The Story of Jozef Kurkiewicz

It is very likely that Jozef Kurkiewicz (my 3rd great grandfather) was baptized but the birth record does not reflect it. Most of the records list the birth and baptism dates as well as the Godparents except those I have found between 1810 and 1826. Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths was initiated according to the Code of Napoleon on May 1rst, 1808. After Russia gained control in 1815, this practice continued. Priests were responsible for civil registrations from 1808 to 1825. After 1826, the civil records reverted to church records but kept the same format. ***** Jozef was born at 5 o’clock in the evening on September 8, 1815. His parents were Antoni, 32 and Marianna nee Kiszczynski, 28. He was born in house #60 in Tomaszow like his sister Jagnieska, who was born there three years earlier. The witnesses were Maciej Wyszynski, 42 and Maxym Zawalksi, 43. Jozef was the third child of 12 born to his parents. At least seven of their children did not survive to adulthood. Jozef’s father was a shoemaker, his mother came from a family of shoemakers and eventually Jozef himself would become a shoemaker. ***** Jozef was a 23 year old bachelor, living with his parents, when he married Ewa (Wiśniewska) Rachanska (my 3x great grandmother) on 30 July 1837. Witnesses to the marriage of Jozef and Ewa were Jan Recki and Antoni Lachowski, His parents were farming as well as repairing shoes in Tomaszów Lubelski. ***** Ewa was a 28 year old who had been widowed for six years. She was born in Tomaszów Lubelski to Błażej Wiśniewski and his wife Agnieszka nee Szczesnicki. Her mother was deceased at the time of this marriage and Ewa was living with her father on his farm. Her father had been a potter and also worked as a grave digger. Ewa’s first husband Wincenty Rachanski, had been a journeyman shoemaker. Wincenty and their only child Feliks both died in 1831, after Ewa and Wincenty had been married only about a year. Wincenty died during the time of the November Uprising which was November of 1830 to October of 1831. Wincenty and Ewa’s son Felix was born in October of 1830 and his father was still alive. When Feliks died in August of 1821, his father was deceased by this time. That year there were outbreaks of both cholera and influenza. ***** Together, Jozef and Ewa had five children – Paulina, Andrzej, Jakub, Franciszka, and Ignatious. 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. Ignatius was born in Tomaszów on 18th July 1851 at 5 o'clock in the morning. Ignatius was a 53-year-old “petty-bourgeois” when he died. ***** On December 30 in 1874, the death of Jozef was recorded in Tomaszów Lubelski after he died the day before. The declarants were Jan Kamiński, age 45, and Walenty Lisikiewicz,age 28, both farmers from Tomaszów Lubelski. Jozef was 60 years old when he died and left behind a widowed wife, Ewa. 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 was 12 days. —----------------------- “ If your neighbor owns a small shop, she's a member of the petite bourgeoisie. According to Karl Marx, the political theorist who popularized this French term in the nineteenth century, the petite bourgeoisie is made up of capitalists who operate on a modest scale. In French, the phrase means "little townsfolk." https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/petite%20bourgeoisie ***** See “Who were the burghers in the family?” at https://polishfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/.../who-were...

