Antoni Krawczyk (4x great grandfather) Died Feb. 4, 1861

Antoni Krawczyk died in Laszczowka on 4 February, 1861. He was 60 years old when he passed away. He was the son of Kazimierz Krawczyk and Rozalia nee Kubak. He left behind his second wife Barbara nee Probala. Dorota nee Lokaj (or Kozyra), his first wife (my 4x great grandmother) died 22 March 1824 at age 45. He married Barbara three months later on 22 May 1824. This record was translated for me May 19, 2020 when I was still learning the process and getting a sense of the family tree. For more about Laszczowka, check out the information at Polish Family History at https://polishfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/2020/11/location-aszczowka.html YouTube video of Laszczowka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4ontNZEalE&fbclid=IwAR2bLPfFU5p3ZLPbEjksy6BKPJt2FBJBFR-7Kot8yeIY_tYcVdx9OEa06KA Image from Facebook page: Historia Regionu Tomaszow Lubelski Belz Rawa Ruska.

Jozef Wisniowski and Marianna Kaszucka Wed Feb. 3, 1849

Jozef Wiszniowksi and Marianna Kaszucka married on February 3, 1849. Their Greek Catholic wedding is one of many examples of a combination of different families. They are both related to me through my 2x great grandmother Paulina Kurkiewicz. The husband, Josef is my 3x great uncle on Paulina’s maternal side. The wife, Marianna, is my 1rst cousin 4x removed on Paulina's father's side. They were not closely related. Jozef was a 24 year old journeyman shoemaker who was literate and able to sign his own wedding record. His parents were deceased. Blazej had been a potter and then worked as a gravedigger. His mother was Agnieszka nee Szczesnicka. Marianna, was a 17 year old, and her parents were Teodor Kaszucka and Teodorzia nee Panczyszak, local furriers. Their 33rd wedding anniversary was a week earlier. Antoni Kurkiewicz (my 4th great grandfather), age 54 was a witness for Marianna Kaszucka (his niece) and Jozef Wisniowski's wedding. He was a shoemaker at the time. The other witness was Jan Reike?, a 34 year old weaver.

Restored Baby Picture of Shirley Raczkiewicz

This baby picture of Shirley Raczkiewicz (my mother) hung over the stove of HER mother so it was not in very good condition. My sister Linda asked someone to help improve it and here is the result. It really gives a better sense for what she looked like at the time.

Jozef Kaszucki and the 1863 January Revolution

(image credit https://s.inyourpocket.com/gallery/228463.jpg) **********Major events have been happening in the United States the past year. It would be interesting to see how those events are viewed in the future -- 10, 50, 100 years from now. In the same way, many major events happened in Poland during the lives of many of my ancestors. It leads me to wonder about their involvement in those events or any impact the events may have had on them. One time period I am curious about is the Fall of 1862 and the winter of 1863. My explanations are from what I have read and I am sure could be better explained by a student of history or by someone from Poland. I would love it if a relative from Poland could add any information about this event and if we had any relatives involved in it. That time period involved rising civil unrest in Poland, including in the immediate area around Tomaszow Lubelski. Add to what was happening, normal personal family events and it makes for some possibly challenging times. This time period was personally eventful for Jozef Kaszucki. (my 2nd great grandfather.)************ Jozef Kaszucki (my 2nd great grandfather) was an adult during this period, living in the city. Of Tomaszów Lubelski. His father Andrzej had moved from Ulnow, Galicia, Austria (now Ukraine) for a better life. Andrezej had met Salomea there In Tomaszow. Her family were potters and his family were furriers for generations. Andrzej and Salomea had their son Jozef and his siblings in Tomaszow. Jozef and his first wife Katarzyna (nee Szokalowicz) had been married for 11 years. Witnesses to their Greek Catholic marriage included Wojceich Janusz, a weaver (I think related to Patrice (Szymanski) Shay)) and Szczepan Czarnopys, a shoemaker (Mike’s second great grandfather.) Their wedding included a prenuptial agreement, prepared by a notary in the Circuit of Tomaszow. Prenups were rare at this time but used to protect a family’s property, as they are now. Jozef and Katarzyna had two children (maybe more but that is what I have so far found). Sadly, the first one Jan, passed away in 1859 at six months old. *********** Within a short time period during the Fall of 1862, family tragedy struck several times. On October 25, four year old daughter Joanna, who had been baptised and confirmed through the rites of the Greek Catholic church, passed away. Reporting the death with him was Grzegorz Niedzwiedz (Curt’ Wolf’s relative.) A month later on November 24, Jozef’s wife Katarzyna died at age 30. This time, Marcin Halkieiwicz, a shoemaker (and Mike’s third great uncle) went with him to report the death. Then on December 14, 1882, Jozef’s Uncle Theodore passed away. Jozef was a declarant for this death indicating that they were probably close knit. ********** Unfortunately, during Jozef’s whole life , Poland was in turmoil and under the control of outside forces. An internal revolution was brewing, especially centered around the larger cities, but it made its way to the small city in which he lived. On January 24 1863, Henryk Gramowski with his small ten person band of insurgents, broke into the Russian cossack station in Jozefow, about 17 miles west of Tomaszow Lubelski. With the horses and guns they obtained and volunteers from nearby towns, they formed a poorly equipped 60 person troop. This was part of a bigger battle https://www.facebook.com/216532571884064/photos/a.225763764294278/790735797797069/ ********** On the next day, January 25, 1863, after being widowed for two months, Jozef married Paulina Kurkieiwcz (my second great grandmother.) Often parents remarried quickly because of the care of young children but Jozef’s children were deceased and Paulina had never been married. While Jozef was of the Greek Uniate faith, his bride-to-be was from the Latin church and they married in the Latin church. Paulina’s parents were shoemakers in Tomaszow. Likely the furriers provided leather for the shoemakers so the families would have known each other. Unlike his first marriage, there was not a prenuptial agreement for this marriage. Marcin Halkiewicz who had been a declarant for the sad occasion of Katarzyna’s death, was there to help him celebrate the new marriage. Marcin was no longer a shoemaker but had become a farmer. Szymon Zolkiewski, another shoemaker, was a witness at both events also. (I haven’t figured out yet how he is related.) ********** Five days later on January 30, the Russians in Tomaszow Lubelski expected trouble so they sent their customs chamber money to Zamosc and locked up their 150 cossacks in their barracks with a few guards. Gramowski’s group attacked on January 31 at night and both sides suffered casualties. The Russians seemed to accept defeat and left for Żdanowie, 24 miles North near Zamosc, the next day on February 1. The small opposition group went into Tomaszow Lubelski and declared a Polish national government. The victory was short lived because on February 5, the Russians returned and the Bloody Day in Tomaszów Lubelski happened. Two loud cannon balls were the only warning. Doors and windows were broken and fires were started. The people living there left their houses attempting to save their belongings and were killed. Around 80 people died. https://www.historiaregionu.org/powstanie-styczniowe-w-regionie?lang=pl **********What was this unsuccessful January Insurrection (Uprising) that occurred from 1863 to 1864 that resulted in more control by Russia of Poland? During 123 years of partition, there were many attempts to restore Poland’s independence. Around 1860, Russia had been recently defeated in the Crimean War which had hurt them financially and politically. Resistance groups and demonstrations began to occur. There were two prevailing camps -- the “reds” and the “whites” though nothing was highly organized. The “reds” were made up of common people -- peasants and merchants -- who wanted more rights. The “whites” were led by Andrzej Zamoyjski, an intellectual who owned property and who favored a return to the pre-1830’s period before the constitution was created for the Kingdom of Poland. While this version of Poland was the smallest ever, with Russia dominating other areas, the constitution of this era promised freedom of speech and religious tolerance. It still favored the nobility and reduced some rights of peasants and Jews. Russians disregarded it and that contributed to unrest, leading in 1830 to a “November Uprising.” After that a more conservative statute was put into place but wasn’t implemented. ********** In February, 1861, demonstrators gathered in Warsaw to commemorate a 1831 battle. The Russians killed some of the protestors and implemented more repressive policies. Over the next year there were more demonstrations resulting in deaths and deportations to Siberia. By 1863, there were plans for a massive uprising. Trying to prevent this, forced conscriptions into the Russian Army happened January 14 and 15. Rather than reducing the coming opposition, they were inspired to begin earlier than planned on January 22. For the next year and a half, there were 2500 battles. The insurgents were small in number and poorly equipped, compared to the Russians. By April, 1864, 80,000 Polish people had been deported to Siberia which caused great fear. Hundreds of people were killed. Poland was to no longer exist -- institutions were abolished, the Polish language was not to be taught in the schools, and official positions were taken over by Russians. Many gentry lost their lands which also negatively affected the peasantry who already struggled. The rebellion was unsuccessful and resulted in more control of Poland by Russia. ********** While it is impossible to truly comprehend what this experience was like for Jozef and his family, it is true that they had five children from 1864 to 1871 who all lived less than a year until Katarzyna (my great grandmother) was born. She is the only one I have found from this family that survived to adulthood. While it is true that infant mortality was high in general, for comparison only a few of the eight children in Jozef’s family died before adulthood. So for some reason this family experienced a higher than normal infant mortality rate. These experiences probably had a deep impact on Jozef and his family that would continue for generations.********** https://www.inyourpocket.com/warsaw/the-january-uprising-1863-64_75398f (this one has some amazing pictures) https://lublin.tvp.pl/41150235/rocznica-krwawego-dnia-w-tomaszowie-lubelskim Historia Regionu Tomaszów Lubelski Bełz Rawa Ruska Uprising in zamosc area https://www.historiaregionu.org/powstanie-styczniowe-w-regionie?lang=pl https://www.historiaregionu.org/historie-z-regionu?lang=pl add about 2nd story about Lt. Grunseid https://www.historiaregionu.org/tomaszw-lubelski?lang=pl image and story

