My Family History Research

Kaniecki Family in Chicago Came from West Prussia

When I found a DNA match on Ancestry.com whose grandmother had been born Irena Kaniecka in Chicago, Illinois in 1905, I contacted her. Even if we could not find a common ancestor, perhaps we could find common ancestral villages and find birth and marriage records in West Prussia.

Irene had married Henry Friedle, and the family was in Chicago for the 1940 census.

Irene and her siblings were listed with their parents Barney and Nancy Kaniecki living at 1448 Holt Street in Chicago in the 1910 census. Barney is a nickname for Bernard, and Nancy is a nickname for Anna.

Bernard Kaniecki and Anna Biniak were married in Chicago, Illinois, at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church on 31 Jul 1900.

Bernard Kaniecki was a young man (Polish młodzian), 21 years old. He was born in Grudziądz, in Prusy Zachodnie (West Prussia). His parents were Franciszek Kaniecki and Anna Zuckerman. He came to America 19 years ago, and has lived in Chicago 19 years. He lived at 835 Hermitage Avenue, and belonged to the parish of Matki Boskiej Anielskiej, St. Mary of the Angels.

Anna Biniak, young woman (Polish panna), 18 years old, was born in Chicago. Her parents were Sylwester Biniak and Marianna Zientala [Zientara]. She lived at Ashland #658 and was a member of Św. Stanisława Kostki parish.

Frank is the American name for the Polish name Franciszek. In 1900, Frank and Anna Kaniecki lived at 835 Hermitage Avenue in Chicago. They reported being married for 22 years, and all eight of Anna‘s children were living. According to the census, they immigrated to the United States from Germany/Poland with Bernard in 1881. Their children were:

• Bernard  (1880-1921)
• August  (1882-1918)
• Franciszek  (1884-1937)
• Henryk Stanisław  (1887-1927)
• Max Anastazy  (1889-1938)
• Rozalia Anna  (1891-    )
• Józef  (1894-1961)
• Regina  (1896-1987)

Franciszek Kaniecki died 9 Sep 1913. His funeral was at Najsw. Maryi Panny Anielskiej, St. Mary of the Angels Parish on Hermitage Avenue in Chicago.

The American funeral record said Franciszek was born in Szembruk, Prusy Wschodnie (East Prussia). His father was Wojciech and his mother Marianna. He had lived in the United States for 33 years.

Szembruk was called Groß Schönbrück in German. Wikipedia indicates that Szembruk “is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Rogóźno, within Grudziądz County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It lies approximately 8 kilometres (5 mi) north-east of Rogóźno, 19 km (12 mi) north-east of Grudziądz, and 66 km (41 mi) north-east of Toruń.” It has a Catholic church, Kościół św. Bartłomieja (St. Bartholomew). The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) filmed the early Parish registers of births, marriages, and deaths for “Groß Schönbruck (Kr. Graudenz), Westpreußen, Germany; now Szembruk (Grudziądz), Bydgoszcz, Poland. Text in Latin, Polish and German.”

Franciszek Kaniecki was born on 15 Feb 1853 at Groß Schönbrück, Graudenz, Marienwerder, Westpreußen, Preußen, and baptized 18 Feb 1853 at Kościół św. Bartłomieja (St. Bartholomew).

Franciszek‘s parents were Wojciech Kaniecki and Marianna Kalynowska.  His godfather was Walenty Kalynowski and his godmother was Jadwiga Sz___.

Wojciech Kaniecki and Marianna Kalinowska were married on 11 November 1849 in Szembruk, Grudziądz, Kościół św. Bartłomieja, in Groß Schönbrück, Graudenz, Marienwerder, Westpreußen, Preußen. Wojciech was 25 years old, so he would have been born about 1824. Marianna was 24 years old, so she would have been born about 1825. Witnesses were Wojciech Kałynowski and Andreas (Andrzej in Polish) Kaniecki.

Franz is the German form for the Polish name Franciszek. In 1876, Franz Kaniecki and Anna Jankowska were married at Rogóźno, Grudziądz, Kościół św. Wojciecha in Roggenhausen, Graudenz, Marienwerder, Westpreußen, Preußen.

Unfortunately, the priest or whoever recorded the wedding left most of the columns blank, so the date, ages and places for the bride and groom, and even the witness spaces are blank. I hope he was good with people, because he was not good with records. I could not find any records online of births in Rogóźno between 1872 and 1884.

Anna Jankowska was born 2 April 1856 in Schloß Roggenhausen. In Polish it is Rogóźno-Zamek. It is about 5 kilometres (3.2 miles) west of the village of Rogóźno, 7 km north-east of Grudziądz, and 57 km north of Toruń. She was baptized 4 April 1856 at Kościół św. Wojciecha in Rogóźno/ Roggenhausen, Graudenz, Marienwerder, Westpreußen, Preußen. Anna‘s parents were Joseph (Józef) Jankowski and Marianna Zukermann.

Schloss in German and Zamek in Polish mean castle. Here’s a rough (Google) translation from Polish Wikipedia for Rogóźno-Zamek:

In the village there are ruins of the Teutonic castle. The Komtur Castle, mentioned in 1285, was founded probably 10 years earlier, on the hill at the mouth of Gardęga (Gardei) to Osa . It quickly lost its significance and from 1333 it was the seat of the reeve. In the years 1410 and 1414 he was taken over by the Polish army and he did not pick up the damage. In 1454, it was burnt by the retreating Teutonic Knights, then in Polish times until 1590 it was the seat of royal starosts , later the board of the economy , but the building was not in good condition. In 1628, some Swedes blew up some of the walls. Most of the buildings were demolished by the Prussians after 1772, and the bricks were designated for the construction of the Grudziądz Fortress. … The castle ruins are located in the Rogóźno Zamek nature reserve.

