The Story of Kazimierz Krawczyk & Rozalia Kobak

Besides the Raczkiewicz family (Pawel and Franciszka) originating from Łaszczówka, another branch of the family also originated from there. Krwawczyk family members lived there for at least three generations. Kazmierez Krawczyk (my 5x great grandfather) and Rozalia nee Kobak (my 5x great grandmother) lived and died there. Kazimierz was born about 1748 and Rozalia sometime between 1764 and 1768. Her last name “Krawczyk” is a diminutive for the occupation of tailor. They worked as peasant farmers. ***** Łaszczówka is a village about one mile east of Tomaszów Lubelski. It currently has about 1,000 residents. It is on the Sołokija River and its tributary Harasinka. While civilization was there for centuries before, the city originated in 1609 by Florian Łaszcz Nidedewski. Three peasant families escaped neighboring villages to live there. It changed hands legally many times as an inheritance, a dowry or a purchase but it was also invaded by a disgruntled heir in 1623. There were frequent Tartar invasions. In 1630, there were 194 houses but due to invasions there were only 80 in 1650. In the first half of the 1700s, they lost their rights as a city and became a village. After several more ownership changes, it belonged to Józef Radecki in 1740, around the time of Kazimierz’ birth. Because Józef owed a debt to the Church, the church was taken over by the Trinitarians from Tomaszów. The Austrians, when they invaded, abolished the Trinitarians so the church was first attached to Chodywance then later to the parish of Tomaszów. ***** Their children were Antoni, my 4x great grandfather (abt. 1779), Franciszek (abt. 1782), Wojciech (abt. 1791), Bartlomiej (about 1793) and Łukasz (abt. 1779.) Antoni was a peasant farmer in Łaszczówka, married to two women from Łaszczówka: first to Dorota Kozyra for twenty years and then to Barbara Probola. There is no information on Franciszek. When their son Wojciech was married in 1812 to Rozalia Kukiz, the record reports that they were residing in Łosiniec. They may have moved there and then moved back or this could be an error. Her family and the witnesses were from Łosiniec. Their son Bartłomiej was a blacksmith residing in Łaszczówka, who married Anna Biszczard, whose family were farmers residing in Ruda. Lucasz was a peasant farmer residing in Sznury, married to Marianna Bucior. ***** Rozalia died in house #5 in Łaszczówka on November 27, 1814 at 2:00 in the afternoon. She was 50 years old. Reporting the death two days later in Tomaszów, were her husband Kazimierz, 60, working as a peasant farmer in Łaszczówka and Jakub Kraczkiewicz, 50, a neighbor. ***** Kazimierz lived nine more years. He was a 75-year-old widower when he died on March 16, 1823, at 1:00 in the morning. His two sons, Wojciech and Bartłomiej, 30, went to report the death in Tomaszów Lubelski. They were both peasants. Kazimierz lived with his son Wojciech and Wojciech’s wife Rozalia when he died in their house #10 in Łaszczówka. Kazimierz possibly moved in with them sometime after 1814 when his wife Rozalia died or they took over his farm. Both his wife and his daughter-in-law were named Rozalia. Kazimierz and Rozalia’s children all died in Łaszczówka except for Lukasz, who died in Sznury. ***** References: Krawczyk family history. Krawczyk Name Meaning & Krawczyk Family History at Ancestry.com®. (n.d.). https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=krawczyk ***** “Dzieje Miejscowosci Gminy Tomaszów Lubelski.” Dzieje Gmin Zamojszczyzny, 2011. Retreived July 11, 2023 from https://dzieje_gminy_Tomaszów _lubelski_-_calosc_z_okladka... (Tomaszów lubelski.pl) ***** Death of Kazimierz Krawczyk Skan - Szukaj W Archiwach. Przejdź do Szukaj w Archiwach. (n.d.). https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/be9e8acb32b3d5129b350077e96af8639ed8e79c72d5154d52484b9e4336959e Death of Rozalia (Kobak) Krawczyk Skan - Szukaj W Archiwach. Przejdź do Szukaj w Archiwach. (n.d.-a). https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/b79c749bcfd0f9149606be1029bec927b9b825c4a051942c95c564f594002b55