The Story of Maciej Wiciejewski

garncarz = potter Born in the 1760s, Maciej Wiciejewski and Blazej Wisniewski (two of my four great grandfathers on Anthony Raczkiewicz’ mother’s side) worked as potters in the factory in Tomaszow Lubelski started by a Polish magnate Alexander Zamoyski and a ceramist. The company successfully made and sold faience--a type of tin-glazed pottery – and eventually the more-coveted porcelain. Unfortunately political changes occurred that doomed the factory and by 1827, the factory had closed. Maciej, who had risen to a foreman position, went back to grave digging – the occupation of his father. ***** Maciej was born to Jakub Wiciejewski and Marianna Plebanski. His father also had worked as a potter at the faience factory located on Lwowska Street. They lived in house #201 but no street name is given and the numbering of houses has changed since Marianna, his mother, died there in 1811. ***** Maciej Wiciejewski married Marianna nee Metalska and they had children who were born between 1814 and 1824 in houses 106 (the home of Maciej Mirowski, a shoemaker), 160, 206, and 207. Four of the six records are in house #206. By 1827, the records say Maciej and Marianna lived in 27. ***** Maciej and his wife had nine children: Salomea, Malgorzata, Marianna, Józef, Agnieszka, Antonina, Wojciech, Konstancja, and Walenty Józef. Marianna and Jozef died young. I can’t find any records for Agnieszka other than her birth. It is pretty fascinating to be able to trace back the occupation of relatives many years ago. The daughters married a furrier, a spoon maker, a shoe maker, and a carpenter. Two of them had occupations listed – day laborer and shoemaker/cobbler. One son became a blacksmith and the other son did a lot of things including being a spoon maker, being an innkeeper in Para as well as being a peasant farmer there. ***** Their oldest child Salomea (my 3x great grandmother) had her first born in 1824, in house #27 - - her father’s house. She had married Andrzej Kaszucki, a furrier, the year before. Her parents had their last child (Walenty) two and a half months earlier so there would have been two newborns in the house along with six of Maciej and Marianna’s other children. ***** Daughter Małgorzata Wiciejewska married Marcin Ceronoski, an apprentice spoon maker, and she was a day laborer when she died. Daughter Antonina married Mateusz Bulewicz, a shoemaker/cobbler and she was listed as one herself at her death twenty years later. ***** TWINS! Wojciech and Konstancja were the 7th and 8th of the nine children. The father was listed as the "renowned" Maciej Wiciejewski, was aged 36 and still worked as a potter. Their first born, Salomea was 15 years old when they were born. What happened to the twins when they grew up? Konstancja married Jan Nitka, a 46 year old widower of the Greek Catholic rite from Rusianow, Galicia, Austria. Konstancja died as a widow at age 77 in the village of Rybnica. She likely moved there when she was married. Wojciech married Victoria Melin from Dabrowa. He was an apprentice blacksmith at the time. He later married Anna Makar from Majdany Jozefow whose parents were deceased and she was working as a maid in Tomaszow Lubelski. Wojiech died at age 50 before his wife. ***** Maciej and Marianna’s youngest son Walenty Jozef married Helena Józefko, from Komadów but residing in Tomaszów, working as a home helper. Walenty worked as a spoon maker, innkeeper in Para, and peasant farmer in Para, His second wife Ewa Tarczulowna, was the daughter of shoemakers. ***** In 1817, after Maciej and Marianna had six children, he was a witness for his sister Katarzyna’s wedding. She lived with him, since their parents were deceased. He was also a witness for the marriage of two other younger sisters. Since they were younger, it is possible, but the record doesn’t say, that they lived with him also. All three sisters married in their late 20’s. ***** Maciej Wiciejewski died in Tomaszów on December 23, 1839 at 4 o'clock in the evening. He was 76 years old and left behind a widowed wife Maryanna née Metelski. On the next day (Christmas Eve), two declarants, Grzegorz Nazareswicz, 51 and Łukasz Nazareswicz, 41 both blacksmiths in Tomaszów Lubelski, verified his death for the officials. I do not know who they were except that one of his sons also worked as a blacksmith. .

The Life of Jan Dubiel Jr.

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 worked as a truck driver and as a farmer. He and his wife Józefa (Pankiewicz) are the parents of Jerzy Dubiel (deceased), Maria Wawrzusiszyn and Andrzej Dubiel, Jan died on May 29, 1991 at the age of 64. Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz wrote, “ Rest in eternal peace!” His wife Jozefa died ten years later on July 19, 2009.

The Life of Irene (Kufta) Mastee

Irene Kufta (my 1rst cousin 1x removed –my mother’s cousin) was born on April 20, 1928, in Muskegon, Michigan. She was the second born of three daughters of Frank Kufta and Mary nee Raczkiewicz (my great aunt). Irene Kufta married Albert “Al” Mastee on September 4, 1948. Al and Irene were members of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church. They had two children, Diane Murphy and David Mastee and five grandchildren. They enjoyed traveling and sitting outside on their porch. Granddaughter Anna Marie Flores remembers that “Muskegon always had that small town charm. They were very hard workers.” Like most of us, she regrets not knowing more about their stores and remembers they were private about the past. Irene died on December 9, 2019. Her daughter-in-law Mastee shared, “Our prayers are with her. Always in our hearts.”

