The Andrykowski Line
General History
When I first delved into genealogy, I knew very little about the Andrykowski line. This has been one of my lineages with constant brick walls. But as a determined family genealogist, any little clue can be turned into a wrecking ball. During a trip to St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, Illinois to visit the Golinski family plot, my wife and I viewed markers for an Antoni and Anna Andrykowski. My first thought was now I have Agnes Golinski's parents. Further research of US Census records changed my mind that I stumbled into Agnes's brother and his wife. Checking Ancestry message bases on Andrykowski led me to helpful messages, but all the posts there were old and contact e-mail addresses outdated. But time to time searches of Ancestry messages finally turned up a current e-mail address to a descendent of Antoni and Anna Andrykowski. I connected to one cousin researcher of my Andrykowski line. I kept an eye on Ancestry for family trees being built there. Finally after three years, an Andrykowski lineage appeared. I connected to another descendent of Antoni and Anna.
Documents can be a headache. I tracked down the marriage bann from St. Stanislaus Kostka Church for my Agnes Andrykowski Kruczkowski Golinski, but I could not translate the Latin. After several years in the brick wall pile, I picked it up again and easily read it. I was in shock! It hit me that I was actually ignorant the first time around. Since then I'd taught myself basic Polish translation researching another lineage written in Polish and Russian. The church document in question was in Polish, not Latin. That document led me to Byslaw parish in Poland.
Another document that I stumbled upon was a rare find of a German child custody court document dated 1889 hidden in the file of one of the daughters of my Agnes Andrykowski Kruczkowski Golinski. She had become a nun. How that document found its way there, hidden, and NOT passed down through the family is a mystery. But I had it somewhat translated by a friend at work turning up the town of Koslowo. Further research led to a brick wall because there were four such towns in Poland. Three years passed and I finally found a Kozlowo near Byslaw in Poland. I could kick myself because I was sitting on the information all the time. The answer was the Government Seal on the German document. My first copy had the bottom of the seal and government town name cut off. Just recently I wrote to the religious order requesting another copy showing the entire seal, if in fact it ever existed. On September 27, 2007, a letter with several copies was sent to me. I had my answer of which I'd lost three years by not following through the first time. Below is the first time and recent Government Seal. Do not make the same mistake I did; follow through and you will be rewarded.
Current Research Projects
(UPDATE 10/7/07) Currently, my Andrykowski line has been fully researched in Byslaw parish. All microfilm has been viewed and documents copied and pages of notes taken on Spichalski/Spyshalski for future reference. The first few branches of Andrykowski lineage in Poland has started. More of the family tree I perceive still exists. Microfilm has been ordered to start research in Schwetz, Prussia or Swiecie, Poland. The earlier Andrykowski line may exist south of Byslaw, where other researchers have found Andrykowski, but not related to this line.
