Wawrzyniec Cywinski was recalled by a number of his now deceased elderly descendants, who grew up hearing the family history from family members of the immigrant generation and/or their children, that he came from a family that was aristocrats.

He was a widower with one or more child when he wed second wife Jozefa Switala Cywinski in Izdebno Roman Catholic Parish in Poland in early 1862. The couple's parish marriage entry indicates that Wawrzyniec was age 36 at the time, and Jozefa 24. (FYI: Ages were often recorded inaccurately - sometimes very much so - in old records. Therefore, whether or not the stated ages were correct is not known.)

Wawrzyniec's first wife was, near certainly, Anna Ludke Cywinski (daughter of Jan and Anna [nee Neth] Ludke). It is known that such a Wawrzyniec and Anna Cywinski couple wed in Cerekwica (powiat Znin) Roman Catholic parish in Poland in early 1848. The couple's parish marriage listing records the groom's age as having been 25 at the time, and the bride's as having been 23. (Again, whether or not each - or either - age was recorded accurately is unknown.) There is little doubt that the mentioned groom was the correct Wawrzyniec Cywinski (the man who later remarried, in widowhood, to Jozefa Switala). Both Catholic parishes in Poland were located in close proximity to one another.

Taking the two mentioned marriage records into consideration, it appears that Wawrzyniec was born sometime circa 1822-1826 (more than likely sometime 1822-1825).

Wawrzyniec and second wife Jozefa, with their children, are variously documented in Polish and American (Baltimore, MD) parish records as having resided in, or come from, the villages and towns of Bedzitowo, Czewujewo, Dziewierzewo, Labiszyn, Lisewo, Mamlicz, Murczyn, Obielewo, Rogowo (possibly actually Rogozno), and Slupy. It is not known in which, if either, Wawrzyniec was born.

Wawrzyniec, a successful wheelwright / wainwright / carpenter, resident of the German (relevant area in question earlier considered Prussia) partition of Poland, was killed sometime 1882-1886 when struck by a tree he was felling. An 11 June 1972 letter written by his granddaughter-in-law Mildred Archer provides us with some insight into his career:

"....[Wawrzyniec was] a wainwright - [a] maker of wagons, etc....He went into the forest to select the trees to be cured and used for his craft, cut them, made lumber of them, and made the finished product. In other words, his work - from the living tree to the wagon - he had to know and do all the steps...."


Now we come to another key part of Wawrzyniec's life story. As mentioned, a number of family elders, now departed, grew up hearing that they were descendants of Polish aristocracy. A very interesting 15 October 1975 letter written by Mildred Archer, a granddaughter-in-law of Wawrzyniec and Jozefa, who sought to record the family history that she had been told, sheds significant additional light:

"....Cywinski was a very important name in Poland....[The Cywinskis] were aristocrats. However,...[Wawrzyniec] was the son of a peasant girl. This happened in those days in Poland and was no reflection on the morals of the girl. She had no choice. The head of the family was a Count. This Cywinski family acknowledged the relationship and tried to help in every way...."

Family oral tradition further - and compatibly - maintains that Wawrzyniec's family (the one of his Cywinski paternity) was wealthy and had servants.

Per Roman Catholic parish records of Poland, it appears that the name of Wawrzyniec's mother was more than likely Barbara Kielinski. It can be surmised that she (whatever the mother's definite name may have been) was a household servant serving in a manor home. To date, no likely probable candidate for Wawrzyniec's father has been determined.

Although Wawrzyniec seems (per Mildred Archer's letter) to have been born out of wedlock, still, even if so, it is clear that he was permitted to bear the Cywinski surname of his father. At least one Polish parish record that has been found and examined, that definitely pertains to the correct Wawrzyniec Cywinski, records his last name, initially, as Cywinski, though then a line was marked through that surname and "Kielinski" written directly beneath it. (See posted image, and accompanying caption, of this detail from the mentioned parish entry.) No attempt was made by the priest to scribble out and conceal the Cywinski surname. Instead, the priest appears to have simply sought to make clear that Wawrzyniec Cywinski's surname was being borne under irregular circumstances.

In Mildred Archer's 1975 letter, she writes that, following Wawrzyniec's death, her own mother-in-law (Wawrzyniec's daughter Veronica "Vronie") "...often remarked...that she and the others would have had a much easier life had they remained in Poland." Per Mildred, members of the Cywinski family there tried unsuccessfully to persuade Jozefa to remain in Poland with the children after Wawrzyniec's death.

In Mildred Archer's 1972 letter she writes:

"....[Veronica] told me [that Jozefa and the children]....came [to America] by way of the North Sea...in the winter time, and the cold was intense. The weather was so bad, and the seas so rough, that they could not even have a fire to cook with. In those days, each family had to take enough food to last them until the boat docked....[Veronica said that] they really suffered. The voyage lasted several weeks, and the ship docked in Baltimore. They were met [there] by...oldest daughter...[Maryanna "Mary"] Lewandowski and her husband [Antoni]...."


FYI: See linked Find A Grave memorial #156147622 for coverage of a known child, Jozef/Joseph "Joe" Cywinski, of Wawrzyniec from his first marriage. Joe and his family, in Pennsylvania, maintained ongoing relationships of close kinship with Wawrzyniec's son Andrew and his family, Joe and Andrew having been recognized and known brothers of one another. Per the 1900 Census (Nanticoke, Luzerne Co., PA), Joe was born in February 1850. His wife's name was Katarzyna/Catherine "Katie" Lubiatowski Cywinski (born November 1851 per the 1900 Census).

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