genealodzy.pl

Hello! I’m hoping someone might be able to help me with identifying a place name mentioned in a historical record. I came across a handwritten USA entry from 1912 that I’m having trouble deciphering...
The town name appears to be something like Lunianki or Lumenky, but I can’t be sure due to the handwriting. All I know that it should be somewhere around Wilno or in its region.
I would greatly appreciate any help in identifying the correct historical name of this place and its current location, if possible.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or insights!


1912
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 04&lang=en
row 10, columns 10-11

1911
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 04&lang=en
row 26, columns 10-11

Best regards,
Lerika

Lerika,

How about link to a scan of this document ?

Waldemar

Dear Waldemar,

Thank you very much for your response!
I wasn’t sure if posting links to external sources was allowed, so I really appreciate the clarification.

Here are the mentions of the town/village in question:

1912
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 04&lang=en
row 10, columns 10-11

1911
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 04&lang=en
row 26, columns 10-11



Best regards,
Lerika

Dear lerika_mak.

I don’t know what the actual name of the place you are looking for is, but, instead, I hope you will find this useful.

Most probably the family name of the persons in the immigration records you came across are distorted forms of the name Piłkowicz. This is a common problem with Polish to English transliteration in American documents to substitute “l” for “ł”, since these letters look so similar. Yet, they are pronounced differently, ł corresponding roughly to English w.

Henrik Pylkowicz from the 1911 record may be the same person as Henryk Piłkowicz born in Barzdziuny (located in Dubinki parish) on December 17th, 1879 (Julian calendar) to Adam and Rachel born Mackiewicz. Here is his birth record (nr 4):
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 77&lang=en

Dubinki is this place:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubingiai

The baptism was held in the filial church in Sużany:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Su%C5%BEionys_Eldership

I found this record easily using the search machine of our record base:
https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.ph ... rdertable=[[0,%22asc%22],[1,%22asc%22],[2,%22asc%22]]&searchtable=&rpp1=0&rpp2=50

Of what I see the Piłkowiczs come originally from Wiłkomierz:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukmerg%C4%97

whence they spread around.

As to the place you asked about, I would consider it a secondary matter for now. This will become clear once you find the marriage record of Henryk and Leokadia and the birth records of their children.

Happy searching.

Dear Marek,
Thank you for taking the time to help me so generously! I’m deeply grateful!
This is truly the very family I’ve been researching, and the database you shared is simply invaluable.



Best regards,
Lerika

My pleasure
Where in the US are you from?

Czy masz akt zgonu Leokadii żony Henryka Pilkowicza?
Wydaje mi się, że z Leokadią płynie jej siostra Aniela (20 lat) Kirkis/Kurkis

puszek pisze:Czy masz akt zgonu Leokadii żony Henryka Pilkowicza?
Wydaje mi się, że z Leokadią płynie jej siostra Aniela (20 lat) Kirkis/Kurkis

Dear Puszek and Marek,

Thank you very much for your responses!
Unfortunately, no, I don't have the death certificate. However, I know that Leokadia’s official maiden name was written as Kurkievics in the US documents. So I will try searching the database for all variations starting with "Kurki...". Thank you for the suggestion!

Regarding the birthplaces of the children, it is only mentioned as "near Vilnius, Lithuania."
However, I found out that there is a town called Łomianki near Warsaw. To my ear, the name sounds very close to what was written in the entry from 1912, although it doesn’t match the 1911 data, where "Wilno" was added as a reference. I’m also not sure if moving from Vilnius to Warsaw was common back then, the way moving between states became common in the US, for example.



Best regards,
Lerika

Hi,
You're probably familiar with this, but just for others' reference I assume this is the person in question:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139 ... olkultinis

Spis powszechny 1920r. - na samym dole Leokadia Pilkowicz z dziećmi
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 11&lang=pl
Spis powszechny 1930r. Lydia Pilkowicz
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 3AX7NF-JLB
Może coś z tego wyczytasz więcej - akt II ślubu Leokadii Anastazji Pilkowicz 53 lata z Janem Polkultinisem 15.VII.1941r. Jej rodzice to Michał Kurkis i Cyryla Stasian
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 40&lang=pl
oraz
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 41&lang=pl
Spis 1950r. Lydia pod n-rem 40
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 15&lang=pl

Henryk Pilkowicz
https://www.familysearch.org/pl/tree/pe ... s/P9B5-TRB

Regarding the birthplaces of the children, it is only mentioned as "near Vilnius, Lithuania."
However, I found out that there is a town called Łomianki near Warsaw. To my ear, the name sounds very close to what was written in the entry from 1912, although it doesn’t match the 1911 data, where "Wilno" was added as a reference. I’m also not sure if moving from Vilnius to Warsaw was common back then, the way moving between states became common in the US, for example.

