John Paschke (Paszk) Family

In 1881 John Paschke, began homesteading in Ardoch Township, Walsh County, North Dakota. John was born June 24, 1843, in West Prussia and was educated in German schools. In 1864 at 21, he immigrated to the United States. None of the other immediate members of his family followed him here. He settled in Winona, MN, shortly after that and was the proprietor of a saloon in Winona.

On Jan. 27, 1873, he was married in Winona to Juliana Jezewski. Julianna was born Dec. 14, 1854, in Germany. As a young girl she worked in a fabric shop in Berlin. A family acquaintance of hers asked for her assistance with their small children when they immigrated to the United States. She came with the family.

Julianna had at least two brother’s who came to the US, Andrew living in Winona and John living in Drake, ND in 1931.

Juliana first settled in Chicago, Ill. In later years she recalled experiencing the Oct. 8, 1871, big Chicago fire. During the fire those imprisoned in jails were released. Confusion reigned everywhere. The people of the city, fearful of the devastating fire gathered their possessions in bundles and awaited the alarm to flee from the blazing city on a minute’s notice.

Check 1875 census may have been in Buffalo, or Trempealeau, Wis

Practically no communication was exchanged by Juliana and her parents after she came to the states, yet in a few years they, too, looked to the ‘land of promise’ and set sail for the United States, settling in Winona. MN, Juliana soon joined her parents in Winona and it was there she was married to John Paschke, Sr.

1880 Census New Posen, Swift County, Minnesota

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
John PASKI
Self M Male W 40 PRU Farmer PRU PRU
Julia PASKI
Wife M Female W 30 PRU Keeping House PRU PRU
Joseph PASKI
Son S Male W 6 WI PRU PRU
Julia PASKI
Dau S Female W 4 WI PRU PRU
Francisca PASKI
Dau S Female W 11M MN PRU PRU

For a short time the Paschke’s lived in Winona, and then moved to Appleton, MN. Appleton, Minnesota is in Swift County and that is where I located them in 1880, but both older Children were born in Wisconsin. This may be in Trempleaueau County, Wisconsin across the river from Winona or in Buffalo Wisconsin where the Wirkus and Narloch families were from.
John Joseph is listed as being born in New Posen Township, Pine Creek, Wisconsin, but New Posen is in Swift County, Minnesota. In 1879 a group of Polish people, mostly from St Paul and Hastings, settled in New Posen (now Edison Township, Swift County, Minnesota).

As in most cases the grass yonder, or more specifically, in the neighboring state seemed greener; therefore, in 1881, they headed for Dakota with their four children, Joseph, Julia, Frances, and Theodore, nine months old. They settled on their Ardoch farm bordered by Lake Ardoch.

The wagon drawn by their two horses carried their meager possessions and the cow following the wagon was one of their special assets. The following year Mr. Paschke returned to Appleton to purchase another team of horses. He envisioned increasing his acreage and during his farming years acquired 1500 acres of land.

1885 State Census: Walsh County, North Dakota

Name Age (Birth) Relation Occupation Nativity ED
Pesk, John
42 1843 Farmer Poland 04-018-21
Pesk, Julia A. 32 1853 Poland 04-018-22
Pesk, Joseph 11 1874 MN 04-018-23
Pesk, Julia A. 9 1876 MN 04-018-24
Pesk, Francesca 7 1878 MN 04-018-25
Pesk, Theadore 5 1880 MN 04-018-26
Pesk, Cela 3 1882 Dakota 04-018-27
Pesk, Frank 3/12Mar Dakota 04-018-28

On the Ardoch homestead nine more children were born. Cecilia, Frank, who died in infancy. Isadore, Mary, Barbara, Martha. John, Jr., Susanna and Frank Leonard Of this family in 1975 there are two surviving daughters, Mrs. Frances Crystal of East Grand Forks, MN,, and Mrs. Martha Warczak, Grand Forks.
For many years Mr. Paschke served as a member on the local school board and was an active church member of St. Stanislaus Parish of Warsaw.
John and Juliana continued farming on their Ardoch homestead through lean and prosperous years. In 1921 Mr. Paschke retired from the farm and with his wife moved to Minto. Their son, John, Jr., and his brothers, had learned the art of cultivating the land from their father, and it was to John, Jr., that the homestead was entrusted.

On Dec. 8, 1932, Mr. Paschke died at Minto. Juliana continued to live in Minto until her death April 7, 1936. Both John and Juliana Paschke were buried at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Minto, ND.

Children of Jan Paschke and Juliana Jezewski are:
1. Josef John Paschke, born Jul-5-1874 in New Posen Twp., Pine Creek, Trempealeau County, WS; died Feb-15-1936. He married Mary Aurelia Schultz Jun-19-1899 in St. Stanislaus Church, Warsaw, ND; born Mar-25-1884 in North Dakota; died Nov-4-1954.
2. Julia Paschke, born Jun-1877 in Poland. She married Jacob Schiller 1895; born Apr-1868 in Wisconsin.
3. Frances Paschke, born Oct-4-1878 in Appleton, MN; died Sep-7-1979. She married John Crystal Feb-11-1896 in Warsaw, ND; born Jan-3-1873 in Baruszynie, Germany; died Apr-8-1939.
4. Theodore Paschke, born Oct-29-1880 in Minnesota. He married Julianna (Gerszewski?).
5. Cecelia Paszk, born Nov-22-1882 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota; died Jul-29-1968. She married Benedict Maszk Nov-19-1901 in St. Stanislaus Church, Warsaw, ND; born Dec-20-1879 in Pulaski Twp.; died Jan-1958.
6. Isadore Paschke, born Apr-4-1887 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota; died Feb-16-1971. He married Elizabeth Eva Gerszewski Nov-24-1915 in St. Stanislaus Church, Warsaw, ND; born Nov-11-1893; died Nov-11-1975.
7. Mary Paschke, born Mar-1889 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota. She married Dietrich.
8. Barbara Paschke, born Mar-1-1891 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota; died 1969. She married Frank Czapiewski; born Dec-1884 in North Dakota; died Jan-1973.
9. Martha Paschke, born Oct-1893 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota. She married Warczak.
10. John Paschke, born Oct-28-1895 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota; died Apr-27-1966. He married Johanna Barbara Gerszewski Nov-15-1921; born May-23-1902; died Mar-1981.
11. Susanna Paschke, born Oct-1897 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota; died Apr-1971. She married Dominik J. Gerszewski Nov-1919; born Jun-17-1888 in Ardoch Twp., Walsh County, North Dakota; died Mar-1983.
12. Frank Leonard Paschke, born 1900; died in infancy.

Thomas Wirkus

Thomas Wirkus was born July 12, 1836 in Brusy, Pomorskie, Poland (Bruß, Konitz, West Prussia), to Johann Wirkus and Regina Sigmanska or Zygmanska. Thomas married Frances Mary Bruska 1861 in Bruss, Bydgoszcz, Poland. Francisca was born March 11, 1838 in Poland. The marriage record was found at the:
Pomeranian Genealogical Association

Brusy 1861 Thomas Wirkus Francisca Bruska

Thomas was the half brother to the Gerszewski brothers who settled Walsh county and he came to the United States before them. Sometime between 1867 and 1870 the family came to the United States and was on the 1870 census for Winona, Minnesota.

WILCOSE THOMAS 35 1835 PRUS WINONA 3-WD WINONA 1870
Frances 32 1838 Prussia
Dominica 9 1861 Prussia
Julius 6 1864 Prussia
Mary 4 1866 Prussia
Tefel 12-Jun 1870 MN

In about 1872 Sara or Celia was born in Winona and then the family moved to Buffalo, Wisconsin where three children were born. It appears that Thomas was on the 1880 census in both Wisconsin and the Dakota Territory.

1880 Census Place: Buffalo, Buffalo, Wisconsin

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
Thomas WIRKUS
Self M Male W 40 POL Farmer POL POL
Francis WIRKUS
Wife M Female W 40 POL Keeping House POL POL
Mary WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 13 POL POL POL
Sara WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 8 MN POL POL
Alexander WIRKUS
Son S Male W 5 WI POL POL
Francis WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 2 WI POLAND POLAND
WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 1M WI POLAND POLAND

The John, Joseph, and Anton Gerszewski brothers may be on the 1875 Winona census

Of note is Julius and Dominica (Minnie) are missing on the Wisconsin census but both appear with the familiy on the 1880 Dakota Territory Census. The 1 month old Daughter from the 1880 Wisconsin census is missing on the Dakota Territory census, but appears as Cornelie on the 1885 Walsh county census.

John Paschke ties into the Gerszewski family by his wife and he was in Swift County, MN in 1880.

Need to find John Paschke and Frank Narloch on the 1870 census
John Winona, to Wisconsin, to Appleton, Swift county MN may be on 1875 maybe get all of swift county, new posen.

Frank Narloch with John Paschke, Julius Riskey, and Thomas Wirkus came to the Dakota Territory. They made some hay, each built a sod house and they returned to Wisconsin and Minnesota. Confirm all were from Wisconsin and were the others on both censuses?

Along with Thomas on the Dakota Territory Census where his three Gerszewski half brothers.

1880 Census Place: Township 155, Harriston, Grand Forks, Dakota Territory

Name Relation Marital Status Gender Race Age Birthplace Occupation Father's Birthplace Mother's Birthplace
Thomas WIRKUS
Self M Male W 43 POLAND Farmer POLAND POLAND
Frances WIRKUS
Wife M Female W 41 POLAND Keeping House POLAND POLAND
Minnie WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 18 POLAND At Home POLAND POLAND
Julius WIRKUS
Son S Male W 16 POLAND At Home POLAND POLAND
Mary WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 13 POLAND POLAND POLAND
Celia WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 8 MN POLAND POLAND
Alex WIRKUS
Son S Male W 5 WI POLAND POLAND
Frances WIRKUS
Dau S Female W 3 WI POLAND POLAND


Obit for Julius

Land records Mary not sure if married

WIRKUS JULIUS 15137 12/10/1895
WIRKUS MARY 13284 11/02/1889
WIRKUS THOMAS 832 06/01/1888

Name Age (Birth) Relation Occupation Nativity ED
Wirkus,Thomas
50 1835 Head Farmer Poland 04-019-39
Wirkus,Frances 48 1837 Wife Poland 04-019-40
Wirkus,Mary 19 1866 daughter Poland 04-019-41
Wirkus,Theofela 13 1872 daughter MN 04-019-42
Wirkus,Alexander 9 1876 son WI 04-019-43
Wirkus,Frances 7 1878 daughter WI 04-019-44
Wirkus,Cornelie 5 1880 daughter WI 04-019-45
Wirkus,Julius 22 1863 Head Poland 04-019-46
Geshefski,John 21 1864 servant Poland 04-019-47


Thomas died September 30, 1889 and Frances died on October 19, 1906. Both are buried in St. Stanislaus Cemetery, Warsaw ND.

Children of Thomas Wirkus and Frances Bruska are:

1. Dominica (Minnie) Wirkus, born Bet. 1861 - 1863 in Poland. She married Leon Brzezinski October 31, 1880 in Pine Creek, Trempealeau, Trempealeau County, Wisconsin ; born Bet. April 09, 1853 - 1857 in Poland.
2. Julius A. Wirkus, born January 1864 in Poland; died December 1938. He married Mary Pella (Pelowski) 1887; born December 1867 in Winona, Winona County, Minnesota (Wisconsin); died January 31, 1925 in Walsh County, North Dakota.
3. Mary Wirkus, born 1866 in Poland.
4. Theofela (Celia) Wirkus, born 1872 in Winona, Winona County, Minnesota. She married Bernard Niezalewski.
5. Francis Alexander Wirkus, born July 13, 1875 in Pine Creek, Wisconsin; died June 03, 1959. He married Matilda Mary Galefski January 27, 1903; born September 14, 1881 in Warsaw, Ardoch Township, ND; died April 19, 1956 in Los Angeles, California.
6. Frances Wirkus, born 1878 in Wisconsin. She married George Kozlowski.
7. Corneie Wirkus, born 1880 in Wisconsin.

John and Lucy Chapiewski Family

John Czapiewski was born in Gdansk (Danzig) area of Poland, which was then under German rule, in 1856 and later immigrated with his parents to Quebec, Canada. He was eight years old then (1864). He had one brother, Joseph, and two sisters, Anna and Mary. His mother passed away and shortly afterwards his father and family moved to Winona, MN, and began farming between Lake City and Winona, on the Mississippi River. While his father was swimming in the river, he drowned.

John Czapiewski was then raised by the Frank Narloch family (father of B. J. Narloch, who later moved to Minto). John may be from Wiele Parish, Poland like Frank Narloch where both names are common.

I was not able to find Frank Narloch on the 1870 cencus in wisconsin, John would have been age 15 in 1870 and 25 in 1880

When John was 18 (1874) years old, he began working on the railroad between Fargo and Valley City, ND. When he was 22 years old, he heard about the rich land northwest of Grand Forks. In 1879, Joseph Wysocki, Michael Merchlewicz and he walked all the way from Fargo and filed on a homestead, four miles southeast of Minto. This land remained in the family until 1940. After settling there he met Lucille Grzadzielewski. They were united in marriage in 1884; Lucille Grzadzielewski was born in Sroda, Poland, in 1868. When she was six years old, she immigrated with her family to Calumet, MI, and lived there six years.

1885 State Census: Walsh County, North Dakota

Name Age (Birth) Relation Occupation Nativity ED
Chepeski,John
26 1859 Head Farmer Poland 04-012-05
Chepeski,Lucy 17 1868 Wife Poland 04-012-06
Chepeski,Frank 6/12Dec Son Dakota 04-012-07
Grunleski,Rosy 5 1880 Sister in Law MI 04-012-08
Luminski,John 30 1855 Servant Poland 04-012-09
Lumenski,Frances 26 1859 Servant Poland 04-012-10
Lumenski,Annie 3 1882 Servant Daughter Poland 04-012-11

I am not certain who is the familiy living with John unless it is Slominski or Lunski.

John and Lucille Czapiewski had a family of sixteen children, two passing away in infancy, they are Frank, Thomas, Estella, Lawrence, Mary, John, Margaret, Joseph, (twins) Leo and Phil, Elizabeth, Lillian, Pifie and Winslow. A childhood recollection of the older brothers and sisters was living in the old log cabin on the “east farm” by the Forest River. The family had eighty acres of timber land; their father grubbed forty acres of it for raising crops. Eventually, he acquired four hundred acres. The harvest sea son was a very hip occasion and heir father would go by earn and wagon to Oslo, MN, and bring home keg beer, putting it in the ice house to keep cool. The men working on the threshing team really enjoyed it when the day’s work was done. Their mother always had special meals and the children can remember how they would enjoy her good cooking.

In 1917 John and Lucille purchased the Guy Miller farm, a half mile west of Minto, and it remained in the family for many years.

In 1924 John Czapiewski retired from farming and moved to Minto. The children attended school there. Their childhood memories are of the beautiful park, swimming in the river, playing baseball, and those wonderful Fourth of July celebrations.

In 1936 John Czapiewski passed away. In 1940, four years later Lucille followed. They were interred in the Minto cemetery.

Andrew Czapiewski Family

Andrew Czapiewski was born February 05, 1835 in Ossowo, Wiele Parish, Poland, to Franciszek Czapiewski Zlosz and Otylia Borzyszkowska.Andrew’s baptism record seems to be on February 8, 1835 and he is listed as Joannem Andrean born to Francisis Czapiewski and Ottolie Borzyzkowska in the village of Ossowo, Wiele Parish, West Prussia.  Another baptismal record on the same day was for Andream Joannen Czapiewski also from Ossowo, but according to family history Franciszek was his father.Andrew married Clara Derdowski or Derda on January 19, 1869 in Wiele Parish.  Clara was age 16 and from the Village of Karsin (Karzyn, Karschin) and Andreas was age 34 and from Ossowo. Clara was born or baptized on August 14, 1853, in Karsin, Wiele Parish to Joseph Derda and Marianna Radomska.Andrew Czapiewski and his wife, Clara Derdowski, came to the United States from Poland in 1881, accompanied by four small children, Teofila, Josephine, John, and Ferdinand. After waiting for immigration clearances, they stayed with friends in the state of New York. Andrew came on the same ship as Vincent Pokrzywinski, Frank Lizakowski, and Andrew Landowski with other families from Wiele Parish Poland.

Andrea	Czapenowski	Laborer	44	1837	M	6 Jun 1881	Germany	Helvetia
Clara	Czapenowski	Wife	36	1845	F	6 Jun 1881	Germany	Helvetia
Thlopel	Czapenowski	Child, Youngster	10	1871	M	6 Jun 1881	Germany	Helvetia
Josephine	Czapenowski	Child, Youngster	7	1874	F	6 Jun 1881	Germany	Helvetia
Johanne	Czapenowski	Child, Youngster	2	1879	F	6 Jun 1881	Germany	Helvetia
Ferd.	Czapenowski	Child, Youngster	1	1880	M	6 Jun 1881	Germany	Helvetia

Hearing about territories being opened west of Chicago, they decided to go to Winona, MN, by train and stayed with relatives.

Land was well settled in Winona, so in 1882 they decided to go to new opened territory in North Dakota. They came by train to Fisher and Grand Forks. They took the steamboat to Acton with other settlers. They settled and homesteaded in Pulaski Township. Needed items were purchased at an Acton Store. Later they were able to purchase an oxen team and wagon. Andrew filed for naturalization on December, 6, 1881, in Grand Forks, ND.  Another daughter, Frances, was born between 1882 and 1883 in Dakota Territory.

Clara died in about 1885 and according to history in 1887 Andrew Czapiewski married Mary Czapiewski, born about 1845, no relation, who immigrated to the United States in 1883 from Poland, but Mary was on the 1885 census with Andrew.

1885 State Census: Walsh County, North Dakota

Name	Age	(Birth)	Relation	Occupation	Nativity	ED
Chapefski, Andrew	48	1837		Farmer	Poland	04-033-29
Chapefski, Mary	40	1845			Poland	04-033-30
Chapefski, Celie	16	1869			Poland	04-033-31
Chapefski, Pauline	14	1871			Poland	04-033-32
Chapefski, Jessie	11	1874			Poland	04-033-33
Chapefski, John	7	1878			Poland	04-033-34
Chapefski, Fredrick	5	1880			Poland	04-033-35
Chapefski, Frances	3	1882			Dakota	04-033-36

In 1894 Andrew and Mary homesteaded in Walshville Township. This was all wooded area except for a small clearing for a garden. Their house was a log house.

Andrew and his 2^nd wife Mary were living with Ferdinand in 1910.

According to family history Andrew died in 1911, but I have March 15, 1913 and buried in St. Stanislaus Cemetery.

Mary continued to live there until 1921, then moved to Grafton and died in 1933.