The Cemetery Record of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family

When I visited the grave of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family in 2005, I obtained a copy of the cemetery record for the lot. The employees at St. John’s Cemetery in Worcester, Massachusetts were very gracious and provided me with all the help I needed to find the gravesite.

The Cemetery Record of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family - Page 1

The Cemetery Record of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family – Page 1

The Cemetery Record of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family - Page 2

The Cemetery Record of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family – Page 2

SOURCE: The Cemetery Record of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family. St. John’s Cemetery, Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts. Record printed on 09 Sep 2005.

The cemetery record shows that:

Phyllis A. Crowley was buried on 17 Jun 2005 in Lot 16 1N/OT
Allister D. Rawding was buried on 09 Dec 1964 in Lot 16 1N/EX
John W. Rawding was buried on 19 May 1975 in Lot 16 Grv-CEN/AH
Hannah C. Rawding was buried on 28 Feb 1956 in Lot 16 Grv-CEN/RD
Lot 16 1S/OT is reserved
Allister D. Rawding was buried on 18 Jan 2000 in Lot 16 1S/EX

All plots are in the St. Jude section of St. John’s Cemetery.

Phyllis A. Crowley, John W. Rawding, and Allister D. Rawding (in Lot 16 1S/EX) are three of the children of Allister D. Rawding (in Lot 16 1N/EX) and Hannah C. Rawding.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Cemetery Record of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family.

The record indicates that the lots were purchased by Allister D. Rawding Jr., residing at 8 Cardinal Road, Worcester, MA. He purchased the property on 27 Feb 1956, apparently on the occasion of the death of his mother, Hannah C. Rawding, who was buried on the next day. He paid $300 on 03 Jan 1957. The property included 6 spaces and 3 burial spaces in a 10 x 10 area, suggesting that the burials were made two deep.

When recording the source of cemetery records, it is important to record the date on which the record was printed. The record itself will not always include that information, and so the researcher may need to add that information by hand.

Burial information may change with time if additional burials take place in the same lot or if a casket is removed and reinterred elsewhere . The date the record was printed helps the researcher to know the state of the grave at a given point in time.

Realizing that the state of a grave may change with time, the researcher may find it necessary to obtain a new copy of the cemetery record at a later date.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Grave of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family

Allister Daniel Rawding was the grandfather of several of my maternal first cousins. He immigrated to the United States from Nova Scotia, Canada and died in Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts. He is buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Worcester with his wife and three of his children.

The Gravestone of the Allister Daniel Rawding Family - Front

The Gravestone of the Allister Daniel Rawding Family – Front

The Gravestone of the Allister Daniel Rawding Family - Back

The Gravestone of the Allister Daniel Rawding Family – Back

SOURCE: Grave Marker of Allister Daniel Rawding and Family, St. John’s Cemetery, St. Jude Section, Lot 16 (Worcester, Worcester Co.), Massachusetts, photographed by Stephen J. Danko, 09 Sep 2005.

The inscription on the grave states:

FRONT:

RAWDING

OUR LADY – PRAY FOR US

BACK:

ALLISTER D. RAWDING SR.
MAY 19 1893 – DEC 5 1964
HIS WIFE
HANNAH CURRAN RAWDING
JUNE 8 1889 – FEB 25 1956

JOHN W. RAWDING
OCT 5 1916 – MAY 8 1975

ALLISTER D. RAWDING JR.
JAN 14 1925 – JAN 15 2000

John W. Rawding and Allister D. Rawding Jr. are sons of Allister D. Rawding Sr. and Hannah Curran Rawding. Although not listed on the monument at the time this photograph was taken in 2005, a daughter, Phyllis A. Rawding Crowley is also buried here.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Jewish Americans

My family is Roman Catholic and my ancestors have been Roman Catholic as far back as I’ve been able to trace my family history. Still, my family has been greatly influenced by our Jewish neighbors and friends.

The communities in which my ancestors lived had significant Jewish populations. My grandfather Dańko was born and grew up in Nienadowa, Galicia and attended church at the parish in Dubiecko. The Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (The Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavonic Countries) reports that in the late 19th Century, 690 Roman Catholics, 114 Greek Catholics, and 700 Jews lived in Dubiecko, suggesting that my ancestor’s lives were influenced on a day-to-day basis by the Jews who lived near him. After the Holocaust, few if any Jews remained in Dubiecko.

