A Link to the Lithuanian Presidency...

I’ll lead in this post with the tie in to my great grand-father Joseph Skerstonas.   As previously noted he had a brother, Peter Skerstonas (both brothers were born circa mid 1800’s in Lithuania)

• Peter had a daughter: Magdalene Skerstonas Tamosaitis (b. Jan 1873 (Lithuania) d. Dec 1948 (Nebraska, US)
• Magdalene had a daughter: Marian Tamosaitis (b. Feb 1905 (Waterbury, CT, US) d. March 1953 (Pennsylvania, US)

Marian married Bruce Stulginskis (b. Feb 1903 d. Sep 1955).  Mr. Stulginskis was the nephew of the second president of Lithuania, as noted in this August 29, 1923 Carbondale Daily Free Press Article:

YOUTH STUDIES HERE FOR LIFE WORK IN LITHUANIA(By Associated Press)DANVILLE, ILL—In the little village of Westville, near here, lives Bruce Stulginskis who appears destined some day to sit in the government councils of Lithuania one of the new nations of Europe. Stulginskis is the nephew of Aleksandros Stulginskis, who was elected president of the far away Baltic republic in June.  He lives in the Lithuanian colony of Danville, is studying at the University of Illinois, and is preparing himself for a public career when he is graduated from college. Bruce Stulginskis is the son of a Westville merchant, and since his father’s death the Lithuanian president has been directing the boy's education. According to the plan, Bruce will go from the University of Illinois to the University of Berlin for a graduate course.

I was able to find this press release reprinted in various papers including The Morning Sun of Yuma AZ, The Ada Evening News of Ada, OK and the Evening Independent of Massillon, OH all published between August and September 1923. 

It seems, however, this public career did not come to pass.   According to Martha Palapis’ family history Bruce became an electrical engineer and he and his wife Marian made their home in Pennsylvania. 

A history of his uncle, Aleksandros Stulginskis, found on Litanus.org (http://www.lituanus.org/1995_4/95_4_02.htm) describes:

Stulginskis (b. 1885 d. 1969) was one of the founding fathers and restorers of Lithuanian independence, a member of the Lithuanian Council (Lietuvos Taryba), a signer of the Declaration of Independence of February 16, 1918, the acting prime minister of the Provisional Government in 1919, President of the Constituent Assembly (Steigiamasis Seimas) in 1920 and first constitutional President of Lithuania from 1923 -1926. He was one the most outstanding leaders of the Christian Democratic Party of Lithuania (LKDP) and served as a representative in all sessions of the Lithuanian Seimas (Parliament). He however  experienced all of the calamities of modem Lithuanian history - World War I and the German occupation, the Soviet occupation later during the period of World War II, exile in the camps of Siberia and imprisonment from 1941 until 1954.

                                                             Alexsandros Stulginskis