Leopold Bonaventura Moczygemba (1824 - 1891)

Born 18 Oct 1824 in Pluznica, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland

Died 23 Feb 1891 at age 66 in Dearborn, Michigan

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Leopold Moczygemba migrated from Prussia to Panna Maria, Texas in 1852.

Biography

Leopold Moczygemba is Notable.

Father Leo landed in Galveston on September 1, 1852. He quickly assumed his new post as the first permanent Catholic pastor serving New Braunfels, where he remained until moving to Castroville in early 1854.

Father Leo is better known, however, as the co-founder of Saints Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan (opened in 1886), the only successful major Polish seminary in the country. He continued working among Catholics until his death in Dearborn, Michigan, on February 23, 1891.

On October 13, 1974, Father Leo's remains, originally buried in Detroit, were reinterred at Panna Maria under the oak tree beneath which he had offered Mass for the first arriving Polish immigrants to Texas at Christmastime in 1854.

Burial: Panna Maria, Texas

Sources

Father Leopold Moczygemba Foundation Website

• "New York Naturalization Index (Soundex), 1792-1906," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVTW-7DS9 : accessed 12 June 2016), Leopold B Moczygera, 1860; citing Brooklyn, , New York, United States, Index to Naturalization Petitions filed in Federal, state and local court in New York, 1792-1906, NARA microfilm publication M1674 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 159; FHL microfilm 1,420,425.
• "United States Passport Applications, 1795-1925," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q295-JHBV : accessed 12 June 2016), Leopold B Moczygeba, 11 Jan 1861; citing Passport Application, United States, source certificate #, Passport Applications, 1795-1905., 93, NARA microfilm publications M1490 and M1372 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,432,593.
• Father Leo on Handbook of Texas Online
• Leopold Moczygemba on Wikipedia
• Baker, T. Lindsay (1979). The First Polish Americans: Silesian Settlements in Texas. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.
• Baker, T. Lindsay (Spring 1984). The Reverend Leopold Moczygemba, Patriarch of Polonia. Polish American Studies.
• Swastek, Joseph (1951). Priest and Pioneer: Rev. Leopold Moczygemba. Detroit: Conventual.
• Seidner, Stanley S. (1976). In Quest of a Cultural Identity: An Inquiry for the Polish Community. New York, New York: IUME, Teachers College, Columbia University. ERIC collection: ED167674.
• Find A Grave Memorial# 21520200

• WikiTree profile Moczygemba-9 created through the import of Holguin Family Tree (2).ged on Jun 12, 2012 by Miguel Holguin. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Miguel and others.