Please note that my own Bielawa family does not come from Galicia, but from another part of Poland, the region south of Poznań around the town of Środa.

  Therefore, much of the research methodology found on these Galician web pages does not relate to Poznań region, which was historically part of the Prussian or German Partition of Poland.

For more information and research methodology, please visit my page on the Prussian Partition of Poland

Basic Family Outline of Maciej Bielawa and His Descendants

First Generation

Maciej BIELAWA (circa 1795 - 10 Dec 1829, Brzezie, Winna Góra parish: Pg1, Pg2)  -  Zofia LIS (Bapt. 14 May 1795 – 2 Dec 1858, Brzezie, Winna Góra parish: Pg1, Pg2)

    Married 8 Nov 1812 in Mądre, Mądre parish (Marriage Record Pg1, Pg2)

    (all info matches excpet Maciej’s last name listed as PAZGRAD.  Perhaps step-father or copy error?)

2nd Marriage of Zofia LIS BIELAWA (circa 1795 – 2 Dec 1858: Pg1, Pg2) to Bartłomiej BARTCZAK (circa 1779 - ?)

    Married 12 Jul 1835 in Brzezie, Winna Góra parish (Marriage Record)

Second Generation

Jan BIELAWA (11 Jan 1816 in Mądre, Mądre parish: Pg1, Pg2  –  19 Oct 1873 in Miłosław, Miłosław parish: Pg1)
– Marcianna SZAŁAPIETA, maiden name ZAWORSKA (9 Jan 1800 in Białe Piątkowo, Winna Góra parish: Birth record
                                                                                        – 14 April 1864 in Białe Piątkowo, Winna Góra parish: Death record Pg1, Pg2)
                                                                                                            (1st marriage of Marcianna ZAWORSKA to Walenty SZAŁAPIETA
                                                                                                            (circa 1796 - 5 Feb 1841 in Białe Piątkowo, Winna Góra parish)

    Married 31 May 1841 in Brzezie, Winna Góra parish: Marriage Record Pg1, Pg2

2nd Marriage of Jan BIELAWA to Marianna KIERNIKIEWICZ on 26 Jun 1864 in Winna Góra parish.   (Marriage record Pg1,  Pg2, Pg3)

Third Generation

First marriage of Wojciech Bielawa

Wojciech BIELAWA (19 Mar 1842 in Białe Piątkowo, Winna Góra parish: Birth Record Pg1, Pg2  – 21 Dec 1914 in Schenectady, New York: Death Record, Obit., Gravesite)
– Franciszka ORZECHOWSKA (2 Aug 1850 in Lipie, Miłosław parish – 10 Dec 1879 in Budziłówko, Biechowo parish)

    Married 1867 in Lipie, Miłosław parish

 ^*Marianna BIELAWA married Marek (Marion?) FRANKOWSKI on 16 Feb 1889 in Schenectady, New York (Marriage record)

 ^**Franciszek Bielawa often used the name Frank J. SMITH throughout his life

First Marriage
Frank J. SMITH (aka BIELAWA) married Mary KAISER (Apr 1877 - 1910 or 1911) on 18 Jan 1899 in Gardiner, Ulster county, New York (Marriage record)

Second Marriage
Frank J. SMITH married Anna SNIECINSKA, sometimes listed as SAMINSKA, on 22 Feb 1911 in Albany, New York (Marriage record)
                                      (29 Sep 1878 - 15 Jan 1963, Albany NY) Death, Obit., Church Death Pg.1, Pg. 2, Gravesite  

Third marriage
Frank J. SMITH married Marianna SMOLINSKA (circa 1890 -  9 Jul 1948 in Albany NY (Death record, Obituary, Gravesite) 

(formerly Mary BRADTKE/BRADKE married to Johann/John BRADTKE (Marriage record), later married Vincent GENTILE) 

Notice: this is an important Obituary (from The Knickerbocker News, Albany NY, 9 Jul 1948) since it connects Mary Smolinska to Bradtke, Smith and Gentile!  The address listed in the obituary is the same address found on the military headstone application of Frank J. Smith (known as SHMIT in the military)!  (The Shmit name, service dates, rank, company and regiment all match paperwork in possesion of Frank J. Smith's grandson Frank.)

Children of Mary Smolinska and John Bradtke/Bradke were John Stephen (1915-1942), Mary (Catherine Anna Stacia?) (1917-?), Joseph Frank (1920-1987), Anthony August (1923-2009), Josephine Rose (1924-), and Elizabeth Anne (1925-1925)

Searching for my grandfather's half-brother Franciszek Bielawa (Frank Smith) required A LOT of help from several wonderful cousins.  A sincere thank you to my "new" cousins Frank Smith, Bob McDermott, Pam Webber and Linda Miller, for all your important help in connecting the descendants of Franciszek Bielawa, aka Frank J. Smith (1874-1944)!  All I was going on was a family story about my grandfather having a half-brother who changed his name to Smith.  It took a long time of research, letter writing to multiple states, many trips to the New York State Archives and Library in Albany, and lots of wrong turns and deadends before I finally tracked his 11 children born across 5 New York counties, and, according to census records, his family residences in 8 different New York counties between 1890 and 1944!

Second marriage of Wojciech Bielawa

2nd marriage of Wojciech BIELAWA to Balbina HOFFMANN (14 Apr 1852 in Mikuszewo, Czeszewo parish: Birth record Pg1, Pg2  
                                                                                            – 14 Dec 1935 in Schenectady, New York: Pg1, Obit., Gravesite)

    Married 9 Feb 1880 in Lipie, Miłosław parish  (Marriage records: Church record Pg1, Pg2.  Civil record Pg1, Pg2, translation)