Are you curious about the 𝕽𝖆𝖈𝖟𝖐𝖎𝖊𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖟 name?

Are you curious about the 𝕽𝖆𝖈𝖟𝖐𝖎𝖊𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖟 name? How many are there and where do they live in Poland? There are 754 people with the last name of 𝕽𝖆𝖈𝖟𝖐𝖎𝖊𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖟 in Poland today. We are not related to all of them! There are 99 in Tomaszów Lubelski, 38 in Poznan, 29 in Zamosc and 22 in Warsaw. There are 827 people with the spelling of 𝕽𝖆𝖘𝖟𝖐𝖎𝖊𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖟 -- it is possible we are related to some of them since our name was spelled that way at some times in the past. https://nazwiska-polskie.pl/Raczkiewicz How to pronounce “𝕽𝖆𝖈𝖟𝖐𝖎𝖊𝖜𝖎𝖈𝖟?” https://forvo.com/word/raczkiewicz/

Michal Golebiowski Married at Least 4 Times?

So far, it looks like Jan Raszkiewicz and Apolonia Golabiowska (my 5 time great grandparents) were each only married once -- to each other. It looks like Apolonia’s brother Michal wasn’t quite so lucky and was married three, maybe four times. The translator that helped thought it might be four, maybe five times. On the 1812 marriage record for today, January 29, it states that Michal was a widower. His first wife Agnes died on December 3, about two months before. The first bann was announced January 19 and the second one was three days before the wedding. Because they were hurrying to marry, it is possible that he had young children that needed care. The bride was Miss Rozalia Gorbula, age 27. She presented an Act of Knowing from the Tomaszów Court of Peace stating her age and her parents weren’t present or mentioned so they may have been deceased. The witnesses were Wawrzyniec Turek ,36 , Jan Raszkiewicz ,40, Maciej Wujcik ,41, and Antoni Kulicki ,30-- for some reason four witnesses when there were usually two. When he married his fourth wife February 7, 1825, it referred to his third wife’s funeral record but it didn’t name her. As I work my way through the records, I may find out who she is. He was a 58 year old widower still working as a peasant farmer In Majdan Górny. The bride was 41 year old Marianna (Sawiak) Dzierowa. She also was widowed and her husband, a peasant farmer in Majdan Górny, had died 17 years before. Jan Raszkiewicz, 48 , Wasyli Sawiak ,50 , Paweł Gołąb, 34 and Wawrzeniec Turek ,48 , all peasant farmers living in Majdan Górny were the witnesses. Here is a list of his possible wives:: Wife 1: Agnes or Jagnieszka Wife 2: Rozalia Gorbula Wife 3: Unknown or was it Rozalia? Wife 4: Marianna (Sawiak) Dzierowa

Szymon Raszkiewicz married 29 Jan. 1837

Szymon Raszkiewicz (my 3x great uncle) and Marianna (Litwin) Przybyz) married in Tomaszów Lubelski on 29th January 1837, at 4:15 p.m. (And YES, his last name was spelled with an S not a C in his marriage and birth records.) The groom was a bachelor who was living with his parents Jan Raszkiewicz and Apollonia nee Gołębiowska in the village of Majdan Górno. They were peasants. The bride was a 20 year old widow whose husband died a year and a month before. She was living in the same village as Szymon. She was born in Łaszczówka and her parents Marcin Litwin and Rozalia nee Stawicka were still living there. This is the same village I jrecently talked about in which Katarzyna Krawczyk (my 3x great grandmother) was born. The family also were peasants. The witnesses were Piotr Raszkiewicz, age 28, (the groom's brother) and Sebastian Jeruzal, age 36, (his brother-in-law)both peasants from Majdan Górno I am still in the process of discovering information about the relatives. I worked pretty extensively on the Kaszucki side until recently when I switched back to the Raczkiewicz side. I have found that I definitely know more about how to do it than when I found my first Raczkiewicz record a year ago. The marriage record of Szymon was translated on December 13, 2020. In the last month or two, I have learned that his parents had nine children. Szymon was the middle child -- the fifth -- and Michal (my 3x great grandfather) was the first. The family had six boys and three girls. I just had Szymon’s birth record translated on December 11, 2020. Reading the record, I confirmed that his parents were Jan Raszkiewicz, 40 and Apolonia nee Golebiowska, 30. They lived in house #71 in Górny. Wouldn’t it be exciting to be able to see exactly where that is? The witnesses were Jakob Raszkiewicz, 54 and Wojciech Zterda , 37 , all peasant farmers from Gurny ( Górny).

Anthony Raczkiewicz Jr. Died Jan. 29, 2006

In 1943, Anthony Raczkiewicz (my uncle) participated in Humane Club, R.O.T.C., Bar and Chevrons Club, and was a cheer leader. Yearbook picture: "U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012"; School Name: Union High School; Year: 1943

Later the same year, Anthony (age 18)registered for the draft while he worked at a gas station. Anthony (Tony) R. Raczkiewicz, aged 80, loving father and grandfather, passed away on January 29, 2006. Tony was preceded in death by his loving wife, Cecilia; sister, Lorraine Dykstra; and brother, Ronald. He is survived by his daughters, Yvonne (Mike) Basham and Eileen (Mark) Erichsen; and grandchildren, Mindy, Heather, Jennifer, and Keith. Also surviving are his sister, Shirley (Roy) Longwell; brothers-in-law, John Dykstra and Joseph (Mary) Zalewski; and sisters-in-law, Pam Raczkiewicz, Martha Nezwek, Bernice Zalewski, and Fran (Dick) Horvath. Friends and relatives may meet his family on Tuesday from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., with a Scripture Service at 7:30 p.m. at Heritage Life Story Funeral Homes-Alt & Shawmut Hills Chapel, 2120 Lake Michigan Dr. N.W. The Memorial Mass will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at St. James Catholic Church. Inurnment in Holy Cross Cemetery. From: https://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/grandrapids/obituary.aspx?n=anthony-r-raczkiewicz-tony&pid=16552020 For his Life Story: : https://heritagelifestory.com/obituaries/anthony-r-raczkiewicz.9878