The Life of Mieczysław Raczkiewicz

Mieczysław Raczkiewicz (my 1rst cousin 1x removed –my mother’s cousin) was born December 13, 1947 in Rogozno, Poland. He is the youngest of two sons born to Boleslaw Raczkiewicz (my grandfather’s youngest brother) and Jozefa Janina Bender. ***** I will let his son Tomasz introduce him by sharing what he wrote to me in October of 2020: “My grandfather Bolesław is really your grandfather's brother. He lived in Savoie (Sabaudia) and died in a hospital in Tomaszów Lubelski at the age of 97. He is buried in the cemetery in Tomaszów Lubelski. He was a locksmith by trade, but worked most of his life as a farmer. He had two sons - the elder Eugeniusz, an engineer, and my father Mieczysław, who was a doctor of infectious diseases. My mother, Stanisława, spent most of her life working with people with intellectual disabilities and created several learning, care and work centers for them.” “I am 47 years old, I live in Poznań and by profession I am an opera singer and actor. I work at the Grand Theater in Poznań and other theaters. I have two brothers - Marcin who died 4 years ago and Jacek, who is an IT specialist and lives in Stockholm. Jacek lived and worked in Boston for several years. I also have a sister, Magdalena, who lives near Warsaw and is a psychologist.”

The Life of Mary (Raczkiewicz) Kufta

I don’t remember knowing as a child that my Grandpa Tony Raczkiewicz had a sister who ended up living in Muskegon, Michigan. While researching family history, I had the pleasure of getting to communicate with Mary’s daughter, Theresa Parkanzky (my 1rst cousin 1x removed.) Theresa wrote: “I remember as a child going to my uncle's home and as I recall his name was Tony and his brother was Joe? Nothing was ever discussed regarding my mother Mary’s background.” Shirley (Raczkiewicz) Longwell (my mother) remembers visiting Mary and her husband Frank’s house one time (maybe she went more) and that they went to a baseball game while she was there. Frank and Mary attended Shirley’s marriage to Roy Longwell in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1957. ***** It turns out that Mary played an important role in keeping connections with family in Poland alive. It was pretty common for relatives in Poland and the United States to write letters to each other. After Mary moved to the U.S., she wrote letters regularly to family in Poland, updating the family with news and sending pictures of her family. “Polish immigrants were prolific letter writers to their relatives in Poland. . . Their letters were about their new life, encouragement to family members to join them, directions and recommendations on how to get to the port, what to avoid, how to survive, etc. Money for the voyage was often sent.” (Emigration from Poland. Stephen Szabados) ***** That connection ended though, almost 40 years ago. The memories and stories about her letters lingered though so when I made my first contact with the Raczkiewicz family in Poland, Tomasz Raczkiewicz knew about the relative Mary because of letters written to his grandfather Boleslaw, though he didn’t know about Anthony and Jan who also moved. Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz, remembered Mary’s letters to his father Boleslaw who was Mary’s youngest brother. Amazingly, when I shared a baptismal picture of Theresa with Eugeniusz, he told me had seen it before and also remembered pictures of Theresa in her nurse’s uniform when she graduated from college. Mary’s youngest daughter Theresa also remembered the letters. ***** MARY’S BIRTH: When I first learned about Mary, it appeared that May 29, 1892 was her birthday. There are many reasons for this: some immigrants celebrated their name day instead of their birthday or maybe didn’t really know their own birthdate and there is also more than one “Mary Kufta.” I had December 16, 1902 and May 29, 1892 as possibilities until fairly recently. Her birth record is not in the database I am using but Andrzej Dubiel (2x cousin) found it through the archive. It turns out her birthdate is December 16, 1899. ***** Here is a translation of the record: 1899/385 “Took place in the town Tomaszów on December 21st,1899/January 2nd,1900 at 11 o'clock in the morning. Appeared in person Jan Raczkiewicz, age 35, peasant, living in the village Sabaudia< gmina Tomaszów Lubelski>, and in the presence of witnesses Marcin Matej, age 30, and Tomasz Kendra, age 55,both peasants living in the villages Sabaudia and Podhorce ,he presented to Us a child of female sex, stated that this child was born in the village Sabaudia on December 4th/16th,1899 at 6 o'clock in the afternoon to his lawful wife Katarzyna nee Kaszócka, 28 years old. At the Holy baptism performed on this