House Numbers: Kaszucki story

Can the house numbers in birth and death records tell us more about the lives of our relatives? The house numbers in this story are from Katrzyna Kaszucka’s paternal side – Wiciejewski and Kaszucki records. The Wiciejewski family were potters who worked at a faience factory located on Lwowska Street in Tomaszów Lubelski. The three Kaszucki brothers – Andrzej, Fedory and Teodore–.were from Uhnow. Two were furriers and one was a shoemaker. I don’t know if they lived and worked their trade in the same building but if they did, these house numbers would also be the address of their business. There is a narrow time period where the house numbers are sometimes –but not always listed. These records are all from Tomaszow Lubelski from the time period of 1811 to 1825. Only one of the references includes a street name-- 219 Krasnobrodzki Street. ***** 5th generation: --Jakub Wiciejewski (potter at a faience factory located on Lwowska Street ) & Mariana nee Plebanski (my 5x great grandparents) lived in 201, where Marianna died in 1811. ***** The other 3 couples in this generation it is unknown where they lived. 4th generation: ***** --Maciej Wiciejewski (potter at a faience factory located on Lwowska Street) and Marianna nee Metalska (my 4x great grandparents) have children born from 1814 to 1824 in houses 106 (the home of Maciej Mirowski, a shoemaker), 160, 206, and 207. Four of the six records are in 206. By 1827, the records say Maciej and Marianna lived in 27. The other family of potters--the Wisniewski family – lived in 276 and also in houses in the 300s. --Łukasz Kaszucki and Agata nee Kraczkowska (my 4x great grandparents) were in Uhnów, Galicia and I do not have any of their records. 3rd generation (all born in Uhnów and living in Tomaszów Lubelski): --Andrzej Kaszucki (a furrier) and Salomea nee Wiciejewska (my 3x great grandparents) in 1824, child born in house number 27, Maciej and Marianna Wiciejewski’s house –Salomea’s parents.) Otherwise, there are no records where their house number is given. --Fedora Kaszucki (a shoemaker) and Marianna nee Mirowski (my 3x grand uncle and aunt) have house number 215 (house of Stefan Szokalewicz) associated with them in 1825 when their first child is born there. Fedora died there in 1827 --Teodor Kaszucki (a furrier) and Tekla nee Panczyszak (my 3x grand uncle and aunt) have (during the time period 1818 – 1824) house number 204, 213 (home of Tekla’s father Stefan Panczyszak), 219 Krasnobrodzki Street. and 225 and 425 (home of Jan Zamalski.) ***** 2nd generation: --Stefan Józef Kaszucki (furrier) and Paulina Kurkiewicz–no mention of house numbers. ***** --1811: Marianna (Plebanski) Wiciejewska (my 5x great grandmother) died in house number 201. She was the wife of Jakub Wiciejewski. Their daughter Salomea who married Andrzej Kaszucki are my 4x great grandparents. ***** --1813: Jagniszka Wiciejewski born in house 160 –the house of her parents Maciej Wiciejewski and Marianna Metelska (my 4x great grandparents.) ***** --1814: Marianna Wiciejewska died at age 1 in house number 206. Her parents were Maciej Wiciejewski and Marianna Metalski (my 4x great grandparents.) ***** --1815: Józef Wiciejewski, age 15 weeks, died at home in house number 106. His parents were Maciej Wiciejewski and Marianna nee Metalska (my 4x great grandparents.) ***** --1816: Antoni Wiciejewski was born in house number 206. His parents were Maciej Wiciejewski and Marianna Metalska (my 4x great grandparents.) ***** --1818: Antoni Kaszucki was born to Teodor Kaszucki and Teska Panczyszak (my 3rd great uncle and aunt) in house 225. ***** --1819: A second son Antoni Kaszucki was born to Teodor Kaszucki and Teska Panczyszak (my 3rd great uncle and aunt) in house number 219 on Krasnobrodzki Street. ***** --1819: Twins Konstancja and Walenty Józef Wiciejewski were born to Maciej Wiciejewski and Marianna Metelska (my 4x great grandparents.) They were born in house number 206. ***** --1820: Antoni Kaszucki , 11 months old, died in house number 213, which was the home of his grandfather Stefan Panczyszak. His parents were Teodor Kaszucki and Teska Panczyszak (my 3rd great aunt and uncle.) ***** --1821: Marianna Kaszucka (my 1rst cousin, 4x removed) was born in Tomaszów Lubelski, in house number 425 belonging to Jan Zamalski. Her parents were Fedora Kaszucki and his wife Teśka (or Tekla) Panczyszak. This daughter would later 1839) marry Józef Wiśniowski (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. ***** --1824: Mikolaj Kaszucki was born in house number 27 (maybe it was actually 207 and was written incorrectly?) , the house of Maciej Wiciejewski, his grandfather. He was the son of Andrzej Kaszucki and Salomea nee Kaszucka (my 3x great grandparents.) ***** --1824: Maxym Kaszucki was born in house number 204 and the record says it is the parents’ house. His parents were Fedora Kaszucki and his wife Tekla Panczyszak. ***** --1825: Mikolaj Kaszucki was born in house number 215. He was the first child of Andrzej Kaszucki’s brother Fedora Kaszucki, 20 (a shoemaker) and his wife Marianna nee Mirowski, 17. The birth was in the house of Stefan Szokalewicz, who was also a shoemaker. Much later, Jozef Kaszucki(Fedora’s nephew and my 2x great grandfather) will marry a relative of Szokalawicz – his first wife Katarzyna Szokalewicz.

