Family of Johann Pionke and Anna Marianna Janke

This is the eleventh and final post in a series examining the nine early Pionke, Pionk, Pionek, and Piontke family groups in Chicago, Wisconsin, and South Dakota. But don't worry—we still have a lot more Pionke research to share!


Of all the early Pionke families in Wisconsin and Chicago, only this one came from Posen, not West Prussia. This family lived Wilanowiec (Wilhelmshöhe) in the parish of Ujście (formerly Usch, kreis Kolmar, Posen, Prussia).

Johann Pionke (Piontke, Piontek), son of Martin, married Anna Marianna Janke (Yonke), daughter of Gottlieb, in Ujście Catholic parish in 1856. According to the marriage record, he was 26 and she was 21. Johann's birth year is not certain, however; the birth date recorded on his tombstone is 21 April 1826.

The map below shows the villages Wilanowiec and Ujście.

Johann Pionke and Anna Marianna Janke had three children who later immigrated to Wisconsin. There were probably other children, but I have not seen the Ujście parish records.

• Martin Francis Pionke was born about 1860.
• Julianna (Julia) Pionke was born about 1864.
• Joseph Ernest Pionke was born in Ujście on 29 November 1869.

Johann's son Martin Pionke was married in Ujście before the family emigrated. He married Cecelia Brocka (Brotski), daughter of Anton Brocki and Marianna Goitsmacher, on 29 May 1883. Their first two sons, Franz and Martin, were both baptized in Ujście.

Anna Marianna (Janke) Pionke did not emigrate with her family. Most likely she died in or before 1885.

Emigration

Martin Pionke and his sister Julia emigrated first. They departed from Hamburg on 12 April 1885 on the Lessing and arrived in New York on 25 April. According to the passenger list, their last residence was Wilhelmshöhe, Posen, now Wilanowiec (see map above). Martin's wife was pregnant with their second child when her husband left for the new world.

Siblings Martin and Julianna Pionke of Wilhelmshöhe, Posen,
Hamburg passenger list, 12 April 1885
ship - Lessing

A few months later, Martin and Julia were joined by their father and brother, along with Martin's wife and infant son. Johann, Joseph, Cecelia (Brotski), and baby Martin Pionke left Hamburg on 12 August 1885 aboard the Frisia and arrived in New York on 27 August. This passenger list confirms that the family resided in Wilanowiec.

Johann Pionke of Wilhelmshöhe, Posen, and family,
Hamburg passenger list, 12 August 1885,
ship - Frisia

Although there are some errors in this record—surname seemingly spelled "Pirnke" and baby Martin's name recorded as Josef—this is clearly the same family. Indeed, Joseph Pionke's obiturary confirms that he came to the U.S. at age 15 with his father and sister-in-law.

Life in Wisconsin

Unlike the other Pionke families in this series, there is no evidence that this family lived in Chicago prior to settling in Wisconsin. Johann Pionke and his sons were no doubt drawn to Wisconsin by the prospect of owning and farming their own land. There they joined a thriving Polish-American community in Portage County, many of whom came from West Prussia and Posen.

Because Johann Pionke died before the 1900 census, there is little record of his life in Wisconsin. He resided in Almond, Portage County, where presumably he was a farmer. Johann died on 7 January 1900 in Almond.


Johann's son Martin Pionke was a farmer who owned land in Almond. Interestingly, a Yonke family owned land adjacent to his. I wonder if this Yonke family was related to Martin's mother's (Janke) family. Martin and Cecelia had five more children in Wisconsin. Martin died on 1 January 1924 and Cecelia died on 23 August 1948, both in Almond. Martin and Cecelia have many living descendants today.

Children of Martin Pionke and Cecelia Brotski:

• Franz Pionke was born and died in 1884 in Poland.
• Martin Francis Pionke Jr. (1885-1960) married (1) Elizabeth Ross - 4 children; (2) Laura Golla - 6 children.
• Joseph J. Pionke (1887-1978) married Frances B. Skonieczna - 9 children.
• Anna Pionke (1889-1917) married Andrew Petrusky - 3 children.
• Mary Pionke (1892-1974) married Rhyna Everett - 12 children.
• Elizabeth Agnes Pionke (1895-1991) married Matt Meyer - 4 children.
• Gertrude Pionke (1901-2007) married Hugh Doherty - 5 children.

Almond Township land map (excerpt), 1915 -
includes land owned by Martin Pionke
and Joseph Pionke (left side of image)

Julia Pionke married Ernest McLaughlin, son of Alphonso McLaughin and Mary Elizabeth Washburn, on 21 November 1888 in Almond. Ernest was a farmer who owned land in Plainfield, Waushara County. He and Julia had six children, two of whom died as babies or small children. Their three daughters never married. Ernest died on 14 September 1926; Julia died on 28 January 1933. It appears that they had no grandchildren.