Highly improbable. Łomianki near Warsaw had been my first thought when I first read your post. But I would rather assume this place was some small settlement near Dubinki. They must have lived there right to the point when they emigrated to the US. I think you need to browse the metrical books of the nearby churches for the baptism records of their children. Their place of birth will be mentioned in them and then you will locate the place.

However, I know that Leokadia’s official maiden name was written as Kurkievics in the US documents.

This one is simple – her family name was Kurkiewicz. There are some Kurkiewicz entries in the database, mainly south of Vilnius.

pstrzel pisze:Hi,
You're probably familiar with this, but just for others' reference I assume this is the person in question:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/139 ... olkultinis

Dear Piotr,

Thank you for the link!
Yes, this information was entered manually by the family, and no investigation was done at that time to determine the original name of the birth town. So "Vilnius" should be understood as "near Vilnius"


Best regards,
Lerika

puszek pisze:Spis powszechny 1920r. - na samym dole Leokadia Pilkowicz z dziećmi
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 11&lang=pl
Spis powszechny 1930r. Lydia Pilkowicz
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 3AX7NF-JLB
Może coś z tego wyczytasz więcej - akt II ślubu Leokadii Anastazji Pilkowicz 53 lata z Janem Polkultinisem 15.VII.1941r. Jej rodzice to Michał Kurkis i Cyryla Stasian
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 40&lang=pl
oraz
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 41&lang=pl
Spis 1950r. Lydia pod n-rem 40
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 15&lang=pl

Henryk Pilkowicz
https://www.familysearch.org/pl/tree/pe ... s/P9B5-TRB

Dear Puszek,

Thank you so much for all these details!
The 1941 marriage record is especially valuable, as it clearly shows her parents' names. Exactly what I was looking for in connection with the family's Polish roots This is a big step forward in my research.

I truly appreciate the time and effort you put into gathering all this. Thank you again!


Best regards,
Lerika

mlszw pisze:

Regarding the birthplaces of the children, it is only mentioned as "near Vilnius, Lithuania."
However, I found out that there is a town called Łomianki near Warsaw. To my ear, the name sounds very close to what was written in the entry from 1912, although it doesn’t match the 1911 data, where "Wilno" was added as a reference. I’m also not sure if moving from Vilnius to Warsaw was common back then, the way moving between states became common in the US, for example.

Highly improbable. Łomianki near Warsaw had been my first thought when I first read your post. But I would rather assume this place was some small settlement near Dubinki. They must have lived there right to the point when they emigrated to the US. I think you need to browse the metrical books of the nearby churches for the baptism records of their children. Their place of birth will be mentioned in them and then you will locate the place.

However, I know that Leokadia’s official maiden name was written as Kurkievics in the US documents.

This one is simple – her family name was Kurkiewicz. There are some Kurkiewicz entries in the database, mainly south of Vilnius.

Dear Marek,

Many thanks for your reply and help!
I’ve started analyzing the metrical books for the Pilkowicz family (Adam and Rachel) - the ones you so kindly provided a link to
As far as I understand, they were originally local to the Dubinki parish, but in terms of social class, they seem to have changed from Wilkomir meschane to Wilno meschane at some point. And if I translated everything correctly, based on the last available record for their child Irena, they were even listed as members of the Christian society...
Just curious - have you come across this kind of term before? What it might have meant in practice?

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903 ... 77&lang=en
#89



Best regards,
Lerika

Just curious - have you come across this kind of term before? What it might have meant in practice?

What term exactly do you mean? Wilno Christian Society? If that’s the case, then no, never heard of it. I have tried to google it out, but nothing appeared on the Internet. In Polish this would be Wileńskie Towarzystwo Chrześciajńskie.

