Family Party 2011

The 2011 party was hosted by me--Paulette Longwell.

2002 Christmas Party

Here are a few pictures from the family party in 2002 (I think.) That year Bob and Colette Beitel hosted.

Jozef Kurkiewicz (my 3x great grandfather) Dies December 30, 1874

On December 30 in 1874, the death of Jozef Kurkiewicz (my 3x great grandfather) was recorded in Tomaszów Lubelski. He died the day before. The declarants were Jan Kamiński, age 45, and Walenty Lisikiewicz,age 28, both farmers from Tomaszów Lubelski. Because records were recorded in Russian at this time, two dates were given -- December 30 and December 18. December 18 was from the Julian calendar, in use by Russia. The December 30 date is from the Gregorian calendar which Poland had been using and went back to using after 1917. It is the most commonly used calendar in the world. The difference between the Gregorian and Julian Calendars in the 19th century is 12 days. Jozef was 60 years old when he died. He left behind a widowed wife, Ewa née Wiśniewska (my 3x great grandmother. Ewa had previously been married to Wincenty Rachnski. Jozef was was a shoemaker and a farmer like his father Anthony Kurkiewicz. His mother was Marjanna Kiszczyńska, Together Jozef and Ewa had at least six children. Their oldest child Paulina (b. 1838) is my 2x great grandmother. Their youngest child Ignatious (b. 1851) is the 2x great grandfather of Mike Liszewski. I “found” Mike as a DNA match on Ancestry and now collaborate regularly with his wife Connie. Like me, Mike was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

My Dad Helps Santa Claus!

My Dad helped Santa Claus and delighted my sister and later she passed on the favor. Helping others was part of my Dad’s (Roy Longwell) life like the snowy day that he helped Santa Claus. He was always bringing home stray dogs or finding other ways to help. On the way home from Mass at St. Adalbert’s on Christmas morning, the whole family saw a dejected Santa on the side of the road with a flat tire. We were almost home and Santa was by the side of the road near the intersection of Walker and Leonard streets. After helping Santa, Roy graciously invited him to swing by our nearby house where his youngest daughter Lori was home sick. What a surprise for her when Santa came in the door! Lori was able to return the favor many years later in Cancun, Mexico. We were there for her marriage to Tom Peterson. My son Thomas was the ring bearer. We were in our hotel room while some of the wedding party were still enjoying various festivities. There was a knock on the door and instead of Santa, Thomas was greeted by Slyvester the Cat. Thomas’ favorite stuffed animal at that age was Slyvester. Needless to say, Thomas was surprised and delighted!

I told you that my 3rd great uncle Jan Raszkiewicz was born in Górno. It was hard at first for me to determine if Majdan Górny. and Górno, were two different places or the same place since the two names are similar. It turns out that they are 1.7 miles apart. Majdan Górny is four miles east of Tomaszow Lubelski. Górno [ˈɡurnɔ] is a village in the district of Gmina Tomaszów Lubelski, within Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is two miles north of Tomaszów Lubelski On this map you can see where Górno and Majdan Górny (and Sabaudia) are in relation to each other and to the city of Tomaszow Lubelski. https://www.fajnewczasy.pl/mapa/gorno_2 Majdan Górny has 1,300 people living there now. The village of Majdan Górny was founded at the beginning of the 18th century and takes its name from Górno Górno has 130 people living there currently. There is more than one Górno in Poland. The correct one is the one in the gmina (or administrative district) in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Check out the area on this short video. It is in Polish but you can still see the countryside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdR4cfTocd0 It appears that six of the eight 4x great grandparents on Anthony Rackziewicz’ father’s side originated from one of these two villages. For example, in 1812 WalentyGrabek, (my 4x great grandfather) died in Gorno in house #11 at age 44. In 1824, when Jan Raszkiewicz was born in his grandfather Tomasz Dominik’s(my 4x great grandfather) house #100 in Górno, his parents Michal Raszkiewicz and Anna nee Dominik (3x great grandparents) were living there. Michal was born in Sabuadia but moved to Górno when he got married.

Happy Holidays from Tomasz Raczkiewicz!

Wesołych Świąt dla Ciebie i całej Familii. Happy Holidays to you and the whole family. Tomasz Raczkiewicz (my 2nd cousin) is in Tomaszow Lubelski for a three day visit to his parent’s home. He sent me pictures of their Christmas Eve meal and a video of the snow from the yard which he gave me permission to share. His parents are Mieczyslaw and Stanislawa. Mieczyslaw is Anthony Raczkiewicz’ (my grandfather) nephew. I believe his father is a physician and his mother worked to start schools and homes for people with disabilities. Tomasz is 47 years old, lives in Poznań and is an opera singer and actor by profession. He works at the Grand Theater in Poznań and other theaters. He is divorced and his fiance Rozalia is in the picture. He has three children who live with him. Jakub, 21, is a computer science student and twin daughters, Anna and Maryna, 19, graduated from high school this year. His children know English well but also speak French and German. Because of the time difference, Tomasz’ greeting through Facebook Messenger was at 5:00 a.m. while I was sleeping. I responded a little after 7:00 a.m. and we had a nice conversation back and forth. Unfortunately, Messenger does not automatically translate so I had to cut and paste what he was saying into Google translate. All of a sudden, he had to go -- he was at the hospital and Rozalia has a broken leg! I was sorry to hear there was a mishap during their festivities but grateful that he had reached out to share their Christmas. More family pictures at Polish Family History Facebook page.

