Wabrzezno
    In German, Briesen in WestPrussen. In documents Wambrez, Wambrzessno, Fredeke,Wambresin, Fredeck,Vridecke, or Frydek.
    The city, once the residence of bishops of Chelmo, now a county seat, in the periphery of the regency of Kwidzyn. It is situated by the eastern railroad (in the Torun-Wystruc area), between two lakes: Zamkowe (Schloss-See) and Wabrzeskie (Friedeck-See). Sandy soil, mixed with clay, and medium fertility. Three beaten roads separate here to Chelmo, Radzyn and Brodnica. Personal mail reaches Kornatow (20 kms away). In the city there is an enlistment office, circuit court, and a post office class II; the train station is 3 kms away from the city. Further, there is a Roman Catholic church, Evangelical church, a synagogue, and a new city hall (1892). It also has a beautiful market place, savings institution, and loan office, in which there were 1,777,552 marks in liquid/assets (1884).
    In 1885 there were 437 homes, 1008 chimneyless huts, 2159 Catholics, 1893 Evangelicals, 13 Baptists, and 589 Jews; altogether 4654 inhabitants, of which 46 inhabitants and 3 homes belong to the Presbytery. Their main occupation is farming, raising cattle, trading in grain, selling pigs, and industry; the Poles have 6 colonial businesses and 1 clothing store. At the cattle count in 1892 there were 358 horses, 698 horned cattle, 80 sheep, 863 pigs, 169 chickens, and 131 beehives. Every year there are four fairs here and a marketplace sale every week. The city area with the Presbytery has 3887 acres (3188 tilled soil, 380 in meadows). The city budget for 1893 amounts of 51,231 marks. Of which 18,468 marks were set aside for schools, 4125 marks for the poor. In 1893, the city school had 421 Catholic children, 392 Evangelical, and 55 Jewish. In 1888 the city council was made up of 9 Catholic, 7 Jews and 2 Protestants.
    Wabrzezno lies in a section that was populated a long time ago. From time to time various artifacts were found in the lake between the city and today’s city cemetery. A clay vessel of original spherical form and a bronze fish-hook are in the possession of the Historical Society in Kwidzyn, and a stone hammer and a tool of deer-horn exists in the museum of the Society of Science Friends in Poznan. Furthermore, skeleton heads from graves in, together with beads, bronze, and fibula were found here. At the site of today’s city cemetery, there was once a trench, whose original shape has already disappeared. On the southern side of this trench, almost at its base, was found a skeleton besides which was a flint knife. This is the only sample in West Prussia having the semblance of a paleolithic article.
    Wabrzezno obtained first city rights in 1246, when the Grand Master of the Crusaders Henry von Hohenlohe assigned to the Bishop of Chelmo Heidenreich, 25,000 acres of the Chelmo lands near Loza, i.e., near Chelmza, Wabrzezno (Wambrez) and Bobrow, which were already promised to his predecessor Bishop Chrystyan (see “U.B. des Bist. Culm.”, p.6, no.14). When Wabrzezno received its first city privileges it is not known, new privileges were given in 1534 by the Bishop Jan von Hoefen Dantiscus, giving the poor inhabitannts 1660 acres which was set aside for them at the first settlement and another 830 acres belonging to the empty village Podmiejska on the Chelmo rights. For this they had to give every year on St. Martin’s half a tax on each 40 acres in Prussian coin, counting the tax at 20 groszy, 1 bushel of oats, 2 chickens and do customary farm work. Besides this they were given 85 acres of farm land, formerly belonging to the bishop?s castle,for which they had to pay 10 skojcy per each 1.5 acre. And in acknowledgment of the jurisdiction, all inhabitants who brew beer have to pay on St. Martin’s 5 groszy from each household, the others 2 groszy from each house or locale. Transferred also were the city houses built around the city hall, brewery, bath house and 5 lots with all accessories. From the butcher’s booths they have to give half a stone of lard from each, from baker’s booths and others one-half of this levy has to flow into our coffers and half to the city’s. Finally the bishop gave the city a coat of arms or a seal: one wing of an eagle of black color and on the reverse of that wing a shepherd’s staff or a pastoral seal, dated in the city Fredeck (see Woelky, Urkb. d. Bist. Culm., no. 894,p. 751).
    About the city?s further events we have very little information. The Crusaders books of losses from the beginning of the 15th century relate that the city and surrounding villages were burned to the ground in the recent wars. In the 13 year war (1454-66), the city inhabitants sided with Poland and paid homage to the king in Torun at the end of May 1454. Around 1466 the Crusaders occupied the castle and burned it down (see Scrpt. rer Pr., V, p. 193). In 1499 the mayor here was Jan Noborkowski, the court bench was occupied by Jan Palcer, Stanislaw Odoj, Matyasz Mazgaj, Jan Bialy and others; it is evident here that thePolish element was not in the minority. In 1569 the mayor was Jan Zegwirtski (see Ketrz., About the Polish People, p. 175). In the inventory of the bishopric of Chelmo from 1731 we read: the city of Wabrzezno has 2491 acres; exists on rights given it for all times, they pay yearly a canon the amount of 100 zloty from these 2491 acres. They yield 30 bushels of wheat, 30 bushels of rye, from these 2491 acres.
    At harvest time for thrashing they would send 60 people with sickles, 60 for raking, 60 wagons for hauling hay. From the brewing of beer they gave one-fourth of each container of the malt to the castle. They have 5 fairs, where one-half of the fair tax goes to the city (p.29). In 1709 the city had 665 inhabitants, 84 homes, and 19 empty lots (see Topografia Goldbecka, p.36). In 1858 there were 331 homes, 10 windmills, 3030 inhabitants, namely 1320 Evangelists and 1304 Catholics.
    The city lies on an elevated side of a lake (eastern side) and is quite well developed around a spacious market place. It has no buildings of archeological importance. Old entrenchments disappeared completely. The bishops’ castle stood a little beyond the city on a hill, on the northwest side, in the bend of the castle’s lake. It is composed of a castle proper and the castle foreground surrounded by a wall. Both sections were connected with each other by a drawbridge. Its interior installation is unknown; in a document from 1403 there is mention of a winter refectory. A visit by Strzesz mentions the castle’s chapel called St. Mark’s. It was comparable even to the most beautiful chapel of the Crusaders.
    From the castle’s hill there is a wide view; about 8 churches, a multitude of villages and strewn little settlements appear on the horizon. Today, from the castle remains only the moat, a section of the wall and rubble. The erection of the castle is attributed to Bishop Herman (1301-11). In documents it appears for the first time in 1321 in the charter of Bishop Mikolaj. In the 13 year war (1454-66) it was hard hit, the solicitous bishops fixed it anew. In 1599 Bishop Tylicki permitted that the whole convent of Benedictine sisters from Torun have refuge in it from a pestilence. The Wabrzezno castle was the residence of bishops as far back as the middle of the 17th century.
    Alas, different wars, especially Swedish, destoryed everything. In 1670 the castle and chapel were already an empty ruin. After the secularization, King Frederick II permitted the use of materials from the empty castle in the partial rebuilding of the torched city. The Catholic church of St. Simon and St. Jude, under the patronage of the bishop, stands on a hill in the southwest section of the city. In the eastern part, the presbytery and the sacristy are built of stone and brick, it originates from the beginning of the 14th century. The western part, which was burned down, was probably rebuilt about 1700 from the rubble of the old castle. A strong but somewhat short tower was built first in 1779. On the cemetery, surrounded by a wall, stands a mighty cross of hewn rock. In 1881 the local church was rebuilt and enlarged.
    Of the relics in the church, a silver ostensorium with a pointed arch deserves attention, as well as a silver chalice and a large bell, that is inscribed with the following words: “Michael Wittwerck Gedani made me in 1705”. After the burning of the city of Fredeck and the church and its bell-tower, the most illustrious and reverend Theodore Potocki, Bishop of Chelmo and Pomerania had this bell constructed in honor of St. Theodore, martyr, in 1705. Finally, a miraculous painting deserves special mention, bedecked with votive offerings, designated for carrying in processions, painted on canvas. The whole figure was clothed with a silver, gilt-edged dress and bedecked with a crown, around the head could be seen rays and 12 gold stars. On the reverse side is a picture of Lord Jesus, very old but not as beautiful. The painting of the Blessed Virgin originates from the 18th century. From time immormial this painting was located in Kowalewo and was venerated by the populace as miraculous. Finally in 1685, by permission of Bishop Opalinski, it was transported to Wabrzezno (see “Miraculous Paintings” of Count Fankidejski, p. 122).
    In 1667 the pastor in Wabrzezno used to receive fodder of 1 bushel of rye and the same amount of oats from each plow. From the village, from each farm of 83 acres, he would recieve 1 bushel of rye and the same amount of oats (see Visit of Strzesz, p.400). By the church there is a hospital for 6 poor parishoners and a sorority of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, founded in 1667, which Pope Innocent XI approved in 1680. Formerly there was also here a literary society, founded in 1593 by Bishop Piotr Kostka. In 1599 Magdalena Dzialynska-Galczewska funded a chaplain for the society with a sizeable sum at the altar of the Blessed Virgin. In Wabrzezno in 1575 was born Fr. Bernard, a religious from the Benedictine Convent in Lubien near Poznan, died there in 1603 in fame of holiness (see Poland Mother of Saints, II, p. 284 etc., and Life and Miracles of Fr. Bernard of Wabrzezno by Chawiszewski, Poznan 1881). The parish in Wabrzezno of the same deaconate had 4117 souls in1892. It includes: Wabrzezno, Rozgard, Mysliwiec, Cymbark, Prusy, Plebanka, Wronie, Walyczyk, Sitno, Trzcianek, Nielub, Czystochleb, Labedz, Michalki, Stanislawki, Katarzynki and Sicinek. Besides this there has been added to the parish, the church in Lopatki and the adjoining settlements of Lopatki Polskie and Buczek, Lopatki Niemieckie, Zaskocz and Zalesie, Wielkie and Male Ksiazki, Jarentowice and Friedrichsdorf.To the deacanate of Wabrzezno belong the parishes: Niedzwiedz, Bledowo, Wabrzezno and Lopatki, Nowa Wies, Orzechowo, Pluznica and Rynsk.
    The Evangelical church stands in the southeastern corner of the market place; built in 1835; a rather prominent tower was built in 1864. As regards art, a mention should be made of the altar, representing Jesus Christ on Mount Olive, the work of Italian artist Daniel Crespi of Milan (1592-1630; see Building andArt Monuements of\ West Prussia, V. p. 20 and 93).
    Submitted by:Stan Schmidt, Roselle, IL (Dec 1996)

Waldowko
    Also called Waldowek. The village contained 174 hectares (about 430 acres), of which 149 (about 368 acres) are in plowed fields, 6 (15 acres)an, Gross Zirkwitz. A peasant village. Up until the partition (1772) it was a table estate of the archbishops of Gniezno. There is a mill in the village, on the Kamionka stream. In area it contains 5624 morgs. There are 74 dwelling houses. Catholics number 624; Lutherans 24. Nothing is mentioned about a manor/estate. Parish of Kamien krajenski.
    Waldowko. A knightly estate. It contains 477 hectares (about 1179 acres), of which 390 (964 acres) is in ploughed fields, 22 (about 54 acres) in meadow, and 44 (about 109 acres) in forest. Parish of Waldowo.
    Translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA

Wałdowo
    Wałdowo in Ziotow County. At the end of the 13th century Waldowo was already seen to be in the possession of the Waldowski family. This family was supposed to have German origins and to be descended from a count Falo, burgrave of Czarnikau. In 1288 prince Mestwin II of Pomerelia was attending the marriage of the duke of Pomerania in Slupsk. Falo delivered to him there the message that his adoptive son Przemyslaw of Wielka Poiska was being freed from the prison of the duke of Wroclaw. For this joyous news Mestwin gifted burgrave Falo the village Drozdzienica and a few adjoining estates. To these belonged Resmin (Roszcziminy) and Pantau (Pamietowo), which it can be proved were in possession of the family Waklowski in the 14th and 15th centuries. One may assume that the village Pamietowo (from pamietac: to recall) bears its name to recall the gifting of Mestwin to Falo. “The grod-books confirm this supposition insofar as they demonstrate that the estates Drozdzienica, Resmin and Pamietowo almost always lie in one control, thus obviously have formed one complex. Also the Waldowskis not seldom call themselves Walko a diminutive for Walo, i.e., Falo, the named burgrave. So a Walko (Waldko), hereditary lord of Waldowo, appears in the document of March 27, 1362 held in the Overpresidial Archive in Poznania. Probably Pamietowo is the same place that is named Wyssoka Sedliczhe in the document of 1288, and in documents of the Teutonic Order is called Czedelitz: it has given up its name to honor the gifting.”
    Many writers of history and books of heraldry report that the Waldowski’s are descended from Bavaria. They had also the surname Kramptenherr (Kramptenherz). In olden days the family was supposed to have called itself Wensing (Wensyng, Wendzing, Wendzyng); hence a branch called itself Wensing-Waklowski. Other branches of this family were the Wlosciborski’s of Wadowo and the Czodlinski’s of Waldowo. All Waklowski’s belong to the house Topor.
    In the 14th century the Waldowski’s owned not only Drozdzienica, Resmin and Pamietowo, but also Waldowo and Wielki Wlosciborz, and later still, Tonin and Waldowek (Waldowko). Also the villages Lipinni, Dzidno, Luczmin and Makowarsko, all lying along the lower course of the Sepóona brook, belonged to them; nevertheless they ceded these villages to the cloister at Byszewo in 1345 “for the good of their salvation”.
    At that time Joannes Waklowski was lord of these estates”. Soon thereupon (1358) a Peczo de Waldowo was named. In 1362 Walko (Waldko) of Waldowo was mentioned. Quite frequently the name Arnold Waldowski comes up in documents. He was between 1376-1394 hereditary lord of Waldowo estate. A faulty identification of him with the Paluka’s of the Znin area is reported. In 1388 Ekhard of Waltiowo is mentioned, who received from king W1adyslaw II Jagiello (1386-1434) many estates in Wielka Polska in Poznan county thru documents of September 9, 1388. In 1405 lived Pietrasz Waidowski. From this family came forth Joannes Waldowski, bishop of Libau, mentioned in 1424. In 1546 Laurentius WaI’dowski divided the estates Waldowo, Waldowko, WIosciborz and Adamkowo with his brothers. In 1597 Peter Waldowski was hereditary lord of Waldowo and Adamkowo.
    In the feuds which the Polish knights carried on around the year 1600, Watdowo must have suffered very much. On one map from the year 1596 Waldowo is designated as “desertum”. At the beginning of the 17th century the place was again rebuilt, and in 1621 Anna Waldowska nee Zakrzewska funded the church there. In 1644 Michael Waldowski died. In 1672 Ignacy Franciszek Waldowski, who at that time was renowned for his legal training, was born. In 1697 the Kaptur judge in Naklo, Adalbert Waldowski, married Barbara Obrebska from Inowroclaw. In 1735 Joseph Waldowski died; he was married to Theodora Jaworska from the house Sas; the marriage produced 3 daughters and one son. The oldest daughter, Anna, married Kazimierz Korytowski of the coat-of-arms Mora; the second married a Gonszczynski, the third married Andreas Krzywosondzki. The son Adam was married to Anna Wojanowska. Probably Adam Waldowski sold the inherited estates, because in 1767 the estate Waldowo was found in possession of Melchior Kalkstein-Stolinski, who took over the estate for the appraised value of 12,000 talers. In 1772 the Polish chamberlain Stanislaus Grabowski was the owner of Waldowo. In 1788 Paul Augustyn Ignacy Gostómski took over the estate for 150,000 talers. In 1791 Felix Zabinski temporarily possessed it and in 1800 a Kalkstein-Oslowski had it. In order to divide it for inheritance the estate was auctioned off in 1827. This Stanislaus Kalkstein-Ostowski inheritance liquidation sale consisted of the estate Waldowo (n. 314), the foiwark Adamkowo and a forest and was valued at 56,145 talers, 2 Sgr., 8 Pfennigs. The possession went to Aloysius Pradzynski, who as county deputy made the well-being of the county his business. He died in 1834 and left Waldowo to his widow. Thru inheritance then Aloysius Pradzinski jr. became owner of Waldowo; from him Abraham Michelsohn of Berlin bought it in 1875. Abraham sold it in 1879 to the non-noble of private means, Felix Laudon. Bankruptcy proceedings over his fortune had to be introduced in 1885, On May 29, 1886 the knightly estate Waldowo was put up for compulsory sale. Its size at that time was 1351 hectares, 60 ares, .06 square meters (about 3339 acres), and was bought by the non-noble of private means, Raphael Cohn from Poczdam, for 556,000 marks. In the very next year Cohn became a fugitive because of serious document falsification, and a warrant for his arrest and apprehension was issued. In 1887 the knightly estate owner Anton Edler von Graeve of Borek, county of Koschmin bought the estate Waldowo. In 1893 the knightly estate Waldowo was bought from Edler von Graeve, by the Royal Colonization Commission, for the purpose of parcelization and homesteading Germans. So then the transformation of the estate district into Nowe Waldowo was approved by means of the highest decree of February 3, 1902.
    In the north of Nowe Waldowo were not inconsiderable forest-plains. The Settlement Commission sold this standing timber to the merchant Grunbaum in Poznaii. In 1903 the forest was entirely cut down and cleared. The wood was for the most part used for railroad ties and to a lesser extent for pit-props. One part of the forest area was again reforested; the better part was made over into tillable land and given to German homesteaders. The forester’s house, in which 12 people lived in 1895, has decayed. The former estate distillery was converted in 1900 into an independent distillery with limited liability. The Warriors Union Nowe-Waldowo was founded on April 5, 1908.
Municipality of Waldowo
    lies in the eastern part of the county, 2.2 km (about 1 1/3 American mile) from the border, on the highway connecting Sepolno, Trzciany, Wlosciborz, and Waldowo. Earlier there existed an estate and village Waldowo. The estate is now transformed into a country community with the name Nowe Waldowo. In the northeast of Waldowo is found the Swiadowo (Schwadowoer) lake, which less frequently is called the Wilkowo lake. It is 4 hectares (almost 10 acres) in size and 2 meters (about 6 1/2 feet) deep and contains Karausche.
The history of the country community Waltiowo is that of the former estate Waldowo.
    In Waltiowo stands a Catholic church; already in 1358 there was such, because in this year a pastor of Waldowo is mentioned. The church bears the title St. Matthaeus (Matthai). In 1652 the church in Waldowo was massive, with a massive tower; to the church belonged 2 hides, which were bestowed on the pastor himself, as well as meadow in the so-called goat-islands (ostrowy baranie). Between Waldowo and Waldowko existed at that time a glebe of such size that one would have been able to sow it with 6 Bydgoszcz bushels of grain seed. This glebe, however, lay fallow. The church was built in 1621 by the wife of the then-owner of Waldowo, Anna Waldowska, nee Zakrzewska furthermore she richly fitted out the church. On a frieze still stands the year 1621. On one wall is written in small letters: “Sebastian Lakner R.W.A.D. 1663.” Since the church already in 1653 was in need of repair in various places and since the portal on the main entrance appears to have been added only later, the church in 1663 was permitted to receive a thoro renovation.
    The church shows the usual ground plan for small village churches: a single-naved long hall, a vestibule as wide as the nave in the west, surmounted by a tower topped by an eight-sided cupola. Of ancillary rooms the church possesses only one: a sacristy. The stairs to the organ loft and to the tower, accessible from outside, are located in one corner of the vestibule. Of art objects one chalice, a few pictures and the bells are noteworthy. “The chalice (a similar one is located in Wiecbork. Both are no doubt from the same hand) is of interest in that into it, certain parts of older altar utensils were incorporated “. The chalice exhibits many low-reliefs. Also two pictures are worth mentioning. One was rescued from the filial church in Wielka Klonia, county of Tuchola, demolished in 1870. It portrays a well-executed Madonna with Child. “St. 1648” on the backside of the picture identifies the painter Bartholomew Strobel, who in 1640 furnished pictures for the convent in Pelplin. The second picture, a half length portrait of the Madonna, notably smaller than the previous, is by Joseph Laurenz Klein, painted in 1689. Of the three bells the smallest is from recent times, the middle bears the inscription: “Sit nomen Domini benedictum. Anno 1646”, and the largest one, of bad casting, summons: “Laudate Dominum in cimbalis bene sonantibus” and exhibits the name of the church’s foundress (Anna Waldowska) and the year 1618.
    Legend has it that Evangelical services were held here in the 16th century. In any case it is certain that the lords of the manor of Wa1dowo, the Watdowskis, for a time were Evangelical and that in 1744 there were more Evangelicals than Catholics in Wakiowo; in 1766 the number of Catholics in Waldowo was 153, the number of Evangelicals was 246. In 1624 Albertus Cantius worked here as a minister; in 1653 Joannes Wyrzykowski. At the beginning of the 19th century the Catholic pastor in Waldowo was Cajetan Kalkstein-Oslowski. He was often sick and resigned suddenly in 1833 and died on April 22, 1849. His successor was Fr. Ceynow (died 1840), then Fr. Malinowski from Czarcze, then Fr. Krolikowski (died 1887), then Poczwiardowski. In 1912 Fr. Paszotta served as administrator. Now the pastor is Fr. Brettschneider.
    Starting about 1820 yearly fairs were held in Waldowo. At first there were four, each one of which was a combined cattle- and horse-fair: the Three Kings’ Fair (January 6), the Assumption Fair (August 15), the St. Pantaleon Fair (July 27th) and the Rosary Fair at the beginning of October. Since 1840 only two yearly fairs are held, both being combining cattle-and horse-fairs and flea-markets. A teacher has been in Waldowo since 1653. Today’s school is paritatisch (meaning unknown) and has two rooms.
Manor and Municipality of Waldowko
    In 1484 it was called Minus Watdowo. It lies near the border with the county of Tuchola, between Waldowo and Obodowo. Waldowko was first mentioned in 1484. At that time the manor was owned by Elizabeth and Swantochna of the house Waldowski. In 1765 Stanislaus Slupi-Waldowski owned Waldowko, in addition to Wawelno (Lindenwald), Toninek, and Zempelkowo ( Przepalkowo?). In 1767 Franciszek Waldowski, burgrave of Naklo. After the Waldowski’s, for a short time the owner was a certain Zychlinski. Already in 1776 Watdowko and Zempelkowo were owned by the chamberlain Stanislaus Grabowski, who was married to Dorothy of Osten-Sacken, who derived from Radawnica. Stanislaus sold it to Major von Luttichau in 1783 and withdrew to Grylewo. In 1787 WaIdowko was auctioned off. The highest bidder was a lord of the Osten-Sackens. Around 1800 Pani Lipiniska owned Waldowko. The assessed value of the estate was 12,000 talers. At the beginning of the 19th century until the 1830’s WaIdowko was in the possession of Leopold Julius von Sydow. He died in 1836 and left the estate to his widow Auguste Friederike nee Lawrentz. She married her relative Gotthilf (Leopold) Krieger, who died June 11, 1860 in Waldowko. Auguste died July 1, 1871. According to the will left by Auguste and Gotthilf Krieger (established January 7, 1855) the brother of Gotthilf, the knightly estate owner and cavalry-Captain Heinrich Krieger of Jablowka, received WaIdowko with the restriction that he only enjoy the usufruct therefrom and would be obliged to leave the estate debt-free to one of his sons. After Heinrich’s death his son Captain Egon Krieger took over the estate. Knightly estate owner Captain Egon Krieger held the most various posts of honor in the county administration, and in the county- and the provincial- synods. He died January 5, 1910 at Meran.
    On June 1, 1856 a great fire raged in the manor-house at Waldowko. (See the Kreisblatt [county newspaper] on 1856, p. 164.) In 1653 there were in Waldowko two rent-farmers. The Catholic children go to school in Wakiowo; the Evangelical children in Zempelkowo.
    Translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA

Walente
    Or Walencie, also known as Niekrzyce or Niekryzysze. A small village in the parish and rural district of Kopciowo, Sejny county which is located 28 versts from the town of Sejny. There are 11 houses and 106 inhabitants. In 1827, it was the government village Niekszyse in the parish of Sereje with 6 houses and 43 inhabitants.
    Translated by Dorothy Leivers, Hadlow, Kent, England (May 2004)

