A Little Gralla Family History (Koszecin, Poland)

LOCAL PEOPLE GIVE COLORFUL ACCOUNT OF "ROBIN HOOD" GRALLA.
(I mentioned I would be doing some genealogy stuff on this blog)

In the village of Koszecin, Poland, stand the remains of the Franz Gralla farm of the late 1800's. Although, much has changed on the property, the people who live there now were able to share what they remembered of Franz Gralla, father of twelve children and my great grandfather. The current owners, the Soballas, bought the farm from a Jewish man who had purchased it originally from Franz Gralla in the year 1903. Mr. Soballa tells what caused Franz Gralla to leave the area for Moscow and later St. Petersburg, as he recalls in the year 1903. Franz Gralla, although the owner of a farm and acreage was not the farmer "type" nor did he want to be. He lived life a little on the "wild side" as he chose to defy the local nobility, the Hohenlohes, who owned the forests and most of the surrounding property. Franz Gralla liked to hunt in the forests of the Hohenlohes, which was against the law. But he did this to provide food for his large and growing family and to provide food for all the poor townspeople. For this, the people of the village loved him and the Hohenlohes despised him. He became known as "Robin Hood" Gralla. Often times he would hide with his hunting friends in the forests as the local authorities tried to track him down. He made traps out of bridges which would drop to the water below and help him in fast get-aways. This he did for quite some time until the Hohenlohes eventually caught up to him, and knowing him to be very knowledgeable in forestry, rather than arrest him, as was expected, he was given a forestry job in Belorus on the Hohenlohe property there as an alternative punishment. This same Franz Gralla was also a merchant, a business man who provided the stones for the road which still is there and leads to the next town. According to the Soballas, Franz Gralla was involved in many interesting business "deals", but was a good man whom the people liked and respected for his help in feeding their families.

The Polish Origins of the Dziuk Family

I first came in contact with members of PGST several years ago while working at the International Reference counter at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Many of the PGST members came up to ask me questions. I couldn’t help but notice the names on their pedigrees. The names were all so familiar to me and so I inquired as to where their ancestors were from. I discovered that they were all from parishes in Poland relatively close to where all my Polish ancestors had lived. This was an area known as Schlesien, or Silesia and in Polish known as Sląsk. Many of the ancestors of this group were even from the same towns as some of my ancestors. I found it fascinating as they told me of Father Leopold Moczygemba of Płużnica Wielka, who led so many of them from that area to Texas in the early 1850’s. I took a great interest in the group and stayed in contact with several members of PGST that came to the Family History Library on that occasion.

Over the years, a committee from the Panna Maria Historical Society, working on the two volumes of Silesian Profiles would ask me to do look ups to help document some things for these volumes. Because of my interest in the Polish area they were from, I happily helped. For one such request, I was asked to look up an early pioneer to Panna Maria, Texas, Jan Dziuk, who was born 6 July 1806. I was given a town where he was supposedly from and asked to find a birth record, if possible. This request especially interested me as I have Dziuk ancestry from a town known as Koszęcin today, which was formerly known as Koschentin during Prussian times. However, the town I was to search for Jan Dziuk was not Koszęcin and so I didn’t make an instant connection. After checking the requested parish for Jan Dziuk, it was quickly determined that there was no one in that village by that surname. On a whim, I opened my personal genealogy database to see if I had a Jan or Johann it my family records. I found one and he was the brother of my third great-grandmother, Catharina Dziuk. He was born 6 July 1806. I was so surprised. I had the needed subject in my own file the entire time. I had no idea that one of my ancestors had come to America. I tried to continue the research of Jan Dziuk before his coming to Texas, as my file had only his birth date and parents in Koszęcin with no other information on him. There were no further documents of Jan Dziuk in Koszęcin.

Jan, or Joannes as his Catholic baptism record refers to him, was born in Koszęcin to Franz Dziuk and his wife Elisabetha Dudek. Franz was born 2 Oct. 1779 in Koszęcin. Franz and Elisabetha Dudek (b.5 Aug 1780) daughter of Jacob Dudek and Barbara Pirreck married in Koszęcin on 23 Jan. 1803. I have only been able to find three children of Franz and Elisabetha. Those children are Catharina Dziuk, who was born in Koszęcin 6 Nov. 1803 and baptized there 8 Nov. 1803. Her death occurred 28 Jan. 1887 and her burial at the Koszęcin church cemetery was on the 31st of January. Catharina Dziuk is my 3rd great-grandmother.

The next child which I have in my records is Johann/Jan Dziuk, born 6 Jul. 1806 and baptized in Koszęcin on 7 Jul. 1806. Research in Panna Maria, Texas shows his death as 5 May 1886.

The only other child found for Franz and Elisabetha Dziuk, was a son, Peter, who was born much later on 1 Aug. 1824 in Koszęcin. It is very strange that no other children were found between the years 1806–1824. It would seem very possible that the family may have moved from Koszęcin to another village for this time period. However, searches in some of the nearby parishes have not turned up any other children for this couple.

Peter was a blacksmith by trade and apparently followed or joined his older brother, Jan, also a blacksmith, to Płużnica Wielka where they both worked in this trade. Jan must have moved from Koszęcin to Płużnica Wielka by or before 1832. This move was a major factor that led Jan Dziuk and his family to Texas. Here in Płużnica Wielka he would have come in contact with Father Leopold Moczygęba who was so instrumental in this large movement of Poles to America.