Banns Prior to Marriage

Bann are published prior to a wedding to determine if there is a civil or religious reason to prevent the marriage. In most cases, there are three banns and in most records I read, the wedding went through. There is an exampleI want to share of only two banns being published and a marriage happening within 30 days of the death of the groom’s first wife! In another fascinating example, the first bann was published--but 8 months later the widowed groom married someone else! The marriage records of my relatives often include the dates of the banns--announcements of the impeding marriage of two people. The purpose of banns is to determine if there are any civil or religious objections to a marriage in order to prevent marriages that would be invalid. The guidance from 1743 was for the priest to “take care to question both groom and bride separately to determine whether they consent voluntarily and freely to marry. He must also strive to determine whether there is any impediment and, if so, what the nature of the impediment is; whether one of the contracting parties has been engaged and given a solemn promise to another, and whether the sons and daughters contract with the consent of the parents. After the pastors have diligently explored these and other relevant matters, if they find anything in these questionings either lacking or potentially harmful, they must suspend the banns and refer the possible obstacles to their own bishop, who will judge the matter.” Pope Benedict XIV - 1743 https://www.papalencyclicals.net/ben14/b14nimia.htm If the bride and groom cleared this hurdle, the banns were published to give the public the chance to object. Concerns could be a current marriage, a pledge of celibacy, a close family relationship or lack of consent. Banns are no longer required in the Catholic church but may still be published and many parishes still do so. Here is an example of published banns that did NOT prevent marriage. Ignatius Kurkiewicz and Antonina Czarnopyś, (3rd great aunt and uncle) had a religious marital union on 12 November of 1876. “This marriage was preceded by three announcements of the banns published in the church on 22 October, 29 October and 12 November.” Usually there are three banns but the priest could determine if there was a good reason to have fewer. In this example, the couple seems to be in a big hurry but I don’t know the reason. Marianna Wiciejwska (5th great aunt) was 29 when the two banns were announced 6th April and 13 April 1823 for her marriage to Thomas Bogucki, 57. He was a butcher whose first wife Ewa died a few weeks earlier on 20 March. Her parents, Jakub & Agnes Wicijewski (my 5th great grandparents) were deceased and she worked as a maid--maybe for the butcher? There were no objections to the marriage so, “According to the sixth Napoleonic code they were both asked if it was their wish to be married to which they both replied separately that it was their wish. So in the name of truth Tomasz Bogucki , widower and Miss Maryanna Wiciejowska are married.” They were married on April 19. The huge age difference was not an obstacle and the priest allowed a pretty fast process. In one case, some unknown reason came up to prevent marriage. Blazej Wisniewski (4th great grandfather) was widowed when wife Agnieszka Szczernicka passed away on 20 May 1823 at age 49. Blazej,55 and Marianna Cyronskowna, 25 became “engaged” and the first wedding bann were published less than four months later on 7 Sept. He had been a foreman at the faience (pottery) factory until they ended production and was now working as a gravedigger. Her father was a deceased farmer and her mother was a laborer in Tomaszow. The reference to the bann read, “1823 , Sunday 7th September, I, the Parish priest of Tomaszów, clerk of the civil records in the Administrative district of Tomaszów, Tomaszów County , Province Lubelskie put on the main door of the community house at 12 o'clock midday and announced for the first time,” The marriage never happened. Instead, on 9 May 1824, Blazej married Anna Adamczyk, 41 after announcements on 25th April and 2nd May. She was from Wólka Łosiniecka, but was living in Tomaszów as a servant and her parents were both already dead. This marriage lasted five years until Blazej passed away. Besides the Catholic Church requirement of banns, they were also required by the Napoleionic Code in existance in Poland. US is based on England's common law, in comparison. The code reads, "Before the celebration of a marriage, the civil officer shall make two publications, with an interval of eight days between them, one being on a Sunday, before the gate of the town-hall. These publications, and the act which shall be drawn up relating to them, shall set forth the Christian names, surnames, professions, and domicils of the parties about to be married, the circumstance of their majority or minority, and the Christian names, surnames, professions, and domicils of their fathers and mothers. This act shall set forth, moreover, the days, places, and hours at which the publications shall have been made; it shall be inscribed on one single register, which shall be endorsed and marked as directed in article 41, and deposited at the end of every year among the rolls of the court of the circle.'

St. Andrew’s Day Eve (Andrzejki) November 29

Calling all the Single Ladies! You might want to learn about St. Andrew’s Day Eve. Here is your opportunity to see into the future and experience some magic. While trying to determine when you might marry and what the future groom will look like was traditionally done in private as a tradition dating back to 1557, apparently it is now a time of fun parties. Lighting 13 candles allows the spirits to enter the room that will help tell the marital future. One game involves pouring hot wax into cold water through the hole in a skeleton key. After it solidifies, the shape and its shadow will foretell your future. The shoe game is also another interesting sounding game. One shoe of each woman is lined up at the door. The first one to get to the door is the first to be married. (Be careful to not get trampled!) It sounds like in the present, it is just a fun chance to party and celebrate.

Literacy

Many of the people in the time period covered by the records I am looking at (about 1750 to 1920) were illiterate, unable to either read or write. This seemed to occur both during the time the records were in Polish as well as when they were in Russian (1868-1917.) The woman NEVER signed except in the case of a midwife who signed a few records. So far I haven’t found any records on the Raczkiewicz side that indicate either they or a witness could read or write but this makes sense since they were peasant farmers in villages at the time. The Kaszucki side has more tradesmen who lived in cities--most of them are illiterate but there are a few examples of people able to sign the records In most of the records, the priest indicates he read the record aloud to the illiterate people present and in most cases, the record is signed only by him. For example, at the remarriage of my 5th great aunt Marianna (Wiciejowska) Bugucka everyone was illiterate so “this record was read to all present there people and signed by the priest J. Kwiatkowski only since the others were illiterate.” Another example is my 4x great grandfather Blaze Wisniowski, 40, who was the foreman of a faience factory who could not write. In 1810, at the birth of his son Jozef, only the witness Jan Bilicki, a tax collector and Father Józef Stomowski, Pastor of Tomaszow Civil Registry Officer signed. When his son Wojciech was born in 1813, both witnesses could sign but the father could not. By 1817, when daughter Anna was born, he was the “famous” Blazej Wisniowski but the record was signed only by the parish priest of Tomaszow, Administrator of the Tomaszow Church, the Civil Registry Officer of the Tomaszow Commune of the Janow District in the Lublin Province. There are a few cases where my relative or one of their witnesses WAS literate. While I haven’t found all the examples, they are in the minority so I want to highlight them: KASZUCKI: My 3rd great grandfather Andrzej Kaszucki, a 30 year old furrier was unable to write but one witness could so, “This record was presented, read out to the witnesses and signed by the witness Michał Kudlicki as the others are unable to write. When his son Josef Kaszucki was a 33 year old furrier and his son Piotr died, Jozef and the witness Santalomon Gumowski, also a furriers were both unable to sign. “After being convinced about his death this record was read to the illiterate witnesses and signed by X.M. Nazarowicz, rector of the Tomaszów parish. “ My 3rd great uncle, Mikolaj Kaszucki, a shoemaker, was able to sign documents, for instance when in 1846 at the death of his son Lukasz. He signed with his first initial: M. Kaszucki. KURKIEWICZ Family 1: My 4th great grandfather Antoni Kurkiewicz, a shoemaker, was unable to read or write therefore, when son Wojciech was born in 1827, “This record was presented, read out to the witnesses and signed by us and Konstanty Kurkiewicz. The father and the witness Romanowicz are unable to write.” By 1830, for the birth of daughter Victoria, Antoni Kurkiewicz and witness Maciej Wyszynski, a barrel maker listened to the priest read the record and then were able to sign it. In 1852, for the death of Antoni Jozef Kurkiewicz, his son Jozef (my 3x great grandfather, 37 and a farmer is able to sign. KURKIEWICZ Family 2: In 1818, the death of “the famous” Pawel Kurkiewicz was reported to the Tomaszow Commune of the Zamosc District in the Lublin Province. The informants were his sons--“the famous” Antoni Kurkiewicz and Walenty Kurkiewicz. I am not sure what about these carpenters made them “famous” but somehow they were held in regard. Antoni signed the record but the priest wrote, “This act has been read and signed by us and one witness, as the other one cannot write.” (By the way, Pawel is the father-in-law of my 5th great aunt --but I think he is also some sort of uncle. I haven’t been able to prove this yet since the records I have access to do not go back far enough.) Konstanty Kurkiewicz was able to sign his name. At the 1834 birth of daughter Katarzyna, he and the 2 witnesses--Antoni Roczniacki, 34, shoemaker & Marcin Cyronski, 39, spoon maker--were all able to sign. In 1855, at the death of Apolonia Kurkiewicz, her husband Konstanty, 67 and son Andrzej Kurkiewicz, both carpenters were both able to sign. CZARNOPYS: For Szczepan Czarnopys’ 1829 marriage to Pelagia Romanowicz, only the witness Marcin Mirowski, 34, a shoemaker and the priest signed the record. Szcepan & Grzegorz Radawski, 22 and a shoemaker were illiterate. A year later for the birth of their son Szyzmon Czarnopys, all of the people present except for one witness were illiterate. “This record was read to the father and the witnesses but signed by the priest and the witness Maciej Gdański only since the others were illiterate. Signatures of M. Gdański,rector of Tomaszów, J. Kwiatkowski.”

