Antoni Dominik Died as a Beggar

A beggar died at 10 o’clock on a Saturday night in the village of Majdan Górny on March 29, 1854. His name was Antoni Dominik (my 3rd great uncle.) He died at the young age of 40 in the village in which he was born. No cause of death is given in the record. Going on at the time in 1854 there was cholera in Galicia and famine from 1853-1855 in Galicia -- the Great Famine. Antoni was a widower. His wife Barbara died 12 years early. When he married at age 24 he worked as a peasant but for some reason was not able to work in that capacity when he died at age 40 and was listed as a beggar (zebrak.) “Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public places such as transport routes, urban parks, and markets. Besides money, they may also ask for food, drink, cigarettes or other small items.” Four days after he died, the informants, Marcin Karwan ,33 and Jakub Ziamek, 47, both peasant farmers from Majdan Górny, went to Tomaszow Lubelski on Wednesday and registered the death at 8 o’clock in the morning. His parents were Tomasz and Regina Dominik, who were deceased. They had been peasant farmers in Majdan Górny. One of his sisters –Rozalia Dominik– died when she was 12 in an accident involving earth on a farm. His sister Magdalena Stonik who also lived in Majdan Gorny was widowed the same year that Antoni died. She worked as a day laborer and died the following year. His sister Anna Raczkiewicz (my 3x great grandmother) was living in Sabaudia with her husband Michal and had 11 children, four who died young.