in the United States and Ireland (Co. Mayo and Co. Westmeath)
Byczek Research in Chicago, IL and Subcarpathian Voivodeship of Poland
Martin Byczek and Maryanna Dudek (great-grandparents) were both from the Subcarpathian Voivodeship of Poland. View their
86-page documentary along with a
251-page collective documentary for their lineage in Poland.
Bykowski Research in Chicago, IL and Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Warmian-Masurian, and Greater Poland Voivodeships of Poland
Roman J. Bykowski (grandfather) was born in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland. View a
437-page collective documentary for his lineage in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Warmian-Masurian, and Greater Poland Voivodeships of Poland. The lineage of Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship dates back to a time when the area was part of Prussia. Joseph Bykowski and Margaret Piotrowski (great-grandparents) are featured in a
74-page documentary.
Murzyn Research in Chicago, IL; Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland; and Alytus County of Lithuania
Frank Murzyn/Marynowski and Rose Sidor (great-grandparents) were both from the Podlaskie Voivodeship of Poland. View their
76-page documentary and a
267-page collective documentary of the lineage in Poland and Lithuania.
Chicago Research
A
242-page documentary was compiled about the Rooney, Talbot, and Flanagan families in Chicago through their entries in the City Directories (1839-1928).
Online Genealogy Trees
Michael E. Byczek has created two comprehensive family trees through online genealogy platforms.
His
ancestry.com profile has the username "byczek" with a tree identified as
Michael E. Byczek Lineage. The genealogy for this account is DNA-verified for as many generations back as genetic data was available for comparative analysis.
This is an accurate and verified source of genealogy that cannot be modified by other users, including third-parties.
Michael E. Byczek's decision to submit a DNA test was not for genealogy, but as an attorney to intervene across all branches of his lineage. In the autumn of 2024 he was alerted to widespread propagation of false claims about his living immediate family and deceased direct blood ancestors. His intention was to promote accurate genealogy.
All genealogy and social media platforms pose a risk of cyber-bullying, identity theft, fake images/documents (i.e. AI-generated), scams, slander/libel, spread of misinformation, and other inappropriate online user conduct. Numerous instances of inaccurate or deceptive genealogy were identified, such as false claims about marriage, children, nationality, employment, immigration, religion, and burials. In the most egregious circumstances, Michael E. Byczek sought immediate removal of offensive content.
Michael E. Byczek has extensively contributed to the
familysearch.org online genealogical platform under the username "michaelbyczek". However, the Family Search platform is community-based where only one profile is allowed per deceased individual. This model allows anonymous third-parties to delete, edit, and modify accurate information (i.e. disruptive editing). Users are advised to carefully review information to verify and validate details, such as reviewing the timestamp activity log for usernames. Michael E. Byczek has proposed that direct descendants assume shared responsibility for monitoring accuracy of these community-based genealogical profiles.
There is an antiquated view that the dead don't have rights. As an attorney, Michael E. Byczek provides legal advice about the digital afterlife and ways to protect the deceased.
Information is available at
byczeklaw.com/digital_afterlife.html. A four minute video is available on the Byczek Law YouTube Channel with username
@byczeklaw.
The proposed direct-descendant administered genealogy framework is a good solution to protect the rights of deceased common ancestors.
Each deceased individual has a unique profile on Family Search with an assigned identifier, such as those for Michael E. Byczek's four grandparents:
Michael S. Byczek (GRRG-GMV) and Marie C. Flanagan (G5C8-1C2)
Roman J. Bykowski (GRG3-BXS) and Antoinette A. Murzynowicz/Marynowski (GRRG-XBB)
As an accurate source of data, Michael E. Byczek uploaded a Pedigree Resource File (GEDCOM format) to Family Search titled "Michael E. Byczek Lineage" (username of michaelbyczek) to show an outline of his direct-blood ancestors. This information cannot be modified by other users, but the content is displayed in accordance with Family Search parameters (i.e. not all details are publicly visible). The tree can be accessed by searching for the Submission ID: 2:2:2:MMKK-J2F under the option for user-submitted genealogies.
Grave Memorials
The online platform findagrave.com is dedicated to burial memorials with a model that is similar to Family Search. Only one memorial is allowed per deceased individual. However, the platform grants only one user with administrative control. As a result, this model is also susceptible to anonymous third-parties (i.e. cyber-squatting). Michael E. Byczek undertook extensive efforts to create dozens of memorials and regain family administration of others that were under third-party control.
His
Find a Grave profile provides a link to all memorials under his administration.
Military Memorials
The fold3.com platform is dedicated to military records and allows users to create a memorial for deceased veterans. Michael E. Byczek has created memorials for his grandfather
Michael S. Byczek (World War II) and great-grandfather
Martin J. Flanagan (World War I).
Legal Observations
A time-tested genealogy proverb states to never believe anything you read, let alone hear. The Internet, artificial intelligence (AI), and social media has enabled the past to be rewritten. Truth, unfortunately, is rapidly becoming the domain of those who spread misinformation for their own ulterior motives.
Modern-day genealogy platforms have become AI-driven DNA-based spider webs that interweave content, true and fake, from any source into a centralized repository that links all direct descendants of a common ancestor. Michael E. Byczek and his immediate family have been directly and/or indirectly linked to inaccurate, even malicious, online genealogical content without their consent or knowledge. To this extent, AI models have already been trained using false data.
Saliva-based DNA results are not 100% accurate. Genealogy platforms have limited data science functionality for comprehensive genetic review. Matches are scored on a range of probabilities without exact parameters to fully understand the results. Many users do not use their real identities, rely on inaccurate genealogy, block content, or have blank profiles. The ancestry.com DNA test generated about 10,000 genetic cousins. It was virtually impossible to determine relationships due to lack of meaningful information to make an informed assessment, such as degree of kinship.
