Karolina died on 23 July 1863.

Before her death, she corresponded with her friend Marynia Żywicka.

The letters were written between 1855 and 1863.

Two are addressed to her sister Emilia, known as Milcia, and nine to her friend Marynia Żywicka or Żewicka.

Let us begin with the two letters to her sister Emilia.

First, just a few words of explanation.

Many years ago, my Father wrote the following about Karolina’s sisters:

“Karolina Papst’s sisters were Matylda, who married Józef Ortyński and lived to the age of 107, and Emilia, who married a man named Kube and died aged 102.

They lived in Dąbniki in Kraków.

The daughter of one of them was extraordinarily beautiful but blind. Nevertheless, one of the Wańkowicz family, a wealthy landowner from Belarus, fell in love with her and married her.

Neither sister was remembered fondly by Wanda Salomea, because after Karolina’s death they took no interest in the children she left behind. On the contrary, they even took away some of her belongings.”

And a few more details:

The beautiful daughter of Józef Ortyński and Matylda Papst was Karolina, born on 22 March 1860 and deceased on 11 August 1945. The wealthy landowner from Belarus was Kazimierz Wańkowicz, of the Lis Odmieniony coat of arms, born on 29 December 1831 and deceased in 1891.

He married Karolina Ortyńska, the daughter of Józef Ortyński and Matylda Papst, around 1880.

They had a daughter, Kazimiera, who later married Włodzimierz Sokołowski.

Here, then, is Karolina’s first letter to Emilia. In the Polish transcription, the original spelling, grammar and punctuation have been retained. The letter is undated.

Letter No. 1

Dear Milcia!

I received your letter and was just about to answer when another letter arrived from Żywicka, so I am answering both together. I would like to reply to your questions. You want to know why I do not wish to draw any more money from Pietsch. It is not your fault, but Matylda was always reproaching me, as though I had her money, rather than she mine: that because of me her property was under sequestration, that because of me she was pawning spoons, that I was not sending her money. And I had no means of giving as I used to.

That is why, to this day, I still have a hundred florins with each of you, which I did not collect from Lwów. I shall collect them only when the house is sold… So I thought to myself: if you do not draw any more, you will wish there to be something for you too, because you trust them. And apparently I am robbing you of this property you have on the Moon, for apart from what is in Złoczów and what remains in the house, I know of nothing else and have nothing.

As for the power of attorney to collect money from P., you demand one from me, yet you never gave me one, because you had not yet been… when I was collecting money for you, and afterwards Piet. paid it out to me on trust. You gave me authority to collect from Smutny, which I cannot do without a lawsuit; to collect… instructions to Pietsch, he only really in the following year… in April; and to collect in Złoczów, where the money has already been collected. That is why I have not settled accounts with you, because I did not want to keep the accounts myself. If I had accounted for the expenses to my own disadvantage, you would still have been dissatisfied. And since I was certain that our Mr Żywicki would reckon everything honestly, that was what I wanted. That I have not yet been able to go is not my fault, but the circumstances — the bank.

Now you ask why I am hurt by you. You write that I should be careful, because Frischman will speak ill of me if he speaks ill of his guests. I know nothing of that, for he said Żywicka was a very sensible person. But what can we expect of strangers when you, my own sister, complained to M. that when you were with me, I proposed that you stay under certain conditions, and you refused? Remember that this is not true. I avoided speaking about your staying in Dynów, and we said nothing — not a word. Not because I did not want you, but because I know you would not be as comfortable with me as with Marynia. You complain, but do not offend God. True, you have little to live on, but with the help of good people it is enough. There are good meals, which M. and I very much lack. You have no one else to worry about, whereas I have six children.

Perhaps you have rather little for clothes, but can those rags make us happy?

Now there is another grievance over those two hundred florins, and a demand that I send them to you in Lwów, when I sent Matylda a letter… she wanted eighteen florins from me for a lawyer, but naturally I did not give them.

It is very late already, so I shall write more through P.B. and send the rest of the money.

Kisses from your sister.

As we can see, the three Papst sisters owned a house in Lwów even before Karolina’s marriage to Feliks, and borrowed money against it. Ordinary family disagreements over money. However one looks at it, Karolina seems to have had the most sense and tried to take a reasonable approach to drawing money from the bank against the property.

