Tomaszów Lubelski Youtube Video

This is the last video in the series highlighting areas within the gmina of Tomaszów Lubelski (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomasz%C3%B3w_Lubelski) I previously shared videos from this same series about places relatives lived such as Sabaudia, Górno, Majdan Górny, Rogóźno and Łaszczówka. Even though most of us can not understand the language, you will see glimpses of the area: the White Mountains near Goŕno, a roadside shrine in Sabaudia, cultural activities happening in Majdan Goŕny, and a soccer field in Łaszczówka The video link is on the Polish Family History Facebook page.

Theodore Kaszucki and Feodysia Czyszakiewicz are married!

Theodore Kaszucki and Feodysia Czyszakiewicz are married at Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Greek Catholic Church in Tomaszow Lubelski. The groom’s name was Teodor Kaszucki (my 3rd great grand uncle) and the bride’s name was Teodora Czyszkiewicz, they were both 23 years old and they were married February 25, 1816. Both families were furriers. You might remember I had a difficult time sorting out the brothers from Uhnow. I had Fedor, Fedir, Theodore, Fedora, and Teodor. At first, I thought they were the same person with different versions of their name. Then I thought that the youngest one had died and the parents had used the name again. Eventually I figured out that one was Teodor and one was Fidory. That would be enough name complication for one story but it turns out it isn’t. His wife Theodora/Teodora went by the nickname “Teska” and also had the name Feodysia. Again, different versions of the same name and this time all the same person. The really weird thing though is that Teodora’s father Stefan changed his LAST name from Panczyszak to Czyszkiewicz. The father was a furrier and lived at #219 Krasnobrodzki St. in Tomaszów Lubelski. Her mother was Anna nee Jewniczuk. First wedding announcements (banns) happened 11 February and the second one 18 February around 12 PM in front of the door of the municipal clerk's house

House Numbers: Wisniowski (Tomaszow Lubelski)

Blazej Wisniowski and Jagnieska nee Szczesnicka (my 4x great grandparents) may have moved around a bit. Blazej is referred to as “famous” in the middle of the time period captured -- 1813 to 1818 -- I am not sure if that is due to his work in pottery or to differentiate him from a Blazej who was in the “poor house.” Blazej Wisniowski and single mother Anna Paszkoska had a child Francis in 1814 when he lived in the poor house and she worked there. This was located at #27. This is a different Blazej My 4x great grandparents had various house numbers in the records for the time period of 1813 to 1817. (349, 360, 36, 36, 339, 339, 276) The Blazej that is my 4x great grand parent and his wife Jagnieska had their son Wojcieh in 1813, #349. In 1815, Blazej Wisniowski and Jagnieska nee Szczesnicka had Jozef in their house #360. A year later Jozef dies and the house is recorded as #36. Anna is born the the “famous” Blazaz in 1817 in his house #339. Anna died the following year (1817) in their house #339. In 1818, they had another child named Anna and she was born in #276. The Wisniowski family was potters. The other family of potters--the Wiciejewski family-- lived in the area of 206 and 207.

House Numbers: Kurkiewicz (Tomaszow Lubelski)

Antoni Kurkiewicz and Marianna nee Kiszczynska (my 4x great grandparents) lived in house 60 from 1812 to 1814 then moved lived in house #16 and #17 for several years (1815-1818.) By 1823, they lived in house #23. Marianna’s mother died in house #89 in 1814. ********** Details: Antoni Kurkiewicz and Marianna nee Kiszczynska (my 4x great grandparents) had their child Jagniezka in 1812 in their house #60. In 1814, Marianna (Kisczynska) Kurkiewicz’ mother Justyna Kiszczynska died in #89. Anthony Kudlicka was a neighbor.Their son Jozef was born in 1815 in #60. Their daughter Jagnieszka died in 1815 in house #16. In 1818, their daughter Katarzyna was born in house #17. In 1821, daughter Apolonia was born in house #76. In 1823, Wincenty was born in his father’s house #76. In 1823, 2 month old Felix died in his parents’ house #76. ********** Other Kurkiewicz: Tomasz Kurkiewicz was born in house #432 in 1814. His father Walenty Kurkiewicz was later married to my 4th great aunt, Katarzyna Wiciejewska. In 1817, Walenty’s wife Aniela (nee Kata) died in the same house. Some of the Kurkiewicz’s lived in the 200’s like the Kaszucki family. Ezekiel Kurkiewicz was born to Antoni Kurkiewicz and mother Xenia (nee Bratkiewicz) in house #247 in 1817. Antoni’s father was Pawel Kurkiewicz. Pawel died in 1818 in house #77. In 1821 Antoni Kurkiewicz died in #244 (his own house) and his brother-in-law, a blacksmith was a witness. In 1823, Tekla Kurkiewicz was born to Konstanty Kurkieiwcz and Apolonia nee Jablonska in house #75. The next year in 1824, daughter Katarzyna was born in the same house.

House Numbers: Kaszucki story (Tomaszow Lubelski)

The records on the Kaszucki side include some house numbers. These would all be in the city of Tomaszow Lubelski. I don’t know if they lived and worked their trade in the same building but if they did, these would also be the addresses of their business. Only one of the references includes a street name-- 219 Krasnobrodzki Street. I don’t know if the other numbers in the 200 range (204, 206, 207, 213, 215, 225) were all on the same street. Most of the addresses were in the 200 block, the only others were 106, 160, and 425. The time period is 1814 to 1827. All the addresses refer to the three Kaszucki brothers from Uhnow: Andrzej, Fedory and Teodore. Two were furriers and one was a shoemaker. ********** Andrzej Kaszucki’s (a furrier)and his wife Salomea nee Wiciejewska (my 3x great grandparents) do not have records where their house number is given. There are records that her parents Maciej Wiciejewski and Marianna nee Metalska (my 4x great grandparents) lived in #206 and later in #207. (Maybe like my grandparent’s address in Grand Rapids, this is the same building.) The Wiciejewski family occupation was potters. The other family of potters--the Wisniewski family lived at 276 and also in the 300s. Andrzej and Salomea had their first child Mikolaj in Salomea’s parent's house #27 (207?) in 1823-- so they were either visiting or living there at the time. Their son Jozef was born in 1824, also in Salomea’s father’s house. The number is given as 27 but may have been 207. ********** Prior to this, Salomea’s siblings were born and/or died in houses #160, 206 and 106. In house number #206 was Marianna (d. 1814 at age one)--Rafal Lusawicki, shoemaker is a witness. Jozef (b. 1815)--Michal Kudliki, a master shoemaker is one of the witnesses. Antonina (b. 1816)--Jozef Kudlicki, witness is a shoemaker , and twins Wojciech and Konstancja (b. 1819)-- a cooper and Michal Kudlicki, shoemaker are witnesses, While #206 was written for many births and deaths of the family of Maciej and Marianna Wiciejewski, when their son Jozef died in 1815 at 15 weeks old, their house address was given as 106 instead of 206. Father Maciej is a potter, Rafal Lusawicki is a neighbor A few years later Jozef was born in house number 207 (in 1824.) ********** While #206 was written for many births and deaths of the family of Maciej and Marianna Wiciejewski, when their son Jozef died in 1815 at 15 weeks old, their house address was given as 106 instead of 206. Father Maciej is a potter, Rafal Lusawicki is a neighbor.There are additional births and deaths that happen in # 106. Two years before in 1813, Anna Mirowska, wife of Maciej Mirowska, shoemaker died. Marcin Halkiewicz (son of Antoni H & Malgorzata Mirowska) was born in 1820 in 106. His father was a shoemaker. Father shoemaker, In 1824, in his own home which was #106, Maciej Mirowski (age 76 and a shoemaker) died.. Michal Kudlicki, a neighbor who was a shoemaker was one witness. Adam Halkiewicz was born here in 1825 (parents Antoni Halkiewicz & Malgorzata Mirowski.)The father was a shoemaker. A weaver and barrel maker were witnesses.

Katarzyna Golebiowska Died February 20, 1820

Katarzyna Golebiowska (my 5x great grandmother) died at 6:00 in the evening on February 20, 1820. She died in house number 30 in Gorno. She was 80 years old and a widow. Her husband Franciszek also died in February, seven years earlier. Paweł Gołębiowski , son of the deceased ,24 and Jan Raszkiewicz ,36 , son in law of the deceased, reported her death two days later at 10:00 in the morning. They left Górny and went into Tomaszów Lubelski to do this.

Lorraine Raczkiewicz Married John Dykstra February 22 1941

Lorraine Raczkiewicz (my aunt) married John Dykstra. “When John was 18, he married his sweetheart, Lorraine Raczkiewicz, on February 22, 1941 at St. Aldabert’s in Grand Rapids. The newlyweds settled into an apartment by St. James Church and John later went into the family meat business, Dykstra Beef Co., where he became part owner along with his brothers Bob and Sib. John and Lorraine were later blessed with the birth of their only child, Sandra Ann born in 1943.” From John’s memorial: https://heritagelifestory.com/obituaries/john-dykstra.45081

Teresa (Walewander) Grabek married Grzegorz Lebiedowski 21 Feb 1813

Teresa (Walewander) Grabek (my 4x great grandmother) married for a second time on 21 February 1813. Her first husband (my 4x great grandfather) Jozef Grabicz (Grabek) died a few years earlier on 15 January 1811. Teresa married Grzegorz Lebiodowski, a 34 year old widower. She was 30 years old. None of the witnesses are familiar to me but I list them in case our Polish relatives recognize them: Ignacy Dzierży, Michal Srytrzyszyn, Marcin Trutwa and Andrzej Groch. They had one child Agnieszka two years later.

"Uncle Joe's" Birth Was Reported on February 19

Joseph Raczkiewicz (my grand uncle) was born February 18! The birth was reported on the 19th. This was a surprise to find in his birth record from Poland because he celebrated it on March 19. My Mother explained to us that he didn’t know when his real birthday was so he celebrated on the name day for St. Joseph. Even his US Social Security application lists March 19 as his birthday. The year is also wrong in this record since it lists 1894 but he was actually born in 1891. According to the birth record, Jozef Raczkiewicz was born at 3:00 in the afternoon on 6/18 February, 1891 in Sabaudia. (There are 2 dates in Russian records. The 1st date is the Julian calendar date which was used by the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church. The second is the Gregorian date -- used by the Polish, the rest of Europe and us today. In the 1800s, there was a 12 days difference between the dates.) Joe’s parents were Jan Raczkiewicz, a 26 year old peasant and Katarzyna nee Kaszucka, age 21. He was their second child. The oldest child Jan was two and a half years old when he was born. Joe was baptized 7/19 February in Tomaszow Lubelski. His Godparents were Wiktor Wiciewski and Jozefa Skurcz. “Uncle Joe” lived with my grandparents until his death so my sisters and I celebrated his birthday with him throughout our childhood. ********** Jozef immigrated with his brother Anthony (my grandfather.) On the manifest, I learned that 20 year old Antoni and his 22 year old brother Josef, were born in Zabaldy (Sabaudia) and were farm laborers who could read and write. While they were Russian citizens, they were Polish. Their father, Jan, of “Zabaldy” (Sabaudia), Lublin, Russia had paid their passage and Antoni had an additional $18 in his pocket. It is about 700 miles from Poland to Antwerp. The current train ride would be 23 hours. https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Antwerp/Tomasz%C3%B3w-Lubelski. ********** Here are the addresses I found for Joseph. In my childhood, he didn’t work and the explanation was that he was hurt in the military, that it had caused epilepsy. He did work for many years when he got to the U.S.: 1914 Tacker (Keifer Tanning) 946 Dayton 1916 Finisher 327 Gunnison 1921 Cabinet maker 315 Gunnison 1928 Cabinet maker 501 Milwaukee 1948 (no occupation listed) 501 Milwaukee ********** This picture was taken by Walter Filipkowski, an early photographer in Michigan. He was a furniture finisher in 1910 and had a photography studio at 346 (or 345 and ½ according to one record) from 1920 to 1922. Joe would have been between 29 and 31 years of age. According to his World War 1 draft registration three years before he was described as having light colored hair, blue eyes and a slender build. I asked my Mom if she knew anything about the pearl ring on Joe’s left hand. She didn’t but she said she remembers a very large picture of JOe with an ornate frame hung in his room. We don’t know where that picture might be. https://clements.umich.edu/files/tinder_directory.pdf

Jan Raczkiewicz Was Shot in 1915

Jan had a big year in 1915 for some reason. I thought it was the year he married France but that was actually at the beginning of 1916. I found out he worked as a shoemaker and that information might have been good or bad -- was he fired as a cabinet maker or was he trying out something he hoped would be an improvement? The bad news that year is that he was shot -- two times actually, on the same night. The past year (2020) in Grand Rapids has seen a sharp spike in shootings and in fact there were 35 homicides in 2020 versus 18 in 2019. The pandemic and racial inequities are the probable reasons. It makes me wonder what was going on in 1915 in Grand Rapids and how safe was the city to which Jan and his brothers had recently immigrated. ***** Reading in the Grand Rapids Herald article (thanks for finding the article, Lori Longwell Peterson!) that the argument started at a wedding nearby made me think that alcohol was probably involved in this crime. I have personally been to enough Polish weddings to know about the heavy drinking that occurs. It is hard to say who was at fault -- either Jan or the two alleged shooters. I am not sure if the convoluted story reported to the police and inability to answer questions was related to alcohol or the fact that Jan’s English was probably not yet that good even though he had been in the country for about five years at the time of the shooting. It also could have been some other factor such as an unwillingness to provide the details to the police. ***** So what was going on in Jan’s life at the time? The same year of the shooting was the only year that Jan worked as a shoemaker rather than a cabinet maker. Jan had been working as a cabinet maker for Phoenix Furniture Company the year before. The year of the shooting, he had a brief career as a shoemaker with Adolph Montrim. Then by the following year, he returned to making cabinets again for a different company -- Johnson Furniture. He remained at that company for the next several years until I can’t find any more traces of him. I don’t know if he was fired or let go or if he was involved in some sort of business venture. He married Frances 11 months after this so I don’t know if they knew each other. . My grandfather Anthony might have also attended the wedding because they probably knew many of the same people. He was likely nearby during the shooting since the two brothers lived in the same house at the time. ***** Like other immigrants, Jan moved around quite a bit during the first five years he was in the U.S.. The first address I have for him is 409 Stocking Ave in 1913. Then in 1914, before the shooting, I can verify that both Jan and Anthony were living at 122 Winter. Later in 1915, apparently after the shooting, Jan moved to 255 Olive SW but Anthony remained in the house where the shooting occured. Then Jan and his wife Frances (along with his brother Joseph for a while) moved to 327 Gunnison where the couple stayed for at least four years. All of these houses are in the same general neighborhood. ***** The article says the wedding was near First Street and Stocking Avenue. It was more likely the arguing began at the reception rather than the wedding. There were two halls in that area which are possibilities: the Taxpayers Hall and Swantek Hall. Taxpayers was on First St. just east of Stocking. It had German roots and eventually burned down. Swantek Hall was on Stocking at Second Street and was a privately owned facility. My mother remembers as a young girl walking to one of these halls from her house to buy potato chips. ***** Feb. 16, 1915 https://grpl.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16055coll9/id/96099/rec/1 For Raczkiewicz. Below is the transcription on that page as it is hard to read. JOHN RACZKIEWICE ATTACKED IN FRONT OF HOME BY TWO MEN. John Raczklewlcz, 26 years old, 122 Winter avenue, N.W., is in Butterworth hospital suffering from bullet wounds in his left chest and left hand, the result of being shot while in front of his home last night shortly after 10 o'clock. The wounds are not believed tb be fatal. The police could learn little about the shooting. Their first report was that Raczkiewicz had shot himself, but when taken to the hospital the wounded man said he was fired upon by two men with whom he had quarreled while attending a wedding on First street near Stocking Avenue last night. When questioned by the detectives, Raczklewlcz was unable to tell who the men were with whom he had quarreled, or what the quarrel was about. He said he believed the men had followed him home and laid in wait for him. The wounds were Inflicted wth a 22 caliber revolver. One of the bullets Iodged In the hand, while the other entered the left chest, taking a downward course and came out about the middle of the side. Detectives Youngs and Bllnston are investigating.

Jan Raczkiewicz Arrives in the U.S in 1910

“You can have more than one home. You can carry your roots with you, and decide where they grow.” Hanning Mankell ***** Jan Raczkiewicz (my grand uncle) arrived in the United States on February 18, 1910. When his mother Katarzyna (nee Kaszucka) said goodbye to 21 year old Jan, it was likely she was never going to see him again. A year and a half later, 16 year old Anthony (my grandfather) and 21 year old Joseph (my grand uncle) also left. As a mother, I am sure she was going to miss them but was concerned about their future. The economic, religious, and political reality for her sons must have seemed pretty bleak because of the events that were happening all around them. ***** Jan,, at age 22 and a farmer/day laborer, left from Hamburg, Germany on 3 February 1910 on the ship The Pennsylvania. Before sailing, he traveled over 700 miles from Tomaszow Lubelski to get to the ship. He traveled with three other men from the same area. One was Stanislaw Czarnopys, age 20 who left behind an uncle Jan and was going to his father Jozef, who was already in the U.S. The other two men were Moische Raische, 25 and Jozef Benko, 45. Fifteen days later, the ship arrived in New York. Everyone’s initial destination was Stanley Czarnopys’ father in Linden, New Jersey, about 20 miles away. By 1913, Jan was living at 409 Stocking Ave. NW in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was working as a cabinetmaker at the Phoenix Furniture Company, in the flourishing furniture industry. ***** General factors that drove Poles to leave Poland in the late 1800s to the early 1900s were poverty, a shortage of land, the military draft, political or cultural repression and religious discrimination. The factors that pulled them to the other countries were the promise of jobs, cheap farmland and chain migration--where migrants from a certain town follow others to a new location. Jan’s mother Katarzyna grew up in a family of furriers that had been marrying potters, weavers, shoemakers and other trades people. They were likely suffering economically because people would not have had much money to buy their goods and services. She married a farmer. It is unknown if Jan’s father owned his own land. In 1883, in the Russian area, the Peasant Bank was established to help some peasants buy farmland which kept some people in Poland. They would likely not have had enough land to pass it down to every son in their family. Her son's economic future staying in Poland probably did not look good. ***** It is hard to imagine the sacrifice and planning involved in having family members leave like this. Information was not readily available like it is now and people had to wait for a letter to arrive. Either their parents or they themselves needed to come up with the money for the ticket and the journey. The family would have still been raising Stanislawa, Piotr, Marion, Paulina and Boleslaw so there would have been a lot going on. ***** How did Jan know where to go in the United States and how to get there? This would be an example of chain migration -- there were already some people in Grand Rapids, Michigan from Tomaszow Lubelski before Jan arrived. Working with Curt Wolf (4th cousin), I found out that his relative Konstantine Eifler came to the U.S. in 1908. Konstantine’s sister Pauline would marry Joseph Niedzwiedz (my 1rst cousin 3x removed--and this name should be familiar to some since Eileen (Racczkiewicz grew up knowing her uncle Andy Nezwed--he is the son of Jozef Niedzwiedz and Paulina nee Eifler.) They would definitely have been some of the people that left Tomaszow Lubelski and ended up in Grand Rapids before Jan and could help him and others who came later. Joseph Niedzwiedz would have been Jan’s second cousin since their grandparents were siblings -- Jozef and Julianna Kaszucka. They would have been part of the welcoming community that helped Jan and his brothers to make this huge change. Later, I know my grandfather Anthony and his wife Pauline did that for other people, writing letters, letting them board in their house, sending money and providing other encouragement and material support. ***** Image: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Polish.Genealogy/permalink/10160733499088266 ***** Read “Why Did They Pick Grand Rapids As Their Destination?” on the Polish Family History blog at:

Emigration from Poland

Most of the emigration from Poland occurred in the late 1800s to early 1900s but there was a small amount before then. The very first Polish craftsmen arrived in the United States in 1608. They were admired for their work ethic. When the three partitions of Poland occurred (1772--1795) with other countries taking parts of Poland, small numbers of people left. They were not the peasants but rather gentry and nobles who fought against the invading countries and left for political reasons or because their land had been confiscated. After various uprisings against this situation in the 1830s, again some nobles, military officers and intellectuals left.********* Large numbers of Poles left the Prussian area in the 1850s and it was for economic reasons along with social discrimination, high taxes, forced conscription into a foreign army and epidemics of cholera. Polish peasants were free to leave their land beginning in the early 1800s but also then lacked support from the landowners. Also, the lack of industrial development by the invading countries resulted in poverty. Farming was the main way to support a family and there wasn’t enough land available for all the sons in a family to inherit. New laws required the use of Russian rather than the Polish language as well as conversion to Orthodox Catholicism and high taxes. A 1863 uprising in the Russian partition was done by nobility and peasants trying to restore cultural and religious freedom but was defeated. This resulted in many deaths, deportations to Siberia and many people emigrating. After the uprising, Russia began moving its factories out of Poland resulting in even more poverty. At the same time in the Prussian partition, elimination of the Polish culture and “Germanizing” the area was the goal. Landowners of large parcels were given support to improve farming which reduced the need for day laborers so many families left because they could not feed their family.********** In 1883, in the Russian area, the Peasant Bank was established to help some peasants buy farmland which kept some people in Poland but many still needed to leave. The government also encouraged workers to move to industrial centers in Russia such as Siberia. Practicing their religion was allowed in the Austrian area but in 1880 began the period known as “Galician Misery.” Small farmers lost their lands to more wealthy nobles and there were no large cities to go to for work. Military reasons to leave were also important. Military service was mandatory and the Polish were put in separate groups who were sent in first to battles and suffered the highest casualties.********** In the 1880s leaving from the Russian and Austrian partitions began to occur at a high rate. Younger sons who would not have any land was a frequent reason. If working on a large manor farm, the reduction of a need for workers due to the increasing use of farm machinery. Some left to earn money with the plan to return to buy land in Poland. Factors that drove them out in the late 1800s to the early 1900s were poverty, a shortage of land, the military draft, political or cultural repression and religious discrimination. The factors that pulled them to the other countries were the promise of jobs, cheap farmland and chain migration--where migrants from a certain town follow others to a new location. ********** After World War I things changed. Many Poles returned to Poland. Immigration to the United States was at a reduced rate. The United States established quotas on maximum numbers from each country in 1921. ************ From Szabados, Stephen. Polish Immigration to America: When, Why, How and Where. 2016, pp 1-18. (Image from Ancestry)

Martyna Maria & Julia Raczkiewicz Are 20 Years Old Today

Martyna Maria and Julia Raczkiewicz (my 2nd cousins 1x removed) are celebrating their birthday today. They are twin daughters of Tomasz Raczkiewicz and live in Poznan, Poland. Happy birthday!

Fat Tuesday and Paczki

A difference between Polish tradition and Polish American tradition is that today is our "Fat Tuesday" or "Paczki Day" instead of last Thursday. Honestly, the bakeries are trying to sell them for a few weeks around here. I commend people who bake and try to recreate favorite recipes. Check out the picture of Connie Liszewski's first attempt! They look pretty good. Connie's husband Mike is my 3rd cousin 1x removed. Even though we were both born in Grand Rapids, we never crossed paths to my knowledge. It is fun to make connections doing family history.

Walenty/Valentine

The tradition of naming children based on the name days of saints was common in Poland. Walenty is often used for sons born on or near the Feast Day of St. Valentine. The Latin version Venentinus led to some records calling the boy Valentine. I have a few examples of Walenty/Valentine in my family tree. Walenty Grabek (my 4x great grandfather) was born in 1768 approximately. I don’t have access to his birth record to see if he was born on February 14. Walenty Wiciejewski (a 3x great uncle on the maternal side) was born February 9, 1824. Walenty Kupka was born February 14, 1822. He was the husband of my 5th cousin Katarzyna Kiszczynska. Other Walentys include Kurkiewicz, Gdansk, Kowal, Prszybysz, Kwiatkowski, and Gogulski Happy Valentine’s Day! pd4u, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Grzegorz Niedźwiedź & Julianna Kaszucka married February 15, 1857

Grzegorz Niedźwiedź (Curt Wolf’s 2x great grandfather) and Julianna Kaszucka (my 2nd great grand aunt) married February 15, 1857. The groom was age 20 and the bride was age 16. They were underage according to the Napoleonic code. Men who were under the age of 25 and women who were under the age of 21 needed both parents’ permission in order to marry. The record tells us they had the verbal permission of those present so apparently the parents did approve of the marriage. Grzegorz’s parents, Mikolaj Niedzwiedz and Franciszka nee Lacharski were shoemakers from Tomaszów. Juliann’s parents Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea nee Wiciejewska were furriers from Tomaszów Lubelski. The grandparents of the wedding couple were originally from Uhnow. The witnesses were Antoni Ramanowicz, 47, a shoemaker, and Pantaleon Skrzypczuk, 38, a furrier, both from Tomaszów.********************* A fun fact: Niedzwiedz means bear in Polish

Today is Fat Thursday.

