Kirsch

Kazimierz Wisniewski or Gottfried Kirsch

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Before we return to the usual Kelm programming, this blog will stay a Kirsch blog for a while longer. Over the last week I have been searching for digitized records to do with the Kirsch family in the village of Florentynow, Radomsko, which is in Lodzkie, Poland.

According to Deutsche Familien aus dem Kreis Radomsko [German Families from Kreis Radomosko], the colony of Florentynow was founded in 1809 and settled by German settlers. We can surmise that the Kirsch family or families were among these first settlers as Krzysztof Kirsch, grandfather of Martha Kirsch, was born there in 1813. In 1835, there were twelve colonists living there with family members, which totaled around 100.

After looking at translations of two records–the 1813 birth record of Krzysztof Kirsch from the previous blog post and the 1847 death record of his mother, Maria Elzbieta Pfeiffer–in more depth, I want to solve two “mysteries”: 1. Why does Kazimierz, Krzysztof’s father, seem to also be recorded as “Gottfried” (were there two Elzbieta Pfeiffers, one married to Kazimierz and the other married to Gottfried Kirsch)? and 2. Where did the Kirsch family emigrate from?

[“Krzysztof Wisniewski birth record, 1813”] from “Poland, Częstochowa Roman Catholic Church Books, 1226-1950,” Archiwum Archidiecezji Częstochowskiej (Czestochowa Archdiocese Archives), accessed through FamilySearch on 18 Oct 2020.

Lidia Opaczewska from the Genealogical Translations Facebook group graciously translated the Krzysztof Kirsch birth record (above) from my last post.

In the year one thousand eight hundred and thirteenth, on the twenty-fifth of July at two o’clock in the afternoon. Before us, the Law Officer of the Town of Radomsko, doing the Civil Registry Officer duties of the Radomsko Commune and Radomsko County in the Kalisz Department, Kazimierz Wisniowski appeared, settled on the farm, thirty-two years old, living in Kolonia Florentyn, and he showed us a male child, born in his house under number sixteen on the twenty-second day of the current month and the current year, expressed above, at five o’clock in the morning, and declaring that he was begotten of him and Elzbieta (Fayfer), twenty-eight years old, his wife, and that his wish is to give him the name Krzysztof. After making the above statement and presenting the child, in the consciousness of Wojciech Hekierkunst, settled on the farm, thirty-eight years old living in Kolonia Konradow and Bogumil Lutka, also settled on the farm, aged thirty nine, living in Kolonia Florentyn. This birth certificate, after reading it, was signed by us and by mentioned Bogumil Lutka, because the father of the child and the second witness cannot write. Maciej Szymanski, Lawyer of the Town of Radomsko, acting as a Registry Officer.

The record provides ages for Krzysztof’s parents (Kazimierz was born in around 1781 and Elzbieta in around 1785) and lists his father’s occupation as farmer. The record also provides a specific date of birth: July 22, 1813.

Searching Geneteka birth records (see above), I was able to find the following children born to Kazimierz Wisniewski and Elzbieta Fayfer or Fajfer: Krzysztof, Karolina, Krystyan, and Krystyna. An 1830 marriage record of Gottlieb Wisniewski and Ewa Roszyna Bot (Eva Rosina Both or Boot) also names Kazimierz Wisniewski and Elzbieta Fayfer as parents, as does the 1833 marriage record of Krzysztof Wisniewski and Karolina Kubsch (see last post). It might be important that, for all of these records, the Polish “Wisniewski” or “Wisniowski” is used instead of the German “Kirsch.”

[“Elzbieta Pfeifer Kirsch death record, 1846”], Akta stanu cywilnego Filiału Ewangelicko-Augsburskiego w Dziepółci, accessed through Geneteka on 20 Oct 2020. 

According to the above death record, Maria Elzbieta Pfeiffer died November 15, 1846. Monika Kucal and Herb Hensen from the Genealogical Translations Facebook group provided a translation of the document (thank you!):

Declarants: Gottlieb Kupsch, age 39, Gottlieb Kirsch, age 43, both farmers from Florentynow. Yesterday at 12 o’clock in the afternoon in Florentynow, Elzbieta Kirsch (born Pfeifer) died, widow to farmer, age 65, born in Wola in the Grand Duchy of Posen, daughter of both late Gottlieb and Anna Marianna (born Pelsz), married couple, farmers, leaving behind her four children: Gottlieb, Gottfried, Karolina Kubsch, Krystyna Rosenau. The first witness is a son-in-law of the deceased and the second one is her son.

