During my recent trip to the Family History Library, I was able to find some family records for part of the Polish side of my family. The image below shows a marriage record for Joseph Bodziony and Sophia Golonka, who were my great-grandfather Michael's parents. They were married 22 Sep 1863 in the village of Brzezna, which was also Sophia's place of birth. (Click for larger image.)
Marriage Record of Joseph Bodziony and Sophia Golonka, parents of Michael Bodziony
The record lists the name of the bride and groom, as well as the names of their parents, including their mothers' maiden names. (Can't ask for much more as a genealogist!) The groom, Joseph Bodziony, age 31, was the son of Vincent Bodziony and Marianna Janor. The bride, Sophia Golonka, age 18, was the daughter of Joseph Golonka and Anna Bawotek. In the last column, the record states that the male witnesses were Joannes (Jan in Polish or John in English) Mordarski and Mattheus (Matthew) Iwanski.
As you can see, there is Polish writing underneath the names. Notes like these were not present in every marriage record on the microfilm, so I naturally wondered what it meant. I posted the image in the 'Polish Genealogy' group on Facebook, and asked if anyone could help me read and translate it. A very kind member did so, and I learned that the statement is basically the father of the bride, Joseph Golonka, consenting to the marriage. I also learned from one of the translators that the age of consent in Galicia in the 1860s was 21 years, so Sophia was too young to formally consent on her own.
Below is a map showing the location of Brzezna, in what is now southern Poland. After their wedding, Joseph and Sophia went to live in the nearby town of Swiniarsko, which is where all of their children, including my great-grandfather, Michael, were born.
As you can see, there is Polish writing underneath the names. Notes like these were not present in every marriage record on the microfilm, so I naturally wondered what it meant. I posted the image in the 'Polish Genealogy' group on Facebook, and asked if anyone could help me read and translate it. A very kind member did so, and I learned that the statement is basically the father of the bride, Joseph Golonka, consenting to the marriage. I also learned from one of the translators that the age of consent in Galicia in the 1860s was 21 years, so Sophia was too young to formally consent on her own.
Below is a map showing the location of Brzezna, in what is now southern Poland. After their wedding, Joseph and Sophia went to live in the nearby town of Swiniarsko, which is where all of their children, including my great-grandfather, Michael, were born.
As a quick but related aside, when I first started researching this line of my family a few years ago, the only thing I knew about my great-grandfather was his name, Michael Bodziony. Through naturalization papers and his immigration ship manifest, I was able to trace his birth back to Swiniarsko. Thanks to these highly informative baptism records listing both parents AND grandparents, I've been able to trace this line back a couple more generations. I am VERY thankful for the Family History Library's microfilmed records, and even MORE grateful for some of the indexing they have done on these records. If not for the indexing, I would have had to look through records for all the little towns and villages around Swiniarsko one-by-one; BUT, because they were indexed, I was able to find Joseph Bodziony and Sophia Golonka right away in Brzezna. Thank you, indexers!
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
