Recognized Family Nests – „Podlasie” and Zamość
regions
TRZEBIESZÓW located in the ancient „Łuków
Lands” (Łuków. (2012, June 14). In Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia. Retrieved 20:42, June 26, 2012, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=%C5%81uk%C3%B3w&oldid=497575892)
, in the central-eastern territories of the contemporary Poland, is
currently considered as one of the two main (primary?) nests of the
Wajszczuk Family. Proofs of the presence or residence of the Wajszczuks in
Trzebieszów (Podlasie region) go back to the beginnings of the
XVII century. A second primary nest of the Family is located in -
SITANIEC and WYSOKIE
– in the Zamość region, in the
immediate vicinity of the town of Zamość. We were able to discover there
Wajszczuks at the beginning of the XVIII century. We still do not
know, from where did they arrive to these two separate, and rather distant
from each other locations - possibly from a different region of Poland. (see
map).
Early in our search, around the
year 2000, after we have learned about the existence of the two
separate major branches of the Wajszczuk Family, we named them “Gałąż
Podlaska” (Podlasie region branch) and “Gałąż Zamojska” (Zamość region
branch). In the administrative or geographic nomenclature, the ancient
“Zamość Land” is still being called the Zamość land or Zamość region, but
the historic “Łuków Land”, surrounding the settlement of Trzebieszów and
located in the old borderlands between Lithuania (“Grand Duchy of
Lithuania”) and historical Poland (“The Crown”), underwent in the past
several name changes and administrative assignments. At the beginning of
our investigations, these territories belonged administratively to the
“Podlasie Region” – therefore we named the corresponding family branch a
“Podlasie Branch”. During the latest administrative changes, the borders
of what was previously called the Podlasie region, were moved further
north-east. Trzebieszów, located in the historic “Łuków Land” (a name
rarely used at present), and located in the old “borderlands” remained
outside the historical borders of the Masovia Province. Administratively,
together with the nearby Łuków, it belongs now to the
Lublin Voivodship (Province). Siedlce - my hometown,
located north of Łuków, belong now administratively to the Masovian
Voivodship. In the historical past these regions, together with the Łuków
Lands, belonged to the “Little Poland” Region.
Due to the fluidity and changes of
the nomenclature of this region, we decided to preserve the name of this
old Family Branch as the “Podlasie Branch”. This will also help to
distinguish these locations from the recently discovered settlements in
the Masovia province proper, to the north-west and west from Trzebieszów
(and north and west of Warsaw), where apparently some Wajszczuk families
lived in the XIX and early in the XX century. Our continuing
search in the archives and historical literature, so far did not provide
any answers as to from where did the people or the name Wajszczuk arrive
to Trzebieszów.
Trzebieszów is known to have been founded early in
the XV century as “a royal village”* (https://www.wajszczuk.pl/gniazda/english/historia_trzebieszowa.htm),
with settlers brought in probably from other regions of Poland, possibly
from the historical Masovia Province. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duchy_of_Masovia).
Onother publication (see below**) attempted to identify the
possible founders of Trzebieszów (and other settlements) and provided
additional historical facts.
Wajszczuks in the Masovia Province
in the XIX century
In the course of the last few years, periodic
searches in the Internet lead to the discovery of several localities in
the Masovia Province and its borderlands, where the name Wajszczuk could
be found in the XIX century.
Region of Sterdyń and Sokołów Podlaski. In
2002. we have found in the Internet a Wajszczuk family whose ancestors
settled after WW-II in the region of Szczecin. During a telephone
conversation, we were told that they came there from Łazów, (Łazów
Parish and Decanat and Commune of Sterdyń, Sokołów County.We have found no
Wajszczuks there at present, but we have retraced their old footsteps.
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/drzewo/podlasie_lazow.htm
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/spotkania/warszawa_podlasie_2002_e.htm
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/spotkania/warszawa_trzebieszow2003_e.htm
According to the Wikipedia: The first written mention about Sterdyń dates
back to the year 1425 (Z. Rostkowski). This settlement is mentioned in the
register of parishes of the”Łuck Land”.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galicia%E2%80%93Volhynia_Wars;
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Polska_1333_-_1370.png
Year 2007 brought the
discovery of another Wajszczuk family, whose ancestor lived in
Kupientyn, Sabnie Commune, Nieciecz Parish, Sokołów county. The family
moved before the war (WW-II) to Hajnówka. At present, the descendants live
in Hajnówka and in Nowy Dwór Mazowiecki.
