Frank Lingnowski and Mary Zielinski

Family Group Sheet

Marianna Zielinski was born on May 27, 1837 in Portschweiten, Poland, the second known child of Jan Zielinski and Elizabeth Pawlowski. She had an older brother Michael, a younger brother John, and a younger sister Anna. It is possible she had other siblings, but no other birth records have been located to support that.

Franz Lingnowski (see NOTE 1 below) was born around May of 1835 in Poland, exact date and location unknown. All I've learned of Frank's childhood so far, is that he had a younger brother Dominik, and that his mother's name was Veronica.

Franz and Marianna were married on September 18, 1860 in Pestlin, Poland. At the time of marriage, Franz was living in Tillendorf, and Marianna in Wilczewo. These two villages are a fair distance apart (approx 6 miles) and in different church parishes, so it is unclear how Franz and Marianna met. However, I would assume that Franz grew up in the Wilczewo area, and moved to Tillendorf as a young adult seeking work.

Marianna gave birth to 8 children. Michael was the first, but I have not yet located his birth record. According to the 1900 US Census, he was born in November of 1860. This is almost certainly not the case, as Marianna would have been 7 months pregnant at the time of her marriage! More likely, Michael was born in 1861. After Michael, 5 more children were born in Poland: Herman in 1863, Annie in 1865, Frank in 1868, Anton in 1870, and Anastasia in 1873. Herman, Annie, and Frank were all born in Ellerbruch, while Anton and Anastasia were born in Wilczewo. Based on these facts, it is not known where the couple resided immediately after marriage, but from around 1863 to at least 1868, they resided in Ellerbruch. Between 1868 and 1870, they relocated to Wilczewo. Franz and Marianna's last 2 children were born in the USA, John in 1876 and Benjamin in 1878.

Franz and Marianna, along with Michael, Annie, Anton, and Anasatasia, immigrated to the United States in 1874. They sailed from Bremen, Germany aboard the S.S. Minister Rooni, and arrived in New York City on April 13, 1874. Sons Herman and Frank are not listed with the rest of the family, and it is assumed they passed away in Poland before the family immigrated (see NOTE 2 below). Franz's younger brother Dominik had already immigrated to America with his family, arriving 6 months earlier. It appears as though Dominik immediately settled in Menasha, and Franz followed his brother there. In my research, Dominik is our earliest known ancestor to arrive in the United States, on October 10, 1873. I believe that Dominik was the impetus for all the later Zielinski's and Lingnowski's to follow to America, and specifically to Menasha.

Marianna passed away on May 26, 1916 in Menasha, Wisconsin. This I learned from a fellow researcher, but I do not have any documentation to prove or disprove. Likewise, I have no information on the passing of Franz Lingnowski. It is assumed that both were buried in St. John's Cemetery in Menasha.

NOTE 1: I have seen the name spelled many ways: Lengnowski, Lingnowski, Legnowski, Legowski, among others. Most of the American documents spell it Lingnowski, which is the spelling I have chosen to go with.

NOTE 2: On Herman's birth record, in the "Comments" field, there is a hand-written note, mostly unreadable, that appears to mention the year 1874 and the word "America". I'm unsure what the connotation is here.