The letter was clearly written in a moment of agitation. The others are incomparably easier to understand and more carefully written.

How these three young women came to own a house in Lwów is unknown. They probably inherited it from their parents.

The letter mentions August Frischman, whom Karolina defends, so it was written after Feliks’s death.

This letter is almost 160 years old.

Letter No. 2

A letter from Karolina Baraniecka to Marynia Żywicka, dated 25 August. The year was 1857 or earlier — in any case, Feliks was still alive, as he added a note to the letter.

My Dear Marynia!

What will you think of my not writing for so long? Probably that I am still the same when it comes to writing letters! But I found so much disorder that until today I have not had a moment. At the same time, I must praise my husband, because I also found many things in good order that were his responsibility. He made more preserves for me than I usually make myself. Only Mrs Kamniecka saw the rose preserve in the Pharmacy, and he had to let her have one jar. I shall share the other with you. I am not sending it now, because I may bring something back from Lwów and send everything together. I already have a pair of turkeys for you, but I am waiting for Mr Roman.

Feliks says that although Miss Olawia is good and kind, she is too old for Mr Roman. He has other young ladies here in mind for him. One is perhaps twenty-eight, attractive and quite well off. Her parents have died, and there are only two of them. They now wish to sell the village for which her father once paid twelve thousand.

Mr Roman could go there as a prospective buyer and thus most easily see for himself what the property is worth. If he does not like her, Olawia is still available. On Saturday, I am going to Lwów. If you need anything, just write, and Feliks will forward the letter. I shall have to spend a few days in Złoczów, so when I return, your letter will be waiting for me in Lwów.

I do not yet know what will happen with Miss Cecylia. When I arrived, I spoke to her and said she could stay if she wished, but on condition that she did not beat my children. She told me she would stay, and for a while things were fairly quiet with the nursemaid there. But now she tells Paulina that she cannot manage without beating the children. So I shall not know how things stand until I return, although the children have learned a great deal in this short time.

As for the mineral water… Feliks says it is not suitable for transporting. When Szczuciniecki and another tried the water, it no longer… as it did at the spring. The iron, which is the most beneficial part, settles at the bottom. [This probably concerns a remedy for Karolina. Feliks mentions it in his note — my comment.]

We have received neither a receipt for that money nor a letter from Matylda.

Mrs Kube [Emilia, Karolina’s other sister] told me only on the road to Gorlice that she was going to M. for good. Even if things were bad there, she would stay. Once she has a quarrel with Józef there, she will speak differently.

Thank you once again, my dear Marynia, and forgive me for causing so much trouble. Kisses to Sewerynka and Ludwinia. Leoncia must be well by now, perhaps already at home. Kiss her for me, and I kiss you warmly.

Yours affectionately,

Carolina B.

25 August

On the reverse of this letter is a note from her husband, Feliks Baraniecki:

My Gracious Madam!

Karolcia is certainly Mrs Kube’s own sister, at least where writing letters is concerned. I could scarcely persuade her to sit down and write, although it weighed heavily on my heart to thank you both most sincerely for so many proofs of friendship and kindness. At least in this way, I wished to acknowledge the debt of gratitude I owe you for your friendly concern for her comfort and your gracious hospitality.

Indeed, Karolcia looks very well, and the baths have plainly done her good. Already I am wondering whether we shall… follow Józef’s advice and refrain from what he jokingly called “a cavalryman’s little love affairs”. The Wysocka (?) water, effective as it is at the spring, is worthless when brought here. Even as a drink, if not repulsive, it is unpleasant.

We are thinking seriously about the matchmaking. It is only a pity that Karolcia will not be here during the fair, because we would have tried to arrange for Miss Emilia Słowikowa from Hucisko to arrive at the same time as Mr Roman, her brother, as though by chance.

With warm kisses to your hands, I ask you also to kiss Józef and the children for me.

Felix

It is clear that Karolina was already ill and was trying treatment with mineral waters. Hence her stay with the Żywicki family, probably in Gorlice.

In 1858, probably in July, Karolina wrote to Marynia Żywicka as follows:

Letter No. 3

Dear Marynia!