When my grandfather immigrated to America in 1905, he stated that he was planning to stay in New York City with Isaac Flichtenfeld, a Jewish umbrella maker who emigrated from Galicia in 1892. The first place my grandfather stayed in America was probably Isaac’s home at 35 First Avenue in New York City. I can only guess why my grandfather stayed with a Jewish immigrant when he arrived in New York. My grandfather may have known Isaac, but he may have simply contracted to stay with the Flichtenfelds until he found suitable accommodations for himself.

Growing up in Albany, New York, my own life frequently intersected with the Jewish community there in my neighborhood and in my after-school activities. On a number of occasions, I attended services at one of the local Synagogues.

And so, it was with some interest that I watched the first part of the PBS miniseries “The Jewish Americans” tonight.

Tonight’s episode was entitled “They Came to Stay; A World of Their Own”, which documented the history of Jewish Americans up until the early 20th Century. While New York City is well known for its Jewish community, the first Jews to settle in what was, at the time, known as New Amsterdam were almost turned away by Peter Stuyvesant who viewed their presence as undesirable. Stuyvesant’s superiors in the Netherlands overruled him, deciding that the settlement would benefit from the skills and culture of the Jewish immigrants.

These first Jewish settlers in New Amsterdam were refugees from Spain and Portugal at about the time of the Inquisition. Had they not left their homes for America, they would have been forced to convert to Christianity or die. In America, they discovered that their lives were nothing like they had experienced before. They were largely accepted.

Still, in some American colonies, Jews, like Catholics and Quakers, could not vote or hold office.

Upper-class Jews freely mixed with upper-class Christians, so much so that many found it difficult to hold on to their Jewish heritage. Many Jews married Christians and ties with their Jewish families were severed. As America grew, Jews migrated to the west where there were few connections to their culture or religion.

In time, many more Jews immigrated to America. They migrated to every state and, in the American Civil War, Jews fought on both sides of the conflict. In the South, Jews owned slaves, at the same time teaching their children about the escape of their ancestors from bondage in Egypt.

Some Jewish immigrants were spectacularly successful in America. The names Levi Strauss (of Levi Strauss and Company) and Joseph Spiegel (of the Spiegel Catalog Company) are well known. Many others were spectacularly unsuccessful. The Lower East Side of Manhattan was home to many poor Jews who maintained Jewish customs even if they didn’t practice their religion.

The Lower East Side was also a center for Yiddish Theater, a popular art form of the time that gave rise to such performers as Eddie Cantor, Edward G. Robinson, and Sophie Tucker.

I look forward to watching the second episode “The Best of Times, the Worst of Times” and the third episode “Home”, both airing later this month.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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San Francisco Bay Area Genealogy Calendar – January 2008

January 2008

  • Wednesday, January 9, 2008 – 7:00 PM
    Sammie Hudgens – “Root Cellar Library”
    Jayne Rich (Sylvan Cemetary Association) “History of the Sylvan Cemetery”
    Citrus Heights Community Center, 6921 Sylvan Road, Citrus Heights
    Sponsored by the Sacramento Genealogy Society
    *
  • Thursday, January 10, 2008 – 7:00 PM
    Wayne Erntrom from the FHC
    LDS Church, Concord Blvd., Concord
    Sponsored by the Contra Costa County Genealogical Society
    *
  • Friday, January 11, 2008 – 9:00 – 11:00 AM and 1:30 – 3:30 PM 
    Marian Smith, National Agency Historian for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service
    9 to 11 PM – Immigration and Nationality Research and Records
    1:30 to 3:30 PM – Chinese/Asian Immigration Research & Records
    NARA – San Bruno, 1000 Commodore Drive, San Bruno
    Sponsored by the National Archives – Pacific Region
    *
  • Saturday, January 12, 2008 – 1:30 PM
    Jane Lindsey – CGS Members’ Meeting – “Year in Review and Activities for 2008”
    California Genealogical Society and Library, 2201 Broadway, Suite LL2, Oakland
    Sponsored by the California Genealogical Society
    *
  • Sunday, January 13, 2008 – 10:00 AM
    Bernie Goldberg – “Virtual Reconstruction of German Synagogues”
    Albert Einstein Residence Center, 1935 Wright St, Sacramento
    Sponsored by the Jewish Genealogical Society of Sacramento
    *
  • Sunday, January 13, 2008 – 12:30 PM
    Marian Smith, Historian at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (former INS) – “The Universe of Immigration Records, 1882-1954 ”
    Jewish Community High School, 1835 Ellis Street, San Francisco
    Sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society
    *
  • Tuesday, January 15, 2008 – 7:00 PM
    Richard Ferman – “Santa Clara County In The Civil War”
    Santa Clara City Central Park Library, 2635 Homestead Road, Santa Clara
    Sponsored by the Santa Clara County Historical & Genealogical Society
    *
  • Saturday, January 19, 2008 – 9AM-Noon
    Kay Speaks & Sue Johnston – The Master Genealogist Group – “Using People Filters – Getting the People You Expect”
    7077 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 110, Pleasanton
    Sponsored by the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society
    *
  • Saturday, January 19, 2008 – 10:30 AM
    Christine Green – “English Genealogy on the Internet: What’s Hot and What’s Not!”
    Peninsula Community Foundation, 1700 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo
    Sponsored by the San Mateo County Genealogical Society
    *
  • Thursday, January 23, 2008 – 7:30 PM
    Kay Speaks – “Black Sheep Genealogy Research”
    LDS Church, 950 Mocho Street, Livermore
    Sponsored by the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society
    *
  • Thursday, January 23, 2008 – 7:30 PM
    “Winning entries from the School Family History”
    Marin Family History Center, 220 North San Pedro Rd, San Rafael
    Sponsored by the Marin County Genealogical Society
    *
  • Saturday, January 26, 2008 – 1:00 PM
    Joan Bingham – “Writing About Me and Thee”
    Finley Community Center, Santa Rosa
    Sponsored by the Sonoma County Genealogical Society
    *
  • Monday, January 28, 2008 – 5:00 PM
    RootsMagic Intermediate Group
    SMCGS Library, 125 Lessingia Court, San Mateo
    Sponsored by the San Mateo County Genealogical Society
    *
  • Monday, January 28, 2008 – 7:00 PM
    SMCGS Board Meeting
    SMCGS Library, 125 Lessingia Court, San Mateo
    Sponsored by the San Mateo County Genealogical Society

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Birth and Baptism of Marie Genevieve Gamache – 1735

On 07 Jun 1735, Marie Genevieve Gamache, daughter of Pierre Gamache and Genevieve Belanger, was born.

Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Genevieve Gamache - 1735

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Genevieve Gamache – 1735

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Cap St. Ignace, Montmagny County, Lower Canada, 1735. Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Genevieve Gamache, Front of Folio 11, Bap.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Marie Genevieve Gamache – 1735. Translated from the French, the record states:

Bap[tism] of
Marie Genevieve
Belanger
Gamache

In the year one thousand seven hundred thirty five, on the eighth of the month of June, was baptized in the parish church of St. Ignace, by us, the undersigned missionary of the same parish, Marie Genevieve, born on the previous day, daughter of Pierre Gamache, residing in the aforementioned parish, and Genevieve Belanger, his wife. The Godfather was Ignace Belanger, the uncle of the infant, and the Godmother was Marie Genevieve Richard [five words?] who have declared that they do not know how to sign [three words?] according to law.

                       [signed] Brother Simon Foucaulte, priest

This record can be found as image 115/948 in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com in the records for Cap St. Ignace 1679-1808. The record appears on the front of folio 11.

There are two phrases near the end of the document I can’t translate. These statements are not essential for genealogical purposes but are part of the statement that the participants and witnesses cannot sign their names.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Birth and Baptism of Lazard Gamache – 1744

On 07 Jan 1744, Lazard Gamache, son of Pierre Gamache and Genevieve Belanger, was born.

Birth and Baptismal Record of Lazard Gamache - 1744

The Birth and Baptismal Record of Lazard Gamache – 1744

SOURCE: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin. Parish of Cap St. Ignace, Montmagny County, Lower Canada, 1744. Birth and Baptismal Record of Lazard Gamache, Front of Folio 2, Bap.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Birth and Baptismal Record of Lazard Gamache – 1744. Translated from the French, the record states:

Bap[tism]
[?] Lazard
[one word]
Gamache

In the year one thousand seven hundred forty four, on the eighth of January, by us, the missionary pastor of Cap St. Ignace, was baptized Lazard, born on the seventh of the same month, son of Pierre Gamache and Marie Genevieve Belanger, his legitimate spouse. The Godfather was Lazard Richard and the Godmother was Elizabeth Guion who have declared that they do not know how to sign as required according to law.