A Description of Tomaszow Lubelski A Year After My Grandfather Left

A courier from Lviv (Ukraine) described Tomaszów Lubelski in October 1913, which was only a year later than my grandfather Anthony and his brother Joseph arrived in the U.S. I have summarized his description and the link goes to the full version. The picture shows the market but many of the buildings later burned in a fire on 28 May, 1918, which broke out in the building next to the synagogue. Two thousand people lost their homes when 200 houses burned down. From the month of May until the end of September, an automobile went twice a day on a route through Tomaszow and to Lublin. The route passed a Russion customs stop where the people in charge spoke Polish. Cossacks had a building there, serving as border guards. There were white stones along both sides of the road for driving at night. The author reflected sadly that it wasn’t long before when there were no border guards. The author saw what he described as the “hideous, green painted towers” of the Orthodox church as he approached the city. The city was full of shops, stalls and mud. A horse pulling a cart struggled in the black mud. There was an obelisk in the square in memory of the reign of Nicholas II. Tobacco products were sold freely which amazed the author since as a Galicians, he said he was used to a government monopoly on cigarettes. The people in the streets spoke Polish and were dressed from an earlier time. The Cossacks attire was described as “disgustingly colored” and they “make an unpleasant impression” with “wild expressions on their faces.” Seeing them reminded the author of bloody descriptions of post-partition martyrdom. The Catholic church, there for 500 years and made of larch (a type of conifer) was blackened with age and neglect. After this negative description, he ended with “Some young people go to America for bread.” https://www.historiaregionu.org/tomaszw-lubelski Photo and story credits: https://static.wixstatic.com/media/5df8e1_d23a378c698c4920bc9789b4b16c7738~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_999,h_388,al_c,q_85/5df8e1_d23a378c698c4920bc9789b4b16c7738~mv2.webp

Church Pictures from Tomaszow Lubelskie

Check out the Catholic church pictures from Andrzej Dubiel! Church of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tomaszow Lubelski is where all the births, marriages and deaths either happened or were recorded. Andrzej Dubiel sent these pictures. The first church in 1627 was paid for by Tomasz Zamoyski. It was later replaced by this church in 1727, paid for by Michal Zdzislaw Zamoyski. Throughout the years additions were made and things damaged parts were replaced. One of the signs in this picture asks for donations since keeping it maintained is expensive. https://zabytek.pl/en/obiekty/tomaszow-lubelski-zespol-kosciola-par-pw-zwiastowania-nmp The picture of the Virgin Mary is one of the most valuable treasures in the church and is the source of legends. For instance, after the Swedes destroyed the town in 1656, the paintin was ripped and thrown in a manure pile. It was miraculously found and restored. It has been moved to several churches over its lifespan. This link describes the treasures in the church in more detail if you scroll down a little: https://www.historiaregionu.org/tomaszw-lubelski

Sabaudia in the Winter

It is very exciting to get this picture from Andrzej Dubiel! He is my second cousin--his grandmother Pauline and my grandfather Anthony were siblings. He lives in Sabaudia, near Tomaszow Lubelskie, where my grandfather Anthony and his siblings were born. The 4x great grand parents (Jan and Apolonia Raczkiewicz) moved there in the early 1800s and the next generations were born there, including Andrzej. Sabaudia is a village about two miles northeast of the city. Wikipedia says there are currently about 600 people living there. I sent Andrzej this Facebook link to see what Grand Rapids looked like where and when the Raczkiewicz were first here. https://www.facebook.com/groups/weRwestsiders/permalink/10159588634539528

Blazej Raczkiewicz Born January 26, Birth Reported January 27 1840

This photo is from Andrzej Dubiel. This is the Catholic church where this baptism would have taken place in Tomaszow Lubelski. Today on January 27, at 4:00 in the afternoon, in 1840, Michal Raszkiewicz (3x great grandfather) and two of his relatives made their way from Majdan Gorny to report the birth of his son Blazej. They were all peasant farmers. MIchal was 37 years old and another relative who was also named Michal Raszkiewicz was 24 and brother-in-law Sebastyan Jeruzal was 40. The younger Michal was the Godfather and Anna Krawczyk was the Godmother. Anna nee Dominik was the mother. Blazej had been born the day before at 9:00 in the morning. Sadly, he died the following August at one and a half years old. I just had his birth and death records translated in the middle of this month (January, 2020.) The family had 11 children. I knew for a while about Antoni (my 2x great grandfather) but have been recently learning about the others. Antoni was a middle child. Eleven months after Jan and Anna were married in 1824, their firstborn child Jan was born. The parents were 18 and 19 years old. Their last child Anna was born when they were 44 and 45 years old. Eight of their 11 children made it to adulthood. FB Genealogical Translations, 1/10/2021 Birth registered and baptised in Tomaszów on 27th January 1840 , 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Father - Michał Raszkiewicz , peasant farmer residing in Majdan Górny, 37 Witnesses- Michał Raszkiewicz ? ( definitely says Michał ) , age 24 and Sebastyan Jeruzal ,40 both peasant farmers residing in Majdan Górny . Błazej was born in Majdan Górny on 26th January at 9 o'clock in the morning Mother Anna née Dominik, Godparents godparents- Michał Raszkiewicz and Anna Krawczykowa ( Krawczyk) Blazej Raszkiewicz death 1841/136 Genealogical Translations 1/11/2021 Błażej died in Majdan Górny on 24th August 1841 at midday , age 1 and a half , son of Michał and Anna Raszkiewicz , peasant farmers in Majdan Górny Death registered in Tomaszów on 26th August 1841 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon . Declarants- Michał Raszkiewicz, 38 and Jakób Derszło,50 both peasant farmers in Majdan Górny

Snowfall in Sabaudia, Poland

As we wait for a winter storm to come tonight, I thought you would like to see a picture from Sabaudia, Poland today. Sabaudia is where my grandfather Anthony Raczkiewicz was born. It is also where a new found second cousin Andrzej Dubiel lives. He took this picture today. I am grateful for what he has shared about the family so far.

Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea Wiciejewska marry January 26, 1823

Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea Wiciejewski (my 3x great grandparents) married on January 26, 1823, in Tomaszów Lubelski, Poland. They appeared before the pastor of Tomaszów Lubelski, who was the civil registrar for this city, found in the county of Tomaszów, province of Lublin. Because his father Lukasz was deceased and his mother Agata nee Krzaczk was still living in the city of Uhnów, Galicia, Austria , a week before the wedding, Andrzej went to the municipal office and had an “act of knowing” drawn up which was approved by the court of peace of the county. Andrzej was 24 years old , Greek Catholic and a furrier and residing in the city of Tomaszów. He was born in 1799 in the city of Uhnów, Galicia, Austria, the son of Agata and Lukasz. We know about his brothers Theodore and Fidory but he likely had other siblings who remained in his hometown. Salomea Wiciejowska was 19 years old, Roman Catholic, and a maiden, according to a certificate excerpted from the books of the Tomaszów parish church. She and her parents, Maciej Wiciejowski, potter, and her mother, Marianna nee Metelska. were born in the city of Tomaszów Lubelski. They accompanied her to church for the wedding. Two Banns were announced on January 12th and 19th. The witnesses were Andrzej Niedzwiedz, age 41, (related to current day Curt Wolf) and Szymon Władysz, age 40, who were both shoemakers. Also Rafał Lusawicki, age 47, cabinet-maker, and Marcin Ceroński, age 28, spoonmaker, all residing in the city of Tomaszów. Initially the translators were stumped at the occupation of Marcin -- Łyszczarz. It was not on a list of occupations and their Polish names that I had. Eventually it was determined that it meant spoonmaker. Andrzej and Salomea had nine children in 23 years. Their first child Nikolaj was born on April 28, 1824, in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland just after Salomea’s own brother Valentine was born February 9. Her son Jozef "Stefan Jozef" (my 2x great grandfather) was born on August 10, 1832, in Tomaszów Lubelski, Lubelskie, Poland. Her husband Andrzej passed away on September 18, 1861, at the age of 62. They had been married 38 years. Here is what it sounded like to have the record translated: “The year 1823, the 26th of January, at 9 a.m. Before us, pastor of Tomaszów, civil registrar of the municipality of Tomaszów, county of Tomaszów, province of Lublin, Andrzej Kaszucki appeared, bachelor, according to an act of knowing drawn up by the municipal office of the city Tomaszów on the 20th of this month and year, and approved by the court of peace of the county of Tomaszów on the 22nd of this month and year, age 24, furrier residing in the city of Tomaszów, unaccompanied by his father, Łukasz Kaszucki, once a furrier living in the city of Uhnów in Galicia Austria, already deceased, as stated in the above act of knowing, and his mother Agata nee Krzaczkowska Kaszucka, so far residing in the city of Uhnów Galicia Austria. Also appearing Salomea Wiciejowska, maiden, according to a certificate excerpted from the books of the Tomaszów parish church, age 19, accompanied by her father, Maciej Wiciejowski, potter, and her mother, Marianna nee Metelska, spouses residing in the city of Tomaszów, with whom she lives; Banns: 12th and 19th; Witnesses: Andrzej Niedzwiedz, age 41, and Szymon Władysz, age 40, both shoemakers, also Rafał Lusawicki?, age 47, cabinet-maker, and Marcin Ceroński, age 28, Łyszczarz?, all residing in the city of Tomaszów.”