Chasing our Family Heritage: More of the Story from Curt Wolf of the Relatives from Rogozno

Dear Family, In my last letter, I told you about a barista I randomly met in Poland who told me about a better genealogist who could help me. What I didn’t say is that this was pretty miracolous because he just so happened to be the region’s most knowledgeable about the village where our great grandmother Paulina Eifler Niedzwiedzki’s came from. Further, this same genealogist named Przemek, connected me to Andrzej Eifler who is the family historian with the largest family tree for the Eifler family in Poland. With these too gentleman as my sources and my own research, I will share with you some of the things I learned about our Busha’s Eifler family heritage. Busha’s family of Origin: The first thing I discovered was that Pauline (b.1891) and Anna Eifler Swierzawski (b1897), who were the only ones to come to America from the Eifler family, were half-sisters born to the same father Adam but not the same mother. Adam Eifler was born in 1848 and died in 1916. This is 4 years after Pauline came to America. He was a shoemaker or cobbler by trade as was his father Jan and his brother. This did not mean he didn’t take on other jobs, but is what we know for sure based on records. We also knew he had 5 wives- 3 who died in childbirth, one who left him, and one that survived him. Back then, when a wife lay dying, she often could point to a women she trusted in the room and say, “You take care of my children”…and that was the next wife of the husband. It was also the case that men could have children up to their 70s with these new wives. Adam’s last child was born when he was 63 so he had children spanning nearly 40 years! Before he had Pauline with wife #3, Maryanna Bazelewna aka Pakocik, his first wife, Rozalia Nowosad, had 4 children die in a row before age 3 and she died with the fourth who was miscarried. His second wife of less than one year, also named Rozalia, died from the birth of their first child. Busha would not have been around to experience these deaths from Adams first two wives, but she would have known of 3 siblings deaths from her mother and her step-mother Elizabeth who raised her. One of the sibling’s death caused the complications of her biological mother’s death when she was 4 years old. With all of these wives, Adam had 6 children that lived into adulthood- two being Pauline’s full siblings. They were her older brothers named Lukasz and Konstantin. I hope to meet their descendants someday. This frequency of death in the old world among children and wives was fairly common, but Adam experienced this more than the average person. It certainly must have grieved him tremendously. I cannot fathom losing this many wives and children as a husband and a father. I could only imagine that the deaths were hard on Busha too. The last thing I will say about Pauline’s mother Marianna, and the wives of Adam’s direct line of forefathers, is that most of them were Polish going back to the time they came from Germany. Because of this, the amount of German blood Pauline brought to her children with Josef N. was certainly not 50%, but likely something in the neighborhood of 17%. (This is an estimate.) Adam’s land: Busha’s father Adam was considered a “burgher”. This term means that he likely lived in a town and was anything from lower middle class to middle class. There were only 3 social strata back then which were peasant, burgher, and nobleman. Given what I learned, I would put Busha’s family of origin in the lower middle to middle class given the land they owned and his business as a shoemaker. . . but more research has to be done to confirm this. According to Uncle Frank, Pauline and Josef Niedzwiedz had about 6 acres of land in the Tomaszow area before they moved to America. It was not clear if this land came from the Niedzwiedzki side or Eifler side. But I saw the land that Adam’s family owned. It is near the center of Tomaszow with government buildings including a school on top of it. I do not know how Adam’s family of origin obtained this land because they were leasing land in the village of Roguzno from the time their ancestors came in 1784. I have video of the beautiful pastoral rolling hills you see as you approach Roguzno 4 hours outside of Warsaw.

Andrzej Kaszucki (1x cousin 3x removed) is Born: The Role of Declarants

Today (november 26) in 1855, Andzej Kaszucki (my 1rst cousin 3x removed) was born in Tomaszow to Mikolaj Kaszucki and his wife Maryanna nee Bratkiewicz. His father Mikolaj was a brother of my 2nd great grandfather Stefan Jozef Kaszucki. Stefan Jozef or Jozef , as he is known in other records, were both furriers. Jozef and another furrier Panteleomon Skrzypczuk were both witnesses for this birth. This story is about Jozef and the role of declarant, witness and Godparent. When records are translated, besides getting information about the person the record is about, they usually list the people that came to celebrate or support these important moments. Many of the people listed are brothers and sisters and brother-in-laws or sister-in-laws. Some seem to be coworkers. Some I haven’t yet determined the relationship. Some names appear more frequently than others and Jozef’s name is one of these. I have only seen a small amount of the available records but easily found eight instances of his involvement. I am sure there are many more: When his father Andrzej Kaszucki (my 3rd great grandfather) died on 18 September 1861 at 2a.m., his son Jozef and another furrier, Mikolaj Tracznaki went two days later on 20 September at 4pm and presented themselves and confirmed his death. In 1862, Jozef was a witness for his uncle Teodor's death. Jozef was a furrier, age 29, at the time. Szymon Zolkiewski, 53, shoemaker was the other one reporting. Also in 1862, Jozef was a declarant for his first wife's death--Katarzyna Szokalawicz, 30. Marcin Hulkiewicz, 40, shoemaker, went with him. Also in 1862 he was listed as a furrier when he was a declarant for Teodor Kaszucki's death. Teodor was his uncle. Szymon Zolkiewski, a shoemaker was the other one. In 1867, Jozef, 34, went with his brother Mikolaj, 45 to report the death of Mikolaj & Maryanna's 3 year old daughter Antonina. They were both furriers. In 1877, he was a 48 year old farmer when he was one of the witnesses reporting his mother Salomea's death. Walenty Lisikiewicz, 31, went with him to report. His mother was 73. In 1879 he was a declarant for the death of his unmarried, 40 year old brother Michal, along with Anton Romanowicz. In 1884,as a 50 year old church sexton, he was a witness for Anna Kurkiewicz's birth. She was a child of Ignacy Kurkiewicz and Antonina nee Czarnopys. Maciej Janusz, 56, was also a witness and the Godmother was Marijanna Czarnopys.

Shirley's Thanksgiving Meal

This year is very different from our normal Thanksgiving celebration. Usually we have celebrated at my parents’ house. The pandemic numbers are very high in our state and our county has especially high numbers right now. Groups getting together inside are discouraged. Therefore, I thought it would be fun to revisit the menu of meals in the past. My Mom started out making everything. Thanksgiving foods usually are turkey, sweet and mashed potatoes, dressing, vegetables such as cauliflower, green beans and brussel sprouts, cranberries, pies such as pumpkin and pecan, a jello salad and Hawaiian rolls. Lately the turkeys have been turkey breasts which are easier to handle and please the crowd since only a few people like dark meat. Shirley’s recipe for mashed potatoes is especially well loved. Lately, all of us bring something, including grandson James and his wife Betsy making the mashed potatoes. In 2010, this is what Shirley said about the meal: “I usually like a 16 pound turkey. It is really big but I can handle it. It fits in the roaster and is not as heavy. Years ago I would buy 18 pounders but that’s a big turkey. I’ll have mashed potatoes, turkey, dressing, cranberries, sweet potatoes. I might make a JellO salad. I went to the store to get the vegetables. The cauliflower was $3.00 and I need more than one broccoli. It is over a dollar a pound for green beans. Don’t get them too early otherwise they start getting brown. I will make a little more than half of a ten pound bag of potatoes. I’m probably peeling which your Dad used to do. Who’s mashing? Marissa wants to stay over to put the table cloth on and help set the table so she can help.” Here is my Mom’s recipe for mashed potatoes: Potatoes (five pounds) Margarine (one stick) Sour cream (half cup) Milk (a little) Peel five pounds of potatoes and cut into medium chunks and put in a large pan with approximately one teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until tender, 30 minutes or less. Drain well so there is no water on the bottom. Use an old fashioned potato masher to mash. Put in the margarine and sour cream and continue to mash. Add a little milk to thin it as you go along. Put them in a crock pot to keep them warm.