Today is Fat Thursday. Have you had a paczki today? What is your favorite flavor?******************* CZmarlin — Christopher Ziemnowicz, releases all rights but a photo credit would be appreciated if this image is used anywhere other than Wikipedia. Please leave a note at Wikipedia here. Thank you!, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

House numbers: Kaszucki side

House Numbers: Kaszucki story The records on the Kaszucki side include some house numbers. These would all be in the city of Tomaszow Lubelski. I don’t know if they lived and worked their trade in the same building but if they did, these would also be the addresses of their business. Only one of the references includes a street name-- 219 Krasnobrodzki Street. I don’t know if the other numbers in the 200 range (204, 206, 207, 213, 215, 225) were all on the same street. Most of the addresses were in the 200 block, the only others were 106, 160, and 425. The time period is 1814 to 1827. All the addresses refer to the three Kaszucki brothers from Uhnow: Andrzej, Fedory and Teodore. Two were furriers and one was a shoemaker. ********** Andrzej Kaszucki’s (a furrier)and his wife Salomea nee Wiciejewska (my 3x great grandparents) do not have records where their house number is given. There are records that her parents Maciej Wiciejewski and Marianna nee Metalska (my 4x great grandparents) lived in #206 and later in #207. (Maybe like my grandparent’s address in Grand Rapids, this is the same building.) The Wiciejewski family occupation was potters. The other family of potters--the Wisniewski family lived at 276 and also in the 300s. Andrzej and Salomea had their first child Mikolaj in Salomea’s parent's house #27 (207?) in 1823-- so they were either visiting or living there at the time. Their son Jozef was born in 1824, also in Salomea’s father’s house. The number is given as 27 but may have been 207. ********** Prior to this, Salomea’s siblings were born and/or died in houses #160, 206 and 106. In house number #206 was Marianna (d. 1814 at age one)--Rafal Lusawicki, shoemaker is a witness. Jozef (b. 1815)--Michal Kudliki, a master shoemaker is one of the witnesses. Antonina (b. 1816)--Jozef Kudlicki, witness is a shoemaker , and twins Wojciech and Konstancja (b. 1819)-- a cooper and Michal Kudlicki, shoemaker are witnesses, While #206 was written for many births and deaths of the family of Maciej and Marianna Wiciejewski, when their son Jozef died in 1815 at 15 weeks old, their house address was given as 106 instead of 206. Father Maciej is a potter, Rafal Lusawicki is a neighbor A few years later Jozef was born in house number 207 (in 1824.) ********** While #206 was written for many births and deaths of the family of Maciej and Marianna Wiciejewski, when their son Jozef died in 1815 at 15 weeks old, their house address was given as 106 instead of 206. Father Maciej is a potter, Rafal Lusawicki is a neighbor.There are additional births and deaths that happen in # 106. Two years before in 1813, Anna Mirowska, wife of Maciej Mirowska, shoemaker died. Marcin Halkiewicz (son of Antoni H & Malgorzata Mirowska) was born in 1820 in 106. His father was a shoemaker. Father shoemaker, In 1824, in his own home which was #106, Maciej Mirowski (age 76 and a shoemaker) died.. Michal Kudlicki, a neighbor who was a shoemaker was one witness. Adam Halkiewicz was born here in 1825 (parents Antoni Halkiewicz & Malgorzata Mirowski.)The father was a shoemaker. A weaver and barrel maker were witnesses. ********** Andrzej’ brother Fedora Kaszucki, 20 (a shoemaker) and his wife Marianna nee Mirowski, 17 had their first child Mikoaj in house number 215 in 1825. This was the house of Stefan Szokalewicz, who was also a shoemaker. Much later, Jozef (Fedora’s nephew) will marry a relative of Szokalawicz, his first wife Katarzyna Szokalewicz. ***************************** Brother TeodorKaszucki ’s family has house number 225 and 219 associated with them and also the father-in-law’s house --213 in the record but later 215. In 1818, son Antoni was born to Teodor Kaszucki and Tekla Panczyszak in house 225. Earlier in 1813, Anna Czarnopys (parents are Kasper, 50, a peasant and Magdalena nee Gdanska, 30) was born in this house Her parents were Kasper Czarnpys & Magdalena nee Gdanski). Stefan Szokalawicz, 29 also a peasant farmer residing in Tomaszow was a witness. In 1816, Maciej (parents Kasper Czarnopys & Malgorzata nee Gdanski) was also born in this house. In 1819, Teodor and his wife Tekla 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, Teodor and his wife Tekla had a daughter named Marianna, born in the house of Jan Zamalski #425. This daughter would later 1839) marry Jozef Wisniowska (son of Blazej & Agnes, my 4th great grandparents.) 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 his wife Tekla had a son named Maxym who was born in house #204 and the record says it is the parents’ house (age 34 and a furrier.) ------------------ Neighbors in the #200’s who were extended relatives: : Kasper Lusawicki (parents Rafal & Marianna nee Wiciejewska) born 1811 in house # 201 in 1811. Rozalia Gdanski died in 1816 in house #233, according to her son Maciej, a spponmaker Francis Gdanska was born in 1820 to Maciej Gdansi and Jozefa K in their house #235. A carpenter Jozef Kudlicki was a witness. Walenty Gdnask, an 80 year old beggar, died in 1823 in the home of his son-in-law Kasper Czarnopys, 54 in #227. Walenty Kudlicki, a neighbor who was a shoemaker was another witness. Kasper Czarnopys, 57, died in his own home #222 in 1824. He was a farmer. His son-in law Ignacy Siekel was a weaver. Classiccardinal, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Franciszek Golebioski died February 13, 1813

Franciszek Golebioski (my 5x great grandfather) died on February 13, 1813 at 10:00 in the morning. He was sixty years old when he died so he was born about 1753. Birth years of relatives in the 1750s is as far back as I have been able to find-- and I haven’t found their birth records. The birth year is assumed from the age in the wedding and death records. One declarant was his son Michal Golembioski, a 40 year old peasant farmer residing in Gurnia. On January 29, Michal had married for the first (or second?) time and his father passed away two weeks later. MIchal’s sister Apolonia is my 4x great grandmother. The other declarant was Jan Raszkiewicz, age 38 and a neighbor. Figuring out which “Jan Raszkiewicz” it likely was, is a process of determining what makes sense. He was 38 and it was the year 1813 so I know he was a Jan that was likely born around 1775. I have a 4x great grandfather that was born about 1775 so he is a possibility. This death record says that Franciszek died at home, in Gurnia at house number 20 so I needed to check if I know where each Jan Raszkiewicz lived. The house number is rarely seen in the records I am looking at but it turns out that Jan lived at #71 in the same village at this time. Also, Franciszek is his father-in-law so it is likely that it is him. Hopefully I didn’t lose you with this explanation but I wanted to give you a glimpse into how all the pieces of information are like a puzzle that can sometimes be put together. I do not need to “prove” the witnesses like I do with determining who the relatives are, but it is kind of nice to figure this out. ******************************** Tomaszów 1813 , 15th February Declarants- Michał Gołembioski, 40 , peasant farmer residing in Gurnia , son of deceased and Jan Raszkiewicz, age 38 , neighbour . Franciszek Gołembioski died 13th February 1813, 10 o'clock in the morning, age 60 . Died at home , number 20.