Jozef Kaszucki Married Apolonia Kurkiewicz Jan. 25, 1863

On 25th January 1863, at 4:00 p.m. in Tomaszów Lubelski, Józef (or Stefan Jozef as he was baptized) Kaszucki wed Apolonia Kurkiewicz when he was 30 years old and she was 24. (They were my 2x great grandparents.) He was a widow for two months and she was a maiden. The banns were announced 11th, 18th, 25th January -- so they started a month and a half after he was widowed. Normally, there is a rush to remarry if there are young children involved but four year old Joanna had died in October and her mother died a month later. Their other child Jan had died at six months old a few years earlier. ******* Józef and his family Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea nee Wiciejowska were furriers. He had been born in Tomaszów Lubelski and was residing there with his parents of Greek Uniate faith. Paulina was the daughter of Józef Kurkiewicz and Ewa nee Wiśniewska, shoemakers from Tomaszów Lubelski. The witnesses were Szymon Żółkiewski, a shoemaker, 53, and Marcin Halkiewicz, a farmer, 42, both of whom were residing in Tomaszów He was a Greek Catholic and she was a Roman Catholic. The banns were announced in the Tomaszów Latin Church even though Józef was Greek Catholic. Apolonia was Roman Catholic. They had five, possibly six children together and the boys were baptized and confirmed according to the Eastern rite and the girls were baptized according to the Roman rite. ******* Jozef was born on August 10, 1832, in Tomaszów Lubelski, Lubelskie, Poland, the son of Salomea and Andrzej. He had six brothers and two sisters. He married Katarzyna Szokalewicz in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, on February 9, 1851, when he was 18 years old. They were both Greek Catholics. They had two children together and they were baptized and confirmed according to the Eastern rite. His wife Katarzyna passed away on November 22, 1862, in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, at the age of 31. They had been married 11 years. ****** When Paulina Kurkiewicz was born on June 27, 1838, in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, her father, Jozef, was 22, and her mother, Ewa, was 29. Her mother had previously been widowed. Paulina had five brothers and one sister. Photo credit: Av User:Merlin – Eget verk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1308159

Jan Raczkiewicz Married Frances Kudlicka in Grand Rapids MI January 25, 1863

On 25th January 1863, at 4:00 p.m. in Tomaszów Lubelski, Józef (or Stefan Jozef as he was baptized) Kaszucki wed Apolonia Kurkiewicz when he was 30 years old and she was 24. (They were my 2x great grandparents.) He was a widow for two months and she was a maiden. The banns were announced 11th, 18th, 25th January -- so they started a month and a half after he was widowed. Normally, there is a rush to remarry if there are young children involved but four year old Joanna had died in October and her mother died a month later. Their other child Jan had died at six months old a few years earlier. Józef and his family Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea nee Wiciejowska were furriers. He had been born in Tomaszów Lubelski and was residing there with his parents of Greek Uniate faith. Paulina was the daughter of Józef Kurkiewicz and Ewa nee Wiśniewska, shoemakers from Tomaszów Lubelski who were Roman Catholic. The witnesses were Szymon Żółkiewski, a shoemaker, 53, and Marcin Halkiewicz, a farmer, 42, both of whom were residing in Tomaszów He was a Greek Catholic and she was a Roman Catholic. The banns were announced in the Tomaszów Latin Church even though Józef was Greek Catholic. Apolonia was Roman Catholic. They had five, possibly six children together and the boys were baptized and confirmed according to the Eastern rite and the girls were baptized according to the Roman rite. Jozef was born on August 10, 1832, in Tomaszów Lubelski, Lubelskie, Poland, the son of Salomea and Andrzej. He had six brothers and two sisters. He married Katarzyna Szokalewicz in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, on February 9, 1851, when he was 18 years old. They were both Greek Catholics. They had two children together and they were baptized and confirmed according to the Eastern rite. His wife Katarzyna passed away on November 22, 1862, in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, at the age of 31. They had been married 11 years. When Paulina Kurkiewicz was born on June 27, 1838, in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, her father, Jozef, was 22, and her mother, Ewa, was 29. Her mother had previously been widowed. Paulina had five brothers and one sister. Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/sacredheartjesusgr/photos/a.647375232009526/1143745529039158

Lukasz Grabek (3x great grandfather) died 23 Jan 1861 (Reported 25 Jan.)

“On 23rd January at 5 o'clock in the evening died Lukasz Grabek (my 3x great grandfather), widower, age 61, born in Majdan Gorny. On 25th January 1861 9 o'clock in the morning, presented themselves Jakob Raczkiewicz, age 39 and Piotr Raczkiewicz, age 50 , both peasants from Majdan Gorny and confirmed that he died.” His wife Katarzyna Krawczyk died March 28 1853, eight years before him. She was 53 years old when she died. She had been born in Laszczowka but lived in Majdan Gorny for the previous 31 years with Lukasz after they were married. Lukasz and his wife had a daughter Marianna (my 2x great grandmother.) The witnesses were people close to them: Marianna’s husband's brother was Jakub and her husband’s uncle was Piotr. Lukasz was born about 1798 in Majdan Gorny. His parents were Walenty Grabek and Teresa nee Walawender. His father died when he was 14 and his mother remarried about a year later. Lukasz was married when he was 25. He was living with his mother and stepfather Grzegorz Lebiowdoski(a widower) and they were peasant farmers from Majdan Gorny. The bride was Katarzyna, 20, who lived with her parents, Antoni Krawczyk and Dorota nee Lokaj, peasant farmers, from the village Laszczowka. The witnesses were Marcin Walawender, 55 (his stepfather), Jan Garbul, 30, Jozef Litwin, 54, and Bartlomiej Krawczyk, 36, (his brother-in-law) all peasant farmers. The first two were from Majdan Gorny and the other two were from Laszczowka. Their daughter Marianna was born 1843 and when she married in 1862, both her parents were deceased. When I wrote this on January 1, 2021, I was sure they had other children but I had not “found” them yet. I have since found a sister Rozalia. There may be more siblings to be found. Picture credit: London Missionary Society, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Peasant farmers

Most of the records on the Raczkiewicz side give the occupation as Komornik, peasant farmer. Lukasz Grabek (3x great grandfather) who dies tomorrow (in 1861) was a peasant farmer. A peasant may be a farmer who: Kmiec: worked enough land to support his family and owned two or more cows, horses, sheep oxen, goats, and pigs as well as several buildings on the farm. Potrolik: worked a half-sized farm. Zagrodnik: owned a farmhouse, out buildings, animals and a vegetable garden. Many peasants had no crop land. Chalupnik: lived in a small cottage. Komornik: was a tenant farmer, or day laborer. Image: https://picryl.com/media/a-forest-edge-with-peasants-and-a-village-in-the-background-verso-landscape-c967d0 Metropolitan Museum of Art

Social Classes in “Old” Poland

Social classes in “old” Poland included magnates, nobility (szlachta), peasants, burghers, intelligentsia and “loose people.” Magnates owned castles and entire villages. They made their income by charging peasants to live and farm on their property. They didn’t pay a lot of taxes which bothered the nobility. They had the most control of life in Poland and it was to their advantage to prevent the peasants and burghers from having much power in society. The nobility were also landowners. A -ski or -cki at the end of their name denoted noble birth at one time but eventually the peasants living on their land took on the same name even if not related. Their role was to protect Poland but many were under the control of the magnates. Common occupations were soldier, gentleman farmer, scholar, priest, public official, or administrator of a higher noble’s estate. Zamoyski is the name of the Polish noble that was in the area of Tomaszow Lubelski. This family had a major political role and were Counts and Countesses. Jan Zamoyski was a chancellor and started their estate. His son Tomasz Zamoyski was also a chancellor and the city of Tomaszow was named for him. Many descendants continued in politics.(These nobility were NOT related but would have impacted the lives of my family in the past.) Peasants formed the largest group in Poland. There were different levels of wealth and status from an extremely poor day laborer to ownership of some things with the requirement still there to do work for their lord. Burghers were immigrants and free citizens that worked as bankers, craftsmen, tradesmen, and merchants which the noble could not do by law. Professionals (“intelligentisia”) developed in the middle of the 18th century. They were usually members of the burgher or gentry social classes. Common occupations were doctors, scientists, scholars, priests, teachers, lawyers, architects, artists and writers. Loose people could originate from any social class and had no possessions. They might be criminals, prostitutes, gypsies or runaway serfs Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamoyski_family https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Poland_Social_Life_and_Customs Source: Chorzempa, Rosemary A. Polish Roots = Korzenie Polskie. Pages 58 - 62. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Pub. Co., c1993. (Family History Library INTL Book 943.8 D27c). Picture credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jelita.jpg#/media/File:Jelita.jpg By Zmf4 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=78880564

Today is Dzień Babci in Poland -- Grandmother’s Day. Babcia is the Polish word for Grandma. In the US there are variants such as “busia.” Here is my Grandma Apolonia (Skrobot) Raczkiewicz in the late 1970’s.

Grave digger “grabarz”

Digging graves is definitely an essential service but a low status job. After being a potter, my 4x great grandfather Blazej Wisniewski worked as a grave digger. He also was a farmer. His father Mateusz also was a grave digger. Traditionally, this might have been one of the tasks of the church sexton but they may also have used temporary help. If done as part of the sexton’s duties, landscaping of the cemetery and interacting with the mourners may have also been part of the job. The graves were dug before heavy equipment was available. To hand dig a grave, a wooden frame is usually placed over the intended area. A spade would be used to remove the top layer of sod following this outline. Shovels and picks might also be used. A nearby box would be used to hold the removed soil and be covered and left there until after the burial. While in our present day, machines may have replaced a lot of the labor involved, crowded cemeteries often require the continued use of hand digging. The job of grave digger may never be gone but the need lessens over time. In 2005, only 46% of the people in Poland indicated that they would prefer burial upon their death. Check out the Eastern Europe grave digger competition: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/10/slovakian-brothers-crowned-fastest-gravediggers-central-europe-trencin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravedigger https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235917983_Burial_rituals_and_cultural_changes_in_the_polish_community_-_a_qualitative_study Picture credit: Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This is a story of trying to differentiate between two different men named Blazej. There can be multiple people with the same name so it can get very tricky determining which is which. Birth, marriage and death records are about the person and may or may not list their parents. Witnesses are listed so there are clues about who might be their relatives or neighbors.. Their age is usually listed so you can sort out which ones fit into the right time frame. It turns out that there were two men with the same name- of Blazej Wisniewski. He was the parent of Ewa Wisniewska (my 3rd great grandmother.) One was born about 1761 and died in 1844. He worked as a foreman of a faience factory and later a grave digger and a farmer. He had two or three wives and a fiance and at least four children with one of the wives. The other one was born about 1755 and died in 1823 while he was in some sort of facility as a patient or resident. He had one child with an unmarried employee of some sort who worked in the hospital or alms house that he lived in. I am telling you this story today because on January 20 in 1844 at 2:00 p.m., Blazej Wisniewski (my 4th great grandfather) died. He was a grave digger who lived in Tomaszów Lubelski. He lived to the age of 92 according to his record but maybe 83 according to some other records. So maybe he was born in 1761 or maybe in 1752???? He was the son of Mataeusz & Maryanna Wisniowski, deceased gravediggers even though when he died the witnesses didn’t know who his parents were. One witness was Józef Kurkiewicz, farmer, age 29, He was Blazej’s son-in-law, married to Ewa (my 3rd great grandmother.). The other witness was Franciszek Szcześnicki, bricklayer, age 29, As a Szcześnicki, Franciszek would have been related to Blazej’s prior wife, Jagnieszka Szcześnicka. Blazej left behind his widowed wife Anna nee Adamczak. There was a lot more to his story though. Blazej had two sons and two daughters with Jagnieszka Czernicka. (my 4th great grandmother.) Their four children were born between 1809 and 1817 beginning when he was about 44. It is possible that he had a wife before Jagnieszka because of how old he was during this marriage. His wife Jagnieska passed away on May 20, 1823, in Tomaszów, Lubelskie, Poland, at the age of 49. Just a little over three months later on Sept 7 1823, Blazej Wisniowski, as a 55 year old widower, became engaged to the MUCH younger Maryanna Cyronskowna, age 25. “Owna” on her name meant she was unmarried. She was a labourer, and the daughter of deceased Ignacy Cyronik, farmer & living Helena nee Kowalik. Maybe because her father was deceased, the engagement happened so her mother had one less mouth to feed in the house. In any case, the announcement of the banns in this case must have caused something to turn up to stop the wedding. He then eight months later married Anna Adamczk instead on May 9, 1824, when he was 63 years old. He ended up with Anna for the next 20 years until his death. I noticed that Maryanna (his former fiance) died in 1840 unmarried. Now even though there are sometimes mistakes in ages in the records, it doesn’t make a lot of sense that he was 55 years old in 1823 and then 63 in 1824. Another confusing thing was seeing what occupation was listed in the various records: grave digger, farmer and faience factory foreman. Did that mean some of the records were of the “other” Blazej? Blazej worked in the faience factory & so did his wife’s Agnes’ brother Bart. I eventually figured once I studied the pottery industry in the area that he worked there until the factory closed. He may still have needed to work so ended up a grave digger, who maybe also farmed. When his on Jozef was born in 1810, he was a 40 year old faience factory foreman. In 1817 when his daughter Anna was born, he was referred to as the “famous” Blazej Wisniewski. By 1823 when his wife dies, he was listed as a grave digger. He was a grave digger when engaged to Cyronik still in 1823 and when he marries Adamczyk in 1824, he is a grave digger. A different 68 year old Blazej died February 20 1823. He would have been born in about 1755. He died in some sort of hospital or alms house #71 and Szymon Wojpieki, 32, an organist and Piotr Fedorowicz, 50 a church sexton were the witnesses. His wife Anna nee Paszkowska was a church sexton. When he was 50 in 1814, he was a , "dziad szpitalny" a hospital grandfather,and he had a child Francziszka Wisniowska with Anna Paszkoska, age 35. This story shows one of the harder people to figure out. Amazingly, with many of them, the pieces all match up right and their family falls into place! There was a lot to this puzzle! (Image from Heirloom Archeology, LLC FB page)

John Spruit Celebrates His Birthday January 19

Happy birthday to John Spruit. (My 1rst cousin 1x removed.) He is pictured here in his "happy places" --skiing and boating.