                                                [signed] Dolbec, priest

This record can be found as image 175/948 in the Québec Vital Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967 on Ancestry.com in the records for Cap St. Ignace 1679-1808. The record appears on the front of folio 2.

The prenom (given name) Lazard is rare and the name Lazare is much more common. In this record, the name clearly ends in a “d”, indicating that the given name was written as Lazard and not as Lazare.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Year Was 1908

Lisa at 100 Years in America wrote about where her ancestors were in 1908 – 100 years ago. She then challenged others to do the same. In 1908, only one of my ancestors was in America. The rest were still in Europe.

My paternal grandfather, Michał Dańko, was in America, exactly where I’m not certain. He immigrated from Nienadowa, Galicia (now Poland) on 07 Mar 1905 and apparently lived in New York City with a Jewish umbrella maker who had, himself, emigrated from Galicia some years earlier . By 1908, I suppose he had found his way to Worcester, Worcester County, Massachusetts because he sent for his wife to join him there in 1909. He did not appear in the Worcester City Directory until 1910, the first written record in America I found for him since his immigration.

Michał’s wife, my paternal grandmother Maryanna Dziurzyńska, was still in Galicia with either two or three children in 1908. Zofia had been born on 12 Jan 1901 and Jan had been born on 02 May 1905. My grandfather had left for America several months before Jan’s birth. Another child, Karol, had been born in Galicia but died before Maryanna left for America on May 15, 1909. No one remembers when Karol was born or when he died, but he may have been born between 1902-1904 and died before 1909. I don’t know for certain where Maryanna was living in 1908, but I suspect she may have been living with her parents in either Sielnica, Nienadowa, or Śliwnica, all in Powiat Przemyśki, Galicia (Austria-Poland).

Most likely, my maternal grandfather, Kostanty Niedziałkowski, was living with his parents in Pomaski, Powiat Makowski, Gubernia Lomżyńskiej, Congress Kingdom of Poland (Russia-Poland). He left for America on 14 May 1910. In 1908 he was 16 years old and probably working on his father’s farm.

My maternal grandmother, Helena Chmielewska, was living with her parents in Likiszki (now LikiÅ¡kÄ—s), Gubernia Wilenska, Russian Empire (now Lithuania). She was 11 years old in 1908, probably with no idea that she would immigrate to America on 04 Jan 1913. She was living on the family farm in a small village which, in 1866, included only five houses and 42 residents. The photograph below is the farm where my grandmother lived in 1908. The structures in thes photo were probably all built after my grandmother left the farm and came to America.

Buildings on the Chmielewski Farm - 2 

Buildings on the Chmielewski Farm -2

SOURCE: Buildings on the Chmielewski Farm – 2. Photographed by Stephen J. Danko on 24 October 2007.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

Posted in Chmielewski/Meleski, Daily Journal, Dańko, Dziurzyński, Niedziałkowski | 2 Comments

The Polish Village of Słone

Słone is another village near my grandparents’ home village of Nienadowa. The Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) has a number of listings for Słone that include a lake and a mountainous region as well as several villages.

Sí…�ownik Geograficzny Entries for Sí…�one and Sí…�one GíƒÂ³ra

Słownik Geograficzny Entries for Słone and Słone Góra

Source:  Source:  Chlebowski, Bronisław, Władysław Walewski, and Filip Sulimierski, eds., Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) – Warsaw 188p, Volume X, pages 821-822.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny Entries for Słone and Słone Góra. Translated from the Polish, the entries read:

Słone, a settlement of peasants in the Włoscławski powiat [district] in the Pilutkowo gmina [community]. The parish is in Wieniec. There are 29 residents and 139 mórgs [in the Russian partition 1 morg = 1.388 acres].
Słone, a dirt hill on the border of Słone gmina in Zaleszczycki powiat, to the northwest of the village, 373 meters in elevation.
                                Bronisław Gustawicz

