Stefan Jozef Kaszucki was a frequent declarant

Stefan Jozef Kaszucki (my 2nd great grandfather) was a frequent declarant for family members’ births, marriages, and deaths. I know so far of at least nine times that Stefan Jozef was a witness or Godparent. Child mortality was very high for this generation of the Kaszucki family. Antonina Kaszucka (1rst cousin 3x removed) died on January 8, 1864. She was three years old. Her father Nikolaj, age 45 went with his brother Stefan Jozef, known as Jozef, to report the death. The two brothers were both furriers. Antonina was one of six of the 11 children that Nikolaj had who died in infancy or early childhood. Nikolaj’s brother Stefan Jozef had 6 children and only my 3rd great grandmother Katarzyna survived to adulthood. Antonina 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 & Piotr Pirog, 24, who were both shoemakers. There was a Greek Catholic Baptism and Confirmation and her Godparents were Jakob and Maryanna Kukila.

Eastern & Roman Rite-how many?

Seven of the eight “branches” of the family of Anthony Raczkiewicz were predominantly Roman Catholic. The exception was the Kaszucki family who originated from Uhnów (Ulanów) which was part of Galicia and now is part of Ukraine. They were Greek Catholic as far back as I could go--to the 1750’s--the 4x great grandparents and the 3x great grandparents. By the 2x great grandparents--Jozef Kaszucki married his second wife Pauline Kurkiewicz, a Roman Catholic. Their daughter Katarzyna Kaszucka (my great grandmother) married John Rackziewicz, a Roman Catholic. ***** In the case of my grandfather’s parents, it appears the family was raised as Roman Catholic even though the mother was Greek Catholic. In other cases, the girls seem to be baptized in the faith of their mother and the boys in the faith of their father. The examples in our family were mostly men who were Greek Catholic marrying Roman Catholic women. Pelagi is mentioned twice in the six examples below but that is because she re-married. ***** While the Kaszuckis were Greek Catholic and married within the faith for the most part for a long time, there are examples of some inter-faith marriages within our family. For example, Marrianna Wiciejewska, 36, (my 4th great aunt) in 1829 married Pawel Szostak,35. He was a shoemaker and a Greek Catholic. Marianna was a widow. The marriage proceeded after the release of 3 banns in Tomaszów churches of both the Greek Catholic and Latin rites on October 18 and 25 and November1, 1829. There were no objections to the marriage. ***** Another example was Szczepan Czarnopyś and Pelagia Romanowicz (the 4x great grandparents of Mike Liszewski) in 1829. The banns were announced in both the Latin and Eastern rite. ***** —--------------------------------------- In 1837, Mikolaj Romanowicz 28 and Marianna Kurkiewicz, 17 were married. Mikolaj was a widower of the Greek Catholic rite and Marianna’s family was Roman Catholic. Banns were announced in both parishes. ***** In 1853, Andrzej Dzierzbowicz, 43 and Agnes Kurkiewicz, 25 were married. Andrzej was a widower and Greek Uniate. He worked as a mason and his family were shoemakers. Agnieszka’s family was Roman Catholic and they were carpenters. The banns were announced in both parishes. ***** Marcin Halkieiwcz, Marcin, 36 Pelagi Czarnopys, 43 were married in 1856. Pelagi was with widow of Szczepan Czarnopys. Marcin was a Petty Officer/Warrant Officer in the Russian Tsarist Army and Roman Catholic. Pelagi’s family were laborers and she was Greek Catholic. ***** Marianna Kurkiewicz (parents: Wojciech and Jozefa nee Wlochowicz, shoemakers) married Bazyli Bzierzbowicz in 1859. Bazyli’s family were masons and practiced the Greek Uniate faith. Marianna’s family were shoemakers and of the Latin faith. Three banns were announced in the Tomaszów Latin faith parish and Tomaszów parish of the Greek Uniate. Verbal permission was given by the parents and there was no objection to the marriage.

Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz born Jan 2

Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz (my 1rst cousin 1 time removed) was born January 2 in Sabaudia, Poland. He was the oldest of two boys born to Boleslaw Raczkiewicz and Józefa Janina Bender. Eugeniusz and his wife Wiktoria Aurelia nee Browdowska have three children. He is one of the 7 living cousins who share Jan Raczkiewicz and Katarzyna nee Kaszucka as grandparents.

