Steve’s Genealogy Blog

In grade school I always enjoyed the day that came every year when our teachers would ask what our mothers’ maiden names were. My mother’s maiden surname - Niedziałkowski - always got everyone’s attention because it was so unusual. My own surname - Dańko - hardly raised an eyebrow.

Not until I began studying my family history in the late 1990s did I begin to realize that those names might have some meaning behind them. After all, a name is a name right? Fairly soon after I started researching my ancestry seriously, the second edition of Fred Hoffman’s book on Polish surnames was published, and boy, was this a godsend!

Categories of Polish Surnames

In his book on Polish surnames, Fred Hoffman divides and discusses the surnames according to five general categories:

1. Personal Names and Coats of Arms
2. Toponyms (Place Names)
3. Occupations
4. Features or Objects (including verbs, animals, trees, plants, food, drink)
5. Foreign Names

Polish Surnames in My Family Tree 

The surnames in my family tree span all of these five groups. Here is a list of some of them with their origins and meanings:

Bal: bal- “to tell tales”, first name Baltazar, Hungarian personal name Bal
Bonislawski: village Bonisław, altered name Będzisław
Chmielewski: chmiel “hops”
Chotkowski: place names Chotków, Chotkowo
Chruścicki: chrust “dry twigs”
Dańko: dan- “given” or name element from Daniel
Dymek: dym “smoke” or name element from Dymitr
Dziura / Dziurzyński: dziura “hole”
Głowacz: głowa “head”
Goliński: goły “bare, naked”, golić “to shave”, or place name Golina
Grabowski: grab “hornbeam”, grabić “to rob”, grabie “rake”, old first name Grab, or toponym
Iwaniec: Ukrainian name Ivan = Polish name Jan (John)
Izbicki: izba “hut, chamber”
Jach: name element from Jan, Jakub, Jachym, etc.
Jara: jar- “sharp, strict”, jary “of the spring, robust, young”
Jedliński: jodła “fir tree”
Kolarowira: kolarz “wheelwright”
Malon: mały “small”, or a name root as in Małomir, also popular in toponyms
Marcinkiewicz: first name Marcin from the Latin Martinus (of or relating to Mars)
Markiewicz: first name Marek from the Latin Marcus (Mark)
Milewski: ancient names Miłobor, Miłosław with the root miły “dear, beloved”
Mossakowski: name Mojsław or Mojżesz (Moses)
Muszynski: mucha “housefly”
Niedziałkowski: nie działać “to do nothing”, niedziela “Sunday” (day of doing nothing)
Nosarzewski: nos “nose”
Panowski: pan “master, bridegroom”, names Pankracy, Pantelejmon, Opanas
Pomaski: village of Pomaski
Pszczółkowski: pszczoła “bee”
Ranow: rana “wound”, rano “early”, or name Ranimir
Skowroński: skowronek “lark’ (a kind of bird)
Ślimak: ślimak “snail, slug” or “slow fellow”
Sowa: sowa “owl”
Szymański: name Szymon (Simon) (Hebrew), meaning “Hear my affliction”
Tropiło / Trupiło: trop “trace, trail, scent”, tropić “to track”
Wojnowski: wojna “war, struggle”
Zygmuntowicz: name Zygmunt, Germanic *sigis “victory” + *mundo “protect, guard”

SOURCE: Hoffman, William F. 1998. Polish surnames: origins and meanings. Chicago: Polish Genealogical Society of America.

Evolution of Polish Surnames 

I am often amazed at the number of different surnames used in Poland. Because fixed surnames are a rather recent phenomenon in Poland (and elsewhere), most not being fixed until the 18th century, many surnames have developed through something of a divergent evolution, where a surname such as Markowicz might diverge into Markowicz and Markiewicz over time.

In fact, in addition to Markowicz and Markiewicz, a large number of names derive from the given name Marek and the numbers of individuals with these surnames in Poland in 1990 varied greatly, with only 1 person using the surname Marec, but with 16,202 people using the surname Marek. And, of course, not all the people in Poland with the same or similar surnames are related to each other. Many surnames arose independently all over Poland, resulting in a convergent evolution of surnames.

