GRACZYK GENEALOGY
Updated: Sept. 1, 2006
Since 1998 now, I have been researching the GRACZYK family from the Greater Poznan region of Poland, specifically the present-day province of Bydgoszcz. When my particular branch settled in Buffalo, NY their immigration papers said they were from "Germany" and many times in census records they are listed as born in "Polish-Ger." I understand this is all fairly common for that region of origin. As one older relative in my family once told me though, immigrants in our family INSISTED they were Polish, never German. They wanted nothing to do with the Germans and were very proud of their heritage and roots in Poland.
First off, if you may have Graczyk relatives in Buffalo, you should know that there are several other Graczyk families that settled in Buffalo, not just mine. One of my aunts told me that her father Stephen Graczyk, one of several children of Polish immigrants Walenty Graczyk and Anna Piasecka, always said there were "at least four separate, unrelated Graczyk families" and one even spelt the name differently. My grandfather, also named Stephen, insists that his father said we had cousins in the Midwest - notably Michigan and Illinois -, but to date I haven't found the exact connection.
As I said, my line starts with immigrant Walenty (Valentine) Graczyk, who was born in Wszedzien, Kreis Mogilno, Bydgoszcz, Poland on December 30, 1865 at 7:00 a.m. (got to love the detailed Polish church records). He was the son of a Jozef Graczyk and Marianna Maciejewska. In 1890 in Poland, probably in Kreis Mogilno (Kreis is pretty much equivalent to a County in the U.S.), he married Anna Piasecka, a native of the nearby village of Strzelce, also in Kreis Mogilno. Although I haven't found their marriage record - it doesn't appear to have occurred in the parishes of Mogilno or Strzelce, where I suspected -, I have that year of marriage from multiple sources in the U.S. Anna was the daughter of Michal Piasecki, who died when she was five years of age, and the former Katarzyna Andrzejewska of the village of Zabno, Kreis Mogilno. Her mother Katarzyna remarried in 1884 to a Franciszek Nowak and the two immigrated to the United States in 1893. Katarzyna died in Buffalo in 1923 and is buried at the Holy Mother of the Rosary Cemtery in Cheektowaga.
Walenty and Anna came to America as a young married couple. Their voyage started in Hamburg, Germany, led them to Liverpool, England, and finally ended in New York City on April 3, 1891. They then journeyed to Buffalo and settled there. On November 26, 1891 they had their first child, a daughter Leokadia, who was baptized at St. Adalbert's Church in Buffalo. They later had 8 additional children: Bernice 1893, Anthony 1895, Stanislaw 1897, Frank Vincent 1900, Stanislawa 1903, Cecylia 1905, Stephen 1908, and Genevieve 1911. My line continues through Stephen. Related families - those the children of Walenty and Anna married into - include Ratajczak, Turosz, Fronckowiak, Buczkowski, Cofta, Iglinski, and Brauza.
Many of Walenty and Anna's grandchildren are still living as of 2006, so I will not go into their names and their families. However, if you think there may be connection, I'd love to hear from you. I also have information on the ancestors of Walenty and Anna in Poland...including the Graczyk line back to an Andrzej Graczyk born about 1721 in Kreis Dabrowa, Bydgoszcz, Poland (his son Antoni, born Jan. 12, 1750 in Palinek, Kreis Dabrowa, made the move to Kreis Mogilno around the 1770's, and married a woman named Ewa Skaza there in 1782). So if you think there may be a connection with any of these places, I'd also enjoy hearing from you and corresponding. Lastly, if you research the Graczyk name at all, I am always interested in learning about this family, whether that be in Buffalo, Poland, Germany, Canada, anywhere in the world, so I encourage you to e-mail me and I would love to hear from you. If you would like, I will even post your family info on this site to potentially help find connections with other Graczyks. Sooner or later it would be nice to have several Graczyk families on this site to reach out to as many of this name as possible.
Here's some background info on the surname Graczyk, which today appears all over the globe, from Europe to Asia, and of course in North America...
Spelling variations of the name Graczyk include Graczykski, Graczykowski, Grajek, Gratzek, Grajczyk, Gracyk, Gracik, Gorczyk, again just to name a few. (Some of my relatives suggest that even Gretzky could be a corrupted variation of the name. I'm still looking for Wayne Gretzky's family tree to see if I can find a connection with his line, but can't seem to find it. His father's name was Walter.) So even though it is not a common name, I know there are plenty of Graczyk families out there waiting to be connected.
The name Graczyk is said to translate from Polish to English as "the little man who played a musical instrument" or "one who gambles" or "one who plays games." Most scholars and surname experts believe the primary meaning behind this surname, and how it originated, goes with the first translation - dealing with music. Musicians are said to be in this family since its beginnings, and interestingly some Graczyks even today carry on the family trade of music! The Graczyk coat of arms is represented by a red background, with a white Polish eagle, along with a silver dolphin (the symbol of music) in reference to the surname definition.
Now for the various Graczyk trees that have been e-mailed to me. By the way, if you'd like your family tree to appear here, I'd be glad to put it here...just send me an e-mail with what you would like up here at genealogykid @ hotmail.com. I found that people will be able to use this as a way to find distant relatives, and hopefully I'll even run into a few long lost cousins for my Graczyk family.
Congratulations to Brooke Graczyk who you can contact at bricke01 @ aol.com, who contributed the first tree ever on this site! Her Graczyk family tree can be seen below. Keep them coming....E-mail me for yours to appear here (living individuals will not be shown on this site unless permission is given to me to put them on this site, for privacy reasons).
Brooke's family has lived in Indiana for many years now. Here's a tree showing Brooke's great-grandparents down to Brooke herself. One more note on this family she says it was originally Graczykski but they shortened it so it was easier to pronounce. Brooke pronounces the new version, GRACZYK: Gray-Sick.
