A soldier's daughter was ten weeks old when he died. Polish parish records, 1866
February 1866, the village of Zułów near Vilnius. A discharged soldier named Jan and his wife Konstancja have a baby girl, Zofia. Ten weeks later Jan dies of tuberculosis. In his death record the priest wrote one line about the baby: he left a daughter, Zofia.
The historical background
The priest called Jan an "otstavnoy soldat", a soldier discharged from service. In the Russian Empire a recruit went into the Tsar's army for many years. In 1834 the term was set at 20 years of active service plus 5 in the reserve. In 1855 it was cut to 12 years plus 3 in the reserve.
Jan died of "chakhotka", consumption, which we now call tuberculosis of the lungs. In England in 1815 one death in four was put down to consumption. Robert Koch described the bacterium behind it only in 1882. An effective cure, streptomycin, came in 1946.
Zofia was baptized by Father Tomasz Woliński. Two months later the same priest buried her father in the parish cemetery. Konstancja was left alone with a baby. The records we have read do not say what happened to them next.
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.
Jan's record is the row numbered 11. It has three columns: the death, his family with his military service and the burial. One word in the second column could not be read with certainty and is marked […].
Original text (Russian): 11. 26. 42. 1866 года Апреля 26 дня въ деревни Зуловѣ Скончался Отставной Солдатъ Янъ Якубовъ Сынъ Виткевичъ отъ чахотки былъ приобщенъ Свят. Таинъ. Оставшейся вдовою Констанцій урожденной Лазовской мужъ […] служившій въ Астраханскомъ Гренадерскомъ полку рядовымъ и имѣвшій отъ роду 42 лѣтъ Сорокпольскій Прихожанинъ оставилъ дочь Зофію. Тѣло Его Кс: Томашъ Волинскій 28 Апреля сего Года на Приходскомъ Кладбищѣ похоронилъ.
In English: Entry 11. Day of death 26, age 42. In the year 1866, on the 26th day of April, in the village of Zułów, the discharged soldier Jan, son of Jakub, Witkiewicz died of consumption, having received the holy sacraments. Husband of Konstancja née Łazowska, who remains a widow […], he served as a private in the Astrakhan Grenadier Regiment, aged 42, a parishioner of Sorokpol. He left a daughter Zofia. His body was buried in the parish cemetery by Father Tomasz Woliński on the 28th of April of this year.
Zofia's record begins on the previous page of the register. Here, in the top row of both pages, is its end: the child's name, the priest, the day and place of birth.
Original text (Russian): […] по Имени Зофія Кс: Томашемъ Волинскимъ съ Совершеніемъ всѣхъ обрядовъ Таинства. […] Февраля 10 дня въ Зуловѣ Сорокпольскаго Прихода.
In English: […] named Zofia, by Father Tomasz Woliński, with all the rites of the sacrament. […] on 10 February at Zułów in Sorokpol parish.
Józef Piłsudski's entry is the top row of the clip. The columns on the left give his birth on 23 November and baptism on 3 December.
Original text (Russian): Тысяча восемь сотъ шестьдесятъ Седьмого года Декабря третьяго дня въ Костелѣ Римско-Католическомъ Сорокполь Окрещенъ младенецъ по Именамъ Іозефъ Клеменсъ Ксендзомъ Томашемъ Волинскимъ Настоятелемъ тогожъ Костела съ Совершеніемъ всѣхъ обрядовъ таинства. Благородныхъ Іозефа и Маріи урожденной Биллевичевной Пилсудскихъ Законныхъ Супруговъ Сынъ, родившійся сего Года Ноября 23 дня въ Мызѣ Зуловѣ Прихода Сорокполя. Воспріемниками были Благородные: Іозефъ Марциновскій съ Констанціею Рогальскою.
In English: In the year one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, on the third day of December, in the Roman Catholic church at Sorokpol, Father Tomasz Woliński, parish priest of this church, baptised an infant with the names Józef Klemens with all the rites of the sacrament. He is the son of the nobly born Józef and Maria née Billewicz, lawful spouses Piłsudski, born this year on 23 November at the manor of Zułów in Sorokpol parish. The godparents were the nobly born Józef Marcinowski with Konstancja Rogalska.
Narration
She was ten weeks old when her father died.
We found this in old records while searching for our ancestors.
In his death record,
the priest wrote one line about the baby:
he left a daughter,
Zofia.
Her father Jan
was a private
in a grenadier regiment of the Tsar's army.
After his discharge, he lived in a Polish village near Vilnius.
February,
1866.
Jan and his wife have a baby girl.
Two months later,
Jan dies of tuberculosis.
He is forty-two.
The same priest who baptized Zofia
buried her father.
A year and a half later,
he baptized Józef Piłsudski,
the man who freed Poland.
That is all the records tell us about Zofia.
In November,
Polish families light candles on the graves of their ancestors.
Whose grave do you light a candle for?
Tell us in the comments.
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Sources
- Sorokpol parish baptisms, 1866, entry 5 (Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius, 604/37/88)
- Sorokpol parish deaths, 1866, entry 11 (Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius, 604/37/88)
- Sorokpol parish baptisms, 1867, entry 53 (Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius, 772/1/8)
Scenes marked “Staged scene” are reconstructions. The documents are real.
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