Many of these Polish surnames present some difficulty for native speakers of English. I’m often asked “How is that name pronounced?” The short answer a native speaker of Polish would give is “Just the way it’s spelled”, but that’s little comfort to most people. My mother’s maiden name, Niedziałkowski, is mispronounced by nearly all native speakers of English.

These difficulties of pronouncing the surname Niedziałkowski has led to a divergent evolution of the surname among my relatives in the United States, resulting in the surnames Niedzialkowski, Niedzialkoski, Niedzial, and even Newman, all in one family line.

My own mother, while in her teens, briefly changed her surname to Nigel.

But that’s another story.

Copyright © 2007 Stephen J. Danko

Maryanna Izbicki, the sister of Franciszek Izbicki, was born a few years before Franciszek, in 1821.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Maryanna Izbicki - 1821

SOURCE: Roman Catholic Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in Wigry, Poland. Księga Urodzonych (Book of Births). 1821. Page 40. Entry Number 79. FHL INTL Film 0752637, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Text in Polish, translated by Stephen J. Danko.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Maryanna Izbicki - 1821. Translated from the Polish, the record states:

40 Number 79. Wieś Nowa

In the year one thousand eight hundred twenty-one on the fourth day of the month of July at four o’clock in the afternoon, before us, the Civil Registrar of the Wigierski gmina [township] in the obwód [district] and województwo [province] of Augustów. Bartłomiej Izbicki presented himself, a farmer, age thirty, living in Nowa Wieś, and he showed us a child of the male sex who was born in his house at number twenty-six on the second day of April of the current year, stating that it was begotten of him and Katarzyna née Kramniczówna, age thirty-two, the wife by his first marriage, and that it is his wish to give it the name Maryanna. After making the above statement and showing the child in the presence of Wawrzeniec Stronowski, age thirty and also of Ignacy Krasnowski, age forty, farmers settled and living in Nowa Wieś in the Wigry gmina. The present birth record was read aloud to the declarants and was signed by us, the registrar, since the father and witnesses cannot write.

Reverend Felix Nacieszewicz
Registrar of the Civil State.

This record reports the birth of a child of Maryanna, the daughter of Barłomiej Izbicki and Katarzyna Kramniczówna. The priest who completed the record apparently wasn’t paying attention to what he was writing, since he declared that Maryanna was a child of the male sex: dziecię płci Męskiej.

The ages of the parents are probably approximations, because in 1821, the father was reported to be 30, but in 1824, he was reported to be 38 - he became 8 years older in just 3 years! The mother’s age is equally questionable. In 1821, she was reportedly 32, but in 1835, she was reported to be 30 - the mother became younger with time! The births of the parents occurred before 1808, the earliest date for which these parish records were microfilmed. I’ll probably never know when they were actually born.

This is the last of the records for the Izbicki family that I found while in Salt Lake City recently. I’ll either have to order films through my local Family History Library or wait until my fall trip to Salt Lake City if I want to find more records.

Over the past couple of days, I posted the Birth and Baptismal Record of Dominik Izbicki and Piotr Izbicki. Their father was Franciszek Izbicki, who was born in 1824 and whose record was number 22 in the Birth Register for Wigry Parish that year.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Franciszek Izbicki -1824

SOURCE: Roman Catholic Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in Wigry, Poland. Księga Urodzonych (Book of Births). 1824. Entry Number 22. FHL INTL Film 0752637, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Text in Polish, translated by Stephen J. Danko.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Franciszek Izbicki -1824. The record, translated from the Polish, states:

22 Nowa Wieś

In the year one thousand twenty four on the second day of the month of April at ten o’clock in the afternoon, before us, the Civil Registrar of the Wigierski gmina [township] in the obwód [district] and województwo [province] of Augustów. Bartłomiej Izbicki presented himself, a farmer, age thirty-eight, living in Nowa Wieś, and he showed us a child of the male sex who was born in his house at number seven on the first day of April of the current year, stating that it was begotten of him and Katarzyna née Kramnitzówna, age thirty, the wife by his first marriage, and that it is his wish to give him the name Franciszek. After making the above statement and showing the child in the presence of Franciszek Jarasiewski, age thirty-four and also of Jan Anuskiewicz, age fifty, farmers living in Nowa Wieś in the Wigierski gmina. The present birth record was read aloud to the declarants and was signed by us, the registrar, since the father and witnesses cannot write. 