Górno

I told that my 3rd great uncle Jan Raszkiewicz was born in Górno. It was hard at first for me to determine if Majdan Górny. and Górno, were two different places or the same place since the two names are similar. It turns out that they are 1.7 miles apart. Majdan Górny is four miles east of Tomaszow Lubelski. Górno [ˈɡurnɔ] is a village in the district of Gmina Tomaszów Lubelski, within Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is two miles north of Tomaszów Lubelski. On this map you can see where Górno and Majdan Górny (and Sabaudia) are in relation to each other and to the city of Tomaszow Lubelski. (The active link is on My Polish History FB page) https://www.fajnewczasy.pl/mapa/gorno_2 Majdan Górny has 1,300 people living there now. The village of Majdan Górny was founded at the beginning of the 18th century and takes its name from Górno Górno has 130 people living there currently. There is more than one Górno in Poland. The correct one is the one in the gmina (or administrative district) in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Check out the area on this short video. It is in Polish but you can still see the countryside. (The active link is at My Polish History on FB.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdR4cfTocd0 It appears that six of the eight 4x great grandparents on Anthony Rackziewicz’ father’s side originated from one of these two villages. For example, in 1812 WalentyGrabek, (my 4x great grandfather) died in Gorno in house #11 at age 44. In 1824, when Jan Raszkiewicz was born in his grandfather Tomasz Dominik’s(my 4x great grandfather) house #100 in Górno, his parents Michal Raszkiewicz and Anna nee Dominik (3x great grandparents) were living there. Michal was born in Sabuadia but moved to Górno when he got married.

Jan Raszkiewicz (3rd great uncle) is born

On December 26 in 1824, Michal Raszkiewicz and Anna nee Dominik (my 3x great grandparents) had their first born and named him Jan. He was the first of their seven children. He was born at 8:00 in the evening. The witnesses who reported it the next day were Stanislaw Dominik, 35 (Anna’s brother) and Kazimierz Mazur, 27. Like the father, they were all peasant farmers from Górno. Jan was born in his grandfather Tomasz Raczkiewicz’ house, which was Number 100 in Górno. His parents had just married earlier that same year--January 17. Michal was 19 years old and Anna was 18. His sibling Antoni (my 2x great grandfather) wasn’t born until 18 years later in 1842 -- when Jan was 18. Their mother had another child eight years later in 1850. Antoni was two years old when Jan was married.

Christmas cookies

Every year my Mom (Shirley Longwell) bakes cookies for Christmas. Some of her favorites to make are classic spritz cookies (using a cookie press), magic bars, a Dutch Banket recipe she got from a neighbor, Dutch sand cookies and meringue cookies. She usually has cut out a new recipe from a magazine or the newspaper to add to the collection. It is usually a multiple day operation with her having help from various people. For years, that help was me and my son Thomas but it has included other family members. This year she made cookies with granddaughter Marissa. Her recipe for meringue cookies: 2 egg whites ⅛ teaspoon salt ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar 1 teaspoon vanilla ¾ cup sugar 1 6-ounce bag of chocolate chips. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold in the other ingredients slowly. Bake on parchment paper on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes. These cookies will not turn out if made on a humid day.

Wigilia (Polish pronunciation: [viˈɡilʲa])

Wigilia happens on Christmas Eve in Poland. It comes from the Latin word “vigil” and is a feast after abstinence. The feast begins once the First Star is seen in the sky. The Christmas tree is decorated. The table is set with a place setting for a stranger which is a symbol of hospitality. The “Christmas wafer” opłatek is shared and is a symbol of daily bread. When it is shared, blessings for health, and happiness to each other are shared. Twelve separate dishes are served to represent the 12 Apostles. Soup was served first such as Borscht, mushroom, sour rye, which I have never had. Pickled herring would be next. I know my Dad would sometimes eat herring but I don’t think the rest of us were interested. The main course would be fish. Fish is served instead of red meat because abstinence from meat is required. Some of the other foods possibly served are familiar foods from my Grandparent’s house: gołąbki (cabbage rolls), kluski, pierogi (filled with cheese and potatoes), Challah bread and sauerkraut. Others I have never had such as herring, carp, cabbage-apple salad, and dried fruit compote, I remember bread or cakes with poppy seeds but I am not sure if they were made or bought from American Bakery. Some examples are babka and makowiec. While we did not celebrate this way as I was growing up, my Mom (Shirley Longwell) remembers going as a young girl with her parents to some one’s house on Lexington St. and that there were many dishes served.) Did your family celebrate in this way?