Review of 2021

Happy New Year! The Polish Family History page is 15 months old. Sharing the journey of discovering our ancestors with the 133 family and friends who follow this page has been fun for me. Of the people reading the page, 76% are women and 56% live in the US. As I learn more, I set new goals that I couldn’t imagine doing at the beginning. For instance, there are 20 second cousins from the US and 44 from Poland. This group also has spouses and children. I now have a goal to identify all of them and their families. This is a VERY large task which requires lots of help. Besides the genealogical purpose of the birthdates, I have a goal to wish everyone a happy birthday. I have been working (with help!) to find birthdays so we can celebrate with them. While I hope you find what I prepare for the page to be interesting and useful, some of the most popular posts have been happy birthday wishes. It may be a very small thing to wish happy birthday to someone we don’t know who is related to us. Some of these wishes, however, lead to new connections, which is very satisfying. Even if they don’t lead to anything more, the birthday wish is an acknowledgement of the person being part of the group of us. Who is this group of us? The second cousins are all great grandchildren of Jan Raczkiewicz and Katarzyna nee Kaszucka. We range in age from 32 to 78 years old. We live in the US and Poland – and also Sweden, the UK, Germany, Iceland, Greece and Ireland. Approximately 12 of our parents are still alive– ranging in age from 74 to almost 100 years old. A few people from our family died in the past year and a few babies were born. I hope to learn more about us in the next year!

Agnieszka Mieszkowska died December 31, 1855

Potter . . . weaver . . . carpenter . . . butcher . . . shoemaker. . . It is pretty fascinating to be able to trace back the occupation of relatives many years ago. The death today of my 4th great aunt is a good opportunity to show a little about our family that were potters. On the 31st of December, 1855, in the city of Tomaszów Lubelski, Agnieszka (Wiciejewska) Nieszkowska (my 4th great aunt) died at age 59. She was a widow of a weaver in the city of Tomaszow. Wojciech Janusz,, age 44, and Tomasz Podgórski, age 60, both weavers in the city of Tomaszów, appeared to report the death Her parents, Jakub Wiciejewski and Marianna nee Plebańska (my 5th great grandparents) were once potters who died in Tomaszów Lubelski. They were born in the mid 1700s. They had five children -- Justyna, Maciej (my 4th great grandfather), Katarzyna, and Marianna, and Agnieszka. Agnieszka was the youngest. While their only son continued in the same line of work as his father as a potter, the daughters married men with other trades. The oldest child, Justyna married Jakub Janusz, a weaver from Zolynia, Austrian Galicia. The second child, Maciej, was a potter, like his father and married Marianna Metalska (my 4th great grandparents.) The third child, Katarzyna married Walenty Kurkiewicz, a widower who was a carpenter. The fourth child , Marianna, married her first husband Tomasz Bogucki, who was a widower and a butcher. Marianna’s second husband Paweł Szostak, was a Greek Catholic shoemaker. (There is some confusion with another Marianna Wiciejewska with a father named Jakub who married Rafal Lusawicki. I think this might be a different person.) The youngest child Agnieszka married Stefan Dominik Mieszkowska, a 26 year old weaver. Stefan Dominik’s deceased father had been a bailiff's/land steward servant. When they were married, Agnieszka, age 27, was a servant. Stefan Dominik was a weaver in the city of Tomaszów Lubelski and had been born in Grodek. Agnieszka’s father and brother worked at the local ceramics (faince) factory along with members of the Wisniewski family. Within the Lublin region in the 18th century until the mid-19th century, there were factories established by Polish magnates, including in the town of Tomaszów Lubelski. The factories were built to compete with imported products. The factories started out making imitations but then artists were hired to create original designs. A popular color was blue. Different factories produced different products such as pottery, porcelain dishes and stoneware. In Tomaszów Lubelski, in the Zamość Estate, a faience and porcelain factory was begun in 1794 by Alexander August Zamoyski, age 24 and a ceramist, Franciszek Mezer. They established a contract where a square and buildings were signed over to the business. “The manufactory buildings were located on Lwowska Street -- it was the only paved road in the city -- on both sides. In the period of its greatest prosperity, 50 employees were employed here. For the first 12 years, until 1806, only earthenware was produced”. http://wystawy.biblioteka.pollub.pl/exhibits/show/ceramika/historia-tomaszow