The Story of Blazej Wisniewski & Jagnieszka Szczesznicka

Błażej Wiśniewski (my 4x great grandfather) was in a bit of a hurry after his wife Jagnieszka Szcześnicka (my 4x great grandmother) died. His children were six to fourteen years old, so that may explain his rush. He ended up engaged – that fell through – and then he ended up marrying about a year after Jagniewska’s death. Jagniewska died May 20, 1823 at age 49. It happened in house #347 at 6:00 in the evening in Tomaszów. Two days later Błażej, 53, who was working as a grave digger and her brother Bartłomiej Szcześnicki, 53, a manufacturer of faience, went to report her death. ***** Wedding banns were posted on the main door of the community house by September 7, less than four months later, by the Parish priest of Tomaszów, who operated as the clerk of the civil records in the Administrative district of Tomaszów, Tomaszów County, Province Lubelskie. These were the first banns for the planned marriage of Marianna Cyronik, age 25 and Błażej, who was quite a bit older, in his 50s. ***** Banns are published prior to a wedding to determine if there is a civil or religious reason to prevent the marriage. Concerns could be a current marriage, a pledge of celibacy, a close family relationship, or lack of consent. The guidance from 1743 required the priest to carefully and separately question the bride and groom. If any of these concerns were discovered, the banns were suspended. If the bride and groom cleared this hurdle, the banns were published to give the public the chance to object. In most cases, there are three banns and in most of the records in this time period, the wedding went through. In this fascinating example however, the first banns were published – but eight months later the groom married someone else! Banns are no longer required in the Catholic church but may still be published and many parishes still do so. ***** Obviously, something happened before the wedding occurred to determine they could not be married, and the wedding was canceled. The intended bride was Marianna Cyronśkówna, 25. Her father Ignacy had been a farmer in Tomaszów but was deceased and her mother Helena née Kowalik, was working as a laborer. There was a very large age difference, but Błażej had been prominent earlier in his role as a pottery factory supervisor even though he was working as a grave digger at this time. It is unknown what prevented the marriage from occurring. ***** Instead of marrying Marianna, Błażej and Anna Adamczyk were married on May 9, 1824, at 6:00 p.m.. Anna, a 41-year-old maiden, was living and working in Tomaszów, as a servant. She was the daughter of deceased parents Błażej Adamczyk and Katarzyna nee Fuss, who had been peasants in Wólka Łosiniecka, which is in the same county as Tomaszów, about six miles (10 kilometers) west. Wólka Łosiniecka had about 73 houses at the time with granges, mills, a brickyard and an inn. The witnesses were Grzegorz Nazarewicz, 36, a smith, Jan Kalarzyński,45, a manufacturer, Maciej Wiciiowski, 55, a "garncarz" (potter), and Michał Kudlicki, 45, a shoemaker, 45, all residing in Tomaszów. I believe Maciej was another 4th grandfather of mine, from the other family that worked at the pottery factory. Błażej was working as a grave digger and a farmer, like his father was before his death. ***** Błażej's family were from Pacanów, Galicia. He was born approximately in the 1750s or 1760s. His parents were Mateusz Wiśniowski and Marianna Kalinowska. When Błażej first married Jagnieszka, her father Michał was a legal authority or judge ("jurydyczanie" singular: "jurydyczanin.") At the time, the owner of the local manor was the administrator and judge unless he delegated those duties to someone else. It is possible that Jagnieska’s father worked for the magnate Alexander Zamoyski who likely employed her husband in his pottery factory. ***** The local ceramics factory figured prominently in their lives. Błażej was a foreman there before the demise of the faience industry in Tomaszów. He knew many potters: Błażej’s brother-in-law Bartlomiej Szczesnicki was a potter and fellow potters Filip Zawalski, Jan Lisikiewicz and Stefan Okopcinski were witnesses for his second marriage. Maciej Wiciejewski (another 4x great grandfather) and Jakub Wiciejewski, his father (my 5x great grandfather) were also potters. Maciej Glowacki was a potter who was a declarant for the birth of one of Antoni Kurkiewicz’s (another 4th great grandfather) children. ***** Błażej and Jagnieska’s children were Ewa (1809), Józef (1810), Wojciech (1813), Józef (1815), and Anna (1816.) Ewa (my 3x great grandmother) married Wincenty Rachański, a shoemaker and later married Józef Kurkiewicz, a farmer and shoemaker. Józef died in childhood. Information about Wojciech is not available. Their second child named Józef was a journeyman shoemaker when he married Miss Marianna Kaszucka, age 17, the daughter of Teodor Kaszucka and Teodorzia nee Pańczyszak. Her father (3x great uncle) was a furrier from the Kaszucki family that moved to Tomaszów from Uhnów, Ukraine. Józef later worked as a mason, and died fairly young at the age of 28. Anna died in childhood. ***** Whatever happened to Błażej’s fiancé? Marianna Cyronśkówna died in 1839, 16 years after her engagement to Błażej, at the age of 42. She never married. Blazej died after nearly 20 years of marriage, on January 20 in 1844 at 2:00 p.m. He died at the age of 92, though there are some discrepancies in the records, and he might have been 83. One witness was Józef Kurkiewicz, farmer, age 29, his son-in-law, married to Ewa (my 3rd great-grandmother.). The other witness was Franciszek Szcześnicki, bricklayer, age 29, Franciszek was Błażej ’s prior wife Jagnieszka’s nephew. ***** Anna, his wife for twenty years who had raised his children from Jagnieszka, died less than two years after her husband Józef . She died as a beggar woman “'baba żebraczka” in Tomaszów on February 26, 1846. Her age was unknown in the death record. She was listed as a widow but her husband wasn’t named. The informants knew her parents were peasants from Wolka Losiniecki but did not know their names. She was 63 year old Anna Wizniewska (a different spelling) from Tomaszów, the second wife of Błażej Wiśniewski. Reporting the death was Michał Wizniewski, a 42-year old blacksmith – how he was related to her is unknown. Also reporting on the death was Józef Kurkiewicz, a 30 year old cobbler/shoemaker and her son-in-law. Her stepdaughter Ewa was remarried with four (soon to be five) children, her stepson Józef had already died in his twenties and it is unknown if Wojciech was alive. ***** http://wystawy.biblioteka.pollub.pl/exhibits/show/ceramika/historia-Tomaszów (History of Tomaszów pottery) http://wystawy.biblioteka.pollub.pl/exhibits/show/ceramika/kolekcja-Tomaszówska (Pictures of pottery from Tomaszów) http://wystawy.biblioteka.pollub.pl/exhibits/show/ceramika/historia-Tomaszów https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faience http://www.turystyka.susiec.pl/?wolka-losiniecka,63 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kozio%C5%82ek_Mato%C5%82ek