day, this child was given the name Marianna in honor of Saint Mary Cleophas and her godparents were 1st witness and Marianna Skurcz(?).This act was read aloud to the illiterate present and signed only by Us.” ***** You will notice that there are two dates listed -- one is from the Julian calendar and the other from the Gregorian calendar. The Julian calendar was used by the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church. All births, marriages and deaths were registered by the churches. During the time period of 1868 to 1917, since Russia had control of the area in which my ancestors lived, the priests were required to write the records in Russian. During this time that Poland was occupied by Russia, the use of Polish in the schools and in civil records was prohibited. Poland (and the rest of Europe) had previously been using the Gregorian calendar, which is the calendar in use worldwide today. After 1917 the records returned to being written in Polish and the use of the Gregorian calendar was resumed. So when there are two dates listed, the second one is the one that would fit our current calendar. ***** https://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/Poland/Questions.htm?fbclid=IwAR0-qOyOzvUNtD40zc7STCLkvz7AqGqLxotH4sQ1IkvwfDB2VeLfP4hJX-0#q7 ***** Mary was the sixth of nine children and one of three girls born to Jan Raczkiewicz and Katarzyna Kaszucki. For some reason there was a delay of seventeen days before her father Jan and the witnesses went to Tomaszów Lubelski to report her birth. Most times it is donw the same day or within a few days but no reason was given for the delay. Maybe there was a lot of snow or maybe they were busy with a new baby and their other five children who were ages two to 11. At the baptism, she was given the name Marianna in honor of Saint Mary Cleophas, one of the women named Mary who were present at the tomb of Jesus. She was known later in life as Mary or Marion. When Mary was 2 years old her sister Paulina was born, when she was 5 years old, her brother Franciszek was born and when she was seven, her brother Boleslaw was born. ***** IMMIGRATION When Mary was eleven years old, her oldest brother Jan left Poland for the United States. Then when she was thirteen years old, (1912) Anthony (my grandpa) and his brother Jozef left for Canada with a final destination of Michigan in the U.S.. ***** Eleven years later (1923) she left for the U.S. Mary was 22 years old according to what was written on the manifest but was actually 24. She was single, working as a farm laborer, and could read and write. She was 5’1’ tall, with a medium complexion, fair hair and gray eyes. Her father was deceased. Mary left behind her mother Katarzyna and siblings Stanislawa (28), Piotr (26), Paulina (22), Franciszek (19) and Boleslaw (17.) Her brother Piotr was listed as her contact in Poland and he paid her fare so I assume he also accompanied her to the port from their home. They lived in Sabaudia (near Tomaszów Lubelski). I later learned that Zibaldy is how the agents were writing “Sabaudia.” ***** Mary departed from Southampton, England which is almost 1200 miles from her place of birth. Earlier, Jan had traveled from Hamburg to New York and Anthony and Joseph had traveled from Antwerp to Quebec. Each of these three trips commenced from different ports. It is impossible to know why the immigrants chose different ports. Gdynia, the newly constructed Polish seaport was available for only a few months before Mary traveled. It might not have been an option when the trip was booked or could have been more expensive. Mary’s port was a few hundred miles closer than traveling from Antwerp but it added about 300 miles to her trip compared to leaving from Hamburg. The Hamburg Uprisings were occurring in Hamburg during the time she traveled so that may have been a factor. ***** Mary left Southampton England on the ship SS Melita to Quebec, Canada, traveling third class. This ship had 550 cabins and 1,200 third class beds. She arrived in Quebec, Canada on October 5, 1923. ***** From Quebec, she took a train to Detroit like Anthony and Joseph had done before her. ***** Mary had $30 when the manifest was completed for her train ride for Quebec to Detroit Michigan. This is worth a little over $450 in today’s dollars. Upon arrival in Quebec, Mary would have met both Canadian and U.S officials since her ultimate destination was the United States. She would have been issued a certificate of admission which was later shown when the train crossed the border into the United States. The train ride from Quebec to the border would have taken several days. Once at the border, Detroit was very close. At this point it is unknown how Mary traveled from Detroit