Jozef Kurkiewicz Died December 30, 1874

On December 30 in 1874, the death of Jozef Kurkiewicz (my 3x great grandfather) was recorded in Tomaszów Lubelski. He died the day before. The declarants were Jan Kamiński, age 45, and Walenty Lisikiewicz,age 28, both farmers from Tomaszów Lubelski. Because records were recorded in Russian at this time, two dates were given -- December 30 and December 18. December 18 was from the Julian calendar, in use by Russia. The December 30 date is from the Gregorian calendar which Poland had been using and went back to using after 1917. It is the most commonly used calendar in the world. The difference between the Gregorian and Julian Calendars in the 19th century is 12 days. Jozef was 60 years old when he died. He left behind a widowed wife, Ewa née Wiśniewska (my 3x great grandmother. Ewa had previously been married to Wincenty Rachnski. She was widowed for six years before she married Jozef. Wincenty died during the time of the November Uprising which was November 1830 – 21 October 1831. Wincenty and Ewa’s son Felix was born in October of 1830 an his father was still alive. When Feliks died in August of 1821, his father was deceased by this time. Jozef was a shoemaker and a farmer like his father Anthony Kurkiewicz. His mother was Marjanna Kiszczyńska, Together Jozef and Ewa had five children. Their oldest child Paulina (b. 1838) was my 2x great grandmother. Their youngest child Ignatious (b. 1851) is the 2x great -grandfather of Mike Liszewski. I “found” Mike as a DNA match on Ancestry and now collaborate regularly with his wife Connie. Like me, Mike was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Happy Birthday Jacek Raczkiewicz December 28, 2021

Jan Raszkiewicz (3rd great uncle) is born December 26, 1824

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

Natalia (Bielak) Holszyz born December 25

"Szczudraki" St. Stephen Day December 26

Sometimes a posting of what I have learned about family history is added on to or elaborated on by one of the readers. Or they add information that takes what I know in a totally different direction. Learning about "Szczudraki" is an example. Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz was giving more information about Jan Raczkiewicz, the father of my grandfather Anthony (and my great grandfather.) Besides the obvious thing of sending 3 sons to the US, Jan put up the first Christmas tree in Sabaudia and taught his sons rhymes which were wishes for Christmas and the New Year. The tradition was that the boys went from house to house and passed these good wishes on to everyone. They carried oat grains to shower their hosts which represented the stoning of St. Stephen. In that time, the boys would receive stilts, a sweet cake. When Eugeniusz learned to do this from his father Boleslaw, the boys instead received a small amount of money. Eugeniusz remembered that the poems he had to recite were long but his father would check if he could do them without a mistake. ***** When I did some research, it sounded like it was done for St Stephen (Dec.26) or Epiphany (Jan 6.) ***** http://www.dialektologia.uw.edu.pl/index.php?l1=mapa-serwisu&l2=&l3=&l4=lubelszczyzna-wsch-kultura ***** “On Epiphany, it was a popular practice to walk on the so-called szczodrakach - children walked around the village from the morning and sang a song (szczodrówka). The housewives gave them generously, small croissants baked from wholemeal bread. Having collected more delicacies, the children went to an inn or a cottage, where they shared the delicacies, which they then ate.” “You entered and sang: Szczodraki kulaki. And then they sang a carol or two. Wherever they gave candies, they sang a Christmas carol, and wherever generously or that bread was poured, but bread, no one gave only a cake, they sang less:” I also learned that it occurred in some regions of Poland but not others. My Polish teacher is from Wroclaw and she had never heard of it. ***** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Stephen

Kazmiera Bielak born Dec 21, 1921

Kazmiera Bielak was born Kazmiera Bielak December 21 – 100 years ago– in Rogozno, Poland. She married Stanislaw Bielak (my 1rst cousin 1x removed) , the oldest child of Jan and Stanislawa (Raczkiewicz) Bielak. Stanislawa was one of the siblings of my grandfather Anthony Raczkiewicz. Kazmiera and Stanislaw had five children, 11 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. What a legacy! I first learned a little about them from Dariusz Bielak. Recently Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz has helped me learn their names. If you ever want to work on a huge project with lots of details and challenges, I recommend Eugeniusz! I don’t know Kazmiera’s family name and do not have a picture of her or her husband. I am just right now learning about their family and look forward to learning more!

