Family of Joseph Pionke and Susanna Mrozewska

This post is the sixth in a series examining the nine early Pionke, Pionk, Pionek, and Piontke family groups in Chicago, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.

Today's post is our first look at the descendants of Johann Pionk and Marianna Małoszycka of Będargowo. Three of their children—Marianna, Franz, and Joseph—were parents of Pionke and Pionek immigrants in Chicago and Wisconsin. I will begin with the family of their son Joseph Pionke and his wife Susanna Mrozewska.

Joseph Pionk or Pionke was the fourth of six children born to Johann and Marianna. He was born on 28 February 1819 in Będargowo and baptized in Strzepcz Catholic parish (St. Mary Magdalene). His siblings were born in the same village, and his parents remained there until his father's death.

Joseph Pionk, 1819 baptism record, Strzepcz parish

Susanna Magdalena Mrozewska was the daughter of Adam Mrozewski and Marianna Belgrowa or Belgraf. She was born in 1825 and baptized in Sierakowice Catholic parish (St. Martin). By the time Susanna got married, her family had moved from Sierakowice parish to Strzepcz parish. After Susanna's father died, her mother married Johann Cyman (Ziemann), which is why Susanna's surname is recorded as Cyman in some records.

Joseph Pionke married Susanna Mrozewska on 26 January 1846 in Strzepcz parish. He was a day laborer, age 26, and she was 21. Both were residents of Będargowo. Their first four children were all born in this village.

Joseph Pionk - Susanna Mrozewska
1846 marriage record, Strzepcz parish (item #5)

Children of Joseph Pionke and Susanna Mrozewska

Joseph and Susanna had seven children in 20 years. All but Antonina were baptized in Strzepcz; she was baptized in Sianowo. Son Albert's baptism was recorded in both Strzepcz and Sianowo parish books. By the time their youngest children were born, Joseph and Susanna had moved from Będargowo to nearby Łebno.

• Marianna was born on 23 March 1847 in Będargowo.
• Martianna was born on 12 October 1849 in Będargowo.
• Johann (John Pionek) was born on 1 November 1852 in Będargowo.
• Adalbert (Albert Pionek) was born on 20 December 1855 in Będargowo.
• Franz was born on 27 February 1860 in Łebno.
• Antonina (Antonia) was born on 18 October 1863. (I have not yet seen her baptism record and thus do not know her birthplace.)
• Rosalia (Rose) was born on 28 September 1866 in Łebno.

Susanna (Mrozewska) Pionke died on 19 March 1870 in Łebno of an apoplexy or stroke. She was only 45 years old. Joseph was left with seven children, three of whom were under age 10.

Joseph Pionke married second wife Julianna Leik on 1 October 1871. According to the marriage record, Julianna was about 40 years old and unmarried. Joseph and Juianna had one child:

• Ignatz Joseph Pionke was born on 8 February 1878 in Gowino. He died on 5 March 1878 in that same village.

By the late 1870s, Joseph and his family had moved from Łebno to Gowino, in the Luzino parish. Between 1882 and 1892, Johann, Albert, Antonina, and Rosalia all immigrated to the U.S. Marianna and Franz both remained in Poland. I do not know what became of their sister Martianna; thus far I have not found her marriage or death record.

Joseph Pionke died on 28 August 1893 in Gowino at age 74. His wife Julianna died on 19 March 1906 in Gowino at about age 75.

This map shows the location of the parishes of Sierakowice, Strzepcz, Luzino, and Wejherowo; and the villages Będargowo, Łebno, Gowino, Rekowo, and Lisewo.

Family of Paul Pionk and Anna Bazowa

This post is the fifth in a series examining the nine early Pionke, Pionk, Pionek, and Piontke family groups in Chicago, Wisconsin, and South Dakota, and their origins in the old country.

Paul Pionk and Anna Baza (Bazowna, Bazowa) were my 4th-great-grandparents. Previously, I introduced their sons Valentin and Jacob, whose descendants migrated to Chicago and Wisconsin. Today I will look at this family's origins in West Prussia.

We know little about this family's beginnings. Not only is there no record of Paul's marriage to Anna, but there is also no record of either of their births. Therefore we do not know their birth dates, birth places, or their parents' names. But let us begin with what we do know.

Pionk family origin and missing parish records

As Michael Pionke discussed in his article about the Pionke surname, all of our Strzepcz and Kielno area Pionkes descend from our very own Adam and Eve Pionk. Adam Pionk and Eva (maiden name not known) lived in Będargowo in the 1700s. Paul Pionk was almost certainly their great-grandson.

Unfortunately, we will probably never know the exact connection because there are many years missing from the Strzepcz parish records. There are no baptisms available between 1745 and 1810 and no marriages or deaths before 1846.

There were numerous Pionk or Pionke families in both Kielno and Strzepcz during the time that Paul's family lived in those parishes. Some resided in the same villages as Paul—or very nearby—and it is intriguing to ponder which of these may have been his siblings. But at this point, there is too little information to truly know.

Bazowa or Baza family origin

From the Strzepcz baptism records, we know Paul Pionk's wife as Anna Bazowa or Bazowna. However, it is important to note that -owna and -owa are old-fashioned suffixes used to form feminine versions of a surname. In this case, the standard form of the name would have been something like Baza. The suffix -owna refers to an unmarried woman and -owa refers to a married woman. Thus Anna's maiden name was Bazowna and her married name was Pionkowa.