Location: Horyszów‌ ‌Polski‌

Like Rogoźno, a colony of Germans in cooperation with Zamoyski, a noble form the area of Tomaszow Lubelski, Horyszów Polski was a colony near Zamosc and the owner was Piotr Mikawski and it was settled by 8 families. Horyszów Polski is 25 miles north of Rogoźno, near Zamosc. Other German name connections to our family come from this village. Eifler’s came from Rogoźno and from Horyszów Polski we have several connections: Anna Eifler was a laborer there and died there. Marcin Raczkiewicz, my 3rd great uncle married Apolonia Tukiendorf who was born there but was living near Marcin in Sabaudia with her parents. Her mother was Polish and related to Marcin’s grandmother and her father was German. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horysz%C3%B3w_Polski https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CAGFHA_enUS823&sxsrf=ALeKk02I_RWOTlZ-hrOR9hJ1IBIpzaPZFQ%3A1591444410883&ei=uoPbXtW1NdG1tAaGj6XgAg&q=horysz%C3%B3w+polski+to+tomaszow+lubelski+poland&oq=horysz%C3%B3w+polski+to+tomaszow+lu&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQARgEMgcIIRAKEKABMgcIIRAKEKABMgcIIRAKEKABMgUIIRCrAjIFCCEQqwI6BAgjECc6BQgAEMsBOgYIABAWEB46BQghEKABUOgFWME_YJlUaABwAHgAgAF9iAG5DJIBAzguOJgBAKABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab

Antoni Raszkiewicz married Katarzyna Szczepaniuk

Antoni Raszkiewicz married Katarzyna Szczepaniuk--yesterday, 23 November, 1856 at 1pm in the afternoon. This Antoni has the same name as my grandfather but was born 60 years earlier. He is my 1rst cousin 4x removed. There isn’t too much in this record that is unusual but since it was translated for me today and the event happened yesterday--164 years ago--I wanted to share it with you. Note that his last name has an “s” instead of a “c”--Raszkiewicz or Raczkiewicz. That was something I discovered--there are lots of my relatives with this spelling of their name. Another note: the bride is a maid in Majdan Górny. Most of the women did not work but you can see her parents were deceased so she probably had to work. A lot of the maids in the city Tomaszow seemed to work for merchants such as shoemakers. Working in a village, it is possible she was a maid in the house of the owner of the land that her family worked as peasant farmers. Married in Tomaszów Lubelski on 23rd November 1856 1o'clock in the afternoon. Witnesses- Marcin Raszkiewicz, 36 and Jakób Herda ,36 , both peasant farmers residing in Majdan Górny Groom- Antoni Raszkiewicz, young man ,20 , son of Piotr and Zofia née Przybysz , married couple Raszkiewicz , peasant farmers from Majdan Górny. Bride- Miss Katarzyna Szczepaniuk ,20 , daughter of Bartłomiej and Magdalena née Dominik, married couple Szczepaniuk deceased , born and a maid in Majdan Górny . Banns announced on 9th,16th and 23rd November 1856 in Tomaszów parish of the Latin rite . No objections to the marriage No prenuptial agreement.

Rogozno: The contract

In 1785, at the Zamoyski estate office in Zamość, a contract was signed between the ordinate and every farming family was to receive 30 morgas (40 acres) of land including an orchard, vegetable garden and meadow (An artisan would have 15 morgas so they would have time to devote to their profession) A wooden stable for 8 cattle A granary for grain Within 2 years the ordinate built a house for them with a large room, chamber, a kitchen with a brick oven and a chimney, a roof covered with straw and a wooden floor; In proportion to their land, the first spring, each family was to receive: two horses, 2 draft oxen, 2 cows and 1 sow, all of the best species. 1 iron forged wagon, iron plow, 2 wooden harrows with iron teeth and an iron shovel The contract covered farm inheritance, compensation, wood for fuel from the forests, rents, taxes, etc. In case of “neglect, rascality, bad will, destruction of the farm or rent debts: the ordinate could remove the colonist without compensation Unlike my Raczkiewicz relatives that were peasant farmers, the German colonists had a contract. The colonists paid rent twice a year, taxes and additional fees to maintain common elements such as bridges. Since they didn’t profit from the harvest, they were to be paid monthly. While the colonists could volunteer to work for the ordinate, they could not be forced to and there was a prohibition against child labor. Fishing and hunting on the Ordynat’s land was prohibited. Among themselves, they were to select a leader who would decide disputes, keep order and stay in touch with the Ordinance. There was no pay for the position and the person should be “an elderly, decent and enlightened person who can read and write and enjoy a good opinion in the Ordinance and among settlers.”

Location: Rogóźno

Rogóźno [rɔˈɡuʑnɔ] is a village that is about two miles northwest of Tomaszów Lubelski with a current population of 1,300. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rog%C3%B3%C5%BAno,_Tomasz%C3%B3w_Lubelski_County Before the 1500’s, Andrzej Maldrzyk of the Wąż established the village of Rogóźno with an understanding with his neighbor Wołczek from Gródek about the use of the nearby forests of Łaziska, Koczalin and Górno. Andrzej’s sons colonized the village and established German law. In 1528, without male heirs, ownership passed to the Marcinowski family of the Topór coat of arms. Jan Zamoyski, the chancellor purchased it in 1578. By 1589, it was listed in his estate when he was ordained into the priesthood. By 1880, there were 60 households with 504 people, including 304 Catholics. https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pl&u=https://www.wikiwand.com/pl/Rog%25C3%25B3%25C5%25BAno_(powiat_tomaszowski)&prev=search&pto=aue Ordinate Andrzej Zamoyski signed a contract with Germans to settle some areas on his land within what had previously been Poland. 100 families were settled in various communities. The representatives of 96 of the 100 families were literate and only 4 needed to sign with a mark. The villages were near each other. Of the 100 families, 90 were farmers and the rest were blacksmiths, carpenters, millers, tailors, shoemakers, fishermen and beekeepers. Rogozno was to have ten families and each farming family would receive 40 acres. The following information is from Curt Wolf: “Georgius Eifler With his wife Magdalena & sister Marianna, moved to Zamch in 1784 as part of 100 families from Germany Zamoyski had come to establish colonies. With 10 families, he moved to Rogozno Daughter Anna born in 1793. As a “miss”, she gave birth to Jan/Johan who married Apolonia Kurkiewicz, my 4x great aunt. Her brother Jozef is my 3x great grandfather.” “George and Magdalena and George’s sister Maryanna left Germany and moved to a place called Zamch in Poland in 1784. He was 23 at this time. They joined 99 other families to become “colonists” in Poland. Shortly after arriving in Zamch, 10 of these families including George and family moved to Kolonia Roguzno. These villages were relatively close to each other in the same county. Roguzno is a village 5km outside of Tomaszow. As you approach it, the road takes you through beautiful farmland on rolling hills.” But why would this group of Germans move east? “At the time of George Eiflers arrival to Poland in 1784, both the land in Germany and Poland was ruled by the Hapsburg Dynasty of the Austrian Empire. To extend their wealth, the Hapsburgs wanted people to settle these empty lands to the east (google Josephinische Kolonisation). On the receiving side there was a notable nobleman in Poland’s history named Andrzej Zamoyst who worked a deal with the Hapsburgs to have these families come live on his estate. The Emperor paid for their travel, new housing, livestock, and many other things. George Eifler, who lived on less and poorer land in the foothills than the offer in Poland figured this was a much better situation so he went for it. None of the “colonists'', as they were called, were forced to go but went freely for their own economic advantage. Each colonist family signed the contract along with Zamoyst and a representative from the Hapsburg family. According to the contract, George received 40 acres to lease with his family. I attached two documents which are pictures of the actual contract. You can see George Eifler’s name on it connected to the town of Zamch. A third attachment is the contract translated using google translate. It is not the greatest translation but you get the gist of all the perks and responsibilities of the colonists. I am no farmer but this is a fascinating read of a “do it yourself commune of the 18th century”! The source of all this corroborating information above comes from the contract, the 1800 census, and birth, marriage, and death records from Zamosc and Lublin archives.” “I think it's pretty cool how our ancestors lived and had a relationship with an important historical person in Poland- Andrzej Zamoyst. He was well respected holding one of the highest positions in Poland. He was considered a great man of integrity, was influenced by the enlightened principles that gave birth to America, and was the first of the large landowners in Poland to create positive reforms in the abusive Serfdom system. It is nice to know that our ancestors enjoyed some of these reforms.” (written by Curt Wolf)