Jan Wojtowicz born December 19, 1941

Happy heavenly birthday to Jan Wójtowicz (husband of my 2nd cousin Stasia Wójtowicz.) Stasia is my new friend and she helps me learn family history. Jan was born December 19, 1941 In Rogozno, Poland. He married Stanislawa “Stasia” Tryndoch in 1965. They had three children.

Banns

Banns are published prior to a wedding to determine if there is a civil or religious reason to prevent the marriage. Concerns could be a current marriage, a pledge of celibacy, a close family relationship, or lack of consent. The guidance from 1743 required the priest to carefully and separately question the bride and groom. If any of these concerns were discovered, the banns were suspended. If the bride and groom cleared this hurdle, the banns were published to give the public the chance to object. In most cases, there are three banns and in most records I read, the wedding went through. For example, Ignatius Kurkiewicz and Antonina Czarnopyś, (3rd great aunt and uncle) had a religious marital union on 12 November of 1876. “This marriage was preceded by three announcements of the banns published in the church on 22 October, 29 October, and 12 November.” But I also found an example of only two banns and a marriage happening within 30 days of the death of the groom’s first wife. I am not sure of the reason for the rush. In another fascinating example, the first bann was published--but 8 months later the groom married someone else! Banns are no longer required in the Catholic church but may still be published and many parishes still do so. https://www.papalencyclicals.net/ben14/b14nimia.htm

Mary Raczkiewicz Born December 16 1899

Marion/Mary Raczkiewicz (my great aunt) was born in Sabaudia, Poland. It is a little village outside the city of Tomaszów Lubelski. She was born at 11:00 in the morning on December 4, 1899 or December 16. The first date is from Julian time, used by the Russians who were requiring the records be written in Russian. The January date is in Gregorian time, which is used in most of the world.

Ulanów

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

Cookie baking in Poland: Families of Sebastian & Bartosz Raczkiewicz

My Mom's DNA

My Mom did her DNA through Ancestry. The kit was a gift from Linda, Lori and me. Occasionally Ancestry does an update on the DNA results. Update 89% Eastern Europe & Russia 5% European Jewish 4% Germanic Europe 2% Baltics The eastern Europe & Russia increased by 9%. European Jewish increased by 1% Germanic Europe decreased by 3%. Baltics decreased by 3%. The Balkans disappeared.

Obituary for Irene Mary Mastee

Mrs. Irene M. Mastee, age 91, passed away Monday, December 9, 2019 in Roosevelt Park. She was born April 20, 1928 to Frank and Mary (Raczkiewicz) Kufta in Muskegon. A lifelong resident of the area, Irene married Albert “Al” Mastee on September 4, 1948. Al and Irene were devoted members of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church and enjoyed traveling and sitting outside on their porch. Irene absolutely doted on her grandchildren and three great-granddaughters and cherished their time spent together. She liked going out for dinner with her friends and family, playing cards and spending time at her Silver Lake cottage. Irene is survived by her children, Diane (Mastee) Murphy and David (Mary) Mastee; grandchildren, Justin (fiancée, Kari) Murphy, Abbey Murphy, Mary (Thomas) Kitchen, Anna and Dina; great-granddaughters, Kinley and Hadlee Kitchen and Ella; sisters, Wanda Kozicki and Theresa Parkanzky; several nieces, nephews and cousins; and very special friends, LuAnn Vanderstelt, Judy Dykema and Marsha Musil, thank you all for your care and compassion for Irene. Irene was preceded in death by her husband of 53 years, Al, parents, and brothers-in-law, Joe Kozicki and Ernie Parkanzky. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11AM Friday, December 13 at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church (1716 6th St.) with Fr. Charles Hall presiding. Visitation will be 4-8PM Thursday, December 12 at The Walburn Chapel of Sytsema Funeral an Cremation Services, 1547 W. Sherman Blvd., Muskegon, MI, 49441, with the Rosary prayed at 7PM. Please sign the family’s online guestbook at www.sytsemafh.com.

