Follow-up: Joseph Freibis

Joseph Freibis was my 3rd-great-grandfather. He also represented a brick wall in my research. When I first wrote about him, I did not know his birth date or place, his parents' names, or where he married his wife Pauline (Abraham).

I knew that Joseph had not been baptized in Góra (his wife's home parish) nor in Puck (the parish where his children were baptized), but I did not know what parish he was from. In my initial research, I had learned that there were Freibis records in Luzino, Rozłazino, and Żarnowiec Catholic parishes and in Bolszewo Lutheran parish. Thus I resolved to manually search microfilm of all parishes in the area in hopes of finding him.

Happily my strategy paid off. I found Joseph's baptism in the Bolszewo (Bohlschau) Lutheran parish. He was born on 18 November 1826 in Robakowo to parents Johann Freibis, a Lutheran, and Francisca Słowy, a Catholic. Interestingly, his two elder brothers had been baptized in Catholic parishes, while each of his younger brothers' baptisms were recorded twice — in both a Catholic AND a Lutheran parish.

Excerpt - Joseph Freyboes (Freibis) baptism, 1826 Bolszewo parish

Once I had found Joseph's parents, naturally I wanted to go back further. Luck was again with me. Joseph's father, Johann Gottlieb, was also baptized in Bolszewo, in 1797. His parents were Carl Gottlieb Freibis and Constantia Ronke. Joseph's mother, Francisca, was baptized in Luzino (Lusin) in 1797. Her parents were Anton Słowy (or Słowik) and Catharina Milke.

At this point I realized I had run out of luck on the Freibis line again — or so I thought. The Bolszewo parish records began in 1774 and I could not find Carl Gottlieb Freibis' baptism. But when I re-examined my older notes, I found something interesting: there was a Freibis family in the early records of Luzino Catholic parish. Hoping they would match my family, I looked through those records again.



Indeed the Freibis family in Luzino WAS the same family. I found Carl's baptism and his parents' marriage there. But they weren't Catholic; they were also Lutheran. In fact, there were many Lutheran families getting married and baptizing their children in Luzino Catholic parish in those years. Unfortunately, though, I did not find Constantia Ronke's baptism in Luzino nor in Bolszewo.

I then searched for the family of Francisca Słowy, Joseph Freibis' mother. I was not able to find the birth of Francisa's mother, Catharina Milke. However, I found not only the parents of her father Anton Słowy, but also his grandparents. This led me to the earliest record we have found for our dad's side of the family — a marriage record from 1720 in Luzino. Mathias Ebelk (Ebel or Hebel) and Marianna Mrosk were Joseph Freibis' great-great-grandparents and they were my 7th-great-grandparents.

Mathias Ebelk - Marianna Mrosk,
my 7th-great-grandparents
1720 marriage, Luzino

This has been an exciting journey, starting with a brick wall in 1852 and ending with the discovery of a marriage record from 1720! If only all of our genealogy efforts could end so well. And, as if that was not enough, I now have the icing on the cake — just last week I finally found the marriage record of Joseph Freibis and Paulina Abraham.

Joseph Freibis and Pauline Agatha Abraham were married in Góra on 25 November 1851. Both were single, Catholic religion, and age 25. Joseph was a weaver residing in Robakau (Robakowo). Pauline was living in Góra (Gohra). Witnesses to the wedding were Johann Abraham and Jacob Felstau, Pauline's brother and cousin.

Joseph Freibis - Pauline Agatha Abraham,
1851 marriage record, Góra

Related posts:

• 52 Ancestors #1: Joseph Freibis
• Family of Johann Freibis and Francisca Słowy
• Pedigree chart of my grandmother Helen Pionke

© TreeQuest: An Unexpected Journey 2016.

Reference:

• Family History Library Film #69989. Evangelische Kirche Bohlschau (Kr. Neustadt).
• Family History Library Film #72034. Kościół rzymsko-katolicki. Parafja Luzino (Wejherowo).
• GenBaza.com: AP Gdansk, Parafie katolickie, Góra. Book 1423/4: baptisms, marriages, deaths 1840-1874, images 0127-0128. [account and login required]

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