Antoni Franciszek Kurkiewicz Was Named for Two Saints

(St. Anthony the Great) Yesterday on Jan 17, 1840, Antoni Franciszek Kurkiewicz was born at 4:00 a.m. Very few of the researched ancestors have a middle name. His parents were Konstanty Kurkiewicz, a 53 year old carpenter from Tomaszów and Apolonia nee Jabłońska, age 35. Apolonia’s mother was a Wiciejewska so they were probably related through her and also through the Kurkiewicz side. A farmer Józef Smyiewski, 43 and a shoemaker, Antoni Lachowski, 46, were the witnesses. The Godparents were Józef Smyjewski and Zofia Świderkowa [wife of a man with Świderek surname] He was named “Antoni Opat Franciszek Salezy” He was named after Antoni the Great & Francis de Sales. I was curious if the names came from the saints for the day he was born. The saints for the day were Antoni, Jan and Rosiclaw. Antoni the Great was born on January 17. He is known from martyrdom and asceticism (severe self-discipline and avoidance of indulgences.) For some reason, the family chose a middle name which was not common in this time period at least in the records. The middle name was chosen for Francis de Sales. He is known for being guided by love instead of judgement. His day is January 24. Maybe Antoni Franciszek’s parents wanted to balance the severity of following adherence of a “rule” for life” of a martyr and ascetite with the patron saint of poets and the deaf. His father Konstanty was one of the few at this time period who appeared to be literate by the clues available to me. His signature appears on many records at a time when records were read to the participants and signed only by the priest.

(St. Francis de Sales) Francisco Bayeu y Subías, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://www.behindthename.com/namedays/country/poland https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoni_Wielki?fbclid=IwAR0ZP1oPe0XWNdRIT6bHJkKVWB9gBL__HV-FOqKPFmXrM4inuy3yNT--L34 https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franciszek_Salezy?fbclid=IwAR21A7TPa_sgopT7jz8FbE6O5H5H3mcennJTwyMp6wh5akaDzWwd--09c7M Photo credits: By Francisco de Zurbarán - http://www.invertirenarte.es/images/stories/mercadodearte/2009/dic21/francisco_de_zurbaran_san_antonio_fernando_duran.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8911245

Also on Jan. 17 (1824) Michal Raczkiewicz and Anna Dominik Marry

Michal Raczkiewicz and Anna Dominik (my 3x great grandparents on the Raczkiewicz side) marry today, January 17 in 1824 at 12:00 p.m. Michal was a 19 year old bachelor living with his parents, Jan Raczkiewicz and Apolonia nee Gołębiowska (4x greats). They lived in the village of Majdan Górny and worked as peasants. Anna, was age 18 and also never before married. She lived with her parents Tomasz Dominik and Regina/Reina Woycik/Wójcik. They also were peasants in the same village. The banns were announced previously on January 4th and January 11. The witnesses were Marcin Kukiełka, 40, Józef Pyc, 35, Sobek Jaruzal, 35, Piotr Sobek, 40, all peasants residing in the village of Maydan Górny. I recognize the Jaruzal (or Jeruzal) last name and will soon have more information. I know several Raczkiewicz’s married several Jaruzal’s so this man might be an uncle or a cousin. When I wrote this on January 1, I thought they went on to have seven children. I am currently having their children’s records translated--one per day--and now know they had 11 children. Their firstborn Jan/John is my 2x great grandfather. This record (Act 4) was translated for me on May 14, 2020 by a volunteer from Genealogical Translations. Which is kind of amazing to me how much has been found out in the last year. https://szukajwarchiwach.pl/35/1937/0/1/45/skan/full/gwkU32MOfUJvSUuXXtGtjA

On January 17 (1830), Ewa Wisniewska (3x great grandmother) marries for the first time

Ewa Wisniewska (my 3x great grandmother on the Kaszucki side) married for the first time today, January 17 in 1830. Wincenty Rachanski, age 22 was a shoemaker journeyman and both of his parents were deceased. His family had been shoemakers. Ewa was also 22 years old. Her father was a gravedigger (he had been a potter) and her mother was deceased. The witnesses were Grzeogorz Jaworowski, 67 and Jacenty Janiszewski, 33, who were shoemakers from Tomaszow Lubelski (I don’t know their relationship to the family.) The bride lived with her father and he was present at the wedding and gave his permission. Wincenty died the next year. Ewa remarried five or six years later July 30 1837 to Jozef Kurkiewicz (my 3x great grandfather.) They had six children. Their oldest -- Apolonia -- is my 2x great grandmother. Their youngest --Ignatious/Ignacy -- is Mike Liszewski’s 2nd great grandfather. Amazingly, she lived to age 91. When she died in 1889, her son Ignacy at age 38 was one of the declarants. The other one was Walenty Lisikiewicz, 40. Her daughter Apolonia/Paulina would have been 51 years old.

Shirley Attends Catholic High School & I Chose the Public High School

In the Fall of 1950, Shirley began high school. Instead of being able to attend Catholic Central, her first two years were at the Catholic Central West Annex. It opened in 1944 for freshmen and sophomores on the west side of the river. The school was housed on the third floor of St. Adalbert School and was staffed by 7 School Sisters of Notre Dame There was room there because of a drop in St. Adalbert School attendance after World War II ended and Catholic Central was full. Renovations would eventually increase its size and the building of West Catholic was still in the future. Father Maksymowski, the pastor of St. Adlabert had to respond to Bishop Francis J. Haas’ directive years earlier in 1951 to develop a “West Catholic Central.” Apparently many of the early students resented this because of limited athletics and the desire to have more freedom to leave the neighborhood and meet students from other areas. By the time Shirley attended, the school and its reputation had grown and students from all over the city would attend dances there. Surprisingly since this was before the freeway, many who came had never seen the beautiful church and large buildings surrounding it. While it probably did not occur to her family to send Shirley to the public high school, my parents gave us a choice for high school between West Catholic and Union High School. I chose the public high school, Linda briefly chose West Catholic then transferred to Union and Lori chose Union. In 1952, Shirley began her junior year at Catholic Central. The renovated building was completed that year. Lay teachers made up 21% of the faculty (the year before) as fewer teaching sisters were available. The culture shock for Shirley was that the Catholics from the east side of the city were much wealthier and she didn’t feel like the kids from the westside were well accepted but instead looked down upon. For me,culture shock came in 9th grade with my first experience with integrated schools which was accomplished with court mandated bussing since the residential areas were still pretty segregated. Catholic Central High school was organized into nine departments: religion, math, science, English, history/social studies, foreign languages, business, physical education, and fine arts. When I was in high school there were separate college prep or vocational track classes. Amazingly, we still took aptitude tests which told us which “male” or “female” careers would best suit us. We had the option of different electives than she had such as Psychology. Shirley rode the city bus from the west side of the city over the river to the east side in downtown Grand Rapids. In ninth grade, I had a school bus to West Middle and then in high school, we had to make our own way to the high school. As I get to know new relatives, I try to place them and their family into the picture. Curt Wolf’s father Laverne Wolf was a senior at the main Catholic Central campus during Shirley’s first year of high school. They probably did not cross paths because she would have been at the West Annex that year. Pictures of Laverne Wolf (on FB page) History of Catholic education in GR--GR info starts p. 61 (p. 72 of PDF) https://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=theses History of Polish immigrants/churches in GR https://www.therapidian.org/history-polish-immigrants-churches-and-aid-societies-westside The Rise and Fall of the Grand Rapids Polonia (https://dutchamericans.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/1993_07_skendzel.pdf The First Hundred Years: The Basilica of St. Adalbert http://www.mipolonia.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/St.-Adalbert_1881-1981_Grand-Rapids_MI.pdf

Shirley Raczkiewicz was born

When Shirley Ann Raczkiewicz was born on January 15, 1936, in Grand Rapids, Michigan Her father, Anthony, was 40, and her mother, Apolonia, was 31. Her family lived at 501 Milwaukee NW. She was baptized at St. Adalberts on February 9 by Father Makaymowski The sponsors were Walter Swiegoski and Victoria Palczewski. “Vicki” was her aunt, her mother’s sister. Shirley grew up with two siblings, Lorraine and Anthony, who were much older than her --14 and 10 years older and her brother Ronald was born in 1940 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, when Shirley Ann was four years old. She had a half sister Bronislawa from her father’s first marriage who died young and a sibling that was born and died unnamed at the beginning of her parents’ marriage. Shirley’s siblings are now deceased.

