Piłsudski's grandfather as godfather. Sorokpol, 1862
In March 1862, in the church at Sorokpol near Vilnius, the younger brother of our great-great-grandfather Bolesław Markowicz was baptized. His godfather was Antoni Billewicz, grandfather of the future Marshal Józef Piłsudski.
The historical background
Who stood as godparents in a family like ours?
The Markowicz family were minor gentry from the hamlet of Obkorty, in the same parish as the Zułów estate. In the baptism records of their other children the godparents are relatives and neighbours, for example the child's own aunt. The Billewicz family at the font was the exception.
The Billewicz family owned Zułów. In 1856 the estate passed to Maria, Antoni's daughter. It then covered eight thousand desyatins, almost nine thousand hectares.
A godfather took on a serious duty. He was to make sure the child was brought up a Catholic if the parents could not.
A year after this baptism the January Uprising broke out against Russian rule. Józef Wincenty Piłsudski, who married Maria in April 1863, served in it as a commissioner of the insurgent government. Facing arrest, he moved with his wife to Zułów.
Antoni Billewicz was an official in the Tsar's civil service. In 1858 he held the rank of titular councillor, by 1869 that of court councillor. That year he held his own grandson Adam, Józef's younger brother, at the font.
All our family remembered was that the Piłsudskis were neighbours. The 1862 record shows who stood at the font.
Documents shown in the film
These are the real archive scans you see in the film. Each one has its archive reference, so anyone can check the source.
Narration
Józef Piłsudski's grandfather
was a godfather in our family.
This is our family tree.
Here
is our grandmother
Alina.
Her grandparents,
Bolesław and Zofia,
are our great-great-grandparents.
Our family
always said the Piłsudskis were our neighbours.
But nobody had any proof.
We looked for it in the old baptism books of a parish near Vilnius.
Eighteen
sixty-two.
A priest baptizes Bolesław's younger brother.
The godfather
is Antoni Billewicz
from the nearby manor.
His daughter
stands beside him.
The Billewicz family
were one of the
oldest noble families in Lithuania.
The heroine of the famous Polish novel The Deluge
bears the same name.
Antoni owned several estates
and served as an official of the Tsar.
Five years later
his daughter will give birth to a son, Józef
Pilsudski.
Antoni
will be the grandfather of the future Marshal.
Eighteen
sixty-nine.
Antoni stands at the font again.
This time
he holds his own grandson, Józef's
younger brother.
The same man was a godfather in the Piłsudski family
and in ours.
The family story
turned out to be true.
What story about your ancestors
did you hear at home?
Tell us in the comments. Ex Archivis.
We find out where your family comes from.
Sources
- Sorokpol parish baptisms, 1862, entry 20 (Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius, 772/1/7)
- Sorokpol parish baptisms, 1869, entry 57 (Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius, 772/1/8)
Scenes marked “Staged scene” are reconstructions. The documents are real.
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