Early Sychowski Families in Chicago

This post is an introduction to the Sychowski families who came to Chicago in the late 19th century.

Daughters of Frank and Anna (Pionke)
Sychowski, c. 1905 Chicago

Let me begin by saying that I am not a Sychowski descendant. However, my family tree connects to Sychowski families at least four different times—beginning with Albertina Stefanowska (sister of my 3rd-great-grandmother Josephine Pionke), who married Franz v. Sychowski in 1840.

As I began to add these Sychowski branches to my tree, I found many other Sychowskis in Chicago records. For example, there were four different Joseph Sychowskis born between 1854 and 1857 living in Chicago. There were three Johns and three Augusts in this age range. Which were related to me? How were they related to each other?

Eventually I discovered that there were five different Sychowski family groups who migrated from West Prussia to Chicago. Three of these families are closely related to each other. There is every chance that they are all related to one another but there are too many missing records to establish that as fact. Perhaps their male descendants will be able to prove it with yDNA testing.

Noble roots

Many people researching their family trees hope to find royal or noble ancestors. Well, if you descend from one of these Sychowski families, congratulations! You had noble ancestors. All of these families are called "v. Sychowski" (von Sychowski) in early records which, in that context, indicates a noble family. In many cases, the priest also wrote some form of "nobilis" in the record to indicate the family's status.

However, only one Sychowski kept the "von" in his name upon arriving in Chicago—and even he only used it sporadically. The surname von Sychowski only appears in an early city directory and on August's headstone at St. Joseph Cemetery.

August and Mathilda (Drogosch) von Sychowski
headstone, St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery

The five Sychowski family groups in Chicago are outlined below.

This map shows the parishes Luzino, Rozłazino, Góra, Strzepcz, and Kielno where the Chicago Sychowski families lived before emigrating.

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.