The Story of Maciej Wiciejewski & Marianna nee Metalska

Maciej Wiciejewski (my 4x great grandfather) worked as a potter, likely in the factory in Tomaszów, as did his father Jakub, and Blazej Wisniewski (another 4x great grandfather.) Begun in 1794 with the production of faience, by 1806, the factory on Lwówska Street began to produce porcelain and their profits increased yearly until 1809. Utensils, vases and items for pharmacy use were among the products manufactured. They were famous for their artists creating cups with pictures of famous historical and contemporary figures. The products were sold widely in Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, and Moldavia. Around this time, Maciej was a 40-year old factory foreman and by 1819, he was referred to as “famous” and “renowned.” Profits from sales began to decline and political changes also occurred that doomed the factory. Borders changes resulted in challenges. The creation of The Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 meant that the factory in Tomaszów and the raw goods in Lviv were now in two different regions. Increased costs such as a new border tax and decreased sales because of the unavailability of markets resulted in the demise by 1827 of the operation. ***** Maciej was born in the 1760s to Jakub Wiciejewski and Marianna Plebanski. 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 1812. ***** Maciej married Marianna nee Metalska and they had nine children who were born between 1814 and 1824. During the time period of their births, there were only civil registrations of births rather than registrations of baptisms, so I do not know who their Godparents were. ***** Their oldest child Salomea (my 3x great grandmother), born in approximately 1804, married Andrzej Kaszucki, a furrier from Tomaszów. Their firstborn child was born the following year, 1824, in house #27 – her father’s house. 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 (b. abt. 1807) married Marcin Ceronski, an apprentice spoon maker from Tomaszów. She was a widow and a day laborer when she died at age 50. ***** Marianna (b. abt. 1813) died young at one year of age in house number 206. The witness was Rafał Lusawicki, Maciej’s brother-in-law. Agnieszka was born in 1813 and there is no further information after her birth. Her father was 36 and mother was 30. They lived in house #160. Rafał Lusawicki,40, Maciej’s brother-in-law, and Aleksander Kiszczyński, 37, peasant farmers residing in Tomaszów were listed as witnesses. ****** Jozef (b. 1815) died young at 15 weeks old. The death was reported to the parish priest of Tomaszów, the Civil Registry Officer of Tomaszów Commune, Tomaszów Municipal District, Lublin Department. Witnesses for his birth were Jan Ziełkoski, 33 and Michał Kudlicki, 36, a master shoemaker, both residing in Tomaszów. Rafał Lusawicki, Maciej’s brother-in-law and neighbor, went with Maciej to report the death. ***** Antonina was born in 1816 at Maciej’s house #206. The witnesses were Józef Kudlik, age 50, shoemaker, and Jędrzej Wojnowski, age 34. Antonina married Mateusz Bulewicz in 1833 at age 17. Mateusz was an apprentice shoemaker and his deceased father had been a shoemaker. The witnesses were Antoni Radawski ,53 and Szymon Hładysza , 52, both shoemakers in Tomaszów. Mateusz and Antoni Radawski were able to sign their names while everyone else was illiterate. When Antonina died at age 41 in 1853, she was working as a shoemaker/cobbler with her husband. There was a local children’s epidemic at the time. ****** Wojciech and Konstancja were the 7th and 8th of the nine children – twins! – born in 1819. The family still lived in house #206. Their father was listed as the "renowned" Maciej Wiciejewski, and still worked as a potter. The witnesses were Kazimierz Cyronski, a 50-year-old spoonmaker, and Rafał Lusawicki, a carpenter and Maciej’s brother-in-law. Both of the twins married people from outside of Tomaszów. Wojciech married Victoria Melin from Dąbrowa. 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 Tomaszów Lubelski. Wojiech died at age 50 before his wife. 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 in 1897. She likely moved there when she was married. Rybnica was named for the large fish pond there, which had a mill and a water sawmill. The area was surrounded by pine forests. ***** Maciej and Marianna’s youngest son Walenty Jozef was born 1824 in house #207. The witnesses were Maciej Wyszyński, 50, cooper, and Michał Kudlicki, 45, shoemaker, both residing in Tomaszów. He married Helena Józefko, from Komadów but she was residing in Tomaszów, working as a home helper. Walenty worked as a spoon maker, innkeeper in Para, and as a peasant farmer in Para. His second wife Ewa Tarczulowna, was the daughter of shoemakers from Tomaszów. ****** Walenty had five children with his first wife. His oldest sister Salomea was the Godmother for their fourth child Marianna, born in 1851. The importance of Godparents can’t be under-estimated. Godparents promise to help raise a baby in the faith. When Marianna was 21 years old, she was unmarried and working as a servant when she had her son Wladyslaw in 1874. The declarant was Agnieszka Uminska, 52 (likely the midwife), rather than a husband.. The witnesses were Maciej Janusz and Jan Gucz, (both 50 and church sextons.) The Godparents were Franciszek Kielarski and Maryanna Kulczyn. She was still unmarried nine years later in 1883 when she had Piotr. The witnesses were Jan Kudlicka, 24 and Bronisław Berezecki, 30. The Godfather was Jan Kudlicka and the record is illegible so the Godmother's name is unknown. In 1884, Marianna was temporarily living 22 miles north in Zamosc. The reason that she was living there is not given--was she there to work? Was she in a hospital? She died there at age 32. A cause of death is not given--according to the history list I have, at this time there was a struggle for democracy and the effects of overpopulation as well as the breaking up of the estates. The witnesses were both workers from the local church. It is unknown where Marianna’s children were. If alive, Wladyslaw would have been 10 years old and Piotr would have been one year old. ****** 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. ****** — DNA connections: His sister Justyna is an ancestor of a lot of DNA matches of people with a connection to Grand Rapids. Patrice (Szymanski) Shay is one of them and she and I have connected and exchanged some information. Others are: Abbey Murphy, Maryann VanDyke, Robert Szymanski, Sonia O’Leary, Allison Clem, Kathleen Thurman and Susan Brochu-Hoshield. ***** Rybnica: Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, April 7). Rybnica (Województwo Lubelskie). Wikipedia. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rybnica_(wojew%C3%B3dztwo_lubelskie) History of area: “Dzieje Miejscowosci Gminy Tomaszów Lubelski.” Dzieje Gmin Zamojszczyzny, 2011. Retreived July 11, 2023 from https://dzieje_gminy_tomaszow_lubelski_-_calosc_z_okladka.pdf (tomaszowlubelski.pl Death of Maciej: Skan - Szukaj W Archiwach. Przejdź do Szukaj w Archiwach. (n.d.-a). https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/95f182f5ec14e8c22e786029914588573e458471599175642e850f71edba2380 Faience: