Teodor Wajczuk 1039
Nancy Wajczuk 1045 |
While "travelling" over the Internet searching for Wajszczuks, some time during the winter of 2001/2002 we came across the name of Nancy Wajczuk in Argentina, on a list of graduates ("Egresados 1977") from the College of Pilar. Subsequently, we found a local telephone number in Argentina under the name of Juan Wajczuk, unfortunately without the area code - which took a while to track.
Our interest in this family and name, which appeared to be a shortened version of the name Wajszczuk, increased ofter our visit with the Wajszczuks in Lukow in summer and then in fall of 2002 (see - https://www.wajszczuk.pl/spotkania/warszawa_podlasie_2002_e.htm - under the date "Saturday - September 28 Lukow"). We learned then, that the Family there recalled a relative who, early in the 20th century, emigrated to Brasil (?). We were unable to obtain any more details.
Early in 2003, before the trip to South America, a contact was finally established. We hoped to meet in person during our visit to Argentina, however our short stay there, the distance (the town of Pilar is located approximately 100 km west of Buenos Aires) and previous commitments, all worked against it. We were able, however, to obtain over the phone some information about the members of this family in Argentina, which was further supplemented (see - ) during the subsequent meeting described below. At that time we could not establish, where in Poland did they came from - they could not decipher the old handwritten documents!
We met personally in Pilar on November 8, 2003 during our subsequent trip to Argentina, to participate in the wedding of our niece (see -  |see -). During our conversation in Pilar, Roberto (1044) stated that he remembered well his father Teodor (1039) commenting on several occasions that some time in the past, their family name used to be different, longer, but he did not know or remember any other details. When, where and why this "shortening" took place, is not known? On the other hand, examination of a copy of the Birth Records ("Ksiega Metryczna") of Teodor - (see - below) provided much interesting information. It revealed that already his grandfather used (or at least was recorded under) the name Wajczuk - unless (and this appears less likely) the parish priest - Aleksander Hardasiewicz made an error while transcribing this information, which was then used for preparation of the immigration papers? Also, it can not be excluded that it was given to or entered with the incorrect spelling by the parish priest - Feofan(?) Teodorowicz, who prepared the original record? The document was issued by "... Aleksander Hardasiewicz, the parish priest of the orthodox church (cerkiew) of St. Nicolas (Sw. Mikolaj) of a Parish in the village of Bystrzyce, Kostopol district"... (who certified) .. "this excerpt from the "Metric Books" of the Orthodox Parish in Bystrzyce". We found Bystrzyce on the pre-WWII map of Poland, in the Province of Wolyn (Volhynia) - currently in Ukraine (see map below). [click to enlarge] 
Teodor Wajczuk 1039
zdjęcie z dokumentu
wkrótce po przyjeździe
do Argentyny w 1930 roku. |
Teodor was born in 1909 in Bystrzyce and arrived to Argentina from Poland in 1930. He worked initially on a farm in the north of the country, before moving to the area of Pilar, where his descendants now live. Apparently his interest was in raising special polo horses (see diploma above). We could not definitely establish his and his family's religious affiliation in Poland. The Family members present at our meeting recalled from the past their parish priest in Argentina dressed in a brown cassock, but were not sure as to his religious persuasion. Teodor's birth certificate derives from the records of an Orthodox Parish. It can be then assumed, that he was an Orthodox himself, but a possibility cannot be ruled out, that he was a Greek-Ukrainian Orthodox (Uniate). It should be noted though that his parents are listed as Orthodox in the birth certificate. Search in Poland in the "Dictionary of names presently in use in Poland" (www.herby.com.pl/herby/indexslo.html) did not reveal the existence of the name Wajczuk, but there are 575 people with the name Wojczuk (187 of them in the Zamosc region) - (see map). [click to enlarge] 
Superimposed maps of Poland - before 1939 (right) and after 1945 (shaded left). From the book by Michael Hope: Polish deportees in the Soviet Union - London 2000, ISBN 0 948202 76 9.
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Administrative map of Wolyn (Volhynia) voivodship. Source -
http://kresowianie.prv.pl | 
Map of the Kostopol District showing the village of Bystrzyce on the river Slucz. (Map - from the book by Ewa Siemaszko, also indicates the localities where genocide on Polish inhabitants was carried out by the Ukrainian nationalists during WWII
http://kresowianie.prv.pl | 
School Building in Bystrzyce (photograph - property of Jozefa Marciniak - borrowed from the Internet page "Wolyn naszych przodkow" ("Volhynia of our ancestors").
http://www.idn.org.pl/medykon/wolyn/kostopolski/15.htm
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Contemporary map of the Kostopol area in Ukraine - it shows the location of Huta Bysrzycka on the opposite bank of the Slucz river (Bystrzyce is not indicated - does it still exist?)
http://www.multimap.com | 
Copy of an old picture of the Wajczuk family from 1975. From left - Teresa (1040), Teodoro (1039), his wife Gina (1039), Sara (1044) and Juan Carlos (1046).
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In this picture, also taken in July 1975, from left - Teresa, Teodoro, Gina, Sara and Roberto (1044).
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In this recent picture, from left - Felisa (1046), Yanina (1048), Gina (1039), Cesar (1047) and Juan Carlos (1045).
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Picture taken at the time of our visit to Pilar on November 8, 2003. From left - Sara (1044), Roberto (1044), Yanina (1048), Felisa (1046), Teresa (1040) and Silvina (1042).
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Yanina (1048) in front of her father's business van
"Productos Naturales - Reino de Miel" (Kingdom of Honey). |
See also: The Branch
Excerpt from: http://kresowianie.prv.pl The Kostopol district - occupied the central-eastern section of the Wolhynia Voividship and shared borders to the west with the Luck district, to the north with the Sarny district, to the east bordered the Soviet Union and to the south the Rowne district. The surface area was 3,496 km2, population - 159,600 (according to the 1931 census) with the population density index of 46 persons per square kilometer.
The district was primarily populated by ethnic Ukrainians, who amounted to 105,600 persons (66.1%). The second largest nationality were the Poles - 35,000. The remainder were Jews, Germans and other nationalities in small numbers.
In the district territory existed 2 towns (Kostopol, Berezne), 6 village communes (gminy) and 233 individual village entities (communities - solectwa).
Up to date, it could be established that on the territory of the Kostopol district genocide activities performed on the Polish population during the years 1939-1944 by the Ukrainian nationalists resulted in death of approximately 4.400 people. According to our estimates, this represents only approximately 60% of the total number of Poles murdered in the Kostopol district, which is estimated to be 7.000 persons.
see also - https://www.wajszczuk.pl/english/bibliografia.htm |
13-12-2003
21-11-2003
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