Steve's Genealogy Blog

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

The village of Miłosna is the location in Poland in which some of my Niedziałkowski ancestors may have been born. In particular, my great granduncle Jan Niedziałkowski was born there (according to his marriage record), and my great grandfather Teofil Niedziałkowski may also have been born there. I suspect my grandfather Kostanty Niedziałkowski was also born there.

Austrian Military Map of Miłosna Area – 1910 

SOURCE: Third Military Mapping Survey of Austria-Hungary, Sheet 39-52, Varsó. Online http://lazarus.elte.hu/hun/digkonyv/topo/200e/39-52.jpg; downloaded 02 Oct 2008.

Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Miłosna

Source:  Source:  Sulimierski, Filip, Bronisław Chlebowski, and Władysław Walewski, eds., Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) – Warsaw 1885, Volume VI, page 440.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny entry for Miłosna. Translated from the Polish, the entry reads:

Miłosna 1.) a village and settlement in Powiat [District] warszawski and gmina [township] Wawer; the parish is in Wiązowna. It lies in the middle of a sandy hill covered with forests, 14 versts [1 verst = 0.663 miles] distant from Warszawa. It possesses a railway station from Warszawa to Terespol, 17 versts from the Warszawa b. post office by a beaten track going from Warszawa to Brześć and from Warszawa to Lublin. In the year 1827 there were 15 homes and 123 residents here. The possessions of Miłosna consist of the folwarks [large manorial farmsteads]: Miłosna, Borków, Kaczydół, and Żurawka, nomenclature: Pochulanka, Janówek, and Zakręt, as well as the village of Zakręt, an open expanse of 6397 mórgs [in the Russian partition 1 mórg = 1.388 acres]; the Miłosna folwark includes 364 mórgs of arable land and gardens, 68 mórgs of meadows, 2 mórgs of water, 1689 mórgs of forests, 3482 mórgs of brush, 70 mórgs of unused land and squares; in the settlement there are 21 mórgs of clearcut and land lease, together there are 5793 mórgs; in the Borków folwark there are 89 mórgs of arable land and gardens, 109 mórgs of meadows,103 mórgs of pastures, 19 mórgs of forests, 10 mórgs of unused land and squares, together there are 330 mórgs; in the Kaczydół there are 168 mórgs of arable land and gardens, 23 mórgs of unused land and squares, together there are 191 mórgs; in the Żurawka folwark there are 80 mórgs of arable land, 3 mórgs of unused land and squares, together there are 83 mórgs; there are 13 brick buildings and 58 wooden buildings. The village of Zakręt has 19 settlers and 71 arable mórgs .  2.) M[iłosna] is a clearcut settlement in Powiat kutnoski and Gmina Krośniewice, the parish is in Miłonice. It is part of the property of Miłonice.
                                                   Br[onisław] Ch[lebowski]

The Family History Library has microfilmed the parish registers from Wiązowna, the parish to which the village of Miłosna belonged. I’ve ordered three of these films.

In the map, above, it is apparent how close Miłosna is to Warsaw. On one document, my grandfather claimed he was born in Warsaw. Given the close proximity of Miłosna to Warsaw, if my grandfather was actually born in Miłosna, it would be understandable why he would say he was born in Warsaw.

The maps of the Third Military Mapping Survey of Austria-Hungary and the entries in the Słownik Geograficzny were prepared at about the same time and make a good pair for studying places in and around the Congress Kingdom of Poland at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century, a time period when the Eastern European ancestors of present-day Americans left their homelands for the United States.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

Newspaper articles and obituaries often provide information about our relatives lives beyond the mere facts of birth, marriage, and death.

Below, I’ve provided the names of ten of my Danko relatives and ten excerpts from their obituaries. Danko family members can try to match the names to the excerpts. The rest of you can just read the details to see the rich and varied lives my Danko relatives lived.

