Bachórka
    Current administrative location: Bachórka, Gmina Bądkowo, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895: Bachórka, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire. A folwark located in powiat Nieszawa. It belongs to the parish and gmina of Bądkowo. There are 81 inhabitants and a total land area of 480 morgs. There are 7 peasants on the manor farm.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, September 2010.

Bachorza
    Current administrative location: Bachorza, Gmina Zakrzewo, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Bachorza, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
    An extensive area of muddy meadow lands. The area was once the bottom of a lake or river (w dokumecie z 1297 nosi miano fluvium w kod. dypl. Rzyszczew. IV – 142), which linked the Gopła Lake with the Wisła River. It begins in the Grand Duchy of Poznań at the north end of the Gopła Lake and enters the Kingdom of Poland in Powiat Nieszawa, between the two villages of Kobielice and Bronisław and extends to the east with a small bow towards the north between the following villages: Sędzin, Krzywosądz, Kuczkowo, Czołpin, Siniarzewo, Ujma, Słupy, Krotoszyn, Wysocinek and for the Wolica mill, north of Breść Kujawski, that connects to the Zgłowiączka River. Bachorza once had a great commercial importance as a waterway between the surrounding Gopła area, the Wisła, and the Baltic; but sailing on it could only take place during the spring tide. Swamps are probably the remains of one of its branches, where with the Gopła once connected to the Wisła River. There still is the stream bed of the Zgłowiączka River that reaches the Wisła near Włocławek. In 1836, the government’s recommendation was to dig a channel, but the correct leveling effect had not been achieved. In 1858, owners of the adjacent land shared forces to dig under the direction of the Tonne technique. The channel was dug three miła long, six feet wide, and ten feet deep, which dried up 4,000 morgs of land and cost 7,000 rubles.
     Translated by Al Wierzba, September 2010.

Bachorza River
    Current administrative location: Bachorza, Gmina Zakrzewo, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Bachorza, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
    A river. It comes out of Gopła Lake near Kruszwica and becomes a watery marsh on the eastern shore of the lake and occupies a pretty significant amount of space, which creates pastures for the surrounding villages. This stream flows through the following church villages: Kobielice, Siniarzewo, Bądkowo and follows along through to the Bachórka folwark and onto the Polówka folwark (belonging to the Wieniec estate). At the Nowy mill it falls into the Zgłowiączka River, which pours its water into the Wisła River at Włocławek. Historically, the water of the Bachorza spread through the wide area of meadows and swamps, which almost did not permit communication between the villages situated on both sides of its banks. Only at the end of the 18th century, Wincenty Modliński, the Krzywosądz heir and Chamberlain of Breść Kujawski, had excavated and banked up an area between Krzywosądz and Sędzin. This area was across the marsh, therefore some of the land was drained and took on a more regular water line. To reward the costs taken, King Stanisław August, gave the Chamberlain the village of Piołunowo. The drained swamps were quickly overgrown with willows and other shrubs. These shrubs became refuge for wolves. Therefore, in 1835, a raid was ordered, where 20 wolves were killed at once and then the environ was completely freed of the pest.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, September 2010.

Bądkowo
    Current administrative location: Bądkowo, Gmina Bądkowo, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Bądkowo, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
    A village located in powiat Nieszawa and gmina Bądkowo. The village belongs to the parish of the same name, Bądkowo. The original church is lost, but the walls are still erected and show that it dates back to the 14th century. In 1827, Bądkowo had 37 houses and 387 inhabitants. The Bądkowo estate had 1659 morgs of land area. The Bądkowo Parish belongs to the Nieszawa Deanery, which has 2020 parishes within the deanery. Gmina Bądkowo’s local court belongs to Precinct II. The post office is located in the Osięciny estate. Bądkowo is a distance of 21 verst from Nieszawa. Gmina Bądkowo has a mill, 3 brickyards, a water mill, a grade school, and a total population of 4967. The total area of land for Gmina Bądkowo is 17,882 morgs. The peasant farms have 13,329 morgs of land with 4523 inhabitants.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Bagrowo
    A village in Sroda powiat, 5 houses, 34 inhabitants, all Catholic, 11 illiterate. It has a parish church of Sroda deanery. In 1751 the Franciscan Fathers of Poznan – to whom Andrzej Czacki, proprietor of Bagrowo, left the village in 1702, subject to redemption – built a new wooden church on the site of the old one (also of wood) under the ancient title of St. Katarzyna’s [Catherine’s]. The Bagrowo church had been handed over to the administration of the Franciscan Fathers as early as the 17th century, by the owners at the time, the Dobinskis. In the 15th and 16th century the village belonged to the Bagrowskis. Bagrowo estate has 1,320 morgs, 13 houses, 131 inhabitants, 2 Protestant, 149 Catholic [sic], 72 illiterate; the railway station is in Sroda, 7 km. away, and the highway is 3 km. away. [M. St. (Studniarski)]
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Summer 2000 Bulletin.

Bajki Starawie
    A village, estate and okolica [district] in Bialystok county, Krypno gmina, 38.5 kilometers from Bialystok. The village has 280 hectares [about 691 acres]; the estate, the property of the Oldakowskis, has 327 hectares [807 acres]; the district has 201 hectares [497 acres].
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Spring 2003 Rodziny.

Bajki Zalesie
    A village, estate, and okolica in Bialystok county, 3rd police district, gmina of Krypno, about 37 kilometers from Bialystok. The village has 285 hectares [about 704 acres]; the estate, the property of the Mikhailovs, has 144 hectares [about 356 acres]; and the district 128 hectares [about 316 acres].
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Spring 2003 Rodziny.

Bąk
    A village in Chojnice county, in Wiele parish.
    Submitted & translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA

Balczewo
    Current administrative location: Balczewo, Gmina Inowrocław, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Latkowo, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    A noble owned village located in powiat Inowrocław. There are three places that comprise Balczewo: the village, the Balczewo folwark, and the Balczewo brickyard. Balczewo has an area of land equal to 2307 morgs. Balczewo has 8 houses with 148 inhabitants (106 Catholics and 41 Evangelical Protestants). There are 61 inhabitants that are illiterate. The post office and railway station are located about 8 kilometers away in Inowrocław. The nearest highway is located 2 kilometers away. The entry did not list the village’s parish. The Parchanie Parish is located about 3 kilometers away.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, December 2009.

Baranów
    Baranów, a small town in the county of Tarnobrzeg, had 272 houses with a population of 1965 people, of whom 930 were men and 1035 women. There was a military police base stationed in the town, a pharmacy, a two-classroom school and a post office. The Roman Catholic church and parish belonged to the deanery of Mielec. This deanery totaled 5484 souls. The remarkable old style church was blessed in 1440 and dedicated in honor of St. John the Baptist and Martyr.
    Baranów lies on a sandy terrain, not far from the Wisła (Vistula) river, on the main road which leads from Tarnobrzeg to Dębica, a town 58 kilometers (approx. 35 miles) distant. Besides a distillery, there was a thriving shoe making industry. Baranów has a very interesting historical background. The local palace was built by war prisoners from other countries.
    During the reign of King Bolesław Krzywousty (Bolesław III, the Wrymouth), circa 1135, Paweł (Paul) Gozdawa, the owner, gifted the palace to the aforementioned king, after entertaining the monarch during a royal visit. Later, King Bolesław donated the estate to Pietraszów from Małochowa. He granted the village privileges, raising it to the status of “town”. By 1354 Baranów was well established and permission was given for holding a trade fair and market on All Saints Day, Nov. 1st. In the year 1376, Kiejstut, the Duke of Trock, Lubart, the Duke of Łocka and Jerzy, the Duke of Bełz (these three towns are presently in the Ukraine) crossed the San and Wisła rivers and mounted a sneak attack on the town. It was heavily plundered and much damage was sustained.
    Eventually the town became the property of the Baranowski family, whose coat of arms was Grzymała. By the year 1575, it was owned by the Leszczynski family. In the year 1604, it was the scene of a church synod held by members of the Lutheran church from Switzerland and Augusburg.
A printing business was opened in the town in 1628 by Jędrzej Piotrowczyk. In this epoch, the local people had a thriving business in the production of corn and grain. There were many granaries and they contributed to the prosperity of the townspeople.
    King Carl Gustav of Sweden attacked the area on April 3, 1656 and decimated the scant defenses of Paweł (Paul) Sapieha, the governor of Wilno.After the Leszczynski family, Baranów passed on to ownership by the Wisznowiecki clan, and later to the Lubomirski nobles. Joseph Lubomirski was a marshal of the royal court. In 1695, he remodeled and repaired the palace and adorned the ornamental interior. The palace was maintained in excellent condition by the Krasicki noble family who were the later heirs. Unfortunately, in the late 1800s the palace experienced a disastrous fire.
    Translated from the Słownik Geograficzny by Helen Bienick, previously published in PGS-CA Bulletin.

Barcin
    A town on the Notec river, in Szubin (formerly Kcynia) powiat, on marshy ground, and due to the damp weather fevers are often rampant here.  In the vicinity there are lime deposits covering several dozen morgs; 142,000 quintals are extracted annually, which are burned in three cylindrical lime-kilns. There are 70 houses, 936 inhabitants: 377 Protestants, 422 Catholics, 137 Jews; the inhabitants are either farmers or day-laborers.  There is a doctor and a pharmacy in the town.   It belongs to Labiszyn obwod and to the okrag court in Labiszyn; it has a Catholic parish church belonging to Znin deanery, a prayer house for Protestants, a synagogue, as well as a non-denominational elementary school.  There are 159 illiterates.  It has four two-day markets a year, with stalls for cattle and horses.   The distance from the powiat seat of Szubin is 15 km., and it is 18 km. from the railroad station in Chmielnik (German name Hopfengarten). It has a 3rd-class post office, a personal post runs to the railroad station, and there is a mail post to Labiszyn. Formerly the residents also were employed in the cloth industry Barcin is mentioned as a town in the 16th century.  In 1794 a skirmish took place nearby between the Prussian and Polish armies.
    Submitted by: This translation, by William F. Hoffman, first appeared in the Winter 1996-1997 issue of “Bulletin of the Polish Genealogical Society of America” (Mar 1999).

Barglow Koscielny
    A government owned village, and Barglow Dworny, a government owned village and folwark [manorial farmstead], and Barglow Cerkiewny, three adjoining villages in Augustow county, in the gmina and parish of the same name, on the highway from Rajgrod to Augustow.
    In 1827 Barglow Dworny had 31 houses and 158 inhabitants; Barglow Koscielny had 47 houses and 205 inhabitants. Today Barglow Dworny has 593 inhabitants and 61 houses; Barglow Koscielny has 445 inhabitants and 56 houses. Barglow gmina, with its office in the village of Barglow Dworny, has a population of 5,255 and an area of 16,338 morgs. The gmina court, in district I, and the post office are in the town of Augustow, 12 versts [13 km.] away; Suwalki is 40 versts [43 km.] away.
The gmina includes: Barglow Cerkiewny, Barglow Dworny, Barglow Koscielny, Barglowka, Brzozowka, Czerkiesy, Gorstwiny, Jeziorski, Judziki, Kamionka-Chrustowskich, Kamionka-Dluxewskiego, Kamionka-Nied_wiedzkiego, Kamionka Nowa, Kamionka Stara, Karta, Kukowo, Labetnik village and manorial farmstead, Mamarta, Mlynek, Nowiny-barglowskie, Nowiny Stare, Orany, Piekutowo, Pienki, Pomiany village and manorial farmstead, Popowo, Prochniewo, Reszki, Rozalin, Rumejki, Solistowka, Sosnowo village and manorial farmstead, Tobylka village and manorial farmstead, Uscianki, Wilkowo, Zrobko and Zrobki.
    Barglow parish, of Augustow deanery, totals 7,298 faithful. In Barglow Koscielny there is an elementary school. Also being finished there is a new stone church, built from the parishioners’ contributions for a total of 50,000 silver rubles.
    [Br{onilaw} Ch{lebowski} – Volume 1, page 108]
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Fall 2002 Rodziny.

Barglowek
A village and manorial farmstead on the river Barglowka, in Augustow county, Barglow gmina and parish, 294 inhabitants, 36 houses, 4 versts [4 km.] from Barglow.
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Fall 2002 Rodziny.

Batkowo
    Current administrative location: Batkowo, Gmina Inowrocław, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Batkowo, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    A village that is located in powiat Inowrocław. Batkowo has 31 houses with 230 inhabitants (all Catholics). There are 82 inhabitants that are illiterate. The entry did not list the village’s parish. The village is located just outside the city of Inowroclaw, this could be the village’s parish.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, December 2009.

Biala
    Biala, a village in Rzeszow powiat, 4 km. from Tyczyn, with an area of 1,279 morgs, 190 houses, 1,155 inhabitants; there is a Latin-rite parish in Slocina and a Greek Catholic parish in Zalesie; it has a branch people’s school, a gmina loan society, and a brewing factory. It lies on the powiat highway from Rzeszow to Blazowa.
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Winter 2000 Bulletin.

Biecz
    Biecz, a town in the county of Gorlice, at 38¼ 11’ latitude north, 49¼9’ longitude east from Ferro. [Translator’s Note—I don’t know where the proofreaders were when this copy was set; but these coordinates are dead wrong, even if you adjust for the modern practice of measuring longitude from Greenwich instead of from Ferro. Reliable sources give these coordinates as 49¼ 44’ north, 21¼15’ east]. It is a former county seat of Kraków province, with a postal station on the highway from Jaslo to Grybów, 19 km. from Jaslo. It has 383 houses, 1,204 men and 1,246 women, for a total of 2,450 inhabitants, of whom 1,878 are Roman Catholic and 284 Jews. It is the headquarters for a station of the Royal and Imperial [Austrian] military police, and has a pharmacy, a doctor, a post and telegraph office. There is a Latin-rite parish in the town, and an additional parish church in beautiful Gothic style that had already been constructed by 1326. Formerly its patron was the Bishop of Kraków, now it is the Royal and Imperial government of the crownland [i. e., Galicia]. There is a 4-class people’s school, a paupers’ fund established by Queen Jadwiga of Poland in 18373 for the purpose of supporting the local poor. The initial capital of that institution comes to 61,187 Rhenish zlotys, and its income in 1877 was 3,553 zlotys.
    Biecz lies on an elevation over the river Ropa, by the government’s southern or Carpathian highway. The poor population is employed primarily in agriculture, but partially also in the weaving industry. Biecz, one of the most ancient towns, at one time had a castle and was surrounded by walls. In 1294 Václav, King of Bohemia, bestowed it upon the Kraków chapter. But in 1311 as a result of the Hungarian attack that almost succeeded, Lokietek took it away from Bishop Muskata and attached it to the estates of the royal table. It was here in 1400 that envoys of Jagiello, with envoys of the house of Cilli, renewed the king’s engagement to Anna Countess of Cilli, granddaughter of King Kazimierz the Great.
    In the 16th century Biecz, located on the main highway of Hungary and with its population increased with German settlers, flourished so greatly in trade and industry that it was called “Little Kraków.” So many hoodlums hid in the neighboring hills that in 1614, according to legend, 120 of them were executed in Biecz at one time. This created a need for a special call for people to carry out the court’s verdicts, and due to this the town became renowned throughout Poland for training and qualifying executioners. Now protruding ruins are all that remain of the ancient castle and the walls that once surrounded Biecz. The citadel’s ancient glory is recalled by old Gothic houses, an magnificent town hall with an ancient bell tower, the parish church, and a monastery of the Order of the Reformation, founded in 1630 by Mikolaj Ligeza. A third church, St. Barbara’s, is empty.
    Biecz was the ancestral home of historian Marcin Kromer, secretary to three kings and the Bishop of Warmia. His house is maintained in good condition, and on display in the circular keep adjoining it is the vaulted chamber, adorned with ashlar sculptures, in which Kromer supposedly entered the world in 1512. There is also a portrait of him in the parish church and a tablet he consecrated to the memory of his ancestors. This church was also adorned by the alabaster headstone of Mikolaj Ligeza, starosta of Biecz, since Biecz was formerly the seat of a gród-affiliated starostwo.
    The town of Biecz occupies 2,843 mórgs. We read in Echard’s Dykcyonarz geograficzny [Warsaw, 1782] that the inhabitants boil salt from the waters of the river Ropa and collect sulfur from the river’s froth (!). Near Biecz is a beautiful forest of fir trees belonging to the gród, as well as gród meadows, Strzeszyn hill, and the Królewska studnia [Royal well]. Doctor Antoni Kotowicz made phytophenological and zoophenological observations in the area. [Translator’s note—that is, he studied periodical biological phenomena of plants and animals in relation to the climate]; he also described the fauna of the Biecz area (Sprawozd. kom. fizyogr., Vol. IX). [M. M{arassé}, Vol. 1, pp. 205-206].
    [Supplemental information from Volume 15-1]: Biecz, in a document from 1243 Beiech, 1257 Begech, 1345 Beycz, 1306 Begeczensis castellatura, a town in Gorlice county. It is an ancient trade center and castellan’s gród* on a trade route from Hungary and Sacz to Ruthenia. In a document from 1243 we read of Nicolaus, castellan “de Beycz.” In one from 1257 castellan “Bronisius de Begech” appears. A record from 1280 speaks of the districts of S_cz and Biecz (“terrarum de Sandec et de Bech,” Kodex Malopolski, II, 70, 108, 149). By a document dated 1303 in Prague, the Czech Václav, king of Bohemia and Kraków, trades the gród “Beycz” with appurtenances for the properties of the bishop in Kamienica. The Bishop of Kraków retains only the right of patronage over the Church of St. Wojciech and a second branch church (Kod. kat. krak., Vol. I, p. 145). The bishop gave this castle, along with the obligation to mount a guard and defense, to the Tyniec monastery. When the monastery neglected its duties, in response to an accusation by Bishop Nankier, Pope John XXII ordered a review of the matter in 1322.
    That Biecz was a marketplace on the trade route is attested by documents. “Viam de Sandecz versus Rusiam per Beycz, Smigrod et Sanok” [“the road from Sacz toward Ruthenia through Beycz, Smigród and Sanok”] says a charter of King Kazimierz issued in 1345 to the townsmen of Sacz. The “districtus biecensis” [“district of Biecz”] is mentioned in a document from 1369 (Kod. Ma_op., I, 258, 359). “Prope Byecz in terra cracoviensi” [“by Biecz in the district of Kraków”] is mentioned in a document from 1359, and at that time the castellan there was Paszko z Pilchowic, who was still in power there in 1391 (Kod. W.) In 1361 Kazimierz the Great stayed in Biecz on December 26th and issued a charter for building a wa_nica [perhaps a facility for weighing items on which taxes were payable to the crown?], a postrzygalnia [place for cutting cloth], and booths for salt. In 1363 the King confirmed the previous endowment as well as a German-law municipal charter for the town*. In addition he gave permission for building two storehouses for wine and two clothiers’ booths, and gave pastureland in the grove beyond the castle woods, the so-called harta, and two half-ans* for pastureland (for cattle).
    In 1364 the king stayed there in June and August. In 1365 he exempted the inhabitants from the duty office in Wojnicz. In 1367 the king stayed there in February. In 1368 the king established there an 8-day fair in honor of Sts. Peter and Paul. In 1369 the king stayed there in August. In October 1371 Queen El_bieta stayed there. A 1374 document mentions “oppidum Frienstat in districtu Beczensi” [“the village of Frienstat in the district of Biecz”]. In 1374 Louis, King of Poland and Hungary, exempted the nobility from all public obligations for admitting his daughters to succession to the Polish throne, and promised the nobles that he would not place anyone who was not a local inhabitant in the position of castellan of any gród, including that of Biecz (K. W., no. 1709). A “Janusius capitaneus Bieczensis” appears in a 1383 document. On 1399 Wladyslaw Jagiello granted municipal rights and obligations to the inhabitants of the settlements just outside the town. (Kod. dypl. pol., III, 361).
    In 1771 Wilhelm Sieminski paid a kwarta of 7,569 zl. and 24 pence from the starostwo. For reference to the annals of Biecz see: Ulanowski, B., Najdawniejsza ksi_ga s_dowa miasta B. [The Oldest Court Records of the Town of Biecz, Kraków, 1896.—[Br{onislaw} Ch{lebowski}, Vol. 15-1, pp. 134-135].
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Summer 2003 Rodziny.

Bielawy
    1) A village in the county of Wągrowiec, covered 1435 morgen of land, and was the property of a nobleman. There were 9 houses with 100 inhabitants, all were Catholic, and 41 people were illiterate. The village was the property of Szymanski.
    2) described as “huby” [1] (a German colony) in the county of Wągrowiec, had 6 houses with 55 inhabitants. Catholics numbered 36, Evangelicals 19, and 15 residents were illiterate. Farming was the main occupation.
    Editor’s Notes: “Huby” is the plural form of “huba”, a Polonized form of German “Hube”, which also shows up as “Hufe” and other forms. “Hube/Hufe” is a German term for a full-sized farm, one big enough to support a family, more or less the same as Polsh “włoka”. So, a settlement consisting of farmers owning or working full-sized farms might be called a “huby” as a collective term, or might bear the name Huby, especially if the settlers were German colonists. Some places are just called Huby, others have a qualifying adjective, such as Huby Bukownickie, (the Huby near Bukownica). A search for “Huby” on Mapa Szukacz turns up 17 places named Huby or Huby something. Most of them are in areas formerly ruled by Germany, or highly populated by German colonists. That’s why this German term shows up in the name; places of purely Polish origin would be more likely to have a name with Włoki because that’s a Polish term meaning more or less the same thing. As a land measurement, it is about 30 morgen. 1 morgen = ~2.116 acres.
    Translated by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA

Biesiekierz
    Current administrative location: Biesiekierz, Gmina Koneck, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Biesiekierz, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire. A manor farm (folwark) and estate, located in powiat Nieszawa and gmina Straszewo. The folwark belongs to the Koneck Parish. Biesiekierz has 50 inhabitants. The estate has a total land area of 287 morgs and is home to 10 peasants.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, August 2009.

Bieźuń
    A privately-owned settlement, previously a town, in Sierpc county, on the river Wkra, about 44 kilometers from Plock, on the highway from Plock to Mlawa; it has a parish church built of stone, the district II gmina court, the gmina office, an elementary school, and a post office. Adam Wolowski rebuilt the land-owner’s palace. In 1859 Biezun had 149 houses (2 of stone) and 2,478 inhabitants, including 739 Jews. Currently it has 2,535 inhabitants, 234 houses (3 of stone), two tanneries, 4 windmills, 6 fairs, and weekly markets; 1,792morg of land belong to the settlement.
Founded by Jedrzej of Golczewo, Plock castellan, in the late 14th century, it received a building charter and a grant of German law in 1406 from Prince Ziemowit of Mazovia and Plock. The nest of the ancient Sierpski family, it ended up as property of the Zamojskis. Granted charters by Polish kings, at one time it numbered among the most significant towns of the former province of Plock; and Swiecicki, describing Mazovia in the first half of the 17th century, named Biezun as a castle and fortification. But its fortunes declined drastically, probably during the wars with Sweden. In 1716 Andrzej Zamojski was born there, the great Crown Chancellor of historical fame, and after laying down his seal, he lived in the palace he built there and undertook work on a collection of civil law. In 1767 King Stanislaw August allowed this same Andrze Zamojski to reestablish the town, and granted it a charter on terms of Magdeburg law.
    The area around Biezun has long been famous for its exceptional fish and crabs, which were transported to Warsaw and must have provided the main source of income for the inhabitants. This gave rise to a saying that lives on to this day: “Gdyby nie ryby i raki, zgineliby Biezuniaki” [If it weren’t for fish and crabs, the people of Biezun would be lost.]
    The parish of Biezun, of Sierpc deanery, numbers 4,081 souls. The gmina of Biezun, which belongs to the second district court (Biezun), has a total area of 17,336 morgs, including 8,342 of farmland, and a population of 6,344; there are two Catholic churches in the gmina, a Protestant house of prayer, a synagogue, the gmina court and administration, 3 elementary schools, 2 tanneries, a glass works, a brewery, a steam mill, a water mill, 7 windmills, 25 shops and inns.
    The municipal settlement of Biezun belongs to the gmina, as well as the peasant-owned villages and colonies of: Adamowo, Dabrowka, Elzbiecin, Felcin, Karolewo, Korniszyn, Lutocin, Mak, Majnowo, Obreb, Parlin, Pozga, Strzeszewo, Semborz, Sadlowo, Siedliska, Stanislawowo, Seroki, the manorial farmstead and one milling settlement; the private Biezun Palace with the manorial farmsteads of Korniszyn, Sadlowo and Soznica, Karolewo, Lonzyn, Lutocin, Wladyslawowo-nowe, Wladyslawowo-stare, Wladyslawowo-budy, Zabiezungrondy or Zabiezuntawki, Zimolza; of the villages mentioned above, these be-long to the parish: Biezun, Lutocin, and Poniatowo.
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Spring 2003 Rodziny.

Bijuciszki
    Bijuciszki, (with the manor of Wolana), is a village in the nearby small town of Borun, district of Oszmiana. Heritage of Andrzej Wolana (in the 17th century), defender and propagator of Calvinism in Lithuania. Property formerly held by Wahkowicz and today by Wojtkiewicz. Volume I, Page 225.
    Submitted by Anthony Paddock, (Dec 2003)

Binduga
    A peasant-owned village on the river Omulew, in Przasnysz county, Zareby gmina and parish, with 21 houses, 161 inhabitants and 754 morgs of land (109 of farmland).
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Winter 2003 Rodziny.

Bisloszowa
    Bisloszowa (also called Bistuszowa), a village in Tarnow powiat, 0. 5 km. from Tuchow. It comprises 1,226 morgs of land, 755 of which are under cultivation. It has 65 houses and 399 inhabitants. It is served by the Latin-rite parish in Ryglice. The village has a communal loan society. It is situated in a hilly area highly conducive to farming. [M. M. – Vol. 1, p. 240].
    Submitted by: Robert Bator, Chicago, IL. Translated by Anna Pawlik

Błądzikowo
    In German Blondzikau or Blansekow, a knight- and peasant-owned village in Wejherowo county, about 4 km. from the town of Wejherowo, served by the railroad station and parish in Puck. On 13 November 1353 Teutonic Knights Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode granted this village to Stefan Blansek, on the condition that he and his successors would defend the German order and provide horses. In later times Bladzikowo belonged to the Carthusian monastery in Kartuzy. [L{eon} Pobl{ocki}, Vol. 1, p. 247]
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Spring 2002 Rodziny.

Blękwit
    Current administrative location: Blękwit, Gmina Złotów, Powiat Złotów, Województwo Wielkopolskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Blankwitt, Kreis Flatow, Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder, Westpreußen, German Empire.

1.) Also called Blekwida in Polish. The German name is Blankwitt. It is a village in powiat Złotow. The post office and parish are located in Złotowo.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, May 2009.

Bochlin
    A village and manor farm in the district of Kwidzyn, parish and post office of Nowe, 10 houses, 207 inhabitants, 180 Catholics (together with those from Kozielc). In the year 1648 the owner here was Konopacki, and in 1782 Zakrzewski. This village is called Zapusty by Zaranski.
    Submitted by: John Gorski

Bodzewo
    1)Bodzewo – village, district of Krobski – 38 houses, 249 inhabitants, 62 Evangelical Lutherans, 187 Roman Catholics; 44 illiterate.
    2) an area of land in the district of Krobski consisting of 3622 morgs (about 2300 acres) of open land with three towns: a) Bodzewo, b) the manor farm of Aleksander (Alexandersfeld), and c) Lodz (Friderikenhof) having 18 houses, 254 inhabitants, 57 Evangelical Lutherans, 197 Roman Catholics; 133 illiterate. From Bodzewo, the postoffice is 6km away in Gostyn, with railway stations 31km away in Bojanowo and 28km away in Kozmin.
    Submitted by: Jerry Gieraltowski

Bohorodczany
    The capital of the Bohorodczany County in Galicia, located 2 miles south of Stanislawow; located by the Carpathian Highway which starts in Biala in Silesia and goes through Krosno, Rymanow, Sanok, Lisko, Ustrzyki, Churow, Starosol, Sambor, Drohobycz, Stryj, Bolehow, Dolina, Kalusz, Stanislawow, Bohorodczany, Nadworna, Kolomyja, Zablotow, Sniatyn and ends in Bukowina. The town is located in the beautiful valley of the Carpathian mountains by the Bystrzyca River. There are 21 agricultural properties, 12 gardens and grasslands, and 4 pastures. There are 910 smaller agricultural properties, 195 smaller gardens and grasslands, 105 pastures, and 1 morg of forest. The population is 800 Roman-Catholics, 1788 Greek-Catholics and 2009 Jews, 4597 altogether. The town is a headquarters for the County government, and the Town’s Association as well as the Internal Revenue Office which is part of the larger Office headquartered in Stanislawow. The town serves also as headquarters to the County Commission for Estimating the Land and Property Taxes. The town ahas a post-office with a contracted post-man. The town also has a courthouse which is part of the Stanislawow District and a County Fire Dept. Bohorodczany along with Stanislawow, Nadworna and Tlumacz elect one representative to the House of Representative and 1 congressman.
    The Roman-Catholic Parish belongs to the Stanislawow Deanery which in turn belongs to the L’viv Archdiocese. The parish was founded by Constancya Potocka from the Truskolaskis, a widow from Dominick Potocki, the Prime Secretary of the Royal Kingdom of Poland. The church was raised in 1742, was blessed under the Holy Virgin Mary name in 1777. The church joined the Dominican Convent in 1762. The Dominican Convent was founded also by Constancya and Castellan Kossakowski in 1691. The Dominican Monks serve as the parish’s main pastors. The parish is for 9 towns; Bohorodczany Stare, Grabowiec, Horoholina, Hryniowka, Lysiowka, Lachowce, Niemoczyn, Pochowka and Ladawa. The town has a 4-grade Elementary School for Men. There are also 6 basic schools (those which just teach to write and basic math skills).
    The Greek-Catholic Parish belongs to the Bohorodczany Deanery which in turn belongs to the L’viv Archdiocese. This parish is for Bohorodczany, Pochowka and Skobyszowka. The parish has some 2807 supporters.
    In 1870, there were 3 leather factories, one beer brewery and a vodka brewery. The main industry is shoemaking and butchery. The town has a pharmacy. The richest man in town is Count Rudolf Stadion. The Bohorodczany County has some 47 administrative units in total (towns and villages). Its total size is some 16.3 square miles with a population of 51,892.

Bolesław
    A village in the county of Dąbrowa Tarnowska, had a Roman Catholic church, also a post office and a public school. The Catholic church was funded in 1605. The parish was part of the deanery of Dąbrowa Tarnowska. In the late 1800s, the population numbered 6375 Catholics and 460 Jews. The following villages belonged to the church in Bolesław: Kanna (with a chapel), Świebodzin, Kosierówka, Pawłów, Tonia Grady, Wólka Grądzka, Bór Grądzki, Samocice, Łęka, Podlipie, Kuzie, Strojców, Mędrzychów (with a chapel) and Kupienin.
    Translated by Helen C. Bienick of the PGS-CA

Borkowo
    Current administrative location: Borkowo, Gmina Inowrocław, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Borkowo, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    A village that is located in powiat Inowrocław. See also, Jaksice. The post office and railway station are located about 7 kilometers away in Inowrocław. The entry did not list the village’s parish.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, December 2009.

Branno
    Current administrative location: Branno, Gmina Gniewkowo, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Branno, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    A dominium located in powiat Inowrocław. The Branno dominium has 1630 morgs of open area. The Branno dominium consists of two places: Branno and the Warzyn folwark. The Branno dominium has 15 houses with 186 inhabitants (131 Catholics and 55 Evangelical Protestants). There are 111 inhabitants that are illiterate. The dominium belongs to the Branno Parish, which belongs to the Gniewkowo Deanery. The post office and railway station are located in Gniewkowo (German name: Argenau), which is about 7 kilometers away. Toruń and the Wisła River are about 14 kilometers from Branno.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Breń Osuchowski
    The village was known as Schoenfield in German, and lies in the county of Mielec. Its area covered 1608 morgen of land, of which 1105 morgen were used as farmland. There were 132 houses, and 719 inhabitants. Breń belongs to the parish church in Czermin. Its public school had one classroom. Breń lies in a level plain; its soil is sandy.
    Translated by Helen C. Bienick of the PGS-CA