Contrasting Catholic Education When Shirley Longwell Attended Vs. When I Attended (Elementary & Middle School)

Shirley attended Catholic schools for first through twelfth grade and there probably was no question about her attending the Catholic school instead of the public school. My parents sent us to Covell Elementary in our neighborhood for kindergarten since St. Adalbert School started at first grade and did not have kindergarten. They then sent all three daughters to St. Adalbert School for first through eighth grade. Shirley went to St. Adalberts through eighth grade. When she started school In September, 1945, it was nearly the end of the time period (1910 to 1945) which was the “Golden Age” of the Grand Rapids Polonia. The Polonia refers to the Polish diaspora -- Poles who live outside of Poland.) St. Adalbert’sl had nearly 2,000 families so it was the largest parish in the Grand Rapids Diocese. For elementary school through 8th grade, I also attended St. Adalbert’s School beginning in 1964. Enrollment in Catholic schools would peak in 1965. The church subsidized the school so there was no tuition when my Mom attended. Tuition started in 1957 for the high school and in 1965 for the elementary school. I started at St. Adalbert School in 1964 so my parents had to budget for that cost. I know my parents paid tuition for me and my sisters to attend and also needed to put more money n the weekly envelope to the church. Costs had increased because there were fewer sisters teaching and more lay staff. A third of the staff were lay teachers and the rest Notre Dame sisters. Catholic schools still exist in Grand Rapids today but many have been closed or merged. Shirley remembers walking a few blocks every day to get to school. The family lived near First St. and the school was on Fourth St. They had to cross one busy street -- Stocking Avenue -- to get there. When I was in kindergarten at the public school, the school was in the neighborhood, a few blocks away. I don't remember walking there but likely my Mom walked me with my sisters coming along. When I started first grade at St. Adalbert's, my parents taught me how to ride the city bus. I didn’t know that my father followed it the first few times to make sure I got off at the right place. I did that pretty much reliably except I do remember one time that I was eavesdropping on some teenagers and I missed my stop by a few blocks on the way home. I was very nervous walking back even though I knew what to do. Later our Dad brought me and my sisters to school on his way to work. On the census when Shirley was little, half or more of the adults in her inner westside neighborhood had immigrated from Poland. Ten years earlier when her older siblings were young, almost all their neighbors were immigrants -- mostly from Poland but other places like Germany also. Growing up, my family lived outside the neighborhood surrounding St. Adalbert. We were still within the city limits but on the farthest reaches of the westside. Our family was the only Catholic family among the families in the neighborhood that we knew. Shirley was taught by Notre Dame nuns who wore full habits. When I attended, a third of the staff were lay teachers and the rest Notre Dame sisters--some wearing full habits and veils and some wearing a shorter habit and veil. One thing that was the same is that students wore uniforms in both time periods. When Shirley attended, Mass was celebrated every morning and there were prayers throughout the day. I started out with daily Mass but it was celebrated once per week by the time I left. Mass transitioned from Latin to English The school was important to this group of parents who were of a mostly peasant background in order to pass on their faith and traditions to their children. Since new immigrants stopped coming by 1924, by the time Shirley attended school , an important goal was Americanizing children and helping them succeed in the culture while holding on to their faith. While the parents may have wanted them to hold on more to the old ways, Shirley’s generation was more involved outside the Polish enclave. When she started in September of 1943, the first half of Shirley’s first grade year was taught in Polish, then the instruction transitioned to English. Education at Catholic schools during this time period focused on religious education, citizenship, discipline and rote instruction. While the schools were moving toward a more American form, there was still a focus on religious instruction. Students learned grammar and reading, math, history and geography. Science was not emphasized until later. When I attended, the focus was not as much on maintaining a Catholic culture but more on a religious and moral development and a high quality education. Because of Vatican II, which was not accepted by everyone, there was more of an emphasis on personal responsibility regarding faith. A fond memory is in 7th or 8th grade, our teacher who was a sister brought in albums of the rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Weber, “ Jesus Christ Superstar” which would have just come out. The new mission statement of the Diocese of Grand Rapids Catholic Schools: “ We prepare students to seek and fulfill God’s plan for learning and life.”

Orthodox New Year

Old New Year is celebrated today, January 14, according to the Julian calendar. “Our” New Year was on January 1 because we use the Gregorian calendar. On New Year's day children visited every house with wishes for a "Happy and Prosperous New Year." https://www.timebulletin.com/orthodox-new-year-2020-celebrates-on-january-14-as-old-new-year/

Storks in Poland

Who would have thought that white storks and their nests would be a way that Poland and the U.S. differ? I am always looking for ways that Poland and the U.S. are similar and for ways that they are different. I found out about storks while I thought I was researching something else. A problem with doing family history is that “one thing leads to another” so I can end up working on something far from my initial goal. I have been sharing information about Uhniv (where the Kaszucki family came from) and was almost wrapped up with that. I figured that people were starting to get tired of the information about this city but I knew that my Mom’s birthday is coming up as well as the birthday of a new relative that none of us had met so things should get a little more interesting. I was following a final lead on the area and stumbled across someone’s blog. He wrote about traveling by bus from Rawa Ruska and going over the border from Poland to Ukraine on his way to Uhniv. This is how he described it: “The road to Uhniv is close to the Polish border. First we pass vast wheat fields. Harvest has begun. Trucks are waiting to be loaded. Storks walk behind tractors and harvesters. Then we pass dense forests.” He then describes what he sees in the town including a church and synagogue in ruins, a small museum and a factory and then reports that, “A stork has settled on a lamppost and flies up as I get closer.” Because storks are nearly nonexistent in North America, I notice the storks in his story but I let it go.https://vanishedworld.blog/2014/08/03/in-the-borderland/#more-1247 Then today on my Facebook page, there is a story about cleaning the nests of storks in Poland before they migrate back in the Spring. Apparently hundreds of nests will be spruced up. https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7789/Artykul/2655718?fbclid=IwAR0fb_40Ia0-KL5ARq9wgiLAyx71os4_954vNnjeHoDES4V06Lud2CWv43s So I have never thought about storks in Poland and now I see two references to them in one week. Now, I am interested so I look for more information and find out that Poland has 50,000 storks, about 20% of the worldwide stork population. They are very big with a 10 foot wingspan and weighing up to 18 pounds. The nests are large, up to six feet in diameter and ten feet in depth. They are symbols of good fortune and their return in the spring signals the end of a long winter, just like the return of the robin does for us in Michigan. While also migratory, the robin though is only about 3 ounces in weight and has a wingspan of 12 to 18 inches. I hope someday I get to see the storks in Poland! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stork https://phys.org/news/2013-08-poland-stork-friend.html#:~:text=Storks%20sit%20in%20their%20nests,summer%2C%20according%20to%20local%20officials.&text=Poland%20as%20a%20whole%20sees,percent%20of%20the%20world's%20population https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/22/travel/poland-storks.html

The Wealthy in Uhnow

Uhniv had several philanthropists that contributed to the community. Learning about them helps me understand a little about the community that Andrzej and his brothers left behind. These improvements happened after they lived there. We know his mother was alive and still living when he married in Tomaszow Lubelski and probably there were siblings there too. Stepan and Pelagia Zhukovsky became wealthy in the cattle and lumber trades. A local priest suggested they support various causes. They expanded and remodeled the local church in 1855 to 1857. In 1872 they built a dormitory for “Ruthenian Students” for the boys of Uhniv., a chapel at the cemetery. They left part of their property to the church when they died in 1875 (Stepan) and 1879 (Pelagia.) After World War 1, in 1924, the dormitory was converted into a convent for Ukrainian Catholic nuns. Maxim Lysiak’s estate went to the construction of a church belfry. Flisovsky built a house for people who were indigent. https://www.historiaregionu.org/uhnow Theodore Reshetylo "Welfare Foundations in Uhniv" Photo credit: https://www.historiaregionu.org/uhnow?lightbox=dataItem-ipd0jfe7