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogóźno-Zamek

Franciszek Kaniecki and his wife Anna Jankowska and their son Bernard Kaniecki immigrated to Chicago, Illinois, in 1881. The following year Franciszek‘s older brother Jan Kaniecki immigrated to Buffalo, New York, with his wife Rozalia Krause and their daughter Anna. See Kaniecki Family: From West Prussia to Buffalo, New York and Kaniecki Family in Buffalo, New York.

DNA results show we, their descendants, are related. My great-grandmother was born Anna Kalinowska in Szembruk/Groß Schönbrück in 1854 and immigrated to Buffalo, New York, with her husband Marcin Szczepański in 1881. I wrote about finding the place of their birth in Finding Szembruczek. But we do not yet know how Anna‘s father Jan Kalinowski may have been related to Marianna Kalinowska, the mother of Jan and Franciszek Kaniecki.

Sources

• Wikipedia contributors, “Szembruk,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Szembruk&oldid=771969415 (accessed March 23, 2019).
• Wikimedia Commons contributors, “File:SzembrukA5008.JPG,” Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository,https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:SzembrukA5008.JPG&oldid=228711914 (accessed March 23, 2019).
• LDS Family History Library, “Szembruk (Grudziądz),” database, Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja, Family Search (familysearch.com: accessed ), ; citing Germany, Preußen, Westpreußen, Groß Schönbrück – Church records.
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 March 2019), memorial page for Franciszek “Frank” Kaniecki (14 Feb 1854–9 Sep 1913), Find A Grave Memorial no. 180562631, citing Saint Adalbert Catholic Cemetery, Niles, Cook County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Jer-29:11 (contributor 48273691) .
• “PGSA Database,” database, Polish Genealogical Society of America,  (pgsa.org: accessed 17 March 2019), Franciszek Kaniecki, Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notices; citing Polish church records. Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notices 1890-1929.
• St. Mary of the Angels RC Church (Chicago, Illinois), , , Franciszek Kaniecki; FHL microfilm .
• LDS Family History Library, “Roggenhausen (Graudenz),” database, Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja, Family Search (familysearch.com: accessed 8 July 2018), Frank Kaniecki, Anna Jankowska; citing Germany, Preußen, Westpreußen, Roggenhausen – Church records.
• 1900 Federal Census, Illinois, population schedule, Chicago Ward 15, Cook, Illinois, Frank Kaniecki; digital images, Ancestry.com (: accessed 17 March 2019). Year: 1900; Census Place: Chicago Ward 15, Cook, Illinois; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 0462; FHL microfilm: 1240263
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 March 2019), memorial page for Anna Jankowski Kaniecki (Apr 1857–31 Jul 1938), Find A Grave Memorial no. 180563194, citing Saint Adalbert Catholic Cemetery, Niles, Cook County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Jer-29:11 (contributor 48273691) .
• Illinois, State Deaths and Stillbirths, Death, Frank Kaniecki, 10 April 1937;Division of Vital Records, Springfield, Illinois. Henryk Kaniecki. Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notices 1890-1929
• Illinois State Deaths and Stillbirths, Death, Maximilian William Kaniecki.
• “US Headstone Applications for Military Veterans,” digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 March 2019), Joseph Kaniecki; citing Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774–1985, Record Group 92.; National Archives at Washington, D.C..
• Illinois State Deaths and Stillbirths, Death, Bernard G. Kaniecki.
• Bernard Kaniecki, Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notices. Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notices 1890-1929
• Illinois, Cook County Marriages 1871-1920, Marriage, Barney Kaniecki, Annie Biniak, 31 July 1900;Division of Vital Records, Springfield, Illinois.
• “Illinois, Cook County Marriages, 1871–1920.” Index. FamilySearch, Salt Lake City, Utah, 2010. Illinois Department of Public Health records. “Marriage Records, 1871–present.” Division of Vital Records, Springfield, Illinois.
• 1910 Federal Census, Illinois, population schedule, Chicago Ward 16, Cook, Illinois, , Barney Kanecki. Year: 1910; Census Place: Chicago Ward 16, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T624_258; Page: 22A; Enumeration District: 0762; FHL microfilm: 1374271
• August Kaniecki, Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notices. Dziennik Chicagoski Death Notices 1890-1929
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 March 2019), memorial page for Augustine George “August” Kaniecki (31 Aug 1882–9 Nov 1918), Find A Grave Memorial no. 180562337, citing Saint Adalbert Catholic Cemetery, Niles, Cook County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Jer-29:11 (contributor 48273691) .
• Illinois, Cook County Birth Registers 1871-1922, Birth, Regina Kaniecka, 10 April 1896;Division of Vital Records, Springfield, Illinois.
• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 March 2019), memorial page for Virginia Kaniecki Hendrickx (10 Apr 1896–26 Feb 1987), Find A Grave Memorial no. 180462086, citing Saint Adalbert Catholic Cemetery, Niles, Cook County, Illinois, USA ; Maintained by Jer-29:11 (contributor 48273691)
• Edytorzy Wikipedii, “Rogóźno-Zamek,” Wikipedia, wolna encyklopedia, //pl.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rog%C3%B3%C5%BAno-Zamek&oldid=56028548 (dostęp marzec 18, 2019).