If you mean their social class designation – his parents were Wiłkomierz burghers (that is what the word мещан means). That may mean his ancestors had been petty nobility who failed to pass the strict verification process of confirmation and admission to the Russian nobility class imposed by the Russian occupants after they partitioned the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To verify this you need to check records related to their ancestors living at the turn of 18th and 19th century and see if they were recorded as nobles.

If, in turn, form the fact that he was a member of this Wilno Christian Society, whatever it was, you draw the conclusion that he moved somehow to Wilno, then this is too weak a premise to draw such a conclusion.

Don’t even attach too much importance to this “Wiłkomierz burgher”. Russian society was a rigid, stratified structure with everybody ascribed to some specific class, called Сословие, and place they were born. Here is an article on this in Russian Wikipedia:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0 ... 0%B8%D0%B8
This was unheard of and entirely unknown to Polish-Lithuanian population.

Right after the partitions the Russians launched a compulsory administrative procedure of classifying anybody alive. Petty nobility, who were poor and unable to prove their noble origin, were forced to choose between peasant or burgher class. Those people commonly chose burgher class due to some privileges connected with this choice. To this end they registered in the so called Municipal Book as the burghers of some particular town. Mostly these were the towns closest to the place they resided. In most cases they never lived even one single they in the town they chose, although they might.

So, it might turn out in the end that your Piłokowiczes originally resided in some village near Wiłkomierz and then moved from there to other places.

Hope this helps you understand the content of those records. Ask if you have more questions.

BTW: It the requirement on this forum to sign your posts.

mlszw pisze:

Just curious - have you come across this kind of term before? What it might have meant in practice?

What term exactly do you mean? Wilno Christian Society? If that’s the case, then no, never heard of it. I have tried to google it out, but nothing appeared on the Internet. In Polish this would be Wileńskie Towarzystwo Chrześciajńskie.

If you mean their social class designation – his parents were Wiłkomierz burghers (that is what the word мещан means). That may mean his ancestors had been petty nobility who failed to pass the strict verification process of confirmation and admission to the Russian nobility class imposed by the Russian occupants after they partitioned the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. To verify this you need to check records related to their ancestors living at the turn of 18th and 19th century and see if they were recorded as nobles.

If, in turn, form the fact that he was a member of this Wilno Christian Society, whatever it was, you draw the conclusion that he moved somehow to Wilno, then this is too weak a premise to draw such a conclusion.

Don’t even attach too much importance to this “Wiłkomierz burgher”. Russian society was a rigid, stratified structure with everybody ascribed to some specific class, called Сословие, and place they were born. Here is an article on this in Russian Wikipedia:
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A1%D0 ... 0%B8%D0%B8
This was unheard of and entirely unknown to Polish-Lithuanian population.

Right after the partitions the Russians launched a compulsory administrative procedure of classifying anybody alive. Petty nobility, who were poor and unable to prove their noble origin, were forced to choose between peasant or burgher class. Those people commonly chose burgher class due to some privileges connected with this choice. To this end they registered in the so called Municipal Book as the burghers of some particular town. Mostly these were the towns closest to the place they resided. In most cases they never lived even one single they in the town they chose, although they might.

So, it might turn out in the end that your Piłokowiczes originally resided in some village near Wiłkomierz and then moved from there to other places.

Hope this helps you understand the content of those records. Ask if you have more questions.

BTW: It the requirement on this forum to sign your posts.

Dear Marek,

Thank you very much for taking the time to look into my question and for your clear explanations about the metrical records - that really helped a lot, and I truly appreciate it!

Also, sorry for not reading the forum rules more carefully at first - I’m still learning how everything works here... I've updated my earlier messages now following your advice.

Thanks again and all the best,
Lerika

Wilno Christian Society - Stowarzyszenie Chrześcijan?

Dziennik Urzędowy Okręgu Szkolnego Wileńskiego nr 6/2
Wilno, 25 maja 1923 r.
Uroczystości te należy zorganizować w porozumieniu z duchowieństwem. instytucjami kulturalno - oświatowemi (Macierz Polska, Koło Młodzieży Wiejskiej, Kółka Rolnicze i t. p.) i organizacjami nauczycielskiemi (Towarzystwo nauczycieli Sz. W. i Sr., Związek Naucz. Szk. Śr., Związek P. N. Szk. Powsz., Stowarzyszenie Chrześcijan. Narodowe Naucz. Szk. Powsz.)