Genealogy / Toboyek Surname Widnace Location Help [13]

Thank you Kaprys! I am learning more as I travel down this rabbit hole. Tobojka is most likely the original spelling. My dad was wrong about the Kochanowksi and my Great Grandmother was a Zawitowska or Zawitowski. I also see Tobojka's living in Massachusetts that are from the Myszyniec area who are probably relatives.

Here is the info I know so far on the Tobojka/Zawitowski Great Grandparents side:

Arrived from Hamburg, July 14th, 1906 on ship named Batavia
Tobajek, Anna Widnuss 38(34) 1867-1868 (1872 - 1951 on tombstone)
Tobajek, Anna Widnuss 10 1895-1896
Tobajek, Marya. Widnuss 4 1901-1902
Tobajek, StanislawWidnuss 14 1891-1892
Olschewsky, Gosef Widnuss 18 1887-1888
Listed as their destination: Husband Josef Tobojk (1862(8)-1952), Reading,PA in Berks county.
Assuming Josef and Anna (Kochanowski? Zawitowski?) would have married around 1890ish, these would be my Great Grandparents
Their son Joseph (my Grandfather) was born in PA in 1909 died in 1976 I believe, their son Stanley (Stanislaw, Great Uncle) was married in 1912.

Found this on geneteka:

1905RozaliaTobojkaJózefAnnaZawitowskaMyszyniec (assuming one of 2 children that died born 1905 died 1906)

Now I will have to start looking at Grandmother, Omelian ancestry.

Genealogy / Toboyek Surname Widnace Location Help [13]

Thanks for the replies.

I checked the geneteka site and came up empty. Nothing for my Great Grandfather Toboyek/Tabojek/Tabojk/Tobojek/Tobojk. Found lots of Kochanowski but nothing matching my Great Grandmother's name Anna or the Toboyek name. Did find one Omelian in the mazowieckie province that I need to research farther. Omelian came in my tree from my Grandmother.

But, I think I figured out where my Paternal ancestors are from. The "Widnuss" recorded on the ship manifest at Ellis Island was also recorded for 1 other Pole as well, a 16 year old girl. She was traveling with a woman and her child and they were listed as from Czarnia. I found Czarnia on the map 45km north of Ostroleka and just 13km to the east of Czarnia is small village called Wydmusy. So I assumed the young lady was traveling with friends/relatives from Czarnia and her home was misspelled as was my relatives and is Wydmusy not Widnuss.

Asking my father, who is in his 70's, he remembered his Grandfather speaking of going to Ostroleka but didn't remember Wydmusy. But I am not sure i was pronouncing it to him as his Grandfather would have said it. How would a Polish speaking person pronounce Wydmusy? I wish my father would have asked and documented the ancestry when his parents/grandparents were alive, but alas it didn't happen.

So I guess my Great Grandparents (Toboyek/KochanowskI?) came from the Kurpie peoples of the Wydmusy area to the USA in 1906. Found this "1880-1910 - numerous Kurpie residents emigrated to America because of the inability of the land to support the growing number of people."

Thanks again for your help everyone. Just wish I could find a Toboyek (or however it was spelled) still in Poland but the name may no longer be used and must have had very limited use originally as I can't find any records of it.

Genealogy / Toboyek Surname Widnace Location Help [13]

Thank you both for replying. I was always told be my Grandmother, an Omelian, that she was Polish but I never knew the origin of the surname. I don't think she was Ukranian and my DNA mapping doesn't show any Ukraine DNA in my "recent ancestry" (last 200 years), so I think it was probably originally Emilian and changed during an occupation of Poland?

Thanks for letting me know the w is actually ł in Polish. I do see that łydnica but again don't think she was from Ukraine. So I think you are correct with Widnice and Widnica. I actually looked back at the manifest and it said Race was Polish for the last residence Widnuss or Widuuss, terrible handwriting. I couldn't find any towns with that name so I gravitated toward a mispelling. Not sure how it was written down at Ellis Island. My great Grandmother might have said it with a V sound and they wrote down W? How Is the Widnica pronounced Vidnica?

I asked my father about kohonuski and he wasn't sure and thought maybe kohanowski but said there was no k or ch sound in the name.

Thanks again for your help!

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