Maria (Bielak) Dubowik Born January 11, 1925

Maria Bielak (my 1rst cousin 1x removed) was born January 11, 1925 She was the fourth child of four children born to Jan Bielak and Stanislawa nee Raczkiewicz (my grand aunt.) The family farmed in Sabaudia, Poland. Maria married Władysław Dubowik. They lived in Minsk Mazowiecki, Poland They had 3 children: -Wiesław Waldemar and Janus

Schools Ukraine

It is likely that when they were younger, Andrzej Kaszucki (my 3rd great grandfather) and his two brothers attended school in Uhniv (now in Ukraine) before they moved to Tomaszow Lubelskie as young adults. ***** School in Uhniv is documented back as far as 1470. Sigismond from Radzanov, the proprietor of the city, started a Roman Catholic school. It had three grades for boys only. It appears that children entered school at age 6 or 7. Religion was taught by the priests of the Greek Catholic and Roman Catholic rites. The Kaszucki family was Greek Catholic and Fedora and Theodore Kaszucki may have attended somewhere between 1797 and 1803. ***** At about the point that Andrzej Kaszucki (my 3rd great grandfather) would have been entering school, it had been Polish in nature until 1804 when the Ukrainians of Uhniv wanted it to become Ukrainian. At that point, the administration was shared by the city and Roman Catholic administration. The transition wasn’t completed until the 1850s when it became a Greek Catholic school since Greek Catholics at that point were the majority in the city. The Roman Catholic pastor was able to establish a girl’s school at this point. ***** http://www.remer.org/genealogy/memorial_book/historical_summary_hivniv.html

Daily Life in Unhiv

What was daily life like in Uhniv when the Kaszucki family lived there? ***** Houses in town were similar to the peasant houses nearby. At first they were covered with straw and later with tin. The walls were painted with white lime and the wooden floors were washed weekly. Usually there was a sizable living room, a hallway, a small room and a pantry. In the living room would be a large table with a bench and some chairs. The room would have a large bed with a canopy and a sideboard for dishes. A shelf along the ceiling would hold any books or other items. A large stove would be between this room and the hall. In the pantry the grain, vegetables and clothing were stored and below it would be a cellar. ***** Women generally took care of the laundry, cooking and baking and also took care of the cattle and chickens. Men worked in the fields and did heavier chores. Richer families would hire seasonal workers to work the fields. Beginning around the 1850s children went to high schools and universities (around this time, Jozef Kaszucki –my 3x grandfather was already in Tomaszow Lubelski getting married) ***** Houses were kept clean and there was knowledge of personal hygiene but epidemics were still frequent, especially tuberculosis. There also were a lot of mosquitos due to the marshlands. Malnutrition and the lack of medical care contributed to many deaths, especially among children of high school age. ***** People in Uhniv were religious and attended church regularly. They worked hard and generally owned their own land and raised animals and food. They also worked in trades like shoe making, tannery, carpentry. The Kaszucki family is listed as furriers There were also poor families and wealthy ones. The wealthy were the Zhukovskys, the Kaminskys, the Gumovskys, the Trusevyches and others. ***** https://www.historiaregionu.org

Orthodox or Greek Catholic Christmas

The Kaszucki family from Uhniv (now in the Ukraine likely would have celebrated Christmas today, on January 7. The Eastern church follows the Julian calendar so Christmas and Easter fall on different dates then they do for the rest of us. The Kaszucki family may have followed some of these holiday traditions: Christmas would be proceeded by pylypivka, a type of Lent. During that time there was no meat eaten and no dances or other parties. The Holy Supper (sviata vechera) was a meal with 12 dishes made without milk or meat. Christmas lasted three days. After Mass, visiting family and going around and caroling often happened. ***** Image: By Erika Smith - MSI Chicago - Christmas Around the World 2007 - Ukraine - spider web ornament, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37156527

Happy Birthday to Sebastian Raczkiewicz on January 4

Happy birthday to Slawomir Dubowik on January 3

Jan Raczkiewicz died January 1, 1853

Jan Raczkiewicz (my 4x great-grandfather) died January 1, 1853, at 9:00 in the evening. He was born approximately in 1778 so was around 75 years old when he died. Jan was a peasant farmer from Majdan Górny and was born in Łaszczówka He was a widower because his wife Apolonia nee Golebiowska died nine years earlier in 1844. They lived in Majdan Górny, where Apolonia was born. Jan and Apolonia had nine children. Two of them, Wojciech, 42, and Marcin, 33, confirmed their father’s death with the authorities. Jan was the son of Paweł and Franciszka Raczkiewicz, peasant farmers from Łaszczówka.