The Story of Franciszek Gołębiowski & Katarzyna Chmiel

The death record for Fracniszek Golebiewski (my 5x great grandfather) makes me think about all the different ways a last name may be spelled. When looking at genealogical records, the same last name may appear in lots of variations. Some of it occurs because of a spelling alteration such as “c” and " s" in Raczkiewicz and Raszkiewicz. Apparently, spelling wasn’t as big of an issue back then as it is today. I believe I was told that “-wicz” means “son of –”, similar to my sister’s last name which is Peterson. Handwriting might be another reason a name is written as “Gołęb” versus “Gołąb,” for instance. It can be hard to tell a cursive “e” from a cursive “a”. It is fascinating to have variations such as Gołębiów, Gołębiówski, Gołębiów, Gołębia, Gołębiewski, etc. In Polish, nouns may change for gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Gołębiowski is male and Gołębiowska is female. Some surnames also used to have endings that can also indicate if the woman is married or unmarried: -iowa for married and -iowna for unmarried. Endings of other words change for lots of other reasons such as number (singular and plural) and for case (direct object, indirect object, possession, interrogatives, prepositional, and vocative – addressing people in special situations.) So when addressing someone and using they name in the vocative case, the nickname Tomek would become Tomku. My understanding of all of the rules in the Polish language is that I do not understand all of the rules! Some records are written in Latin so the name needs to be translated into the Polish version. For instance, Hedwiga would be Jadwiga. Hieronymus is the Latin equivalent of the name Hieronim (the name of Franciszek’s father.) ***** Another interesting thing about the names of relatives is that some of the surnames of my direct ancestors seem to translate into words. Just like in English where common names like “Smith” at one time referred to blacksmith. I THINK these family surnames can be translated to common words – maybe referring to occupations or natural features: Golab (pigeon) Kowol (blacksmith) Kukielka (puppet) Kwiatkowski (kwiat=flower) Plebanski (presbytery or parsonage) Kozyra (kozy=goats) Krawczyk (tailor) Grabek (rakes) Chmiel (hops--used to make beer) ***** Szymon Marzuk, the young genealogist who has grandparents who live in Tomaszów Lubelski, explained that his “7th great-grandparents were Franciszek Gołąb vel Gołębiowski and Katarzyna Chmiel vel Chmielowska, born in Majdan Górny, Lubelskie, Poland.” ***** Katarzyna’s father’s last name was Chmiel and hers was Chmielowska. “As for his surname, his daughter at some point in her life decided to change her name to resemble a higher status.” Szymon shared information from Wikipedia about the addition of -ski/ska to a surname: "Over time, surnames ending in -ski also began to spread among lower classes like burghers and peasants. In the first half of the 17th century, surnames with this ending were given to self-proclaimed nobles from the land of Cracow. This phenomenon was met with protest from the nobility, who considered surnames with a ski as one of the nobility's privileges. In 1638, Wladyslaw Stanislaw Jeżowski (a nobleman!), in a booklet written in verse and dedicated to the economy and charms of landed life, noted with indignation: " ... Noble names They are often used by craftsmen as well, It is good for a craftsman to have a surname ending in, for example, wicz, Not na ski, noble it..." Thus, in order to avoid the complete similarity of plebeian surnames to noble surnames ending in -ski, an orthographic trick was used and they were written in the form oski reserving the form with the letter "w" at the beginning." —---- Franciszek was born around 1753, I am not sure why the family of Franciszek had the name of “Golab” or “Goleb”, except that maybe at some time, they were known for raising pigeons. He was a peasant farmer in Majdan Górny, a village that was important to several parts of the family tree. The village of Majdan Górny was founded at the beginning of the 18th century and takes its name from Górno. Franciszek married his wife Katarzyna nee Chmielewska. Since “chmiel” means “hops”,their name could either refer to a grower of hops or to one of the many places in Poland with this word in their name. Her father was Hieronim Chmiel, born around 1715, and her mother’s name is unknown. ***** Franciszek and Katarzyna had seven children: Michał 1768 approx - 1832), Zofia (abt. 1770 -1840), Marianna 1784 – 1795), Wojciech (1787 – 1788), Apolonia (1789 – 1844), Anna (1792 – 1795), Paweł (1795 – 1847), and Anna 1798 – ?) Three children – Marianna, Wojciech and Anastasia – died in early childhood. ***** Zofia married Maciej Jakubus in July of 1797 and he died in July of 1798. Their daughter Anastasia was born five months later. Zofia remarried Wawrzyniec Turek and they had fifteen children – including three sets of twins! Apolonia (my 4x great grandmother) married Jan Raczkiewicz in 1804. In 1812, Paweł married Elżbieta Przybysz from Tomaszów, whose family were peasant farmers. When Anna married Jozef Grzegorz Kita in 1813, both of their fathers were deceased. ***** Their son Michał had the most complicated story of all the children. It looks like Michał wasn’t quite as lucky as his siblings and was married several times. Some trees on Ancestry have his first wife as Jagnieszka and a son Szymon in Zgrzbeiny but that is very far away and unverified if that is true The name Michał Golebiowski was a common name like the name “John Smith is in the United States. Therefore, there is a likelihood that there was a different Michał married to a different Jagnieszka that is being confused. I think that his first wife was Elzbieta (Helena) Łach, who he married in 1792. She died March 1, 1806, and less than two months later, Michał married his second wife Agnieszka Dominik. Her father was Andrzej but the connection to other Dominik relatives in the Dominik family has not yet been made. She died December 2, 1811, and Michał again married less than two months later, this time to Rozalia Gorbula. She presented an Act of Knowing from the Tomaszów Court of Peace stating her age and that her parents weren’t present or mentioned so they may have been deceased. After Rozalia died November 16, 1824, Michał remarried for the fourth time to Marianna (Sawiak) Dzier. This marriage occurred less than three months later. Michał was a 58-year-old widower and Marianna was a 41-year old widow of a peasant farmer from Majdan Górny, who had died 17 years earlier. ***** Franciszek died on February 13, 1813, at 10:00 in the morning. He died at home (number 20) in Majdan Gorny. He was sixty years old when he died. One declarant reporting his death was his son Michał, a 40-year old peasant farmer residing in Gurnia, who had married two weeks earlier. 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. The record doesn’t say this but Jan was likely married to Franciszek’s daughter Apolonia (my 4x great grandparents.) ***** Katarzyna also died in February, seven years later. She died at 6:00 in the evening on February 20, 1820 in house number 30 in Gorno. She was 80 years old and a widow. She had seen her son Michał married at least four times, her daughter Apolonia married to Jan Raczkiewicz with nine children. Her son Paweł had married the year before Katarzyna’s death. He was 35 years old when he went with Jan Raszkiewicz (his brother-in-law), 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. ***** After reading this story on February 13, 2023, Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz sent the following message: “Gdyby mój Stryj Antoni nie wyjechał do USA i nie miał wnuczki Paulette nie znalibyśmy tak ciekawej historii naszych przodków. Z tej historii wynika, że wiele nazwisk wymienionych w drzewie genealogicznym to nasi dalecy kuzyni.” “If my Uncle Antoni had not left for the USA and had no granddaughter Paulette, we would not know such an interesting history of our ancestors. From this story, many of the names listed in the family tree are our distant cousins.” ***** References: Chmiel family history. Chmiel Name Meaning & Chmiel Family History at Ancestry.com®. (n.d.). https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=chmiel 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 Wikimedia Foundation. (2022b, November 24). Majdan Górny. Wikipedia. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majdan_G%C3%B3rny Franciszek’s death: Skan - Szukaj W Archiwach. Przejdź do Szukaj w Archiwach. (n.d.-b). https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/f9dd411dac30d20455deb2c60574151df33301870119a5e77c1cc405c8ca198b Katarzyna’s death: Skan - Szukaj W Archiwach. Przejdź do Szukaj w Archiwach. (n.d.-b). https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/skan/-/skan/f29ea7f73d11e1491865adb629832cceb20cc2ab06c32d379cd43dc1dae07f58

The Story of Antoni Krawczyk & Dorota Kozyra & Barbara Probola

A period of mourning is typical before a spouse remarries. The length of the mourning period may have been short in Poland in the past, especially if there were young children involved. Anthony Krawczyk (my 4x great grandfather) wed Barbara Probola on May 22, 1824. This was Antoni’s second marriage. His wife Dorota (Kozrya) Krawczyk (my 4x great grandmother) died two months earlier on March 22, 1824 when she was 45 years old. Her death was reported by Antoni Krawczyk, 42, her husband, and Jozef Litwin, 60, a neighbor in Laszczowka where they lived. Her death information was in the record for her husband's remarriage two months later to Barbara Probola. Having children that needed care might explain why Antoni remarried so quickly. Antoni and his first wife had seven children together and at least four of them were living when he remarried, Three of them lived at home and the youngest was six years old. His oldest daughter Katarzyna (my 3x great grandmother) was married November 1823, four months before her mother died. His new wife Barbara was 32 years old and the daughter of Sebastyan Probola and Anna nee Bartnim, who were once peasant farmers, but were deceased when Barbara married. Barbara was living with her brother-in-law in Łaszczówka. Antoni was a 42 year old peasant farmer residing in Łaszczówka. His parents also were once peasant farmers in the same village but were deceased. His parents Kazimierz Krawczyk and Rozalia nee Kubak were from this village in the mid 1700s and many of his children remained there (my 3x great grandmother moved to Majdan Gorny when she married and her daughter Marianna Grabek - my 2x great grandmother - moved to Sabaudia when she married.) There is a Łaszczówka and a Łaszczów. Eugeniusz Razkiewicz helped me understand the difference. Łaszczów was a town in the years 1549-1870.It is currently a town again since 2010. The distance from Tomaszów is 30 kilometers. Łaszczówka is a village about one mile east of Tomaszów Lubelski in Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship (area administered by a governor.) It has about 1,000 residents. It was a town from the years 1610 to 1764. The Krawczyk family lived in Łaszczówka. Antoni’s children with Dorota were Katarzyna (about 1800 - 1803), Marianna (1807), Mikołaj (1809), Marianna (1814), Łukasz (1811), Tomasz (1815), and Franciszka (1818). Mikołaj and Marianna died young at age one and age three. The first Marianna likely died early, though her death record was not available. Katarzyna (my 3x great grandmother) married Łukasz Grabek, a peasant from Majdan Gorny, living with his mother and stepfather. Łukasz married Katarzyna Litwin whose parents were peasants from Łaszczówka. Tomasz married Katarzyna Zawalska from Łaszczówka who was living in Tomaszów with her uncle since her parents were deceased and then they lived in Sznury. Franciszka married Sebastian Rejman whose parents were peasant farmers from Ruda Wolowska. When Antoni and his second wife Barbara had an additional four children, Łaszczówka.was a small village of 29 houses and less than 150 people. They had three children, Marianna (1825), Agnieszka (1828), Maciej (1830), before the November Uprising insurgents of General Wojciech Chrzanowski were requisitioned in the village. This was an attempt to rebel against the Russian occupation. Antoni and Barbara had their last child, Wawrzyniec (1833). Their daughter Marianna married Marcin Jakubus, born in Majdan Górny, but working as a servant in Łaszczówka. Marianna died in 1898, at age 64, during a local children’s epidemic. Agnieszka married Jakub Kozyra, a peasant farmer born in Majdan Górny and living in Bondyrz. He died in 1854 at age 25 during a local cholera outbreak. Maciej married Ewa Rejman, from Ruda Woloski. Ewa was the sister of Sebastian Rejman, married to Ewa’s half sister Franciszka ten years earlier. Wawrzyniec married Katarzyna (Krupa) Dziura, a widow from Łaszczówka. Antoni died in Laszczowka on February 4, 1841 when he was 60 years old. He left behind his second wife Barbara. His older children of Dorota were all married when he died. His children with Barbara were eight to sixteen years old. I am unable to find out if Barbara remarried. Dorota’s last name comes from “Kozera” who is a gambler. She was born around 1779 in Laszczowka. While Dorota’s name is Kozera or Kozyra in most of the records, in two birth records and in her death record, she is referred to as Lokaj/Lokay. I am working on trying to find out more about her family.

