Iwona Dakiniewicz is currently in Lodygowice (south of Bielsko-Biala) doing research on several of my family lines. She came across an interesting reference in the church records -- and it has us baffled. The KANIA family and the MIGDAL family have been marrying members of the family for a very long time. Many people have told me the MIGDAL surname has definite Jewish origins, yet all my known family have been Roman Catholic. We suspected at some point, there was a conversion to Roman Catholicism. Well, she found a church record in Lodygowice about Stefan Migdal and Jadwiga Ryczkowna (Ryczko). They had seven children: Simon ex (or "cx") Jude - 15 October 1763 Nicholas - 6 December 1764 Magdalena - 22 July 1770 Anna - 24 June 1773 Andreas - 22 November 1779 Katarzyna - 8 November 1782 Jan - 16 September 1785 in Buczkowice 9 The first six children were born in Rybarzowice, but then it looks like the family moved to Buczkowice sometime between 1782 and 1785. Only Simon has the "ex (or 'cx') Jude" reference. Has anyone come across a similar reference? -- Alan

Alan, A few months ago I stumbled across a baptismal record dated 1908 from a southeastern Polish village that is similar to what you've found. The son, born Jewish in 1893 (in Zawadka) was baptized Catholic in Bukowsko in 1908. I think the mother was Polish Catholic originally and the father was a Polish Jew. I think the mother was from Bukowsko but married her Jewish husband in another village (Zawadka), converted to Judaism, had their son, moved back to Bukowsko and all converted to Catholicism. At the time Bukowsko had a large community of Jews so it wasn't like the family was pressured to convert. I think perhaps the pressure (assuming there was some) came from the mother/wife's family in Bukowsko who would have been Catholic. I haven't fully researched this though as it doesn't affect my family. Debbie Alan Kania wrote: > Iwona Dakiniewicz is currently in Lodygowice (south of Bielsko-Biala) > doing research on several of my family lines. She came across an > interesting reference in the church records -- and it has us baffled. > > The KANIA family and the MIGDAL family have been marrying members of > the family for a very long time. Many people have told me the MIGDAL > surname has definite Jewish origins, yet all my known family have been > Roman Catholic. We suspected at some point, there was a conversion to > Roman Catholicism. > > Well, she found a church record in Lodygowice about Stefan Migdal and > Jadwiga Ryczkowna (Ryczko). They had seven children: > > Simon ex (or "cx") Jude - 15 October 1763 > Nicholas - 6 December 1764 > Magdalena - 22 July 1770 > Anna - 24 June 1773 > Andreas - 22 November 1779 > Katarzyna - 8 November 1782 > Jan - 16 September 1785 in Buczkowice 9 > > The first six children were born in Rybarzowice, but then it looks > like the family moved to Buczkowice sometime between 1782 and 1785. > Only Simon has the "ex (or 'cx') Jude" reference. Has anyone come > across a similar reference? > > -- Alan >