The discoveries described above
(as well as those in the year 2006, described below) led to a
repeated visit to Sterdyń in 2008 and to organizing a search in the
parishes of the Sokołów and Sterdyń decanates.
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/polski/spotkania/2008/sterdyn.htm.
Earlier searches revealed the presence of the Wajszczuks already there at
the beginning of the XIX century. In the registry books, they were “mixed
in” with the entries recorded under the name Waszczuk -
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/drzewo/1679walenty.htm.
The search was continued during the two subsequent years. The findings
need still to be sorted out, but the initial analysis revealed the
presence of the name Wajszczuk in several localities in that area, but
there was a very marked predominance of the name Waszczuk. So far we were
not able to connect the individual persons into families or establish
relationships between different localities or families in that area or
between them and the primary “nest” in Trzebieszów. It will be probably
difficult or perhaps even impossible to differentiate between the members
of the Wajszczuk Family, (who were entered in the books under a
“misspelled” name Waszczuk) and members of the “true” and distinctly
separate Waszczuk Family.
Drożdżyn, Sochocin commune, Płońsk county. In
2006, while searching the Internet, we found in Warsaw a descendant
of another Wajszczuk family from Drożdżyn. Some members of this family
still live in Drożdżyn. We found out later that they arrived to that
location from Stelągi, in the Sterdyń commune and parish -
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/drzewo/1740aleksander.htm.
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/spotkania/2008/sochocin.htm
We do not know the exact date or circumstances of their arrival from
Sterdyń. to Drożdżyn, (which is located in the western part of the
province of Mazowsze [Masovia]).
Żelechlinek***, Tomaszów Mazowiecki county.
The most recent search in the Internet in 2011, a few weeks ago,
resulted in a discovery of a name (and possibly of a family?) of
Wajszczuks, who probably lived in the settlement of Żelechlinek in the
second half of the XIX century -
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/drzewo/tekst/zechlinek.htm.
It called our attention that the
last names, as recorded in the parish registry books in Żelechlinek,
appeared to undergo changes (evolution?) of its spelling during the XIX
century – from Wajsczak, to Wajszczak and finally to
Wajszczuk, while a last name “variant” - Wajszczyk was found
exclusively in the nearby town of Tomaszów Mazowiecki. There was total
absence of the name Waszczuk. One starts wondering, whether the
name variants with the first syllable Wajsz(-czak, -czuk, -czyk,
etc.) could possibly derive from the same common trunk and belong to the
same ancient Family - from the Masovia region of old Poland, and the (more
common) names with the first syllable Wasz(-czuk, -czak, -czyk)
derive from a different common trunk having its origin in the old eastern
borderlands of Poland. The latter forms of the last name were much more
common in the eastern part of Poland - prior to the Second World War -
this phenomenon is much less distinct at present, following the post-war
migrations.
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/pokrewne.htm;
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/drzewo/tekst/zelechlinek_odmiany.htm.
Wajszczuks in the USA. Still unsolved remains
the puzzle of the place of origin in Poland of a family of Wajszczuks in
the USA, whose ancestor arrived here in 1910, preceded by his married
sister – her married name was Bocian. Initially, based on the information
obtained from some of the family members in the USA, a settlement of
Żebry-Laskowiec, near Nur (on the north bank of the Bug river) was
mentioned, but a record search and several visits there did not revealed
any traces of Wajszczuks ever having lived there. We have found there a
large family of Waszczuks. Recent results of our investigations redirected
our search to the southern banks of the Bug river, to the old Masovia
province. We shall continue looking!
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/drzewo/234franciszek.htm;
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/wycieczki/nur_e.htm;
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/drzewo/tekst/0234franciszek.htm.
Our continuing search will be now also concentrated
on trying to establish the directions of migrations of founders and
members of the Wajszczuk Family, early in its existence – to Trzebieszów,
from Masovia or in the opposite direction?
* HISTORY OF TRZEBIESZÓW. “The ‘king's village’
of Trzebieszów was mentioned for the first time in 1418 in the document
written by the bishop Władysław Jastrzębiec (former chancellor of the
queen Jadwiga, wife of the king Władysław Jagiełło)”.
https://www.wajszczuk.pl/gniazda/english/historia_trzebieszowa.htm
19-03-2023
31-05-2011