Maciej Wiciejewski (4x great grandfather) dies 23 December

Maciej Wiciejewski (my 4x great grandfather) died in Tomaszów Lubelski on 23rd December 1839 at 4 o'clock in the evening, He was 76 years old and had been a 'Garncasz ' (potter.) He was the son of Jakób and Maryanna Wiciejewski who were also potters. He was born in Tomaszów Lubelski. He left behind a widowed wife Maryanna née Metelski (my 4x great grandmother.) On the next day (Christmas Eve), two declarants, Grzegorz Nazareswicz, 51 and Łukasz Nazareswicz , 41 both blacksmiths in Tomaszów verified his death for the officials. I do not know who they were. Here is a little of his story. In 1817, he was a witness for his sister Katarzyna’s wedding. She lived with him, since her parents were deceased. He was also a witness for the marriage of two other younger sisters. Since they were younger, it is possible, but the record doesn’t say, that they lived with him also. All three sisters married in their late 20’s. Maciej and his wife had nine children. Their oldest--Salomea-- is my 3x great grandmother. In 1824, her first born was born in house #27--her father’s house. She had been married to Andrzej Kaszucki, a furrier, the year before. Her parents had their last child--Valentine (or Walenty)--two and a half months earlier so there would have been two newborns in the house along with six of their other children. Two had died in infancy. DNA connections His sister Justyna is an ancestor of a lot of DNA matches of people with a connection to Grand Rapids. Patrice (Szymanski) Shay is one of them and she and I have connected and exchanged some information. Others are: Abbey Murphy, Maryann VanDyke, Robert Szymanski, Sonia O’Leary, Allison Clem, Kathleen Thurman and Susan Brochu-Hoshield.

Working at a Faience Factory

As I had birth, marriage and death records translated, it was interesting to note that often the occupations of the participants were noted. Many expected occupations were mentioned like shoemakers and farmers. There was one that originally tripped up the volunteer translator -- garncarz -- or potter. As more translations were done, the word faience, or a type of pottery was mentioned. I thought it was an interesting occupation and hoped to someday learn more about it. Slowly pieces came together. I learned from one new found “cousin” that Zamoyski was the name of a baron who owned the lands in the area. Then I saw something about Zamoyski starting a faience factory. I started looking more earnestly for information about Polish pottery. It seemed worthwhile to know more since two of the four 4x great grandfathers--all born in the late 1700s on my Anthony’s maternal side were potters, one was even a foreman at a faience factory. Blazej Wisniewski (and his brother-in-law Bartlomiej Szczesnicki) and Maciej Wiciejewski (and his father Jakub Wiciejewski) were all potters. A third 4x grandfather was a shoemaker but potters were witnesses at major family events so they knew them at least. The 4th of the group was a furrier Within the Lublin region in the 18th century until the mid-19th century, there were factories in four areas that were established by Polish magnates, including in Tomaszów Lubelski. They were built to compete with imported products. The factories started out making imitations but then they hired artists that created original designs. A popular color was blue. Different factories produced different products such as pottery, porcelain dishes and stoneware. In Tomaszów Lubelski, in the Zamość Estate, a faience and porcelain factory was begun in 1794 by Alexander August Zamoyski, age 24 and a ceramist, Franciszek Mezer. They established a contract where a square and buildings were signed over to the business. “The manufactory buildings were located on Lwowska Street - it was the only paved road in the city - on both sides. In the period of its greatest prosperity, 50 employees were employed here. For the first 12 years, until 1806, only earthenware was produced”. Local forests were available for the fuel and the clay was brought in from Wolowska, near Lviv, approximately 150 miles away. The local clay was useful only to produce faience, not porcelain. Faience is “fine tin-glazed pottery.” A glaze was developed that allowed for decorative painting to be added which was a major innovation in the history of pottery. It required a kiln producing temperatures above 1,830 degrees F (1,000 C.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faience In 1806, the factory began to produce porcelain and their profits increased yearly until 1809. Utensils, vases and items for pharmacy use were among the products manufactured. They were famous for their artists creating cups with pictures of famous historical and contemporary figures. The products were sold widely in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, and Moldavia. Things began to change after The Duchy of Warsaw was created in July of 1807. By October, Tomaszow Lubelski was located within the Duchy as the boundaries of the country were changed. The raw clay was now located behind a border requiring an additional border tax which added to the cost of the clay and transportation. Additionally, markets that were available for sales became unavailable. Franciszek Mezer left the company and his brother-in-law Tadewusz Zianski and son Karol became the managers. By 1810 the value of the products was further reduced and continued to decline. According to family records, Blazej Wisniewski was a foreman of a faience factory, likely this one. His father, Mateusz, was a grave digger and it looks like this was a better opportunity for Blazej. Later records indicate he was a grave digger like his father so the demise of the faience industry in Tomaszow Lubelski likely had an effect on his career. Blazej’s brother-in-law Bartlomiej Szczesnicki was also a potter and fellow potters Filip Zawalski, Jan Lisikiewicz and Stefan Okopcinski were witnesses for his marriage. Maciej Wiciejewski(4x great grandfather) and Jakub Wiciejewski, his father (5x great grandfather) were also potters and Maciej was referred to as “renowned” in an 1819 record. Maciej Glowacki was a potter who was a declarant for the birth of one of Antoni Kurkiewicz’s (another 4th great grandfather) children. By 1827, the factory was no longer in operation. A few examples of the faience and porcelain made in Tomaszow still exist in a museum in Tomaszów Lubelski, as well as a few other museums and a private collection. Check out Polish Family History for images of the location and links (they don't work in this blog.)