House numbers: Raczkiewicz side (Sabaudia, Gorno, Majdan Gorny & Laszczowka)

House numbers: Raczkiewicz side: I know addresses for houses in the villages my ancestors lived in are probably different now, but it is fun to look at those few records that give a house number where someone was born or died. By looking at them, I am trying to piece together some information about their lives. On the Raczkiewicz side, the villages that the ancestors were in were Sabaudia, Górno , Majdan Górny, and Łaszczówka. In the records that I have seen so far, actual house numbers were given for all of them except Sabudia. The relatives involved are the families of Golebiowski, Raczkiewicz, Dominik, and Grabek who seemed to go back and forth between Górno, Majdan Górny and Sabuadia. Also, the Krawczyk family who were from the half-Jewish community of Laszczowka. Górno and Majdan Górny: Majdan Górny. and Górno are 1.7 miles apart but 7 miles by road according to Google maps.. Majdan Górny is four miles east of Tomaszów Lubelski. Górno [ˈɡurnɔ] is 2 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. Górno has 130 people living there currently. The house numbers mentioned in family records are: 11, 20, 100. (I wonder if #100 is a mistake and should be #10?) Families who had lived in Majdan Gorny and Sabaudia moved to Górno for part of their life. The first one was born in Majdan Gorny but went to Gorno after his children were raised. Franciszek Golebiowski (a 5x great grandfather) died in #20 in Górno in 1813. He had been born in Majdan Górny in approximately 1753 and was living there in 1783, when daughter Apolonia was born in Majdan Górny. He must have moved from Majdan Górny to Górno sometime after that since when he died at age 65, that is where he lived. Tomasz Dominik (my 4x great grandfather) was born in Majdan Gorny but was living in Górno in house number 100. His grandson Michael Raszkiewicz and wife Anna nee Dominik had their oldest son Jan in 1824 in this house. Jan was born at 8pm on December 26 so it is possible they were visiting for the Christmas holiday. Their other children were all born in Majdan Gorny after this. Walenty Grabek (a 4x great grandfather) died in house #11 in Górno in 1812. Fourteen years earlier he lived in Majdan Górny when son Lukasz was born. -------------------------- 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. The house numbers mentioned in the family record are 30, 39 and 71. Franciszek Golebiowski’s wife Katarzyna (5x great grandmother) died in 1820 in house #30. She would have been in had Górno when he died seven years earlier. She likely moved near her daughter Apolonia and son Pawel after her husband died. Her daughter Apolonia (4x great) and husband Jan Raczkiewicz lived at #71 between 1813 and 1818. They then moved to #39 after 1821. This is documented after all their children except Jan were born in these two houses. Jan had been born in his grandparents’ Franciszek & Katarzyna Golebiowski’s house in Górno --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Then in Laszczow: Łaszczówka is a village about one mile east of Tomaszów Lubelski. It has about 1,000 residents. The family members that lived there several generations of Krawczyk’s. The house numbers mentioned int he records are # 5 and 10. Rozalia Krawczyk (my 5x great grandmother) died in 1814 in #5. Five years later in 1820, her husband Kazmierez (my 5x great grandfather) died in house # 10. This was the house of his son Wojciech. Very likely Kazmierez went to live with his son after his wife died ---------------------------------------- Tangopaso, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

A pigeon?

When looking at records, the same last name may appear in lots of variations. Some of it is a spelling or handwriting alteration such as c and s in Raczkiewicz and Raszkiewicz. Many times it is because of Polish grammar. Polish grammar appears to be very challenging. The nuns at St. Adalberts had my class diagramming sentences so we grew up knowing English pretty well. Polish children must do something similar. Nouns may change for gender (masculine, feminine and neuter) for number (singular and plural) and for case (direct object, indirect object, possession, interrogatives, prepositional, and vocative--addressing people in special situations. So when looking for relatives of Franciszek Golebiowski, there were ones with spelling differences: Gołeb versus Gołąb, but the most fascinating variations have to do with the declination of the word Gołąb: Gołębiów, Gołębiówski, Gołębiów, Gołębia, etc. It also turns out that the word “Gołąb” means pigeon. Dori, CC BY-SA 3.0 US , via Wikimedia Commons

Life Story Quotes

“To set a path for the next phase of your life, you have to know where you came from. You have to know your own story.” **************** “The point is to see the movie of your life as a coherent storyline rather than a series of isolated fromes. When you do that, you make more sense of what you need to carry with you for the next step in the journey, and what you can safely, comfortably, and confidently leave behind.” **************** “Our stories reflect our purpose and our connections.” ***************** Life Reimagined: Discovering Your New Life Possibilities, October 1, 2013 by Richard J. Leider (Author), Alan M. Webber. Ebaychatter0, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Marianna Grabek Was Born Feb 10, 1843

"Tomaszów 10 th February 1843 11 o'clock in the morning. Presented himself Łukasz Grabek , peasant from Majdan Górny, age 45 and in the presence of witnesses Tomasz Krawczyk , age 28 and Andrzej Typek ,age 41 , both peasants from Majdan Górny and showed us a female child born in Majdan Górny on 10th of this current month and year at 3 o'clock in the morning from his wife Katarzyna née Krawczyk , age 40 . This child during Holy Baptism today was given the name Maryanna and the Godparents were the above mentioned Tomasz Krawczyk and Katarzyna Krawczyk." (Genealogical Translations FB page, 5/18/2020)********** What I can add to this translation: Marianna is my 2x great grandmother. The Godparent Tomasz Krawczyk was her uncle. The Godmother had the same name as her mother but was her mother’s sister-in-law. Marianna’s parents were married for twenty years before they had her. Marianna’s mother came from Laszczowka and moved to Majdan Gorny when she married Lukasz. When I wrote this two weeks ago, I had only discovered one sibling so far--Rozalia -- but I have now confirmed Jozef and Francis. I will be trying to confirm over the next week Jakub and Apolonia.

