A passenger list from 1851

[BlueSavannah]

Many thanks for the link Shona, a very interesting read

The 3 witnesses were Constantine Podoski, Aloys Boberski and Charles H? Bielanski? (that last one was hard to read). Podoski is named in the Northern Star newspaper as one of the settlers in Sheffield in mid 1851. He might have come over on the same ship and left very quickly. Maurycy Chryst wasn't named in the Northern Star newspaper.

It might be worth mentioning that Maurycy's wife Helen had a sister called Elizabeth Beckitt who married a Louis Karpinski. I have no idea if Maurycy and Louis knew each other but I found it interesting that 2 sisters both married Polish gentlemen 3 years apart.

[BlueSavannah]

The public tree on Ancestry has been created by a distant relative of a distant relative of mine (if that makes sense lol). I descend from Karol Chryst and my distant relative descends from Constance Chryst, both children of Maurycy Chryst. Most of the information in that tree is what I gave to my distant relative (dates of marriages/deaths/births etc). Anstripe was actually a bad transcription of Austria on a census that we found years ago. Not sure why she's never corrected that.

The other private tree on Ancestry is mine

[Shona]

Originally Posted by bluesavannah

anstripe was actually a bad transcription of austria on a census that we found years ago. Not sure why she's never corrected that.

[Shona]

Looking at the witnesses to Maurice's wedding, some interesting things emerge.

Constantine Podoski was also in Liverpool in 1851. He and five other 'Polish refugees' were lodging with an Irish provision dealer and his family at 69 Cheapside.

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/88...l=ReturnRecord

Aloise Bobersk and Charles F Bielanski are recorded at the same address at Nether Green, Upper Hallam, Sheffield, in 1861. The place of birth for both is 'Galicia - Austria - Poland'.

http://interactive.ancestry.co.uk/87...l=ReturnRecord

If they are from Galicia and the Cavalry men in the Polish Legion were also from Galicia, this tends to suggest that Maurice was indeed from Galicia.

Galicia (not to be confused with Galicia in northern Spain!) was ruled by Poland and then later by Austria.

I also saw an 1864 marriage notice for Mr Chas Firley Bielanski of Sheffield, second son of Vincent Firley Bielanski, to Christina Szlager, at Sutezyn, Austria Poland.

[BlueSavannah]

That 61 census for Aloise & Charles living together as joint heads is very interesting isn't it? I see that Aloise is listed as a Mercantile Clerk which is what Maurycy said he was on his 1858 marriage to Helen. What's betting that the three men were living together before Maurycy married and the other 2 continued to live together after? Maurycy's address wasn't Nether Green though on his marriage. It was King Street which is nearer to the city centre than Fulwood.

The 51 census for Constantine Podoski also interests me. At least 2 of the other refugees with him also came to Sheffield. The 2 are listed with Podoski on the newspaper article later in 1851.

This is looking more and more likely that my Maurycy actually came from Galicia. Not sure how I prove/disprove this but it does explain why on the later censuses, he keeps giving Poland and Austria as his birth place. I don't think he truly knew. He always told family, who passed down to today, that he was Polish.

Where did you see the marriage notice for Chas Firley Bielanski in Sutezyn? I wonder why he married there if he was living in Sheffield?

[garstonite]

Galicia also included the Ukraine...my father in law Osatp Kabluckyj was born in Rohatyn,Ukraine - part of Galicia ...he fought for these in WW2
http://henrypavlovich.com/Waffen-SS-...ro-Nazi-Forces
SO...is it possible that Maurice may have came from Ukraine ??

[BlueSavannah]

If Maurycy was born in Galicia, then I have to consider there is a possibility he was born in the Ukraine but reading up about Galicia (I am embarrassed to admit I knew little about where it was), then around 1830 when Maurycy was born, it seemed to more cover Poland and parts of Hungary/Austria.

[BlueSavannah]

I am feeling that it will be even harder to try and locate a baptism/birth for Maurycy if he is indeed born in Galicia as it covers quite a few countries

[Shona]

I reckon Bielanski is central to the story.

There are a number of references to him in newspaper archives doing benefit concerts for refugees. In July 1851, Carol Bielanski was performing in Blackburn and in August in Nottingham.

This is from the Manchester Times - 26 November 1851

THE KOSSUTH CONCERT - A concert for the benefit of the unemployed refugees residing in Manchester, who were companions of Louis Kossuth, in Hungary, came off last evening, in the theatre of the Mechanics' Institution, Cooper-street. The conduct of the concert was in the hands of Mr M Conran; the vocalists who contributed to the performances of the evening were Mr Brooke, Mr J W Isherwood, Mr W Pigot, and the members of the Mechanics' Institution Amateur Choral Society, conducted by Mr Hiles; the instrumentalists were Mr M Conran (piano forte), Herr Kugler (violin), and M Bielanski (piano forte), late a student of the University of Lemburg, and one who took part in the Hungarian war, and was a prisoner with Kossuth in Shmula. The services of the whole of these performances were given gratuitously, and at the conclusion of the concert, a vote of thanks was tendered to them with acclamation, on the motion of Mr Robert Romney and M Rakowski...

There is a report in the Huddersfield Chronicle from January 1852 which mentions that Kugler and Bielanski were accompanied by Major Kowalski.

Lemburg, mentioned in that Manchester Times report, is a German name for Lviv - which is in modern-day Ukraine. It was the capital of Galicia.

[BlueSavannah]

Thats extremely interesting to read about Bielanski. I thought you might be right about him being central. Herr Kugler would be Charles Kugler who was one of the settlers in Sheffield in 1851 most likely.

I do wonder if most of them were students at the University of Lemburg and ended up fighting in the Hungarian War.

This is the nearest i've ever got to potentially finding a lead for Maurycy's birth place / home town.