Gryskiewicz & Cieklinski Family History
In the spring of 1880, our Gryskiewicz ancestors initially remained behind in Poland as family members began immigrating to America. Anton Gryskiewicz and Pauline Cieklinski had been married for approximately 3 years, and had begun raising their new family in or near the city of Grodno, Poland. Today, this is the city of Hrodno in Belarus, a former Soviet Republic.
Anton (b. 23 Feb 1850) and Pauline (b. 22 Jul 1860) were married on or about the year 1877, probably in Grodno. The names of Anton’s parents are unknown, but Pauline was the daughter of Victoria (nee Drost/Drozd) Cieklinski. Anton and Pauline had their first child, Mary Ann, in January of 1878. Mary died as a young child, before her parents immigrated to America. Anton and Pauline’s second child was also a girl - Frances, born 20 Jun 1879.
In February of 1880, Pauline’s sister Anna left Poland with her husband, Ignatius Zielinski, and their 9 month old baby daughter, Theodora. They, like all the Gryskiewiczs, left Poland via the port of Bremen, Germany. Their small family arrived at the port of Baltimore on 8 Apr 1880, onboard the SS Braunschweig. They quickly settled in Winona, MN, in time to be counted as residents on 7 June 1880 during the 1880 Federal Census taking. Ignatz and Anna were joined by Anna’s brother Frank Cieklinski, sometime in 1882.
The very next year, Anton and Pauline decided to join their family in America, and traveled on the SS Main to the port of New York, arriving in April of 1883. New York passenger arrival records list him as Anton Giskowski, traveling with his wife Pauline, mother-in-law Victoria Ch..klinski, and children Franziska, Anastasia, and Josef Giskowski.
Anton and Pauline lived in Winona for approximately 17 years, where seven more of their children were born. (John, born 21 May 1885; Augustine, born 5 Nov 1886; Leo, born 20 Jun 1888; Joseph August A., born 5 Nov 1890; Felix, born 14 Jan 1893; Andrew George, born 3 Feb 1894; Raymond, born 1898) They were members of the St. Stanislaus Polish Catholic Church on East 4th Street, where their children were baptized, and their children Frances and Joseph were each married (to Jan Przytarski and Julianna Hapka, respectively).
Pauline’s mother Victoria died 22 Aug 1892 and was buried in Winona, MN in an unmarked grave in St. Mary’s Cemetery. Pauline’s sister Anna moved to Milwaukee, WI with her husband and children between 1890 and 1896. Anna and Ignatz added five more children to their family while living in Winona. (Joseph C, born 1 Jul 1881; Victoria, born 22 Dec 1883; Conrad, born 16 Feb 1886; Leo, born 11 Apr 1888; Francisca, born 2 Mar 1890). They added one additional child to the family after arriving in Milwaukee. (Helena, born 9 Jul 1896.) Ignatius and Anna eventually separated, and perhaps divorced. Ignatz died 1 Apr 1852 and was buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Milwaukee. Anna died 27 Apr 1937, and was also buried in the Holy Cross Cemetery. Several of Ignatz and Anna’s children and grandchildren were buried there as well.
Pauline’s brother, Frank Cieklinski, married Mary Ann Apka on 15 Jan 1883 in Winona. In 1895, Frank left Winona with his wife and children and moved to Marshall county, in northwestern MN. While living in Winona, Frank and Julianna had given birth to ten children (Thomas, born 21 Dec 1883; Franciscus Felix, born 31 May 1885; Maryanna, born 13 Jul 1886; Adam, born 1887; Andrew, born 29 Nov 188; Zofia Dominica, born 6 May 1890; Maryanna, born 7 Oct 1891; Leocadia, born 7 Dec 1892; Eleanor, born 1893; John Joseph, born 24 Oct 1894). After arriving in Marshall county, they added one more child to their family (Frodosia, born 29 May 1898). Frank and Mary Ann remained in Marshall county for the rest of their lives. Frank died 27 Apr 1942, and Mary Ann died 22 Sep 1934.
In 1900, Anton and Pauline followed the Frank Cieklinski family and left city life in Winona for a farm in Marshall county, MN. With them, they brought eight of their children, ages one to nineteen. Their two adult married children (Frances Przytarski and Joseph Gryszkiewicz) remained behind in Winona, and were eventually buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery. In Marshall county, one more child was born to Anton and Pauline – Helen E. Jadwiga Gryskiewicz. Anton lived the remainder of his life in Marshall county and was buried there in March of 1912. After Anton’s death, Pauline went to live with their son Felix in St. Paul, MN, where she died on 10 Sep 1930. Anton and Pauline were both buried in Marshall county, MN.
Anton Gryskiewicz was probably born Anton “Grzeszkiewicz”, as the surname is spelled on the earliest records in Winona, MN. Church and school records in Winona later list his surname as “Gryszkiewicz”, which matches the spelling that his oldest son retained during life (and burial) in Winona. Various misspellings of his surname occur in many records, including the afore mentioned passenger arrival record in New York. His naturalization records list him as “Anton Graszkiewitz” (1st Papers), and Anton Guszkiewitz (Final Papers). In the Minnesota State Census of 1885, Anton is recorded as “Anton Gryszkewitz”. For the 1900 Census, he surname was recorded correctly but indexed incorrectly as “Griyszkiewicz”. In 1910 it was taken and indexed as “Gryszkiewicz”. Even in one of his obituaries, his name was misspelled as Anton “Gryszkiweicz”. In another of his obituaries, his surname was shortened to “Grace”, as several of his sons had chosen to do to their own names. Pauline’s married surname was shortened in the same fashion in one of her obituaries as well. Rumor has it, however, that Anton and Pauline did not approve of this “Americanized” surname, and that they probably would not have approved of having this name attached to their obituaries.
Note: There is an unproven rumor that one of Anton Gryskiewicz’s brothers may also have immigrated to Winona, many years after Anton did so. There was a child named Valentius Grzeszkiewicz buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Winona, according to cemetery records. This burial record matches up with the county death record (5 Mar 1901) of Valentius Gryszkiewicz, and the church records at St. Stanislaus have a death/burial record of Valentine Grzegorzewski for that same date, son of August Grzegorzewski and Maryanna Hildebrandt. It is possible that August was a brother or relative of Anton Gryskiewicz, but there is no proven tie between the two men at this point. August Grzegorzewski immigrated in 1894, and according to his death record, was the son of Stephan Grzegorzewski. August’s burial record at St. Mary’s Cemetery also lists his surname as “Grzeszkiewicz”.