Jozef Kaszucki Married First Wife Katarzyna Szoklawicz Feb 9, 1851

Jozef Kaszucki (my 2x great grandfather) was married before he married Paulina Kurkiewicz (my 2x great grandmother and the marriage included a prenup. He was married February 9, 1851 in a Greek Catholic rite to Katarzyna Szoklawicz. Her parents were Bazyli Szokalaicz and Pyzykowicz who were farmers. Jozef’s parents Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea nee Wiciejewska were furriers. The witnesses were Wojciech Janusz, 40, a weaver and Szczepan Czarnopy, 45, a shoemaker (and also current “new” relative Mike Liszewski’s 3x great grandfather.) Wojciech was the only one present other than the priest who could sign the record. “The newlyweds confirmed that they had a prenuptial agreement which was arranged infront of Michał Celejawski, notary in Circuit of Tomaszów at number 23 , on 20th January /1st February 1851.” This was one of the few prenups found in the family. For more about prenups in the family check out the Polish Family History blog at: Jozef and Katarzyna nee Szoklawicz had two children. The first, Jan, died at six months old. Witnesses for the birth were Onufry Oluzek and Michal Nowosad and Onufry and Katarzyna were Godparents for the Baptism and Confirmation of the Eastern rite. Pantalemon Gumowski, another furrier, went with the father to declare his death. Their second child, Joanna, died at four years old, a short time after his wife Katarzyna died. Konstanty Hylkekwist?, a chimney sweep and Szymon Zolkewski, a farmer were the witnesses for her birth and Konstanty and Ludwika Przewcka were Godparents for the Eastern Church Baptism and Confirmation. Jozef quickly remarried--Pauline Kurkiewicz, my 2nd great grandmother. They had at least five children. Only Katarzyna made it to adulthood. In later records, the groom was known by his middle name--Jozef.

A Polish & American Hero Born on February 4

Thaddeus Kosciuszko is a Polish hero that many Americans have heard of at least those of us who grew up in cities with a large amount of Polish immigrants. Grand Rapids has a Kosciuszko Hall -- near Sacred Heart Church where my grandfather married his first wife. It is one of the many halls started in Grand Rapids to support the immigrants in different ways. Detroit has a statue of him and also of Casmir Pulaski. Right now in the United States many questions are coming up about statues and if the people commemorated are really heros. I suspect there will be no question about the Polish ones in Detroit. Koscisuzko was born in 1746. He came to America in 1776 and used his engineering skills to help the colonies in their desire for independence. He went back to Poland and was a national hero of the 1794 insurrection.

Why did The Neidvied Family Move from Uhnow, Galicia to Tomaszow? (Curt Wolf's Story)

Curt Wolf was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He is my 4th cousin. As you can see from the picture, his relative Juliana Kaszucka married a Niedzwiedz. Julianna and my 2x great grandfather Jozef were siblings. The family she married into also originated In Uhnow so he has been trying to determine why they moved: Why did our family move from Uhnow, Galicia to Tomaszow? In the last letter (Part 6), I mentioned that the Niedvieds came from UHNOW (now Ukraine) to Tomaszow in the very early 1800s. Thanks to Paulette Longwell's research, I discovered probable reasons why. In the late 1700s, the Austrian assumed power over an area just south of Tomaszow called Galicia. Uhnow was in Galicia. With new international border came the cutting off trade routes to Uhnow. The Hapsburgs, who ruled Austria at the time, didn’t want this area to focus on trade anyway. They solely wanted it to be agricultural to produce food for the Empire. Furthermore, Austria raised taxes and a famine began early in the 1800s. Above that, the Austrians began conscripting men into their Army. Our family had no allegiance to this this new dominating Power so for all the reasons above they moved to Tomaszow. Ironically, the same Hapsburgs that were making it hard on our Niedzwiedzki ancestors were the ones that had given our Eifler relatives opportunity a decade or so earlier.

Why did Kaszucki’s move from Uhnow to Tomaszów Lubelski?

Why did Kaszucki’s move from Uhnow to Tomaszów Lubelski? Uhniv is approximately two miles from the current Poland-Ukraine border but at the time Uhniv would have been in Galicia. By the current route, they would have moved about 300 miles away from home We know that Andrzej (3rd great grandfather)and his two brothers Teodore and Fedory were born in Uhnow between 1791 and 1802. By 1816, Teodore married in Tomaszow. At that point their mother Agata Krzackowska was alive in Uhnow but their father Lukasz was deceased. Andrzej married Salomea Wiciejewska in 1827 in Tomaszów Lubelski at age 24. Why did the brothers leave Uhnow for Tomaszów Lubelski at that particular time period? ********** Around the time their parents were born, the First Partition of Poland occurred in 1772. This resulted in an area, including Uhniv, being awarded to the Habsburg Empress Maria-Theresa, the only female Hapsburg ruler. The family ruled Austria and other countries. This annexing of a large area to Austria from a weakened Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth resulted in Uhnow becoming part of an area called the province of Galicia. The area was ethnically diverse: Polish, Ruthenians (the people later known as Ukrainians and Rusyns), Jewish and others. Ruthenians predominated in this eastern area. The Poles on the west side were Roman Catholic and the Ukrainians were Greek Catholic. There is evidence from the marriage records that the Kaszucki’s were Greek Catholic. The area they lived in was mostly Ukrainian, rather than Polish. These new borders cut off some trade and markets. Additionally, the Austrian government didn’t want industry to develop in this area, instead expecting it to remain agricultural to provide food and raw materials for other Hapsburg provinces. These limits and new taxes resulted in poverty, with the area the Kaszucki family was living in being the poorest province in Austro-Hungary. Famines began in the early 1800s and continued off and on up to the 1900’s. The Austrian government also conscripted men from this area for the imperial army. ********** Based on this limited knowledge, it seems that the three Kaszucki siblings made their way to Tomaszow Lubelski before 1816 for one of them and possibly shortly after for the other two. The town was founded as Jelitow at the end of the 16th century by Jan Zamoyski who named it Tomaszow in 1613 for his son, Tomasz. From 1772 to 1809, Tomaszow was under Austrian rule. After 1815 it was under the independent Congress Poland. That might be why the first brother went there (as evidenced by his wedding the following year.) Unfortunately, the independent Kingdom of Poland was short lived. The town included many laborers involved in flour mills, wood processing, weaving, tailors, shoemakers and leather tanning. The Kaszucki’s had been furriers in Ulnow so came with the skill of leather tanning. It seems likely that the three Kaszucki siblings made their way to Tomaszow Lubelski at this time for more freedom and for economic security. It was not likely for religious reasons since they were Greek rather than Roman Catholic, though they were not Orthdox.********** Part 6 of Curt Wolf’s Chasing Polish Heritage about the Niedzwiedz family coming from the same area will be posted tomorrow. Check out the Facebook page for Andrzej Kaszucki's resume. ********** Photo: By Viacheslav Galievskyi - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21711724