IT Professionals

I bet we have a lot more IT professionals but here are the ones I know about. If I missed you or someone you love, let me know. If I described your job incorrectly, please correct me -- I might not have understood what your grandma told me or otherwise got it wrong! ***** Dariusz (Darek) Bielak Runs IT company in UK Jake Halloran Software Engineer Michael Herman CDW Corporation (hardware/software) Michael Kozicki Owner, MJK Net, Inc. Teresa Kozicki Sales/Marketing MJK NET Jacek Raczkiewicz Software Engineer Addison Snyder Software Engineer ****** Image: By AJ from openclipart.org - https://openclipart.org/detail/17924/computer, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=319128 Actually used CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2534885

Prenuptial Agreements

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

Disability

https://images.app.goo.gl/GgGZFW3PpExdrykY9 December 3 is the International Day of Disability. The theme this year is “Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world.” That is certainly what we want -- and more! -- for our family members with any type of disability. Today is a good day to also acknowledge family members who work (or have worked) with people with disabilities. (As always, please let me know if I missed anyone or have inaccuracies! -Advocate --Stanislawa Flasza -BCBA (autism) -- Katy Laisure, Paulette Longwell -Owner of a preschool: Ania Zapora -Middle school paraprofessional: Diane Murphy -Principal, elementary: Anna Marie Flores -Program director (summer homework): Lori Peterson -Psychologist (autism) -- Magdalena Rynkowska -Special education supervisor -- Paulette Longwell -Teacher, elementary: Yvonne Basham, Tracey St. Pierre, Maria Elma Rodriguez, Connie Snyder, Barbara Dubiel -Teacher, math: Wiktoria Raczkiewicz, Joanna Mickiewicz -Teacher of disadvantaged youth: Linda McCarthy -Teacher (severely handicapped) -- Theresa Parkanzky

Jan Dubiel was born December 3, 1926

Jan Dubiel was born December 3 1926 in Rogozno, Poland. (He would have been my mother’s cousin-- my 1rst cousin 1x removed.) Jan’s parents were Jan Dubiel and Paulina nee Raczkiewicz. Jan was 37 and Paulina was 25 when their son Jan was born. Jan was the third of their six children. The others were Leokadia, Bronislawa, Jozefa, Edward and Halina. (The youngest child Halina is still alive.) Jan and his wife Jozefa (Pankiewicz) are the parents of Andrzej Dubiel, Maria Wawrusiszyn and Jerzy Dubiel (deceased.)

Relatives in Business

It is fun to learn about each other! Some of our family own businesses. Some work in business in some way. They may do marketing, process invoices, do accounts payable, provide tax assistance, make products to sell or provide a service such as cosmetology. I will share any Facebook pages or websites. Let me know of any people I missed! ***** Business owners: Andrzej and Joanna Dubiel: Financial services business Monika Dubiel: Beauty Salon Ewa Kamińska: Hobby horses Vito Lombardo: Pizza takeout Michael Kozicki: IT Ronald and Pam Raczkiewicz: Bumper factory and bar/restaurant Ania Zapora: Private nursery ***** Others working in business type positions: Robert Beitel: Printing Purchasing Manager Krystyna Buczak: Shop seller Lorraine Dykstra: Bookkeeper Zuzanna Dudek: Quality Manager Keith Erichsen: Accountant Mark Erichsen: Accountant Marie Halloran: Project Manager Thomas Komor: Government business office Henryka Kis: Shop seller Betsy Kratsas: Insurance company supervisor Elżbieta Pankiewicz: Shop seller Dani Peterson: Executive Business Partner (Lyft) Justin Peterson: VP Sales (Backyard products) Elizabeth Peterson: Surgical sales Anthony Raczkiewicz Jr: Credit manager then production control analyst Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz: Factory Supervisor ***** Image: By MesserWoland, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1788954

Jan Malec died Dec 2, 1994

Jan Malec (husband of 1rst cousin 1x removed) died December 2, 1994 at the age of 68. He was married to Jozefa nee Dubiel, who passed away earlier this year in February at the age of 90. (Jozefa was one of the 6 children of Jan and Paulina (Raczkiewicz) Dubiel. Paulina was my grandfather Anthony’s younger sister.) Jan and Jozefa lived in Rogozno, Poland. They had two children who are twins: Theresa (Renia) Kozdra and Krystofa (Krysia) Witkowska