Walentynowo
    Current administrative location: Walentynowo, Gmina Dąbrowa Biskupia, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Walentinowo, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    Also known as Walentynowo. An estate located in powiat Inowrocław. Walentynowo is about 19 kilometers southeast of Gniewkowo. It is near the border of the Kingdom of Poland and is located just above Chróstowo. Walentynowo belongs to the Chlewiska Parish. The post office is located in Dąbrowa (German name: Louisenfelde). The railway station is located in Gniewkowo (German name: Argenau).
    The folwarks of Krzykacz and Nowiny belong to the Walentynowo estate. Walentynowo has 9 houses with 144 inhabitants (all Catholic). The Walentynowo estate has an area of land equal to 676.26 hectare (382.12 hectare of farmland, 28.61 hectare of meadows, 68.42 hectare of pasture, 178.60 hectare of forests, 17.05 hectare of unused barren land, and 1.46 hectare of water). There is a distillery, a brick bath house, and a Dutch cattle breeding facility. The owner of the estate is Leokadya Modliński Mlicka. The Walentynowo estate was established after 1830 and belonged to the Modliński family.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Warlubie
    Warlubie, or Warlub, known as Warlubien in German, a village, a manor house and an estate, is located in the county of Świecie, 15 kilometers northwest of Grudziądz. The railroad station lies to the east between the towns of Bydgoszcz and Tczew. A high road passes through the town, running to Nowe and Grudziądz. In the late 1890s another road was under construction, leading to Komórsk. The post office and telegraph office was located 3 kilometers distant. Other roads led to Biała Góra and Lipinsk.
    In 1887, there was a 3 classroom Catholic school with 197 students, as well as an Evangelical school with one classroom and 63 pupils. There were 4 distilleries, 3 mills, and the soil was very fertile for farming. The district covered 923 ha (hectare), of which 685 was farmland and 161 were meadows. In 1880, Warlubie had 160 houses, a population of 1388 people, of whom 1087 were Catholics, 289 were Evangelicals and 12 were Jews. The adjoining colony of Małe Warlubie had 18 houses and 137 inhabitants, and a small settlement called Milenica had 13 houses and 58inhabitants. The Catholic church was located in Komórsk. A census taken in 1892 counted 119 horses, 277 cattle, 17 sheep, 313 pigs, 126 goats, and 73 beehives.
    Warlubie was one of the oldest towns in the district. In his archeology book on West Prussia, the writer G. Ossowski states that on the railroad line heading to Tczew, the land was covered by marshy swamps and peat bogs. These can still be seen near the villages of Płochocinie and Płochocinek, as they stretch toward Małe Warlubie, in the direction of Bąkowa. For many years now, in these bogs are found items of archeological nature, such as neolithic stones, hammers, axes, etc. The majority of these were found in the vicinity of Warlubie. Most of these items were uncovered in excavations only 10 feet deep. Ossowski managed himself to uncover some remnants of a stag’s antlers, which are now found in the collections at the Academy of Kraków. He also describes the findings of skeletons and bones of animals on pages 2 and 3. In 1877 near the railroad line to Grudziądz, he describes the finding of stone caskets in which ashes were found; these caskets held containers of bronze and glass.In leveling the land near the still standing manor house in the late 1800s, several more stone graves were unearthed, as described by Ossowski on pages 38 and 39 of his book. The first mention of Warlubie is found in documents from 1277, at which time it actually was listed as “Warlube and was the property of Mestwin II, Duke of Nowe, as described by von Perlbach in his “P.U.B.” pages 245 item #288. Later it became the property of the Bishop of Kujawa, Albert, who acquired it as a gift from Duke Świętopełk. In older documents found in the village, referred to Warlubie as Worlube in 1513, Warlub in 1577, Warlieb in 1655, Warlubie in 1789, and Warlob in 1760. During the times of the Teutonic Knights, Warlubie was a part of the district of Tczew. The taxation schedule for the populace is outlined in the T.P.N. Journal in Poznan, page 176 in 1871, at which time it was part of the county of Nowe.
    As a result of the Swedish invasions, the village was totally destroyed and the city fathers Marcin Forta and Lukasz Firyn petitioned the local court to free the populace from paying taxes. In 1703, the pastor in Komórsk received a tithe from the parishioners in the form of 20 bushels of rye and oats. One field was the property of the pastor in Płochocinek. In 1760 Warlubie belonged to the district of Komórsk. The village also had a tavern/inn. In 1773, there were 18 fields owned by the Chełmiński nobles, who had 10 houses with 169 inhabitants, all of whom were Catholics. There were 84 horses, 129 sheep, 21 oxen, 55 cows and 87 pigs in the village.
    Among the farm products, the plantings consisted of rye, barley, oats, beans, buckwheat, flax, and hay which totaled 27 wagonloads. (See Zeitsch d. Westpreuss. Gesch. Vr. 1886, page 367. In 1780, there were 162 Catholics and 6 others, as per documents from the visitation of Bishop Rybinski. Whereas the tithe was once 22 bushels of rye, it was later reduced to nine. In 1789 the village had 31 houses, (page 248 in the documents). It seems that at one time there was a church here, and 8 fields were its property called “Poświętne” (blessed).
During the era of the Teutonic Knights, these 8 fields were seized by them and distributed into private hands. In 1486, two sisters from Bękowa named Barbara, the widow of Jan Schow and Brygita, wife of Szymon, testified that the property was seized from them and 8 fields from Poświętne, between Warlubie and Bękowa, were confiscated. An appeal by the last owner on his deathbed, was instrumental in the eventual return of the property by an edict issued in Nowe, by King Kazimierz. In 1557, Bishop Stanisław Karnkowski signed over to the church in Płochocinek, 4 fields. By 1780 the pastor in Płochocinek had possession of only 1 field. (See Utrac. by Reverend Frankidejski, page 266, paragraph 2. In 1813, Jan Czerski, born in Warlubie, with Jan Ronge and Dowiat, were the founders of a German Catholic Church in Germany. Czerski, born in 1813 was still alive in 1893, and lived in Piła where he founded a Christian Apostolic Catholic Community. However, he failed to attract any members to his organization.
    Translated from the Słownik Geograficzny by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA

Warzyn
    Current administrative location: Warzyn, Gmina Gniewkowo, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Neuwarin, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    Officially known as Warin (German name: Neuwarin). A folwark near Branno and located in powiat Inowrocław. Warzyn is about 7 kilometers east of Gniewkowo. Warzyn belongs to the Branno Parish. The post office is located in Murzynno (German name: Gross-Morin). The railway station is located in Gniewkowo (German name: Argenau). The Warzyn folwark has 5 houses with 76 inhabitants.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Wasosz
    Wasosz was also known as Wasosze, at times Wasorz (Ger.: Wonsosz, Wansosche). In the year 1404 Wanschosche, 1410 Wassose, 1413 Watnshosse, Waszosze. In the year 1421 a village in the powiat [=county] of Szubin/Schubin, about 7 klm north of [Szubin] (A Protestant Parish and Post Office are located at [Szubin]), along the shore of the lake called Wasoskim [Wasoskie], near and north of Lake Zedowskiego [Zedowskie]. A Catholic Parish located at Slupy , [School is at the place, = at Wasosz] Railroad Station is located at Znin about 11 klm distant; including the rural village of Babia Gacia , 50 homes [=farmsteads], 384 inhabitants (279 Catholic and 105 Protestants) on 747 Hectares (about 10,500 acres), 390 hectares are cultivated fields and gardens, 78 meadow, 131 forest. Wasosz is bordered on the west by Zedowem, Dabrowa (Eichenbein) and Slupy to the north. [Kowalewo] (Gruenhagen) to the east aand the settlement of Seedorf. Wasosz is located along the road from Znin to Szubin, near [obejmuje = the lakes are included in the territory of Wasosz] lake Skrzynke [Skrzynka] and Wasosze; The lake shore stretches along to the west to lake [Zedowskie] and north ending at lake [Sobiejusze]. The area is 81.3 to 88.5 meters above sea level. Peasant homes are scattered about , there is windmill and brickyard, and meadows especially along the Gasawka, which separates the village of [Dabrowa], there to be found layers of peat (peat bog).
    Wasosz undoubtedly was the location of noble [country seat before it was included into Szubin estate] . Ztad (Editors Note 1) Dzietrzyk (Teodoryk) Wanszewski was surely from Wasosz , and fought for the area about the year 1390 with [Wojtek of Trlag] later known as the Chamberlain [of] the city of Kalisz.
    [Owner of that Wasosz was] Maciej ( [Paluka, it is Toporczyk]), Judge of Kalisz. in the years 1401 and 1404 [nephew] of [Sedziwoj of Szubin] the [Palatine] of the province of Kalisz (Kod. Dypl. Pol. I , 272, II, 365), after whose death assumed the administration of the palatinate of Kalisz and [Prefect of Naklo]. [In 1410, leading the nobles from the territory between Welna river and the border of Pomerania (territ. of Paluki) he invaded Pomerania] and suffered an ignominious defeat ([Dlugosz], History; IV, 35). Maciej of Labiszyn the palatine of Kalisz signed the treaty document in the year 1416 (Kod, Dypl, Pol, I, 243, and Akta gr. Ziem. V, 40) He was governor of Brzesko-Kujawskie province.
    About 1520 the rector / parish priest of Slupy collected a tithes / part of the reaping of the fields from [estate fields and] each peasant in Wasosze; the peasants paid besides this field tax another flax processing tax of 2 gr. and [kolenda was a habitual gift to the local priest at Christmas; kolenda today means Christmas carol] ?? kolende // Collected ?? from them a field tax; Innkeepers were also accessed a tax of one grosz [grosz=penny].
    Wasosze in the year 1577 was a settlement of about one and one half sladu (about 200 morgs) and 4 zagroda, croft, a small farmstead with a courtyard, buildings, and garden; two years later about half a sladu (about 100 morg) and 2 zagroda, croft, a small farmstead with a courtyard, buildings, and garden;. , In the year 1620 one slad (about 150 morgs) and a fisherman.
    In its declining years [of last century, Wasosz was owned by Stanislaw Mycielski the landlord from Szubin.
    Translated by Jim Piechorowski, July 2005

Wenecja
    1) Officially known as Venetia, Wenacia; In the year 1390 Venecia, Wanaczia; In the year 1400 Weneczya; In the year 1408 Venecia, the property of the Catholic Church of Powiat Szubinski (Znin), about 4 km to the north of Gasawa; 1 km from the road to Znin on the shores of Lake Weneckim and Skrzynka; There is a Catholic Church (Sw. Nicholas) and Post Office at Gasawa, a Protestant Church and Railroad Station at Znin a distance of 6 km.
    Located there are the Folwarks: Karolewo and Mosciszewo, 16 homes/farmsteads, 209 inhabitants (164 Catholic and 45 Protestant) comprised of 932 hectares, 512 of tillable fields and gardens, 52 meadow, 57 pasture; 311.75 of Water/Lakes); a mill, reeds, peat and clay; the owner is v. / Von Davier. Wenecja is 82 meters above sea //level and about 24 meters above the Lakes.
    Wenecja lies along the shore of an isthmus which divides these two large lakes: the banks of lakes Biskupiego and Weneckiego are low and marshy, in some places, covered with reeds; it is the same for most of the western shore of Lake Skrzynki, creating two inlets/isthmus’s the northern not 200 paces and the southern scarcely 100 paces wide. A third isthmus between lakes Biskupiem and Weneckiem where the River Gasawaka easily flows, is not more than 200 paces wide, where it approaches the shore of the lake. The northern and southern shore of Lake Wenecja comes as close as 100 paces in the straights which separate it from Lake Bialem and the ruins of a castle in days gone by.
    The Zamek Venetia/Wenecja accounts for a third of the isthmus, 800 paces to the west of the eastern edge of the Manor orchard, pressed against the shore of Lake Skrzynski, about 300 paces to the east of the River Gasawka and 100 paces from Lake Weneckiego, on the right side of the road from Biskupin to Wenecja. This Zamek has fallen down over time; It is considered a rubble pile; Count Racynski is remembered as a ‘Friend of the Common People’ and ‘New Lord of the Estate’, he began to demolish it for a final time.
    The territory of the Great lakes includes: the lake’s Skrzynke, Weneckie, Mosine and Dominikanski. The surface elevation varies from 82 to 104 meters above sea level, and as must as 110.9 meters to the north east.
    The Catholic Church of ‘p.w. Narodz. N. M. Panny’ (Mary the Mother of God) stands on north east shore of Lake Weneckiego, about 500 paces west of the Manor House.
    The present name presumably evolved in early times sounding like Wanacyz (Wanacia). There appears in documents about the year 1390 the name, Mikolaj (Nicholas) of Wenecja, the Judge from Kalisz, Janko from Czarnkowa (in the year 1383) is mentioned in a document from the monastery Trzemeszenski as Chomiazy and having the right of inheritance. On the 12th day of January 1390 he inherits Wenecja. From this we may deduce that Wenecja was a part of Mikolaj Chomiazy holdings. The triangular area between the lakes and Noltec can be called the headquarters/seat of the Chomiazy family. As time went by there began to develop three settlements with identical names, less than a mile apart they were distinguished with one new name for all of them. This same Judge of Kalisz is without fail Mikolaj son of Chwala who appears on July 8, 1381 in Poznan in the entourage and representative of King Ludwig of Wielkpolski to measure out Justice (Kod. Wiek). It is written in the year 1390 that Mikolaj is from Wenecja, and is now known as Mikolajem Chwalowiczem. Wenecja, during the Civil War participated on the side of Nale~cz and took part in the capture of Pyzdry which was taken on 18 Jan 1383 by the Confederation loyal to Mary, the elder daughter of Ludwig. (Editors Note .. 1) They served with Janko from Czarnkowa. On March 10 of that year, Grzymlczycy led a sortie from Neckla that was said to have devastated the six manors of Mikolaj Chomiazy, Judge of Kalisz around Znina. We know it to be these Manors: Chomiaze, Wenecye, Mosciszewo, Grzmiaca, Mokre and Gasawce ( Pomn. Dziej. Pol., 11, 728).
    We find a second mention in the Szamotuly supplement to the Trzaska yearbook, but one so different from the note of Janko — who often stayed in Znin, the property of the Archbishop of Gniezno, and must have known personally the lord of nearby Wenecya — that we cannot give it credence. This supplement evidently confused persons and occasions, talking about the war of Archbishop Bodzanta [in modern Polish usually spelled Bodzeta with nasal E] with Mikolaj, the lord of Wenecya, chief justice of Great Poland (Ibid., Vol. II, p. 861). (Editors Note .. 2)
    Mikolaja was commonly referred to as “The Bloody Devil”; there are varying stories in the “History/Annals” of Dlugosz of the outstanding personage of Jan Nalecza from Czarnkowa, the chief Justice of Poznan, in particular one story relates their inability to make peace with one another. (History, III, 464)
    Professor Przyborowski in ‘History and Knowledge of the Bloody Devil’ (Wilenskie collection of letters from the year 1859) corrected misconception about the legend. But even now common people in the vicinity relate incredible stories about the lawless ‘Bloody Devil, Lord of Wenecja’ (ob.E. Calliera Powiat Zinski, 69-79). In the year 1390 there exists in damaged notes / writings of acts of injury/damage to the lands of Gniezno by Mikolaja the Lord of Wenecja. There was a dispute between Ostrowem Mscigniew, the castellan of Zabszyn and Sedziwojem from Marcinkowo over the movement / transport of goods between these localities. (Akta gr. Wielk., II, n. 994).
    About June 25, in the year 1392 Judge/Lord Mikolaja granted an endowment to the local Catholic Church in his town of Wenecja, this included four lans of cultivated fields near Moscizewo, a tithe of every tenth sheaf of cereals to be collected on the hereditary fields at Mokre (located: pow. Mogilenski, gmina Dabrowa), the whole small lake Mosina, two fishermen, who may fish not only with drag-net, but also various small nets on the lake called Skrzynka (meaning “little chest”), also on the lake near the outlet of the Mosina, the meadow at Zimnej Wody (Cold Waters), apart from the meadow a serf at Mosciszewie and eight parcels of garden plots within the town of Wenecja for different tradesmen, who settled there; finally, they are permitted to gather wood, either dry or green anywhere it may be found for the Zamek’s purposes.
    The rural parish celebrates two weekly funeral masses for all. On the 8th Day of May in the year 1395 Archbishop Dobrogost of Znin approved the (churches) charter in writing, besides determining the the income from fishing with small nets on the large Lake Bialem, across from the Zamek at Wenecja, and the gathering and husbandry of tree’s in the forest at Ochodze. (Kod. Wielkop., n. 1926 and 1959)
    The church at Wenecja was supposedly founded by Archbishop Dobrogost. Judge / Lord Mikolaja erected the church in Wenecja, as Altarya (Editors Note ..3) He endowed the Parish of Sw. Mikolaja with a tithe of the fields of the peasants at Jadowniki, in the area about the Parish at Gora; a tithe of the peasants wages besides a tax of 2 gosz per lan on the harvest of flax. Three masses a week were celebrated for the soul of the founding Altarya. In the year 1419 an agreement between Maciej the burger of Znin with Jacob the Altarya which would pay him yearly at Christmas and on Sw. Wojciech day a sum of 3 grzywny (an old silver monetary unit, worth several denarii) as a tithe of the oats harvested at Jadowniki.
    Liber Beneficiorum Laskiego, contains lists for the years 1392 and again validated in 1395, which disclose the levies for the collection of timber and in addition the following levies: The kmiecie / commoners from Wenecja, Biskupin and Godawy paid a Kolende (Christmas gift to the priest) of a grosz per each field, while the Zagrodnicy (landed farmers) and Innkeepers paid a half grosz. The parish priest collects in the village of Suchym Dole near Triagiem and in Konary near Margonin a sheaf thithe from the peasants fields, which they bring in on their own carts, the peasants also pays a 2 grosz thithe on each flax field.
    The Parish at Wenecja is made up of: Biskupin, Godawy, Mosciszewo, and Wenecja; later came Annowo, Folusz, Karolewo, Nowy Folwark, Ostrowce, Pniewy, Rozalinowo and Wiktorowo. In the year 1759 Wojciech Miaskowski, the district govenor of Zinnski, lord of an estate in Wenecja, erected a new wooden church upon the reccomendation and orders of Archbishop Lubienski, which was consecrated the 18th day of October 1765 by ks. Krzysztof Dobinski, Sufragan / Bishop of Gniezno. (Editors Note ..4 ) After 100 years the church in Wenecja fell into ruin. And indeed the local government together with the parishioners in the years 1869 to 1872 erected a new church made of brick, with a steeple, in the Gothic style, placed picturesquely between the lakes on the peninsula. The parish (dek. / deanery Zninski) in the year 1888, accounted for 767 souls; there is a parish school; in Biskupin, Godawy and Ostrowce. After the death of Judge / Lord Mikolaja, Wenecja came into the hands of Mikolaja Pomianowi from Warzymowa, who in the year 1420 sold it to Archbishop Trabie in exchange for Biskupin near Radziejowo, in Kujawa. Mikolaja from Warzymowa is the Castellan of Kruszwicki in the year 1433; he died after the year 1441, in the Castle at Bresko-Kujawskiem.
    Wenecja in the year 1577 is comprised of 2 Slady of land, field serfs and 1 zagroda or small farmsteads with courtyard and outbulidings; after two years the fields of the peasants lay empty, about the year 1620 they dissappear completely; in the year 1579 2 zagroda (small farmsteads) and 3 komornik, (tenant farmers ) lived there. About the year 1620 there are 3 zagroda (small farmsteads). After the annexation by the Prussian authorities the Archbishop sold the estate. Wenecja, Karolewo and Mosciszewo were privately purchased. Finally, the property came into the hands of the Ilowieccy family, who sold it to the Germans.
    2) Wenecja, known as Venetia a settlement in powiat of Odolanowskim (ostrow) near the town of Ostrow ( Catholic parish, Post Office and Railroad Station). There are 4 houses/farmsteads, 68 inhabitiants; it is in the district / county of Krepa. The village and surrounding are of 103 hectares is the property of Natalia Siedel.
    3) Wenecja, also known as Nowa Wenecja. In bygone days called Kobylin, a part of the adminstrative district of powiat Krotoszynskim.
    EDITORS NOTES
Note 1) This battle featured the first use of a cannon in war, in Poland and we are talking about Ludwig of Hungary whose picture is featured at http://www.econ.ucdavis.edu/graduate/rsszulga/1370-1434.htm)
Note 2) This difficult paragraph was translated by Mr. Fred Hoffman 11/11/2005
Note 3) Altaries (pol. altaria/altarie). These institutions were thought of as simple benefices without duty of granting priestly functions. As each benefice altaries had owned founders: gentry, townsmens, companies … etc. Altarzysta (altairman?). a locally important title of honor bestowed by the church. Popularly the term benefice is often understood to denote either certain property destined for the support of ministers of religion, or a spiritual office or function, such as the care of souls, but in the strict sense it signifies a right, i. e. the right given permanently by the Church to a cleric or noble to receive ecclesiastical revenues on account of the performance of some spiritual service.
Note 4) Suffragan … abbr. Suff. or Suffr. 1. A bishop elected or appointed as an assistant to the bishop or ordinary of a diocese, having administrative and episcopal responsibilities but no jurisdictional functions. 2. A bishop regarded in position as subordinate to an archbishop or a metropolitan.
    Translated by Jim Piechorowski, August-December 2005

Widełka – in the County of Kolbuszowa
    A village in a sandy plain covered with pine forests, at the springs of the Zyzoga, a tributary of the river qLqeg. Through the village is a road from Glogow (8.5 Km) to Ranizow. To the community belong the subdivisions Dworzysko, Majdan, and Zembraza. It borders on the north with Sudoly and Klapowka, on the east with Przewrotne, on the south with Porebt, and on the west with Kupno. The whole community with the areas of the larger estates has 398 homes and 2617 inhabitants, 2123 Roman Catholics, 7 Protestants, and 487 Jews. A public school. A Roman Catholic parish in Przewrotne. Formerly a possession of Count Rey, it now belongs to several Jews. The smaller estate has 320 acres of farms, 39 acres of meadows, 5 acres of gardens, 115 acres of pastures, 57 acres of forests, and 3 acres 8628 feet long of building lots; the larger estate has 4236 acres of farms, 938 acres of meadows and gardens, 50 acres of pastures, and 688 acres of forests. On the grounds of the larger estate is a distillery. The settlement was established in the 17th century; it is mentioned in the recruiting lists of 1674 (Pawinski, Maqlopolska, 57a).

