[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] John Koenig b. Nov. 1827 in Kallish/Kalisz, Poland

[Karl Krueger]

Peter,
I took a look at the SGGEE pedigree database and Johann Friedrich Koenig is in the database along with his two wives and 2 generations further back for all 3. Johann's birthday is not specificied but given as Abt 1840 meaning this was probably obtained from one or both of his wedding records. Johann was apparently born in Police Male, Kolo, Poznan which is in the same corner as Kaliscz but clearly Kolo is much closer. Frankly I would believe the data given in the database. This wouldn't be the first time I heard someone being bragged about being over 100 years old when in fact he wasn't - but he came real close!!! It seems they easily lost track of their age when they got up that high.

It appears your Justine was really Farr. I'll leave the Volhynia info for someone who is more familiar with that area. What I want to point out is that SGGEE has loads of info going back several generations on Johann and his two wives. So much of the hard work has already been done for you. Are you a SGGEE member or is Robert Schmaltz a relative of yours? It is possible someone could provide you with the film information you are looking for but you are a prime candidate to become a SGGEE member with the amount of data you can already pull out of the pedigree database. You may even find other distant relatives within our membership - this happens often.


Peter Schmaltz <pschmaltz at earthlink.net> wrote:
I recently tracked down an obituary notice in Berrien County (Michigan) for my
2nd great grandfather, John Frederick Koenig. It was a front page local news
story as he was 110 years old when he died on January 1, 1938. The article
says he was born in "Kallish, Poland" but from searching this and other
websites I've come to understand that this most likely refers to Kalisz. This
new information has generated several questions for me I thought readers of
this list might be able to help answer:

(1) Am I making a good assumption (pending further vital records research)
that the newspaper's "Kallish" is simply a phonetic reference to
Kalisz/Kalisch (located to the west of Lodz)? BTW, I'm told John was a German
speaking Lutheran.

(2) On this SGGEE website there is a list of microfilms (0743128 thru 0743140)
providing Lutheran church records for Kalisz. Has anyone worked with these
records? Any comment on their quality and level of detail? While there are
potentially several individuals I'd be looking for, the key record for me
would be John Koenig's November 25, 1827 birth, since this would corroborate
that he really was 110 years old when he died (as family legend and the local
newspaper at that time has it).

More pointedly - does anyone have convenient access to these films or perhaps
an index from these films and can quickly look on 0743134 and see if John
Koenig's birth is found? I realize I'm fishing here, but figure I might as
well ask since this would save me a month+ of waiting for the microfilm to
arrive at my local FHS only to find out my "Kallish" assumption was in error!
Alternately, he was married for a second time in 1859 to Gustina Fahar
(Pfar/Fahr), which might be on film 0743139. I'd certainly want to order these
films if he is on them, but might look for other interpretations of "Kallish"
if he is not.

(3) John migrated to Volhynia from Poland in the 1870s. The SGGEE
transcriptions of the St. Pete archives list two of John's children as born in
Volyhnia in a location named "Kuran" in one case and "Kunan" in another in the
1880s. Can anyone tell me where this town/village is located in Volhynia? Is
this possibly referring to the town of "Klewan" (NW of Rowne) shown on the
1927 Volhynian migration map? I ask because one of John's daughters, Mathilda
Koenig, met and married my great grandfather Albert Schmaltz in Volhynia in
1896 and he was from the town of Friedrichsdorf (also NW of Rowne).

Thanks in advance for any insights members can offer.

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