Winter Solstice December 21

The Winter Solstice is the day with the shortest number of hours of daylight. From now on, the days will start getting longer again. There will be 7 hours and 42 minutes of sunlight in Poland and 9 hours in Grand Rapids, Michigan today. This is considered the beginning of winter -- which is cold and snowy in Poland, like it is in Michigan. http://kidsinthecity.pl/winter-in-poland/

Family Christmas 2005

In 2005 I (Paulette) along with (then husband) Chris Komor hosted the party. An American Legion Hall that my Dad was a member of was the location for the festivities. For more pictures, check out the FB page My Polish History.

Family Christmas 2009

The party was at Lori and Tom Peterson's house. See more pictures at Polish Family History on Facebook.

Family Christmas 2008

The quality of the pictures for this year isn't very good but there are more to see on the Facebook Page Polish Family History.

Apolonia Gobebiowska (4x great grandmother) Dies Dec. 16

176 years ago, Apolonia (Gołębiowska) Raszkiewicz (my 4th great grandmother) died Monday, December 16,1844 at 6 p.m.. She left behind her husband Jan Raszkiewicz, age 66. They were peasant farmers in Majdan Górny. Her parents were Franciszek and Katarzyna Gołębiowski who also had been peasant farmers in Majdan Górny. Her parents were born in the 1750-60s and this was as far back on any of the branches I have been able to go. (I have identified 7 of the 16 couples of the 5x great grandparents.) On Wednesday, at 10am, her husband Jan andAndrzej Typek, 44, another peasant farmer, went the 4.5 miles to Tomaszów to report her death at 10 a.m.. According to her death record, she was 52 years old but according to her age in her children’s birth records, I think she was 59. The database I am using does not have her birth record from approximately 1785 since it doesn’t go back that far for this area. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist or it isn’t online. I might be able to find it someday. Apolonia and Jan lived in house #71 in Majdan Górny. Since their son Michal (my 3x great grandparent) was the oldest, he and his wife were having their first child when his mother was having her 7th. Michal and Anna lived in house #100 in Majdan Górny, the house of Tomasz Dominik, Anna's father. I think it is really cool to have house numbers from that long ago! They aren’t in very many of the records. I am currently working on having Apolonia’s other children’s records translated so I am learning about the whole family. Besides Michal (my 3x great grandfather) it looks like the other children were Jan, Katarzyna, Peter, Wojciech, Simon, Marcin, and Agnes,

Grandpa's Sister Marion Is Born

Today (December 16) in 1902, my grandfather’ Anthony's sister Marion was born in Sabaudia, Poland. It is a little village outside the city of Tomaszow Lubelski. (Her birth record is not in the database I am using but might eventually be available to me another way.) The date of her birth is in many of her records: death record, social security record, her record of immigration, her marriage record, etc. After the family had four boys, Marion was the second of two girls to be born. She had two younger brothers. Anthony was six years old when she was born. When she was ten years old, (1912) Anthony left for Canada with a final destination of Michigan in the U.S.. Eleven years later (1923) Marion left Southampton England on the ship Melita to Quebec, Canada with $30. She was 22 years old and single. She worked as a farm laborer. She had a medium complexion, fair hair and grey eyes. She could read and write. Her brother was her contact in Sabaudia, Poland and her contact in Grand Rapids, Michigan was my grandfather--her brother Anthony Raczkiewicz. (He lived at 208 Lexington NW for about two years at that time and they would be shortly moving to Milwaukee Avenue.). She traveled third class and her passage was paid for by her brother, possibly Antony. She likely stayed with her brother and his wife, my grandma Pauline for a while. By 1926, she and Frank Kufta were married by Father Casmimir Skory, the pastor of St. Adalbert Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Marion was doing factory work in Grand Rapids. Frank was a factory worker in Muskegon. He was born in Poland and immigrated in 1909. He was ten years older than Marion. Witnesses were Joseph Raczkiewicz of Grand Rapids (Anthony’s brother), and Helen Kufta, (Frank’s sister) of Muskegon By 1930, they lived on 6th St. in Muskegon, MI, and their house was worth $4,000. Frank was 37 years old, worked in an iron foundry and could speak English. Mary was 28 and could not speak English. Their children were Wanda, age 3 and Irene, age 2. By 1940, they were in the same house and it was worth only $3,000. Frank had a 6th grade education and was in the process of becoming a citizen. Mary had a 3rd grade education and was still an alien. Wanda was 13, Irene was 12 and Teresa was 4 years old. My mother (Shirley Longwell) has a memory of visiting them one time because Teresa was about her age. They may have visited more but she isn’t sure. Marion died May 30, 1984 at the age of 82 in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. Current day connections: Tomasz Raczkiewicz (my 2nd cousin who lives in Poznan, Poland) remembered his grandfather mentioned Marion and that she went to the US and married Frank. Tomasz never heard about Anthony(my Grandfather) or Joe and Jan who also went to the U.S, from his grandfather. One of Marion’s great grandchildren is a DNA match with me but I haven’t heard back from her. There is a gentleman that has Marion on his tree and I just reached out to see why. He either hasn’t done DNA or we aren’t a match. I use Ancestry but apparently many people from other countries use My Heritage so at some point I may get a subscription to that.