Children of Ernest McLaughlin and Julia Pionke:

• Frances McLaughlin (1889-1926) did not marry.
• Anna E. McLaughlin (1891-1952) did not marry.
• Victor John McLaughlin (1894-1969) married Carrie M. (maiden name not known) - no children.
• Helen McLaughlin (1902-1973) did not marry.
• Andrew W. McLaughlin was born in 1905 and died that year.
• Another child was born and died before 1900.

The map below shows the towns of Lanark, Almond, Plainfield, and Oshkosh in Wisconsin.

Joseph Pionke married Anna M. Brotski (Cecelia's sister), on 14 February 1898 in Lanark, Portage County. Joseph was also a farmer in Almond, owning land near his brother's property. Joseph and Anna had seven children, two of whom died as infants. Joseph died on 8 January 1929 in Oshkosh. His widow Anna (Brotski) Pionke then married second husband Charles Fleischman. Anna died on 4 August 1961 in Milwaukee. Joseph and Anna have many descendants alive today.

Children of Joseph Pionke and Anna Brotski:

• Frank John Pionke (1899-1978) married (1) Jessie May Davidson - 6 children; (2) Leone Mellem - no children.
• Clara Pionke (1903-1985) married (1) Leo Belke - 3 children; (2) Shirley Jersey - no children.
• Johanna Delores Pionke (1906-1979) married John Victor Wanichek - 2 children.
• Loretta C. Pionke (1912-1992) married John W. Engelman - 1 child.
• Richard Joseph Pionke (1914-1999) married Margaret Polakowski - 3 children.
• Another child was born and died before 1900.
• Edward Leo Pionke was born and died as a baby after 1910.

Connections to other Wisconsin or Chicago Pionke families?

The descendants of Johann Pionke and Anna Marianna Janke were not the only Pionkes to settle in Portage County, Wisconsin. As discussed in previous posts, there were also Strzepcz Pionkes from the Pionke/Leik and Pionke/Mrozewska groups living in that county. Many, but not all, of these used the surname variation Pionek.

Furthermore, over time, these Pionke groups have spread throughout the state of Wisconsin, and they have been joined by branches of the Chicago-based Pionke groups. Notably, members of several groups migrated to the Milwaukee area.

Over the years there has been ample opportunity for the different Wisconsin Pionkes to compare notes and wonder if (or how) they are related. In fact, some have remarked on the resemblance they see in old photos of ancestors from either group.

However, it does not appear that there is a connection between the Ujście Pionkes and my own Strzepcz Pionkes. Any resemblance may be simply coincidence based on shared geographic origins. If I ever do discover a connection, I will certainly post a correction here!

On the other hand, I have recently found a few more Pionkes who made their way from Ujście to the US. This family settled in Chicago and used the surname spellings Piontke and Peontke. A future post will briefly outline these families.

Pionke Friday: We will post about the Pionkes on Fridays whenever we can. This is the eleventh (and final) post in a series about the Pionke, Pionk, and Pionek families here in the U.S. and back in the home country. Up next: an introduction to a few more Pionke families in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Michigan—including some families with different surnames who descend from Pionke women.

Related posts:

• Early Pionke and Pionek Families in Chicago and Wisconsin
• Pionke — The mystery of a name

© TreeQuest: An Unexpected Journey 2017.

Acknowledgment: Because I am not related to this Pionke family, and because they did not live in the same region as my family, I have not personally researched them as much I have the other Pionkes in previous articles. I wish to acknowledge the excellent and thorough research of Nancy (Parsons) Roloff, a descandant of Johann Pionke and Anna Marianna Janke. Nancy Roloff generously shared her work publicly on both Ancestry.com and FindAGrave.com. Although I did additional research of my own, much of the information in this post is based on on Nancy's work.

Reference:

• Poznan Project - indexed marriage entries, Usch (Ujście) parish, for Johann Piortke - Anna Marianna Janke (1856 #2) and Martin Piontke - Caecilia Bracka (1883 #9)
• Ancestry.com public trees, Roloff Family Tree maker - family tree submitted by Ancestry user njrolof. Link goes to Johan Pionke profile. (account and login required)
• Ancestry.com, Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 (account and login required), entry for Joh. Pirnke
• Ancestry.com, Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 (account and login required), entry for Martin Pionke
• Ancestry.com, U.S., Indexed County Land Ownership Maps, 1860-1918 - entry for Joseph Pionke, Portage County, 1915. (account and login required)
• Find A Grave - entry for Johan Pionke (1826-1900) by Nancy (Parsons) Roloff. Entries for descendants are linked from Johann Pionke's memorial page.

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