The Birth and Baptism of Stanisław Niedziałkowski

In the parish records of Szwelice, Poland, I found the Birth and Baptismal Records for three siblings of my grandfather, Kostanty Niedziałkowski:  Józef, Sabina, and Stanisław .  I previously reported the records for Józef and Sabina, and the final record is that for Stanisław.  Stanisław’s record is number 30, on the bottom half of this page.

The Birth and Baptismal Record for Stanisław Niedziałkowski

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record for Stanislaw Niedziałkowski – 1902.  Translated from the Russian, the record states:

â„– 30 .  Pomaski

This happened in the village of Szwelice on the 13th / 26th / day of March 1902 at one o’clock in the afternoon.  Teofil Niedziałkowski, age 30, residing in Pomaski, appeared in person with a child, in the presence of Franciszek Milewski, age 54, and Tomasz Mossakowski, age 52, owner of the noble part residing in Pomaski and he presented to us a child of the male sex, stating that it was born in Pomaski on the day before yesterday at three o’clock in the morning of his lawful wife Ksawery née Zygmuntowicz, age 30.  At Holy Baptism performed on this date by Father Władysław Sędzicki, Assistant Pastor of this place, this child was given the name Stanisław, and his godparents were Jan Niedziakowski and Rozalia [Sierpowska].  This document was read to the declarant and the illiterate witnesses, and signed by us alone –

[J.] d. Administrator of the parish of Szwelice, Assistant Pastor, Keeper of the Documents of the Civil State – Father [Sędzicki]

My grandfather Kostanty was born on October 28, 1892.  I have not yet found a Birth and Baptismal Record for him.  His brother Jożef was born on May 5, 1897 in Pomaski, Vistula Land, Russian Empire. His sister Sabina was born on October 13, 1899 in Pomaski, Vistula Land, Russian Empire, and his brother Stanisław was born on March 15, 1902 in Pomaski, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.

Notice the difference in the birth year for Kostanty and his siblings.  Five years separated Kostanty from Józef, but Józef, Sabina, and Stanisław were born about 2-3 years apart from each other.  This suggests that there may be other siblings between Kostanty and the other three.  Since I haven’t found the Birth and Baptismal Record for Kostanty in the Szwelice Parish, I assume that he was born elsewhere.  Other siblings may have also been born in a different parish.  But where is that parish?  At the present time, I really don’t have a good lead.

Since Stanisław was born in the twentieth century, the Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar had drifted yet one more day apart.  In the eighteenth century, the two calendars were 12 days apart, but in the twentieth century, the calendars were 13 days apart.  Thus, the two dates in the record are now 13 days apart.  We use the Gregorian Calendar today, so the date of birth for Stanisław was March 15, 1902.

One peculiarity in this record is the name of Stanisław’s Godfather.  The Polish priests were required to write these records in Russian, and they were supposed to transliterate the names, not translate the names.  The name of Stanisław’s godfather was Jan, which transliterates into Russian with three letters.  If the name had been translated, not transliterated, the Russian record would have said Ivan, the Russian equivalent of Jan (the English equivalent of Jan is John).

However, when this priest attempted to transliterate the name, instead of rendering it as “Jan”, he transliterated it as “Czoann”.  While “Czoann” sounds somewhat like “Jan”, this transliteration had me very confused. Perhaps I’m the one who made the mistake and the name of Stanisław’s godfather wasn’t Jan.  But, for the life of me, I can’t figure out what else it could be.

Once again, there is a marginal notation on Stanisław’s Birth and Baptismal Record.  More about that tomorrow.

Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko