Jozef Brodzinski and Malgorzata Arantowicz

Family Group Sheet

Jozef Brodzinski was born on March 15, 1795 in Zielaski, Poland. Zielaski, alternatively spelled Zilaski, is a very small commune just outside of the only-slightly-larger village of Zatorowizna. Jozef spent his entire youth in Zielaski and his entire adulthood in Zatorowizna. He was the son of Mateusz and Maryanna Brodzinski. I don't know much about his family growing up, except that he had at least two younger brothers, Thomas and Pawel. Thomas died in infancy, but Pawel outlived Jozef and it appears as though they were quite close. Certainly, Jozef had other siblings, but I have not found records of them as of yet.

Sometime around 1822 or earlier, Jozef married Malgorzata Arantowicz. This date is based on the birth of the couple's first child, Katarzyna, in May of 1823. Malgorzata, also known as Margaetta, was the daughter of Walenty and Anna Arantowicz. She was born around 1798 - I have not yet found her birth record or the couple's marriage record. The wedding would have taken place at the Parish Church in Skrwilno. The couple immediately settled in Zatorowizna, where it is presumed Jozef took a job as a farmer. An interesting side not, shortly after Jozef and Malgorzata married, Jozef's brother Pawel married Malgorzata's sister! That would explain the closeness between the two brothers.

Like all of the Brodzinski's, Jozef and Malgorzata were very prolific! Malgorzata bore eight children, 3 boys, 5 girls. Katarzyna was the first, but she died in less than a month. Four of the children lived to adulthood and became married. The remaining three I have not found any information on. Jozef and Malgorzata's fifth child, and second son, was Nicholas, who would become the maternal grandfather of Lawrence Zielinski.

Malgorzata died on February 22, 1844 at the young age of 46. She left behind not only a widowed husband, but also seven children ranging in age from four years to nineteen. Jozef remarried almost immediately as might be expected. He desperately needed someone to help raise the children so he could work the fields and support the family. On May 13, 1844, less than 3 months after Malgorzata's passing, Jozef married Agnes Szukow Sornowski. Agnes was herself a widow, her husband having passed a year and a half prior. At the age of 52, she was taking on an immense duty of raising seven children, not of her own blood. Most likely, Agnes had children of her own to add to the household. One can only imagine the difficulties the family faced.

Four years later, on May 23, 1848, Jozef also passed away. According to his death record, he was 58 years old, but more likely he was closer to 53. Either way, he passed far too young and left behind a family to be cared for by Agnes. Daughter Maryanna had been married in 1846, but six children remained. The youngest, Jan, was only 8 years old and both of his natural parents were now gone. History does not record how the family made do. In early 1849, son Jakob married. Nicholas married in 1858, followed by Helena in 1864. No records have been found regarding the status of Franciska, Ewa, and Jan. Agnes passed away on February 17, 1865. She never remarried.

1795 Jozef Brodzinski birth record
1798 Malgorzata Arantowicz born
1822 Jozef Brodzinski and Malgorzata Arantowicz married
1823 Katarzyna Brodzinski birth record
1823 Katarzyna Brodzinski death record
1824 Jakob Brodzinski birth record
1827 Maryanna Brodzinski birth record
1831 Franciszka Brodzinski birth record
1833 Nicholas Brodzinski birth record
1836 Ewa Brodzinski birth record
1837 Helena Brodzinski birth record
1839 Jan Brodzinski birth record
1844 Malgorzata Arantowicz Brodzinski death record
1844 Jozef Brodzinski Agnes Sornowski marriage record
1846 Maryanna Brodzinski marriage record
1848 Jozef Brodzinski death record
1849 Jakob Brodzinski marriage record
1858 Nicholas Brodzinski marriage record
1864 Helena Brodzinski marriage record
1865 Agnes Brodzinski death record