Swarzedz Nowacki Family History

Swarzedz parish records go back as far as 1772 and were put on microfilm by the LDS Church.  This family history is based upon actual parish church records.

Earliest Generation

The first record of my Nowacki lineage is the November 12, 1820 marriage of Mathew Nowacki to Josepha Kotecka.  This document listed no parents of the bride or groom.  I did not locate earlier baptism records for Mathew or Josepha, which are covered by the existing Swarzedz records.  Although both surnames did exist, church records show that both the bride and groom's families moved into Swarzedz sometime after 1795.  Unlike most occupations for that time, Mathew owned a business and records always list him as a merchant.  Mathew and Josepha had seven children in their marriage.  This Nowacki family lived in the actual village of Swarzedz from 1820 to 1827.  The family possibly moved to the village of Grzymatowo, where my great, great grandfather Vincent was born in 1830. Otherwise, Vincent could have been born while away from home while the Nowacki family were visiting friends or such. With either possibility, church records in 1832 show the Nowacki family again living in the village of Swarzedz.  Both Mathew and  Josepha died there.  Below is their family tree which shows the family branches verified by parish records.  Mathew and Josepha are my great, great, great grandparents.

Note: The marriage document of Matthew Nowacki did contain interesting facts.  First, the document listed him as Mathew Nowakzyk.  This could mean a surname change with the possibilities of Nowak or Nowaki.  Also, the town from where he came from was blurred, but possible town spellings are Ktony, Ktany, Ktary, or Ktory.  Finally, a listed witness to this marriage was a Laurentius Kovmowski(sp) from Zielania.  These two town names, if Laurentius was the best man for Matthew, may lead to more older records yet to be found.

   Second Generation(US immigration on horizon)

My great, great grandfather Vincent Nowacki was born on January 30, 1830.  He was the fourth of seven children.  Vincent eventually followed in his father's footsteps and also became a merchant.  Perhaps it was even his father's business.  A 1855 parish baptism record of Vincent's first child states his occupation as laborer.  Baptism records of Vincent's later children state that he was a merchant.  Vincent's father, Mathew, passed away in 1854.  Therefore, it is very plausible that Vincent handled the family business with his mother, and eventually took it over when she passed away.

Vincent was married twice.  His first marriage was to a Constantia Wiza on November 8, 1854.  They had three children, but all died in six days or less.  Constantia's third birth produced serious complications, and she died one week later.

Vincent's second marriage to Magdalena Molach on May 9, 1858 is my lineage.  Together they had ten known children.  Six of these children immigrated to the US.  The last was the family matriarch herself, Magdalena, on December 28, 1894.  It is speculated that Magdalena immigrated after Vincent's death.  He remained in Poland to run the family business.  This Nowacki family lived in the village of Swarzedz until about 1868.  This is when mention of this family ceases in parish records.  At least three children were born later.  Further investigation of St. Stanislaus Kostka church in Chicago marriage records and Bremen, Germany departure port records name the city of Gniezno in the province of Poznan. Scheduled research of the Archdiocese of Gniezno in the coming months should later expand this page.