Franciszek Eckendorf and Józefina Kreft Family – Research Summary 1

Hello,

I would like to update my summary of the records that I’ve found so far, for Franciszek Eichendorf and Józefina Kreft. All the Poland sourced records are from the Kaszuby area of Poland. The present day locations are in Gmina Sułęczyno, Gmina Parchowo, and Gmina Stężyca, which are within Pomorskie Province. The information is derived from the listed records below.

Records:

1. Marriage of Franciszek Eckendorf and Józefina Kreft (1849)
2. Baptism of Franciszek Eichendorf (1849)
3. Baptism of Augustyna Eichendorf (1851)
4. Baptism of Jan Eichendorf (1854)
5. Baptism of Marianna Eichendorf (1857)
6. Death of Marianna Eichendorf (1858)
7. Baptism of Piotr Eichendorf (1859)
8. Death of Infant Eichendorf (1862)
9. Baptism of Juliusz Eichendorf (1863)
10. Marriage of Jan Eichendorf and Józefina Jach (1872)
11. Death of Francis Eichendorf (1881)
12. Marriage of John Wansierski and Pauline Eichendorf (1884)
13. Marriage of Joseph Somionka and Emma Eichendorf (1887)
14. Marriage of Peter Eichendorf and Catherina Lemanczyk (1888)
15. Marriage of Antoni Malek and Francisca Eichendorf (1890)
16. Marriage of Frank Gawin and Josephine Eichendorf (1893)
17. Marriage of Andrew Eichendorf and Mary Berna (1897)
18. Death of Józefina Eichendorf nee Kreft (1897)
19. Obituary: Pauline Wansierski – 12 September 1927
20. Obituary: Peter Eichendorf – 15 December 1931
21. Death of Augusta Ososkie nee Eichendorf (1932)
22. Obituary: Emma Somionka – 11 January 1935
23. Death of Emma Somionka nee Eichendorf (1935)
24. Obituary: Andrew Eichendorf – 11 February 1936
25. Death of Frances Malek nee Eichendorf (1953)
26. Obituary: Josephine Gavin – 14 September 1954

Records Preface:

All of the Polish sourced records above came from the Sułęczyno and Stężyca Parishes. The records are taken from the LDS films, Meldunkowe section of the Genealodzy.pl website, Szukajwarchiwach.pl website, GenBaza, and/or the Genealogy in Archives website. The Polonia/Berlin, Wisconsin sourced records/information came from the Stevens Point Daily Journal archives, ancestry.com, LDS films, and/or the UW-Stevens Point archives.

Surname Variations:

Eckendorf: Eichendorf, Eickendorf, Ekendorf, Eikendorf

Kreft: Krefta, Kreffta, Krefft, Kraft, Krewta

Record Overview:

Franciszek Eichendorf and Józefina Kreft

Children of Franciszek Eichendorf and Józefina Kreft:

1. Franciszek Eichendorf, b. October 27, 1849, d. unknown
2. Augustyna Eichendorf, b. October 24, 1851, d. December 18, 1932
3. Jan Eichendorf, b. June 15, 1854, d. December 24, 1884
4. Marianna Eichendorf, b. January 2, 1857, d. July 14, 1858
5. Piotr Eichendorf, b. April 3, 1859, d. December 15, 1931
6. Infant Eichendorf, b. January 27, 1862, d. January 27, 1862
7. Juliusz Eichendorf, b. May 3, 1863, d. 1927-1931
8. Paulina Eichendorf, b. @1866, d. September 12, 1927
9. Andrew Eichendorf, b. @1869, d. February 11, 1936
10. Emma Eichendorf, b. July 4, 1870, d. January 8, 1935
11. Francisca Eichendorf, b.@1872, d. 1953
12. Josephine Eichendorf, b. May 7, 1875, d. September 13, 1954

Maps:

The map below is a combination of maps found on the website for Map Archive of Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny: http://english.mapywig.org/news.php. The map below is derived from the following areas: Skrzeszewo, Sierakowice, Miechucino, Gowidlino, Kamienica Szlachecka, Goręczyno, Sułęczyno, Skorzewo, Szymbark, Lipusz, Kościerzyna, and Wielki Klińcz. I used Image Composite Editor to merge the maps into a panorama of the area where my ancestors were located. The map is not 100% aligned, but it does give a general idea of where villages were located.

Prussian Poland

Green Lake County, Wisconsin, USA

Source: State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation. County maps. Green Lake County, Wisconsin. Taken from: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/default.aspx

Portage County, Wisconsin, USA

Source: State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation. County maps. Portage County, Wisconsin. Taken from: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/default.aspx

Ashland County, Wisconsin, USA

Source: State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation. County maps. Ashland County, Wisconsin. Taken from: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/default.aspx

Shawano County, Wisconsin, USA

Source: State of Wisconsin Department of Transportation. County maps. Shawano County, Wisconsin. Taken from: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/travel/road/hwy-maps/county-maps/default.aspx

Map Key:

• The villages with “stars” and “diamonds (only for Portage County)” are the locations that Franciszek Eichendorf and/or Józefina Kreft lived.
• The villages with “diamonds” are the locations that the couple’s children lived.

More information for the villages within this article can be found on the Słownik Geograficzny Translations page on this website: http://www.apagr.com/slownik-geograficzny-translations/

Assumptions/Theories/Roadblocks:

• The Stężyca Parish baptismal record for Franciszek Eichendorf, May 18th, 1827, lists his first name mistakenly as Jan. The parents on this record (Franciszek and Franciszka Eichendorf nee Kistowska) also had a child named Jan on May 5th, 1822 in the same village. The Jan born in 1822 would survive and would marry in 1849, in the Sułęczyno Parish, to Józefina Kreft, daughter of Jan Kreft. Jan and Franciszek were brothers.
• Pauline Eichendorf was born during or right after the families trip to America. This fact is listed on her obituary and within the book called The History of Portage County.

Research Leads/Plans:

• Search for B-M-D records for the remaining family members.
• Request baptism and marriage records from the St. Joseph’s Parish – Berlin, Wisconsin. The request for these records was placed on Monday, April 12, 2020, with the Madison Archdiocese of Wisconsin.

Best Regards,

Al