Jan/Johann Eifler marries Apolonia Kurkiewicz

My 4th great aunt, Miss Apolonia Kurkiewicz was married in Tomaszów Lubelski on 22nd November 1840 at 5 o'clock in the evening. She was 20 years old and living with her parents, Antoni Kurkiewicz and Maryanna née Kiszczyński, who were shoemakers in Tomaszów. She had 11 siblings, 7 that died in infancy. Her brother Jozef was my 3x great grandfather. The groom was also a shoemaker. Twenty five year old Jan Eifler was born and residing in the colony of Rogoźno. His single mother Anna Eifler, had been a servant/maid in nearby Horyszów Polski working for a shoemaker/tanner, who is considered to be the father. Anna was deceased by the time he married. The witnesses were both shoemakers from Tomaszów, Lukasz Radawski, 37 and Antoni Laowski, 42. They had one son together. Their son Franciszek passed away on July 4, 1841, when he was less than a year old. Shortly after, Apolonia passed away on July 19, 1841, in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, at the age of 20. By 26 September of the same year, Jan, who was now working in Tomaszów Lubelski, remarried to Miss Julianna Kusa and they had at least four children. He died in 1854 at the age of 38. Jan’s name was recorded as Johan -- the German for John and Jan in Polish. His German grandfather was a colonist in Rogozno, Poland under contract with Jan Zamoyski. I will share information about this colony tomorrow from Curt Wolf. He is related to the Eifler’s and learned more about them and the colony of Rogozno.

The story of Valentine Wiciejewski--Including his 2nd marriage on 22 Nov 1824

I am trying to mainly share stories of the direct descendants--but some of their brothers and sisters have good stories to share also. Today (November 22) is the anniversary of the second marriage of Valentine (Walenty) Wiciejewski, my 4th great uncle. At his birth on 9 Feb 1824 at 4 a.m., his father, Maciej Wiciejewski was already 54 years old and had been a renowned potter. His mother, Marianna nee Metalska was 37. Maciej was born in their house #207 in Tomaszow. The witnesses were Maciej Wyszynski, 50, a cooper and Michal Kudlicki, 45, a shoemaker. His parents had nine children--Valentine was the youngest and his sister Salomea was the oldest. Salomea married Andrzej Kaszucki, (my 3x great grandparents) the year before Valentine was born. Their first born Nikolaj was born two months after Valentine’s birth in her father’s house so there would have been two newborns living there. Valentine’s mother died when he was nine and his father died when he was 15. He likely lived with one of his older brothers or sisters. Valentine’s first marriage was to Helena Jozefko on 16 Jul 1843. He was 19 and his father was already deceased and Helena was 22. She was born in Komodow but was working in Tomaszow as household help. Her parents were farmers in Komodow. The witnesses were both shoemakers: Mateusz Rubacka, 29 and Tomasz Kaminski, 36. When Valentine married for the second time, at 3pm, his bride Miss Ewa Tarczylo was 22 years old and he was 35. He was working as a spoon maker and his parents were deceased. Her father Jan was deceased and she was living in Tomaszow Lubelski with her mother Petronella (Bukawski) Tarczylo. They were shoemakers. The witnesses were Antoni Romanowicz, 48 and Tadeusz Tyndar, 46, both shoemakers. It sounds like in his life he had various jobs. He started out as a shoemaker and became a spoon maker. He then was a peasant farmer and an innkeeper in the village of Para. When he married Ewa he was back to being a spoon maker. He died at age 50.

Lukasz Grabek Marries Katarzyna Krawczyk Nov 21 1823

On 21st November 1823, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Lukasz Grabek and Katarzyna Krawczyk were wed in Tomaszow Lubelskie. They were my 3rd great grandparents. They were from my grandfather Anthony Raczkiewicz’s father’s side--part of the family that lived in small villages outside of the city to the northeast and worked as peasant farmers. Lukasz Grabek was 25 years old and working as a peasant farmer in Majdan Górny. His father, Walenty Grabek, had died when Lukasz was about 14 years old. His mother Teresa née Waławender remarried when Lukasz was about 15 years old. When he got married, Lukasz had been living with his mother and step father Grzegorz Lebiedowski, also a peasant farmer. The bride, Katarzyna, 20, was from Łaszczówka, about four and a half miles away. This village is outside of the city to the southeast. She was the daughter of Antoni Krawczyk and Dorota née Lokaj, peasant farmers, residing in village of Łaszczówka, The banns were announced on 9th and 16th of November, 1823. .The witnesses- Marcin Walawender, 55, Jan Garbul ,30, Józef Litwin, 54 and Bartłomiej Krawczyk, 36. They were all peasant farmers. The first two were from Majdan Górny, the groom’s village and the other two were from Łaszczówka, the bride’s village.

Location: Łaszczówka

The Raczkiewicz side of the family lived in rural areas outside the city of Tomaszów Lubelski. In the wedding record for tomorrow’s date in 1823, the bride and her family are from Łaszczówka [waʂˈt͡ʂufka], about one mile east of the city of Tomaszów Lubelski. There are about 1,000 people living in the village today. ***** While all the records indicate that the Raczkiewicz side were peasant farmers in places like Łaszczówka, Majdan Górny, Sabaudia, there was little indication of what type of farming they were doing. The land likely belonged to the baron Zamoyski whose family started the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. I figured out one crop in the area was by looking at the 1840 wedding record of a relative from Anthony Raczkiewicz’s mother’s side. His mother’s side had jobs like shoemaker, furrier, etc. while his father’s side were all peasant farmers. Two of the witnesses in the record were from nearby (within 3 miles) Przeorsk. The groom was an estate steward/supervisor and one witness was a tobacco guard. I don’t know if tobacco was also grown in nearby Łaszczówka. Agricultural land in the area can also be used for cereal crops such as wheat, fodder, fruits, vegetables, and raising cattle, chickens and sheep. ***** Added clarification from Andrzej Dubiel: Laszczow and Laszczowka are two different places. The first one is bigger and is it 20 km. east of Tomaszow. The second one is a village near Tomaszow --about 3km away. Image from Facebook page: Historia Regionu Tomaszow Lubelski Belz Rawa Ruska. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%81aszcz%C3%B3wka

Background of the Westside of Grand Rapids

(Image from GR Archives) The people living in the Westside of Grand Rapids were the Dutch and the Poles. They resided in separate neighborhoods, centered around their churches. The churches looked different and different languages were spoken depending on the neighborhood. While the Dutch and Poles worked together in the factories, they didn’t interact after work or on the weekends. Both groups were conservative though the Poles were more oriented to the Democratic Party. Both groups had the goal of house ownership in a clean and safe neighborhood. St. Adalbert began as a wooden church in 1882. By 1913, it had been replaced by a twin towered, landmark church that would later be declared a minor basilica. It was patterned after a church in Trzemeszno, which is 35 miles from Poznan. This area is where many early Polish families were from. Anthony arrived in Grand Rapids in 1912 and married his first wife Klementyna in 1916 at Sacred Heart Church. Sacred Heart was started in 1903 by Polish people who wanted a church closer to their house than St. Adalbert Church. Anthony married his second wife (my grandmother) Pauline in 1920 at St. Adalbert Church. Church figured big in family life. There was a Polish language newspaper from 1900 to 1957, the Echo Tygodniowe (The Weekly Echo) which was available weekly. The Polish Catholic Cemetery was established in 1909 and its name changed to Holy Cross Cemetery in 1947. There was a Polish Military band, choirs, halls for social and other support, Polish political organizations. The Polish language was used in the Catholic schools and the churches until the 1940s and 1950s. The business districts were on Bridge Street, Stocking Avenue, Leonard Street, Alpine Street and Michigan Street with shops run by Germans and Poles. They included groceries, bakeries, meat markets, tailors, barber shops, doctors and dentists, drug stores, dry goods stores, restaurants and bars, movie theaters and a police station.

Image: http://www.historygrandrapids.org/photo/802/west-side-of-the-grand-river THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The neighborhoods surrounding the Basilica of St. Adalbert’s (Wojciechowo) and other Roman Catholic churches were obvious because of the Polish being spoken as well as the differences from the Protestant churches. (Information from “The Poles, the Dutch and the Furniture Strike of 1911”, Mary Patrice Erdmans, Polish American Studies, Vol. 62, No. 2 (Autumn, 2005), pp. 5-22) DUTCH-POLAND RELATIONS: ”Through the years Dutch-Polish relations were minimal. They worked along side each other in the furniture factories, but nil else. Each lived in their own ethnic neighborhoods. The Vest Side St. Adalbert Polanders considered Alpine Avenue the line of demarcation between themselves and the Hollanders who were so heavily concentrated the length of Vest Leonard Street. 34 The East Side St. Isidore Polanders had only very minimal contact with the East Fulton Dutch thrust which bordered the southern limits of their enclave. The South Side Sacred Heart Polanders reacted similarly to the Dutch families on the easterly extremity of their enclave near Ninth Reformed Church. Simply stated, both groups kept to themselves and avoided each other. Both were conservative in outlook, despite the Polanders' Democratic Party orientation, and both were apprehensive of American liberalism. They each strove to make Grand Rapids a city of individual homeowners in clean neighborhoods who wanted to live a better life in a new land of opportunity.35 The Present Current Status of the Grand Rapids Polonia A general observation can be made that today the three Grand Rapids Polish communities in no way exude the vim, vigor, and vitality of the Grand Rapids Polonia in its Golden Age between 1910 and 1945. Assimilation and acculturation and Americanization have taken their inexorable toll . . . “ http://www.mipolonia.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/St.-Adalbert_1881-1981_Grand-Rapids_MI.pdf NEWSPAPER: “The Grand Rapids Polonia had a weekly newspaper. The Glos Polski (The Polish Voice) was published in 1899-1900. From 1900 to 1957, the Echo Tygodniowe (The Yeekly Echo) appeared each Friday.28 Except for Dutch publications, it outlived all other Grand Rapids ethnic publications. In 1906-1907, still another weekly, named Kuryer z Grand Rapids (The Grand Rapids Kuryer) served the Polish community.29 Of all these issues, only portions of the Echo have survived the ravages of time and the negligence of humankind. Happily this Echo microfilm (1908-1928 = 21 years) spans the bulk of the local Polonia's Golden Age (1910-1945). It provides a good partial social history of this immigrant group.” CEMETERY: ”The beautiful, rolling, 100-acre Polish cemetery, founded in 1909, in the Yalker-Richmond sector had its name changed in 1947 from Polish Catholic Cemetery to Holy Cross Cemetery. The weekly Polish Echo ceased publication in 1957. Even the diocesan The Yestern Michigan Catholic which provided news from the Polish parishes was liquidated in 1991. The PolishAmerican Military Band was disbanded during Yorld Yar II. There are no dramatic groups. The numerous choirs have been phased out. The Polish language was curtained in the schools in the early 1940s and in the churches in the early 1950s. Rarely is the language heard. Polish political organizations are a non-enti ty .. “ BUSINESS DISTRICT: “Perhaps the most physical indication of the deterioration and diminution of Polish ethnicity in Grand Rapids is the demise of its business districts on the West Side in the Stockbridge sector and on the East Side along Michigan Street. (Only the South Side Yest Fulton Polish business stretch has maintained a semblance of its former self.) The Bridge Street and Stocking Avenue business areas were a veritable second downtown with shops and stores operated by Germans and Polanders. Typically there were groceries, bakeries, butcher shops, barber salons, tailor shops, dry goods stores, shoemakers, sausage shops, hardware stores, adult-beverage watering holes, doctors and dentists, haberdasheries, drug stores, restaurants and even a police station. Today these areas are hardly a skeleton of their former selves. Brown's Stocking Theater near Fourth Street, the State Theater on the northwest corner of Stocking and Second, and the Town (or Roosevelt or Alcazar) Theater on Bridge Street just west of Lexington Avenue are no more. The Polish neighborhood stores on Alpine and Seventh and on Davis and Eleventh and on many other neighborhood corners throughout the area are no more.” * The Rise and Fall of the Grand Rapids Polonia https://dutchamericans.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/1993_07_skendzel.pdf Images:

New Found Relative: Patrice (Szymanski) Shay

Kazmierez Szymanski is my third cousin three times removed. He was born 19 February 1874 in Tomaszow Lubelskie. He married 22 year old Antonina Petryna in Tomaszow in 1900 when he was 26 years old. Their first four children were born in Poland. Their next three children were born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I learned about him from a DNA match Patrice (Szymanski) Shay. After reaching out to her in May, a DNA match Patrice (Szymanski) Shay shared information about other DNA matches. She had a pretty extensive tree in Ancestry so I was pretty sure where we were connected. She was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As I am locating distant relatives, it is kind of interesting to think of all the people that I was probably near growing up in Grand Rapids that had some kinship to me of which I was unaware. Whenever I leave GR and come back, I have this vague feeling that “these are my people” since so many look vaguely familiar. Patrice told me that she often was told she was related to many people that she met and said, I always took remarks like that from my dad with a grain of salt because we were taught to all every older person we ever knew as "uncle" or "Aunt" so an so and I never really knew who was family and who wasn't until I started genealogy research.” Patrice’s father Andrew Szymanski was born in Grand Rapids 2 November, 1915. That year Anthony lived on Winter NW and was a polisher. Lukasz and Justyna Kiszczynski are Patrice’s fourth great grandparents on her father's side. They are my fifth great grandparents on my mother’s side. Their daughter Marianna Kiszczynska (1787-1846) is my fourth great grandmother and their son relative Jakob' Kiszczynski’s (1793-1840) is her third great grandmother. Both her grandfather Kazmierez Szymanski and my grandfather Antoni Raczkiewicz came to Grand Rapids, Michigan in roughly the same time period. Her Grandfather is 20+ years older than mine.

Roman Catholic Church in Tomaszow Lubelski: Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

I found pictures of the church where a lot of our Polish family history happened: Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Tomaszow Lubelski. It was founded by the “baron” of the area, Tomasz Zamoyski. It is interesting to see that the outside is made of wood. It is noteworthy for the Eastern influenced domes on top of the two square towers. I figured the only way that I would be able to see the inside of the church would be to visit Tomaszow Lubelski someday. Then I got a message from Dorothy Woloszczuk, one of the volunteer translators on Genealogical Translations on Facebook. She has translated alot for me and has relatives in the same region so she is familiar with the records I use to find out about our family. She speaks Polish and English and I think also translates Latin and lives in England. Here is what she sent me,”Whilst scrolling through Lubgens found the name of the church for Tomaszow Lubelski parish church - As it's more than likely that it is the church where your relative’s baptisms, marriages and funerals took place as this particular building has been there since 1627 !!!” You REALLY need to check this out. Click on “Panorama” then “google maps” and then be prepared to be amazed! You will see the inside of the church. https://zabytek.pl/en/obiekty/tomaszow-lubelski-zespol-kosciola-par-pw-zwiastowania-nmp There are links to more information on the Facebook page.

Antoni Raczkiewicz Marries Marianna Grabek (Anthony Raczkiewicz's Grandparents)

Today is the anniversary of Antoni Raczkiewicz and Marianna Grabek. They were my 2x great grandparents. On 16 November 1862, Antoni Raczkiewicz and Marianna Grabek were wed in Tomaszow Lubelski. Antoni was a 20 year old peasant farmer working in Sabaudia who had been born in nearby Majdan Gorny. Twenty year old Marianna was born in Majdan Gorny. The parents of the groom were Michal Raczkiewicz and Anna nee Dominik from Sabaudia who worked as peasant farmers. Antoni was the 11th of 13 children born to their family. The parents of the bride were Lukasz Grabek and Katarzyna Krawczyk and they were also peasant farmers. Antoni’s older brother Marcin Raczkiewicz, 40, was one of the witnesses. The second one was Jakub Herda, 45, a peasant farmer from Gorno, who was married to Antoni’s older sister Marianna. # 66/1862. . . The marriage proceeded after the release of 3 banns on November 2, 9, and 16 in the parish church in Tomaszów. They received their parents’ verbal permission to the wedding and didn't sign the prenuptial agreement. This record was then read to them and signed by the priest only since they were illiterate. Signature of ... Felix Kwiatkowski.(priest)

New Found Relative: Mike Liszewski

I sent a note through Ancestry to a DNA match March 18, 2020 and his wife Connie Liszewski responded about a month later. I found out that her husband MIke grew up in Grand Rapids. Since MIke’s grandmother was a Kurkiewicz, I learned how to pronounce the name of my 2x great grandmother Paulina Kurkiewicz. (“Ker-kev-itch”--or is it is “ker-kiv-itch”????) She had worked on alot of genealogy but didn’t have alot of information about the side we are connected. We compared notes and found the connection. Her sister-in-law has done research and that was very helpful. Mike is my 3rd cousin, 1x removed. My 3rd great grandparents Jozef Kurkiewicz and Ewa Wisniowska are his 2x great grandparents. Ignatious was their son who had Mike’s family line. Paulina was their daughter (who married Jozef Kaszucka) to have my family line. We are 1x removed from each other because they are my 3x great grandparents and his 2x great grandparents. We are only about 10 years apart. I have also noticed a lot of overlapping of generations. One couple might have children for 20 to 25 years. Their oldest children start having their first children and they are having their last children. Connie is a great family tree researcher and we work together all the time. We ask for translations for many of our shared relatives and then have the opportunity to compare notes when things are confusing--which they often are! We have to figure out which record might be the right one since so many of the names are common so there can be many people with the same name--who may be cousins and may be born in the same year. We might try to find out who someone’s parents are and be disappointed that the record did not list the mother’s “maiden” name. Then we might decide to find a sibling and see if we can get the name. It has been fun learning about our relatives and Poland together. Maybe a trip to Poland in a few years is in our future?

