I have been told when I was young that I was German, later Prussian, now maybe Polish? Not quite sure, but I think maybe Sorbian or Wendish might be more appropriate. My Great-Great-Grandfather name was Max Trzynka and I believe he is from Graudenz, and the census report shows Prussia. My family is Lutheran and acts very German, what am I to make of this?
There has been a good deal of cultural, linguistic and marital interaction between the German and Polish ethnic zones. Many Germans have such names as Nowak, Wischnewski, Kowal, Kruk, etc., and many Poles sign themselves Szulc, Szmit, Krauze, Szuman, etc. A name alone is not necessarily an indicator of ethnicity. Also, many people esp. in border areas were bicultural and bilingual and/or of mixed parenatge.
Thanks for your thoughts, this is all new to me. Growing up any talk always centered around be "German", however as I aged I began to see that Trzynka didn't sound "German" and tried to figure out what was going on. With the little research I have done and further questioning of family members that have stated my ancestors were from Prussia. This seems to be in line with your thinking as Prussia had a fluid existence in the areas of Germany and Poland. Do you think I will have any luck in figuring out what the surname means exactly. Thanks again!
Wymieniono jako plemienników tego rodu: Andrzeja de Dambye, Jana de Trzynki (Jana z Trzynki, so the village would be called Trzynka in the Nominative case), Jana de Zagrobki i Jakóba de Slapy. W zapiskach brzesko-kujawskich spotykamy...
Trzyniec (kaszb. Trzińc lub Trzënëcò) – wieś w Polsce położona w województwie pomorskim, w powiecie człuchowskim, w gminie Koczała.
So it seems that it is a toponymic surname, derived from the name of a village called probably Trzyniec - but this is only a guess.
Trzyniec (aka podrywka) once meant a kind of fishing net which lay on the bottom and was raised on a long pole, catching whatever little fish were swimming above it.
Would it be safe to assume that my family Trzynka probably originated from Trzcianka? It seems to make sense in that I have been told that it is Prussian, Trzcianka seems to be in the general area, however I heard by some that my relative came from Graudenz, but that doesn't necessarily mean he couldn't have moved there or someone else did before him?
Anyone with some Polish/Prussians history I would be indebted...
Thanks
Also, would there be a way to track down modern relatives, many of the ancestory sites don't seem to help in that area.
Hi Hillary, sorry for the delay, do you have any info you could provide. I've traced back to Max's father Michael but that's where it ends. I have been trying to pinpoint where they come from exactly in Prussia..