I have been in Kraków since Tuesday. Feliks wrote to me from Karlsbad [where he had gone for treatment — my note] that, after a consultation with four of the best doctors, they had told him to go home. He was to wait for me here on Tuesday. Now it is Saturday. Every day I wait for him at the railway station, but he does not come. I have a terrible foreboding. I am close to despair and often forget my duties, that I have six children. I run to church, but I cannot find peace. Today I am going home, because I have no money here. For the first time in my life, I long for it so desperately. Then I shall return to look for Feliks, even as far as Karlsbad. My poor children! Here in Kraków, I feel as though I am alone in the world, as though I want nothing more than not to live. Kisses to you all.

Baraniecka

And what she had feared came to pass! Here is her letter from Prerau in Moravia, written just after Feliks’s death, in the first week of August 1858:

Letter No. 4

Oh, My Dear Marynia!

I do not know how to begin this letter, or whether I shall finish it! I am in terrible despair. I have been left a widow, without my best and dearest husband! God has punished me terribly! It has happened — such is God’s will — but I, ungrateful as I am, shall never forgive myself for the rest of my life, if I live, that after such devotion to me and twelve years of toil, I could not be beside him. He died in strangers’ care, reaching out his hands for me! God, I shall not survive this. It is dreadful torment. He loved his own land so much, yet he must lie in Prerau in Moravia. I wanted to give my last… [probably her remaining money — my note] to have him taken at least to Kraków, but the authorities would not allow it.

I feel as though I am alone in the world. I even forget my poor fatherless children. My dear Marynia, pray for me, because I can no longer even pray.

Today I shall arrange for a gravestone to be put up here, and then return home to my children! Oh, why can I not see you? Farewell to you all.

Your unhappy friend,

Baraniecka

Feliks died at the home of his friend from his student days, Jakubowski, who ran a pharmacy in Prerau [Przeszów] in Moravia. He was buried there.

The next letter was also written to Marynia, but with a note for Milcia, or Emilia, Karolina’s sister. She, too, seems to have been living in Gorlice, or rather in Bystra near Gorlice, since that is the address on the letters.

Letter No. 5

My Dear Marynia!

I wrote to you from Prerau, where my dear Feliks lies, but I do not know why I have had no reply. Oh, my dear, it seems that you alone can understand my terrible misfortune. That is why, when I had partly recovered my senses [probably meaning “when I came to myself” — my note], my first concern was to put up his gravestone and then write to you. It seemed impossible that I should return home alone. Yet here I am, my dear, at home, and I must live without the man I loved more than life itself. You can imagine what a dreadful moment it was when I returned and the children learned what had happened. They could not even soothe Stefcia.

Now I am somehow calm, much more so than you could imagine. I have resolved to live for his children, whom he loved so much. Only when I remember that my poor little ones will be orphans as I was, my heart almost breaks.

Jakubowski is so kind that he tries to ease my burden where he can, and I now have a very good man for the pharmacy.

I must finish, my dear, because it is already midnight and I am writing almost without being able to see. Kisses to you and the children, and my respects to your husband.

There is a note in this letter for her sister Emilia, or Milcia:

Dear Milcia!

M. [probably her sister Matylda] wrote that she was preparing to visit me and would call for you on the way. But I replied that I would not be home until about the thirtieth, because I am going to Lwów. I also ask Marynia to be so kind as to write to Mr Tomaszewski, asking him to advise me what to do about the Post Office and how to arrange for it to remain in my hands. I shall personally ask Councillor Jakubowicz to be kind enough to intercede with the Director. I shall write no more, as you will learn everything from Marynia’s letter. 23… (?)

Warm kisses. Until we meet again.

Your loving Carolina

18 August

Letter No. 6

18 April 1859

My Dearest Marynia!

I received your letter on the fourteenth. What they will do with Ludwinia (?) when they arrive, I do not know. She returned from dancing at nine in the evening. The lesson actually ends at eight, but L. is not allowed to leave for another hour, so that she is no longer overheated. Grandmother (?) now praises her greatly, saying that she is more sensible than before and does not even miss home as much as they expected.