More Information about Uhnów

Here is some more information about the town of Uhniv or Ulanow. Of the eight sets of 4th great grandparents, one set--the Kaszucki family--originated in an area that is now in Ukraine. The town of Uhniv is situated in former Eastern Galicia, or Western Ukraine. It is on the right bank of the Solokia River, which flows eastward into the Buh River and which together with the latter carries its waters into the Vistula River and the Baltic Sea. The territory of the town, with the surrounding fields,iwas about 9 square miles in 1934 and a population of 4,212 residing in 885 dwellings. The center or the town, known as the rynok (square), is located on a plateau dominating the marshy valley of the river. The town is in the form of a rectangle, tapered in the eastern direction; this tapered part is known as the "Suburb." Four principal streets converged in the center (rynok) of the town: Rava, Belz, Kariv and Church Streets. Southeast from the square was the Ukrainian Catholic Church, toward the southwestern side the Roman Catholic Church. Between the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic Churches, there were three synagogues. The Greek Catholic Church is the church the Kaszucki family would have attended. On both sides of the square were stalls used for market days. The people engaged in trade and agriculture. The artisans were organized in guilds. The area was famous for shoemaking. In the 16th and 17th century there were only wooden buildings so there were frequent fires. Their city was also ravaged by pestilence and other calamities ,including Tartar raids. Just outside of the town there were several cemeteries: a general cemetery opposite the Greek Catholic parish house, a cemetery for cholera victims, and a 1915 military. A Jewish cemetery was behind the courthouse. There was once a monastery in the town for monks that followed the way of St. Basil. There was an Orthodox church outside the walls of the city. The immediate area is a very agricultural zone with man made irrigation canals The town itself is on the south side of the "Solokia" river ( which feeds the irrigation canals ). The railway stop was used mainly during the Soviet period for crops and grain grown in the vicinity. The area is flatlands with oak and fir trees dominating the small forests around the town. Revised and edited from: http://www.remer.org/genealogy/memorial_book/historical_summary_hivniv.html https://www.facebook.com/216532571884064/photos/odr%C4%99czna-mapa-uhnowa-wykonana-na-prze%C5%82omie-xix-i-xx-wieku-z-czym-kojarzono-uhn%C3%B3w/875667535970561/

Uhnów in Galicia Austria -Origin of 4th great grandparents Kaszucki

Yesterday I told you about Fedory and Teodor and that they were born in Ulanów. It is now in the Ukraine. It was part of Galicia owned by Austria during the time period that these records are from. The location is referred to as "Uhnev" in Ukrainian. In Polish, it is Uhnów or Ulanów. It is also known as Ugnov/Ugnuv/ UhnСw/Ugnev. Obviously due to my lack of language and history knowledge, I have no idea of the reasons for the variations. Fedor’s name is an Ukrainian form of the English name Theodore. The two similarly named brothers, along with their brother Andrzej (my 3rd great grandfather) moved to Tomaszow when they were young men, before they married. It is approximately two miles south of the present Polish/Ukraine border. It is about 30 miles to the city of Tomaszow. It looks like you have to travel south before you can connect to a road to get to Tomaszow. Google Maps says, "This route has tolls. This route crosses a country border.Your destination is in a different time zone." It was under Austria in the Province of Galicia up to 1918. My 4th great grandparents, Lukasz Kaszuki, a furrier, and Agata nee Kraczk, lived there and likely had other children that remained there. Andrzej and his brothers were born there in the 1790 to 1800 era. By 1816, one brother was marrying in Tomaszow and in 1823, Andzej was also marrying a woman from Tomaszow, in Tomaszow. I do not profess to understand the geography or the history of all this and am giving a simplified and probably not completely accurate account. During this time period, 29% of the people were of Polish origin while Ukrainians made up 70% and there were a very small number of people of German descent. Photo credit: Uhnow | historiaregionu Regionally dressed peasants in Uhnow-Rawa-Poddubce region in a photo of a 19th century painting by Zygmunt Ajdukiewicz https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10222479153154792&set=p.10222479153154792&type=3&theater