Michael E. Byczek proudly identifies as an American. His ancestors began arriving in the United States in 1835. They were in full compliance with immigration laws that existed at the time. Even those who decided not to become naturalized were properly documented as non-citizen foreign-born. All immigration-related inconsistencies have been adequately explained from a legal perspective. The last direct blood ancestor who relocated to the United States did so in 1911. Chicago has been the exclusive home to the direct bloodline (other than temporary adventures elsewhere) since 1914. The only other cities with a significant place in history are Port Huron (Michigan) and Taunton (Massachusetts). Port Huron is the only city where direct ancestors are buried other than Chicago. Taunton is the only other city where a birth took place. Brief residence over the generations, other than military service, is primarily limited to Culver City (California) in the late 1970s, New York in the 1830s, Wisconsin in the late 1850s, and St. Louis (Missouri) in 1860. It appears that the last living direct blood ancestors who did not travel to the U.S. with their children passed away in the mid-1930s.
All known direct blood ancestors were Catholic. Furthermore, all known children born to them, with only one possible exception, were legitimate through lawful Catholic marriages. While there are numerous instances of prior or subsequent marriages from death of a spouse, not one direct ancestor ever ended a marriage through divorce (there is one marriage in Poland where records are inconsistent about earlier relationships).
Michael E. Byczek only acknowledges Irish, Polish, and Lithuanian ancestry. He is pursuing a possible lineage that extends to numerous countries throughout the United Kingdom and Europe over the past 1,000 years, but these presumptive results have not been verified. For instance, one Irish family probably originated from France or England prior to settling in Co. Tipperary.
DNA test results show a distant Swedish origin in the lineage. Michael E. Byczek does not recognize the accuracy of this conclusion without more information. The Swedish "deluge" of the 17th century into Poland was a painful historical event to the Polish identity. There is a possible bias in the AI-driven analysis that may mistakenly identify those of Polish descent as having trace amounts of Swedish DNA.
Direct blood descendants must always take precedence over third parties without exception. Michael E. Byczek does not and will not accept opinions from third parties other than neutral and generalized transcription, digitalization, or indexing projects of actual records. He and his family do their own genealogical research and make their own conclusions.
An actual example that required direct action was that Michael E. Byczek's mother and father were both named on ancestry.com as deceased. Not one user contacted the Byczek family. A second example was multiple insulting innuendos that Michael E. Byczek was not a descendant of particular ancestors. A third was that his identity and personal family websites were referenced by more than one third party in furtherance of false claims. A fourth was a coordinated effort to target multiple generations of the same family to undermine the sanctity of marriage and legitimate status of almost every child. Despite such an obvious red flag, it had propagated across the website as if true. A fifth example was the same false claims made against otherwise unrelated branches of the Byczek lineage that suggested a deliberate motive. As a result of these, and many other examples, Michael E. Byczek has undertaken a role as if legal representative of his direct blood ancestors to protect their dignity.
Michael E. Byczek, as an attorney, is who he says he is and means what he says he means. He is fiercely loyal to the direct bloodline (past, present, and future) with the subject matter expertise to defend the new frontiers created through the intersection of law and technology. The genealogy on this and other family websites is an accurate historical archive.
A series of facts and events must reconcile to be true. Mistaken identity and coincidences are common in genealogy. Four examples in Michael E. Byczek's lineage illustrate this point: (1) His great-grandparents were Martin and Marie Flanagan from Chicago. At the same time there was a second Martin and Marie Flanagan family who lived on the same block. (2) His 2x-great-grandfather was Edward H. Talbot, whose mother was Hanora McDonald in Chicago. There were multiple Edward H. Talbot, Edward Talbot, and E. H. Talbot men who worked in the same professions at the same time. One of them also had a mother named Hanora McDonald. (3) His 2x-great-grandparents were Adalbert Byczek and Catherine Czarny from Osobncia in Poland. There was a second couple with the exact same names from the same village who were married at the same church one year apart. Their children were born in the same year range. Members of both families settled in Chicago. There was a third Catherine Czarny family whose married name was Byczek in Chicago at the same time. (4) His 3x-great-grandfather was William Rooney. At the same time, there were three related Rooney families living on three adjacent farms. Seven members of these three families had the names William and John. This has even caused desperate confusion amongst professional historians who have tried to research the family achievements in Chicago. To further complicate matters, William's father appears to have been known as Hugh Jr and John Jr with both names crossed out in documents linked to his mother Alice. William's three eldest children were also Alice, John, and Hugh.
Direct descendants may arrive at different conclusions or derive varying historical insight of their common ancestors. Two people can review a document with different interpretations. Genetic cousins don't have to agree with each other about their research. However, there is a difference between contradictory opinions and pure fiction. Genealogy is not an opportunity to rewrite history or test the limits of online free speech.
It is common for members of a bloodline to branch off the main family tree with their own distinct sub-branch for achievements that set them apart. Michael E. Byczek and his parents ("The Byczek-Bykowski Branch"), for their efforts over the past 30 years to preserve the past and honor their ancestry, have distinguished themselves through genealogical pursuits. The effort to aggressively confront the spread of misinformation and advocate on behalf of the deceased, itself, are distinguishing factors. The Byczek family respectfully give tribute to their lineage through accurate, verified, and where uncertainty exists, plausible, historical chronicles.
Michael E. Byczek's father is Michael M. Byczek ("Mick"), mother is Betty A. (Bykowski) Byczek, and sister is Katherine S. Byczek ("Katie"). Messages may be sent to michael@byczek.pro for more information.
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