to Grand Rapids. Anthony, her brother, never had a car but maybe the help of someone else was enlisted. Possibly, she took a train the rest of the way. ***** Mary was going to her brother Anthony Raczkiewicz (my grandfather), who lived at the time at 208 Lexington NW, Grand Rapids, Michigan with his second wife Pauline. They lived there about two years at that time and would soon be moving to a house on Milwaukee Avenue. At the time Anthony owned a pool hall on Bridge Street on the Westside of Grand Rapids. He did that for a few years but then went back to working in a tanning factory. Anthony and Pauline’s two oldest children were Lorraine, who would have been about five years old and Anthony Jr., who would have been about one years old. Joseph (their brother) may have been living with them since he often did. Jan was back in Poland, near Poznan. ***** FAMILY LIFE: After Mary had been in the U.S for three years, she and Frank Kufta were married on April 15, 1926. Frank’s age was 32. Mary’s age was given as 23 but she would have been 26. It was common that immigrants didn’t have their birth certificate with them, so they didn’t always know their exact age. Father Casmimir Skory, the pastor of St. Adalbert Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, presided over the wedding. Witnesses were Joseph Raczkiewicz (my great uncle) of Grand Rapids, and Helen Kufta, (Frank’s sister) of Muskegon. ***** Frank was born in Poland and immigrated in 1909 and had already been in the United States for at least 15 years. When they married, she was a factory worker in Grand Rapids living with her brother and his family and he lived and worked in Muskegon, 42 miles away. I don’t know how they met but there was an interurban train between Grand Rapids and Muskegon at the time. ***** Frank and Mary had their daughter Wanda in 1927 and their daughter Irene in 1928. By 1930, Mary and Frank lived at 729 6th St. in Muskegon Heights, MI, and their house was worth $4,000. Frank was 37 years old, worked in an iron foundry and could speak English. Mary was 28 and could not speak English. Wanda was age three and Irene was age two. Frank and Mary had their daughter Theresa in 1935. By 1940, they were in the same house and it was worth only $3,000. Frank had a 6th grade education and was in the process of becoming a citizen. Mary had a 3rd grade education and was still an alien. Wanda was 13, Irene was 12 and Teresa was four years old. ***** On May 19, 1943, Mary was naturalized as a citizen of the United States. ***** MARY’S DEATH AND THE LAST LETTER: As Mary got older, her daughter Theresa helped her mother more in her letter writing to family in Poland. Theresa helped with this duty by going to the post office often and even helped address the envelopes for her mother. The last letter to Poland was written by Theresa to Boleslaw, informing him of Mary’s death. Mary died April 15, 1989 at the age of 89, almost 90, in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. She was almost 90 years old. Eugeniusz remembered his father Boleslaw receiving the last letter and Eugeniusz said, “I recall that Father after receiving the news of his sister Maria's death said: May God give her heaven!.” ***** —------------------------ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4GT-HDP : 29 July 2019), Teresa E Kufta in household of Frank Kufta, Ward 2, Muskegon Heights, Muskegon Heights City, Muskegon, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 61-57, sheet 14B, line 51, family 314, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 1796. ***** Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 15 December 2019), memorial page for Frank Kufta (unknown–9 Mar 1972), Find A Grave Memorial no. 110691638, citing St. Mary's Cemetery, Muskegon, Muskegon County, Michigan, USA ; Maintained by St. Mary (contributor 47982892) . ***** "Michigan Death Index, 1971-1996," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VZTT-VT7 : 4 December 2014), Mary Kufta, 15 Apr 1989; from "Michigan, Deaths, 1971-1996," database, Ancestry (http://www.ancestry.com : 1998); citing Muskegon, Muskegon, Michigan, death certificate number 22865, Michigan Department of Vital and Health Records, Lansing. ***** Image: By uploaded by Nickpo - Private collection, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7562509 ***** (This wonderful picture was recently sent to me by Mary’s daughter Theresa (Kufta) Parkanzky. My grandfather and grandmother are in the second row--2nd and 3rd. My great uncle Joe is next to the bride. Frank’’s sister Helen Kufta is seated to the groom’s left. My aunt Lorraine is the child seated in front. I think the oldest brother Jan and his wife are back in Poland by this time.)

