Hello:
My current research has led me to the towns of Gros Herzogswalde
(Laseczno in Polish) and nearby Peterkau (Piotrkowo in Polish), both in
Kreis Rosenberg. I viewed the microfilms at the LDS library for Gros
Herzogswalde and for Sommerau (which holds records for Peterkau). The
names that I am working on are LIEBERT, DOST, SCHIDLIKOWSKI and WIRTH. I
did find two of the people that I was looking for (Schidlikowski and
Wirth) baptized in some of these films, but not all of them and no DOST.
I did find one LIEBERT, but not the one that I was looking for. However,
DOST and LIEBERT were godparents for the entries that I did find, so I
know that they were living nearby.
I have a few questions that I hope that someone can help with. Does
anyone know what towns surrounding this area had churches? I need to
spread out around this area to find the names Dost and Liebert, but have
no idea of how to find out what surrounding towns had churches.
Also, is there anyone on the list that is familiar with the area that
could tell me a little bit about the history of this area and what it is
like today?
Third, I would like to ask about how illigitimacy was treated in this
area. An old family story says that my great-grandmother became pregnant
before being married and that her parents kicked her out of the house and
she left and came to the United States. Was illigitimacy such a stigma
that your parents would kick you out of the house? Or, was it a rather
common occurrance? I am speaking of the timeframe of the year 1898 with
this illigitimacy question. Can anyone speak to what was the normal
chain of events when a woman became pregnant illigitimately in 1898?
Fourth, my great-grandmother said that she was horrified of the Cossacks.
She said that they would ride through town and people would hide their
children in baskets and the Cossacks would stab their swords through the
baskets killing the children. This would have been between 1880-1898.
Were the Cossacks active in the area of Gros Herzogswalde and Peterkau in
the 1880-1898 timeframe?
Any help that anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Laura