The names are:

• John J. Petri
• Michael J. Danko
• Joseph M. Iwaniec
• George L. McGinn
• Sophie (Danko) Gibson
• Jean B. (Skowronski, Sharron) Danko
• Joseph J. Danko
• Maryanna (Dziurzynski) Danko
• Bertha T. (Danko) McGinn
• Victoria T. Golinski

The excerpts from the obituaries to match with the names are:

1. He was an Army veteran of World War II, serving as a sergeant with Company A, 366th Military Police Service Battalion, in the European-African-Middle Eastern theater.
2. [She] was a laboratory assistant at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester for 14 years, retiring in 1981.
3. He was a wire drawer at American Steel & Wire Co. for 38 years, retiring 10 years ago.
4. She was born in Slewnica, Poland, and came to this country in 1909 and lived in Worcester prior to moving to Albany in 1953.
5. [She was] a native of Austria who had been an Albany resident for 55 years.
6. He was employed by the NY Central Railroad and the East Buffalo Car Shops for many years. He was also a salesman for several years and a security guard at the Washington Park Lakehouse.
7. [She] was a laundry worker at Memorial Hospital in Worcester for 35 years, retiring in 1978. She was a member of Our Lady of Czestochowa Church in Worcester.
8. She worked at the former U.S. Envelope Co. for 12 years until 1970 .  She then worked as a dietary aide at The Memorial Hospital from 1972 to 1975.
9. He was a maintenance man at Rockwood Sprinkler Co. for 20 years before retiring in 1974.
10. [He] was born in Albany and lived in the Capital District most of his life. He was a security supervisor at Sterling Organics Company in Rensselaer.

The names, correctly matched with the excerpts are:

John J. Petri (husband of my aunt, Helen A. Danko) = 6
Michael Danko (my grandfather) = 3
Joseph M. Iwaniec (son of my aunt, Statia Danko) = 10
George L. McGinn (husband of my aunt, Bertha T. Danko) = 9
Sophie (Danko) Gibson (my aunt) = 5
Jean B. (Skowronski, Sharron) Danko (wife of my uncle, Michael J. Danko) = 2
Joseph J. Danko (my uncle) = 1
Maryanna (Dziurzynski) Danko (my grandmother) = 4
Bertha T. (Danko) McGinn (my aunt) = 8
Victoria T. Golinski (daughter of my grand aunt, Maryanna Danko) = 7

While not providing an entire biography, these obituaries provide a glimpse into the lives of ancestors and other relatives, information that, in just a single generation, might otherwise be lost or otherwise difficult to discover.

Written for the Carnival of Genealogy.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

Today, I stopped by Filoli to take some pictures of the apples and pears ready for harvest.

Apple Malus domestica ‘Red Delicious’

SOURCE: Apple Malus domestica ‘Red Delicious’ (Woodside, San Mateo County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 30 Sep 2008.

Crabapple Malus baccata ‘Siberian Crab’

SOURCE: Crabapple Malus baccata ‘Siberian crab’ (Woodside, San Mateo County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 30 Sep 2008.

Apple Malus domestica ‘Swaar’

SOURCE: Apple Malus domestia ‘Swaar’ (Woodside, San Mateo County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 30 Sep 2008.

Pear Pyrus communis ‘Beurre Clairgeau’

SOURCE: Pear Pyrus communis ‘Beurre Clairgeau’ (Woodside, San Mateo County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 30 Sep 2008.

Apple Malus domestica ‘Winter Banana’

SOURCE: Apple Malus baccata ‘Winter Banana’ (Woodside, San Mateo County, California). Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 30 Sep 2008.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

On 21 Dec 1889, Czesława Niedziałkowska, daughter of Jan Niedziałkowski and Ludwika Pomaska, was born. She was baptized in the parish of in Szwelice, Okręg makowski, Guberniya Lomzhinskaya, Vistulan Country, Russian Empire on 29 Dec 1889.

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Czesława Niedziałkowska – 1889

SOURCE: Parafia pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela (Szwelice, Okręg makowski, Guberniya Lomzhinskaya, Vistulan Country, Russian Empire, “Księga ochrzczonych parafii Szwelice od 1885 do 1889. [Book of baptisms of the Szwelice parish from 1885 to 1889.],” item 4, entry 107, Czesława Niedziałkowska, 29 Dec 1889; filmed as Kopie księg metrykalnych, 1693-1904; FHL INTL microfilm 1,958,807.

Click on the image above to enlarge it. Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Czesława Niedziałkowska – 1889. Translated from the Russian the record reads:

Sikuty No. 107

It happened in the village of Szwelice on the seventeenth /: twenty-ninth :/ of December, in the year one-thousand eight-hundred eighty-nine, at one o’clock in the afternoon. There appeared: Jan Niedziałkowski /: Jan Niedziałkowski :/ [one word?] and residing in Sikuty with his relatives, twenty-three years of age: in the presence of: Wojciech Niedziałkowski forty-five years of age, and Ludwik Niedziałkowski fifty years of age, noble landowners residing in Pomaski; and he presented to us a child of the female sex stating that she was born in Sikuty on the ninth /: twenty-first :/ of the current month and year, at nine o’clock in the morning, of his lawful wife Ludwika née Pomaska /: Ludwika née Pomaska :/ twenty-six years of age. To this child at Holy Baptism performed on this date [Nalki?] was given the name Czesława /: Czesława / and the Godparents were Michał Zachariasz Chrzanowski and Helena Pomaska. This document was read to the declarants and illiterate witnesses and was signed by Us alone.
Administrator of the Szwelice parish and keeper of vital records. [signed] Rev[erend] J. Zgliczyński

There were two sections of this record that stumped me. I could not understand the occupation of the father and I could not understand one word after “performed on this date”. I was also a little uncertain about the correct names of the Godparents.

The child named in this record was my great grand aunt, the sister of my great grandfather, Teofil Niedziałkowski.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

While at the Family History Center in San Bruno on Wednesday, I discovered the 1889 marriage record for Jan Niedziałkowski and Ludwika Pomaska.

The Marriage Record of Jan Niedziałkowski and Ludwika Pomaska – 1889

SOURCE: Parafia pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela (Szwelice, Okręg makowski, Guberniya Lomzhinskaya, Vistulan Country, Russian Empire, “Księga zaślubionych parafii Szwelice od 1882 do 1889. [Book of marriages of the Szwelice parish from 1882 to 1889.],” item 2, entry 7, Jan Niedziałkowski & Ludwika Pomaska, 13 Feb 1889; filmed as Kopie księg metrykalnych, 1693-1904; FHL INTL microfilm 1,958,807.

Because this record is in Russian and because it is so long, transcription and translation of this record has required more time than I usually need to transcribe and translate a record written in a foreign language.

For now, I know that Jan Niedziałkowski is the son of my great-great grandparents, Wojciech Niedziałkowski and Julianna Gutowska, that Julianna Pomoska is the daughter of Józef Pomaski and Marianna Chodkowska, and that the marriage took place in the parish in Szwelice on 13 February 1889.

Completion of the full transcription and translation will have to wait until tomorrow, but I think this record may supply some critical information to help me break down a brickwall concerning my great grandfather, Teofil Niedziałkowski.

UPDATE 28 Sep 2008: The transcription and translation of this record are reported in Part 2 of this article.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

I’m pleased to host the Eleventh Edition of the Carnival of Eastern European Genealogy this month.

The topic for this edition is First (Given) Names: Did any of your ancestors have an unusual given name? Have you discovered the meanings behind the given names of your ancestors? Did your ancestors use any naming patterns for their children? Are there any given names that are particularly common in your family history? Did any of your ancestors have given names that you particularly like or dislike? Does your family celebrate “Name Days”? Did your immigrant ancestors change their given names after they arrived in America? Tell us about the first (given) names in your family. You can concentrate on one name, a few names, or you can go wild and write about the first names of all your ancestors!

Jessica Oswalt of Jessica’s Genejournal describes how many of her German ancestors had more than one given name. Most genealogists have struggled with trying to find their ancestors when the records used creative spellings of their names, but some of Jessica’s ancestors present another problem when they used any one of their multiple given names in different documents. Read about Jessica’s adventures with multiple given names and given names that were unusual for Germans in My German Ancestors: Naming Patterns and Odd Names … Thanks for an interesting look at unusual challenges with given names, Jessica!

Schelly Talalay Dardashti of Tracing the Tribe: The Jewish Genealogy Blog writes about her family’s practice of naming children after their relatives. This practice results in an interesting conundrum when all the children in a single family decided to name one of their sons after the child’s grandfather. And so, today, anyone with the name Leib Talalay, wherever he may live, is probably a cousin. Read all the details at Here’s a Leib, there’s a Leib! While you’re at it, you’ll find out why Schelly’s daughter loves her given name and initials, and why Schelly was once known as Shirley! Thanks for a great article, Schelly. It’s a fascinating read!

Lisa of 100 Years in America tells us about the wonderful Hungarian and Croatian given names in her family tree. She’s partial to her ancestors’ original given names, even though many of them changed their names to something more American after they immigrated to the United States. Who can blame her? The names Ilona and Etelka sing of her family’s rich cultural traditions and history. But, sometimes, finding the names of your ancestors in immigrant passenger lists involves more than just looking for creative spellings! Find out how Lisa discovered the real names of Cisto Toth and Ujlaki Ferenczné by reading ídí¡m to Zsuzsanna: Hungarian & Croatian given names in the family tree. What a wonderful look at given names and their variants, Lisa!

Julie Cahill Tarr at GenBlog details the naming patterns in her father’s family where maiden names were used as middle names. Julie goes on to tell us about her ancestors’ given names, both those that were frequently used and those that are unique, such as Marcella (one of her favorites) and Dorcas (one of my favorites). And why does Julie want to give her children names that begin with the letter “J”? Read My Family’s Given Names to find out! Thanks for an interesting and well-sourced article, Julie! (I’m sure you’ve plucked footnoteMaven‘s heartstrings with your source citations, too!)

The title of Donna Pointkouski’s carnival contribution, Call Me Ishmael, is likely to grab the reader’s attention, especially if you’re of a literary bent. Donna’s family tree is full of Joes and Marys, but a number of her ancestors were given first names that will attract attention as readily as the name Ishmael . Donna’s Bavarian ancestors sported such names as Dionys, Kresensz, Wolfgang, and Walburga, and her Polish ancestors bore the names Wawrzyniec, Wacława, Hilary, and Teofila. Read the full article on Donna’s blog What’s Past is Prologue to learn the meanings behind these names. Thanks so much for a fascinating article, Donna!

When many of your Polish ancestors are named Jan or Marianna, how do you sort out one from the other? Jasia of Creative Gene tells us about the various nicknames used to distinguish cousins with the same given name. And what about naming patterns? Jasia describes the Galician practice of naming children after specific relatives and the practice of naming children after the saint on whose feast day the child was born . What would Jasia have been named if her parents had followed one of these practices? The title of Jasia’s post gives away part of the answer, but to find out the rest of the story, you’ll have to read Polish First Names (I should be Sophie). Thanks for contributing to the Carnival of Eastern European Genealogy, Jasia. After reading your article, I’m even more convinced that we must have been separated at birth!

Al of Al’s Polish-American Genealogy Research writes that his ancestors from the Lipusz parish in Poland started a naming tradition that has continued on with their descendants in America for 200 years. Some of Al’s Wierzba ancestors were given unique names such as Wojciech, Bartlomiej, and Kazimierz, but many distant cousins, even those with little contact with the rest of the family have provided their children with the same given names. Read his article Given Names: A Submission for the Carnival of Eastern European Genealogy to learn more about the common and uncommon names in Al’s family tree. Thanks for telling us about the given names in your family history, Al!

The last entry in this month’s Carnival of Eastern European Genealogy is my own at Steve’s Genealogy Blog. My earliest known Niedziałkowski ancestors tended to name their children for a saint whose feast day was near, but not necessarily on the day of the child’s birth or baptism. This practice meant that given names were seldom reused unless a child died at a young age, at which time the name of the deceased child would be given to the next born child of the same sex. Prior to the time when my grandfather immigrated to America, most of my Niedziałkowski relatives bore a single given name. There are some exceptions, however, including one cousin who was given what is probably my favorite name: Faustina Apolonia Obidzieńska. You can read the entire article, Given Names in the Niedziałkowski Family.

And so ends this Eleventh Edition of the Carnival of Eastern European Genealogy. Thanks so much, Jessica, for allowing me to host the Carnival this month, and many, many thanks to all the bloggers who contributed. I really enjoyed putting this together!

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko