Family of Valentin Pionke and Josephine Stefanowska

This post is the second in a series examining the nine early Pionke, Pionk, Pionek, and Piontke family groups in Chicago, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. Today's topic is the family of Valentin Pionke and Josephine Stefanowska, my 3rd-great-grandparents.

Valentin Pionke family - the beginning

Valentin Pionk or Pionke was the third of five children born to Paul Pionk and Anna Bazowa. He was born in Zęblewo on 14 January 1825 and baptized in Strzepcz Catholic parish (St. Mary Magdalene). His siblings were all born in the same village. The family later moved to nearby Mały Donimierz.

Josephine Stefanowska was the daughter of Johann Stefanowski and Anna Kankowska, the seventh of their ten children. She was born on 7 February 1833 in Donimierz and baptized in Kielno Catholic parish (St. Wojciech). Josephine's mother died when she was only five years old. Her father soon remarried, and Josephine was raised by her stepmother, Marianna (née Kipke). By the time Josephine was married, her family lived in Mercestwo, a very small settlement near Szemud.

On 22 November 1852, at the age of 27, Valentin married Josephine, age 19, in Kielno Catholic parish. It was very common in those days for people to marry late in the year, after the harvest season. Valentin's elder brother August was a witness to the marriage.

Excerpt - Valentin Pionk - Josephine Stefanowska
1852 marriage record, Kielno parish

Children of Valentin and Josephine Pionke

Once married, the Pionkes lived in Mały Donimierz, where Valentin was a farm laborer. They had eight children in 20 years, all born Mały Donimierz, and all but Anastasia were baptized in Kielno (she was baptized in Szemud). August and Anastasia both died at just 1½ years old.

• Anna was born on 15 November 1853.
• Joseph was born on 10 February 1856.
• Mathilda was born on 29 November 1858.
• Josephine was born on 19 October 1861.
• Johann (John) was born on 29 May 1864.
• August was born on 2 March 1867 and died on 19 August 1868.
• Franz (Frank) was born on 13 June 1870.
• Anastasia was born on 27 June 1873 and died on 8 December 1874.

Pionke sisters Anna Sychowski,
Josephine Piefke, and Mathilda Specht

Their three daughters all married in Poland (formerly West Prussia). Anna Pionke married Franz (Frank) Sychowski, a day laborer from Zęblewo, in 1870 in the Szemud Catholic parish (St. Nicholas). Their first three children were born in Zęblewo; the next three in Tępcz.

Mathilda Pionke married Franz (Frank) Specht, a laborer from Donimierz, in 1877 in Szemud. They resided in Donimierz, where their first five children were born.

Valentin's wife Josephine died at age 48, on 22 October 1881, after 29 years of marriage. I believe their unmarried daughter Josephine then took care of the household and younger brother Franz. Valentin did not remarry.

Daughter Josephine Pionke married two years after her mother's death. She and Albert Piefke (Piwka), a laborer from Zęblewo, were married in 1883 in Szemud. They resided in Mały Donimierz, likely with Valentin and Franz Pionke in the same household. Their first three children were born in that village.

Valentin Pionke family in Chicago

Valentin's family began to emigrate soon after his wife's death. Sons Joseph and Johann probably emigrated together, in about 1881 or 1882. Daughter Anna Sychowski left with her husband and children in 1886. And in 1889, Valentin traveled to the U.S. with son Franz and the families of his daughters Mathilda Specht and Josephine Piefke.

Excerpt - Baltimore Passenger Lists, Ship: Main; Arrival: 4 April 1889

The entire family settled in Lake View, Illinois (now part of Chicago's north side), in the Kashubian parish of St. Josaphat. Valentin and Frank lived with Josephine Piefke and her family at 252 Southport (now 2335), on the same block as their parish church. The rest of the family lived within walking distance (see map).

This neighborhood had a large Kashubian population, mixed with Germans and others. Many neighbors and relatives from the old country became neighbors in their new home. Their parish was full of people who spoke their language and knew their customs; they even had a Kashubian priest for a number of years.

Son Joseph Pionke married Marianna Freibis in 1883 at St. Stanislaus Kostka, Chicago's first Polish parish, before St. Josaphat's was founded. His brother John Pionke married Martha Marszal at St. Josaphat's in 1888; she died later that year. John then married second wife Josephine Renachowska in 1889. Except for Joseph's eldest son, all of their children, and their sisters' children, were baptized at St. Josaphat's. Most of the family remained in this parish into the 1930's, and some even longer.

Valentin and Josephine's family did well in Chicago. Most of their children owned their own homes. Their son Joseph and son-in-law Frank Specht were trustees at St. Josaphat's. Two of their grandsons were ordained Catholic priests.

Valentin Pionke died of stomach cancer on 17 July 1902 in Chicago. He was buried at St. Adalbert Cemetery. He was survived by six children, 37 grandchildren, and a brother in Poland. In total, he and his wife had eight children, 56 grandchildren, and 120 great-grandchildren.

Pionke family monument,
St. Adalbert Cemetery (Niles, IL)
photo credit: Mary Walle-Santos 2010

Pionke Friday: We will post more about the Pionkes next Friday. This is the second post in a series about the Pionke, Pionk, and Pionek families here in the U.S. and back in the home country. Next week: Family of Jacob Pionke and Franciska Leik.

Related posts:

• Family of Paul Pionk and Anna Bazowa
• Family of Jacob Pionke and Franciska Leik
• Pedigree chart of my grandmother Helen Pionke
• Early Pionke and Pionek Families in Chicago and Wisconsin
• More Early Pionke and Related Families in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Michigan
• Będargowo - Part I: A different story of Adam and Eve
• Będargowo - Part II: What the Prussians tell us
• On the trails of our ancestors
• Pionke — The mystery of a name

© TreeQuest: An Unexpected Journey 2016.

Acknowledgements:

I must thank my distant cousin and genealogy friend, Michael Pionke, for finding Valentin Pionke's baptism and his parents' names. Due to an initial misspelling of the surname in the original record (Pynka) and a subsequent difficult-to-read correction (Piąk), Valentin's name appeared in the PTG indexes transcribed as "Valentinus Rynka" and so I had overlooked it. This find was significant and exciting. Not only did it take my Pionke line back another generation, but it also proved what had become obvious at that point — that Valentin and Jacob Pionke were brothers.

Thank you also to Ancestry member JMSFrech, another cousin and fellow Pionke researcher, for giving permission to share her photograph of the three Pionke sisters.

Reference:

• Family History Library Film #162398. Katholische Kirche Strepsch (Kr. Neustadt). Taufen [baptisms] 1810-1846.
• Family History Library Film #529814. Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja Kielno (Wejherowo). Akta urodzeń [births] 1869-1885, 1842-1868.
• Family History Library Film #529815. Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja Kielno (Wejherowo). Akta małżeństw [marriages] 1843-1901.
• Family History Library Film #544848. Katholische Kirche Schönwalde (Kr. Neustadt). Taufen [baptisms] 1870-1901; Heiraten [marriages] 1870-1939.
• FamilySearch.com: Illinois, Chicago, Catholic Church Records, 1833-1925 [must login to view images]
• GenBaza.com: AP Gdansk, Parafie katolickie, Kielno. Book 1425/3: deaths 1830-1854, image 0066. [account and login required]
• Ancestry.com. Baltimore, Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Ship: Main; Port of Departure: Bremen, Germany; Arrival Date: 4 Apr 1899. [Ancestry subscription required]

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