Jan Raczkiewicz born June 23, 1888

Jan Raczkiewicz (my great uncle) was baptized today (133 years ago) June 24, 1888, in the Roman Catholic Church. Jan was born on June 23, 1888. Jan was the first born child of Jan Raczkiewicz and his wife Katarzyna nee Kaszucka (my great grandparents.) His parents were both Roman Cathoic but his mother’s father Stefan Jozef Kaszucki was Greek Catholic. His Godparents were Marcin Skurcz and Antonina Mazej?. Marcin Skurcz, 20, and Maciej Bendf?, 28, were witnesses. They were both farmers from Sabaudia. Jan’s father (also Jan) was a 24 year old peasant in the village Sabaudia and his mother Katarzyna was 17 years old. They had already been married two and a half years. Jan’s father Jan had one sister who died young. His mother remarried Tomasz Kedra after his father passed away and he had two younger half siblings. Katarzyna had six older siblings who all died in childhood. Her mother was still alive when she married. Katarzyna’s father was a furrier in Tomaszow Lubelski and her mother’s family were shoemakers. I am not sure if her father was still alive. What was their world like at the time of Jan’s birth? Galicia (the term at the time for the area they lived) was still in the last of seven famines. Even though serfdom had been abolished fifty years earliers, peasants were not wealthy. Peasants owned land but as it was portioned out to their children so many owned less than an acre and much of that acre was made up of up to 20 separate plots of land. They usually did not earn enough to pay taxes. In a few days, I will tell you “the rest of the story” about Jan. I have not been able to track down a picture of Jan. ------------ Took place in town Tomaszów on June 12th/24th, 1888 at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Appeared in person Jan Raczkiewicz, 24 y.o., peasant, resident of the village Sabaudia, in presence of Marcin Skurcz, 20 y.o., and Maciej Bendf, 28 y.o., peasants, residents of the village Sabaudia, and presented to Us a male child and stated that he was born in the village Sabaudia yesterday at 3 o'clock in the night to his lawful wife Katarzyna nee Kaszucka, 17 y.o. During holy baptism performed on this date, the child got the name Jan, and the Godparents were above-mentioned Marcin Skurcz and Antonina Mazej? This act was read aloud to the declarant and witnesses and because they illiterate then signed by Us only