Teodor & Fedory

Learning new Polish first names has been interesting. Katarzyna is known as Catherine. Andrzej is known as Andrew. There are some names like Salomea and Malgorzata which were not really familiar to me. Another interesting thing about names is that there seems to be many babies named the same thing in a given time period. So one couple may name a baby Jakub and a few months later their cousin or brother also names a baby Jakub. Then, the same name can show up more than once in a group of siblings. It was easy to figure out to look for a death record for the first one since they probably died and another child of the same sex was named with the same name. In this story of my 3x great grandfather and his two brothers, there is an example of this happening. One of them has two sons named Antoni. This re-use of a name is not the really perplexing part of this story though. Andrzej Kaszucki (my 3rd great grandfather) made his way from Ulanów,Galicia, Austria along with two of his brothers--one a furrier like him and the other a shoemaker. His two brothers were born ten to fifteen years apart. They seem to have the same or a similar name. The older one was called Teodor/Teodry/Fedory/Fedora in the records. The younger one was called Fedora/Teodor in the records. As you can imagine, it was very confusing determining if this was one person who had married twice or if it really was two different people. One reason for the confusion in the written records is that the translators are interpreting old style cursive letters so an F and a T could be confused. That can explain different variations of the name . . . So I am not really sure if they had the same name or one was Teodor (or some variant) and one was Fedory (or some variant.) Fedor is Ukrainian and is a form of the English name Theodore. They were both born in Ulanów, which at the time was in the Ukraine Province of Lwów. Based on how often records had one name or the other, I determined the older one was probably Teodor and the younger one was probably Fedory. TODAY IN HISTORY: I am telling this story today (December 13) because this is the day Teodor Kaszucki (my 4th great uncle) died in 1862, at 11pm. He was a 70 year old widower. He was listed as a laborer but he had been a furrier, the family business for generations. He resided in Tomaszow Lubelski but he was born in Ulanów,Galicia, Austria. The witnesses said his parents were unknown, but I know from other records that they were Lukasz Kaszucki and Agata Kraczk. (my 4x great grandparents.) He and his parents were Greek Catholic. One declarant was Szymon Zolkiewski, 53, a shoemaker. His younger brother’s wife Marianna Mirowska was first married to a Zolkiewski so he was possibly her former brother-in-law. The second witness was his nephew Jozef Kaszucki (my 2x great grandfather) who was 29 and a furrier. His brother Andzej (my 3x great grandfather) died in September 1861, fifteen months before Theodore died. HIS PAST: In 1816, Teodor Kaszucki had married Teodora (“Teska”) Czyszykiewicz when they were both 23 years old. Her father also was a furrier. (An interesting side note is that I discovered that Teodora/Teodozja, who was going by the nickname “Teska” also had a change of surname. Her father Stephan changed their name from Czyszykiewicz to Panczyszak.) In 1818, their first son Antoni was born in house 225. A year later in 1819, he and his wife had a second son Antoni who was born in house #219 on Krasnobrodzki Street. At 11 months old, the second Antoni died in the house (#213) of his grandfather, Stefan Panczyszak. In 1821, they had a daughter named Marianna., born in the house of Jan Zamalski #425. (An interesting side note about this daughter is that she would later in 1839 marry Jozef Wisniowski (son of Blazej & Agnes, different 4th great grandparents of mine. This is interesting since she is from Katarzyna Kaszucka’s father’s side and he is from her mother’s side). In 1824, Teodor and Teska had a son named Maxym who was born in house #204.

2001 Family Christmas Party

My parents were the hosts for the 2001 family Christmas party. It was held at the American Legion hall in Grand Rapids that my Dad belonged to. For more pictures of the event, check out the Facebook page My Polish History.

Visiting Santa Claus

Visitng Sant Claus is a favorite tradition. Here is Sandy Dykstra, my cousin, telling Sant what she wants for Christmas. Check out the My Polish History Facebook page for more picture.

Christmas 1959

The Christmas of 1959 can be seen in these pictures. My parents (Shirley nee Raczkiewicz and Roy Longwell) still lived in the little house behind the Raczkiewicz house on the westside of Grand Rapids. You can see I had a pretty exciting second Christmas. Anthony is seen recovering on the couch in his house with my cousins Yvonne and Eileen Raczkiewicz keeping him company. He worked at a tannery factory until that year when he was 64 years old and needed to have surgery. Apparantly he had a ruptured esophagus and this was a big family emergency. Check out more pictures on Polish Family History on Facebook.

Christmas 1961

By 1961, my parents Roy and Shirley were celebrating Christmas in their own home with three year old Paulette (me!) and infant Linda. Many holiday meals were still at the Raczkiewicz home but my parents also invited her siblings and their families into their home. Check out the facebook page My Polish History for more pictures.

Christmas 1958

For Christmas 1958, Shirley (Raczkiewicz) and her husband Roy Longwell (my parents) were celebrating their second Christmas together after being married. It was their first Christmas as parents since I was born three months earlier. When Shirley and Roy were married October 1957, they lived in “the little house” which was behind her parents’ house on Milwaukee St. It was very small, They lived in it for a few years until her parents wanted to let her brother Ronnie and his new wife Pam use it next. See more pictures on the Facebook page My Polish History.

St. Nicholas Day--from a book my family had

Growing up, you never knew what my Dad Roy Longwell would bring home from a garage sale. The book “Treasured Polish Christmas Customs” from 1972 must have been a great find to him. NOt Polish himself, he embraced his wife’s cultural heritage--especially in the celebration of the local Pulaski Days. The page about St. Nicholas Day has a beautiful illustration and describes the day: According to the book, St. Nicholas day . . . “brought a slight reprieve to gray monotonous days, especially for the children, who felt that the Christmas Gwiazda (Star) would never come. St. Nicholas was revered because of his compassion and love for orphans whom he often visited and comforted with little gifts.” “The one selected to represent St. Nicholas was usually driven in a sleigh to the homes in a Polish village. He was dressed in a long white robe, wearing a tall flowing beard, and in his hand he held the shepherd’s staff. The sound of snow bells and horses’ hoofs could be heard on the cobblestone pavement, while eager young faces with their noses pressed to the window panes shouted “He has come! He has come! Juz idzie! Juz idzie!” “Because he always asked “Have you been a good child?” there would be a hurried frenzied examination of conscience . . . ‘Have I been greedy?’ . . . ‘Was I lazy?’ ‘ How many lies did I tell?’ While the owner of all of these ‘dreadful’ childish sins shuddered and shivered, St. Nicholas entered, filling the room with not only his big presence, but with his smile, the twinkle in his eaye and his teasing booming voice. He rebuked the mischievous, praised the obedient, and passed around heart shaped pierniki, honey cookies, holy pictures and big red apples, which he produced magically from under his cloak. He left with the children’s shining eyes following him, the brightest, on the littles one hiding behind mother’s apron.”

