Steve's Genealogy Blog

The last of the records for the Markiewicz family that I found in the Piotrawin Parish Records at the Family History Center was for the death of Wawrzyniec (Lawrence) Markiewicz, the infant son of Tomasz Markiewicz and Franciszka Piątkowa .  With this death, all three children of Tomasz and Franciszka had died, and the last two died within a month of each other.

Death Record for Wawrzyniec Markiewicz – 1892

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Death Record for Wawrzyniec Markiewicz – 1892 .  The record, translated from the Russian, reads as follows:

42 .  Braciejowice – Markiewicz Wawrzyniec

This happened in the village of Piotrawin on the 9th / 21st day of April 1892 at eleven o’clock in the morning .  Tomasz Markiewicz, age 33, the father of the child, and Stanisław Jakubczyk, age 26, house owners in the village of Braciejowice, appeared and stated that on the 7th / 19th day of April of this year at twelve o’clock in the afternoon, Wawrzyniec Markiewicz died in the same Braciejowice at the age of 9 months old, having been born and lived there, son of the aforementioned married couple Tomasz and Franciszka Piątkowa – after eyewitness testimony on the death of Wawrzyniec Markiewicz.

This document was read to the declarants who are illiterate, and signed by us.

Rev. C. Trembiński, pastor of the Piotrawin Parish – Keeper of the documents of the civil state

An interesting point in this record is that the age of Tomasz Markiewicz is 33 .  In the Death Record for Jan Markiewicz, recorded the previous month, Tomasz was 32 .  This observation allows the hypothesis that Tomasz was born in March or April 1859 .  How does this date agree with all the other information on the birthdate of Tomasz Markiewicz?

Feb 27, 1889 – Birth of Jan – Tomasz age 30 – (born 1858-1859)
July 22, 1890 – Birth of Michał – Tomasz age 31 (born 1858-1859)
Aug 20, 1890 – Death of Michał – Tomasz age 31 (born 1858-1859)
Jul 28, 1891 – Birth of Wawrzyniec – Tomasz age 32 (born 1859-1860)
Mar 26, 1892 – Death of Jan – Tomasz age 32 (born 1859-1860)
Apr 21, 1892 – Death of Wawrzyniec – Tomasz age 33 (born 1858-1859)
Apr 19, 1893 – Birth of Stanisław – Tomasz age 35 (born 1857-1858)
Dec 25, 1894 – Birth of Antoni – Tomasz age 37 (born 1856-1857)

The first six events are all consistent with the hypothesis that Tomasz was born in 1859 .  The last two events suggest Tomasz was born in 1857-1858 and 1856-1859 .  Tomasz seems to have aged two years between 1892 and 1893, and another two years between 1893 and 1894!  The Birth Records for Jan and Wawrzyniec are not consistent with a birthdate in March or April 1859, although they are consistent with a birthdate in 1859.

A conservative estimate is that Tomasz was born between December 26, 1856 and July 28, 1860 .  Ignoring the two outlying dates, a more liberal estimate is that Tomasz was born between February 28, 1858 and July 28, 1860 .  So, even though the Death Records for Michał, Jan, and Wawrzyniec suggest a birth in March or April 1859, the Birth Records for all five sons indicate that a wider range should be considered.

Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko

The second Markiewicz death record I found at the Family History Center was that for Jan (John) Markiewicz, the infant son of Tomasz Markiewicz and Franciszka Piątkowa.

The Death Record of Jan Markiewicz

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Death Record for Jan Markiewicz – 1892 .  Translated from the Russian, the record reads:

32 .  Braciejowice – Markiewicz Jan

This happened in the village of Piotrawin on the 14th / 26th day of March 1892 at seven o’clock after midnight .  Tomasz Markiewicz, age 32, the father of the child, and Franciszek Turski, age 51, house owners in the village of Braciejowice, appeared and stated that on the 12th / 24th day of March of this year at 7 o’clock after midnight, Jan Markiewicz died in Braciejowice at the age of 3 years old, having been born and lived there, son of the aforementioned married couple Tomasz and Franciszka Piątkowa – after eyewitness testimony on the death of Jan Markiewicz.

This document was read to the declarants who are illiterate, and signed by us.

Rev. C. Trembiński, pastor of the Piotrawin Parish – Keeper of the documents of the civil state

Jan was born on February 27, 1889 . Â Jan’s death record correctly shows that he was three years old when he died on March 24, 1892.

Comparing this record with the Death Record of Michał Markiewicz who died on August 18, 1890, some additional information about the birth date of Tomasz Markiewicz can be deduced .  Tomasz was 31 years old on August 20, 1890 and 32 years old on March 26, 1892 .  Since Tomasz only recorded one birthday between these two dates, Tomasz must have been born between March 1859 and August 1859.

Unfortunately, the ages recorded in these Church Records are not always accurate .  A case in point is the fact that Franciszek Turski was 52 years old in Michaeł’s Death Record 1890, but only 51 years old in Jan’s Death Record in 1892.

Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko

I had previously found the 1890 Birth and Baptismal Record for Michał (Michael) Markiewicz, the son of Tomasz Markiewicz and Franciszka Piątkowa while searching Polish Parish Records at my local Family History Center .  I had also found an entry in the Death Index for the same parish that showed that a Michał Markiewicz died in 1890 .  The question is, are these two records for the same person?  Did Michał Markiewicz die the same year in which he was born?

Death Record for Michał Markiewicz – 1890

Click on the link for a PDF copy of the Death Record for Michał Markiewicz – 1890 .  Translated from the Russian, the record reads:

111 .  Braciejowice – Markiewicz Michał

This happened in the village of Piotrawin on the 8th / 20th day of August 1890 at eleven o’clock in the morning .  Tomasz Markiewicz, age 31, the  father of the child, and Franciszek Turski, age 52, house owners in the village of Braciejowice, appeared and stated that on the 6th / 18th day of August of this year at 6 o’clock in the evening Michał Markiewicz died in Braciejowice, having been born and lived there for two weeks, son of the aforementioned married couple Tomasz and Franciszka Piątkowa – after eyewitness testimony on the death of Michał Markiewicz.

This document was read to the declarants who are illiterate, and signed by us.

Rev. C. Trembiński, pastor of the Piotrawin Parish – Keeper of the documents of the civil state

The death record does, indeed, record the death of the infant recently born to Tomasz Markiewicz and Franciszka Piątkowa.

As with other documents from the Kingdom of Poland (the Russian Partition of Poland), the dates are recorded according to both the Julian Calendar and the Gregorian Calendar .  In 1890, when this document was written, the two calendars differed by 12 days .  Since we use the Gregorian Calendar (the more accurate calendar), the correct date of death is the later date: August 18, 1890.

Franciszek Turski appears in many records for the Markiewicz family, including the Births and Baptisms of Jan, Michał, and Stanisław Markiewicz .  It’s possible that Franciszek Turski was a neighbor or relative of the Markiewicz family.

One final note about the surname Markiewicz .  In many of these records, the name appears to be written as Markowicz, rather than Markiewicz .  At this point, it’s not clear if this was just an issue with transliteration of the name into Russian, or if the correct spelling is actually Markowicz.

Copyright © 2006 by Stephen J. Danko