My Family History Research

When reviewing indexes for the Polish newspaper Dziennik dla Wszystkich in Buffalo, New York, I stumbled upon a 1936 article about the 41st anniversary of the marriage of Tomasz and Julianna Wroński.

THEY CELEBRATE THE 41st ANNIVERSARY OF THE MARRIAGE
Today, widely known and respected Mr. and Mrs. Tomasz and Juljanna Wrońscy from 131 Krupp Street celebrate the 41st anniversary of their happy marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Wrońscy married each other in undying marital fidelity in the parish church in Sosnowiec, Poland. They have seven. children – six daughters, Stanisława Marjanna, Stefanje, Janina, Józefa and Helena, and a son, Edmund. Mr. Wroński has been working in the workshops of the New York Central Railway for many years and is a member of numerous societies where he fulfills the offices to which he is appointed with pride. Many of their friends today and readers of the Dziennik dla Wszystkich send them wishes that they will happily celebrate their golden jubilee in good health.

translation, “Obchodzą 41-sza Rocznicę Małżeństwa,” Dziennik dla Wszystkich, 16 July 1936

I recognized my “Wronski Relatives,” their address, their children–their daughters Stanisława, Marjanna, Stefanje, Janina, Józefa, and Helena, and their son, Edmund–and even that Wrońscy is the plural form of Wroński in Polish. But I suspected that the place of the marriage, Sosnowiec, may have not been right.

I had written “They Came from Będzin,” about my maternal grandparents and their family, who left Buffalo to go back to Poland in 1920 and lived for a time in Sosnowiec, where my uncle and his cousins were born before the families returned to the United States. Sosnowiec is a long way from Służewo, near Aleksandrów Kujawski, where Julianna Mielczarska was born, and Chęciny, Kielce, where Tomasz Wroński had been born.

On a whim, I checked the Geneteka index for the current Polish Province of Śłąskie, and there they were!

The marriage was in Czeladź. Wikipedia says that “Czeladź is a town in Zagłębie Dąbrowskie (part of historic Lesser Poland), in southern Poland, near Katowice and Sosnowiec. Located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Brynica river (tributary of the Vistula), it is the oldest urban center of Zagłębie Dąbrowskie. The area of Czeladź is 16 km², and it borders Będzin, Sosnowiec, Katowice and Siemianowice Śląskie.”

The church was Kościół św. Stanisława Biskupa i Męczennika w Czeladzi, the Church of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop and Martyr in Czeladź.

The marriage record had been filmed, and was available on Family Search. In 1895, Czeladź was in the Piotrków gubernia of the Russian Empire, so the record is in Russian.

Took place in the village of Czeladź on 4/16 July 1895 at noon. We announcing that in the presence of the witnesses Marcin Dymarski, age 41, and Franciszek Nawara, age 30,workers, living in the village of Pogonie?,on this day a religious marital union was concluded between Tomasz Wroński, a bachelor, a shoemaker, 21 years old,born in the village of Chęciny and living in the village of Sosnowiec, son of Marcin and Marianna, née Znojek,the spouses Wroński, and Julianna Mielczarska, a maiden, 21 years old, born in the village of Aleksandrów of Sluzewo parish and living in the village of Sosnowiec, daughter of Józef and his late wife Anna, née Gawlowska, the spouses Mielczarski.This wedding was preceded by three announcements of the banns published in the parish church of Czeladź on 11/23,18/30 June and 25 June/7 July of the current year.The newlyweds stated that a prenuptial agreement has not been concluded between them.This act was read aloud to illiterate people present and signed by Us only.

Marriage, Tomasz Wroński and and Julianna Mielczarska, Kościół św. Stanisława Biskupa i Męczennika, Czeladź

It’s almost as if these people want to be found.

Sources

• Obchodzą 41-sza Rocznicę Małżeństwa [They celebrate their 41st Marriage Anniversary], Dziennik dla Wszystkich [Everybody’s Daily], Buffalo, New York, 16 July 1936, page 3, column 3. https://nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn83045091/1936-07-16/ed-1/seq-3/.
• “Polskie Towarzystwo Genealogiczne,” database, Polish Genealogical Society, Geneteka (geneteka.genealodzy.pl: accessed 12 March 2023), 1895 154 Tomasz Wroński Marcin, Marianna Znojka Julianna Mielczarska Józef, Anna Gawłowska Czeladź św. Stanisława Biskupa; citing church records or Urząd Stanu Cywilnego (Civil Registry Office).
• Wikipedia contributors, “Czeladź,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Czelad%C5%BA&oldid=1138349561 (accessed March 13, 2023).
• Edytorzy Wikipedii, “Kościół św. Stanisława Biskupa i Męczennika w Czeladzi,” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia, //pl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ko%C5%9Bci%C3%B3%C5%82_%C5%9Bw._Stanis%C5%82awa_Biskupa_i_M%C4%99czennika_w_Czeladzi&oldid=68416230 (dostęp marzec 13, 2023).
• Autorstwa Ludan – Praca własna, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=28310874
• Czeladź, “Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja Czeladź,” database, LDS Family History Library, Family Search (familysearch.com: accessed 12 March 2023), 1895 154 Tomasz Wroński Marcin, Marianna Znojka Julianna Mielczarska Józef, Anna Gawłowska Czeladź św. Stanisława Biskupa; citing Archiwum Archidiecezjalne w Częstochowie, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GPZD-SZX?i=433.