Słone 1.) a village on the San River in the Brzozowski powiat. There is a Roman Catholic church in Ruski Wieś. In the vicinity of the village is the Słone spring, near which long ago there was a salt works. After its closure, the water wasn’t brought for use, because the fiscal guard didn’t permit the residents or even the animals to drink at the spring. The village has 210 residents (180 Roman Catholic, 30 Greek Catholic). Long ago, the greater property was owned by the Krasickis.
2.) Słone, in the year 1581called Słona, a village in the Myślenicki powiat. The parish and post office was in Rabek (4-5 kilometers distant). In 1581, Spytek Jordan, the Castellan of Kraków, paid here for 23 half-fields, 8 farmsteads with land, 2 farmsteads without land, 2 chambers with cattle, 1 chamber without cattle, 1 field of the sołtys [chairman of the village council] 2 cutters, 1 fuller (Pawiński, Małop., 48). A salt works existed here.
3.) Słone, a village in the Zaleszczycki powiat, about 3.7 kilometers from Tłustego (site of the district court, the post office, and a telegraph). The territory of the manor was joined with Nyrków. In 1870 there were 504 residents; in 1880 there were 538 residents; in the gmina there were 510, in the area of the manor 28; 505 were Greek Catholics, 27 were Roman Catholics. The parish is in Czerwonogród; a loan office building with 53 Russian złoty of capital.

Słone, a lake between two villages of the same name in Kościerski powiat.
                               Father Fr.                  

Słone góry or Słona góra, a mountainous region, forested, on the right bank of the San River between Tyrawka (to the east) and Lisznia (to the west), a tributary of the San. It sprawls over the area of the Liszny gmina, Sanok, Wójski, Tyrawy Solny, and Siemuszów, from the San to the track from Załuta to Tyrawy Wołoski, in the Sanocki powiat, and from this track until after the Wańkóek river from the northwest to the southeast. The summit of Słone reaches 671 meters above sea level. To the south, from the track we have the peak of Hrynia horb (Krinin, 651 meters). Słonne Ułowe, the Ruśniaków apiary 672 meters). Słona polanka (614 meters). The length of the strip is 18 kilometers. The name was adopted because of the numerous salt springs, near which a salt-works existed long ago  in Tyrawa Solna.
                              Bronisław Gustawicz

Słone 1.) Stare [Old], the German name is Alt-Slonnen. A village manor in Kashubia in the Kościerski powiat, the post office is in Dziemiana, Kalisz gmina, the Catholic parish is in Lipusz. Not far from Kościerzyn, 2 ½ miles to the northwest. It includes 2 gburstwa and 2 farmsteads, 510.16 mórgs. In 1885 there were 24 residents and  3 homes.
2.) Słone Nove [New], the German name is Neu-Slonnen. A village manor that also has 2 gburstwa and 2 farmsteads, 225.85 mórgs. In 1885 there were 3 homes and 20 residents. In 1772, the Prussian committee on disasters announces about this settlement, lying down then to the district parchowski: Słonce Stary and Nowy together total 4 farms and lie on the small lake Słone. The buildings themselves stand out. The records belong to the starost’s wife in which there are descriptions of the borders but not the size. There is poor soil, of which a great part always lays fallow. The entire sowing amounts to 32 vessels of rye, 7 of barley, 3 of oats, 10 of sweet flag, 2 of peas; a harvest of 2-3 grains. There are no meadows and they must buy hay, a wagon for 4 florens, or horses and cattle feed on chaff. The pastures are not sufficient, therefore they drive the cattle to Kalisz and to the forest, because without it they would not be able to survive. In their fields they leave a lot of oaks and pines and sow between them; thus they have wood for lumber and fuel, but they don’t freely sell it. In the lake they have free fishing for their own needs. Smolarnia belongs to Jan Bryz, who paid 4 tals for it. The rent, for underwater, is 54 groszy for each field, they don’t give anything for the twenty second because not until recently was it settled. The condition was: 4 cows, 40 sheep, 8 pigs. The privileges: in the year 1739 on the 24th day of August they allow ssta Ciecholewski for Michał Kiedrowski to settle in the empty place on Słone lake; the purchases amounted to 150 Prussian florens of money, rent for it in perpetual lease was 16 florens. In summer he had free fish to catch… Free for him to keep 40 sheep. He could keep other animals, as many as he could manage. Given in Parchów. Michał Górski grants in the name of the starost’s wife, Eleonor Lipska, to Maciej Kulas the right of inheritance to a piece of land near the desolation of Słone, encompassing 17 mórgs, for which he paid 30 Prussian florens of money; for 2 free fields he would pay rent and, as the other, tax. Given in Parchów, Andrzej Gowiński, beekeeper, Michał Schuetz, Schulz and Nakła, Maciej Lewnau, beekeeper and leman in Skwieraw, delivered on the 21st day of July 1761 for Albrecht Sumiński 24 mórgs of forest on lake Słone, for which he paid 72 florens for the purchase. Annual rent amounted to 7 ½ grosze per mórg, which was confirmed by F. Stein, overseer in Parchów. Near Sumiński, Maciej Waldach receives 31 mórgs of forest (Heideland), for which he paid 155 florens; annual rent amounts to 7 ½ grosze per mórg. If he or Sumiński had to cut down the neighboring oak forest, they paid 30 black florens; four years had to be free for work in the castle, in order for them to build. This privilege was set up by the starost’s wife v. Huelsen in Parchów on the 21st day of May 1766 (see Zeitsch. des Westpr. Gesch. Vr., XV, str. 122). If „Słona”, reaching a privilege Świętopełka in the year 1236, where there was a church, is the present day Słone, is difficult to determine (see P. U. B. von Perlbach, str. 46).
                                           Reverend Fr.

