Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Teo Fila Bukowski Birth Location Identified

This is the first post in the Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update Series. This series will be focused on two Polish immigrants, my 2nd great-grandparents, who settled in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania and their family members.  Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski arrived at Ellis Island 1 May 1895 with three small children - Teo Fila, Catherine and William. The family had sailed from Antwerp, Belgium on the Noorland. The family was very quiet about their past - leaving few clues to where they lived in Poland and why they left. All that was known is that the family resided on the Prussian or German side of the Polish partition. The city of origin for the family was previously unknown. Over the last year collaboration with other researchers, DNA results and newly discovered records have provided additional context to where in Poland the families were living prior to their journey to Ellis Island.

Teo Fila Bukowski was the oldest of the three children recorded with Vincenty Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski when when the family was processed at Ellis Island on 1 May 1895. Teo Fila was 6 years old when she made the voyage with her parents and two younger siblings. The Ellis Island records indicate the family was in route to Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania where they lived the rest of their lives.

Various historical records indicate that Teo Fila Bukowski was born March 1889 in Poland. She married Frank J. Gaczkowski on 6 September 1909 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania at St. Stanislaus Catholic Church.

Frank J. Gaczkowski and Teo Fila Bukowski
Photograph from the Edward W. Zelazny Collection. Photographer Unknown. 
Editing and digital restoration by Michelle M. Murosky.

For many years very few details were known about where in Poland the family was from. The departing ships records for Antwerp were unfortunately lost in World War I. In the 1900 United States Federal Census Vincenty Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski both indicated their birthplace was "Poland, Germany".  In the 1910 United States Federal Census Vincenty Frank and Franciska Kwiatkowski both indicated their birthplace was "Germany Polish".  Both of these census records were strong indicators the family was living on the Prussian or the German side of the Polish Partition.

To date no records have been located that indicate Vincenty Frank Bukowski submitted an application for United States citizenship. Additionally, in the 1930 United States Federal Census Vincenty Frank Bukowski was enumerated with the status of "alien" in the naturalization section.  This was the final census were Vincenty was recorded. He died 27 April 1937 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania.   The death certificates for Vincenty Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski listed a country of origin only.  As a result, the city of origin for the family remained unknown.

Additional Research Opportunities 

The three known children born in Poland provided another research opportunity. If Polish birth or baptismal records could be located for the children - those records would identify a potential starting point for research in Poland. Several years ago I was able to obtain a list of Polish cities that were associated with the Vincenty Frank Bukowski family in wedding and baptismal records recorded at St. Stanislaus Church in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania. The city and regional names included Pluskowęsy, Ryńsk, Wąbrzeźno and Orzechowo, Wąbrzeźno.

There were several challenges to continuing the search for a city of origin:

• The first challenge was having multiple cities and regions. Some of the locations included multiple Catholic Parishes. 
• The second challenge was access to the records. Some of the Polish records are only accessible via microfilms housed in the collections at Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah or one of the Family History Library affiliate libraries. It is also possible that additional records exist in Polish or European Archives - but those archives add a another layer complexity to the research.
• The third challenge was the potential language barrier. Depending on the location and the record type there were also was also a possibility the original records would be in German, Polish or Latin. 

Without having an exact location to start - the research would involve casting a wide net which would require attempting to search the available films for Pluskowęsy, Ryńsk, Wąbrzeźno and Orzechowo, Wąbrzeźno. Due to time and the above factors no further research was conducted on this family.

First Polish Record Located

Last year another researcher I had been previously connected with sent me a note. The researcher indicated that Ancestry had a potential birth registration record for Teo Fila Bukowski in the Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945 database. The original records were located in the Berlin State Archives.

After accessing a copy of the original German record - I reached out to Ute Brandenburg the owner of German Script Experts for translation assistance.

Teo Fila Bukowski Birth Record 
31 March 1889
Ryńsk, Poland

The original record as recorded in German:

Nr. 17
Rynsk am 2ten April 1889

Vor dem unterzeichneten Standesbeamten erschien heute, der Persönlichkeit nach bekannt, der
Pferdeknecht Vincent Bukowski wohnhaft zu Rynsk, katholischer Religion, und zeigte an, daß von
der Franziska Bukowska, geborenen Kwiatkowska, seiner Ehefrau, katholischer Religion,
wohnhaft bei ihm zu Rynsk, in seiner Wohnung am ein und dreißigsten März des Jahres tausend
acht hundert achtzig und neun, Nachmittags um zehn Uhr ein Kind weiblichen Geschlechts
geboren worden sei, welches den Vornamen Theofila erhalten habe.

Vorgelesen, genehmigt und wegen Schreibensunkunde des Anzeigenden mit dessen Handzeichen
versehen. +++

Der Standesbeamte.

The German translation provided by German Script Experts:

No. 17
Rynsk, April 2nd 1889

Before the undersigned civil registrar appeared today, personally known, Vincent Bukowski, a
farmhand residing in Ryńsk  of Catholic faith, and reported that Franziska Bukowska née
Kwiatkowska, his wife, of Catholic faith, residing with him in Ryńsk, had given birth to a female
child at his residence on 31 March 1889 at 10 o’clock in the evening. The child was named
Theofila.

Read, approved, and signed with his mark because the informant is unable to write. +++

The Civil Registrar

Teo Fila Bukowski Birth Record Verified

After reviewing the record in detail - the evidence in the birth record aligned with other known details about Teo Fila Bukowski:

• The father's name, Vincent Bukowski, matched. 
• The mother's first name, Franciska, matched.
• The mother's maiden name, Kwiatwkows, matched.
• The birth month and year, March 1889, matched.
• The location, Ryńsk, Poland, matched with the locations associated with the family in the St. Stanlislaus Catholic Church Records.  

The birth record for Teo Fila Bukowski is first historical recorded located for the family in Poland. we now had a starting point to continue to research the family.

A Starting Point - Ryńsk, Poland

Ryńsk is a small rural village located in north-central Poland. Vincenty Frank Bukowski, Franciska Kwiatkowski and Teo Fila Bukowski were living in Ryńsk, Poland March and April 1889.

Teo Fila Bukowski is my 2nd great aunt. She is the sister of my great-grandmother Helen Tillie Bukowski. Helen's son Arthur Murosky is my paternal grandfather. 

References:

1. Ellis Island Records, Bukowski, Vincent Manifest: First Name: Vincenty Last Name: Bukowski Ethnicity: Germany Last Place of Residence: Date of Arrival: May 01, 1895 Age at Arrival: 33y Gender: M Marital Status: Ship of Travel: Noordland Port 
2. 1900 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Erie, Erie, Ward 2, 1900 United States Federal Census Schedule; Online Images, Record for Bukowski, Vincent 1.
3. 1910 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Erie, Erie, 2nd Ward, 1910 United States Federal Census Schedule; Online Images, Record for Bukowski, Vincent. 
4. 1930 U.S. Census, Pennsylvania, Erie, Erie, 1930 United States Federal Census Schedule; Online Images, Record for Bukowski, Vincent. 
5. "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VFQG-RXM : accessed 19 October 2015), Frank J. Gaczkowski and Teophila Bukowska, 06 Sep 1909; citing Marriage, Pennsylvania, county courthouses, Pennsylvania; FHL microfilm 2,209,545.
6. Ancestry.com. Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.