The Life of Piotr Raczkiewicz

Piotr, characterized by extraordinary honesty and warmth, “as if he wanted to give his soul away” is how his nephew Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz describes the type of person Piotr was. Eugeniusz also remembered what he looked like and said that he looked like the pictures he recently saw of older sibling Antoni. Antoni was 5’5” tall, 145 pounds and had brown hair and gray/blue eyes. ***** Piotr was born May 13, 1897 at 5:00 in the morning. Piotr was the fourth of nine children. His father Jan was 32 years old and working as a peasant in the village of Sabaudia and his mother Katarzyna was 25 years old. His father Jan, along with witnesses Michal Kielar, age 50, and Josef Kondra, age 30, reported the birth two days later in the town of Tomaszów, about two miles away from their village. The baptism was at 3:00 in the afternoon and his godparents were Michal Kelar and Antonina Kurkiewicz. The baby was given the name Piotr in honor of Saint Apostle Piotr. ***** Piotr was 26 years old when his younger sister Mary left for the United States in 1923 and she listed him as her contact in Poland. His older siblings Jan, Józef, and Antoni had left years before that. ***** Piotr married Józefa Szczupakowska and lived in the village of Podhajce near Łaszczów. It is located at the northern edge of the Tomaszów Lubelski commune, on the Huczwa River. There are traces of early civilizations found in shards of pottery but the first historical mention is in 1409. ***** Piotr and Józefa worked as farmers, as did most people in the area though there was also a dairy plant, a steam mill and a woodmill and people in occupations such as cooper, carpenter, blacksmith, shoemaker, butcher and store owner. The area had 175 houses, 1,061 inhabitants, including 40 Jews and 114 Ukrainians in 1921. They had two sons: Jan, born in 1927 and Zdzisław Mieczysław, born in 1934. By the time Jan was born, the school established during the Russian partition no longer existed and the Polish school was well established and had moved into its own building the year before his birth. ***** The People’s Movement was active in the area and in 1937 there was a peasant strike. During World War II, there was a battle in September 1939 where the Polish troops expelled the German occupiers, but then lost control of the village again. During this time, 17 people from the village were sent to forced labor camps in Germany from 1940 to 1942. On July 12, 1943, the village was evicted by the Germans with settlers from Romania and Bulgaria put in place instead. The Peasant Battalion lost 32 members. After liberation, people returned in 1944 and school operations resumed. It is unknown to me when Piotr and his wife moved to this area or how much of this they experienced, but Piotr’s wife Józefa died in 1946. ***** Time with his siblings was important to Piotr. After church, Piotr would often enjoy a small beer with sister Paulina and brother Bolesław. Łaszczów was a trip of approximately 30 kilometers (18 and a half miles) for his brother Boleslaw. Bolesław and his family would leave home at dawn and return late at night to travel the horse-drawn cart ride over bumpy roads and through the forest to work their own land and then visit with Piotr. “The brothers met with great cordiality and joy” according to Eugeniusz. ***** In 1963, the village received electricity, in the 1960s drainage and a paved road. Andrzej Dubiel believes that Piotr attended his older sister Maria’s wedding. It was about the year 1976 and he remembered that Piotr was very old then. In fact, Piotr would have died soon after. ***** Marianna Ziółkowska is a granddaughter of Piotr. She shared that when her father Jan died on April 3, 1974, at age 47, his father Piotr came to his funeral. Jan lived with his father and his brother Zdzich (Zdzislaw) in the countryside. Jan worked as a state institution worker and Zdzislaw worked as a farmer – possibly at the farm his father and mother originally farmed. Marianna and her family lived in Pruszków near Warsaw. ***** Piotr died at age 80 on January 30, 1977 in Podhajce. Joanna Len shared, “I remember my grandfather’s death as if it were yesterday. I was seven years old.” She shared the picture of Piotr and his wife along with a picture of her and her family in front of Piotr’s body after his death. Eugeniusz shared the family shots. “These photos of families were taken by me personally with my first camera, “Smiena.” ***** History of Podhorce “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)