The village of Słone located near Nienadowa is the first description in the second entry, above, that describes a village on the San River.

This was another large translation that I’ll need to revisit. Several of the words are archaic and I couldn’t find them in my dictionaries. I’ll also have to check on the correct spellings of the place names.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Polish Village of Słonne

Słonne is another village near my grandparents’ home village of Nienadowa. The Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) has listings for Słonna and Słonne.

Sí…�ownik Geograficzny entries for Sí…�onna and Sí…�onne

Słownik Geograficzny Entries for Słonna and Słonne

Source:  Chlebowski, Bronisław, Władysław Walewski, and Filip Sulimierski, eds., Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i Innych Krajów Słowiańskich (Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and other Slavonic Countries) – Warsaw 1889, Volume X, pages 827-828.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny entries for Słonna and Słonne. Translated from the Polish, the entries read:

Słonna, Słonne, Słownnica, see Słona, Słone, Słonica.

Słonne, a village in the Myślenicki powiat [district], it lies in the mountains in the valley of the Słonka stream (a tributary of the Rabe), to the east of Rabka at an elevation of 577 meters above sea level. To the north is the shadow of the property of Grzebień mountain (679 meters above sea level), to the east is Szumiąca mountain (834 meters) and to the south Trubacz (940 meters). To the north it borders with Szumiąca and Zaute, to the east with Olszówka, to the south with Ponica. The village consists of 124 homes and 781 residents; 778 Roman Catholics and 3 Jews. The soil is cold, with oats on the slopes of the mountain. The larger estate ([one word?] Rabka) amounts to 242 mórgs [in Galicia 1 mórg = 1.422 acres] of forest; the lesser estate has 1045 mórgs of soil, 48 mórgs of meadows, 218 mórgs of pastures, and 145 mórgs of forest. There is a spruce forest. See Słone 2).
                                           W. Machniewski from Będzin

Unfortunately, these entries do not describe the village for which I’m looking. This village is south of Kraków; the village I want is further east.

This entry does, however, give me clues to finding the correct village since it provides the alternate spellings of Słownnica, Słona, Słone, and Słonica. I’ll look for these spellings next.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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The Polish Village of Babice

The Polish village of Babice lies close to the village of Nienadowa where my grandfather Dańko lived. I’m continuing to translate the Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego entries for neighboring villages in order to get a better understanding of what the area where my grandfather grew up was like.

Sí…�ownik Geograficzny Entry for Babice

Słownik Geograficzny Entry for Babice

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 1880, Volume I, pages 88-89.

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Słownik Geograficzny entry for Babice. Translated from the Polish, the entries read:

Babice,  1). a village and grange [large manorial farmstead] in the Biłgorajski powiat [district] and gmina [community] of the same name, it lies in a valley above a river falling to Tanew on the left bank, in the vicinity of Bezlesie, about 5 versts [about 1.0668 kilometers per verst] from the border of Galicia. It has a community office and a brewery producing 1,400 silver rubles annually. Currently, a new Orthodox church is being built here for the Ruś population. Catholics belong to the parish in Łukowa; in the year 1827 there totaled 142 homes and 754 residents; currently there are 211 homes. Babice, gmina, Biłgorajski powiat, a court of law for the third district and a post office are in Tarnogród, 34 viersts distant from Biłgoraj. The area of the gmina amounts to 15,153 mórgs. The population is 4737.
2). Babice, a governmental village in the Łódzki powiat and gmina of the same name, near the beaten track from Aleksandrów to Lutomiersk, the post office is in Lutomiersk; in the year 1827 there was a total of 20 homes and 154 residents. The Babice gmina belongs to the sixth local court district in Bełdów (about 8 viersts); a community office is in the settlement of Kaźimierz, population 2000, an area of 3238 mórgs [in the Russian partition 1 mórg = 1.388 acres], it has two elementary schools
3). Babice, a village and grange in the Warszawski powiat, Blizne gmina, about 9 versts to the northwest side of Warszawa. In the year 1827 it had 28 homes and 266 residents. Babice, a parish in the Warszawski deanery, with a total of 3098 souls.
4). Babice, a village and grange in the Garwoliński powiat, Trojanów gmina, a sweeping expanse of 2640 mórgs, the grange alone has 1915 mórgs. In 1827 there were 46 homes and 265 residents; the current population totals 374 souls.

