Rolling, Wisconsin is a township in Langlade County, immediately south of Antigo. The township was created on November 9, 1880 as part of Shawano County. On February 19, 1881, Rolling was attached to the newly-created Langlade County. It was one of 6 original townships of Langlade County - the others being: Norwood, Antigo, Polar, Carpenter, and Gagen. Rolling Township consists of 36 square miles of area, and received its name from the general topography of its surface. It was and still is primarily an agricultural township.  

It was here in the late 1880's that the Jankowski family bought land and settled in America. In 1885, land in Rolling township sold for between $7-$10 per acre. According to Lena, Mike Jankowski immigrated to America first. He journeyed overland via train to Antigo, where he lived with a friend from Poland. He took a job in a sawmill in Elmhurst walking 5 miles each way to work. There, he earned $1.25 per week, and saved enough money for the rest of the family to immigrate (1889). Once in Wisconsin, the family bought 65 acres of virgin farmland in the township of Rolling. They built their house by hand - even cutting down the trees and shaping the planks. They cleared the land, which had never been farmed before, and set about establishing a farm. A portion of this land is still in the hands of the Jankowski descendants.

The land acquired by the Jankowski family was in Rolling Township, Sections 8 and 9 of District Number 3 - Sunnyside District, on County Trunk Road "G".

Why they chose Antigo is a mystery. But, it can be assumed that they followed other immigrant friends to this part of the country. At this time in history, the United States was expanding rapidly into what is now known as the Midwest and Great Lakes areas. Land was cheap, and the climate in Wisconsin is similar to that in Poland. Regardless of the reasons - and they may never be known - this is the place where the Jankowski family foothold in America began.

The plat map below is from 1913, and shows approximately 320 acres belonging to the extended family.  This land was divided between the brothers Albert, Mike, and Frank Jankowski, Anton Antoniewicz and Anton (Andrew) Pawlak. Note the misspelling of the Jankowski name! (click on map for entire image)

Below is a copy of a page from the 1895 Wisconsin census showing the Jankowski family residing in Rolling Township. It shows "K. Jankowsky" as the head of a family of four males. Besides himself, they would be 3 of his sons: Mike, Albert, and Frank. By the time this census was taken, Constantin's wife Barbara had died, and these 3 sons were not yet married. Also, notice the entries for I. Pablack and A. Pablack (Pawlak). These would refer to Ignatz Pawlak and Andrew Pawlack, husbands of Francisca Jankowski and Hedwigla Jankowski respectively - daughters of Konstantin and Barbara Jankowski.