The Story of Lukasz Grabek & Katarzyna Krawczk

When Lukasz Grabek (my 3x great grandfather) got married, he had been living with his mother and stepfather. Born around 1798 in Majdan Gorny, Lukasz’s parents were Walenty Grabek and Teresa nee Walawander. His father died when he was 14 and his mother remarried a year later to Grzegorz Lebiedowski. ***** Both Lukasz and his stepfather were working as peasant farmers when he married at age 25. Many of the records on the Jan Raczkiewicz side of the family list the occupation as “komornik” – a peasant farmer. A peasant may be a farmer who: Kmiec: worked enough land to support his family and owned two or more cows, horses, sheep oxen, goats, and pigs as well as several buildings on the farm. Potrolik: worked a half-sized farm. Zagrodnik: owned a farmhouse, out buildings, animals and a vegetable garden. Many peasants had no crop land. Chalupnik: lived in a small cottage. Komornik: was a tenant farmer, or day laborer. Often the word “Włościanin” is used in the records to describe the occupation of many of my ancestors. According to Ewa Switek who translates records for Genealogical Translations (on Facebook), that is a “former term for a rural inhabitant who works in agriculture, synonymous with peasant. The name comes from the estate, that is the land estate, usually consisting of several villages belonging to one owner together with its inhabitants. The peasants formed the most numerous social group, which included, among others: peasants, homesteads, cottage workers and others. Even in 1921, they constituted about 75% of the total population in Poland.” I am not sure where she got this information. I looked for more information and found out that peasants worked for their lords to pay rent and as time went on that obligation increased. Peasants who were wealthier were expected to contribute more, but they could hire others to help them do it. Peasants needed permission to marry, move or begin a trade. In different areas of Poland, serfdom was abolished beginning in the early 1800s. After the 1863 uprising, Czar Alexander II, who had previously abolished serfdom, gave the land to the tenants. Lukasz married Katarzyna Krawczyk, age 20, from Łaszczówka, about four and a half miles away, outside of the city of Tomaszow Lubelski to the southeast. Katarzyna was the daughter of Antoni Krawczyk and his first wife Dorota née Lokaj who also were peasant farmers. Her mother Dorota died four months after Katarzyna’s wedding, at the age of 45. Katarzyna’s siblings were 5 to 16 years old when Dorota died and their father remarried within two months of her death. The banns for Lukasz and Katarzyna’s marriage were announced on November 9 and 16, 1823 and their wedding was on November 21, at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, in Tomaszów. The witnesses were Marcin Walawender, 55, (Lukasz’ uncle), Jan Garbula,30, Józef Litwin, 54, and Bartłomiej Krawczyk, 36 (Katarzyna’s uncle.) They were all peasant farmers. The first two were from Majdan Górny, the groom’s village and the other two were from Łaszczówka, the bride’s village. Lukasz and Katarzyna had at least six children with three daughters living to adulthood. Rozalia’s (1827) Godparents were Jakob Sidor & Anastazja Kozyra. She married Jakub Raczkiewicz from Majdan Górny in 1843. Her husband’s parents were Jan Raczkiewicz and Apolonia Gołębiowska (my 4x great grandparents.) They had nine children and lived in Majdan Gorny. Jozef’s (1830) Godparents were Stanislaw Dominik and Anastasia Kozyra. He died in Infancy Jakub’s (1831) Godparents were Michal Srutwa and Rozalia Kozydra. He also died in early childhood. Apolonia’s (1834) Godparents were Michal Turek & Marianna Grabek. Shemarried in 1851, Antoni Kowal, son of Sebastyan Kowol and Zofia née Kuzniarz, peasant farmers from Majdan Górny. Franciszka’s (1837) Godparents were Marcin Kozyra & Katarzyna Turek. She died at age 10 though the record says she was aged 20. A local potato blight as well as cholera, were issues at the time. Marianna (my 2x great grandmother) was born in 1843 and her Godparents were Tomasz Krawczyk and Katarzyna Krawczyk, likely her maternal uncle and his wife. She married twice. She married Antoni Raczkiewicz, son of Michał Raczkiewicz and Anna Dominik (my 3x great grandparents), peasants from Sabaudia and also Tomasz Kędra, from Jeziernia, the son of Michał Kędra and Anastasia Król. When she died in 1881, there was documentation of the plague locally. After living in Majdan Gorny for the previous 31 years, Katarzyna died on March 28, 1853 at approximately 50 years old. The cause of death is not given, but there was “The Great Famine” in Galicia from 1853 to 1855 as well as a local children’s epidemic. The witnesses reporting her death were Jakob Raczkiewicz, 29 and Josef Sidor, 36. Their youngest child was ten years old when Katarzyna died but it doesn’t appear her husband remarried. Eight years later, on January 23, 1861, Lukasz died at 5:00 in the evening at age 61. Jakub Raczkiewicz, age 31, (his son-in-law), and Piotr Raczkiewicz, age 50, (his son-in-law’s uncle), presented themselves and confirmed that he had died. The image is of a funeral in Galicia in 1882. Image: By Teodor Axentowicz - http://www.pinakoteka.zascianek.pl/Axentowicz/Index.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12546957 https://europebetweeneastandwest.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/an-austro-hungarian-tragedy-the-kingdom-of-galicia-lodomeria-part-two/ fortchoteau1, 21, B. G. on A., & 22, fortchoteau1 on A. (2015, June 19). An Austro-hungarian tragedy – The Kingdom of Galicia & Lodomeria (part Two). Europe Between East And West. https://europebetweeneastandwest.wordpress.com/2015/06/19/an-austro-hungarian-tragedy-the-kingdom-of-galicia-lodomeria-part-two/ “Famines in Austrian Galicia.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 25 Jan. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famines_in_Austrian_Galicia. Wikipedia contributors. (2023, September 27). Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Galicia_and_Lodomeria Peasants: Wiki, F. (2022, December 9). Poland social life and customs • FamilySearch. FamilySearch Wiki. https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Poland_Social_Life_and_Customs Difference between Peasants and Farmers? | ResearchGate. (n.d.). ResearchGate. https://www.researchgate.net/post/Difference_between_Peasants_and_Farmers The Peasant in Poland Today: Reactions to land reform and collectivization on JSTOR. (n.d.). www.jstor.org. https://doi.org/10.2307/40392495 —--------------------------------------------------------- Info from Ewa Switek, Genealogical Translations 1/14/2021 https://www.askdifference.com/farmer-vs-peasant/#:~:text=A%20peasant%20is%20a%20pre,%2C%20serf%2C%20and%20free%20tenant. Difference farmer & peasant https://www.italki.com/post/question-337962 Land re-distribution in 1945 now farmers own their land https://www.jstor.org/stable/40392495?seq=1 Polish social life and customs https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Poland_Social_Life_and_Customs A Kmiec, a Potrolik, a Zagrodnik, a Chalupnik, a Komornik 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