Katarzyna Kaszucka & Jan Raczkiewicz Married Today in 1885

On November 15 (Gregorian calendar) or November 3 (Julian calendar) 1885, Katarzyna Kaszucka and Jan Raczkiewicz were wed in Tomaszow. Katarzyna was born in the town of Tomaszow while Jan was born in the nearby rural, agricultural area of Sabaudia. While the wedding record indicates Katarzyna’s age as 16 when she married 21 year old Jan Raczkiewicz, she was actually only 14 and a half years old when you look at her birth record. Parents of the bride were Jozef Kaszucki and Paulina nee Kurkiewicz. Her father was a burgher in the town of Tomaszow Lubelski at this point so must have had more money and standing in the community. They worked as furriers. Parents of the groom were Antoni Raczkiewicz and Marianna nee Grabek. Jan’s parents had been born and raised as peasants in Majdan Gorny and were peasants in Sabaudia at this time. His family had been peasant farmers in Majdan Gorney for at least four generations back that I could trace to the 1750s. Majdan Gorney is a small village about four miles east of Tomaszow and Sabaudia is an even smaller village about five miles north of Tomaszow. Witnesses were her father Jozef Kaszucki, 50, a burgher in the town of Tomaszow and Jan Skurcz, 50, a farmer in the village of Sabaudia. They must have then lived in Sabaudia because their nine children were born there--including my grandfather, Antoni Raczkiewicz.

Julian & Gregorian Calendars

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my grandfather’s parents’ wedding. The translated record starts out, “ It happened in town Tomaszów(Tomaszów Lubelski) on day November 3/15.1885.” You will notice that there are two dates listed-- one in the Julian calendar and the other in the Gregorian calendar. The Julian calendar was used by the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church. All birth, marriages and deaths were registered by the churches. During the time period of 1868 to 1917 because Russians had control of the area in which my ancestors lived, the priests were required to write the records in Russian. During the time that Poland was occupied by Russia, the use of Polish in the schools and in civil records was prohibited. Poland (and the rest of Europe) had previously been using the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar in use worldwide today. After 1917 the records were written in Polish and the use of the Gregorian calendar was resumed. So when there are two dates listed, the second one is the one that would fit our calendar currently.

New Found Relatives: Nezwek

Since it was recently Anthony Raczkiewicz’s birthday, I wanted to share a little about how I learned more about relationships in his and my family by connecting with people I didn’t know before as I work on the family tree. I previously mentioned Curt Wolf, who is my 4th cousin and knew some of Eileen Raczkiewicz’ relatives. Curt Wolf Niedzwicki in his family tree. There are LOTS of spellings of this last name: Niedezwicki, Niedwicki, Nezwek, Nedwid and many more. I remembered that my cousins Eileen and Yvonne Raczkiewicz had an Uncle Andy with this last name. He married their mother Ceceilia’s sister Martha. It turns out that Curt was in contact with Andy's son Thomas Nezwek who is his first cousin 1x removed for some genealogy information. Thomas Nezwek is also Eileen and Yvonne’s first cousin 1 time removed. How does that all work? The common relatives are Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea Wiciejewska, my 3x great grandparents. Their son Josef married Paulina Kurkiewicz (and their daughter was Katarzyna--Grandpa Anthony’s mother.) Their daughter Julianna married Grzegorz Niedzwied. They had 11 children: their son Jozef married Paulina Eifler and one of their children was Andrew (“Uncle Andy”) who is the father of Thomas and his siblings. Jozef and his wife also had daughter Zuzanna who is the grandmother of Curt Wolf. Another sibling Alex was a displaced person back in Poland.

Here is information about him from Curt Wolf: “Alex Jr and Anna Medwid Alex Jr was from Pieniany, a village 12 miles northeast of Tomaszow Lubelski. It was closer to what is now the Ukrainian border. (The border formed when Ukraine declared its independence in 1917.) He may have lived in Tomaszow Lubelski also given some of his US documents or this was just referring to the general area he was from. His wife Anna Farysej Medwid was born in another little town literally on the Polish side of today’s Ukrainian border called Korczmyn. If anyone would have more Ukrainian blood in their family, it would be Anna because the Niedzwiedzki side is more Polish. But both of Alex and Anna had a lot of Ukrainian cultural influence by attending a Ukrainian Orthodox and Ukrainian Catholic church in Poland and the US. Their lives would be upended during World War 2 when the Germans invaded and took them individually, for they had not met yet, to Germany. It was common for the German army to do this in order to help with work on the home front since so many of their men were out fighting. Towards the end of the war both the Germans and the US Army were marching toward the area where Anna lived. Who would get there first? The owner of the Inn told her, “The German army is coming tomorrow, and they are sending the people from Ukraine to concentration camps. If they come, you must go and hide in a certain place in town. If you get shot, its ok because you will die in the concentration camps anyway!” The next day the Americans got there first. This was kind of a miracle because the Americans had a 25 mile march the day and night before then. If they stopped for the night, the Germans would have gotten there first. Instead, they liberated the town! Hooray! After this, both ended up in what was a called Displaced Person’s Camp about 23 miles from Frankfurt in a camp named after the town Aschaffenburg. http://www.dpcamps.org/aschaffenburg.html These camps were different from a Concentration Camp. Although they had Jews there, they were mainly for the millions of people in Europe that were displaced because of the war. It was the job of the camp to care for basic needs while helping people either get back to their homeland or placed in another country. The camps were self-governed, had schools and other cultural activities. The bright spot in all of this was that Alex and Anna met each other at, got married and had Eugenia or Jean who lives in Spring Lake. Because great grandmother Pauline stayed with Alexander’s family during the time Josef was gone in America with Grandma Susan, she helped Alex Jr and Anna come to America. The Tomaszow area was so ravaged by the war and Communist Russia influence many people in their shoes did not return home.”

New Found Relative: Tomasz Raczkiewicz, an Opera Singer in Poznan, Poland

I have connected with a relative in Polish and he is an opera singer and actor! When Curt Wolf was sharing some information he had learned, he promised to forward a letter from someone he had connected with related to his trip. When Curt was on his way to Poland, he sent Facebook messages to people with the same last names as those that were in his family tree. He was amazed when he dug out the letter he promised to see if was from a Raczkiewicz since he knew that was the name of my grandfather. We quickly determined that Tomasz Raczkiewicz was the grandson of Boleslaw, one of Anthony’s (my grandfather) brothers. I was amazed to have confirmation of one of the siblings who stayed in Poland and also to find a living descendant who is still in Poland. Tomasz is actually my second cousin. To give an example in the language of levels of cousins, Sandy Spruit is my 1rst cousin and her children--John, Colette, Rachel and Heather--are my 1rst cousins, one time removed. I sent him a message and here is part of the response: “I am very happy to hear from you. My grandfather Bolesław is really your grandfather's brother. He lived in Sabaudia and died in a hospital in Tomaszów Lubelski at the age of 97. He is buried in the cemetery in Tomaszów Lubelski. He was a locksmith by profession, but worked most of his life as a farmer. He had two sons - the elder Eugeniusz, an engineer, and my father Mieczysław, who was a doctor of infectious diseases. My mother, Stanisława, worked with people with intellectual disabilities for most of her life and created several learning, care and work centers for them.” He let me know he is 47 years old, lives in Poznań and is an opera singer and actor by profession. http://raczkiewicz.com/ He has two brothers--Marcin died four years ago and Jacek, who is an IT specialist in Stockholm (who lived and worked in Boston for several years.) His sister Magdalena is a psychologist near Warsaw. He is raising three children--a boy and two girls. Tomasz knew about Marion who came to the US but did not know about Anthony or his brother Jan. Since our initial contact October 2, 2020 we have had the chance to “chat” on Facebook. Of course, we need to translate because he speaks and writes only in Polish and I speak and read only in English. Apparently one of his daughters can also translate for him. More information on the operas--check out the one he is in about hunting in Poland: https://www.facebook.com/zmuzykadoludzi/?ref=page_internal https://www.facebook.com/zmuzykadoludzi/

Anthony Raczkiewicz Jr. is Born (Uncle Tony!)