I must warn you, my dear, that today’s letter will probably have neither beginning nor end, but forgive me. I had not even intended to write today, but I am so terribly lonely and sad that I cannot settle anywhere. Writing to you makes me feel, if only for a moment, that I am talking to you. There is not a soul here whom I can ask for advice, and as for sharing my sorrow, that is out of the question. Believe me, my dear, I sometimes miss you so much that I think I shall leave everything and come to you for a few days. Yet there is simply no way. I am in a strange state of mind. Sometimes, when I reason with myself, it seems that I am calm already, even cheerful. But when [illegible words — my note] comes over me, I do not know what to do with myself. I feel that if I could weep at Feliks’s grave, it would give me the greatest comfort.

Oh God, if it were not for these poor children, for whom I wish to live! Today my… (?) said to me: “Oh, Mama is unhappy without Papa. Before, Mama never cried, and now she cries every day.”

Endless business and troubles! They have assessed my taxes at a hundred florins. Imagine: since Feliks’s death, besides spending the income, I have already spent a hundred florins from my cash. There are still two hundred in taxes, and after that I must pay the rechsgebir. Now new difficulties await me. I am thinking of selling the pharmacy, because a leaseholder cannot pay as much as I want. In fact, it will be difficult to find one. Frischman is not yet bound by a contract here, because his contract in Dubiecko was renewed three months ago, and my guardian has not arranged for another to be drawn up. Now Frischman says that there are no prospects in Dynów for a leaseholder. There probably are none for him, because he needs a great deal: fifteen to twenty florins a month for cigars, and he is constantly entertaining guests. He says it is terribly dull here and there is no one to associate with. If he stays, he will do so only for me. But I can neither demand nor accept such a sacrifice, although he is so good and honourable a man that it is difficult to find his like these days. Precisely for that reason, I would not wish to accept such a sacrifice, because I know, I am convinced, that he was better off and happier in Kraków.

That is how it is, my Marynia! It is bad to have bad people around us, yet we are dissatisfied with good ones too. Always something wrong. At least for me, things will never be good again.

Matylda wrote that I must come to her for the summer. But I have enough troubles of my own. Why should I have to look at her misfortunes too? Everyone is already surprised at how poorly I look. I must finish, because I see I have no space left to scribble. But will you even understand today’s letter? When you describe your mother’s illness, it sounds just like Feliks’s. I kiss you warmly, my dear, and wish you a happier Easter than mine.

Your loving,

Baraniecka

Was the guardian mentioned by my great-great-grandmother Karolina the pharmacist Jakubowski from Prerau? It is difficult to say. One thing is certain, however: a new figure had appeared on the horizon, the pharmacist Frischman, who was being considered as a possible leaseholder of the Pharmacy in Dynów.

The year was 1859.

Letter No. 7

On 23 May of that year, Karolina wrote another letter:

My Dear Marynia!

Mrs Kube’s letter, telling me of your troubles, saddened me greatly. But I am certain this letter will find the poor child (?) almost well — that is what I pray to God for. I often think of you, unhappy with your present condition. Yet I have a feeling that this child will be the support of your old age. May God comfort you and grant you a safe delivery. If I knew when, and could bring you any relief, I would gladly come. Only write openly, because we do not all feel alike in such circumstances. The presence of others comforts some and distresses others.

What is happening with Ludwinia? My girls are well and are a great help to me in the household. Their studies are going badly, because they only revise what they have already learned. I shall not engage a governess until the holidays, because at present I have no money for one. Mr Marcin has been the guardian for several months, but he has no time, so he too does nothing to make it possible to obtain money. My living is not bad, as such, but you have no idea what six children cost. I must struggle like this for another two years while Władzio [Feliks and Karolina’s eldest child and only son — my note] is at school. Then, if it is not too late for things to be good for me, I shall be better off. The doctors tell me to drink the water from Krynica, and I am constantly taking iron powders. They say I look better in Dynów.