The Story of Błażej Wiśniewski and Agnieszka Szczesnicka

Błażej Wiśniewski (my 4x great grandfather) was in a bit of a hurry after his wife Jagnieszka Szcześnicka (my 4x great grandmother) died. His children were six to fourteen years old, so that may explain his rush. He ended up engaged – that fell through – and then he ended up marrying about a year after Jagniewska’s death. Jagniewska died May 20, 1823 at age 49. It happened in house #347 at 6:00 in the evening in Tomaszów. Two days later Błażej, 53, who was working as a grave digger and her brother Bartłomiej Szcześnicki, 53, a manufacturer of faience, went to report the death. ***** Wedding banns were posted on the main door of the community house by September 7, less than four months later, by the Parish priest of Tomaszów, who operated as the clerk of the civil records in the Administrative district of Tomaszów, Tomaszów County, Province Lubelskie. These were the first banns for the planned marriage of Marianna Cyronik, age 25 and Błażej, who was in his 50s. ***** Banns are published prior to a wedding to determine if there is a civil or religious reason to prevent the marriage. Concerns could be a current marriage, a pledge of celibacy, a close family relationship, or lack of consent. The guidance from 1743 required the priest to carefully and separately question the bride and groom. If any of these concerns were discovered, the banns were suspended. If the bride and groom cleared this hurdle, the banns were published to give the public the chance to object. In most cases, there are three banns and in most records I read, the wedding went through. In this fascinating example, the first banns were published – but eight months later the groom married someone else! Banns are no longer required in the Catholic church but may still be published and many parishes still do so. ***** Obviously, something happened before the wedding occurred to determine they could not be married, and the wedding was canceled. The intended bride was Marianna Cyronśkówna, 25. Her father Ignacy had been a farmer in Tomaszów but was deceased and her mother Helena née Kowalik, was working as a laborer. There was a very large age difference, but Błażej had been prominent earlier in his role as a pottery factory supervisor even though he was working as a grave digger at this time. It is unknown what prevented the marriage from occurring. ***** Instead of marrying Marianna, Błażej and Anna Adamczyk were married on May 9, 1824, at 6:00 p.m.. Anna, a 41-year-old maiden, was living and working in Tomaszów, as a servant. She was the daughter of deceased parents Błażej Adamczyk and Katarzyna nee Fuss, who had been peasants in Wólka Łosiniecka, which is in the same county as Tomaszów, about six miles (10 kilometers) west. Wólka Łosiniecka had about 73 houses at the time with granges, mills, a brickyard and an inn. The witnesses were Grzegorz Nazarewicz, 36, a smith, Jan Kalarzyński,45, a manufacturer, Maciej Wiciiowski, 55, a "garncarz" potter and, Michał Kudlicki, 45, a shoemaker, 45, all residing in Tomaszów. I believe Maciej was another 4th grandfather of mine, from the other family that worked at the pottery factory. Błażej was working as a grave digger and a farmer, like his father was before his death. ***** Błażej's family were from Pacanów, Galicia. He was born approximately in the 1750s or 1760s.His parents were Mateusz Wiśniowski and Marianna Kalinowska. When Błażej first married Jagnieszka, her father Michał was a legal authority or judge ("jurydyczanie" singular: "jurydyczanin.") At the time, the owner of the local manor was the administrator and judge unless he delegated those duties to someone else. It is possible that Jagnieska’s father worked for the magnate Alexander Zamoyski who employed her husband in his pottery factory. ***** The local ceramics factory figured prominently in their lives. Błażej was a foreman there before the demise of the faience industry in Tomaszów. He knew many potters: Błażej’s brother-in-law Bartlomiej Szczesnicki was a potter and fellow potters Filip Zawalski, Jan Lisikiewicz and Stefan Okopcinski were witnesses for his second marriage. Maciej Wiciejewski (another 4x great grandfather) and Jakub Wiciejewski, his father (my 5x great grandfather) were also potters. Maciej Glowacki was a potter who was a declarant for the birth of one of Antoni Kurkiewicz’s (another 4th great grandfather) children. ***** Błażej and Jagnieska’s children were Ewa (1809), Józef (1810), Wojciech (1813), Józef (1815), and Anna (1816.) Ewa (my 3x great grandmother) married Wincenty Rachański, a shoemaker and later married Józef Kurkiewicz, a farmer and shoemaker. Józef died in childhood. I do not have any information about Wojciech. Their second child named Józef was a journeyman shoemaker when he married Miss Marianna Kaszucka, age 17, the daughter of Teodor Kaszucka and Teodorzia nee Pańczyszak. Her father (3x great uncle) was a furrier from the Kaszucki family that moved to Tomaszów from Ukraine. Józef later worked as a mason, and died fairly young at the age of 28. Anna died in childhood. ***** Marianna Cyronśkówna died in 1839, 16 years after her engagement to Błażej, at the age of 42. She never married. On January 20 in 1844 at 2:00 p.m., Błażej died at the age of 92, though there are some discrepancies in the records, and he might have been 83. One witness was Józef Kurkiewicz, farmer, age 29, his son-in-law, married to Ewa (my 3rd great-grandmother.). The other witness was Franciszek Szcześnicki, bricklayer, age 29, As a Szcześnicki, Franciszek may have been related to Błażej ’s prior wife, Jagnieszka. ***** After nearly 20 years of marriage, Błażej died on January 20, 1844, at the age of 92. Józef Kurkiewicz, a 29-year-old farmer and his son-in-law, and Franciszek Szcześnicki, a 29-year-old bricklayer and his first wife’s nephew, reported the death two days later. ***** Anna, his wife for twenty years who had raised his children from Jagnieszka, died less than two years after her husband Józef . She died as a beggar woman “'Baba żebraczka” in Tomaszów on February 26, 1846. Her age was unknown in the death record. She was listed as a widow but her husband wasn’t named. The informants knew her parents were peasants from Wolka Losiniecki but did not know their names. She was 63 year old Anna Wizniewska (a different spelling) from Tomaszów, the second wife of Błażej Wiśniewski. Reporting the death was Michał Wizniewski, a 42-year old blacksmith – how he was related to her is unknown. Also reporting on the death was Józef Kurkiewicz, a 30 year old cobbler/shoemaker and her son-in-law. Her stepdaughter Ewa was remarried with four (soon to be five) children, her stepson Józef had already died in his twenties and it is unknown if Wojciech was alive. ***** http://wystawy.biblioteka.pollub.pl/exhibits/show/ceramika/historia-Tomaszów (History of Tomaszów pottery) http://wystawy.biblioteka.pollub.pl/exhibits/show/ceramika/kolekcja-Tomaszówska (Pictures of pottery from Tomaszów) http://wystawy.biblioteka.pollub.pl/exhibits/show/ceramika/historia-Tomaszów https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faience http://www.turystyka.susiec.pl/?wolka-losiniecka,63 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kozio%C5%82ek_Mato%C5%82ek