It should be noted that Krzysztof is not listed in the record because he died earlier in 1846. Gottfried Kirsch is the only child a record has not been found for elsewhere. Maria Elzbieta’s husband is also not mentioned by name. Finally, the record mentions her birthplace, Wola in the Grand Duchy of Posen (Prussia), and her parents: Gottlieb Pfeiffer and Anna Marianna Pelsz. We have more information to help us answer that second question: Where did the Kirsch family emigrate from?

[“Chrysztof Kirsch death record, 1846”], Akta stanu cywilnego Filiału Ewangelicko-Augsburskiego w Dziepółci, accessed through Geneteka on 21 Oct 2020. 

I have not asked for help translating the above death record for Krzysztof Kirsch. I can make out the name “Karolina Kubsch,” his wife, and his children: Samuel, Chrystyna, Dorota, and Julianna. This lines up with the children I have recorded–save for Gottlieb Kirsch, who also died in 1846 and would not be mentioned here. The record names his parents as Gottfried–not Kazimierz–Kirsch and Elzbieta Pfeiffer. It is also Gottfried in the 1839 marriage record for Karolina Kirsch and Jan Erdmann Rosenau.

For me, the records that reference both Kazimierz and Gottfried line up too well for them to refer to different people. The records with “Kazimierz Wisniewski” were created when Florentynow was located within the Kingdom of Poland, before Russia took more control (this blog post explains the incessantly changing borders well). While the Germanification of the area (hence the colonization) was already occurring, anti-Polish sentiments and policies increased after 1830. I am still researching this time period (so forgive my vague attempts at explaining historical context), but my theory for now is that Kazimierz Wisniewski began using the German version of his surname, Kirsch (kirsche is cherry in German; wiśnia is cherry in Polish), and adopted a more German first name, Gottfried (there does not seem to be a German equivalent of Kazimierz or Kasimir like there is for, say, Gottlieb=Bogumil or Gottfried=Boguslaw). It may have also been the choice of the recordkeepers.

What are your thoughts?

Kirsch Ancestors

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I am having fun this weekend adding new names to my Kirsch family tree. The records referenced here are how I got the following Kirsch genealogy: Kazimierz Kirsch m. Elzbieta Pfeiffer > Krzysztof Kirsch m. Anna Karolina Kubsch > Samuel Kirsch m. Karolina Wurfel > Martha Kirsch m. Julius Kelm

Samuel Kirsch was born in around 1839. I don’t have a birth record, but two of his known siblings, Gottlieb (Bogumil) Kirsch and Julianna Kirsch, were born in Florentynow, Lodzkie, Poland, in 1842 and 1844. I should note that there appear to be three different villages named Florentynow in Lodzkie, Poland, and the village where the records originate is in the county of Radomsko.

[“Samuel Kirsch vel Wisniewski and Karolina Wurfel marriage record”], Akta stanu cywilnego Filiału Ewangelicko-Augsburskiego w Dziepółci, accessed through Geneteka on 17 Oct 2020. [Note: “vel” means “or,” so “Kirsch or Wisniewski,” which is the Polish version of the surname]

Samuel Kirsch and Karolina Wurfel were married in Florentynow on October 2, 1859. Samuel’s parents are recorded as Krzysztof (Christoph) Wisniewski and Anna Karolina Kubsch (also sometimes spelled as Kupka or Kupsz). Karolina Wurfel’s parents are Wojciech or Jerzy (Georg in German or George in English) Wurfel and Julianna Hansch.

[“Krzysztof Wisniewski and Anna Karolina Kubsch marriage record, 1833”] from “Poland, Częstochowa Roman Catholic Church Books, 1226-1950,” Archiwum Archidiecezji Częstochowskiej (Czestochowa Archdiocese Archives, Czestochowa), accessed through FamilySearch on 17 Oct 2020.

Krzysztof Wisniewski and Anna Karolina Kubsch married in Radomsko in 1833. With the help of Jan Textor from the SGGEE Facebook group, I now know that this marriage record for Krzysztof and Anna Karolina names Kazimierz Wisniewski and Elzbieta Fayfer (Pfeiffer) as Krzysztof’s parents. Anna Karolina’s parents are Gottfryd Kubsch and Anna Rozyna Riesmann. The record also says that Krzysztof and Anna Karolina were born and lived in “Florentynow Kolonia.” “Kolonia” was often added to a village name to designate it as a colony village (in this instance, German) and different from Polish villages with the same name.

