#52Ancestors Week 6 Theme: Same Name
I use the weekly prompts on “52 Ancestors” website by genealogist Amy Johnson Crow to get ideas on what to write about each week. Sometimes they are helpful and sometimes I write about something else. This week the prompt is “same name.” As I was researching, I realized that Charles Pawlak’s maternal and paternal grandparents actually have the same first names – Michael! One grandfather to Charles is Michael Nowicki and the other grandfather is Michael Pawlak.
Let’s look at his maternal grandfather first – the father of Bronislawa Nowicka Pawlak. His name was Michael Nowicki and he was born about 1837. I know he was born about this time as there is a marriage record for him and Tekla Zielinska. In the record, Michael was age 40 at time of the marriage in 1877. He was also a widower but his first wife is unknown as yet. On 22 June 1877, he married Tekla (also written Thekla) who was 24 (her first marriage) in Labiszyn, Poznan, Poland.
Michael Nowicki’s parents were Martinus Nowicki and Francisca Cholewiaska who were married 24 October 1836 in Rogalinek, Poznan, Poland. Martin was 24 and Francisca was 18 at the time of marriage. Tekla’s parents are not known as yet.
Michael Nowicki was a coach driver in Poland. They were married ten years and had four children including Bronislawa. Sadly, Thecla Zielinska Nowicka died young – at age 35- of Typhus in Koscielec, Poland on 1887. About three weeks later, Michael Nowicki died on 10 June 1887 at age 50. The cause of death was intestinal inflammation. More will be coming in later posts about this family.
Charles Pawlak’s paternal grandparents, the parents of Stephan (Szczepan) Pawlak, were Michael Pawlak and Catherina Sprzaczkowski. Michael Pawlak was designated in his records as “Stellmacher” which means his occupation was either a coachmaker, railroad car maker, or carpenter. They lived in Radlowek, Kries Inowroclaw-Zacod, Poland in 1877 when Stephan was born. No information on their deaths has been found as yet.
According to a small black book kept by Bronislawa (Blanche), Stephan did have some brothers and a sister. His brothers were Andrew (Andrzej), John (Jan), and Frank (Franciszek). His sister was Joanna and was born 22 May 1888 in Gniezno, Inowroclaw. Stephan’s brother John was born in 1881 and died 13 Feb 1931 in Czarze, Poland. Clearly, their family needs more research!
Sources:
Most of the information found on Family History Library microfilms:
229065, no. 27; 1194844, No. 4, p. 308; 2233216, No. 231; and 2329118
Copy of original birth certificates of Stephan Pawlak and Bronislawa Nowicka
The Pawlak Past 