Więcbork
    In German, Vandsburg. A small town in West Prussia, in the so-called Krajna region, on the border of the Grand Duchy of Poznan, in Zlotow county, on the lake of the same name, 109 meters above sea level, about 44 km. from Bydgoszcz, 33 km. from Chojnice, 15 km. from Lobzenica, 11 km. from Sepolno. It has a Catholic church and chapel, a Protestant church dating from 1840, a synagogue, a 4-class-room non-denominational school (in 1887 with 4 teachers and 293 pupils) and a private school for girls, with a post office, a 3rd-class telegraph office, and a district court. Highways from there lead to Sepolno, to Kamien, and on to Chojnice; to Mroczno [sic; probably should be “Mrocza”] and on to Naklo; and to Sypniewo and from there to Zlotow. In 1893 construction began of a railway from Naklo to Mrocza and Wiecbork and from Kamien to Chojnice. In addition, the government intends to build a railroad from Fordon, where the new iron bridge stood, to Koronowo, Wiecbork, and Walcz, and then on to Starogard in Pom-erania.
    The town?s area covers 1,065 hectares (677 of farmland, 172 of meadows, 37 of forests). In 1885 there were 1,668 inhabi-tants (538 Catholic, 928 Protestant, and 202 Jewish), 189 houses, and 356 hearths. It is rolling countryside, with sandy, clayish soil; the population is employed mainly in retail trade and crafts, especially as tailors, cattle-raisers, and farmers. There are 4 fairs here each year.
    Wiecbork appears in documents for the first time in 1348 under the name of “Wansowno” as the property of the Counts Peperzynski Lodzia (see Schmitt, Der Kreis Flatow, p. 46). In the 16th century the family split into two branches, the Peperzyn and the Wiecbork; both died out, however, toward the end of that century. Wiecbork then passed as a dowry to the Zebrzydowskis; after them it belonged to the Garczynskis, and then to the Smoczewskis. Toward the end of the 17th century the Potulickis acquired the estates of Wiecbork and Zlotow. Records name the following Potulickis as lords of the estate: Jan Jakub, Borzechowo starosta (1701); Jozef, Czernihow starosta (? 1734); Aleksander Hilary, also Borzechowo starosta (? 1780); Micha_ (? 1806). In 1821 Kacper Potulicki sold the estate to the main bank of Berlin, from which he received it in 1834 as an estate of the royal treasury.
    Until 1772 Wiecbork belonged to Kalisz province and Naklo county; then it belonged to Prussia till 1807, in which year it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. In 1815 it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Poznan, and in 1819 into West Prussia, county of Zlotow.
    The town lies on a narrow islet; to the east Lake Wiecborskie extends 3 1/2 km., and to the west is the large swamp called Lopiennik, which was surely a lake at one time. In the center of the city is a sizable marketplace. To the north rises gora Sw. Katarzyny [Mt. St. Catherine], with a chapel dedicated to that saint; in addition there is a Catholic and Protestant cemetery. This mountain, covered for the most part with a birch forest, contributes to the town?s beauty. Its houses are small and modest, because they date from a period of rebuilding after great fires that struck the town in 1785, 1823, and 1830. The last one destroyed more than two-thirds of the town.
    The oldest known town charter was drawn up in 1767 by Count Potulicki. In 1783 the town had 86 hearths, 2 of which were vacant, and 489 inhabitants (half Catholic, half Protestant). In 1804 there were 640 inhabitants; in 1826 there were 836 inhabitants and 112 houses; in 1853 there were 1,586 inhabitants (351 Catholic, 981 Protestant, and 254 Jewish); in 1861 there were 1,597 (348 Catholic, 939 Protestant, and 310 Jewish); in 1865 there were 1,627 (378 Catholic, 933 Protestant, and 312 Jewish); in 1880 there were 1,603 inhabitants.
    The old Wiecbork castle, of which no traces remain, stood on the islet above the lake, on a site formerly called Zamczysko. The mention in the 1546 Naklo grod records of “Viazowno desertum” [abandoned Viazowno] may have referred to it. A new castle was built in 1556 rather far from the old site, on the east side of the town. It was a magnificent building, fortified with an embankment, moat, and drawbridge. It still existed during the Prussian occupation, but its lord, Count Potulicki, lived on the manorial farmstead of Ostrowek, where he established his manor. The new castle no longer exists either.
    The Catholic church of the Apostles Simon and Jude, of government patronage, dates from the end of the last century. It was paid for by Aleksander Potulicki and his son Michal. It is made of stone with a single nave. An oval sacristy touches against its east gable. Among its artistic monuments are a baptismal font of black marble and the headstone of Count Michal Potulicki in the form of an obelisk, as well as a silver censer and two chalices, of which one dates from 1623. Of the three bells, the middle one was forged in 1715. The Chapel of St. Catherine was built in 1787 by Count Michal Potulicki. At one time a small wooden church by the same name stood there, with two altars, and bells that hung in a small tower on the church. By 1653 it was in such bad shape that services were seldom held there. “Debet ex fundamento erigi” [“It should be raised from its foundation”], wrote Trebnic in his inspection report, and this was done later (page 121). In addition the Potulickis had a private chapel in the castle (“capella in arce”). But in 1766 Mass was not being held in it, according to the inspection report of Mathy, because a new indult had not been applied for (see Utrac. kos., Rev. Fankidejski, p. 303). A shelter for four poor parishioners has long stood alongside the church. A sobriety society has existed since 1858, and a Society of St. Anne since 1851.
    The parish of Wiecbork, of Kamien deanery, had 1,509 souls as of 1893. The parish?s villages are Wiecbork, Witunia, the village and colony of Zakrzewko, Tobolka, Nowy Dwor, Klocbudy, Peperzyn, Suchorask, Smilowo, and the branch church in Wielowicz with its villages. Among the parish?s benefactors is listed Sedziwoj, who in 1405 designated lands and rights he had previously retained to improve the income of the parish and rectory. According to Trebnic?s inspection in 1653 the rectory had 4 gardens and 7 wlokas of land, as well as the right to free fishing in the lakes with small implements [i. e., not using the kind of large nets and gear a professional fisherman might use]; and every time nets were cast, the rectory collected its part from the catch. The rectory collected from the town a Mass tithe of 2 baskets of rye and oats, from each of 27 wlokas.
    The church also owned sizable tracts of land. [Produce or income from] two wlokas and two gardens, as well as from an empty plot of land outside the town where a granary had once stood, went toward the upkeep of a shelter in which 9 paupers were housed. A separate small house was located on the church grounds for the curate; another was for the teacher. The pastor was Samuel Stimaens (see pp. 119-122), and in 1695 Lukasz Markiewicz, a canon of the college in Kamien (see Jezierski’s inspection report, p. 92).
    At one time a separate Wiecbork deanery existed, belonging to Gniezno diocese. The following parishes, branch churches, and chapels comprised that deanery: Wiecbork, Sepolno, Wielewicz, Zabartowo, Orle, Runowo, Mrocza, Werza, Sasieczno, Dziewianowo, Wierzchucin, Wawelno, Lacko Wielkie, Makowarsk, Pruszcz, Klonia, Waldowo, Komierowo, Zalesie, Lutowo and Slesin. Not until the publication of the bull De salute animarum in 1821 was this deanery abolished and Wiecbork attached to Chelm diocese [Note: presumably this is a reference to Chlelmno diocese; Chelm is in southeastern Poland].
    The present Protestant church was built in 1858. At first the Lutherans brought here by the Zebrzydowskis did not have any local house of prayer, but used the church in Peperzyn. From 1772 to 1884 they held services in the castle, part of which Count Potulicki ceded to them. In 1784 they built themselves a small church without tower or bells, and it existed until 1858, when services were transferred to the new church, the current one. The first permanent pastor was Jan Holzheimer, from 1791 to 1799. The Jews have had their synagogue only since 1840. See Schmitt?s Der Kreis Flatow, pp. 254-257, and Bau- und Kunstdenkm?ler der Provinz Westpressen, pp. 424-426.
    The Wiecbork royal forestry preserve is now called Lutowo (Lutau); it has an area of 5,166 hectares (61 of farmland, 476 of meadows, 3,941 of forest); in 1885 it had 7 houses, 7 hearths, and 69 inhabitants (13 Catholic and 56 Protestant). It is comprised of the forest regions of Lutowko, Kottashain, Neuhof, Schwiede, Wiecbork, and Wilhelmsbruch. During the Napoleonic age the lord of these extensive forests was the French marshal Mortier.
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, first appeared in the Winter 2002 issue of “Rodziny”, the Journal of the Polish Genealogical Society of America”.

Wiejsieje – in the County of Sejnen
    At one time the village was also called “Wysocki Dwor”, manor farm and estate, along Lake Hanzca, community and parish of Wiejsieje. It lies about 20 versts east of Sejnen amid rises of lakeland at the northrn periphery of the lake. Located on the property are two water mills, distillery, and a pitch factory. As of 1800, the village was a small town with a marketplace. In 1827, Wiejsieje was classified as a village. At present, there is a parish church of brick, an elementary school, community court of District IV, community office, 146 houses, 2,273 inhabitants (majority are Jews). In 1827, there were 63 houses, 737 inhabitants. The nearest postal station is in Kopciowo.
    Wiejsieje is an old Lithuanian village granted with adjoining property to Prince Andrzej Siemienowicz of Sluck by Zygmunt August. Andrzej, or perhaps Jerzy, Prince of Sluck, is supposed to have established a parish and built a church in 1526 or 1562. Subsequently, these lands were transferred to the Princes. Bishop Missalski of Wilno began the construction of a large church. After 20 years, around 1800, the unfinished walls were in danger of collapse. The Massalski?s must have built the fortified castle as their residence.
    The Bishop presented the Wiejsieje properties during his lifetime to the widow Wiktoria Oginska whom he gave in marriage to his plenipotentiary, Mateusz Zyniewa, who under Prussian rule acquired the title of County. Supposedly, the Bishop had made Oginska responsible for the completion of the church and its maintenance, which she failed to do, having merely partially reconstructed a badly ruined building in 1817. After the death of Zyniewa, the land passed into the hands of the Oginskis’ as the wife’s inheritance. They then passed to Amelia nee Oginska Wolowicz. The brick church, without a dome, is 43 ells high, 70 ells long in the nave, and 50 ells wide; the presbytery is 14 ells long and 22 ells wide. Three altars are inside. A vaulted underground below the church. There are no monuments. The roof is covered with tile. Around 1850, the settlement had an iron forge (smithy). In 1863, the Wiejsieje lands consisted of: Wiejsieje, Wielka, Wysokie, Podwiejsiejki, Mlynek, and Pozopsie, and Ogrodniki. The area measured 8,093 morgs.; the estate and gardens, 80 morgs.; meadows, 139 morgs.; uncultivated, 7 morgs.; 4 building of brick and 2 of wood. The Wysokie estate, 586 morgs; meadows, 265 morgs; pastures, 5 morgs; water 7 morgs; uncultivated, 11 morgs; 1 building of brick and 15 of wood. The Podwiejsiejki estate, 559 morgs; meadows, 192 morgs; pastures, 12 morgs; water 2 morgs; uncultivated, 16 morgs; 1 brick building and 10 of wood. The settlement Mlynek, 31 morgs; meadows, 12 morgs; uncultivated, 2 morgs; 3 buildings of wood. Posopsie, 106 morgs; meadows, 44 morgs; water 11morgs; uncultivated, 2morgs; 6 buildings of wood. There are 14 lakes, 2,517 morgs.; forest, 3,485 morgs.
    Formerly the lands were comprised of the following villages: Wiejsieje, 91 settlements, 1136 morgs; Kajliny, 6 settlements, 256 morgs; Bryniszki, 7 settlements, 319 morgs; Bobry, 23 settlements, 715 morgs; Radziwilance, 13 settlements, 646 morgs; Sapiezyszki, 9 settlements, 459 morgs; Pozopsie, 18 settlements, 840 morgs; Potery, 11 settelements, 569 morgs; Kowalki, 21 settlements, 791 morgs.: Ruda, 6 settlements, 321 morgs; Jakielance, 4 settlements, 246 morgs; Powiesniki, 12 settlements, 490 morgs; Ogrodniki, 6 settlements, 226 morgs; Gierwiele, 3 settlements, 192, morgs; Pietraszki, 19 settlements 699 morgs; Koledziszki, 1 settlement, 183 morgs; Saranciszki, 1 settlement, 5 morgs.
    Wiejsieje, parish, Sejnen Deanery (at one time Lozdziej), 4,123 souls.
    The community of Wiejsieje, belongs to community court district IV in Wiejsieje settlement, area 29,250 morgs and 6.074 inhabitants. Among permanent residents, there are 32 protestants and 2,069 Jews. The community is composed of: Bobry, Bryniaki, Czuwance-Losiewickie, Cz.-Mereckie, Gausty, Gierwele, Gudele, Jakielance, Kajliny, Klepacze, Kowalki, Koledziszki, Lajbogole, Losiewicze, Mlynek, Ogrodniki, Potery, Pietreszki, Podwiejsiejki, Polunce, Powieniki, Pozopsie, Purwiszki, Radziwilance, Ruda, Sapienyszki, Saranciszki, Smorluny, Stankuny, Wiejsieje, and Wysokie.
    Submitted by: Joseph Dressel, Chicago, IL (Nov 1997)

Wiełbark – in the County of Szczycian
    Wielbark or Wielbork, in German: Willenburg or Wielburg, a town in East Prussia, Szczycian County, 2 1/2 miles from Chorzele, connected by highway with Nibor and Szczycien. It has a Catholic parish church, newly raised (in 1880), the Protestant parish church, post office, and 2,641 inhabitants.
    Wiełbark is an old settlement, established in what was known as the Patrak Forest (“Polnisch Oberland”, so called). The Knights of the Cross put up a castle here around which a marketplace formed for the local beekeepers of Mazury who inhabited the forest. Situated along the route leading from Warsaw to Krolewice, it was also a roadside station/stop. Duke Albrecht attempted to establish a town here but in 1637 Wielbark is merely a settlement along the tract. According to the inspection of 1637, there were 11 tenants leasing 25 “wloks” and paying 1 1/2 marks, 30 groszy for rent. After verification, it was discovered that they occupied another 25 wloks. The tenants were then ordered to pay 50 marks for each additional wlok and thereafter were subject to the Law of Chelm. They were free to fish in the Omulwa, but not under the ice. This privilege was granted by the head of the village Nibor, Wolf Schenk, Freiherr zu Tautenberg, in 1643 and confirmed in 1648.

At the end of November 1656, the Tartars devasted the settlement, burned down the church and killed the rector, George Otter. It seems that in 1721, the settlement received the rights of a town. The church was rebuilt. In 1745, the neighboring beekeepers, on lands under the Duke’s jurisdiction, were given the right of a town, parts of the land were incorporated into the town as a suburb of Warsaw.
    Finally, in 1747, Fryderyk II issued a confirmation of the former grants, set up 3 markets, and presented the town seal. In 1782, the population numbered 1,100 souls, and in 1818 grew to 1,644.
    Submitted by: Joseph Dressel, Chicago, IL(Nov 1997)