Reverend Felix Nareszewicz
Registrar of the Civil State

The format of this record is a bit different than the format used for the Birth and Baptismal Records for Dominik and Piotr Izbicki and many of the other Birth and Baptismal Records I’ve seen before from this area of Poland. Consequently, I had a bit of difficulty translating this record. In the end, I think I was able to figure out all the words, despite the fact that the handwriting in this record is fairly difficult to read.

Complicating the difficult handwriting are the facts that the Polish in these records doesn’t always have the correct diacritical marks, is almost entirely devoid of punctuation, sometimes uses archaic words or spellings, and often refers to obsolete administrative divisions.

One point I had a question about is: since the mother is listed as “Katarzyna of the Kramnitz family”, should I list her maiden name as Kramnitzówna?

I also noticed that the name of the village in which Franciszek Izbicki was born is listed at the top of the record as Wies Nowa. Today, the village is called Nowa Wieś. Which should I enter in my genealogy software - Wies Nowa or Nowa Wieś?

Two dates are provided in this record for the date of birth and date of baptism. The earlier date is entered according to the Julian Calendar used in Russia at the time. The later date is entered according to the Gregorian Calendar used in Poland at the time and still used today in most of the world.

Dominik Izbicki’s brother, Piotr, was born in Piertanie in 1851. His birth and baptism was recorded as entry number 90 for that year.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Piotr Izbicki

SOURCE: Roman Catholic Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in Wigry, Poland. Księga Urodzonych (Book of Births). 1851. Entry Number 90. FHL INTL Film 0752640, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Text in Polish, translated by Stephen J. Danko.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Piotr Izbicki. The record, translated from the Polish, states:

90. Piertanie

This happened in the Wigry on the seventeenth / twenty ninth day of June 1851 at five o’clock in the afternoon.  Franciszek Izbicki presented himself, a farmer living in Piertanie, age 27, in the presence of Antoni Omilianowicz, age 25, and Karol Daniłowicz age 40, both farmers living in Piertanie, and he showed us a male child born in Piertanie on the eighth / twentieth day of the present month and year at twelve o’clock noon, born to his wife Franciszka née Bućko, age 25.  At Holy Baptism performed this day, the child was given the name Piotr, and his Godparents were Marcin Kielch and Rozalia Krupińska. Also present were Antoni Omilianowicz and Dorota Buchowna.  This document was read aloud to the declarants and witnesses, all of whom cannot write, and was signed by us. -

Reverend W. Olszewski, priest in Wigry parish

The records kept in Poland before 1918 differed depending on the partition. The records kept in the Russian partition were kept in Latin, Polish, or Russian, depending on the year. Before 1808, records were written in Latin in brief paragraphs. From about 1808 to about 1868, the records were usually written in Polish in detailed paragraphs. After about 1868, the records were written in Russian, again in detailed paragraphs. The reasons for these changes are tightly associated with the political events in the region.

The exact year in which the churches began to maintain records of births/baptisms, marriages, and deaths varied somewhat, but the records were kept in Latin - the language of the Church, and typically these records were maintained for all Poles beginning in the late 18th century.

In 1807, after Napoleon’s conquests formed the Duchy of Warsaw from lands seized from Prussia, civil registration was mandated. Both church records and the transcripts of those records prepared for the state were written in Polish according to the format used in Napoleonic France.

After Napoleon’s defeat, the Congress of Vienna split the Duchy of Warsaw between Prussia and Russia. The portion allotted to Russia became known as the Kingdom of Poland, Congress Poland, or informally as Russian Poland. Records continued in Polish in the Napoleonic style.

After the January Uprising, which lasted from 1863-1865, the Russian government decreed that all official records in the Kingdom of Poland be maintained in Russian. Consequently, by about 1868, the birth/baptism, marriage, and death records were written in Russian. The exact year of the change from Polish to Russian varied somewhat from parish to parish, but eventually all parishes kept their records in Russian.

I’ve previously written about my cousin Rita Meleski, her husband Bernard Izbicki, and her father-in-law, Bolesław Dominick Izbicki, all of whom lived in Worcester, Massachusetts. Bolesław was the immigrant ancestor of this family, and when he came to America, he left his parents, Dominik Izbicki and Józefata Marianna Bizewska behind in Piertanie, Poland. Dominik was born in 1848. His Birth and Baptismal Record was recorded in the Book of Births in the Parish of Wigry.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Dominik Izbicki

SOURCE: Roman Catholic Parish of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in Wigry, Poland. Księga Urodzonych (Book of Births). 1848. Entry Number 103. FHL INTL Film 0752640, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. Text in Polish, translated by Stephen J. Danko.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Dominik Izbicki. Translated from the Polish, the record states:

103. Piertanie

This happened in the Wigry on the twelfth day of September 1848 at one o’clock in the afternoon.  Franciszek Izbicki presented himself, age 20, a farmer living in the small village of Piertanie, in the presence of Karol Tomaszewski and Adam Daniłowicz both age 36, farmers living in Piertanie, and he showed us a male child born on the eleventh day of September of the present year at eight o’clock in the afternoon, born to his wife Franciszka née Bućko, age 20.  At Holy Baptism performed this day, the child was given the name Dominik, and his Godparents were Józef Daniłowicz and Maryanna Tomaczewska both from Piertanie.  This document was read aloud to the declarants and signed by us. The father and the witnesses cannot write. -

Reverend W. Olszewski, parish priest in Wigry

I obtained this record while I was at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City last weekend. The library has birth, marriage, and death records from the Wigry parish from 1808 to 1882. Now that I’ve confirmed that the records for the correct family are on these microfilms, I can order the films to my local Family History Center and continue my research on this family without the need to travel to Salt Lake City.

Leon Izbicki, the brother of Bolesław Izbicki, arrived in the United States in 1902.  The passenger manifest for the S.S. Rotterdam includes his record.

S. S. Rotterdam

The Passenger Manifest for Leon Izbicki

SOURCE:  Immigration and Naturalization Service. Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at New York, New York, 1897-1957. National Archives Microfilm Publication T715, Roll 243, List F, Line 18.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Passenger Manifest for Leon Izbicki.  The record shows:

• Leon Izbizki, a 20-year-old, single male, departed Rotterdam on the S.S. Rotterdam on 24 Apr 1902 and arrived in New York on 04 May 1902
• Leon was a laborer and was able to read and write
• He was Polish and a citizen of Russia from the village of Pjertani
• He had never been in the US before; he was going to stay with his brother Bol[esław] Izbicki, Lab[orer] of Sta. No. 1, Box 52, Worcester, Mass
• Kajetan was in possession of $2 when he arrived in New York
• He was never in prison, was not a polygamist or anarchist, and was not under contract, expressed or implied, to labor in the United States
• His mental and physical health were good, and he was not deformed or crippled

Leon’s village in Poland was spelled Pjertani on the Passenger Manifest.  The correct spelling of this village is Piertanie.  Today, Piertanie is located in the far northeast corner of Poland.

Leon did not remain in the United States.  He returned to Poland.

A large number of my relatives are buried in Notre Dame Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts.  Among those are Joseph Chmielewski (alias Meleski), my half great uncle.  Joseph is buried with his wife, Catherine Warchol, and his daughter, Rita M. B. Izbicki.

Meleski - Warchol - Izbicki Grave (Front)

Meleski - Warchol - Izbicki Grave (Back)

SOURCE: Joseph Meleski, Catherine Warchol, Rita M. B. Izbicki grave marker, Section 25A, Notre Dame Cemetery, Worcester (Worcester County), Massachusetts, photographed by Stephen J. Danko, 09 Sep 2005.

The front of the marker reads:

+ 

MELESKI

JOSEPH MELESKI
1872-1933

CATHERINE WARCHOL
HIS WIFE
1873-1928

RITA M. B. IZBICKI
1911-2000

Rita’s initials stand for her maiden name, Meleski, and the surname of her first husband, Blackman.  I’m not sure why Rita is buried here with her parents rather than with one of her husbands.  Finding the graves of her two husbands may help explain this unusual arrangement.