Family Christmas Parties

Siblings Lorraine, Tony, Shirley and Ron started a tradition of family Christmas parties. We can trace back the hosts to 1968. Eventually their children began to host after they married and had children. The hosts would prepare the meet and beverages and every family brought a dish to pass. The parents played a Christmas present game where they drew numbers and had chances to steal presents from each other. All the children got a wrapped present from Santa. The parties no longer happen but the memories are still there. Here is the list of hosts/hostesses: 1968 John and Lorraine Dykstra 1969 Roy and Shirley Longwell 1970 Ron and Pam Raczkiewicz 1970 Tony and Ceil Raczkiewicz 1972 Don and Sandy Spruit 1973 John Dykstra 1974 Roy and Shirley Longwell 1975 Ron and Pam Raczkiewicz 1976 Tony and Ceil Raczkiewicz 1977 Don and Sandy Spruit 1978 John Dykstra 1979 Barry and Yvonne Feirick 1980 Roy and Shirley Longwell 1981 Ron and Pam Raczkiewicz 1982 Tony and Ceil Raczkiewicz 1983 Don and Sandy Spruit 1984 Chris and Paulette Komor 1985 Roy and Shirley Longwell 1986 Don and Sandy Spruit 1987 Ron and Pam Raczkiewicz 1988 Roy and Shirley Longwell 1989 Don and Sandy Spruit 2000 Bill and Lori Nash 1991 Rom and Pam Raczkiewicz 1992 Roy and Shirley Longwell 1993 Chris and Paulette Komor 1994 Don and Sandy Spruit 1995 Ron and Pam Raczkiewicz 1996 Roy and Shirley Longwell 1997 Don and Sandy Spruit 1998 Tom and Lori Peterson 1999 Ron and Pam Raczkiewicz 2000 John and Irene Spruit 2001 Roy and Shirley Longwell 2002 Bob and Colette Beitel 2003 Don and Sandy Spruit 2004 Roy and Shirley Longwell 2005 Chris and Paulette Komor 2006 Don and Sandy Spruit 2007 Bob and Colette Beitel 2008 Don and Sandy Spruit 2009 Tom and Lori Peterson 2010 Matt and Rachel Spencer 2011 Paulette Longwell 2012 John Spruit and Amanda Needham

The Day of St. Nicholas--December 6

The Santa Claus we are familiar with in the U.S. is based on Saint Nicholas. December 6 is the feast of St. Nicholas and begins the holiday season in Poland. He saved three children who had been kidnapped by a butcher. Saint NIcholas Day is not recognized in the US. Apparently, in Poland children who behave receive a gift under their pillow or in their shoe. The gift giving associated with the U.S. Santa is more in line with the German Father Christmas or the Dutch Sinterklaas then with St. NIcholas.

Unrealistic Expectations?