Babice,  1). A small town in the Przemyśl powiat, together with the suburb called “Babice village”. The area of the estate includes: 268 mórgs [in Galicia 1 mórg = 1.422 acres] of arable land, 7 mórgs of meadows and gardens, 26 mórgs of pastures, 116 mórgs of forest. This village has a population of 623 souls of which 363 are Roman Catholic, 251 are Greek Catholic, 9 are Jews, it belongs to the Greek Catholic parish in Skopów. There is a Roman Catholic parish in this place, it belongs to the Przemyśl deanery (1124 of the faithful). The parish church was formerly in the small village of Stupnica. Stanisław Kmita of Wiśnicz, the governor of Województwo Ruskie [Ruś province], at Mateusz from Drzewica, bishop of Przemyśl, established that this benefice would be attached on the 15th of February 1508 to the parish chapel, erected by Kmita in the small village of Babice; the church in Stupnica collapsed in the course of time, and in the time of Wacław Sierakowski, bishop of Przemyśl, there stood in that place a Greek Catholic Orthodox church made of stone, in the year 1794 it was consecrated under the name of the Holy Trinity. Once there was considerable trading here. Zygmunt August granted the little village of Babice freedom from customs duties and a royal position which this charter in the year 1553 expanded and justified. The owner of Babice is Zdzisław Count Dembiński.
2). Babice, a village in the Chrzanowski powiat, with Wygielzów and Lipowec, occupies 2568 Austrian mórgs [in Galicia 1 mórg = 1.422 acres] in area and has 115 homes, 749 souls, a parish in the place, the Royal Imperial military guard, and a one-classroom country school. Babice lies not far from the national road from Kraków to Chełm; in the vicinity there is located supplies of iron and zinc ore, a distillery, and a common brewery; a very industrial population, they make a living at lace making and basketry. In the 12th Century salt was extracted under Babice. The Catholic parish of Babice, Novogórski deanery, had 7298 of the faithful. It included the villages of Babice, Kolonia, Jankowice, Kwaczała, Olsyny, Rozkochów, Mętków Wielki and Mały, Wygiełzów, Zagórze, Żarki, Zrodła Wielka and Mała. In Babice there is a stone church and shops.
3). Babice, a village in the Bialski powiat in Galicia, with Zabrzeg and Chropanie, there are 1107 Austrian mórgs [in Galicia 1 mórg = 1.422 acres] of area, 136 homes, 868 souls, a parish in Oświęcim about 2 kilomieters, not far from the Northern Railway of Cesarz Ferdynand and the governmental track from Oświęcim to Kęty.
4). Babice, a village in the Rzeszowski powiat, see Babica.
5). Babice, a village in the Wadowicki powiat, about six and one-half kilometers from Wadowice, in the Roman Catholic parish of Witanowice.

Babice, Babitz in German, 1). A village in the Raciborski powiat, in the parish of Markowiek, belonging to the key of Raciborski. To Babice belongs the grange of Kępek and Trawnik, the Łączek forest district, Piaski, and having a large two thousand mórg fishpond Babiczek.
2). A village in the Głupczycki powiat, it has a Catholic parish church and a post office in Baborowo.

The entries for Babice describe a number of villages with the same name. The one near where my grandparents lived is the first village described in the second entry – the small town in the Przemyśl powiat.

This was a lot to translate in one evening and I’ll have to go back and correct the many Polish place names in the entries after consulting the Słownik Geograficzny for the correct spelling of the nominative case of the place names.

Copyright © 2008 by Stephen J. Danko

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