Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Teo Fila Bukowski Baptismal Record

This is the third 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

Bukowski & Kwiatkowski Research Update: Teo Fila Bukowski Baptismal Record

The first Polish records located for the Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski family were included in a vital records data base - Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945 housed at Ancestry.

The vital records database indicated the family was living in Ryńsk, Poland. The next step in the research process was to determine if Catholic Parish registers were available for Ryńsk, Poland. The Catholic Parish registers would record family milestones including baptisms, marriages and deaths.

There are Catholic Parish registers from Ryńsk, Poland 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, Ryńsk (Wąbrzez'no) include:

• Film 72645, DGS 7949212: Baptisms from 1677-1828, Marriages from 1773-1874, Deaths from 1774-1849
• Film 531411, DGS 4004202: Baptisms from 1829-1867, Deaths from 1850-1875
• Film 1569299 Items 7-10, DGS 8021410: Baptisms from 1875-1890 (duplicates), Baptisms from 1875-1890, Marriages from 1876-1890 and Deaths from 1876-1883
• Film 1569300 Item 1, DGS 8119410: Deaths 1883-1890
• Film 161913, DGS 7946041: Baptisms from 1677-1789, 1792-1828, Marriages from 1773-1788, 1794-1875, Deaths from 1773-1775, 1779-1849

It should be noted that this area was associated with Germany, Preußen, Westpreußen, Rheinsberg (Kr. Briesen) prior to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

The films that align with the dates that Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski were living in Ryńsk are shown in bold above. To assist with this phase of the searching - I engaged Ute Brandenburg with German Script Experts. She reviewed the Ryńsk films and located the baptismal record for Teo Fila Bukowski.

Teo Fila Bukowski Baptismal Record

The original record as recorded in Latin:

Jahr: 1889
No. 17
Locus Nativitatis: Ryńsk
Noman: Teofila
Nomen et cognomen, patris (infantis legimimi): Vincent Bukowski, legitimate birth
Nomen et cognomen, matris: Franciska Kwiatkowski
Dies, nativitatis: 31 Martii
Dies, baptismimart: 7 Aprilis
patrinorum, Nomen et cognomen: Josef Strzelecki and Rozalia Bornicha

The Latin translation provided by German Script Experts:

Year: 1889
No. 19
Place of Birth: Ryńsk
Name: Teofila
Name and Surname, Father (legitimate birth): Vincent Bukowski
Name and Surname, Mother: Franciska Kwiatkowski
Birth: 31 March
Baptism: 7 April
Sponsor Name and Surname: Josef Strzelecki and Rozalia Bornicha. 

The baptism of Teo Fila Bukowski most likely occurred at the Kościół p w. św. Wawrzyńca or Church of St. Lawrence in Ryńsk, Poland.  The text below is from monuments section the website Ryńsk Commune website:

4. The parish church in Rynsk 

The Gothic-Renaissance parish church in Rynsk dedicated to Saint Lawrence, built of field stone, was built in the first half of the 14th century. The church body founded on a square plan was rebuilt in 1608 from the funds of the Fabian Plemięcki foundation. The decorative tower added at that time gave the temple a Gothic-Renaissance character. In 1648 at the expense of Jan Działyński, the then Chełmno voivode, the church was renovated again. The eighteenth-century interior decor prevails in the temple. These are: the Renaissance pulpit, benches with early Renaissance woodcarving decorations, the baroque right side altar made of black marble in 1645, the early Baroque main altar from the mid-seventeenth century with the later eighteenth-century sculptures of St. Stanislaus and St. Wojciech and the painting - "Martyrdom of St. Wawrzyniec ”from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. Noteworthy is also a stone baroque baptismal font from the mid-seventeenth century, a baroque sculpture of the Risen Christ, a granite medieval stoup and nineteenth-century organs. Of the goldsmith's art, the most valuable are: a Renaissance tower monstrance and a chalice from the 17th century, a reliquary from 1749 and a 15th-century Gothic bell. The building was entered in the register of monuments on July 13, 1936.

Kościół p w. św. Wawrzyńca, Church of St. Lawrence
Rynsk, Poland

It should be noted that Ryńsk has a second church that was constructed in 1889. The church was originally constructed as an Evangelical Church for German settlers to the area. Today this church is a Catholic Church, Kościół Rzymskokatolicki pw. Najświętszego Pana Jezusa, Mikołaja Ryńskiego, 87-213 Ryńsk, Poland, Roman Catholic Church Of the Holy Lord Jesus. The text below is from monuments section the website Ryńsk Commune website:

5. Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 

 The Evangelical (currently Catholic) church in Rynsk dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus was erected at the beginning of the 20th century for German settlers who settled in these areas in large numbers. It has neo-Gothic forms, from the facade there is a tower topped with a steep roof and a high turret. The spans of the aisles are covered with transverse roofs, while the neo-Gothic body was built of brick on a stone pedestal. The gable roof over the body with the presbytery is covered with tiles. The church has nineteenth-century interior furnishings and nineteenth-century organs in a neo-Gothic external setting. The church was entered into the register of monuments on May 24, 2013.

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.
• 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 

Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski Family Group

There are eleven recorded children born to Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski:

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

Continuing the Search - Next Steps

The Ryńsk Catholic Parish registers only include baptisms through 1890 - as a result the baptismal records for Catherine M. Bukowski and William F. Bukowski were not located - as these children were born after 1890.

The Ryńsk Catholic Parish Registers also did not include a marriage record Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski.

The next step will be to determine if there are Catholic Parish registers available for the other Polish locations previously associated with the the family - Pluskowęsy, Wąbrzeźno and Orzechowo, Wąbrzeźno. The intent would to locate the marriage record for Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski.

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. Ancestry.com. Eastern Prussian Provinces, Germany [Poland], Selected Civil Vitals, 1874-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. 
2. 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.
3. Poland, Bydgoszcz, Ryńsk (Wąbrzez'no) - Church records: Taufen 1875-1890 (Duplikate) Taufen 1875-1890 Heiraten 1876-1890 Tote 1876-1883, Katholische Kirche Rheinsberg (Kr. Briesen), Salt Lake City, Utah : Gefilmt durch The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1950, 1954, 1968, 1988. Film No. 1569299 Items 7-10, Record 19.

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. 

Wedding Portrait: Teo Fila Bukowski & Frank J. Gaczkowski

A formal wedding portrait from the wedding of Teo Fila Bukowski & Frank J. Gaczkowski.

Frank and TeoFila

Teo Fila Bukowski was the daughter of Polish immigrants Vincinety Frank Bukowski and Franciska Kwiatkowski. She was born March 26, 1889 in Poland.

Teo Fila and Frank married September 6, 1909 in Erie, Erie County, Pennsylvania.  They were recorded as married for 0 years and living in their own household in the 1910 United States Federal Census.

Frank J. Gaczkowski was born October 7, 1886. The name of Frank's father is currently unknown his mother's name was Mary Loajewski

Photograph from the Edward W. Zelazny Collection. Photographer Unknown. Editing and digital restoration by Michelle M. Murosky.

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. 

Reference:
1. 1910 United States Federal Census. Year: 1910; Census Place: Erie Ward 2, Erie, Pennsylvania; Roll: T624_1342; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 0079; FHL microfilm: 1375355.
2. "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.