[“Krzysztof Wisniewski birth record, 1813”] from “Poland, Częstochowa Roman Catholic Church Books, 1226-1950,” Archiwum Archidiecezji Częstochowskiej (Czestochowa Archdiocese Archives, Czestochowa), accessed through FamilySearch on 18 Oct 2020.

Finally, the above scan is of the birth record for Krzysztof Kirsch or Wisniewski. Krzysztof was born in 1813 in either “Kolonia Florentyn” or Radomsko and I can make out the names of his parents: Kazimierz Wisniewski and Elzbieta Fayfer. I need help extracting more details from this record.

Finding 19 Kirsch Children

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My last blog post referred to Martha Kirsch’s eighteen brothers and sisters. A few years ago, my Aunt Phyllis and I thought we would try to find and record all nineteen of Samuel Kirsch’s children; however, it wasn’t until this week that I found two, Friedrich and Olga (born in 1899 and 1905), and wondered if maybe we had finally found all of them.

“[Olga Kirsch birth record].” Retrieved 17 Jun 2020 from FamilySearch. [Note: Samuel Kirsch and Auguste Reiter written in Russian]

Using Geneteka, FamilySearch, Odessa, and SGGEE birth and death records, and then checking surname variants (Kirsch and the Polish version, Wisniewski, for example) and double-checking the names of the parents, the following list was compiled.

Samuel Kirsch (b. 10 Oct 1835 in Florentynow, Lodzkie, Poland; d. aft 1905 in Volhynia, Russia) m. Karolina Wurfel (b. 07 Sep 1835 in Florentynow, Lodzkie, Poland; d. abt 1883 in Volhynia, Russia)

  1. Christian Kirsch (b. 07 Sep 1860 in Florentynow, Lodzkie, Poland)
  2. Gottlieb Kirsch (b. 09 Jan 1863 in Florentynow, Lodzkie, Poland)
  3. Julianna “Julia” Kirsch (b. 25 Aug 1865 in Florentynow, Lodzkie, Poland; d. 08 Dec 1932 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) m. August Rempel (b. Jul 1865 in Petrould, Russia; d. 21 Feb 1943 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)
  4. Ferdinand Albert Kirsch (b. Apr 1868; d. 07 Jul 1868 in Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  5. Christina Kirsch (b. 14 Jul 1869 in Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  6. Eva Kirsch (b. 04 Jun 1872 in Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 15 May 1874 in Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  7. Daniel Kirsch (b. 22 Aug 1874 in Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 21 May 1961 in Camrose, Alberta, Canada) m. Wanda Schindler (b. 1882 in Russia; d. 28 Dec 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
  8. Karl Kirsch (b. 27 Mar 1877 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 12 Mar 1950 in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada) m. Olga Dymmel (b. abt 1881 in Russia; d. in Canada)
  9. Martha Kirsch (b. Apr 1881 in Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 20 Jul 1965 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) m. Julius Kelm (b. 09 Mar 1978 in Hofmanofka, Volhynia, Russia; d. 27 Feb 1959 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)

Samuel Kirsch m. Auguste Reiter (b. 1863 in Tomaszow, Lodzkie, Poland)

  1. Emilie Kirsch (b. 15 May 1886 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 03 Oct 1890 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  2. Adolf Kirsch (b. 09 May 1888 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 27 Nov 1890 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  3. Pauline Kirsch (b. 07 Sep 1890 in in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 27 Mar 1968 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) m. Johann Yackel (b. 20 May 1891 in Russia; d. 31 Jul 1976 in Canada)
  4. Lydia Kirsch (b. 30 Aug 1892 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 02 Jan 1983 in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada) m. Emanuel Adler (b. 09 Nov 1888 in Volhynia, Russia; d. 14 Apr 1976 in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada)
  5. August Kirsch (b. 22 Dec 1894 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  6. Ferdinand Kirsch (b. 08 Jan 1897 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  7. Friedrich Kirsch (b. 16 Apr 1899 in Marienovka Usicze, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  8. Adolf Kirsch (b. 06 Dec 1901 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 16 Nov 1902 in Ludwischin, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)
  9. Olga Kirsch (b. 08 Feb 1905 in Wsewolodowka, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia)

Samuel Kirsch had nine children with each of his two wives, which is eighteen children. Where is the nineteenth? His second wife, Auguste, had a son from her first marriage to Heinrich Schmidt, Wilhelm Schmidt, born July 7, 1882 in Konstantinow Saturze, Wladimir, Volhynia, Russia. This makes nineteen, but maybe we will never know if we have recorded everybody.