Brodnica
    In German, Strassburg in Westpreussen. City and county in West Prussia, regency of Kwidzyn, in the former Michalowo-land, on the right bank of the river Drweca, in a valley between small hills, on meadows in the midst of swampy places or “brody”. About 6 wiorsts from the border of the Congress Kingdom, about 3 miles from the Railroad station at Jablonow, center of carefully-kept beaten-roads stretching in 6 directions, a point of sale of grain for a significant part of the county of Rypin, not far from a beautiful and extensive forest belonging to the estate Karbowo.
    The area of the city together with the appendages Swiniekaty, Zal, Czapka, and Gabriel-Ostrowo, Arentowizna, Targowek, Wilamowo, Wygoda, Zaborowszczyzna and together with the farm belonging to the inhabitants amounts to 4,884.41 morgs. Of exchanged possessions 52 came into being after the separation of city farms starting in 1835. So-called Jerusalem remained then as common pasture. It later was divided among the owners of adjacent farms. However 5 exchanged possessions arose on farms let out by the city from times immemorial in emphitheutic (over 50 years) and perpetual lease, the same as Bobrowisko, and possessors of these villages paid the city still for a few years, the rent called “canon”, which was also paid by the miller and peasants from Michalowo. The knights of the Cross conferred these lands on the city in 1416. The city had pretensions on the forests supposedly conferred on it at its foundation in 1285, which forests belonged to the starostaship of Brodnica during Polish rule and from 1772 to the Prussian state and during the Grand Duchy of Warsaw were given to Major Rembieliniski, the owner (heir) of Karbowo and which remain in his possession to this day. Through a lawsuit which the city pressed against the Prussian state from 1788 to 1799, the city lost the forests because it lost the privelege conferring the forests on itself and did not execute rights of ownership in the forest. The city retained in the territory of the starostaship only the so-called “Radne” (councillor) meadows on the road to Karbowo and the “Siwa” (grey) inn on the track to Kwidzyn.
    In 1875 the city numbered 5,854 inhabitants. In 1864 it held 5,014 inhabitants, of whom Lutherans and Jews numbered 2,739 and Catholics 2,275 – these are almost all Poles, with the exception of a few Catholic officials who are German, and who, together with their families add up to 30 souls at most. In 1864 there were 732 buildings and 323 dwelling houses. In 1849 there were 3801 inhabitants-1607 Lutheran, 1621 Catholic. Official lists from 1849 offer, that as to nationality, 2715 were Germans and 1086 were Poles, but one needs to remember that in these lists each Pole who knew German is counted as a German. In the elections to the Reichstag in 1878 the Polish candidate received 259 votes, the German 393. A more accurate count was 342 for the Pole, 412 for the German. In 1879 there were 1,975 inhabitants and 238 houses. In 1816 there were 1,994 inhabitants. As a result of priveleges there were no Jews here in Polish times. Only after the Prussian occupation in 1773 did they begin to settle.
    Four fairs are held yearly, always on Monday. On the Friday before, there is a fair for cattle and horses. Twice a week Monday and Friday – there are markets. Brodnica at one time carried on a significant trade, which declined, through the Napoleonic war and later by the creation of the Russian-Prussian border in 1816.
    Tobacco was still widely cultivated in the first half of the nineteenth century in Brodnica’s fields. Till today there exists a manufacturing concern named “Tabaksbinder”, making from tobacco leaves so-called cigars, which are still in great demand in the area. This firm does not have its own tobacco plantations, but buys leaves from local peasants who, in a few places, plant small fields in tobacco. This tobacco, however, is of an inferior kind. Around 1860 tanning and cloth-manufacture more-or-less collapsed almost entirely on account of products supplied by merchants from factories. Today there exists only one tanner, and not even one cloth-maker. Furriery, on the other hand, is flourishing today; the only difference being that in earlier times furriers made mainly sheepskin coats, and now they deal with finer furs. In the middle ages even wine was made in the vicinity, at least it is written in the Brodnica chronicle that in 1379 there were very early harvests-already finished around St. James day (July 25). Cherries ripened on Pentecost; wine on St. James. Wine abounded everywhere and grain was so plentiful that a bushel of rye cost only 5 shillings. Today there are in Brodnica a distillery and brewery. The distillery was only started around 1875 on the state farm which formerly belonged to the starostaship. However the brewery exists already over 40 years; its output has not acquired wide renown. It is confined to local consumption. This is not, however, that famous city brewery which Balinski’s “Ancient Poland” mentions; that brewery was still functioning just ten years ago, but its beer did not stand out for any particular goodness,either. The more significant townspeople erected that brewery by virtue of a privelege from Zygmunt III. Around 1850 each of them still took turns brewing beer. In addition to the brewery, there are found within the city 2 mills, 5 windmills and one brickworks. There is a factory making farm machines since 1872.
    For about 50 years there has existed in Brodnica a bookstore as well as a reading room and a printshop from which went forth some scores of stories for the people in Polish translated from German, mainly by father Osmanski who was a pastor in Brodnica. After the death, in 1857, of this good and diligent worker for the advancement of popular literacy/education, the publishing of Polish books in Brodnica greatly lessened, although even today the owner of the printshop, C.A. Koehler, translates and publishes German stories. In recent years there has not been as significant a demand as earlier because the bookshop of Jozef Chociszewski in Poznan and the issuing from there into West Prussia of better popular writing affords the nourishment to the minds of our people.
    In 1838-9 30,000 copies of the famous “Gospodarz” (Farmer, Manager) by Ignacy Lyskowski appeared and circulated in Brodnica. This was a book for farmers. In 1879 a German newspaper appeared in Brodnica: “The Strassburger Zeitung”, which was, however, printed in Torun. Over 30 years ago the newspaper “The Prussian Grenzbote” (The Border Messenger) issued forth from the printshop of Koehler in Brodnica.
    Since 1873 there has been in Brodnica a high school, at which, through the endeavors of the deputy, Ignacy Lyskowski was made a teacher in 1879 and conducted lessons in the Polish language. Now they have set up a Polish library at the high school. Between 1864-1873 in Brodnica there was a high school prep consisting of 3 grades. Already from 1840 there existed a municipal higher school, presently allied with an elementary school, at which there are usually 10 pupils. Earlier there existed 2 elementary schools, a Catholic and a Lutheran one, combined in 1876. In 1864 arose a higher school for girls, existing to this day.
    There are presently 3 churches: 2 Catholic and 1 Lutheran. There is one synagog. The Lutheran church was built only in 1830 from a little store; free bricks and lumber were provided by owners of neighboring villages, not only Lutherans but Catholics, too. When the walls were partly-erected, higher authorities prohibited further building. During the day the gendarmes drove away the workers; further building was then carried on at night by lanterns, until at last the Prussian king marked 4,000 thalers from the state treasury for the church, to which he added 500 thalers from his own pocket and bought 2 bells. In that same year the Jews erected a synagog. Evangelical services have been held since 1817, when the Lutherans and Calvinists united in an evangelical community in a private home intentionally furnished for that purpose, which, in 1827 had to be torn down. The regime wanted to give to the evangelical community a cloister church, although the order at that time still had not been suppressed; the evangelicals would not accept the church, not wanting to antagonize the Catholics, which was for the regime a cause of later trouble in building. In the 17th century the evangelicals held services in a Catholic parish church which Anna, sister of Zygmunt III gave to the evangelicals, and which the starostaship of Brodnica had had in its possession between 1605 and 1625. When, after her death the starostaship took it back, queen Constantia, wife of Zygmunt III, gave it back to the Catholics, and even totally forbade evangelicals from holding services, but, after the conquest of the city by Gustav Adolf in 1628, the Catholic church was again given to the Lutherans, who, after the concluding of a treaty with the Swedes in 1629, had to give the church back to the Catholics and received permission to hold services in the city hall, which, however, in 1631 burnt down, as did the whole town with the exception of the Catholic church and a few houses. Today the tower of the city hall and the clock remain, and 15 years ago there was a piece of the city wall, which now is hidden by 3 and 4 story houses. The pastor of the Lutheran community in Brodnica for a certain time was the learned Erasmus Gliczner, pedagog and author of many works, who effected the understanding with the Dissidents in the so-called “Consensus Sendomirensis” (Sandomierz Consensus) and whose death shook the unity of religious dissident parties so much in Poland.
    There were still 4 Catholic churches in the first half of the 19th century. Today there are 2: a parish church built at the same time as the town and castle, around 1285, and a post-reformation one. The church and a reformed cloister were built around 1761 by the then starosta of Brodnica, who conferred on it farmland and meadows between the cloister and the Drweca along with the lake Strzemiuszek. The reason for building this cloister is told by a certain Poteralski who was a shepherd on the estate of the starostaship (and being 105 years old in 1819 was listened to as a witness in a certain affair). He says, “The starosta’s wife realized some Brabant lace items were missing. The chambermaid was suspected of stealing them and it was desired to persuade her to admit it. She did not admit it and when she died, from worry and harrassment, the lace items were found in the intestines of a cow, which had gotten sick and died. This caused the starosta to erect the church out of penance. on a tablet in the church are mentioned the Pawlowski’s. Since 1817 there has not been a novitiate, and in 1831 when cholera reigned, a quarantine was set up with the monks. One, saying goodbye to the church during prayers, died; three others established themselves in the houses of neighboring szlachta. They never returned to the cloister. After the cholera died down the regime took over the cloister as a possession of the treasury. In 1837 the regime gave it to the city along with the farm, lake and buildings, with the obligation of setting up a higher school. In 1839 the regime bought the cloister from the city and half the yard for 2000 thalers and set up there a criminal prison, which exists to this day. The sheepfold was changed by the then-mayor in 1845 into a hospital. It still exists. Today in the church Mass is celebrated each month for the prisoners, who come for it to the choir behing the great altar. In addition to this funeral services are held, because the Catholic cemetery is right next to the church. In the cemetery the Ossowski and Bialoblocki families have erected beautiful chapels as family tombs. Since 1862 on Wednesday after the third Sunday after Easter Poles and Catholics observe the feast of St. Adalbert, patron and apostle of Prussia and hold services in the beautiful remains of the little cloister church, placed beyond the city in the middle of the hides greening at that season. (Translator’s note: it seems that the choir- or sanctuary-part of the church remained where it was built and the rest of the church was moved or torn down.)

Of the two other remaining Catholic churches the wooden church of St. George on Mazurskie Przedmies’cie (Mazurian suburbs) still existed in 1821 and belonged to the parish of Szczucka, about 1 mile distant. To this church belonged the still-existing shelter for old women, here called the Hospital. The second such hospital exists at the parish church for 12 poor of the city of Brodnica. The church of the Holy Spirit on “Kamionka Suburbs” (street) at the walls of the earlier castle was ceded to the city for 51 thalers yearly rent in 1838 by the chapter 4 in Pelplin. In 1841 apartments for teachers were set up in the church of the Holy Spirit. From 1873 to 1877 a high school was located in it until a new building could be completed, and since 1877 a higher school for girls exists there. Then there is the chapel of St. Valentine on the road to Karbowo beyond the city, which ceased existing already in the 18th century.
    The most interesting buildings in Brodnica are the castle and the walls by which the city was once surrounded. Brodnica was regarded as the key to all Prussia and struggles often took place around it, which were written about in “Starozytna Polska” by Balinski and “Starozytnosc Polski” in the histories of Naruszewicz and Moraczewski. Today the still-remaining remnants of the castle and walls confer on the city a fortified appearance. The castle, although it often witnessed the rumbling of war troops and repeatedly conquered by powder and deeds, was preserved till the year 1787, when, in a time of full peace for the Prussian regime this beautiful monument of earlier times was dismantled and from its bricks five houses in Brodnica were built. Only the beautiful tower was kept, standing on a hill, 175 feet high, on which unfailingly a guard was set, in order to give an early sign about the advancing enemy, because from the tower it is possible to take in a few miles of territory by eye. Next to this tower there remains to this day a kitchen, today turned into a smithy. At the kitchen was found a round walled well, today filled in. These buildings are found right on the Drweca, from the very bottom of which rise up thick walls. Along both sides of the castle till today are preserved wide and deep moats, over which were on the outside two drawbridges; a third was toward the town. The castle formed a personal fortress, not including the town, which was also encircled by strong walls, as witness the still-remaining, significant enough parts of these walls. The town had a guard, before Mazurskie Przedmiescie, on the right bank of the Drweca over the bridge: a tower which today still exists in its entirety and serves the police as a jail. In the castle courtyard the king’s sister Anna erected a dwelling house in which today lives the leaser of the estate of the earlier starostaship, now state-owned.
    The starostaship of Brodnica in the 17th century was a few times given to women from the royal family. After the death of Anna, (Feb. 6, 1625, whose remains, when the Pope would not permit her burial in the tombs of the kings of Poland, were preserved without a funeral in a building built for that purpose at the Lutheran cemetery and which today serves as a shelter for poor of the Lutheran confession), queen Constantia the wife of Zygment III, from the house of Hapsburg, received the starostaship. She was a zealous Catholic. She went on foot behind a procession and being portly, got so tired that she caught a fever and had a paralytic stroke. After her death Zygmunt III combined the starostaship with the states for his daught Anna Catharina, who in 1642 married Philip William, son of the palatine of the Rhine. At the Grodno (Grodzien’ski) Diet, in 1679, the Brodnica starostaship was marked out for Maria Casimira. In the records of the city’s lawsuit with the regime in regard to the forest there is mentioned as staros’cina in the 16th century a Zamowska, which is simply a typographical error, and should be Zamojska, because in other documents of that suit Zamojska is mentioned. The same records mention as starosta a certain BieliAski, living in Warsaw, from whom Plaskowski rented the starostaship, stepping forth, in records, as the starosta after 1763. The starostaship had a court of first instance and had the right of jurisdiction. At the time of the Knights of the Cross a council from among the inhabitants ruled the city; the council also exercised judicature. The komtur confirmed its sentences of death. As a coat-of-arms the city has a right arm in a red field; from the times of municipal jurisdiction a walled gallows was preserved till 1818 beyond the city on the road to Gorczenica. The last komtur of Brodnica was Kilian von Exdorf. During the 13 year war with the Knights of the Cross, ended by the Peace of Torun in 1466, Brodnica belonged to the alliance of Prussian towns. In addition to the already-mentioned priveleges the city had from 1351 a brotherhood of shooters, armed at first with bows, later with guns. The best marksman and head of the brotherhood was gifted with various priveleges. The brotherhood lasted until 1772 and had its own shooting range at the Mazurian gate and tower. The city rented out the shooting range in 1783 in perpetual lease for 33 thalers, 10 sgr. yearly rent. Now there is in the shooting range an inn for journeymen and till today it still bears the name shooting range, in German “Schiessgraben”. In 1841 the then-mayor established a new shooting brotherhood, still existing. In 1757 the king of Poland, Augustus III, conferred on the city the right of collecting navigation and bridge taxes at the bridge over the Drweca. To this day the city collects the bridge tax. The Prussian regime took back the right of collecting the navigation tax around 1851. Till 1772 the city collected at the gates an excise on products brought in for market. Between 1772 and 1807 Brodnica was the seat of a Landrat (chief). Between 1807 and 1815 Brodnica was in the Grand Duchy of Warsaw and in 1817 was set up again the land court and municipal court as well as the proprefecture changed into a Landratur, and for taxes was established a county tax office, which have survived till today. The municipal board remained the same right up to 1833, when, in addition to a mayor and chancellor and 4 councillors was created a municipal representation composed of 12 members chosen by the citizens, which to this day has survived. In the council usually only 1, at most 2, Poles serve. The court was changed in 1850 into a county court, which existed till October 1, 1879 when the new judicature of the German Reich was introduced in Brodnica and made similar to the communal district court belonging to the circuit of the landowning court in Torun. a second-class post office and a telegraph station are united to it and an office of Plats. (Kontroler katastru czyli geometra) as well as a county architect.
    Brodnica parish numbered 4,106 souls in 1879. In addition to three shelters for poor old people here called hospitals, is a legate of pastor Powalski with a fund of 600 thalers from which a percent is used for clothing for poor Lutheran children; a charitable fund instituted by mayor Zermann for the support of poor children without regard to confession; the brotherhood of shooters and guild of shoemakers have funds for the cost of funerals of their members and the city has such a fund for the poor. In 1862 was established the still-existing Polish company “The Loan Society for the City of Brodnica and Surroundings”, which at the end of 1878 counted 345 members and had that year capital of 279,103 marks; the shares of the members amounted to 76,896 marks; 9,571 marks were in a reserve fund; 10,028 marks were pure profit, of which 4,174 marks were plowed back into the reserve fund and 5,854 marks were turned into dividends paying memnbers 4-6% per share. The company lent out at 8%.
    There is no certainty as to when Brodnica was founded. In the year 1298 comess the news that the Lithuanians destroyed the city. In 1410 it surrendered to king Wladyslaw Jagiello; following that, however, it fell again to the Knights of the Cross; in 1414 the Poles attempted to conquar it in their turn, hut they besieged the fortified castle for a long time, in vain. When the citizens and cities of Prussia uni.ted in the so-called Lizardous Alliance (Eidecksengenossenschaft) against the Knights of the Cross, the castle of Brodnica was completely encircled and the then-komtur, Ulryk -von Eisenhofen, not being able to hold out any longer, gave it back to Jail of Koscielec, the wojewoda of Inowroclaw in 1454. Later, in 1461, through the carelessness of Mikolaj Koscielecki, wojewoda. of Inowroclaw, the city was squandered. Only the castle protected itself, which, besieged for a long time, in February 1462 was conquered by the Knights of the Cross using hunger. Only in 1466 was it recovered, by the Peace of Torun on October 2, 1628, Gustav Adolf, having approached, immediately began to set up charges of powder under the walls and batter them by divisions. on the second day of the siege Koniecpolski showed up at Michalowo, giving the sign to the commander of Brodnica that he came to him to help him; he even harassed the rear guard of Gustav by frequent approaches. Such effective relief forced the Swedes to redouble their efforts: from one side mines placed under the walls broke them down, and from the opposite side La Chapelle, Swedish engineer, tunneled under the town. In spite of that the castle held out because the Polish army was near; the commander called, however, in the face of the Polish army, which had just arrived, for the free-will opening of the qates of the city on October 4th, for which he was later condemned to death. Found in the booty that was carried away from the city were 6 barrels of gold. At the beginning of the second vear the Poles bedsieqed Brodnica. Oxenstierna, with 10,000 men, hurried to relieve his own. Stanislaw Potocki, castellan of Kamieniec, commander of the army, unbeknownst to hetman Koniecpolski, also collected forces, but hardly found 4000 men, whom Wrangel, Swedish general, beat at Gorzno. Only in 1629 by the treaty of September 26th did the Swedes return Brodnica to the Polish king. At the second Swedish war in 1654 general Steinbok again ruled the city.
    Submitted & translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA

Broniszewo
Current administrative location: Broniszewo, Gmina Aleksandrow–Kujawski, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Broniszewo, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
    A village located in powiat Nieszawa. Broniszewo belongs to the Służewo parish and gmina. In 1827, Broniszewo had 10 homes, with a 115 inhabitants.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, May 2010.

Brudnia
    Current administrative location: Brudnia, Gmina Dąbrowa Biskupia, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Brudnia, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    A village located in powiat Inowrocław. The village belongs to the Brudnia Parish. The village has a rectory, 17 houses with 247 inhabitants (40 Evangelical Protestants and 207 Catholics). There are 65 inhabitants that are illiterate. The Brudnia Parish and church belong to the deanery of Gniewkowo. The post office is located 6 kilometers from Louisenfelde (Dąbrowa). There are railway stations located 20 kilometers away in Inowrocław and 22 kilometers away in Gniewkowo.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Brusno
    Brusno, Nowe and Stare (New and Old), with Deutschbach and Duchnicza, is a village in the county of Cieszanów. It is located twelve kilometers from Cieszanów and five kilometers north of Horyniec, and lies near a stream called Brodka. The terrain is woodsy and the soil is sandy. The private estate and holding covered 438 morgen [1] of farmland, 50 gardens and meadows, 88 morgen of pastures, and 1888 morgen of forests. The remaining land expanse consisted of 4592 morgen of farmland, 250 meadows and gardens, 798 morgen of pastureland and 28 morgen of forests. The population in the late 1800s numbered 1743 souls. Of this number, 407 were Roman Catholics, 1,000 were Greek Catholics and 336 were Jews. Brusno Nowe and Stare, with its two other settlements, belonged to the Roman Catholic Parish in Plazów. The Greek Catholic Church in Brusno Nowe belongs to the deanery of Lubaczów.
    Translated by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA

Brusy
    In German Bruss, Brusz. A peasant village in Chojnice county, with a school, a mayor, a city records office, a church, a post office from which personal mail to Chojnice and Koscierzyna; in a plain, the village is placed among good wheat lands; has significant peat bogs; the size of the village is 7,809.56 morgs magdeburg; in 1864 there were 374 buildings, 120 chimneys, 1,261 inhabitants of whom 1,127 were Catholic; in 1875 there were 1,318 inhabitants, mostly Poles, working in farming, and raising cattle, but particularly raising fowl. They send a significant output of geese to the entire hamlet. In 1878 a new church was built. From 1872 a Polish company has existed here called the Brusy-Lesno Loan Society, which had in 1878 76 members, and gave to depositors 6%, took 7% and had 15,749 marks in capital; there are two fairs a year and weekly markets.
    Submitted & translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA

Brzeziny
    Current administrative location: Sumin, Gmina Starogard Gdański, Powiat Starogard, Województwo Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Briesen, Sumin, Kreis Prueßisch Stargard, Regierungsbezirk Danzig, Westpreußen, German Empire.
    German name: Brzeczini or Briesen. A folwark located on the Sumin estate, in powiat Starogard. The post office and parish are located in Starogard Gdański.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, May 2010.