School in Ukraine

It is likely that when they were younger Andrzej Kaszucki and his two brothers (my 3rd great grandfather) attended school in Uhniv (now in the Ukraine) before they moved to Tomaszow Lubelskie as young adults. School in Uhniv is documented back as far as 1470. Sigismond from Radzanov, the proprietor of the city started a Roman Catholic school. It had three grades for boys only. It appears that children entered school at age 6 or 7. Religion was taught by the priests of the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic rites. The Kaszucki family was Greek Catholic and Fedora and Theodore Kaszucki may have attended somewhere between 1797 and 1803. At about the point that Andrzej Kaszucki (my 3rd great grandfather) would have been entering school, it was Polish in nature until 1804 when the Ukrainians of Uhniv wanted it to become Ukrainian. At that point, administration was shared by the city and Roman Catholic administration. The transition wasn’t completed until the 1850s when it became a Greek Catholic school since Greek Catholics at that point were the majority in the city. The Roman Catholic pastor was able to establish a girl’s school at this point. http://www.remer.org/genealogy/memorial_book/historical_summary_hivniv.html Stepan Bozhyk: "History of Schools in Uhniv" A local couple, Stepan and Pelagia Zhukovsky made their fortune in cattle and lumber and a local priest suggested they donate to education, the church and the poor. In 1872, they created a dormitory for “Ruthenian Students” which had two large halls and living quarters for the administrator. It was designed for the boys of Uhniv, especially the relatives of Stepan and Pelagia who were childless. The third and fourth grade boys lived in one hall and education, meetings, choir rehearsals etc. took place in the other. Besides their lessons, they worked on church singing and the reading of the Cyrillic alphabet. Students who went to a high school got a scholarship of 120 kromen for each of their four years. Andrzej, Fidory & Theodore Kaszucki were in Tomaszow Lubelski by this point. It is possible they had siblings that stayed in the area and benefitted from this. https://www.historiaregionu.org/uhnow Theodore Reshetylo "Welfare Foundations in Uhniv"

Daily Life in the Ukraine

Houses in town were similar to the peasant houses nearby. At first they were covered with straw and later with tin. The walls were painted with white lime and the wooden floors were washed weekly. Usually there was a sizable living room, a hallway, a small room and a pantry. In the living room would be a large table with a bench and some chairs. The room would have a large bed with a canopy and a sideboard for dishes. A shelf along the ceiling would hold any books or other items. A large stove would be between this room and the hall. In the pantry the grain, vegetables and clothing were stored and below it would be a cellar. Women generally took care of the laundry, cooking and baking and also took care of the cattle and chickens. Men worked in the fields and did heavier chores. Richer families would hire seasonal workers to work the fields. Since around the 1850s children went to high schools and universities. Houses were kept clean and there was knowledge of personal hygiene but epidemics were still frequent, especially tuberculosis. There also were a lot of mosquitos due to the marshlands. Malnutrition and the lack of medical care contributed to many deaths, especially among children of high school age. People in Uhniv were religious and attended church regularly. They worked hard and generally owned their own land and raised animals and food. They also worked in trades like shoe making, tannery, carpentry. The Kaszucki family is listed as furriers There were also poor families and wealthy ones. The wealthy were the Zhukovskys, the Kaminskys, the Gumovskys, the Trusevyches and others. https://www.historiaregionu.org

Shirley's Birthday is Coming Up!

My Mom's birthday is about a week away so I wanted to send out a reminder: Shhhhh!!!! It’s a secret! Don’t tell her! We plan to surprise my mother for her 85th birthday with a birthday celebration. Her birthday is on Friday, January 15. There are two ways to participate: one is to get my address so you can send me a birthday card for her. The second is to attend the driveby event. This will be on January 15 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Drop off a card and pick up a gourmet cupcake and extend your greetings from the car. Masks and social distancing required. We know it is January and will have made provisions to keep her warm. Don’t let her age fool you! I just took a walk with her and it was very cold. I wanted to give an early heads up so we can make this special for her. If you know my Mom, she does NOT look for the limelight but we want to make sure she is celebrated. To get her address for the “event” or my address to send a card, comment on this post and I will PM you or else PM me directly.

Stefan Jozef Kaszucki declarant

Antonina Kaszucka (1rst cousin 3x removed) died on January 8, 1864. She was three years old. Her father Mikolaj, age 45 went with his brother Stefan Jozef, known as Jozef, (my 2nd great grandfather) to report the death. They were both furriers. I know so far of at least eight times that Jozef was a witness or Godparent. She was born on April 16, 1864 at 10:00 p.m. At the time her father was 42 and her mother, Marianna nee Bratkiewicz was 40. The witnesses were Jakob Bulewicz, 26 and Piotr Pirog, 24, who were both shoemakers. There was a Greek Catholic Baptism and Confirmation and her Godparents were Jakob and Maryanna Kukila. She was one of at least five children that Mikolaj and Maryanna had who died in infancy or early childhood. Three made it to adulthood and there was at least one half sibling because Nikolaj later remarried Jozefa Iwaniuk and they have at least one child -- Simon.

January 6 is Epiphany Day

The Kaszucki family from Uhniv (now in the Ukraine) may have followed some of these holiday traditions: On Epiphany Day a "blessing of water" would occur on the lake There would be a large cross of ice decorated with pine branches. The church choir would sing Christmas carols. The priest went to every house to bless it with holy water. The houses would have decorations in the window of a cross made of straw. Poland also celebrates Epiphany/The Three Wise Kings where it is a public holiday. One tradition is to write “K + M + B” (or” C + M + B”) over the door to the house in chalk. These letters are the initials of the three wise kings. Their names were Caspar/Kaspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. This also represents the blessing “May Christ bless this house.” Picture credit: By RIA Novosti archive, image #51463 / Yuriy Kaver / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18132407

Ukrainian church history

Eastern Catholic churches are in full communion with the Pope in Rome but are distinct from the Roman Catholic Churches. Catholics are encouraged to attend church in any of the other rites and receive sacraments there. Because the Eastern and Roman Catholic church are in union with each other, there are similarities such as keeping the seven sacraments and acceptance of the Pope as the head of the church. There are some differences between Roman Catholic and Eastern Catholic Churches. There are differences in how they celebrate mass, art, organization and church law. The differences though are not as black and white as they once were and there are variations in different groups of Eastern rite churches. In many Eastern rite churches, married men are allowed to become priests. The sacraments have some differences. Baptism is by immersion rather than sprinkling. An infant receives three sacraments at once--baptism, confirmation and eucharist. The anointing of the sick is not just done to an individual. There are several different rites related to celebrating Mass. The Latin liturgical rites (Roman or Western liturgical rites) would be the one used by Roman Catholic churches. The Eastern churches follow one of several different rites depending on the church and affiliation. The one most familiar to us is probably the Eastern rite (also known as Byzantine rite or the Rite of Constantinople.) The mass is sung and the prayers are different. The history of the Eastern Catholic church involves confusion and conversions for political reasons. Greek Catholicism was more common in Western Ukraine because of mandates of the Polish-Lithuanian state. Orthodoxy was more common in Eastern Ukraine. The Kaszuckis were from Western Ukraine. My description is very minimalist and focused mostly on the time of history of our relatives--not the whole history of the church. I also am trying to tread lightly to not insult anyone or anything unintentionally. For instance, I attended a zoom workshop on Ukrainian church history which was very over my head. I learned that the term “Uniate” is considered insulting to some people who practice according to the Easter rite religion. This term shows up in a lot of the translations I received because it meant that the Eastern church was in Union with the Western Church. Later, some Eastern churches did not appreciate that they were being called by this affiliation Again, I am only scratching the surface in describing the objection. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Catholic_Churches https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/search?q=Uniate (download of pdf from conference https://www.thecompassnews.org/2011/11/do-you-know-differences-between-roman-byzantine-catholic-churches/v retrieved 1/29/2020