The Story of Apolonia (Gołębiowska) Raczkiewicz

Apolonia Gołębiowska (my 4x great grandmother was born around 1792 in Majdan Górny. Her parents, Franciszek Gołębiowski and Katarzyna Chmiel, were born in the 1750-60s and this was as far back on any of the branches I have been able to go. I have found only two siblings for her: Pawel and Michal, both peasant farmers. Both were married, with Michal married three or four times. ***** Apolonia’s husband Jan Raczkiewicz was a peasant farmer also from Majdan Górny. Together they had nine children: Michal, (my 3x great grandfather) about 1805, Piotr, about 1809, Wojciech, 1813, Katarzyna, 1815, Szymon, 1818, Marcin, 1821, Jakub, 1824, Marianna, 1828, and Agnieszka, 1831. ***** Their six sons all were peasant farmers in Majdan Gorny except Michal who later moved to Sabaudia. Together, hey had eleven wives, four of whom were widows, because of a high mortality rate. Two of them married women who are related to me from other branches of the family. Michal’s first wife was from Majdan Gorny. When he remarried at 67 years old, Michal married a 47 year old widow who was related to us another way (1rst cousin 5x removed) as a child of Lukasz Krawczyk and Marianna Bucior. (my 3x great grandparents.) Piotr was married twice also and his second wife was also a widow. Wojciech married a woman from Majdan Gorny. Szymon’s first wife was from Łaszczówka and his second wife was a widow from Majdan Gorny. Marcin’s first wife was a widow from Ruda Woloska, his second wife was from Majdan Gorny, and his third wife was from Wieprzowe Jezioro. Jakub’s wife Rozalia Grabek was also related to us another way as the child of : Łukasz Grabek and Katarzyna Krawczyk (my 3x great grandparents.) ***** Only one of their three daughters survived to adulthood. Katarzyna married Sebastian Jeruzal, a widower from Majdan Gorny. The two youngest girls, Marianna and Agnes, died young. ***** Apolonia’s husband Jan likely helped to report the deaths of both of her parents. Her father Franciszek died on February 13, 1813 at age 60 in house #20 in Majdan Górny. The declarants were his son Michał Gołembioski, 40 , peasant farmer residing in Gurnia and Jan Raszkiewicz, 38 , his neighbor. The record doesn’t say this but it was likely his son-in-law. Her mother Katarzyna (Chmiel) Gołębiowska died on February 20, 1820 at 6:00pm at age 80 in house #30. The declarants were Pawel Golebiowski, 24, her son and Jan Raszkiewicz, 36, her son-in-law (Apolonia’s husband.) ***** Apolonia and Jan lived in house #71 in Majdan Górny. Since their son Michal (my 3x great grandparent) was the oldest, he and his wife were having their first child when Apolonia, his mother was having her seventh. Michal and Anna lived in house #100 in Majdan Górny, the house of Tomasz Dominik, Anna's father. I think it is really cool to have house numbers from that long ago! They aren’t available in very many of the records. ***** Apolonia died on Monday, December 16, 1844 at 6:00 p.m. She left behind her husband Jan, age 66. On Wednesday, at 10am, her husband Jan and Andrzej Typek, 44, another peasant farmer, went the 4.5 miles to Tomaszów to report her death at 10 a.m.. ***** I will share something I recently learned. I thought her last name was Golebiowska. I think the -iowska and the male -iowski is added on in one of the many ways Polish words are changed--in this case to indicate male and female, maybe also indicate married. Her last name was likely Goleb or possibly Golab--I am finding and sorting records with both spellings. I have been told spelling wasn’t as big an issue back then. It can also be hard to tell a cursive “e” from a cursive “a.” Also, many names mean something--they may tell where the person came from or their occupation. ”Golab” means “pigeon.” I am not sure why the family had that name. *****