My “Uncle Tony,” Anthony Raczkiewicz Jr was born Nov. 11, 1925 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He went by the nicknames “Junior” or “Jinky.” He went to St. Adalbert School when he was young. He attended Union high school, where he was a cheerleader. Anthony graduated in 1943 and served in the Navy. He attended Grand Rapids Junior College and received an Associate degree. He married Cecilia Zalewski July 1949 at Sacred Heart Church. Both of them worked at St. Mary’s Hospital, Anthony as a credit manager and Cecilia as a registered surgical nurse. After 10 years he moved to American Seating as a production control analyst. For many of the early years of their marriage, Anthony Jr. and Cecilia were next door neighbors with his sister and her husband, John and Lorraine Dykstra on Pine Street. Another neighbor, Richard Szymanski, was a lifelong friend. Their daughter Yvonne was born in May 1953 and Eileen was born in June 1956. I remember a lot of Sunday visits at either their home or ours and seeing them often for holidays at our grandparent’s house. I thought it was cool that he bought a new car every few years. He had a lot of energy and walked and talked fast. I have enjoyed sharing the family history I am learning with his daughter Eileen. We have been amazed by some of the stories. I have learned things that I ignored as a child--like what her parents did for a living and other simple things like that.

New Found Relative: Curt Wolf

On September 21, 2020 I finally sent a message to Curt Wolf on the Ancestry website. I had found hints from his tree on Ancestry, which I am a paid member and on My Heritage, which I had limited access to since I am not a paid member. I had not reached out until this point because I didn’t have enough information in my tree. It turns out we are related--4th cousins. He was born in Grand Rapids and lived here with his family for a while. Our common ancestors are Andrzej Kaszuckii (1799-1861) and Salomea Wiciejewska (1804-1877) --my 3rd great grandparents. Their son Jozef Kaszucki had Katarzyna Kaszucki,my great grandmother . Their daughter Julianna Kaszucka had Jozef Niedzwicki), Curt’s great grandfather. Jozef and his wife Paulina nee Eifler were married in 1906 in Tomaszow and came to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1910, the same year Anthony’s older brother Jan arrived and a few years before Anthony arrived in 1912. Jozef and Paulina are buried in Holy Cross Cemetery. His mother Lucille (Krezewski) Wolf passed away in May of this year Curt did missionary work with his wife for a year in Moldova and was able to visit Poland. He has done extensive genealogy work and has hired a genealogist. He was able to visit Tomaszow with a translator and hear family stories from a distant relative and see where they lived. He shared his tree with me along with lots of information he had found. I hope to share some of that information when it fits into our family’s story.

Sabaudia: Birthplace of Anthony Raczkiewicz

Some of the first clues as to which part of Poland our family is from came from immigration lists of departures and arrivals. For example, Anthony’s older brother John listed birth place as Zabaldy, Poland. I looked on maps to try to find it so I could find parish records to learn more about births, marriages and deaths in the family. There was no area with this name. When I did my original post on a Polish Genealogy facebook page, someone was able to figure out it was Sabuadia. It would sound like “Zabaldy” when said to the person taking the information for the ship manifest. “Sabaudia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Tomaszów Lubelski, within Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland.” It is about two miles northeast of the city of Tomaszow. There are currently 600 people living there. The Wikipedia link is on the Facebook Page Polish Family History It appears that the Anthony, his father and his grandparents on one branch of the family tree all were born and lived in Sabaudia. The generation before had moved from Majdan Gorny, a few miles away. They were peasant farmers in both locations. If you look for information on the area on the internet, there isn’t much to find. It is very agricultural and rural still. Here is a link to the current area. If you switch to satellite view and zoom in, you can see that the area is still very agricultural. If you click on the picture on the lower left, you can get street view and look up and down the street. There is a little shrine of some sort at the intersection. The Google map link is on the Facebook Page Polish Family History.

Jan Raczkiewicz, my Great Grandfather, is Born

Jan Raszkiewicz was born on 7th November 1864 in Sabaudia, Poland at 8 o'clock in the morning. His father was Antoni Raszkiewicz, 23, a peasant farmer and his mother was Maryanna née Grabek, 20. They were living in Sabaudia, a small community a few miles outside of the town of Tomaszow Lubelski. The witnesses who helped report the birth were Jakób Herda, 32 and Jan Skorcz, 30 , peasant farmers from the same area. Jakub was the father’s brother-in-law. Jan was baptised the next day and his Godparents were Jakób Herda and Magdalena Bendrowa. During this time period, many of the family records have their last name spelled Raszkiewicz (with an “s”) rather than Raczkiewicz (with a “c.”) His birth record is #280 on the upper left hand side of the attached scan. The first two words on the third line say “Antoni Raszkiewicz” and the phrase before the name “stawil sie” means “he appeared.” The father is usually listed first in the record. If you look on the fourth line, you may be able to make out “Jakub Herda” and on the fifth line “Jan Skorcz.” They all happen to be right below each other.

Top Ten Names In Poland

When I found out my Grandfather Anthony Raczkiewicz’s mother’s name was Katarzyna, I thought it was such a unique name. I didn’t know it was Katherine in English or how popular it was as a name in Poland. That got me interested in Polish first names. Here are current popular names and how often they show up in my direct descendants. TOP BOY’S NAMES IN POLAND Piotr - Peter. (Greek, means rock). Krzysztof - Christopher (Means carrying Christ within.) Andrzej- Andrew. (Greek, means being brave.) Andrzej Kaszucki ( 3x great grandfather) Jan - John (Hebrew, means enjoying God’s grace) Jan Raczkiewicz (great grandfather) Jan Raczkiewicz (4x great grandfather) Stanisław - Stanley. (Slavic, means the one with a beautiful estate) TOP GIRL”S NAMES IN POLAND Anna - Ana, Ania, Anja, Anya, Hanna, Hannah (Hebrew, means grace) Anna Dominik (3x great grandmother) Maria - Mary, Mariam, Miriam, Mia (Hebrew, means filled with joy or beloved by god) Marianna Grabek (2x great grandmother) Marianna Metalska ( 4x great grandmother) Marianna Kiszczynska (4x great grandmother) Maianna Kalinowska (5x great grandmother) Katarzyna - Catherine, Polish nickname is Kasia (Greek, means pure, spotless, virgin) Katarzyna Kaszucka (great grandmother) Katarzyna Krawczyk ( 3x great grandmother) Katarzyna (last name unknown) 5x great grandmother) Małgorzata - Margaret. Nickname Gosia (Greek means pearl) Agnieszka - Agnes (Greek means cleanliness, holiness) Agnieszka Szszesnicka (4x great grandmother) Agnieska Plebanska (5x great grandmother) Other popular names with the direct descendents: Anthony-4 Lukasz-3 Michal-2 Others: Jozef, Tomasz, Grzegorz, Maciej, Blazej, Mateusz, Marcin, Jakub, Franciszek Apolonia-2 Others: Salomea, Ewa, Regina, Teresa, Dorota, Agata, Justyna, Franciszka https://polishshirtstore.com/blogs/blog/top-10-common-polish-first-names?fbclid=IwAR1_FJUJxJ9q0WKmUtIz_ndADHJow1yNHdLwNmg93EQDmIZ6VvDDgkySUgU

Grandpa's Sweet Tooth and other Memories

Candy store, George C Bratt 1921 The Grandpa of my memory is hard to reconcile with the Grandpa I am discovering through researching family history. My memories are of a man who spoke little English, who made me feel like I was his favorite and layed on the couch or sat on the front porch, spitting out chewing tobacco into a coffee can. He proudly tended his roses and made sure his yard never had dandelions. Anthony had a sweet tooth and a favorite holiday gift to give him were chocolate covered cherries. He would give grandchildren Paulette (me), Linda and Lori a quarter each to get lots of penny candy at the candy store around the corner on Bridge Street. He would walk us to the American Bakery for sour cream cookies, paczki, and rye bread. The Grandpa of the past left a country with conflict and lack of opportunities, endured a journey that lasted for months, made his way to a city where he married and had children and lost them both, then married again and had more children. He worked in a tannery, an unskilled job like many of the other Polish immigrants. For a short time, he ran a “game room,” making $100 a day. My interest in genealogy is an attempt to understand that young man, who I never really knew.

