Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Elisabeth Bukowski

This is the fourth 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.

Other Posts in the Series:
9 February 2020: Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Teo Fila Bukowski Birth Location Identified
22 February 2020: Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Männlichen Bukowski
01 March 2020: Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Teo Fila Bukowski Baptismal Record

Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Elisabeth Bukowski

The Ryńsk Catholic Parish registers did not include a marriage record Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski. The next step in the research journey was to locate Catholic Parish registers for the other Polish locations associated with the the family - Pluskowęsy, Wąbrzeźno and Orzechowo, Wąbrzeźno.

The positive news is that Catholic Parish registers for Orzechowo, Poland are housed in the collections at The Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. These records can be accessed by visiting the The Family History Library or one of the affiliate libraries.

The church records available for Poland, Bydgoszcz, Orzechowo (Wąbrzeźno) include:

• Film 1569299, DGS 8021410: Baptisms from 1876-1890, Marriages from 1877-1890, Deaths from 1876-1890

It should be noted that this area was associated with Germany, Preußen, Westpreußen, Groß Orsichau prior to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Ute Brandenburg with German Scripts Exports reviewed the Orzechowo Catholic Parish Registers.  The Catholic Parish registers revealed a previously unknown family member, Elisabeth Bukowski, the first born daughter of Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski.

Elisabeth Bukowski - 1886 Baptism

The baptism for Elisabeth Bukowski was recorded in the Katholische Kirche Groß Orischau (Kr Briesen) records. The German translation to English provided by German Script Experts:

Record 30
Born in Orzechowo on 14 September 1886, and baptized on 16 September: Elisabeth, daughter
of Vincent Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatko [sic]. Sponsors: Andreas Ziołkowski and Catharzyna
Rogocka. 
The officiant was Pastor Kiedrowski.

Elisabeth Bukowski - 1886 Burial

The death for Elisabeth Bukowski was recorded in the  Katholische Kirche Groß Orischau (Kr Briesen) records.

Elisabeth Bukowski Burial Record 
27 October 1886
Orzechowo, Poland

The German translation to English provided by German Script Experts:

Record 23
Elizabeth Bukowski, age one month and 14 days, died on 24 October 1886 and was buried on 27
October in Orzechowo. The parents are Vincent Bukowski and his wife Franciska née
Kwiatkowska. 
Officiant: Kiedrowski.

Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski Family Group

With the addition of Elisabeth Bukowski there are twelve recorded children born to Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski:

1. Elisabeth Bukowski b. 14 September 1886 in Orzechowo, Poland
2. Männlichen Bukowski b. 19 January 1888 in Ryńsk, Poland
3. Teo Fila Bukowski b. 26 March 1889 in Ryńsk, Poland 
4. Catherine M. Bukowski b. 23 November 1891 in Poland
5. William F. Bukowski b. 14 September 1894 in Poland
6. John Frank Bukowski b. 7 December 1897 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
7. Gustave Joseph Bukowski b. 11 February 1899 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
8. Helen Tillie Bukowski b. 13 June 1901 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
9. Clara Tillie Bukowski b. 31 August 1903 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
10. Joseph R. Bukowski b. 4 July 1906 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
11. Josefa Bukowski b. 29 July 1908 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania
12. Edward Bukowski b. 3 February 1911 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania

With the addition of these records for Elisabeth Bukowski - the two additional children that Franciska noted in the 1900 and 1910 United States Federal Census are now known.

In the 1900 United States Federal Census Franciska indicated she was the mother of seven children and five children were living. Five children were recorded in the household - Teo Fila, Catherine, William, John and Gustave.

In the 1910 United States Federal Census Franciska indicated she was the mother of eleven children and eight children were living. The eight living children in 1910 include:  Teo Fila, Catherine, William, John, Gustave, Helen, Clara and Joseph.

Of the twelve children born to Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski eight lived to adulthood.

Orzechowo, Poland

Orzechowo, Poland is approximately 3.4 km or about 2.2 miles south of Ryńsk. The family most likely moved between villages for work. The death record for Männlichen Bukowski indicated that Vincent was a farmhand. It is plausible that Vincent was working as a farmhand on an estate farm and moved between villages to work on different farms.

Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski Family Timeline

The death record for Männlichen Bukowski and the birth record for Teo Fila Bukowski both record Vincent working as a farmhand. The families movements in Poland are noted below.

• About 1886 Poland - Marriage of Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski - exact location is currently not known.
• 14 September 1886 through 27 October 1886 Vincent and Franciska are living in Orzechowo, Poland as recorded in the birth and death records for Elisabeth Bukowski. 
• 19 January 1888 through 2 April 1889 the family is living in Ryńsk, Poland as recorded in death record for Männlichen Bukowski and birth record for Teo Fila Bukowski. 
• 23 November 1891 the family was living in Poland - birth of Catherine M. Bukowski - exact location is currently not known.
• 14 September 1894 the family was living in Poland - birth of William F. Bukowski - exact location is currently not known.
• 1895 Antwerp, Belgium - Port of Departure 
• 1 May 1895 New York, New York - Port of Arrival - Ellis Island 

Elisabeth Bukowski would have been my 2nd great aunt. She was 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. Poland, Bydgoszcz, Orzechowo (Wąbrzeźno) - Church records: Taufen 1876-1890 -- Heiraten 1877-1890 -- Tote 1876-1890, Katholische Kirche Groß Orischau (Kr Briesen) , Salt Lake City, Utah : Gefilmt durch The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. Film No. 1569299 Items 4-6, Baptismal Record 30.
5. Poland, Bydgoszcz, Orzechowo (Wąbrzeźno) - Church records: Taufen 1876-1890 -- Heiraten 1877-1890 -- Tote 1876-1890, Katholische Kirche Groß Orischau (Kr Briesen) , Salt Lake City, Utah : Gefilmt durch The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. Film No. 1569299 Items 4-6, Burial Record 23.