In contrast to the Pionks, there were not many families with the surname Baza in the Strzepcz parish. However, versions of the name can be found in the neighboring parishes of Kielno, Przodkowo, Luzino, and Rozłazino. Variations include: Barza, Basa, Base, Boza, Boża, and Bosa. So perhaps Anna's family originated in one of these parishes.

Nonetheless, it is likely that our Baza family was living in Strzepcz parish when Anna married Paul Pionk. We know this because the tradition was to marry in the bride's home parish. Unlike Strzepcz parish, marriage records for the relevant years survive in all of the parishes mentioned above. There is no record of their marriage in any of these parishes; thus it is logical to conclude that Paul Pionk and Anna Baza were married in Strzepcz.

Paul Pionk and Anna Baza family

Based on the birth date of their first child, Paul Pionk and Anna Baza were probably married in 1819 or 1820 in Strzepcz Catholic parish. They had five children in 10 years, all born in Zęblewo and baptized in Strzepcz. The family resided first in Zęblewo and later in Mały Donimierz (map).

Children of Paul Pionk and Anna Baza:

• Eva Pionk was born on 21 February 1821.
• August Pionk was born on 12 January 1823.
• Valentin Pionk was born on 14 January 1825.
• Francisca Pionk was born on 19 January 1828.
• Jacob Pionk was born on 2 August 1830.

Paul Pionk died on 19 October 1842 in Mały Donimierz and was buried in Szemud. He was 50 years old and thus he was born about 1792. According his death record, Paul was a Käthner—a person renting a small piece of land with a house and garden and maybe a few farm animals.

Paul and Anna's three sons all married in Kielno and Strzepcz and had families of their own. Daughters Eva and Franciska, however, are something of a mystery.

August Pionk married Marianna Dosz in Kielno parish in 1847. They had seven children, two of whom lived to adulthood. Their family remained in Poland (West Prussia) and lived in Donimierz.

Valentin Pionk married Josephine Stefanowska in Kielno parish in 1852. Jacob Pionk married Franciska Leik in Strzepcz parish in 1853. Valentin, his children, and Jacob's children eventually migrated to the U.S. and lived in Chicago and Wisconsin.

It is my theory that Eva Pionk died as a child, while the family was still in Strzepcz parish. I believe Franciska was actually Anna Pionk who married Joseph Rhode in Kielno in 1847. A future post will discuss this in greater detail.

Mysteries and mistakes in Paul Pionk's death record

Paul Pionk's death record indicates that he was survived by a wife Maria and four minor children. As noted above, Paul's family began with a wife named Anna and five children. So what can we conclude from this record?

Paul Pionk death record, Kielno parish, 1842

First, it is possible that Paul's wife's name was written as "Maria" in error, and that Anna in fact outlived her husband Paul. Unfortunately, errors are fairly common in these parish records.

But if the record is correct as written, then Anna must have died before her husband, and he must have remarried while the family was still in Strzepcz parish. If Paul did remarry, he did not have any children with his second wife, which is a little unusual.

Either way, there is another significant question—what happened to Paul Pionk's widow? I cannot find a death record in Kielno for either a Maria or an Anna Pionk that exactly matches what we know about this family. Nor can I find a marriage record for a widowed Maria Pionk. Thus there is no evidence to prove whether Paul remarried or not.

Second, it is obvious that one of Paul and Anna's children died while the family was still living in Strzepcz parish—remember, there are no death records before 1846 in that parish. We know that sons August, Valentin, and Jacob all lived to adulthood. Therefore one daughter died before 1842. To be strictly accurate, that daughter must have been Eva because she would have been age 21 and thus not a minor when her father died. However, parish records are not so strictly accurate when it comes to age.

Family of Johann Pionke and Friderike Byzewska

This post is the fourth in a series examining the nine early Pionke, Pionk, Pionek, and Piontke family groups in Chicago, Wisconsin, and South Dakota.


Johann Pionk or Pionke was the son of Martin Pionke, a forester, and Franciska Klein. He was born on 23 October 1829 in Rzepecka and baptized in Strzepcz Catholic parish (St. Mary Magdalene). His siblings were born in the villages of Głodowo, Borek, Tępcz, and Zęblewo. By the late 1840's the family was settled in Miłoszewo Abbau. In this context, the term "Abbau" refers to a location outside the main village, which seems logical for a forester's family dwelling.

Friderike Byzewska (or Bisewska) was born in Pobłocie on 1 April 1836 and baptized in Strzepcz. She was the first child of laborer Joseph Byzewski and his wife Constantia Groth.

Johann Pionke married Friderike Byzewska on 19 November 1855 in Strzepcz. He was 26 and resided in Miłoszewo Abbau; she was 19 and lived in Pobłocie. After their wedding, the couple settled in Miłoszewo Abbau. Johann was a forester like his father.

Johann Pionk - Friedericke Bizewska marriage record, 1855, Strzepcz parish

This map shows the villages where the families of Martin Pionke and Joseph Byzewski lived and also their local parish in Strzepcz. Two locations are not named on the map: (1) "Unnamed Rd" is where Borek was located; (2) the location just north of Łebno is Głodowo. These villages are all located in the Pomerania region of Poland, but at that time the area was part of West Prussia.

Children of Johann Pionke and Friderike Byzewska

Johann and Friderike had five children. They were all born in Miłoszewo Abbau and baptized in Strzepcz.

• Paulina was born on 29 August 1856 and died in Stara Huta on 2 August 1872.
• August was born on 21 September 1858.
• Johann was born on 21 February 1861 and died in Miłoszewo on 23 June 1861.
• Franz Joseph was born on 15 June 1862.
• Rosalia was born on 6 January 1865.