I have not seen a marker like this before.  The back of the monument is rough cut and stands out in the cemetery.  This portion of Notre Dame Cemetery is graced by mature trees and is quite peaceful.  I don’t have a cemetery record or exact lot and grave location for this grave, but I recall that it is at the northwest corner of Section 25A.  Click on the link for a PDF map of Notre Dame Cemetery.

Roberta J. Izbicki, the daughter of William P. Izbicki and Mary V. Kuchnicki, died in 2004 and was buried near her parents in Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton, Massachusetts.

The Grave of Roberta J. Izbicki

SOURCE: Roberta J. Izbicki grave marker, Garden of Valor I, Lot 3, Grave 2, Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton (Worcester County), Massachusetts, photographed by Stephen J. Danko, 09 Sep 2005.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the overall map for Worcester County Memorial Park and a detailed map for the Garden of Valor.

This marker shows that Roberta J. Izbicki was born in 1936 and died in 2004.  She was buried on 12 Jan 2004 in Grave 2, next to her parents, who were buried in Graves 3 and 4.  The marker includes the inscription “IN LOVING MEMORY”.

When I took this photograph in September 2005, Roberta’s marker had not yet been set in place; it was leaning upright against a support.  I imagine that Roberta’s relatives had purchased the marker sometime in 2005, at least a year after Roberta was buried.

I have written about the Izbicki family, and I’ve shown birth records for several members of the family.  One family member for whom I don’t have a birth record is Bolesław Izbicki, although I know Bolesław was born in Worcester in 1903.

I looked through my files of gravestone photographs today and found a photograph of the grave marker for William P. and Mary V. Izbicki.  William P. Izbicki was born with the name Bolesław, but, like his father, he used the name William for most of his life.

The Grave of William P. and Mary V. Izbicki

SOURCE: William P. and Mary V. Izbicki grave marker, Garden of Valor I, Lot 3, Graves 3 & 4, Worcester County Memorial Park, Paxton (Worcester County), Massachusetts, photographed by Stephen J. Danko, 09 Sep 2005.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the overall map for Worcester County Memorial Park and a detailed map for the Garden of Valor. 

This marker shows that William P. Izbicki was born in 1903 and died in 1976.  He was buried on 05 Jun 1976 in Grave 3.  His wife, Mary V., was born in 1900 and died in 1993.  She was buried on 04 May 1993 in Grave 4.  The marker includes the inscription “TOGETHER FOREVER”.

Worcester County Memorial Park only permits markers that are flush with the ground.  The small round object at the top of the marker is a vase in which fresh flowers may be placed.  When the vase is not in use, the vase is turned upside-down and inserted into the marker so that it, too, is level with the ground.

From June through December, the cemetery provides an area where fresh flowers may be picked in order to place flowers on the graves.

The ancestral village of the Izbicki family is Piertanie, a village that was in the Russian Partition of Poland at the time the family emigrated.

Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Piertanie

SOURCE:  Chlebowski, Bronisław, Władysław Walewski, and Filip Sulimmierski, eds., Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) - Warsaw 1887, Volume VIII, page 101.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Piertanie.  The entry, translated from the Polish, states:

Piertanie, a village on the small lakes Pierty and Wigry, Suwalki Powiat [District], Hutta Gmina [municipality], Wigry parish.  Twelve viersts [1 vierst = 1.0668 km] not far from Suwalki, it has 15 homes, 109 inhabitants, 327 mórgs [1 mórg in the Russian Partition = 1.388 acres] in territory.  Swampy land.  In 1827 there were 7 homes, 38 inhabitants.

The parish for Piertanie is in Wigry.  The Family History Library in Salt Lake City has church records for Wigry from 1808-1882.  I may be able to find some relevant records in these microfilms.

I’ve mentioned the Słownik Geograficzny several times in the past.  I use this reference often to discover to which parish a particular village belonged and to learn more about the village.  Some entries, like the entry for Piertanie, are very brief.  The entry for Wigry, the parish, is much more extensive.