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1910 Poland (Ozarki and Burzyn)

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Burzyn

1910 Poland: The Kloseks and Karwowskis

Ozarki and Burzyn are two small towns near the junction of the Narew and Biebrza rivers in a part of Poland called Podlachia.

Throughout its early history, the Podlachia area was inhabited by various tribes of different ethnic roots. In the 9th and 10th centuries, the area was likely inhabited by Lechitic tribes in the south and Baltic (Yotvingian) tribes in the north. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, Podlachia was occupied by Ruthenian tribes, probably from Volhynia, speaking a form of proto-Ukrainian. Until the 14th century the area was part of Ruthenian states, and was later annexed by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

In 1569, after the Union of Lublin, the western part of Podlachia was ceded to the Kingdom of Poland. Southern Podlachia belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until the Third Partition of Poland in 1795. Poland has rarely been a sovereign nation during its long history. In 1910, Poland had been partitioned since late 1700s and was held by Russia, Germany and Austria.

Today, Podlachia has the lowest population density of the sixteen Polish voivodeships(administrative districts), and its largely unspoilt nature is one of its chief assets. Around 30% of the area of the voivodeship is under legal protection. There are four national parks (Wigry, Biebrza, Bialowieża, and Narew), 3 landscape parks (Suwałki, Łomża – Narew Valley, and Knyszyn Forest), 88 nature reserves, and 15 protected landscape areas. The voivodeship constitutes a part of the ecologically clean area of "the Green Lungs of Poland".

The Biebrza National Park is located in Northeast Poland, in the Podlaskie Voivodship. The northeastern boundary of the park is near the Belarus border. The Narew River and its confluence with the Biebrza River form the southern boundary. The park was established in 1993, and with a total area of 59 233 ha, it is the largest of the Polish national parks. The Park includes 15 547 ha of forests, 18 182 ha of agricultural land, and 25 494 ha of wetlands - the most valuable habitats of the park - the famous Biebrza marshes. The area of 3 936 ha is under strict protection ha including the Czerwone Bagno or Red Bog at the Grzędy Forest District. Unique in Europe for its marshes and peatlands, as well as its highly diversified fauna, especially birds - the Park was designated as a wetland site of global significance and is under the protection of the RAMSAR Convention.

Ozarki

Ożarki-Olszanka is located 12 miles south of Burzyn at 53°07’N 22°27’E. Ozarki has a population of 260 people and is in the gminie(township) of Rutki, just north of Rutki in the middle of farmland. It is in the county of Lomza, in Bialystok.

My great grandfather, Franciszek Klosek, emigrated to the US from Ozarki at age 24 in 1905. His brother Stanislaw followed in 1913 at age 18. While their occupations were listed as farmhands, their skills as mechanics upon arrival in the US points to experience with machinery in Ozarki. The Klosek name may be an indicator of the occupation of the family at one time.

The Klosek Name

The Slavonic languages use many suffixes to form surnames. As an example one can look at the profession "Kowal" (a smith). Whereas the English language has one surname "Smith", and the German several of them, "Schmitt", "Schmidt" etc. (which differ only by spelling), the Polish language can add numerous suffixes (sometimes even several on the same name). Therefore, apart from the surname "Kowal" we have Kowalski (2nd most common surname in Poland), Kowalik, Kowalewski, Kowalak, Kowalka, Kowalkowski, and Kowalczyk (5^th most common), to name just a few which are the most frequently used ones.

In the US as well, Klosek is the most difficult name I am tracking due to the variations and evolving transliterations. I have run into the following variations in the New York area: Klosek, Kalousek, Kowalcyzk, Klecek, Klecak, Kolasic, Kulasik, Klacek, Kalcic, Calousek. and Kolasiak.

My cousin was told that our Klosek name did have a slash on the "L", making it pronounced "Kwosek" in Polish.

Burzyn

Wetlands around Burzyn

My Karwowski ancestors came from Burzyn: a small town with a present day population of 120 people. It is in the gminie of Jedwabne, the county of Lomza, in Bialystok. It is quite peaceful, bucolic and very close to the river Narew. The area is in the midst of a famous nature preserve. Almost the entire cemetery was filled with Karwowski graves. Burzyn is the parish for the surrounding area.

My great-grandmother, Wladyslawa Karwowska, moved to the US in 1913 at the age of 20. Her first name, Wladyslawa, is the feminine form of Walter (Hattie or Charlotte in English) but she went by Louise in the US.

She was married within two months of emigrating which may indicate a home town connection with her husband. Ozarki and Burzyn are about 12 miles apart as the crow flies. Louise’s brother Stanislaw also immigrated to the US and it is through his descendants that I met my cousin Barbara Karwowski.

On more than one occasion, Barbara was able to go back and spend time in the Burzyn area. She found out that Louise and Stanislaw had two other sisters. One named Cornelia also came to the United States. The other, Honorata, stayed in Poland. Barbara spoke with her son, Waclaw. Amazingly, she had actually met him two years ago on an earlier visit. His sister, Wladyslawa, had tried to tell them that they were our cousins, but the girl who was translating for us misunderstood. He is 76 and would be my grandmother's first cousin. He remembers that Louise Klosek would send packages to them because she knew how poor they were.

Other Towns in Podlachia

My wife's family was from the Bialystok area as well but did not leave until the 1940s during World War II when they were sent to camps in Siberia. There were many shtetls in the Burzyn area such as Wizna Poland which is only five miles from Ozarki on the road to Burzyn.

A branch of the Karwowski family (relation unestablished) has a connection with another Jewish town about 7 miles from Burzyn during the Holocaust:

“In Janczewko, a village of the righteous, 5 kilometers from Jedwabne as the crow flies, everyone still remembers old Karwowski, who was famous for having successfully hidden seven Jews in storeroom throughout the German occupation. Apart from Franciszek and Józefa Karwowski and their daughter Antonina Wyrzykowska, no one in the village knew anything about this, though a few must have wondered suspiciously why their neighbors' appetites (or those of their animals) had grown so much. In any case, the Gestapo men who turned up in the village one day searched the premises of only these two families. The remaining peasants stood in front of their properties with raised hands, with the full knowledge that if the Karwowskis and Wyrzykowskis were hiding anyone and the Germans found them, the entire village would go up in smoke. Luckily, the Germans found no one, and not even families suspected of hiding Jews suffered any harm. Nevertheless, to this very day some people in Janczewko find it difficult to make a clear assessment: "They saved the Jews, but they rather recklessly endangered the entire village." No one knows if any of the neighbors belonged to the band of people who whipped the hide off Karwowski and his daughter for their wartime services. When they describe Franciszek Karwowski, their voices contain a hint of ironic forbearance. "He wasn't a hero, rather he was a good, God-fearing man. He would practically break down crying even for an animal that was about to be slaughtered. When he lay half-dead after being beaten by partisans, he said: 'May God forgive them and keep them healthy'."

Biebrza River, Burzyn