My 86 yr.old mother is trying to locate her family. Her Grandmother, Marya Gagatek, arrived in NYC from Pielnia, Poland in 1902. I can't find anything more about her. Her mother, Anastaszia Piekut, came to the U.S. in the 60's, but her sister remained in Poland. They were little girls when their mother left them, and was going to send for them.
I hope someone knows what happened to her Grandmother.
GAGATEK: layabout, ne'er-do-well, good for nothing, couch potato
PIKUT: from obsolete verb pikać (to urinate)
PIEKUT: naturally missspellings were always a possiblity centuries ago when most people were illterate, and that's when most names took on their final shape. The 'e' could have therefore been inserted or 'lost' along the way. But barring that eventuality, the word piekut is Old Polish for cock (from piać - to crow).