Katarzyna (Chmielowska) Gołębiowska Died February 20, 1813

Katarzyna (Chmielowska) Gołębiowska (my 5x great grandmother) died at 6:00 in the evening on February 20, 1813, 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. They had three children: Michal, Apolonia and Pawel. Michal married at least four times. Apolonia married Jan Raczkiewicz (my 4x great grandparents) and they had nine children. Paweł had married the year before her death. He was 24 years old when he went with Jan Raszkiewicz, the 36 year old husband of his sister Apolonia to report his mother’s death. They left Górny two days after her death and went into Tomaszów Lubelski and reported to the authorities at 10:00 in the morning.

Teresa (Walewander) Grabek married Grzegorz Lebiedowski February 21, 1813

Teresa (Walewander) Grabek (my 4x great grandmother) married for a second time on February 21, 1813. Teresa’s first husband (my 4x great grandfather) Walenty Grabek died a few years earlier on January 15, 1811. He died in Gorno in house #11 at the age of 44. The informants were neighbors Marcin Walewender, his wife’s brother and Jan Przybysz. Teresa and Walenty had two children – Zofia who was 12 and Lukasz who was 13. Two years after her first husband died, Teresa married Grzegorz Lebiodowski, a 34 year old widower who was a farmer from Podhorce. She was 30 years old. None of the witnesses are familiar to me but I list them in case our Polish relatives recognize their names: Ignacy Dzierży, Michal Srytrzyszyn, Marcin Trutwa and Andrzej Groch. Grzegorz and Teresa lived in Gorno and they had one child (Agnieszka) two years later.

“Uncle Joe’s” Birthday (Jozef Raczkiewicz)

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. Joseph immigrated with his brother Anthony(my grandfather.) On the manifest for the ship Mount Temple, 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 considered Russian citizens, they were actually 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 when the picture was taken. 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

Ann Marie Koszicki died Febuary 18, 2011

Ann Marie Koszicki (my second cousin) died on February 18, 2011 at the age of 43. She was a nurse. Her obituary is attached. ***** https://www.crandellfh.com/obituary/1086232