Wiele
    Wiele, German Wielle, an ecclesiastical village in Chojnice powiat, on lake Wielewskie; to its north are elevations rising 640 feet above sea level, called “Chelmice,” which the author of the Epos on Pan Czorlinski said “can be seen for seven miles in the whole area” (Torun, p. 40). The village has a postal station and a three-class Catholic school; it covers 2,495 hectares (1,061 of farmland, 136 of meadows, 11 of woods); in 1885 there were 910 Catholics, 4 Protestants, and 40 Jews living there, for a total of 954 residents, of whom 5 houses and 47 residents were at Biala Gora, I house and 5 residents at Wielewski Mlyn [“Wiele Mill”], and 5 houses and 63 residents at Piatkowo. The Catholic church, St. Nicholas’s, under government patronage, is made of wood and has a shingle roof. It has had the Brotherhood of St. Anne since 1803, of St. Anthony since 1803, of Sobriety since 1852, and of the Solace of The Blessed Mother since 1852. One of its bells dates from 1686. Belonging to the parish (of Tuchola deanery) are: Wiele, Karszyn, Popia Gora,?Gorki, Przytarnia, Kliczkowy, Zamosc, Czyste, Barlogi, Wdzydze Tucholskie, Miedzno, Odry, Wojtal, Dabrowa, Lipa, Rudziny, Cisewie, Osowo, Bak, Borsk, Broda, Huta Brodzka, Piechowice, Kruszyna, Zabrody, Wdydze Kiszewskie, Kozlowiec, Ostrow, Jastrzebie, Czarne, Kloc, Huta Przerebelska, Plesy, R?w and Pustki; as of 1867 it numbered 5,268 souls, and 7,890 as of 1892.
    Formerly the parish had two more chapels, one in Wiele, the other in Odry. By the parish church stood a spacious hospital for the needy, with the chapel of St. Anne. The chapel and hospital’s endowment consisted of the nearby village of Przytarnia. During the Reformation all that was lost. The report of Bishop Rozdrazewski’s inspection in 1583 tells that when the hospital and the chapel burned down, the Tuchola starosta at the time, Koscielecki, took the village of Przytarnia away from the needy and incorporated it into the estates of his starostwo. The bishop decreed that the pastor was to take this village from the starosta’s by legal methods, but it was to be used to endow, not the needy, but a new seminary. This all proved in vain, however, and Przytarnia remained in the possession of the Tuchola starosta’s (see Utrac. kosc. p. Fankidejskiego, p. 316).
    In 1382 the Tuchola Commander of the Teutonic Knights, Henryk Bollendorf, granted German law to the inhabitants of the village called “Wiele” (Velym)-which previously was incorporated under Polish law-along with 551?2 wloka’s within set boundaries. “The pastor will have 5 wloka’s, and to the office of soltys, which we have sold to Nikosz, will belong 6 wloka’s. Besides this the inhabitants of the village will have 35 wl?ka’s subject to rent under the terms of Chelmno law. The rest of the wl?ka’s we give them, to aid them in paying rent and serving us the better. The soltys will have every third penny from court fines, and we the other two pennies; further we grant him the right to free pasturage in our forests and all wood lying free for firewood, and to catch fish for his table from the small area set aside in the lake alongside the village… As for the villagers, they are to render us every year on the Feast of Candlemas a rent per wloka of 14 skojec’s of standard Prussian coinage, one bushel (Chelmno measure) of oats, and one bushel of “chicken oats” [? kurowy owies], also they are to be sent out for two days on our hunts. It is also our will that for every 1 1/2wloka’s they are to gather a m?rg of hay and convey it to Kosobuda or wherever we order … Issued in Tuchola” (see Kodeks Belnensis, manuscript in Pelplin, page 51, and Odpisy Dregera in Pelplin, p. 122).
    During Bishop Rozdrazewski’s inspection in 1583 the plague raged so fiercely that the inspection of the churches in Brusy, Lesno and Wiele was not completed. Wiele parish then belonged to the Zaborski or Starogard deanery. A later inspection by this same bishop reports that there was then a wooden church here under the patronage of St. Nicholas. Four wl?ka’s belonged to the pastor. There were so many empty wl?ka’s in the village that the Mass-tithe from the whole village only amounted to 13 bushels of rye and the same of oats. The pastor was Jan Lubichowski (p. 203).
    During the days of the Commonwealth Wiele belonged to the Tuchola starosta’s. An inspection report from 1570 states that “Wiele, property of Jerzy Zalinski, has 60 wloka’s, of which 4 belong to the pastor, 35 are empty, 21 are settled, further there is 1 inn inherited and 1 rented, and 1 gardener.” A 1664 report lists here only 45 wloka’s, 6 belonging to the soltys, 4 to the priest, a fifth held by the deacon of Mirachowo, 1 belonging to the peasants. The church was collationis regiae [government-supported]. The Wiele beehives, lying in the Zaborska forest, which was part of the famed Tuchola Forest, were tended in turn by the inhabitants of the neighboring villages (see Sl. G., XII, p. 595).
    In 1686 Wiele parish belonged to the Mirachowo deanery and numbered some 600 souls. Its pastor was Stan. Jacek Zeromski, who rebuilt the rectory. His predecessor was Rev. Piechowski (p. 9). Szaniawski’s inspection in 1710 reports that the church bore the title of St. Anne’s; the Brotherhoods of St. Anne and St. Joseph existed there. Five wl?ka’s belonged to the pastor, in addition to which he held one free from the Tuchola citadel. He collected a Mass-tithe from the ecclesiastical village of 14 bushels of rye and the same of oats. The organist was also the teacher (see p. 14). Finally, from Rybinski’s inspection in 1780 we learn that in 1728 the church was built from parishioners’ contributions and consecrated on 24 June 1769 by suffragan Bishop Wolicki. [Translator’s note: this seems unlikely, perhaps the church was built in 1728 and consecrated in 1729, or built in 1768 and consecrated in 1769]. Wiele then (in 1780) had only 218 Catholic inhabitants, the whole parish numbered 2,035 souls, there were 70 Protestants, and no Jews. The pastor was Jan Netzel (p. 66).
    According to Goldbeck’s topography, in 1789 the village had 33 hearths (p. 251). In 1812 the French passed through the parish, namely through Wiele-Kliczkowy and Borsk, fleeing from Cossacks who were chasing them. They encamped in Borsk, and the inhabitants sheltered themselves and their cattle in the nearby woods. In 1892 in a field belong to Kiedrowski several urns were found, among them a very small one which held bones and a gold ring. Not far away there is another gravesite which has not yet been excavated.
    Translated, by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Winter 2000 Bulletin.

Wielka Cerkwica
    In Obodowo. A noble village. Its size is 951.14 morgs. There are 52 buildings, 17 dwelling houses, and 131 inhabitants, of whom 97 are Lutheran, and 34 Catholic. In the 15th century the village belonged to the Komierowski s, later to the owner of Sosno. parish of Waldowo.
    Translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA

Wieprznica
    Current administrative location: Wieprznica, Gmina Kościerzyna, Powiat Kościerzyna, Województwo Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Bebernitz, Kreis Berent, Regierungsbezirk Danzig, Westpreußen, German Empire.
    Better known as Bierznice. The German name is Bebernitz. A village and milling settlement located between two lakes in powiat Kościerzyna. The post office and Catholic Parish are located in Kościerzyna. The land area is 1052 hectares (488 hectares of arable farmland, 29 hectares of meadows, and 135 hectares of woods). In 1885, there were 13 homes, 21 homesteads, and 126 inhabitants (109 Catholics and 17 Evangelical Protestants). From the previously mentioned statistics, 2 homes with 26 inhabitants fall under Fingershuette and 5 homes with 54 inhabitants to Owśnice.
    In 1710, Inspector Szaniawski listed that the Kościerzyna Parish received the amounts of 1 bushel of rye and the same amount in oats from here. The miller gave 1 bushel of rye. In 1772, an inspection by the Prussian commission found the following amounts: 1 innkeeper, 1 miller, 1 person living rent free, 1 tailor, and 3 danników. The population differs in religion and nationality. The arable land is fie. Each landlord only sows 15 bushels of rye, 1 1/3 bushels of barley, 4 bushels of buckwheat, 1/2 bushel of peas, and harvested 2 1/2 bushels of grain. There are little amounts of meadows, therefore the amount of chaff and straw inventory for winter is lean. The cattle barely have enough for pasture in the spring time, which is free in the forest. The innkeeper is obliged to take liquor from the castle in Kościerzyna to the other buildings that it owns. The miller owns the sawmill and mill. The neighbors have to go to the journeyman miller, who collects their toll payments of 1 grosz and 1 macy, to grind their bushels. Here, mostly buckwheat kasha (a cereal) was ground. The estate must cut timber piles for the miller free of charge, as it gets 25 stumps and tree tops. For repairs the trees are free. Each farmer pays 1 talar 30 groszy for rent, 120 bushels of rye for the mill, and 4 talar for a fattened swine. Wieprznica makes 20 talar from the sawmill. The village is free from any services. The innkeeper pays 6 talar and 1 bushel of oats. Kutella is permitted 5 talar 30 groszy and 1 bushel of oats. Everyone sends one wagon to Gdańsk and gathers wood in 2 wagons for the Kościerzyna Brewery. A winter tax is paid by the miller and the innkeeper: 6 talar 80 groszy. The population pays the miller 1 talar and the innkeeper 4 talar 36 groszy; fiefs paid the miller 2 talar 60 groszy and the innkeeper 1 talar 30 groszy; and the others paid nothing. Everyone had 2 cows, 20 sheep, and 6 pigs on 2 włók of land.
    On October 4, 1650, Sybil Małgorzata, Princess of Breść, Countess Doenhof, the wife of the starosta, sold a vacant area of Bierznica land to the Honorable Kutella from Owśniczka for 50 Polish florins and 30 groszy. The land was sold for any use and the perpetual right of inheritance. The land is where there once was a burning furnace, along the border of the Kościerzyna starosta’s jurisdiction. This sale multiplied the income of this jurisdiction. Howerver, he has to pay 5 Prussian grzywna for rent and make 3 trips to Gdańsk. Tern is free from the Garczynie network of lakes, but they must get permission from the estate to sell their possessions. In 1750, starosta August Czapski, confirmed this privilege for Adam and Katarzyna Kutella. This joined the fields of Kloc above Dezborowo and is used to signify the border. He may continue to use the meadows above the Kania River. Also, he may raise sheep and pigs and brew beer, but is not permitted sell the beer. Wood for fuel and timber for building is free, which are designated by the forest watchmen (ob. Zeitsch. d. Westpr. Gesch. Ver., XV, str. 104). In 1789, topographer Goldbecka, recorded that Bierznica was a wilderness with a mill and about 5 homes.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, September 2010.

Wierzbinek
    A village, manorial farmstead, and estate in Nieszawa county, Boguszyce gmina, Sadlno parish, 49 versts [about 52 km.] from Nieszawa, with 341 inhabitants. In 1827 it had 18 houses with 120 inhabitants. In 1866 the estate of Wierzbinek consisted of the manorial farmstead of Wierzbinek and of Chlebowo, with 1,287 mórgs of land: 537 of farmland and gardens, 127 of meadows, 30 of barren land, 548 of forests, and 45 unused; there were 19 buildings of stone and 12 of wood; the forest was unadministered, and there was a windmill.
    Previously the estate consisted of: the village of Wierzbinek, with 33 settlements and 64 mórgs; the village of Zakrzewek, 13 settlements, 318 mórgs; the village of Rybno, 11 settlements, 214 mórgs; the village of Chlebowo, 14 settlements, 17 mórgs; the village of Teresowo, 24 settlements, 105 mórgs; the village of Teodorowo, 24 settlements, 241 mórgs; the village of Zalesie, 10 settlements, 18 mórgs; the village of Tyle, 3 settlements, 23 mórgs; the village of Nied_wiady, 2 settlements, 48 mórgs; and the village of Sosnówka, 10 settlements, 29 mórgs.
    Translated, by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Fall 2003 Rodziny.

Windorp
    From 1686 till 1780 called Winkidorp, since then Windorp. A village in Chojnice county. Post office and parish in Lesno. 412 hectares (1018 acres) of which 118 (about 292 acres) are in plowed fields, 14 (35 acres) are in meadow, and 20 (50 acres) are in forest. In 1885 there were 8 dwellings housing 12 families, of whom 77 were Catholic. In Goldbeck’s topography around 4 homes of the village is recorded as wilderness.
    Translated by Gerald R. Schmidt, Pittsburgh, PA

Witowy
    Current administrative location: Witowy, Gmina Inowrocław, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Witowy, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    A knight’s village located in powiat Inowrocław. The court, district commission, and railway station are located in Inowrocław. The post office is located in Łojewo. Witowy belongs to the Góra Parish. Witowy has 4 houses with 104 inhabitants and 280 hectares of land. Witowy produces an income of 2617 marks.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, December 2009.

Wiżajny
    In documents Wizejny, a settlement, formerly a small town, on the southern shore of the lake of the same name, in Suwalki county, Wizajny gmina and parish, 34 versts north of Suwalki and 11 versts from Kalwarya [Editor’s note: 1 verst (wiorsta) is a little more than a kilometer]. it has a brick parish church, a brick church for the Protestant congregation, an elementary school, gmina offices, a pharmacy, 175 houses and 2,276 inhabitants. In 1827 it had 163 houses and 1,342 inhabitants. Six fairs are held each year in the settlement. The vicinity of W., once covered with marshes, comprised part of the primeval forest extending to Lake Wisztyniec [now Vis’tytis, in Lithuania], which belonged to the Duchy of Prussia. The W. starostwo did not have a fortified castle; the Cossack regiment of Lord Lipnicki and the Wizajny and Lejwany [?] starosta took part in the battle of Diwina (13 November 1661) against the forces of Chowan’ski (Poczobut-Odlanicki’s Journal, page 54). According to treasury reports, in 1766 Wizajny was owned by Strutyfiska, who paid 2,508 zl. in kwarta [an ancient tax for the maintenance of the Polish regular army]. At the Warsaw Sejm of 1773-1775 the government placed this estate under the emphyteutic ownership of Roza nee Plater Strutyn’ska, along with Sejwy starosta, the village of Bolcie in Grodno powiat, and the village of Zyrwiny and the Gieluzanski [?] lands in Troki district. To put an end to disputes over this starostwo’s borders, a commission was established at that same Sejm to define them (Volumina legum, VIII, 750-1). In this century [i. e., the 19th] Wizajny became part of the Kadaryszki ekonomia[administrative division for estates owned by the government]. It is not known when the settlement was incorporated as a town. It received very rich benefices in land. Jan Kazimierz paid for the founding of the Roman Catholic parish in 1659. The Strutynskis erected a new church on the site of the old one. In 1814 it burned down. In 1825 St. Teresa’s church was built of brick, paid for partly from collection of arrears to cover the debt of the former Fire Society (Report of the state council) and partly from the parishioners’ offerings.
    According to an 1885 list the parish numbered 3,709 souls of German ethnicity. Wizajny gmina covers 16,623 morgs and has 4,393 inhabitants (6 Orthodox, 2,437 Protestants, 490 Jews). The number of those absent from the resident population (due to emigration caused by its location on the border) amounts to 24%. The gmina belongs to district court IV in Stara Hancza, with a post office in Szypliszki (21 versts away).
    The gmina includes: Antosin, Bolcie, Burnyszki, Dziad?wek, Dzierwany, Gromadczyna, Grzybina, Jaczno, Jacznowek, Jegliniszki, Klajpeda, Klajpedka, Kojle, Kramnik, Laskowskie, Leszkiemie, Lugiele, Mauda, Mierkinie Nowe, Mierkinie Stare, Miciszki, Okliny, Olszanka-Huk, Poddebszczyzna, Podgorzatek, Polulkiemie, Rakowek, Rogotajny Prywatne, Rogotajny Male, Rogotajny Wielkie, Rozgulina, Skombobole, Stankuny, Stanuliszki, Stara Hancza, Stolupianka, Sudawskie, Utmanda, Wilkupie, Wizgory, Wizajny, Wysokie i Zelazkowizna.
    Submitted by: This translation, by William F. Hoffman, first appeared in the Spring 1996 issue of “Bulletin of the Polish Genealogical Society of America”. (Nov 1997)

Władysławów
    Now Kudirkos Naumiestis, Lithuania], under Prussian rule called Neustadt, a county seat in Suwalki [Suvalkai] gubernia, in the area between the junction of the river Szeszupa [Sesupe] and its tributary on the left bank, Szyrwinta Sirvinta]. Wladyslawów lies on the border with Prussia, opposite the town of Szyrwinty [Sirvintos, German name Schirwindt, now {Kutuzovo}, Russia] (in Pilkaly county) [German name Pikallen, East Prussia, now {Dobrovolsk}, Russia], at 54? 45’7″ north latitude, 22?53′ east longitude, 388 km. from Warsaw, 102 from Suwalki, 18 from Wylkowyszki [Vilkaviskis]. It has a stone Catholic church, a branch of the Protestant church in Wierzbolowo [Virbalis], a synagogue, an elementary school, a justice of the peace court, the county administrative office, a town hall, a customs office, postal and telegraph stations, 332 houses, and 4,500 inhabitants (79% Jewish, 6.6% Protestant, 0.9% Orthodox). There are 6,189 persons registered as permanent residents, but 1,962 of them live in other parts of the country or abroad. In 1827 there were 229 houses and 3,213 inhabitants; in 1857 there were 366 houses (86 of stone) and 5,516 inhabitants (4,434 Jews, 450 Germans). That last figure undoubtedly includes the entire population entered in the register, as well as those who were staying elsewhere. The following factory works exist there: a cotton mill and a cotton cloth-printer.
    The land on which Wladyslawów stands belonged at one time to the jurisdiction of the starosta of Jurborg [Jurbarkas]. Queen Cecylia Renata owned this land as part of her dowry and founded the town there, naming it after her husband, Wladyslaw IV. On 26 March 1643 she issued a charter in Warsaw that made it a town under terms of Magdeburg law. A wójt had jurisdiction over the townsmen; the queen was supposed to appoint him from among the ranks of the nobility. The mayor, however, was supposed to be a townsman residing on this site, and the starosta was supposed to name him from candidates submitted by the townsmen. Appeals were to go first from the town council to the starosta, then to the queen. As a coat of arms the town received a stag’s head with three stars between its antlers (see above). The town’s endowment consisted of 32 wlókas of land. Permission was given to build a town hall with a clock, and a mill on one of the two rivers, as well as to organize guilds. In addition to weekly markets, three annual fairs were established. Jews were not allowed to settle there.
    A parish church made of wood was built there by the queen in 1647. A monastery of Carmelites was subsequently established next to the church, and it existed until 1805. In 1788 the Carmelites built a church of stone on the site of the previous wooden church. It’s a sizable building and rather imposing, with three naves supported by six pillars and with two towers at the front. The bells were cast in Torun.
    Despite the ban on their settling in Wladyslawów, Jews were attracted by the town’s advantageous location for trade on the border of Prussia. They began to settle there in large numbers, developing a trade in linseed and the products of Zmudz [Lithuanian name Zemaiciai, Latin name Samogitia—the lowlands of Lithuania]: corn, wool, honey, lumber, and skins. In 1800, of 2,320 inhabitants, two thirds were Jewish, and of the 230 houses, they owned more than half. Holsche says that they had attained such wealth that for some it was reckoned in the range of 10 to 50 thousand talars. Production of beer and vodka also developed there. The Jews collected revenue of 1,200 ducats from the town in leases; the excise tax came to 3,000 talars, and the town’s yearly income came to 7,000 talars.
    The settlement, formerly impoverished, began to be built up quite nicely, and the streets were paved. A squadron of Hussars was stationed there. The inhabitants of Szyrwinty, on the other side [of the Szyrwinta river], wanted to share in its success, and around 1800 made efforts to combine both towns into a single one; but this was never accomplished.
    In 1842 the resettlement here of a larger and larger number of German Protestants led to the founding of a branch church of the Protestant congregation in Wierzbolowo [Virbalis]. The number of fairs, which had increased from the original 3 to 12, has recently been reduced to 6. In 1881 a large fire destroyed a significant part of the town.
    Translated by Fred Hoffman, PGSA Winter 2004 Rodziny

Włostowo/Lostau
    A farmers’ village and colony at the lake Goplo, from 1878 renamed to Lostau; county Inowroclaw (then Hohensalza) then county Strzelno. Village is situated at the mouth of the Rechta stream to the lake, south of Kruszwica and southeast of Strzelno. Lutheran parish, district office and local court office in Strzelno, railway stations in Kruszwica and in Strzelno. Post office in the village (Lostau), Catholic school in Chrosno, Lutheran school in Lostau, Catholic parish in Koscieszki. In the village 3 farmsteads, territ.of 66 hectar, 54 residents, betw.them 45 Catholic faith, in the colony 9 farmsteads, territ. of 93 hectar, 93 residents, between them 38 Catholic. In the year 1145 this was a property of then Benedictine monastery in Trzemeszno/Tremessen, donated by earl (comes) Wlost together with a big part of the lake and then approved and accepted by prince Mieszko. In 1293 Wladyslaw, prince of Cuiavia (the province – today Kujawy) detached the village from the jurisdiction of the castle in Kruszwica. In 1318 the Regular Canons of Trzemeszno [they were the owners of the monastery after Benedictines], sold the village to the bishopric of Kujawy (in Wloclawek). In 1560 village belonged again to the starostei in Kruszwica (i.e. it was a Crown property). In that time there was only one farmstead and two fishermen. In 1793, after the partitions of Polish Republic the village was taken by Prussian government, and included into the State Domain in Strzelno. In later times it was divided into two parts, of which one has got a new name Lostau, the other still have an old name.
    Submitted by Diana Grzelak Needham (Jun 2004). Translation by Robert Kunkle.

Wójcina
    Wójcina, in 1581 known as Woyczyna, is a village in the county of Dąbrowa Tarnowska. The village is flat, in a tabular area, and had 31 houses, with 195 inhabitants of whom four were Jews. The area is swampy and lies on the right bank of the Wisła, 173 meters above sea level. It was once a part of the Dalastowic estates. In 1875 the land was parceled off, and as a result the village became an affluent town. It covered 330 morgen of farms, 79 morgen of meadows and gardens, 73 morgen of pastures, and 174 morgen, of forests. The parish church was in Szczucin. In his book, Małopolska (Little Poland), Pawinski states that in 1581, Wójcina was the property of Frederic Bonar, and had only seven people with farms, and four farmers without cattle. Wójcina borders Dalastowiec on the east, Ódmęt on the north, Kupienin to the northwest, Mędrzechów on the southwest, and Wola Medrzęchowska on the south.
    Translated from the Słownik Geograficzny by Helen Bienick of the PGS-CA

Wojkówka
    A village in Krosno powiat on the right bank of the Wislok, on the highway from Korczyna to Frysztak (10.5 km. away). The village is built on the river basin, but to the east has wooded hills reaching a height of 334 meters. It has 76 houses and 400 Roman Catholic inhabitants. It is served by the parish church in Laczki. The landed property (of Joz. Wiktor) has 186 morgs of farmland, 19 of meadows, 3 of gardens, 9 of pastures, and 142 of forests; the minor estate has 331 morgs of farmland, 33 of meadows and gardens, 57 of pastures, and 5 of forests. In 1536 Wojkowka belonged to the parish in Szebnie and was owned by Marcin Kamieniecki, voivode of Podolia, as a property of Kamieniec (of Odrzykon castle). Baltazar Dabrowski, the heir to neighboring Moderowka, leased it. It has 13 peasants paying 6 grzywnas and 14 groszy and giving, in addition, 38 1/2bushels of oats, chickens, eggs, and cheese. They also worked off a labor obligation to the lord in Laczki. The soltys had a lan of farmland, the inn, and every sixth denarius from the lord’s rent (Pawinski, Malopolska, 523, 525). In 1571 there were only 9 peasants on 6 lans, 4 crofts, 2 tenants with livestock and 2 without. Wojkowka borders to the north on Laczki, to the east on Weglowka, and to the south on Bratkowka.
    Translated by Fred Hoffman, PGSA Winter 1999 Bulletin

Wojniunce
    A village on the lake of the same name in the parish and rural district of Kopciowo, Sejny county. It is 29 versts from the town of Sejny and has 20 houses and 151 inhabitants. In 1827, there were 6 houses and 55 inhabitants. The lake Wojniunce flows to the lake Bagarys.
    Translated by Dorothy Leivers, Hadlow, Kent, England (May 2004)

Wojsznary
    A settlement in the parish and rural district of Kopciowo, Sejny county. It is 34 versts from the town of Sejny and consists of 1 house and 8 inhabitants.
    Translated by Dorothy Leivers, Hadlow, Kent, England (May 2004)

Wola Łużańska
    A village in Gorlice powiat, with the manorial estate it has 88 houses and 483 inhabitants, 478 Roman Catholic and 5 Jewish. It lies on on a tributary of the Biesnik, which empties into the Biala from the right bank; it has a railway station (10 km. east of Strozów and 17 km. west of Biecz) and belongs to the parish in Luzna. The mortgaged [? — tabularna] estate, belonging to Dr. Elfred Kalina, has 540 morgs, a second part has 4 morgs. In 1581 (according to Pawinski in “Malopolska,” III), as an appurtenance [or contiguity] of Luzna, it belonged to Zofia Branska, and had 3 peasant lans, an enclosed farm with field, 2 tenants with cattle and 2 without, and an inn. It borders on Mszanka to the east, Szalowa to the west, Luzna to the north, to the south is a wooded elevation called Bieśnik, 695 meters above sea level.
    Submitted by: Fred Hoffman (Nov 1997)

Wonorze
    Current administrative location: Wonorze, Gmina Dąbrowa Biskupia, Powiat Inowrocław, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Wonorze, Kreis Inowroclaw, Regierungsbezirk Bromberg, Provinz Posen, Kaiserlich Deutsches Reich.
    Also known as Wąnorze. A village and colony located in powiat Inowrocław. The civil administration office and district headquarters is located in Dąbrowa (German name: Louisenfelde). The railway station is located in Gniewkowo (German name: Argenau). The post office is located in Parchanie. The Catholic school is located in Ośniszczewko. Wonorze belongs to the Brudnia Catholic Parish. There are two Evangelical Protestant Parishes in the area, which are located in Brudnia and Murzynno. The district court is located in Inowrocław.
    The Wonorze village farm land totals 349 hectares. The Wonorze village has 25 houses with 250 inhabitant (24 Catholics). The Wonorze colony land area totals 191 hectares. The Wonorze colony has 20 houses with 199 inhabitant (7 Catholics).
    The village belonged to the monastery in Strzelno. In 1308, Mikołaj Gerwarda, who was the Abbot of the monastery in Strzelno, paid an uncertain amount of money to the Bishops of Włocławek to purchase the village of Wonorze for the monastery. In 1583, the settlement’s area totaled 5 łan and had 1 croft (enclosed section of farmland), 1 craftsman, and the village mayor (Soltys) had 2 1/4 lan of land.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Wowcza
    A place on the ground belonging to Malin, in the district of Radomsyl, with a wood distiller’s work belonging to Josko Narodycki.
    Submitted by: Mieczyslaw A. Klopotek (Sep 1997)