1.) John Leonard Graczyk, Sr. m. Unknown
2.) John Leonard Graczyk, Jr. m. JoAnn Berntein
3.) Robert John Graczyk m. Lori Bastian
4.) Brooke Graczyk
The second ever contributed Graczyk family tree wasn't far behind. This from Dave Pavlock, who you can contact via e-mail at arrodave @ pcola.gulf.net. He has a family historian in Salamanca, New York. He is not related to this family or the next one coming up but was happy to submit them to this site. Thanks Dave, people like you make this site a success.
1.) Frank Graczyk born about 1860. He married Frances Jeziorska.
2.) Stan Ed Graczyk born about 1885 in Buffalo, Erie Co, NY. He married Rose Solarek on July 17, 1909 in Salamanca, New York. Rose was born August 20, 1890 and she died December 28, 1963.
3.) Stan and Rose Graczyk's first child was Francis Graczyk born December 30, 1911 in Salamanca, New York.
3.) Stan and Rose Graczyk's second child was Unknown Graczyk born August 16, 1914.
This next tree, the third ever published on this NEW Graczyk Genealogy site again came from Dave Pavlock, you contact him via e-mail at arrodave @ pcola.gulf.net. Again we thank him for being a contributor to this site that was created in August 1999.
1.) Joseph Graczyk born about 1840. He married Franciska Jeziorska.
2.) Anthony Graczyk born about 1868. Fact about Anthony: Second husband of Sophia Budzinski. He married UNKNOWN. 3.) Anthony and UNKNOWN Graczyk had Anthony, Felix, and Josephine Graczyk. Anthony and Felix Graczyk lived in Randolph, New York. Josephine Graczyk was born March 16, 1896 in Salamanca, New York. She died May 21, 1964. She married John Biscup, Jr. who was born May 24, 1887 in Salamanca, New York and died October 23, 1939. Josephine and John married in Salamanca, New York. They had Emma Biscup who married William Yonker of Pennsylvania. I have more on Emma and William's descendants if you're interested.
3.) Anthony and Sophia Graczyk had Katherine Graczyk on October 22, 1903. She married Frank Shubert and had Leonard Shubert.
2.) Joseph and Franciska Graczyk had Victoria Graczyk about 1881. She died September 6, 1949 in Salamanca, New York. She married Joseph Sobkowiak, native of Poland. He was born December 4, 1875 in Poland. he died September 5, 1950 in Salamanca, New York.
3.) Victoria and Joseph Sobkowiak had Suzanna, Benjamin, Joseph, Agnes, Frank, Stanley, and Victor Sobkowiak. I have plenty of their descendants if you are interested.
Greg Knightes added his family to this collection of Graczyk trees on September 7, 1999, less than two weeks after Dave Pavlock. Greg can be contacted at gregrph @ delphi.com. His tree is listed below.
1. Jozef Graczyk was born March 16, 1862 in Pousner, Poland, and died
1945 in Schenectady, NY. He married (1) STANESLAWA SZAY. She was born 1867 in Pousner, Poland, and died 1909 in Schenectady, NY. He married(2) AGATA K.. She was born 1861, and died 1943.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had Andrew Graczyk in 1889. He died about 1953 in Schenectady, NY. He married Stefania Moros, daughter of Konstanty Moros and Pauline. She was born 1893, and died 1921.
3. Andrew and Stefania Graczyk had Richard Graczyk.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had Philip Graczyk.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had William Graczyk. He married Jenny.
3. William and Jenny Graczyk had Marion Graczyk. She married Norman Lewis.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had Ida Graczyk who married Bieniek.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had Sophie E. Graczyk b. 1892 d. 1958.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had Pauline Graczyk b. 1897 d. 1955, married Fairfax Byard.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had Mary S. Graczyk b. June 28, 1905 d. January 8, 1984 in Schenectady, NY. She married Earl D. Knightes, son of Daniel Knights and Ida Wetherwax. He was born January 07, 1904 in Rotterdam, N.Y., and died May 19, 1993 in Schenectady, N.Y..
3. Mary S. and Earl D. Knightes had Donald C. Knightes b. May 31, 1931 d. April 13, 1996.
3. Mary S. and Earl D. Knightes had a child who was LIVING as of September 7, 1999.
2. Jozef Graczyk and Staneslawa Szay had Casimir Graczyk b. January 25, 1907 d. June 1973, married Anna.
October 20, 1999 a new Graczyk family tree was added. This time from Kathy Schroeck. She can be contacted at twograms @ juno.com. Now for the tree.
1. Konstansky Graczyk m. Katazina (maiden name unknown).
2. Joseph Graczyk b. March 19, 1872 in Warsaw, Poland, d. November 29, 1920 in Erie, Pennsylvania, USA. Joseph came to Erie approx. 1888, about age 16 and stayed with the Robaskiewicz family.
2. Tomas Graczyk b. 1874, d. 1903.
2. Walter Graczyk b. 1883, d. 1918.
November 18, 1999 another tree to add to the collection. It was from Kathryn Graczyk Kaniecki. Do you see a connection with her family? Drop her an e-mail at the address KATE2325 @ aol.com. According to her she has no siblings and only one cousin (John Graczyk who lives in Florida).
1. Stanley Graczyk b. Poland m. Stella Witkowski.
2. Walter Graczyk
2. Jane Graczyk m. Unknown Thomas
2. Chester Graczyk
2. Frank Anthony Graczyk b. June 6, 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA
3. Kathryn Graczyk born of Frank Anthony Graczyk, m. Unknown Kaniecki
**More to come soon, so check back often!**
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