Józef Raczkiewicz Was Born February 19, 1891

Józef Raczkiewicz (my grand uncle) Was Born February 19, 1891: “It happened in Tomaszów on 7/19 February, 1891, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Appeared Jan Raczkiewicz, a peasant, 26 years old, residing in Sabaudia, and in the presence of witnesses Wiktor Wiceewski, 40 years old, residing in Tomaszów, and Mikolaj Gardijas?, 50 years old, residing in Sabaudia, he presented to Us a child of male sex stating that he was born in Sabaudia yesterday, 6/18 February of this year at 3 o'clock in the afternoon to his lawful wife Katarzyna, née Koszucka, 21 years old. At the Holy Baptism administered on this day this child was given the name Józef and his godparents were Wiktor Wiceewski and Józefa Skurcz. This document was read aloud to the illiterate people present and then signed only by Us” ***** (There are 2 dates on 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 12 days difference between the dates.) Also, there was a tradition in the family where Jozef (known as Joseph) celebrated his name day because he didn’t really know the day of his birthday.

Jozefa (Dubiel) Malec Died February 17, 2021

Jozefa (Dubiel) Malec (my 1rst cousin 1x removed) died a year ago on February 17, 2021. She was 91 years old. Jozefa was one of six children of Jan and Paulina (Raczkiewicz) Dubiel. There were four girls and two boys. Jozefa and her husband Jan Malec lived in Rogozno, Poland. They had twin daughters Teresa and Krzystofa. (Did you ever wonder how many twins are in the family? Teresa and Krzystofa are the only set at the second cousin level. There are four sets at the second cousin 1x removed level. They live in Texas and Michigan in the US and Poznan and Rogozno in Poland.

Jan Raczkiewicz Was Shot on February 16, 1915, in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

Jan had a big year in 1915 for some reason. He switched careers. He was engaged to be married. And he was shot – two times actually, on the same night. So what was going on in Jan’s life at the time? ***** First is the information about his career change. He had been working as a cabinet maker but in 1915 he was a shoemaker. He then went back to being a cabinet maker the following year. Was the career change for a good or bad reason? It is hard to tell. Was he fired as a cabinet maker? Or was he trying out something new that could become his own business if it was successful? 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 he no longer shows up in the city directory and I know now that it is because he returned to Poland. ***** Next is the information about his love life. He married Franciszka nee Kudlika 11 months (January 25, 1916) after he was shot. When they were married, he was a shoemaker and “Frances” was a dishwasher. ***** We learned about the shooting after my sister Lori found the article in The Grand Rapids Herald, which is no longer in existence. She was able to search the online records of the Grand Rapids Public library and found the article which was a shocker. According to the article, Jan was at a wedding where he was involved in an argument. The problem followed him the few blocks he walked home to the apartment he lived in with his brothers. Alcohol was probably involved and there is no information from the article to determine the fault of Jan related to any of the events. The convoluted story reported to the police and the inability to answer the police’s questions may have been related to several factors, one being that Jan’s English might have been limited even though he had been in the US for about five years at this point. ***** In the year 2020 Grand Rapids saw 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. Like other immigrants, Jan moved around quite a bit during the first five years he was in the U.S.. All of the houses are in the same general neighborhood. The article says the wedding was near First Street and Stocking Avenue. It is likely the arguing began at the reception rather than the wedding. There were two halls in that area at the time: the Taxpayers Hall (on First Street east of Stocking Avenue) and Swantek Hall (on Stocking Avenue at Second Street.) Taxpayers Hall was on First St. just east of Stocking. ***** This is another mystery related to the oldest brother Jan. ***** The article: 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. ***** Image credit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/264767850370094/permalink/1837902863056577

Marianna (Grabek) Raczkiewicz married 2nd husband Tomasz Kędra February 13, 1871

Marianna (Grabek) Raczkiewicz (my 2x great grandmother) married her second husband Tomasz Kędra on February 13, 1871 at 1:00 in the afternoon. The witnesses were Jan Skurcz, 38 years old, and Michal Bender,35 years old, both peasants,living in the village Sabaudia. Marianna was 25 years old and was living in the village of Sabaudia when she married Tomasz. Her son Jan was seven years old. Tomasz had never been married before and had no children. ***** Tomasz was born and lived in the village Jeziernia. He was the 20 years old son of Michał Kędra and Anastazja nee Król, both already deceased. ***** Marianna was a widow to her late husband Antoni Raczkiewicz (my 2x great grandfather) who passed away on July 1, 1868. Their daughter Marianna died a month later. Her son Jan (my great grandfather) was four years old when his father passed away. ***** Marianna was born in the village Majdan Górny to Łukasz Grabek and Katarzyna nee Krawczyk who were already deceased. ***** Tomasz and Marianna had two children – Jozef and Katarzyna. After Marianna passed away ten years later in 1881, Tomasz married again, this time to Anna Raczkiewicz. Anna was the daughter of Jan Raczkiewicz & Katarzyna nee Pisarczyk from Gorno. (So she would have been the niece of Mariann’s deceased husband Antoni Raczkiewicz.)