Milcia writes that you know nothing about the fur coat. A few days ago, they sent me the outer covering… [wording unclear]. I am sending the bill and the letter. Do not take offence at their rudeness. They do not know you, so they may think what they please. I no longer know who is to blame for all this trouble over the fur coat. If I had the money, I would keep it myself, and that would be the end of it, but I have none. Please write as soon as you receive this letter. Mrs Kube now wishes to go to M. Poor woman, but we cannot help it, and K. could stay where she is. Józef wrote that Milcia had asked him to come for her, but when he arrived, she kept him waiting for three hours and then did not go. He says he will not be such a fool as to send for her again. But now she must be feeling… bad.

You also wrote that he had corrected something in the accounts concerning the bag. But this is how it was: when he was in Kraków, he told me that you had spoken to him about my taking responsibility for paying K.’s debt. Then she would be paid off, and I would have no more dealings with her, since she speaks ill of me anyway. I would owe only you. I said I no longer knew what to answer. I could not specify exactly when I would pay. But he always lies. I only wonder what he meant to gain by lying to both of us.

Tell me whether Ludwinia is coming for the holidays. Perhaps I could somehow make her journey easier. I have nothing more to report, so I kiss you warmly, together with Sewerek.

Your devoted friend,

Baraniecka

Warm greetings to Mr Żywicki.

I kiss the children’s little hands.

Every day I sigh for the former Director, because now they harass me terribly. They demand things that are unjust and impossible, and there is no one to turn to. Going to Lwów would be pointless, and I have no money for it. This D. Kasdema promises things but does nothing.

Dynów, 23 May

Letter No. 8

A new letter, because there is a new matter. You have written several times, my dear, that not everything one can say can be put in writing.

I had comforted myself with the hope that we would see one another, yet somehow it remains difficult. After your last letter, I thought about it for a long time. I know, and am convinced, that you are sincere with me. So I think it must be something you perhaps do not wish to cause yourself the pain of writing. I beg you, by everything dear to you, write to me soon, and I shall repay your frankness with my own.

I wonder whether it concerns Frischmann. Perhaps the talk has reached your ears too. Kasprzycka wrote that I was going to marry, and people seem to think it will happen. Those I considered friends have done the most to encourage this gossip. Surely, if I meant to marry, I would have done so by now, and the talk would have ended. But I do not wish to sacrifice my children’s future and the dear memories of the years I have lived for the chatter of these foolish people. I explain myself to no one, because who will believe me? Time will tell. But I cannot put all my property into dishonest hands merely because people gossip. I do not deny that there are honest people, but where am I to find them? And would that protect me from slander, when there would simply be other talk? The simplest thing is to endure it, but so far that course has not been enough, for I have already tried.

If I have guessed your meaning, find me a pharmacy manager who will undertake to run everything. If you will vouch for his honesty, I give you my word of honour, as I wish happiness for my children, that I shall immediately give Frischmann notice, and he will have to leave from New Year. I believe the pharmacist in Gorlice knows your husband. Perhaps he knows someone, because there are plenty of men available — but who knows them?

Take Siedlecki, for instance, whom I had wanted earlier and who was known as a good man. He was only a pharmacy manager, yet in five years he put aside three thousand florins [that is, saved them — my note]. Surely not from his salary, even if he went without boots. Where, then, did it come from?

Please, my dear, do make enquiries. I may be in Lwów at the end of this month and would like to have your answer. Perhaps you would be so kind as to give me a letter of introduction to Hochlajtner, so that I would feel less hesitant about going to him. If you cannot find out anything about a pharmacist soon, please reply at once. Mrs Kube should not spend her money, because she may have to go to Lwów. Mr Brzęcz from Lwów advised me that it would be best to sell my share last, because then the owner would have to buy the house. I have scribbled quite enough, so I finish with warm kisses to you, the children and little Marynia.

Your ever-devoted friend,

Baraniecka

My respects to your husband. I kiss your mother’s hands.

Postscript: Mrs Kube is owed, from 1 January to the last day of July ’61, such…

Letter No. 9

Dear Marynia!

Today is the fourth day since I returned to Kraków. I shall not write at length about how sorry I am that I could not visit you. The reason was that, after arriving in Dynów, I was unwell for several days. Such was the effect Dynów had on me.

On the way there, I was as happy as a child going to visit its parents. But having arrived at night, I rose very early and walked all round the place. Such sadness and longing came over me, as though something itself were whispering: “What are you looking for here? There is nothing here for you now.” I spent the rest of the day upstairs, saying that I had a headache, because telling the truth would have made them laugh. It is not fashionable to mourn a husband in the third year. They say sensible people do not do such things.

