Discovering our Ancestors' Travels and Travails

Back to the Old Country: Origins of Władysław and Anna Kowalska Gwiazdowski, Polish Immigrants to Buffalo, New York

November 14, 2023

Background: JG is a distant DNA match to researcher SMP, and both have Polish ancestors who immigrated to Buffalo, Erie, New York. Because JG and SMP only share a little DNA (22 centiMorgans in 3 segments), our connection is way back in the old country. We wanted to see if we could determine with documentary evidence where JG‘s ancestors were from, starting with his paternal grandfather. While we first corresponded in the Ancestry messaging app in 2018, research in earnest on JG‘s paternal ancestors was conducted June 25-28, 2022, with document links shared through ancestry.com.

We also explored JG‘s maternal ancestors through June 30, 2022, but his father’s mother’s Karnyski/Ratka families and his mother’s Wesołowski/Michalska and Wiśniewski/Stawicki families are outside the scope of this report.

Research question: Who were the ancestors of Franciszek (Frank) Gwiazdowski, born in Buffalo, New York, in 1899, died in Buffalo, New York in 1989, and where were they from?

JG had compiled an online tree in Ancestry, and we used his grandfather Frank Gwiazdowski as a starting point, verifying and augmenting with other sources as we went along.

Figure 1 JG’s 2022 Ancestry tree

Research summary:
Franciszek Gwiazdowski‘s parents were Władysław (Józef) Gwiazdowski and Anna Kowalska. They were married in West Prussia and immigrated to the United States in 1886. They came from Strasburg, Westpreußen, Preußen. Strasburg is now Brodnica, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, in north-central Poland.

Figure 2 Ancestors of Franciszek Gwiazdowski (1899-1989)

Polish Names

The Polish word gwiazda means “star.” The name Gwiazdowski is a topographical name, referring to a place with stars or named after stars.

Polish names change according to their use, and agree in gender, number, and case. So, while a man would be called Gwiazdowski, a woman would be called Gwiazdowska when speaking Polish.

Polish given names such as Władysław, from the Slavic elements meaning “rule” and “glory,” have no direct English equivalent. While some men would use the Latin variation Ladislaus, sometimes men named Władysław would use the name Walter in America. Some records for Władysław Gwiadzdowski used these forms, but in later years Władysław Gwiazdowski opted to use the name Józef or Joseph in America.

As much as possible, I use Polish names for Polish immigrants and their children in my family history research. These are not necessarily the names found in vital records. Roman Catholic church records often use Latin names, but our ancestors did not speak Latin. Many records from the partitioned areas were in German and Russian, and although Polish people in occupied lands sometimes spoke other languages, Polish was their native tongue. When immigrants came to America, they would often use an English equivalent or Americanized versions of their names. When recording Polish people, I look for their Polish names, the names given to them by their Polish speaking parents.

Anna was always Anna, but Jan was John in English. Marianna was sometimes Marya. Franciszek was Frank. Zofia was Sophia or Sophie. Leonard was sometimes Leon or Leo, Rozalia was Rose, and Helena was Helen.

Buffalo, New York

Franciszek Gwiazdowski was born in Buffalo 18 April 1899 and baptized at Transfiguration Church on 23 April 1899.

Figure 3 Baptism record for Franciszek Gwiazdowski, Transfiguration Church, Buffalo, Erie, New York

This Roman Catholic church record is in Latin. Franciszek‘s parents, Ladislaus Gwiazdowski and Anna Kowalska were from Brodnica, Pr. Z. “Pr Z.” is Prusy Zachodnie, or West Prussia. The note in the right margin indicates that Franciszek married Prakseda Karnyska on 30 June 1935.

Franciszek had multiple brothers and sisters. The family was in the Buffalo census in 1900, 1910, 1915, 1920, 1925, 1930, and 1940. While most of the census records show Joseph as Franciszek‘s father’s name, in 1900 his name was listed as Walter and in 1930 his Polish name of Władysław was written in by the enumerator.

Census entries for Gwiazdowski family, Buffalo, Erie, New York

Józef (Władysław) Gwiazdowski died 21 November 1943. His funeral was at Transfiguration Church in Buffalo, Erie, New York.

Figure 4 Joseph (Władysław) Gwiazdowski death, Transfiguration Church, Buffalo, Erie, New York

Józef (Władysław) Gwiazdowski‘s parents are identified as Simon and Antonina, and his widow is Anna. He was 80 years old, and lived at 30 Stanislaus Street in Buffalo. He died 21 November 1943 and was buried at Saint Stanislaus Cemetery on 24 November 1943. The undertaker was T. Kolis.

No death notice was found for Józef (Władysław) Gwiazdowski. The Buffalo Polish newspaper Dziennik Dla Wszystkich is not available for 1943, and no death notice was found in the Buffalo Evening News.

Anna Gwiazdowska died 8 October 1946. Her funeral was at Transfiguration Church in Buffalo, Erie, New York.

Figure 5 Anna Gwiazdowska death, Transfiguration Church, Buffalo, Erie, New York

Anna Gwiazdowska‘s father is left blank, and her mother is identified as Dorota Suminska. She was the widow of the deceased (indicated by +) Władysław. Anna was 80 years old, and lived at 30 Stanislaus Street in Buffalo. She died 8 October 1946 and was buried at Saint Stanislaus Cemetery on 12 October 1946. The undertaker was T. Kolis.

Anna‘s death notice was in the Buffalo Polish newspaper Dziennik Dla Wsystkich on 9 October 1946.

Figure 6 Anna Gwiazdowska’s death notice in Dziennik Dla Wsystkich

Anna was survived by her sons Jan, Józef, Franciszek, and Leon; her daughters Maryanna, Zofia, and Helena; her daughters-in-law Józefina, Aniela, Prakseda, and Helena; her sons-in-law Franciszek Bonkowski, Edward Saber, Edward Piechowiak; grandsons, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters.

