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