The Life of Boleslaw Raczkiewicz

Bolesław Raczkiewicz (my great uncle) was born on November 19, 1906 at 2:00 in the afternoon. His parents, Jan Raczkiewicz, 42 and Katarzyna Kaszucka, 35, already had eight children ages two to eighteen years old when he was born. They were farmers in the village of Sabaudia. Six days after his birth, Jan and Lukasz Ważny, age 31, both from Sauadia and Antoni Kurkiewicz, 23, a resident of Tomaszów, went to the authorities and reported the birth. He was baptized that day and his Godparents were Antoni Kurkiewicz and Jósefa Kendrowa. He was given the name Bolesław, in honor of King Bolesław. King Bolesław was first a duke and then the first king of Poland and was known as “The Brave” and “The Great.” He expanded Poland and promoted Poland as a separate Catholic entity. ***** Bartosz Raczkiewicz related a story he heard from his father Eugeniusz about Boleslaw and his mother Katarzyna. When Boleslaw was young, he climbed up a tree and fell out of it. He broke his leg. At the hospital, the doctors wanted to amputate the leg. Katarzyna carried him on her shoulders and walked to the hospital in Lwów for treatment. Lwów is 120 kilometers away. She must have gotten a ride at some point since that is over 75 miles. The outcome is that Boleslaw kept his leg! ***** Boleslaw regularly saw his brothers and sisters who remained in Poland. For instance, Stanislaawa and her family lived on the same road where Boleslaw had his field so he visited her and her family often. Piotr lived a thirty kilometer horse-drawn cart ride away. The family would leave at dawn and return late at night, traveling over road bumps and through the forest. Boleslaw enjoyed going with Paulina to their parents’ apple and pear orchard. After 1921, Boleslaw’s oldest brother returned to Poland. Jan and his wife bought a farm in Gniezno, near Poznań. Despite a distance of 588 kilometers (365 miles), Boleslaw had a connection to him. When Jan died in 1928, Boleslaw was 26 years old. A year before Boleslaw married, his brother Franciszek was killed in the rotunda in Zamość by the Russian Army for taking food from his own farm. The army had laid claim to the property. Later, Boleslaw’s wife would tell this story and it was written down by her grandson Tomasz Raczkiewicz. A lot happened the year Boleslaw married. His mother Katarzyna died, at age 72, on March 11, 1944. Boleslaw was living with her. ***** He and Jozefa Janina Bender married in May of 1944 (exact date unknown--if anyone in Poland knows it, I would love to learn it!) He was 37 years old and she was 29 years old. Of Boleslaw’s eight siblings, the ones that likely attended the wedding were Stanislawa, Paulina and Piotr. His oldest brother Jan was deceased by this time (Jan’s wife Franciszka Kudlicka was remarried and deceased by April 1945 in Lublin, Poland.) Anthony (my grandfather), Joseph and Mary were still in the United States. Franciszek was killed the year before in the rotunda in Zamosc for attempting to “steal” his own corn. ***** Then two months later in July, their house was set on fire by the Russian army. This means that any photos they had were destroyed so any we have seen were shared by other people. Joanne (Raczkiewicz) created a painting of the house that was rebuilt. ***** A year after their marriage, Boleslaw and Jozefa’s son Eugenuisz was born (1945) and after that their son Miecyslaw was born (1947.) They are first cousins of my mother Shirley (1936.) ***** Bolesław was a locksmith by profession but worked most of his life as a farmer on a small farm. He had a horse and two to four cows and sold the milk in the city. Bolesław died in a hospital on May 9, 2001 He was 94 years old. He is buried in a cemetery in Tomaszow Lubelski. They had 7 grandchildren and now have 19 great grandchildren. ***** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boles%C5%82aw_I_the_Brave