Michal Herman (abt. 1799 - 1855)

Born about 1799 in Myszki Holendry, Poland

Husband of Anna Christyna (Szynke) Herman — married 19 Jan 1823 in Sompolno, Poland

Descendants

Died 13 Jun 1855 at about age 56 in Blizna Wies, Poland

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Biography

Michal Herman (b. 1799) and Anna Krystyna Szynke (b. 1805) were natives of the towns within Koło powiat. Michal was born and raised in Myszki Holendry (present-day Mniszki), an Olędry settlement located about 3 km northeast of Sompolno, which was in turn situated in Wierzbie gmina. Anna Christyna was born and raised in Babiak, and was a member of the Evangelical church in that town, which had been established in 1796. The early 19th century records refer to Babiak as Babiak Kolonia, which is indicative of settlement through German colonization: immigrant German clothiers had established a factory there in 1816. Babiak is about 11 km east of Sompolno and had 521 inhabitants in 1857. The Szynke family name is spelled Schinke in German.

According to the parish registers of the Roman Catholic Church in Sompolno, Michal and Anna Krystyna were married in Sompolno on 19 January 1823. Since an Evangelical church did not exist in Sompolno at this time, under the Napoleonic Civil Code, the pastor of the Roman Catholic church served a dual function as the municipal registrar of vital records. Their marriage record states that Anna Krystyna presented a birth certificate from the Evangelical church in Dąbie even though she had been born in Babiak. This is somewhat unexpected because the Evangelical church was established in Dąbie in 1806. In 1824, Dąbie had 156 dwellings and 1642 residents.

Based on a variety of baptismal records, I conclude that ten children were born to the Hermans: Anna Krystyna (b. 15 Jun 1826), Jan Ernst (b. 6 Aug 1829), Wilhelmine Emilia (ca. 1832), Henrietta (b. 9 May 1834), Karol Adolf (b. 30 Mar 1837), Michal Wilhelm (b. 15 Mar 1840), Anna Ernestine (b. 17 Mar 1842), Florentyna Rosalie (b. 23 Feb 1844), Augustyna Karolina (b. 22 Oct 1846), and Emanuel August (b. 29 Feb 1852). Four of the first six Herman children were baptized in the Sompolno Roman Catholic Church. However, Henrietta was baptized in the Babiak Evangelical Church even though the Hermans were living in Sompolno. Evangelical Church records in Sompolno begin with the founding of its church in 1840, and all subsequent vital records pertaining to the Hermans are found in Evangelical Church registers.

At the time of his wedding, Michal was a woodworker, i.e., joiner (stolarz). Michal’s occupation temporarily changed to clothier (sukiennik) in 1826, shoemaker (szewc) in 1829, and back to joiner in 1840. By 1852 the Hermans had moved to Boguszynice, and their last son, Emanual August, was baptized in the Koło Evangelical Church. It is significant that all of Michal’s occupations are associated with an urban lifestyle, rather than an agrarian existence typical of most Poles. Because of this, Michal was fairly mobile and the Hermans lived in a succession of towns/villages: Sompolno, Boguszynice and Blizna Wies.

Michal Herrmann died at his residence in Blizna Wies on 13 June 1855. According to the death register at the Koło Evangelical Church, he was survived by his wife, four sons and five daughters. It is noteworthy that the Evangelical pastor recorded the family name differently, which is probably the preferred spelling in German, rather than Herman (the preferred spelling in Polish).

Sources