The Life of Paulina (Raczkiewicz) Dubiel

As a practitioner of folk medicine, Paulina (Raczkiewicz) Dubiel would have had knowledge of how to use herbs for healing. While my great aunt worked with her husband on their farm, she was also a herbalist/healer. This picture of cases of herbs used for medicine may be similar to where she obtained her herbs. The Polish Museum of America, a museum in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., contains many artifacts from Poland, Polish Americans and from the Polish Pavilion for the 1939 World’s Fair, including this case of herbs. ***** Paulina was the seventh of the nine children born to the Raczkiewicz family in Sabaudia, Poland. The older children were ages two to thirteen when she was born. Paulina Raczkiewicz was born June 12 1901 at 5:00 in the afternoon. Her parents were Jan, 37 years old and a peasant, and Katarzyna (nee Kaszucki), 30 years old, from a family of furriers from Tomaszow. They lived in the village of Sabaudia. The witnesses at her baptism on June 18th were both peasants – Marcin Matej, age 30 from Sabaudia and Andrzej Luj, age 28, from Podhorce. Her Godparents were Marcin Matej and Jozefa Kedrowa. Everyone present at her baptism was illiterate (at least in Russian), so the priest read the record out loud to them and he was the only one who signed it. ***** The marriage of Jan and Paulina occurred on Wednesday, June 15, 1921 in Tomaszów at 4:00 in the afternoon. Michal Mandziak, 27, and Michal Muczek, 23, both farmers from Rogóźno, were the witnesses. Paulina was 20 years old and living with her mother in Sabaudia. Her father had died six years earlier. Her siblings Piotr, Mary, Franciszek and Boleslaw also still lived at home. Jan was a 32 year old bachelor farming in Rogóźno. His parents, Wojciech Dubiel and Agnieszka Mandziak, were deceased. ***** Jan was born April 16, 1889 in Rogóźno, a village with roots before the 1500s. Rogóźno was colonized by Germans in cooperation with the noble Zamoyski about 100 years before Jan was born, in 1795. This is the same village that Curt Wolf (my newfound 4x cousin) had descendants (Eiflers) that came from Germany to this village. Jan’s father Wojciech was born in Mokrzyska, Małopolskie, near Krakow. By 1871, Wojciech’s father Paweł, had a son in Rogóźno, and Wojciech married his wife Agnieszka Mandziuk in 1885 in Tomaszów. ***** This picture of Rogozno is not of their house but I was excited to see a stork nest in the picture. Who would have thought that white storks and their nests would be a way that Poland and the U.S. differ? Finding ways that Poland and the U.S. are similar and for ways that they are different is interesting. Poland has 50,000 storks, about 20% of the worldwide stork population. They are very big with a 10 foot wingspan, weighing up to 18 pounds. The nests are large, up to six feet in diameter and ten feet in depth. People clean the nests of storks before they migrate back in the Spring. Apparently hundreds of nests will be spruced up. The storks are symbols of good fortune and their return in the spring signals the end of a long winter, just like the return of the robin does for us in Michigan. While also migratory, the robin is only about 3 ounces in weight and has a wingspan of 12 to 18 inches. From a long ago description, “First we pass vast wheat fields. Harvest has begun. Trucks are waiting to be loaded. Storks walk behind tractors and harvesters. Then we pass dense forests.” The author then describes what else he sees and then reports that, “A stork has settled on a lamppost and flies up as I get closer.” ***** According to Andrzej, “After marriage, Paulina moved to Rogóźno, a small village near Tomaszów Lubelski. Sabaudia is a village 2 or 3 kilometers north-east from Tomaszów Lubelski, and Rogóźno is 3 kilometers west of Tomaszów Lubelski. Their whole life they were peasants – they had some land and lived there until their death.” They had six children: Leokadia (1922), Bronislawa (1923), Jan (1926), Jozefa (1930), Edward (1933), and Halina (1940). ***** Paulina died on January 15, 1968. Memories of her may be hard to find because this was long ago but we managed to find a few. Paulina was 67 years old when she died in Rogóźno, Poland. Her husband Jan Dubiel died 17 years earlier at age 62. Paulina and Jan had six children, 17 grandchildren, more than 30 great-grandchildren, and many great - great - grandchildren. ***** Image credit: Attribution: Przemysław Czopor Picture of stork from Joanna Kuzniarska https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stork https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7789/Artykul/2655718?fbclid=IwAR0fb_40Ia0-KL5ARq9wgiLAyx71os4_954vNnjeHoDES4V06Lud2CWv43s https://vanishedworld.blog/2014/08/03/in-the-borderland/#more-1247

Move to Sabaudia

While it might seem like the Raczkiewicz family was in Sabaudia “forever,” their move there began with my 3x grandfather. Before that the family was in Majdan Górny, and before that they were in Łaszczówka. ***** ŁASZCZÓWKA: Łaszczówka is a village about one mile east of Tomaszów Lubelski. It currently has about 1,000 residents. It is on the Sołokija River and its tributary Harasinka. While civilization was there for centuries before, the city originated in 1609 by Florian Łaszcz Nidedewski. Three peasant families escaped neighboring villages to live there. It changed hands legally many times as an inheritance, a dowry or a purchase but it was also invaded by a disgruntled heir in 1623. There were frequent Tartar invasions. In 1630, there were 194 houses but due to invasions there were only 80 in 1650. In the first half of the 1700s, they lost their rights as a city and became a village. After several more ownership changes, it belonged to Jozef Radecki in 1740, around the time of Pawel Raczkiewicz’ (5x great) birth. ***** Besides the Raczkiewicz family (Pawel and Franciszka) originating from Łaszczówka, several other branches of the family also originated from there. Krwaczyk family members lived there for several generations. Kazmierez Krawczyk (5x great), born about 1748, lived and died there. Kazimierz was born about 1748. His children all remained in Łaszczówka, except one who moved to Sznury. Franciszek Gołębiowski (5x great), born around 1753, lived in Majdan Górny and it is unknown if he originated from Łaszczówka, like the othersIt is unknown who the 5x great Grabek/Walawenders were and where they originated from. ***** Because Radecki owed a debt to the Church, the church was taken over by the Trinitarians from Tomaszów. The Austrians, when they invaded, abolished the Trinitarians so the church was first attached to Chodywance then later to the parish of Tomaszów. (This is why some of the early records are not in the Tomaszów books See: Jednostka - Szukaj w Archiwach 1784 to 1813 Górno, Jezierna, Łaszczówka, Sznury, Ruda Wołoska) ***** Jan (4x great) was born in Łaszczówka in about 1778. ***** Majdan Górny: ***** Majdan Górny is a village that was important to several branches of the family tree. The village of Majdan Górny was founded at the beginning of the 18th century and takes its name from Górno. Majdan Górny and Łaszczówka were part of the same estate in 1747, established by Maurycy Kurdwanowski, castellan of Halych with wife Rozalia Granowska. In 1782 it went to their son Jan. In 1809, a small part went to Jan Kiwerski, the estate administrator. ***** Walenty Grabek (4x great) married Teresa Walawender in 1791 in Majdan Górny. All their children lived and died there. Eventually, Teresa remarried Grzegorz Lebiodowska, from Podhorce. ***** By 1813 or earlier Jan Raczkiewicz and Apolonia Gołębiowska moved from Łaszczówka to Majdan Górny. Jan and Anna’s six sons all were peasant farmers in Majdan Gorny except Michał who later moved to Sabaudia. Why Jan didn’t stay in Łaszczówka is unknown. During the same time period nine children of the Krawczyk family remained in Łaszczówka with only two daughters moving to live in Majdan Górny. Why they lived in Majdan Górny where Apolonia had two brothers is unknown. ***** Michał Raczkiewicz (3x great), born around 1805 in Majdan Górny, married Anna Dominik in 1824. The Dominik family came from the village of Różaniec, and around 1780 they began to move to Majdan Górny. After 1825, the name Dominik rarely appears in the records of the Tarnogród parish. ***** In 1855 another manor farm and house were established. It was originally part of the Łaszczówka estate owned by Hulewicz, until the January Uprising in 1863, when it was passed to the Kozlowski family. They modernized it, added breeding ponds, and started a brickyard. The enfranchisement of peasants at this time meant they gained ownership of 1180 morgens (729 acres) of land and 400 morgue (247 acres) of forest. With the changes to serfdom, peasants were able to acquire land, though often with terms more favorable to the original manor owners. The land that they were required to sell off was often less desirable, often not contiguous with other land, and available in small strips. The financial arrangements were also often challenging. By the end of the 1800s, there were 6 carpenters, 15 weavers, 2 wheelwrights, 6 sawmills, 4 spooners and 1 blacksmith, as well as several beekeepers. 976 people lived there, including 868 Catholics. August 1914, the Austrians shelled the Russians, destroying most of the buildings, and killing around a dozen Austrian soldiers. By 1921, there were 193 houses and 1277 people. ***** SABAUDIA: ***** “Sabaudia is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Tomaszów Lubelski, within Tomaszów Lubelski County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland.” It is about two miles northeast of the city of Tomaszow. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabaudia,_Lublin_Voivodeship There are currently 600 people living there. Here is a link to the current area. If you switch to satellite view and zoom in, you can see that the area is still very agricultural. If you click on the picture on the lower left, you can get street view and look up and down the street. There is a little shrine at the intersection. https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Sabaudia/22-600+Tomasz%C3%B3w+Lubelski/@50.4513291,23.4332671,13z/data=!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x4724af60ea937279:0xa350c5b9c962ba7d!2m2!1d23.4341877!2d50.4714181!1m5!1m1!1s0x4724af11c7aacc15:0x268d7ac08cef58c!2m2!1d23.4163099!2d50.447024!3e0 ***** There is evidence the land was occupied as long ago as the middle stone age, but modern history documents brickyards in the 1770’s. A manor was established in 1836 and the area had 15 peasants. In 1837, with contracts with the ordinator Konstanty Zamojski and later his brother Stanisław, it was sold to five Germans, one Dane and two Poles. (I have seen the contract for Rogoźno, from February 28, 1785, that a distant relative acquired from a researcher so the contract for Sabaudia is also likely available. Andrzej Zamojski entered into a contract with 100 German families to live in Rogoźno.) ***** Michał raised his family in Majdan Górny, Poland until around 1848 or 1850, when he moved to Sabaudia. Michał died in the village of Sabaudia on November 4, 1882. When Michał died, he left a will leaving his farm in Sabaudia to his grandson Jan Raczkiewicz (2x great), according to his 2x great grandson Eugeniusz Raczkiewicz. Jan was a few days away from being 18 years old. Jan’s parents were both deceased, along with his siblings, and his stepfather Tomasz Kędra and stepmother Anna Raczkiewicz had additional children in Sabaudia: Jakub (1883), Rozalia (1885), Jozefa (1888), and Jan (1890). Why didn’t Michał leave the land to one of his children? Michał’s children (who were Jan’s aunts and uncles) likely already had land available to them. Michał had three children who died in childhood, a son Marcin had died at age 25 and his widow had remarried, and Jan’s father Antoni who had died at age 26. That left the oldest son Jan and his son Jakób to potentially inherit his farm. However, Jan, age 57, was already farming land in Majdan Górny, possibly from his wife’s family. Jakób had moved to Jezernia, where the family of his wife Katarzyna Kedrak lived. Two daughters of Michał were farming with their husbands: Marianna with Jakub Herda in Majan Górny and Katarzyna with Jan Rekolhicz in Sabauda. That left grandson Jan to be named in the will. Three years after inheriting the land, Jan married in 1885. Jan was 21 years old, a week over the legal age to marry without parental permission. When she married, Katarzyna was 16 years old according to the record, but actually 14 and 1/2 years old, according to her actual birth record. Katarzyna’s siblings and mother were deceased. ***** The village of Sabaudia grew slowly and by around 1900, there were 17 houses with 137 people living there. By then, six of their nine children had been born. During the Russian partition, a primary school was established in 1902, so the younger children were likely able to attend school. ***** In 1921, there were 36 houses, with 35 of them occupied. By then World War 1 had occurred in the area, Jan was deceased, the three oldest sons Jan, Antoni and Jozef had left for the United States. The two brickyards were in operation and people made a living mostly by farming. That year daughter Paulina married Jan Dubiel and moved to Rogoźno, in 1923 daughter Mary moved to the U.S., and sometime before 1927, son Piotr married Jozefa Szczupkowska and moved to Podhorce. ***** In the 1930s, the village was built with cobblestones in the streets and a paved road was built to Tomaszów Lubelski. A small shop was operated, and it was purchased by a priest in 1935. Times were hard and there was little help from the government. ***** “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)

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:

Life of Ronald Raczkiewicz

Ronald Raczkiewicz (my uncle) was the owner of Shawmut Inn for over 25 years with his partner Ed Stone. This was a popular bar/restaurant on Lake Michigan Drive in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Before that, he was the owner, with a partner, at Midwest Bumper for seven years. ***** Ron was born on November 10, 1939. He was the youngest of Anthony and Pauline’s four children. Ron was born when his father was 46-years-old and his mother 37-years-old. The family lived at 501 Milwaukee NW. Anthony, his father, worked as a tacker in a leather tannery. Ron’s siblings were Lorraine, age 18, Anthony Jr., age 14, and Shirley, age 3. His nickname was “Rosko,” probably related to his last name. Ron married Pamela S. Ferwerda in June of 1960. They first lived in the little house next to Ron’s parents until they bought their first house just outside the city of Grand Rapids. They later moved to Coopersville, Michigan. His picture in a US Navy uniform was in the possession of Anthony’s brother Franciszek’s family. They are living in Krakow, Poland in 2023. Franciszek (Ron’s uncle) died in 1943 during World War II, when the Germans took his farm. Ron would have been four-years-old at the time. Somehow, Ron’s parents stayed in touch with Franciszek’s widow and sent the picture. ***** Ron was a member of St. Michael's Church of Coopersville and St. Adalbert Aid Society. ***** Ron and Pam had three children: Rhonda who was born in 1961, Paula who was born in 1964 and Robert who was born in 1966. ***** Their son Robert “Bobbie,” aged 22, of Coopersville, died Saturday, March 3, 1990, of accidental injuries related to a car accident, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He attended Grand Rapids Junior College and worked at Ranger Tool and Die. ***** Ronald died on 15 April 2004 in Coopersville, Ottawa County, Michigan. He was 64 years old. ***** On February 16, 2013, their daughter Paula (Raczkiewicz) Kelly, age 49, of Grand Rapids, died. She was survived by her husband Willian and her children Steven and Shannon Schulte and two grandchildren. ***** Amazingly, I found out while doing family history that (my newfound 5th cousin) Richard Streng met my Uncle Ronny many years ago. Richard was doing genealogy and first met with my Uncle Tony at the Copper Top Restaurant – near where the Raczkiewicz family originally lived. Apparently, Tony didn’t have any family history to share and referred him to Ronny. Richard went to Coopersville and Ronny “was no help either.” Richard and his first wife went to Poland around 10+ years ago and met the family of Jącek Raczkiewicz (my newfound 2nd cousin.) Jącek later visited them here in Grand Rapids and remembers the public museum and Grand Haven. It is fun to be making all these new connections. Ron’s wife Pam lives in Coopersville, Michigan and his daughter Rhonda lives in North Carolina. ***** References: ***** Shawmut Inn: smartinez@mlive.com, S. M. |. (2017, August 12). Shawmut Inn closes after 39 years. mlive. https://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/2017/08/shawmut_inn_closes_after_39_ye.html ***** Bobby’s death: Coopersville resident dies in car crash on u.s. 131. (1990, March 5). Grand Rapids Press. ***** Ron’s death: Legacy.com, & Legacy. (2004, April 16). Ronald Raczkiewicz Obituary (2004) - Grand Rapids, Mi - Grand Rapids Press. Legacy.com. https://obits.mlive.com/us/obituaries/grandrapids/name/ronald-raczkiewicz-obituary?id=14729774 ***** Paula’s Death: Tributes.com. (n.d.). http://www.tributes.com/show/Paula-Sue-Kelly-95256915 *****