Stories from the Past: Martha Kirsch (Part 3)

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My great-grandmother, Martha Kirsch, was born in April 1881 in Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia, to Samuel Kirsch (Wisniewski in Polish) and Karolina Wurfel. As all of the Kirsch children born between 1877 and 1897 were born in Ludwischin (village), Lutsk (district), Volhynia (region), Russia, it is possible Martha was also born there.

Note: The following stories were written by a Kelm family member who was close to Julius and Martha. They were both interviewed and their stories retold revealing insights into their personal lives, marriages, births, and deaths. The stories were transcribed by Phyllis Kelm Reakes with permission to share from the original author.

Stories from the Past: Martha Kirsch (Part 3)

Martha came from a very poor family of 19 children. She recalls her father, [Samuel], as an old man with a beard, who married three or four times. Martha’s siblings Julia, Carl and Daniel all immigrated to Canada, too.

Martha said that there were so many children that at night her parents had to make a roll call to see that all the children were accounted for and none were missing. One evening one of the children was missing. The parents and the older children started to search for him. They found him sleeping in the outside oven. It was warm in the oven and he had crawled inside and fell asleep there.

The Kirsch farm was situated next to a school but the Kirsch children did not go to school as they were too poor and had to work. Martha’s job was herding cows. She would go outside all day in the field watching the cows and would hear the children singing in the school house when the windows of the school house were open. She sang along with them and soon she knew all the songs. At night she said she would sit on her father’s lap and sing the songs to him. He was amazed and asked her how she had learned the songs. She told him she had heard the children singing in the school house and learned the songs. This made her father very happy. Martha was very intelligent. She had an excellent memory. She never went to school but at age 30 while living in Camper, Manitoba she learned to read and write German from the minister that used to visit. She then taught all her children to read and write in the German language.

In Germany, the Remples were neighbours of the Kirsch family. They felt sorry for Martha and took her in. She worked for them as a domestic and they were very good to her. The Remples decided to come to Canada with their 12-year-old son, August. They asked Martha to come with them and she decided to immigrate with them to Canada.

About this same time Martha fell in love with a young man. They wanted to marry but he had to serve a year in the army first. She said that she could not wait for him as arrangements had been made for her to go to Canada with the Remples. The young man was very heartbroken. He told her that she would never be happy because she did not marry him, a man who truly loved her. Later, Martha learned that this young man had been killed in the army. She often told this story and over the years the words of her young man came back to haunt her. She did not have a happy marriage to Julius Kelm and although she loved her children she often wondered how her life could have been different if she had remained in Volhynia and had married her young soldier.

Mr. and Mrs. Remple, August Remple and Martha went to live at 868 Ballantine [Bannatyne] Avenue, Winnipeg. It is not certain if Martha’s sister, Julia, was already living in Winnipeg or whether she immigrated along with the Remples. Julia and August did not know each other in Germany [note: August and Julia Remple immigrated to Canada in 1890 and appear in the 1891 Census of Canada]. August Remple and Julia Kirsch eventually married each other. Also living in the house about this time was Martha and Julia’s brothers, Carl and Daniel, who worked for the CPR.

Mr. and Mrs. Remple were already fairly elderly. They had purchased a small farm at Oak Bank, which was not far from Winnipeg. Later, when Mrs. Remple was dying she only wanted Martha to look after her. Martha left her husband, Julius, and children to care for Mrs. Remple who died within a week. The house at 808 [Update, 31 May 2021: Possible this refers to 814 Bannatyne] Ballantine [Bannatyne] was a large two or three story home that was located close to the General Hospital [Winnipeg General Hospital, now Health Sciences Centre]. August Remple was a sewer contractor and had people working for him digging sewer lines for the City of Winnipeg. The Remples also had rooms rented out to boarders, most of whom worked at the hospital which was located nearby. Martha got a job working in the laundry room of the hospital. She would wash the hospital sheets on washboards and folded the clean laundry. She described herself as being quite happy. She had a real job for the first time in her life and was making her own money. She was quite content and had no interest in getting married.