Salomea Kiszczynska (2nd cousin 4x Removed) is Born

Salomea Kiszczynska was born on November 4, 1856, in Zawadki, Lubelskie, Poland, which is about 30 miles from the city of Tomaszow Lubelskie Poland. Her parents were Teofil and Wawrzyniec (or Lawrence.) Lawrence was a barkeeper and the two witnesses to her birth were peasant farmers from their town. Her mother died when she was 14. She married Jakub Petryna on September 20, 1874, in Tomaszów Lubelski, Lubelskie, Poland when she was 17 years old. Jakub was born to a single mother, who was deceased when he got married. They had two children during their marriage, Antonina and Rozalia. Antonina married Kazmierez Syzmanski. Kazmierez is the grandfather of one of my DNA matches on Ancestry. When checking my DNA matches on Ancestry, there were very few matches to people related to Anthony Raczkiewicz. The matches I have also share low amounts of DNA with me, meaning they are not closely related. Some currently lived in Grand Rapids or had in the past so I was intrigued to find out more about them. In order to do that, I needed to build my family tree back farther and wider. Salomea Kisczynska is a good example. She is my 2nd cousin four times removed. “Removed” refers to the number of generations of separations between Salomea and me. My fifth great grandparent-- Jakub Wiciejewski and Agnieszka nee Plebanska--are her great grandparents. I had her in my tree because I included siblings of each generation as much as I could. This helped when looking at my DNA matches. One DNA match in particular was helpful. She lives in Grand Rapids and her family tree was open for me to view. I discovered that we had a mutual person on our family tree--Salomea Kisczynska. Her name is Patrice (Szymanski) Shay and she is my 5th cousin 1x removed. We corresponded and she shared some information which helped me with her “branch.” It was very satisfying to figure out this first connection!

Unnamed Infant Raczkiewicz Dies November 4, 1920

On this day, an unnamed Raczkiewicz infant passed away in 1920, in Grand Rapids, Michigan and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Grand Rapids, Michigan. This Polish cemetery near Walker St. and Richmond is 100 acres large and was founded in 1909. Its name was changed in 1947 from Polish Catholic Cemetery to Holy Cross Cemetery. "The Rise and Fall of the GR Polonia"

Halls & Aid Societies in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Anthony was a member of St. Hyacinth, Polish Falcon Society and Polish National Alliance Society. Card parties, weddings, concerts, dances and beer drinking were common activities were popular ways for people from Poland to socialize together. Grand Rapids had forty or fifty “halls” owned by private societies of different immigrant groups. There were more Polish ones than any other nationality and there were eight Polish ones on the West side. They served many positive purposes such as a place to meet and socialize including wedding receptions, parties and other celebrations. They provided the fundraising to open parishes such as St. Adalbert and Sacred Heart. Some paid sick and death benefits, some were patriotic or religious, cooperating with the local parish. Some offered citizenship and language classes. They all had a bar and were allowed to serve liquor to members after paying a federal liquor tax. Some negative factors arose such as isolation instead of assimilation and scandals from inebriation and fighting. ("What Elimination of the Liquor Traffic Means to Grand Rapids" by Winthrop D. Lane, The Survey, November, 6 1920 and ,The Rise and Fall of the Grand Rapids Polonia.)

Some Local Halls: St. Hyacinth, corner of Ninth and Muskeon, 1886, McReynolds & Fourth St., 1908, war bonds, clothing drives, Polish Falcon Society 957 Fulton St. Polish National Alliance Society (Jacksont St., west of Lane Ave., 1878, active in Poland liberation, war bonds, political causes Polish St. Adalbert Casino, NW corner of Fifth and Davis (1872)., built parish, American & Polish patriotic causes West St. Side Knights of St. Casimir Hall, NE corner of Sixth and Davis (1895) . St. Hedwig's Hall, NE corner of Fourth and McReynolds (1904). Liquidated in 1970s. Presently a union hall (American Seating Company) . Taxpayers Hall, First Street, just east of Stocking, was burned out and the society liquidated. Originally built for Deutsche Landwehr Unterstutzungs Verein - German Army Benevolent Society. Polish Veterans Hall, Bridge Street east of Fremont, liquidated in 1982 and sold. Swantek Hall, a privately owned facility on Stocking at Second Street. Operation ceased long ago and building razed Sacred Heart & St. Joseph Societies (Gunnison and Park Ave.) 1909 St. Casimir Society 1884, purpose was liberation of Poland ("What Elimination of the Liquor Traffic Means to Grand Rapids" by Winthrop D. Lane, The Survey, November, 6 1920 and ,The Rise and Fall of the Grand Rapids Polonia. “Polish Societies In Grand Rapids, Michigan, Edward Symanski, Polish American Studies, Vol. 21, No. 2, pp 91-106)

Places Anthony Raczkiewicz Lived in the Westside of Grand Rapids, Michigan

After his arrival in Michigan on October 4, 1912, Anthony lived in various houses on the westside of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I couldn’t determine where he was for the first year. By 1914 he shows up in the Polk Directory. Living with his brother John at 122 Winter Ave. NW and brother Joseph was at 946 Dayton. In 1915, Anthony was still on Winter and John had moved to 255 Olive Avenue and there is no note on Joseph. In 1917, Anthony and his first wife Klementyna (nee Golebiowska) lived at 319 Seward Ave.NW. When he and his brothers registered for the World War I draft on June 5, 1917, he still lived at 319 Seward. Brothers Joseph John “Jan” Raczkiewicz lived at 327 Gunnison NW, with Jan’s wife Frances. In 1918, Anthony and Klementona lived at 450 Third St. NW. In 1921, Anthony lived with second wife Pauline (my grandmother) at 208 Lexington NW. John and Joseph lived at 315 Gunnison. By 1924, Anthony and Pauline lived at 503 Milwaukee Avenue. Beginning in 1925, their address was 501 Milwaukee Ave. NW. 503 and 501 are on the same property but there was an apartment upstairs and a small house behind them. In the 1930 census, it shows the Raczkiewicz family (with oldest two children Lorraine and Anthony Jr.) still lived at 501 Milwaukee NW. Renters upstairs were John and Pauline Kunecki and children Roman, Celia and Elaine. Anthony’s brother Joseph lived with them. Pauline’s 61 year old father, Walter S, Skrobat, also was living with them instead of at his home in Oil City Pennsylvania. Living nearby (in their little house) at 503 Milwaukee Ave NW was Pauline’s sister, Victoria Palczewski, husband Frank and daughter Lillian. They still lived on Milwaukee Ave,. when my mother Shirley was born in 1936. It was common for Polish immigrants to take in boarders both to help out the immigrants and as a source of income. (Information from “The Poles, the Dutch and the Furniture Strike of 1911”, Mary Patrice Erdmans, Polish American Studies, Vol. 62, No. 2 (Autumn, 2005), pp. 5-22) Shirley says that when she was a teenager, that she often stayed with her older sister Lorraine because the house was crowded. Anthony’s brother Joseph lived with them her whole life. In the 1940 census, Anthony and Pauline and their four children were still at 501 Second St. NW. and the house was worth $3,000. The Home Owners Loan Association looked at the prospects of almost 250 metropolitan areas and rated the areas on a scale of A through D. The houses in the area where their house was located were rated D. “The Fourth Grade or D areas represent those neighborhoods . . . characterized by detrimental influences to a pronounced degree, undesirable population or an infiltration of it. Low percentage of homeownership, very poor maintenance, and often vandalism prevail. Unstable incomes of the people and difficult collections are usually prevalent. The areas are broader than the so-called neighborhoods and others will lend only on a conservative basis.” Loans were still possible in a D area but different servicing was required. In 1942, Anthony registered for the World War II draft. He still lived at 501 Milwaukee Ave. N.W. Various Polk Directories give the same address for additional years. They lived on Milwaukee for approximately 37 years until a demolition order came through (05/23/62 1153 OK Wrecking) because of a highway being built. US196, between the Lane St. exit and US 131 was being built through in their neighborhood, splitting the west side of Grand Rapids. They moved to 827 Douglas NW and son Ron and his wife Pam had to move out of the little house in the back and buy their first house. Anthony was proud of his rose garden in the backyard. The house was built in 1920 and was sold in 1990 and 1992 for $48,000. In 2020, the house is a rental--three apartments total, not looking great on the outside but fixed up on the inside for student rentals for the nearby Grand Valley State University.