Prenups in Poland in the 1800s

A prenuptial agreement lays out the division of property of a couple who are marrying, in case of death or divorce. There are NO prenups on the Raczkiewicz side during the time period I am looking at--probably since they were peasant farmers. On the Kaszucki side, there are six prenuptial agreements between 1832 and 1851. They were prepared by a notary in the County Circuit of Tomaszów. In one case it is likely whose property is being preserved since the groom is an apprentice weaver and his parents were peasant farmers. In other cases, it was not as clear which family was trying to protect their property. I sorted through the six records trying to find common denominators: There were two where shoemaker families marry shoemaker families. In another, a shoemaker family marries into a family of potters. But other occupations are involved: farmer, barrel maker and furrier. Two were in the Czarnopys family and two were in the Rzczecki family (5x great grandmother.). In four cases the participants were underage (21) In four cases the bride’s father was deceased and in three cases the groom’s father was. The bride’s mother was deceased in three cases and the groom’s mother in one. It is only when I looked at the witnesses to the marriages, did I find a common thread: in five of the six examples, the family was protecting their shoemaker business. In the sixth example, even though neither family were shoemakers, Szczepan Czarnopys, a shoemaker, is one of the witnesses. So it appears that shoemakers had a business that they were interested in protecting. In the first example, the bride’s parents are deceased and the brother--a shoemaker, is one of the witnesses. In 1832, Jan Redzki married Josepha Bratkiewicz (my 5th great aunt). He is an apprentice weaver and his parents were peasant farmers in Losiniec but are deceased. Jozefa had been widowed for one year and this is her second marriage . Her parents are Marcin Kurkiewicz and Franciszka Rzeczyka (5th great grandparents) who were deceased. Earlier, in 1817 when she married Jan Bratkiewicz, his family was furriers but there was no prenup. . She was 15 years old for her first marriage and was referred to as “the renowned Miss Jozefa Kurkiewicz,” implying her family had some status. Her family was referred to as “former Laninkow jurors of the town of Tomaszow Lubelski.” The witnesses are Konstanty Kurkiewicz, 44, a carpenter and Antoni Kurkiewicz, 48, a shoemaker and brother of the bride. For this second marriage of hers, there was a prenuptial: ” The newlyweds confirmed that they a prenuptial agreement arranged on 5th August 1832 by Michał Celejowski , notary of Tomaszów county.” In the second example, the groom is an apprentice shoemaker, his father is deceased and the two witnesses are older shoemakers. In 1833, 19 year old Mataeusz Bulewicz, apprentice shoemaker, married 17 year old Antonina Wiciejewska (my 4th great aunt.) His father is deceased. Her father Maciej is a potter, likely at the faience factory owned by the notable Zamoyski and her mother is deceased. Both are underage so need their parents’ permission to marry. The witnesses are Konstanty Kurkiewicz, 44, a carpenter and Antoni Kurkiewicz, brother of the bride, 48, a shoemaker. The newlyweds confirmed that they had arranged a prenuptial agreement on 10th February in front of Michał Celejowski, notary in the County of Tomaszów.” In the third example, one of the witnesses is Szezpan Czarnopys’s brother-in-law and they are both shoemakers. Even though her family is listed as farmers, they are deceased and may also have been shoemakers when younger. Also, this is the second one with a Rzeczyki family member In 1839, Pawel Rzeczycki married Agnieszka Czarnopys. They are both 19 years old so are underage and need parental permission. His parents were barrel makers. Her parents Kacper Czarnopys and Malgorzata née Gdański, were farmers but at this point were deceased. Witnesses- Józef Denys , farmer, 62 and Antoni Romanowicz, shoemaker age 31, both residing in Tomaszów. “The newlyweds confirmed that they had a prenuptial agreement arranged before Grzegorz Kozłowski , notary in Circuit of Tomaszów.” In fourth example, Szczepan Czarnopys and another shoemaker are witnesses and related to the bride--her family was shoemakers. Both fathers were deceased. The groom is a shoemaker. In 1841, Mikolaj Iwanicki, 21 married Krystyna Halkiewicz, 24. Mikolaj, a Greek Catholic, was a shoemaker, as well as his deceased father. He was living with his mother. Krstyna, a Roman Catholic, was the daughter of the deceased Antoni Halkiewicz and Malgorzata Mirowska. Her family were shoemakers. She was also living with her mother. The witnesses were Jan Dziczakiewicz, 39 and Szczepan Czarnopyś, 34. “The newlywed declared that they signed the prenuptial agreement on Nov.5 current year at the notary Grzegorz Kozłowiecki's office.” In the fifth example, Szczepan Czarnopys and his son Simon (the groom) are both shoemakers and one of the witnesses is a shoemaker. The bride’s deceased father was a shoemaker. They were both underage so needed parental permission. Szymon Czarnopys, 18 married Maryanna Halkiewicz, 20 . Szymon and his parents were shoemakers and so were the bride’s family but the father was deceased. The witnesses are Łukasz Nazarewicz, 50, a blacksmith and Antoni Roczniawski, 48, a shoemaker. “The newlyweds confirmed that they had a prenuptial agreement which was arranged before Michał Celejawski , notary in Circuit of Tomaszów on 15th February 1849.” In the sixth example, Szcepan Czarnopys is again involved as a witness. The groom’s brother is a shoemaker though he and the rest of his family are furriers. In 1851, Stefan Jozef Kaszucki, (my 3x great grandfather) was 18. The family was Greek Catholic. Stefan was a furrier and his family were furriers for at least several generations back. He was born in Uhnow, Galicia, Austria -- which is now in the Ukraine--and had moved to Tomaszow Lubelski with two of his brothers. The marriage was to Katarzyna Szokalewicz, 19, his first wife. (He later married my 3x grandmother Paulina Kurkiewicz.) Katarzyna’s family was also Greek Catholic. They were farmers--it is unclear if they owned a farm or worked as laborers. Szcepan Czarnopys, a shoemaker, was a witness. “Prenuptial agreement arranged in front of Michał Celejawski, notary in Circuit of Tomaszów at # 23 , on 20 January /1st February 1851”

My Mom's DNA Results

My Mom’s DNA results are 80% Eastern Europe & Russia, 8% Germanic Europe, 5% Baltics, 4% European Jewish and 2% The Balkans. Eastern Europe & Russia is made up of three parts Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland & Lithuania. My Mom’s DNA is specifically from the areas of Świętokrzyski & Lesser Poland (Malopolkska) which are regions in southern to southeast Poland. From Ancestry: In the early 1900s, villages in southern Poland were among the poorest in all of Europe. Peasants had no land and barely enough food to survive; tens of thousands starved each year. Most immigrants who left home in search of a better life were these unskilled workers. They often immigrated to established Polish neighborhoods in Chicago and New York, or went to New England and Pennsylvania to work in the mines.