Brzozki/Broski
    1) Brzoski – village, district of Wielunski, parish of Cicszecin, township of Lututow. In 1827 it had 9 houses with 70 inhabitants.
    2) Brzoski – an area of nobles in the district of Mazowiecki, township and parish of Wysockie Mazowieckie. In this vicinity can be found: Brzoski Gromki, Brzoski Falki, Brzoski Tatary, Brzoski Gawrony and Brzoski Brzezinskie. In 1827, B. Gromki had 11 houses and 79 inhabitants, B. Falki had 10 houses and 57 inhabitants, B. Tatary had 17 houses and 129 inhabitants, B. Gawrony had 33 houses and 209 inhabitants, B. Brzezinskie had 24 houses and 159 inhabitants.  In 1890, B. Gromki and B. Tatary became part of the township of Szepietowo but remain in the parish of Wysockie Mazowieckie. Zygmunt Gloger (The White Land) named three other settlements in this area: B. Jakubowieta, B. Markowieta and B. Stanislawowieta. The last two were also known as Markowizna and Stankowizna. The area around these three settlements was the family home of the Brzoskis.
    3) Brzozki – native name in current use for Brzoski.
    4) Brzozki – a colony in the district of Koninski, township of Wysockie, 16 km south of Konin and 5 km from the river Warty.  It had 15 miles of open land, 63 inhabitants and was formerly a manor farm of the estate Wysockie. It was colonized in 1855.
    Submitted by: Jerry Gieraltowski

Brzozówka
    Current administrative location: Brzozówka, Gmina Kadzidło, Powiat Ostrołęka, Województwo Mazowieckie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Brzozówka, Powiat Ostrołęka, Gubernia Łomża, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
    13) A village located above the Piasecznica River, in gmina Nasiadki, powiat Ostrołęka. Brzozówka belongs to the Kadzidło Parish. In 1827, there were 32 homes with 200 inhabitants. Presently, there are 266 inhabitants. Brzozówka has a land area of 1025 morgs.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, July 2010.

Brzozowo
    1) Berezowo in Russian, village, in Bialystok powiat, the Catholic church of Saint Jan Chrzciciel was built in 1863 by farmers from the villages of Bobrowka and Brzozowo; the church is affiliated with the parish in Kalinowka.
    2) village in Bielsk powiat, in Grodno gubernia, on the left bank of the river Lizy.
    Submitter’s note: There are many villages listed with the same or similar names. This particular entry describes the village of his ancestors and the other accompanying entry.
    Submitted by: Don Szumowski, Washington, Feb 1997

Brzyska
    A village in Jaslo county, has 1,785 mórgs of land, including 1,143 of farmland and 433 of forests; 172 houses, 1,186 inhabitants. The Roman Catholic parish church in the village, belonging to Brzostek deanery, has 3,694 souls, and existed before 1555. It is not known who built or consecrated the wooden church, St. Mary Magdalene’s. In the stone chapel on the cemetery Masses are celebrated; there is a one-class elementary school, a district loan society, and sizable quarries. Brzyska lies on the Wisloka amid fertile hills. On the manorial grounds there are a beautiful palace and English garden with old trees, established by the current owner, Stanislaw Kotarski.
Source: Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego
    In Dlugosz called Brzysska and Brzyszka, a village in Jaslo county. In the mid-15th century this village, the property of the Tyniec abbey, had a wooden parish church, St. Mary Magdalene’s. In the village was a monastery manorial farmstead, a property (2 lans) belonging to the soltys [village headman], two inns (belonging to the monastery and the soltys), 9 farmsteads, and peasant lans. A tithe was given to the pastor (Liber beneficiorum, Vol. II, page 278). All the parish villages—Ujazd, Wróblowa, Lipnica, Klodawa, and Dabrówka – belonged to the Tyniec monastery.
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Spring 2004 Rodziny.

Brzyskorzystew / Brzyskorzystewko
    A Noble Estate, Prussia, Posen, Administrative District Bromberg (Bydgoszcz), Kreis and Court Records at Znin, Military Records Office at Gnesen (Gniezno), Civil Registry Office at Gutenwerder (Dobrylewo), Post Office at Retkowo, 4 km distance, 169 Population.
    Translated by Jim Piechorowski
    Additional informationn from the Slownik:
Brzyskorzystew, 1145, Bescoristew, 1357 Prescoristew, in XVI century Brzeskorzystew, is a village Szubinski district. First text about Brzyskorzystew was in document from the year 1138, it is a landed property of the Gniezninski church. According to a papal document from 1145 year “dominua Vincencius guesn. canonicus” the village was given to the monastery in Trzemeszno. In document from 1357 year the village is again the landed property of the Gniezninski Church. Documents from 1393 year provide that monastery Trzemeszenski had share in this village. The Parish Church sw Katarzyny of Alexandria was founded by the priest’s of the monastery in Trzemeszno. In XV century village became private property. A new church built in 1538 year, it burned in 1826 and was rebuilt from post and pan.
    Source: Slownik Geograficzny Krolestwa Polskiego
Translated by Mateus Kaczmarek of Znin, (Brzyskorzystew), Poland, Jan 2005
    More Information:
Brzyskorzystew is located not far from Znin, near the way to Szubin. It is an old village on the River Pomorka, also called the Letnica, the River Bezkorzyst and the River Rawka in the past. This river is a tributary of the river Gasawka. The village was mentioned as Bezkorzyst in a document of Pope Innocent dating from July 7, 1136.
    Originally, the village belonged to the archbishops of Gniezno and seven peasants lived there. Then, in 1370 it was sold to the family of the Grzymalita coat of arms. At the end of 15th century it belonged to the family of the Leszczyc coat of arms. After the partition, Brzyskorzystew was in the area of the Inowroclaw county, however outside its direct administration. The population of the village was about 140 inhabitants, more or less the same as the population of a typical, small town of the then Paluki region. The river, flowing along the village, was the border of the first Prussian annexation in the Great Dutchy of Poznan´, in the village was in the area of the Szubin county. After another change in the administration in 1887, Brzyskorzystew /Birkenfelde/ was included in the Znin county.
    The various names of the village Brzyskorzystew:
Brzyskorzystew 1826,
Gogólka or Gogulka 1827,
Kuraczewko or Koraczewko 1828,
Brzyskorzystew Wyreba Huba 1861
Brzyskorzystew Wyreba Marianowo (in German Marianwelde) 1861,
Brzyskorzystew Pawlowo (in German Pansholf) 1861
Brzyskorzystew Folwark Stary 1861,
Brzyskorzystew Marianowo Wyreka Brzyskorzystewska 1863,
Birkenfelde 1875

Buczkowo
    Current administrative location: Buczkowo, Gmina Gniewkowo, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko&ndashPomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Buczkowo, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    2) A dominium located in powiat Inowrocław. The Buczkowo dominium has 988 morgs of open area. The Buczkowo dominium has 8 houses with 78 inhabitants (47 Catholics and 31 Evangelical Protestants). There are 27 inhabitants that are illiterate. The post office and railway station are located in Gniewkowo (German name: Argenau), which is about 4 kilometers away. M. st. The Słownik entry for Buczkowo did not list a parish, but according to the Family History Library Catalog entry for the Gniewkowo Parish, Buczkowo belonged to the Gniewkowo Parish.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Bukovina
    In the county of Orawa in Hungary. The village, a subdivision of Podskle and Danielki is located on the border of Galicia and has a Roman Catholic parish. Among the residents are 878 Polish
    Submitted and Translated by: Rose Szczech, Apr 1998

Bukaczowce
    Bukaczowce, now known as Bukacivci in the Ukraine, is located in the county of Rohatyn/Rogatin on a stream named Świrz, which runs about half a mile to the south of Bukaczowce and enters the Dniestr River, which borders the town on the south. Bukaczowce is located 2½ miles south of Rohatyn in a southwestern direction, and 1½ miles from the town of Burstyn/Burstin to the east. The railroad line running between Lwów/Lviv and Czerniów/Cernivci passes through the village. The railroad station is located nearby and is 88 kilometers south of Lwów.
    One large farmstead covered 768 morgen (mr.) of farmland, 360 mr. of gardens and meadows, 378 mr. of pastureland, and 544 mr. of forests. Another large estate covered 588 mr. of fertile farms, 639 mr. of meadows and gardens, and 116 mr. of pastures.
    In the late 1800s, there were 280 Roman Catholics, 501 Greek Catholics and 1059 Jews, a total of 1840 souls. The town had a telegraph station, a post office and two churches, a Roman Catholic and a Greek Catholic. The Roman Catholic church belonged to the deanery of Dolina and was built in 1747 by Franciszek Luszczowski from the town of Luszczów, who was the castellan of Sochaczew. The church was remodeled, and in 1838 was dedicated to All Saints. The following villages were members of the parish of Bukaczowce: Czahrów, Czerniów, Kozary, Noworzyny, Poświrz, Słoboda and Zurawienko, in total 530 members. Amongst these villages there were five schools available. The Greek Catholic parish also included the village of Słoboda as an affiliate with 183 members, and totaled 754 souls. The Greek Catholic church belonged to the deanery of Zuravne. Bukaczowce also had a private school with one teacher. The lending bank had a capital of 1030 złoty. Markets and fairs were held, mostly in the sale of cattle.
    Translated by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA

Bukowa
    In the county of Samor. A village that lies above the stream that feeds into the river Strwiaza, one mile north of Fulsztyn (Felsztyn), 1 1/2 miles north of Starejsol (Staraya Sol) and one mile northwest of Chyrow (Khirov). There is a railway station at Lupkow. It is the first railroad between Hungary and Galicia, which connects with the railway at Niestrza.
    The village has 16 Roman Catholics, 838 Greek Catholics, 27 Jews, for a total population of 881. It belongs to the Roman Catholic parish in Fulsztyn. The Greek Catholic parish here also serves the village of Lutowiska, making a total of 1262 parishioners. The parish belongs to the deanery of Starosolsk. According to the records of the inspection that took place in 1733, Bukowa had a church built by Mikolaj Herburt, Przemysl district Chamberlain in 1568, and Mikolaj Danilowicz of Zurow(o), royal Cupbearer and Chelm district Chamberlain, also the Hrubieszew starost from Bukowa in 1669. It has a branch school and convent belonging to the parish of St. Basil in Dobromil.
    Submitted by: Stan Schmidt, Roselle, IL, May 1998

Bukowina
    In the county of Lipvov in Hungary. In the village area there was once an old castle (Liptovar) located in the high mountain rocks. There are also castle structures of Vasar and Nagyvar where little remains exist. There are 110 people in the village.
    Submitted and Translated by: Rose Szczech, April 1998

Bukowina
    In the county of Nowy Targ. The village is at the foot of the Tatry mountains on the inflow of the Bialka river. From the north it borders with the village of Bialka; on the west with Gliczarow, Gron, Poronin, Murem-Zasichla and Zakopane; from the south it is at the foot of the Tatry; and from the east it borders with Brzegi and Spiz. Bukowina has a train station for people who continue their travel to Zakopane or “Five Lakes” and Morskie Oko. There is a Roman Catholic parish in Bialka and a post office in Nowy Targ. The southwest part of the village is located on the stream Odewsianka (also called the Dziadkowka). It lies 7.5 km from Poronia and 24 km from Nowy Targ. The village has 193 houses and 1073 people; 536 men and 537 women. Its elevation is 958 meters. The total territory is 5069 morg; there is 2179 morg of plowed land good for oats and 2252 morg of forests. It has a sawmill.
    Submitted and Translated by: Rose Szczech, April 1998)

Bukowsko
    A small town in Sanok county, with a Roman Catholic parish church and a post office in the town, in the foothills of the Beskid mountains, in the San River basin. It has a county court, a one-classroom school, and markets for pigs, corn, cattle, and horses. The Roman Catholic parish, of Sanok deanery, has 1,280 faithful; at one time Bukowsko belonged to the parish of Nowotaniec. A parish church was built here in 1648; the current one was erected in 1710.
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Fall 2001 Rodziny.

Bursztyn
    Bursztyn, with the villages of Burczyce and Ludwikówka, a town in the county of Rohatyn (presently in the Ukraine) lies on the river Lipa as it flows from Peremisljani, and on the road which runs from Lwów/Lviv through Podhajczki, Rohatyn, Bursztyn and Wojniłów. This route eventually joins the road that leads from Lwów to Stryj and Stanisławów. Another road (paved) leads to the town of Halicz. The railroad station serves Bursztyn and Demianów on the line which runs from Lwów to Czernowiec/Cernivci, and is six kilometers from Bursztyn and 17 miles from Rohatyn. The route from Lwów to Halicz measures 100 kilometers.
    One large farmstead covered 880 morgen of fertile farmland, 320 of meadows and gardens, 458 of pastureland and 566 of forests. The second farmstead and estate covered 1914 of arable farms, 540 of meadows and gardens and 289 of pastures.
    In a population count of 4294 inhabitants, there were 371 Roman Catholics, 1471 Greek Catholics and 2452 Israelites. The town had a county court house, as well as a post office, telegraph station, and two churches, Roman and Greek Catholic. The Roman church and parish was founded in 1740 by Paweł Benoe, the attorney for the Crown. He also built a convent for the Fathers of the Holy Trinity Order. The brick church was dedicated in 1744. The following villages were members of the parish: Jezierzany, Junaszków, Korostowice, Kukicze, Kuropatniki, Ludwikówka, Nastaszczyn, Sarnki Dolne, Sarnki Średne and Staśiowa Wola. The entire Roman Catholic population totaled 1693 souls. The parish belonged to the deanery of Kakol. Local schools were located in Bursztyn, as well as in Korostowice, Nastaszczyn and Sarnki Dolne. There were two chapels in use, one on the cemetery, and the other in the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy, which was built in 1842 and funded by Count Ignacy Skarba. The Sisters were occupied with caring for the sick and orphaned children.
    The Greek Catholic Church with the towns of Bursztyn and Ludwikówka totaled 1494 souls and belonged to the deanery of Rogatyn. Bursztyn also had a special school for boys.
A very important attraction of Bursztyn was its beautiful palace and gardens. Especially noteworthy was a canary roost built in a beautiful designed house where several hundred canaries were on display. The town was considered one of the most beautifully designed in Galicia, as well as the most attractive.
    Also found in Bursztyn were quarries of alabaster, and six large mounds of burial ground dating back to the 1629 defeat of the marauding Tatars. According to legend, not far from this grave site is the burial ground of Count Stanisław Jabłonowski, the grandson of Count Ignacy Skarba.
• Note: The word ”bursztyn” translates to ”amber” as mined in the Baltic Sea.
    Translated by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA

Bzowo
    Bzowo, in German known as Gross-Sibsau, a village with a Catholic church and school, also a civil government office, is located in the county of Świecie. The post office and the telegraph station were in the town of Warlubie, about 3 kilometers distant. A large noble family holding covered 914.29 hectare of land of which 504 were fertile farmland and 359 were forests. In the late 1800s there were 30 houses with 377 inhabitants, of whom 317 were Catholics. The town had a distillery and a brick making kiln. The land belonging to the inhabitants covered 1228.53 morgen of land with 39 houses and 308 inhabitants, of whom 280 were Catholics. The nobility owned large farmsteads (folwarks) called Birkenrode and the Chełmiński of Bzowo. These farmsteads had 7 houses, with 51 inhabitants of whom 44 were Catholics. There were dairies and dairy farms in Bzowo and the village of Krusze, which covered 676 ha of land. A small settlement called Bzowko, also belonging to the parish in Bzowo, covered 328 morgen of land, with 15 houses and 95 inhabitants, of whom 4 were Catholics.
        The following description is from an unknown source.
    The brick church dedicated to St. Margaret, is part of the deanery of Nowe, and has been in existence since 1768. Next to it stood a hospital funded by the Castellan Borowski, along with a home for the poor established in 1857.
    The following villages were included in the parish of Bzowo: Bzowo, Brzeźiny, Bzowko, Osiek (Komerau) Kompania, Krusze, Pletnowo, Bojanowo, Grupa Górna, Grupa Dolna, and Piła. In 1867, the parish totaled 783 souls, with 491 communicants. In 1888, the count showed 986 souls.On the eastern side of town, not far from the so-called “Góra Zamkowa” (Castle Hill), lies an old burial ground. Excavations uncovered many old chests, boxes, ashes, and other antiquities.These items are described and explained by the writer Ossowski in his book, on pages 38 and 76. We first encounter the village in 1295 when the Bishop of Kujawa, named Wisław, first annexed it into the parish church of Komórsk, as described on page 468 in the P.U.B., by von Perlbach. In 1305, the father of King Wacław III, issued a decree supporting the military actions of the Teutonic Knights, which mentions the village of Bzowo, as per the writings of Zubesow, page 559 in his book. In the times of the Teutonic Knights and their escapades, Bzowo was the property of the chieftains of Grudziądz. During a pastoral visit by Bishop Strzesa in 1710, documents show that Bzowo was incorporated into the county office in Grudziądz. The local pastor owned 4 fields and the church owned the lake called Głowinek. At one time the parish was administered by the pastor from Komórsk, who visited every third Sunday to conduct the religious services, as stated in the schematics of the diocese on page 189.
    In 1773, there were 200 inhabitants, living in 40 houses, of whom half were Catholic, and half were Evangelicals. The following pastors at one time served the church, Franciszek Grotkowski in 1639, Andrzej Robakowski in 1710, Teofil Grzembski in 1783, Kazimierz Gruśinski in 1869 and Mateusz Bolemow in 1767.
    Translated by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA