Some Confusion about Surnames and Translation Assistance

StephenDsida

Hi Maria,

How are you? I would like your opinion about something that seems odd to me. I will try not to make this too confusing.

I was looking for the birth record of Jadwiga Witkoska circa 1824. Her parents are Piotr Witkoski and Agnieszka Pospiezna and the family lived in Wisniewa (Ostrowaz) about this time. I was unable to find her birth record.

I did find the following record from 1820. (After researching the subject, I am asking whether you can translate this for me):

1820 - Birth Record with Mention of Agnieszka Pospiezna.jpg

Location: Jednostka - Szukaj w Archiwach. Scan 16 of 39. Record Number 36.

I see that Agnieszka Pospiezna's name is mentioned, but I don't know if she is listed as the mother. The father's name is listed as Piotr Jozwiak. The birth seems to have taken place in Wisniewa.

The reason that this is strange to me is that a couple of weeks ago, I was trying to determine whether an individual named Petronella Jozwiak was related to me. I decided that she was probably not a relative and that I would not research her further. Here is her marriage information as indexed in the Poznan Project:

I downloaded the marriage record but have not submitted it for translation. The index mentions that Petronella's parents were named Piotr and Agnieszka and that they were deceased in 1836. I am certainly not an expert, but in my Polish ancestry research, I have not found many marriages between individuals name Piotr and Agnieszka. In addition, Piotr Witkoski and Agnieszka Pospiezna both died in 1833.

Petronella has used the surname of Witkoska in some of the records:

Based upon what you have told me regarding a lack of IDs and the fact that the people transcribing records may not have been relying on accurate information, I have come to the following possibilities:

1. Piotr Witkoski may have used the name Piotr Jozwiak at one time.
2. Petronella may have been the daughter of Piotr Jozwiak Witkoski and Agnieszka Pospienza. She was born circa 1815 when this could have been a possibility.
3. Petronella's birth father was named Jozwiak. He was no longer part of Petronella's life whether by death or leaving. Petronella may have been adopted by the Witkoski family.
4. Petronella is not related to me, and the Witkoska, Pospiezny, and Jozwiak families were merely close friends. And maybe the record keeping for the area was not dependable.

My feeling is that the last possibility is probably the correct one, but I would be interested in your opinion.

*After completing this post, I looked into one other item and found the following indexed on the Poznan Project site:

Now, I think that the first and second possibilities mentioned above may be correct, and the reason that I have not been able to find birth records for the older children. I was able to find a birth record for Jadwiga Jozwiak in Wisniewa, but in 1818. I will attempt to find the marriage record for Piotr and Agnieszka on Sunday.

Thank you again and have a good day.

Sincerely,

Stephen

Eppich Maria

Stephen, you are a good researcher, and I hope you will find answers to those questions.

StephenDsida

Hi Maria,

Can you translate the birth record from 1820 that is attached above (at the beginning of this post)?

Thank you again.

Eppich Maria

Birth Record No. 3, Wisniewa, Civil Records Office, of Elzbieta Jozwiak, born in Wisniewa on the 15th November 1820, birth reported on the 21st November 1820, daughter of Piotr Jozwiak, 50 years old, farmer from Wisniewa, and of his wife, Agnieszka, born Pospieszna, Jozwiak by her first marriage, she is 30 years old. Witnesses: Mateusz Rzepczyk, 20 years old, and Franciszek Cieslak, 50 years old.