Wowcze
    A colony in the district of Radomsyl, in the 3rd Polish precinct, township of Potyjowka, about 18 versts from Radom, 12 inhabitants.
    Submitted by: Mieczyslaw A. Klopotek (Sep 1997)

Wrocanka
    1) a village in Jaslo county, on a small tributary of the Jasiolka from the left bank, 3.5 km. south of Tarnowiec (parish and railroad station between Jaslo and Krosno). With the landed estate (of Konst. Pilin~ski) it has 104 houses and 574 Roman Catholic inhabitants. The landed estate has an area of 494 m?rgs, half farmland and half forest, and the minor estate has 708 morgs of land. In 1581 (Pawinski, Malopolska, p. 120) it was the property of Salowski and had 4 peasant lans, a zagroda with land, 3 zagrodas without land, 2 tenants with cattle, the same number with no cattle, and 2 craftsmen. Glinik Polski borders on it to the south, Umieszcz to the west, Polak?wka to the east, and Tarnowiec to the north.
    2) W., a village in Krosno county, on the right bank of the Jasiel, elevation 312 meters above sea level, 4.3 km. west of Miejsce and 8.3 km. southeast of Krosno. Near Wrocanka the roads to Ryman?w and Dukla cross. With the landed estate it has 153 houses and 833 Roman Catholic inhabitants (409 men, 424 women). The landed estate is mostly parceled out among 60 peasants; 59 morgs remained with the major estate, and the peasants possessed 193 m?rgs; the minor estate comes to 586 m?rgs.
    Wrocanka was once a village owned by the king, settled on the basis of German law, and it was originally settled by Germans. In the 1665 Sanok district inspection report (Rekp. Os., Nr. 2834, p. 58) we read: “The owner of this village is His Excellency Stanislaw Zawisza, jointly with Her Excellency Konstancya of Kozieglowa, his spouse, with a decree of consent received of King Jan Kazimierz and dated Warsaw on 14 January 1651, with a cession by Her Excellency Katarzyna Dunkowska, surviving spouse of the late noble Zygmut Dunkowski, Sanok district scribe, in her own person. In this village there are 7 peasants settled, of whom 3 pay a rent of 24 grosz each, which comes to 2 zl. [zlotys], 12 grosz, and 3 pay 16 grosz each, which comes to 1 zl., 18 grosz. Each gives a bushel of oats by Krosno measure, which totals 7 bushels at 2 zl. each for a total of 14 zl. Each gives 4 capons, in all 28, at 6 grosz apiece, which comes to 5 zl., 18 grosz. They are to do half-lan work service three days a week, from morning to evening, with livestock. In summer they are to send two each to harvest and gather hay and see to the breeding. They are each to spin two pieces of the lord’s material. When they provide a cart in place of labor service, they are to deduct as many days as they will be on the road. There are two zagrodniks. They are to do work one day a week. The manorial farmstead’s yield: 40 kopas [ 1 kopa = 60 sheaves] of rye, 10 kopas of wheat, 16 of barley, 40 of oats, 20 of buckwheat. The total of all produce and income, of the wojt’s revenue as well, comes to 111 zl., 18 grosz. Deducting 16 zl., 18 grosz from that sum that is paid to the official, the sum on which the kwarta is to be paid to the Crown treasury, under the debts described in the common law on inspections and on the kwarta, comes to 95 zl.”
    The parish was already in existence by 1490; there is no document of its founding because in 1566 hooligans robbed the church and tortured Rev. Sokolowski, the pastor, to reveal where the money was concealed. The wooden church existing today was built in 1770. The village of Szczepancowa belongs to the parish (in the diocese of Przemysl, deanery of Krosno). It borders on the south with Rowne, on the east with Rogi and Miejsce, on the north with Glowienka, and on the west with Nizna Laka.
    Translated by Michael Gansecki and William F. Hoffman, PGSA May 2000 Rodziny.

Wyrzysk
    1) (also known as Wyrzysko, Werzysko, Wyritz, German Wirsitz): a town on the Lobzonka, south of Lobzenica, northwest of Naklo, the center of Wyrzysk county lies between Miasteczko, Szamocin, Kcynia, Naklo, Mrocza, Lobzenica, and Wysoka? There is a civil registry office in the town, a railway station in Osiek (German name Netzthal) on the Bydgoszcz-Krzyz line, a school and parish in the town, courts in the town and Pila.? It covers an area of 508 hectares, has 129 homesteads, 1,428 souls (590 Catholic and 142 Jews).? In 1326 Warcislaw, Prince of Pomerania, and Fryderyk Wildenberg, Master of the Teutonic Knights, made an alliance with Bishop Konrad of Kamien against Poland. In this treaty the Teutonic Kinghts undertook the obligation of chasing the Polish invaders back as far as Wyrzysk. Today the town does not possess old documents.
    In 1578 it had 25 personal farms, 11 zagrodas and 5 trades. When it came under Prussian rule in 1773, it was the property of Count Wrbno Rydzynski, who sold it to Frederick the Great. The King ordered a Protestant church built there. In 1788 Wyrzysk had 31 houses and 180 souls. At the beginning of the 19th century it numbered 550 souls. In 1816 there were 43 homesteads and 435 souls, of whom 173 were Catholic and 48 Jews. In 1837 there were 70 houses, 808 souls; 892 souls in 1843; 999 souls in 1858; and 1,049 in 1861. The Catholic church is dedicated to St. Martin. Its beginnings are unknown. The 1766 inspection says that in place of the wooden church Mikolaj z Wrbna Rydzynski built a new one, at his own expense, in brick nogged timber wall [w pruski mur]. It was consecrated on 31 May 1744 by Jozef Tadeusz z Kiekrza Kierski, Poznan suffragan. After 120 years this church gave way to a new one, made of brick in Gothic style, paid for by the parishioners with government help. Jozef Kuczynski, Naklo dean, consecrated it on 4 November 1860. In 1821 the Wyrzysk church received the bell from the former Dominican church in Gniezno, which was being torn down. In 1813 a prehistoric burial-ground was excavated in Wyrzysk. 2) Wyrzysk, a royal demesne, 1,238 hectares in area, 25 homesteads, 367 souls, of whom 158 were Catholic. In 1793 Grabowo, Osiek, Pruszcz, and Wysoczka also belonged to the Wyrzysk demesne.
    Translated by William F. Hoffman, PGSA Fall 1995 Bulletin.

Wysocin
    Current administrative location: Wysocin, Gmina Bądkowo, Powiat Aleksandrów, Województwo Kujawsko–Pomorskie, Poland. Administrative location in 1895 (Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego): Wysocin, Powiat Nieszawa, Gubernia Warszawske, Vistula Land, Russian Empire.
    A village, folwark (manor farm), and colony that are located near the Bachorzą valley and in powiat Nieszawa and gmina Bądkowo. It belongs to the Bądkowo Parish. Wysocin is a distance of 12 verst from Nieszawa and 6 verst from Brześć. It has 206 inhabitants. In 1827, there were 11 houses with 110 inhabitants.
    In 1886, the Wysocin folwark’s land area was 620 morgs: 585 morgs of arable farm and garden land, 18 morgs of meadows, 152 morgs of forest, 2 morgs of pasture, and 14 morgs of barren land. There were 18 brick buildings, 2 wooden buildings, and crop rotation was distributed among nine and a half fields. The peasants lived on the separated Wysocin colony, which had 18 houses with 186 inhabitants.
    In 1262, Konrad called the village “Vissocine” in documents and listed Wysocin as an ancient settlement mentioned in the number of possessions of the Sulejów monastery (Kod. dypl. pol., I, 48). This may be the same Wysocin that appeared in the act, by Duke Konrad, in 1488, that liberated the peasants (Kod. Maz., 300). In 1557, according to the regency tax collections for the village’s head, from Powiat Brześć, Wysocin belonged to the Bądkowo Parish and had 4 łan (fields) and 2 crofts. There was a butler (honorary village landlord), and a craftsman. Part of Wysocin was comprised of 4 łan (today this area is Wysocinek), 5 łan, and 2 crofts (Pawiński, Wielkop., II, 6). Br. Ch.
    Translated by Al Wierzba, November 2009.

Wysoka
    Early information on Wies Wysoka: Evidence the community was formed before 1200. At one time, it was called Wissel, and was a settlement of primarily people of German descent. Some surnames of early settlers were: Rufer, Reizer, Bartman, Uchman, Kochman, Tejchman, Szmuz, Flejscher.
    Towns of Albigowa, Kraczkowa and Krzeminica were started about 1340. Were mixed with Russians. Markowa, Hushow, and Kosina later used the German language.
    In 1538 a priest named Walerjan brought a German bible. In 1558, first church records are in Polish, after that no German records, only Polish and Latin. The year 1550 shows the oldest church record (in Latin). In 1385 St. Margorzati was the first church started. First baptismal records were in 1649. Priest named Tomasz had first record. Priest named Kwolk was there to year 1591. In 1588, priest was Jerzy Krauzer. One of the first families listed in records was Szlacheckie. In 1640, one kloda wheat and one kloda oats was given to the church by each family.
    In June of 1624, the Tatars came from south and burned the church and parsonage and murdered people and then retumed south. Some people ran away. In 1626 a new church was built on the old spot. Karol Franciszek Korniatkta once owned most of the land in Wysoka. A Jan Labanski was killed in 1663. A priest by the name of Szaturski kept records to year 1875. Later records were kept by Albert Krupski. His rich relatives came and ran the area farms. In 1638 there were 400 persons in Wysoka. In 1705, the parish had an epidemic and many families died. In 1785, there were 965 people in Wysoka (and in parish). In 1831, cholera hit the area, and 30 people died. The parish had 1,040 people that year.
    In 1835 a priest named Kajetan Kochanski started a new cemetery by the church. The old wood church was taken apart in 1911 and a new church was built in the same place. In 1877 the priest was Wojciech Brygilewicz. In 1812 the Austrian government took the churches’ gold and silver. St. Walenty’s “obras” was bought in 1682.
    The oldest school records are from the year 1577. From 1836 to 1838 Franciszek Alenberg built the first school by the church. In 1835 the school head was Ludwig Slustowski. Then there was a period of no written records. In 1869 a new school was built, and teachers were paid 170 zloty per year. The teacher was a man named Kukorevicz (an intelligent but a drinking man). Later Bronislaw Wolski was teacher. No one remembers who the third teacher was, but the priest was Kochman. From 1877 – 1916 Jan Antosz was teacher. School was across the road from the church. In 1902 Wysoka was called “gmena” instead of “wies”. In 1913 the school was built where it is now. It had four halls and living quarters for teachers. In 1927 five classes were started. From 1929-30 there were 301 children in school. In 1925, one class was being taught at home. In 1926 the old priest Edmund MIadynski died. In 1916-1917 priest was Stanislaw Sabat. He died in 1955. From 1919-1927 Piotr Pasieka was director of the school. From 1928-1936 Tomasz Klus was director of the school. From 1936-1941 Piotr Wolosyn was director of the school. In 1958 a hall was built for dances and public events.
    In 1959 church was painted. Ks. Michalski was the priest for two years, then Jan Bazan. In 1957 the priest was Andrzej Czys. A new organ was purchased for 500,000 zloty. In 1960 a tornado passed through the area for eight minutes. In Rzeszow the storm broke the church steeple with the bells. In 1966, 26 April, the river flooded and damaged the water mill. In 1969, a new organ was purchased. In 1970 Stanislaw BMalczere was the teacher and priest. In 1974, a fence was built around the church. In 1977 Andrzej Czys left there, and the new priest was Edward Sniezek. He is still priest there now.
Submitted by: Helen Steffanus

Wysoka – 4) near Jordanow
    A village in Myslenice county, the Roman Catholic parish is in Jordanow, in the same place as the post office, (of 5.3 kilometers away). The village has 753 residents, the area of the major landed estate has 32 inhabitants. In the year 1581 the village Wysoka, in Łetownia parish (just north of Jordanow), in the district of Szczyrzyc, the property of the Kalisz viovode, had 1¼ peasant lans, 4 zagrodas (peasant farm house with yard, garden) without land and 3 tenant farmers with cattle.
    Translation by John Rys, Woodbury MN. Edited by Fred Hoffman in PGSA Rodziny, Summer 2005.