Scott and Rhonda > Family History > Ogniewski

Ogniewski Family History

Note: Today the surname is most often spelled Ognoskie by descendants, with Ognowski as an older variant and Ogniewski believed to be the original Polish spelling. Like many Polish names, it was often found misspelled or incorrectly indexed in old records.

In the early 1870's Martin and John Ogniewski left Poland and immigrated to the United States with their families, settling first in Washington County, Texas. Martin filed his declaration of intent to become a citizen in October 1872, reporting his arrival as November 20, 1870. John filed his papers on February 8, 1876, and reported his arrival as 1874 in census records, but there is some evidence that he may have arrived before 1872. Ship's passenger lists and the village of origin for the family have not yet been discovered. Martin and John were some of the first Polish settlers in Washington County. They both later moved to Austin County, Texas.

A Possible Third Ogniewski?

In 1880, John was a witness for the marriage of a Dominic Ornowski or Ognowski. Dominic's parents are listed as Paul and Rosalia Ornowski. Dominic was born about 1845 in Poland, possibly Silesia, and he later moved to St. Louis, Missouri. In the 1880 Census, Dominic appears as John Ironski, living in Independence, Washington County, Texas. In the 1885 tax list for Washington County, he is listed as Dominick Ornoski. In the 1900 census, he is listed as Dominic Onskoky, and gives his date of immigration as 1874, the same year reported by John Ogniewski. It remains unclear whether he is actually related to the Ogniewski family.

Martin Ogniewski Family

Martin was born about 1830. His wife was named Helen Maria Kolonska, and his children born in Poland were Frank, Mary, Anna, and Augusta. Another son, Paul, was born in Texas about 1878, but died as an infant. Martin appears in Washington County in the 1880 census, but by 1883 he is found in the tax records of Austin County, and that is where his daughters were married. Anna married J.D. Shelburne on November 12, 1883 and Mary married Frank Jirasek on November 4, 1885. In 1900 they were living near Austin, Texas. Frank married Anna Andreas in Washington County on November 18, 1886. Anna died before 1900, and Frank remarried to Agnes Winkler on September 2, 1901 in Austin County. Martin Ogniewski died before 1900, as his wife is listed as a widow in the 1900 census, living with her son Frank.

John Ogniewski Family

John Ogniewski was born March 6, 1840 in Poland. His wife, Teresa was born August 19, 1842. Anna and Pete's death certificates list her maiden name as Prystatska or Prystaltska, while Mary's lists Olajanik. They married in Poland and had a daughter, Mary, born March 7, 1868.

In Chappell Hill John and Teresa had five more children, Annie, Martin, Peter, Rosa and Franciska. Annie was baptized by a traveling priest from Marlin, Texas in 1877. John's daughter Mary married Joseph Kaminski on September 2, 1888 in Brenham. On July 28, 1897, Annie married Steve Hintzel and moved to Austin County.

Teresa died April 6, 1899 and is buried in the Catholic Cemetery at Chappell Hill. On November 18, 1903, John's son Martin married Anna Bronikowski, the daughter of Frank Bronikowski and Agnes Kaminski, who was a sister of Marianna Kaminski, Cyril Sebesta's wife. They lived at Burleigh. The youngest daughter, Frances, married Gustav Adolph Froelich on November 23, 1904. In 1905, Martin's wife Anna died in childbirth, and Martin got remarried to Anna's sister, Angela. Peter Ogniewski married another Bronikowski sister, Pelagia "Pearl" Bronikowski on November 8, 1905, and lived at Chappell Hill. Rosa never married, and worked as a housekeeper, but sadly died May 4, 1926 in Austin, Texas, at the age of 44 from an infected wound on her arm. Martin's wife Angela passed away in 1929, and Martin married a third time, to Eva Wozniak in 1930.

John Ogniewski moved to Austin County about 1900 where he lived near his children until his death on Good Friday, April 18, 1919. He is buried in Chappell Hill.

There is a road off FM 331 near Burleigh named Ognoskie Road.

Links:

Rhonda Steedman's Family History Page

This page was last updated on 17 June 2011