52 Ancestors Week 8 - Heirloom - From Medals to Science, Oh My!

Civilian medals earned by my grandfather Tadeusz Skalski and grand uncle Stanisław Skalski in Poland from the 1920s-1960s
From L-R: Złoty Krzyż Zasługi (Gold Cross of Merit) to Tadeusz Skalski for his work as a Teacher of Chemistry, 1936;  Srebrny Krzyż Zasługi (Silver Cross of Merit) to Stanisław Skalski for his work as a Theater Actor and Director, 1929. And Złoty Krzyż Zasługi (Gold Cross of Merit) to Stanisław Skalski for his work as a Theater Actor and Director, ca. early to mid 1960s.

I though this week's topic would be an easy one at first, but the more I pondered on what to highlight, the longer the list became.  And with this the shocking realization that with both my moms being recent immigrants, this list could easily have held zero items!  I was flooded with immense gratitude especially to my second mom Helena Skalska-Potaczek, for possessing the sagacity to pack and bring these items with her in 1973, where it was likely she had to choose between these treasures and sundry necessary goods for every day existence.  

Knowing myself and that I may take a year to cover all I want to, which includes paintings, china, Christmas ornaments, and jewelry, just to name a few, I have decided to limit myself to two categories of items for this post: medals and scientific equipment...

Medals

Złoty Krzyż Zasługi (Gold Cross of Merit) to Tadeusz Skalski for his work as a Teacher of Chemistry, 1938

Above we have the medal as well as the certificate for the Złoty Krzyż Zasługi (Gold Cross of Merit) given to my maternal grandfather, Tadeusz Skalski.  It says the following:  The Republic of Poland, The Prime Minister states that the President of the Republic by ordinance on the 15 November 1938, issues Tadeusz Skalski, Professor Emeritus of Gimnazjum in Kraków, the Gold Cross of Merit, for the first time, for his merits in the field of his Profession. Signed by Prime Minister Sławoj Składkowski.  Below is an actual picture of the decree (with his name highlighted) which can be accessed here on the Polish Government website!  Here it further informs us that he is included with a number of professors from the public Gimnazjum, named after Bartłomiej Nowodworski, in Kraków who were chosen for this distinction.  I never knew this stuff was online until today! 

Monitor Polski. 1938 nr 275 poz. 649

Next we have the Srebrny Krzyż Zasługi (Silver Cross of Merit) issued to his brother Stanisław Skalski.  The Certificate says the following:  To Mr. Stanisław Skalski actor and director at the Polish Theater in Katowice.  On the basis of article 5 of the law from 23 June 1923 (Dz. U. R. P. Nr. 62, poz 458) is given for the first time the Silver Cross of Merit for his merits in the field of promoting art in the Eastern Borderlands of the Commonwealth.  Warsaw, 4 May 1929, signed by the Prime Minister (Kamimierz Świtalski.)  According to wikipedia, only 150,000 Crosses of Merit were awarded between 1923 and 1945, two thirds of those having been awarded in the two years immediately prior to the outbreak of World War II.

Srebrny Krzyż Zasługi (Silver Cross of Merit) to Stanisław Skalski for his work as a Theater Actor and Director, 1929.

Scientific Equipment

Tadeusz Skalski in his lab, oil on canvas, painted by my mother Zofia Skalska, Kraków, 1951.

So I mentioned above, my grandfather Tadeusz Skalski was a Chemistry teacher for many years, but that is not all that he did.  He was also an inventor and a doctor and was determined to discover an agent to ease the suffering of many after both his daughters suffered from scarlet fever in the late 1920s.  The result was a medicine he invented and later manufactured called "Skalneon" and it was a a medicine based on chemical reactions in the body, meant to strengthen the immune system.  It was also an anti-bacterial agent...this in the days before anitbiotics as we know them.  Somehow, in the chaos of moving to a new continent, Helena managed to make sure she brought an array of his items from his lab...I am amazed!

An assortment of early 20th century scientific equipment used by Tadeusz Skalski in his lab in Kraków, Poland.

Included are an original glass beaker with etchings made by hand, a scale and set of weights for weighing chemicals, a metal mortar and pestle, a Berndorf Rein Nickel spoon, and bottles with original labels for his "Lekarstwo."  I also have numerous original unused labels for all the different types of medicine he made...

And even a company envelope!

Original company envelope for the Skalneon line of medicines.

But surely one of the most precious items I have, must be the booklet he wrote describing his search for and discovery of the medicine.  He was an outstanding humanitarian, who never wanted to profit by his discovery, and in this book, he published for all the world to know, the process by which to make it.  He only wanted to ease the suffering of mankind.  Then WWII came, and screwed everything up... 

Tadeusz Skalski's book regarding his discovery.  It reads as follows:
 Atomic and Molecular Treatment: Healing in concert with chemical reactions
conducted in the body, or Cure Through Chemical Energy.  Kraków, 1928.

I'll leave you with a picture of two of his original calling cards...

and some more examples of original medicine labels.

Next week's topic is Where There's a Will...

52 Ancestors Week 7 - Valentine - Walenty Paprocki

This week's theme Valentine immediately made me want to explore my very little known maternal great-great-grandfather...

Walenty Paprocki

Emilia Paprocka Baptismal Certificate, 1899, shows her father as Marcellus (Marceli) Paprocki, Steward, son of Valentini

When I say little known, I really mean it!  All I know about Walenty (the Polish equivalent of Valentine) is basically his name.  He appeared on my "Original Source Document" that I discussed in week one, and is recorded in my grandmother Emilia Paprocka's Baptismal document, as seen above.  Also corroborated by her younger brother's Baptismal certificate as seen below.

Franciszek Paprocki Baptismal certificate, 1908, shows his father as Marcellus (Marceli) Paprocki son of Valentini

Since Marceli was born around 1864, I can assume that Walenty was born some time before 1844.  Where, is any one's guess and where he lived or what he did is a complete mystery...so far.  However, when I first introduced my "Original Source Document" I alluded to the fact that there is a "Count" in the family tree, and this is the guy that it was attached to.  Family lore, as told to me by my second mom, Helena Skalska-Potaczek, claims that the Paprockis were of the minor gentry or szlachta with landholdings spanning from the area called Podolia (which is now in the Ukraine) to the foot of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (home of Bartek a 1,000 year+ oak tree) which is near Kielce in Poland.

The area in which the landholdings are rumored to have existed, as seen on a 1799 map

These landholdings are rumored to have included a string of numerous manor houses or dwór, which are basically what we call country estates today.  Generally built from the late 1500s to the early 1800s, these properties contained houses built mainly of wood, ranging in size from from a modest 2-4 rooms to full fledged mansions. They also included a complex of other outbuildings, stables and gardens.  In their heyday there existed some 12,000 of these holdings, while today there are less than 3,000, and of those a great number lie in ruins.  If you are interested to learn more and see how they looked, check out this nifty website here!

Showing the area on a contemporary map in order to appreciate the size of it!  It compares to the length of the Czech Republic or even Slovakia!

The story goes that one of my great grandfathers, perhaps even Walenty himself, was quite a high roller with the cards, and essentially gambled away the entire family fortune!  This covers an area about 350 miles long, giving me quite a needle in the proverbial haystack to find any of these estates, even if there were many of them.  Anyone knowing of how to start this search...please contact me!!

One interesting side note, though.  As I was searching for the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, I stumbled across a village by the name of Paprocice, deriving from the word paproć, which means fern, and from which the surname Paprocki derives.  Could this mean some connection?  Another path to research, I guess!

Next week's topic is Heirloom...