Looking for information on Bartholomew (or Martin) and Franz Bonk . They bought land in DuBois township,,Washington County, Illinois (near Radom and Posen) approximately 1879. Bartholomew married (Jo)anna Musial and they had twin daughters, Eva and Thecla born Sep 1877 and they were baptized at St Michael the Archangel Church in Radom. Looking for more info on this family .........I think Bartholomew emigrated from Hamburg to Quebec but the passenger list does not state where he was born. Also, looking for more info on Eva and Thecla (Tekla) and (Jo)anna Musial.
Washington County is still very rural and it is difficult to find records even from Illinois Archives. I believe that Bart and Joanna had four other children before she died in 1882. Bart remarried 11/1883 in another county.
BONK: Indeed, only some 2,000 people in Poland use the spelling Bonk, whilst 33,000 sign themselves the original way Bąk. Bonk in Poland is a misspelling rooted in former illteracy and/or foreign rule, whilst in the English-speaking world it is usually an attempt at a phonetic respelling to facilitate pronunciation. Left intact, the ogonek would have been disregarded and the name would end up being pronounced like English 'back'.
Only the immigrant ancestor's oriiginal Old country documents (baptismal or marraige certificates, passport, etc.) can determine whether he came to America as a Bonk or a Bąk.
MUSIA£: from the verb musieć (to have to) expressing compulsion.
On the ship's passenger list from Hamburg to Quebec, he spelled his last name "Bonk" so I'm assuming this is what he and his brother used in the old country. However, when his first wife, Joanna Musial passed away in Washington County, the name on her tombstone is Joanna "Bak" while later on Bart's it is "Bonk" which I found interesting.
It was not unusual for different family members to spell their name differently, esp. back in the days of widespread illiteracy. With the spread of literacy, some people whose surname had been misspelt or written in peasant dialect, eg Dombek or Wiżba, corrected it to Dąbek and Wierzba, but others did not.
Saw your request for info on BONK --to find church records for Radom, DuBois, Posen --become a member of PGSA.org -- the Polish Genealogical Society -- that will open records for you on births, baptisms, marriages and deaths on those Catholic parishes. You should find something there to help you.
I have a Frank Bonk in my distant family tree -- he was married to a Johanna Noncek --I don't have any info on Bartholemew (Martin) or Joanna Musial