Anna Gwiazdowska‘s death notice was also in the newspaper Buffalo Evening News, in Buffalo, New York.

GWIAZDOWSKA – Anna Gwiazdowska, Oct. 8. 1946, in Buffalo, beloved wife of the late Walter Gwiazdowski; mother of John, Mrs. Mary Bonkowska, Joseph, Frank and Mrs Sophia Saber, Leo and Mrs. Helen Piechowiak. Funeral from the family residence, 30 Stanislaus St., Saturday morning at 10:30 A. M. and at Transfiguration Church at 11 A. M. Interment in St. Stanislaus Cemetery. Friends Invited.

Anna Gwiazdowska’s death notice in Buffalo Evening News, 9 October 1946

Joseph and Anna Gwiazdowski were buried at Saint Stanislaus Cemetery in Cheektowaga, Erie, New York.

Figure 7 Gwiazdowski monument, Saint Stanislaus Roman Catholic Cemetery, Cheektowaga, Erie, New York; shown with permission of gravefinderStStans

So, from American records, we know that Władysław and Anna Gwiazdowski came from Brodnica, West Prussia. Władysław was born about 1853-1862, the son of Simon and Antonina. Anna was born about 1856-1865, the daughter of Dorota Suminska and an unknown father. Census records indicate that they were married and immigrated to the United States about 1886.

West Prussia

In 1886, 23-year-old Władysław Gwiazdowski and 20 year old Anna Kowalska were married in the church of św. Katarzyny in Strasburg, Strasburg, Westpreußen, Preußen. In Polish Strasburg is Brodnica. It is now in Kujawsko-Pomorskie, in north central Poland.

Soon after, Władysław and Anna boarded the ship Habsburg in Bremen and arrived in New York on 13 Apr 1886.

Władisław and Anna were Polish, but they lived in a part of the world under German occupation. They had to register their marriage in 1886 with the German authorities. Their civil marriage registration document is skan page #10 in the book from the Archive in Toruń. Witnesses and signatures are on the following page.

Figure 8 Marriage record, Władyslaus Gwiasdowski and Anna Kowalska
Figure 9 Marriage record, Władyslaus Gwiasdowski and Anna Kowalska, page 2

Strasburg March 4, 1886

Groom: shoemaker Władyslaus Gwiasdowski, single, catholic, born in Strasburg district Strasburg on March 19, 1863, residing in Strasburg, son of the in Strasburg deceased laborer Simon Gwiasdowski and his also in Strasburg deceased wife Antonie nee Keller.

Bride: the unmarried Anna Kowalska, catholic, born in Chojno Buden district Strasburg on November 9, 1865, residing in Strasburg, daughter of Dorothea Maliszewska nee Kowalska residing in Chojno Buden

page 2

witnesses:

shoemaker Thomas Sommerfeld 55 ys. old, residing in Strasburg and shoemaker Johann Sobieski 43 ys. residing in Strasburg

signatures

Abstract, 1886 marriage of Władyslaus Gwiasdowski and Anna Kowalska, Strasburg, West Prussia

Władisław and Anna‘s marriage record said that Władysław was born in Strasburg 19 March 1863, and his parents were Szymon Gwiazdowski and Antonina Keller. Szymon and Antonina were married at św. Katarzyny in Strasburg in 1846 (entry 21).

Władisław and Anna‘s marriage record said Anna was born to Dorota Kowalska in 9 November 1865 in Chojno Buden. She was baptized in the Mszanno church on 19 November 1865.

Figure 10 1865 Birth record Anna Kowalska

Dorota Kowalska was born in 1841 (entry #3) to Wojciech [Adalbert] Kowalski and Marianna Tomaszewska and baptized in Mszanno.

Figure 11 1841 Birth record Dorota Kowalska

On 22 April 1866, Dorota Kowalska married Franciszek Maliszewski in Mszanno, so Władisław and Anna‘s marriage record in 1886 shows Anna Kowalska‘s mother was Dorota Maliszewska, born Kowalska.

Figure 12 1886 Marriage, Franciszek Maliszewski and Dorota Kowalska

Polish records show that Anna had an older brother Antoni Kowalski, born in 1862. His godparents were Józef and Katarzyna Tomaszewski.

Figure 13 1862 Birth record Antoni Kowalski


After their marriage, Franciszek Maliszewski and Dorota Kowalska had Rozalia Maliszewska on 11 January 1867.

Franciszek Maliszewski and Dorota Kowalska were the parents of Marianna Maliszewska on 16 November 1872.

Figure 14 Villages near Brodnica, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland

Strasburg/Brodnica is not far from Zgniłobłoty, where SMP‘s grandfather Antoni Maciejewski was born in 1883, and Nieżywięć, where Antoni‘s parents Jan Maciejewski and Weronika Lewandowska were married in 1869. This family immigrated to Buffalo in 1883.

Suggestions for Further Research

  • What happened to the siblings of Franciszek (Frank) Gwiazdowski?
  • Whoever provided the information for Anna Gwiazdowska‘s death thought that her mother’s name was Dorota Suminska. This may have been an error, or there may have been a connection to the Suminski family in Buffalo, New York or back in West Prussia. What was the Sumanski family connection?
  • What else can be found about Szymon Gwiazdowski and Antonina Keller?
  • Where were the origins of JG‘s father’s mother’s Karnyski/Ratka families?
  • Where were the origins of JG‘s mother’s father’s Wesołowski/Michalski families?
  • Where were the origins of JG‘s mother’s mother’s Wiśniewski/Stawicki families?

Sources

Category:

Buffalo, DNA, Evidence, Immigration, Poland

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