Poland: August 29. Villages in the Poznan District.

I skipped Polish language class this morning and met my personal guide, Joanna, in the lobby at 9 AM. I arranged before I got here to spend this day at the places my ancestors lived.

We started at the small town of Znin, where my paternal grandfather's ancestors lived and died. The tower in the town square was erected in the 15th century, and now houses a small museum. There is another town museum, which was our first stop. Imagine my surprise when the museum docent had the same last name as me! Her married name is Joblinski, as is my maiden name.

We went to the old church, now known as St. Florian. A Catholic church has been here since the 12th century, being rebuilt several times after fire detroyed wooden churches on this site. This building was erected in the mid 1700s, so it is the very building in which my great grandparents Piotr Jablonski and Kataryzna Gich were married in 1865; Piotr was also baptized here in 1840. My great great grand parents Piotr Pawel Jablonski and Mariana Poprzednio Kowalik were both baptized here, and were married here in 1830. My third great grandparents Blazius (aka Macie on some records) Jablonski and Regina Drzewiecka were married in this parish in 1792; that would have been at the previous church on this site.

There is some interior renovation going on, so the main altar is draped.

Our next stop was the very small village of Gogolkowo, the birthplace of my great grandmother Katarzyna Gich (who married Piotr Joblinski in Znin). There was not much left there; Joanna talked to some people and they did not know of any of my family names still living in the area.

Our next stop was Pechowo, where my great great grandfather, Valentinus Kowalik was baptized in 1776 and married in 1800; his wife, my great great grandmother Catharina Goraleska, was also born here. Again, Joanna talked to someone out walking, and they did not know of any of my family in the area. We stopped at the church and cemetery--the church was locked and we did not find any family names in the cemetery.

We left Pechowo and drove to Sokolniki, which is a larger town than the previous villages. It is here that my paternal grandmother Michalina Lyskawa was baptized. Her parents, my great grandparents Franciszek Lyskawa and Franciszka Konieczna, were married here in 1874. Both sets of second great grandparents in this line were married here: Tomasz Lyskawa and Marciana Staniak were married here in 1846 and Bartlomiej Konieczny and Mariannna Michalak, were married here in 1844. My third great grandparents, Kacper Lyskawa and Apollonia Dorothea were married here in 1811. The other set of third great grandparents in my grandmother's ancestry, Lukasz Staniak and Rosalia Stawany, were married here in 1815.

We stopped at the church, which was locked; and the cemetery, where we found many family names. There were several graves for Lyskawa family members, and for Staniak and Konieczny. Joanna spoke to a woman tending graves, and was told that if we went to the very small village of Szamarzewo, that we would find Pan (Mr.) Staniak and that he could take us to the original house of the Lyskawa family. 

We drove to Szamarzewo and Joanna walked around knocking on doors and calling out his name, even looking in the barns. Finally he appeared, and agreed to take us to the Lyskawa home.

Pan Staniak drove out of one of the barns in his Mercedes, and led us on a farm trail to home #1 in the village. I believe this is the home in which my grandmother was born. Many of her siblings were born in this village, as was her father Franciszek Lyskawa. The house has been empty since Josef Lyskawa died in 1985, and is now overgrown with vegetation. The surrounding land is still being farmed. 

I came on this tour to walk where my ancestors walked, and I was not disappointed!