Who Were the Burghers In the Family

Burghers were immigrants and free citizens that worked as bankers, craftsmen, tradesmen, and merchants which the noble could not do by law. While almost all the men on the Kaszucki side worked in these areas, only a few were referred to as burghers in the birth, marriage and death records. **********One was Andrej Kaszucki (my 3x great grandfather), who in 1885 when he was 53, was listed as a burgher in the city of Tomaszów Lubelski. He would have been a minor burgher, as he worked in the middle class as a furrier, carrying on the tradition of his father who came from Uhnow, Galicia, Austria from a family of furriers. **********Andrzej Kurkiewicz (my 2x great grandmother Paulina’s brother) was considered a burgher in 1867 at age 26 as a shoemaker. His brother, Ignacy Kurkiewicz was listed as a minor burghur in his death record at age 53 in 1851.**********Grzegorz Niedźwiedź (related to Curt Wolf), age 31, was also considered a burgher from Tomaszow Lubelski. They were listed this way in the birth record of Jozef Kasucki’s daughter Jozefa. **** **********Adam Eifler from Rognozno was considered a “burgher”. He was a shoemaker and so was his father. This means that he likely lived in town and was anything from lower middle class to middle class. His great grandfather had been one of the colonists from Germany that was given land and other belongings in return for payments to Zamoyski to settle the area. His grandmother was a single parent.************ Here is a story from Curt Wolf about him: Story from Curt Wolf: Adam’s land Busha’s father Adam was considered a “burgher”. This term means that he likely lived in a town and was anything from lower middle class to middle class. There were only 3 social strata back then which were peasant, burgher, and nobleman. Given what I learned, I would put Busha’s family of origin in the lower middle to middle class given the land they owned and his business as a shoemaker… but more research has to be done to confirm this. According to Uncle Frank, Pauline and Josef Niedzwiedz had about 6 acres of land in the Tomaszow area before they moved to America. It was not clear if this land came from the Niedzwiedzki side or Eifler side. But I saw the land that Adam’s family owned. It is near the center of Tomaszow with government buildings including a school on top of it. I do not know how Adam’s family of origin obtained this land because they were leasing land in the village of Roguzno from the time their ancestors came in 1784. Image by 13smok from Pixabay

Laszczow Used to Have Many Jewish Inhabitants

My Mother’s DNA included 4% Jewish which means it could be anywhere between 1 and 6%. If there is a relative or more that was Jewish, I have not yet found that out. There is a list of over a hundred Jewish households from this time period that lived in Laszczow and I do not recognize any of the names as surnames in our family. http://chelm.freeyellow.com/laszczow.html ***** Laszczow had a large Jewish community, They made a living in trade of grain and craft and lived in the Market Square. There was a Jewish printing house. The Jewish population increased over the 19th century from 826 people in 1827 to 1,621 ipeople n 1897. At that point, Jews were over 90% of the population. In the 20th century, Laszcow was mainly Jewish. The area suffered many times from attacks from various sources. A Jewish surgeon, Alfrons Brawstedt opened a 30 bed hospital that treated men wounded in the November Uprising (1830-1831.) In 1920, the Russians attacked the town, harming and killing many people. Many fled and those that remained lived in poverty. In 1939 the Nazis occupied the town and over the next several years sent the inhabitants to slave labor and death camps. Few survived. On Christmas Eve, 1942, 75 Poles were murdered in retaliation for an earlier confrontation between several villagers and four armed German police officers. In 1944 the Ukranian Insurgent Army burnt down the village. ***** Added clarification from Andrzej Dubiel: Laszczow and Laszczowka are two different places. The first one is bigger and is it 20 km. east of Tomaszow. The second one is a village near Tomaszow --about 3km away. http://iajgscemetery.org/eastern-europe/poland/laszczow https://sztetl.org.pl/en/towns/l/713-laszczow/99-history/137619-history-of-community https://www.historiaregionu.org/posty-autorstwa-slawomira-litkowca?lang=pl article about 1942 75 Poles killed photo: Bible_scroll_template.svg: BáthoryPéter (talk)Star_of_David.svg: Zscout370P_blank.svg: Booyabazookaderivative work: Beao, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Location: Laszczow

The Krawczyk family is from Łaszczówka. I can trace three generations of Krawczyks in Laszczow up until Katarzyna married Lukasz Grabek in 1823 and moved to Majdan Gorny. Her parents (Antoni Krawczyk and Dorota Kozyra) and grandparents (Kazmierez Krawczyk and Rozalia nee Kobak) were from Łaszczów. Kazmierez and Rozalia were born in the mid 1700’s. They all worked as peasant farmers. There is a Łaszczówka and a Łaszczówka-Kolonia and I think they lived in the one that is not the colony,but I am not sure. They are not that far apart. Łaszczówka is a village about one mile east of Tomaszów Lubelski in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship (area administered by a governor.) It has about 1,000 residents. It was a town from the mid 1500s until 1870 and it regained its status as a town in 2010. It is the seat of the gmina (community) called Gmina Łaszczów. From a record on the Kaszucki side, I believe there was an estate there that produced tobacco. Here are images of a mansion there that is in ruins. Map and pictures https://www.mapofpoland.net/Laszczow,map.html Here are images of a mansion there that is in ruins. . https://www.3deling.com/portfolio-item/laszczow/ https://www.historiaregionu.org/posty-autorstwa-slawomira-litkowca?lang=pl horses in front of the manor house in Laszczow Photo: By Qqerim - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2212011

Laszczow: 3D Scan of a Mansion and Youtube Video

This one is 3D scans of a 16th century mansion house in Laszczow: https://www.3deling.com/portfolio-item/laszczow/ This short video is fun to watch to see what Łaszczówka looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFJE-2E10fY Without knowing Polish though, we will miss a lot that this beautiful reporter highlights. I did learn that the village has a volunteer fire department, a school, library and a football (soccer) club. The "Piekiełko" Geological Reserve is highlighted. The boulders are thought to be a place of pre-Slavic worship but it is unknown how it was made or who did it. The area is called “wilderness.” The Reserve dates from 1962 in an attempt to protect the boulders (which are made of sandstone) and are unique in the area and ramparts. Also seen is a shrine of the visitation of the Mother of God. Check out the Facebook page for active links for these resources. https://www.facebook.com/Polish-Family-History-102520648303884

February in Poland

luty = February The month is generally very cold, like, it is in Michigan. Sunset on Feb. 1 in Poland: 4:21 p.m. Sunset on Feb. 1 in Michigan, U.S.: 5:55 p.m. Sunset on Feb. 28 in Poland: 5:14 p.m. Sunset on Feb. 28 in Michigan, U.S: 6:31 p.m. There are no legal holidays in Poland in February. February 11 is Fat Thursday, the last Thursday before Lent starts. We definitely like our pączki in Grand Rapids on this day! February 14 is Valentine’s Day which wasn’t observed before 1989 but is becoming more popular February 17 is Ash Wednesday. Due to the coronavirus, the distribution is different this year. The priest will not make a cross on a person’s forehead but instead will sprinkle ashes on them.