Fracniszek Golebiewski died Febrary 13, 1813

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 is very challenging for me! 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.) ***** The death record for Fracniszek Golebiewski makes me think about all the different ways a last name may be spelled. . When looking for records, 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, Gołębiewski,etc. ***** By the way, it also turns out that the word “Gołąb” means pigeon. I wonder what occupation or reason there originally was for “Pigeon” being used as a last name. -------------------------------------------- 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 are 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. First consideration is that the spelling has an “s” rather than a “z” which seems to have been how it was written during a certain time period. 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.

Marianna Grabek Was Born February 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 Dorothy Woloszczuk) ***** 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 originally a year ago, I had only discovered one sibling so far--Rozalia -- but two weeks later by the time I shared it, I had confirmed Jozef and Franciszka. After February 10, 2021, I was able to also confirm Jakub and Apolonia. So Marianna had five siblings, two of which made it to adulthood. Marianna was the youngest in the family. *****

Stefan 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 prenuptial agreement. Jozef (or Stefan Jozef) 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 3rd cousin 1x removed Mike Liszewski and his sisters’ 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 in front 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. ***** Jozef and Katarzyna nee Szoklawicz had two children. The first, Jan, died at six months old. Witnesses for Jan’s 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 five children. Only Katarzyna (my great grandmother) made it to adulthood. In later records, the groom was known by his middle name--Jozef.

Antoni Krawczk died February 4, 1841in Laszczowka

Antoni Krawczk (my 4x great grandfather) died in Laszczowka on February 4, 1841 at the age of 60. He left behind his wife Barbara, who he married in 1824. His first wife Dorota Kozyra (my 4x great grandmother) died earlier in 1824. The informants were Bartlomiej and Łukasz Krawczyk, from Laszczowka, Antoni and Dorota had six children, four that made it to adulthood including Katarzyna (my 3x great grandmother.) Antoni and Barbara had an additional four children. Antoni’s parents (Kazimierz Krawczyk and Rozalia nee Kobak) were from Laszczowka, where they raised Antoni and his three brothers. ***************************************************************************** The Krawczyk family is from Łaszczówka-- a village near Tomaszów Lubelski (about 3 kilometers or 1.8 miles away.) 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. I earlier thought that the Krawczyks were the only family line from Łaszczówka but it turns out that Pawel and Franciszka Raczkiewicz (my 5th great grandparents) died there. Their son Jan (my 4th great grandfather) was born there but he moved to Majdan Górny after marrying Apolonia Gołębiowska. The time frame begins around the 1750s (as far back as I can get with the database I use.) By the 1800s the Raczkiewicz family was in Majdan Gorny (and later in Sabaudia.) I can trace three generations of Krawczyks in Łaszczówka. Kazmierez and Rozalia nee Kobak (my 5th great grandparents), who were born in the mid 1700’s, died there. Their children all died there except for Lukasz, who died in Sznury. Their son Antoni (my 4th great grandfather) married two women from there: Dorota Kozyra (my 4th great grandmother) and Barbara Probola. Most of their children stayed in Łaszczówka and the males continued the surname of Krawczyk and the married names of the girls were Kowol, Skowyra, Jakubus and Rejman. Lukasz and Dorota’s oldest child Katarzyna (my 3rd great grandmother) married Lukasz Grabek in 1823 and moved to Majdan Gorny. I have not figured out if the other children stayed there or moved.