Only after ten days did I go to Lwów. I stayed there several days, because Pietsch had no money. I visited the Jakubowicz family twice, as I wished to see the father, but he was in the country with Mr Józef. I asked what message she wished me to give you. She said there was nothing, only to embrace you all. Then I began asking what would happen with Ludwinia. I said that when… she would ask me when she was going to Grandmother, and what Uncle had said. He replied that his wife had sent him a letter to forward to you. He had not read it, but believed she had already stated firmly what would happen with L. I asked Helena what they were saying about it. She said nothing, unless she herself began the conversation. All she had learned was that Mrs Józefowa would pay half at Mr Wasylewski’s, and the father the other half.

As I was leaving, I met Mrs Bożajnowska, or some similar name, on the porch — a cousin of ours. I spoke to her, and she said: “Tell Mrs Marynia that our advice is not to be too… delicate about it. It has already been discussed. Let her consider the matter settled and bring Ludwinia, because some preparations still have to be made for her.”

I visited Tomaszewski. I did not see Jaś. You ask about the Jarontowski family. I wrote to you that Milcia had died. Her little daughters were taken in by her sister Jarontowska, and their mother went there. Bajewska is just as poor as before, but she is alive. Manio was on leave at Mrs Wajsenwolf’s. He extended it himself and is now under arrest. Teresa is in Kraków. Instead of getting better, things are growing worse for me, because everything is so expensive. When I arrived, a quart of barley groats cost five cents; now it is nine. A measure of potatoes, the sort used here, was twelve cents and is now twenty-five. More than twice as much. And the income is the same. I have just spent nine florins on books for Władek, and… eight florins and ten cents. Books for the girls cost seven florins, and now there is paper and so on. I keep calculating how much a journey to you would cost. I could not come from Dynów, because it was already too late with the children needing to go to school.

Write a great deal, my dear, about what you are all doing, especially whether Sewerek has begun his lessons. My Stefcia now also has a tutor (?).

I am sending a receipt for Mrs Kube. Let her sign it and return it, and I shall send her the money at once. Also, please make sure she gives me a receipt for two florins in interest, which I shall likewise send without a detailed account until we meet. I very much regret that Ortyński did not bring a lawsuit against me over those properties, because by now I could have had him put under arrest for his false accusation. I made enquiries in Lwów about Tekla Turobińska and have it in writing that it was taken in 1820. Where was I then?

There is no space left, and it is growing dark, so I kiss you and embrace you in my thoughts, together with your family.

Your loving,

Karolina

I have become so strange that, apart from my children, you are the only person in the world I still love. I do not even acknowledge my sisters, although it pains me. But what can I do?

Letter No. 10

My Dear Marynia!

I wrote my last letter as soon as I recovered, but I do not know why I have had no answer to this day. When leaving home, I instructed them to forward any letter from you, so I kept waiting. Besides, I am so occupied with my treatment that somehow one day has followed another. But now the wait has grown too long. It is so long since I heard anything of what is happening with you. Is Sewerek well? He must have come home with good marks. If you cannot take Ludwinia to Lwów yourself, I think I shall go there in the first days of September. I shall stay here until mid-August, because it is doing me a great deal of good. I am quite well and hope that for a few years… if God allows me to live.

Krynica is sad today, because everyone has gone to Bardejów for a ball. I remembered the lovely time spent with you a few years ago, and… that day in Bar. I was never a cheerful person, yet it seems to me that I have aged thirty years since then. Then I felt happy and content, even in such a little place. Here I am sad, although I deny myself nothing that I need for pleasure or health.

I went to Częstochowa. You must envy me that, and with good reason. I was there for three days and did not want to leave. People warned me not to go just now, because there was unrest across the border and I might encounter difficulties. My passport was in order, and such small inconveniences mean nothing compared with the joy of being in so wonderful a place.

Krynica is so full this year that no one remembers a year like it. Many people are staying in the village, but that is said to be half a mile from here. I have a little room, a bed, a table, a chair and… for one florin a day. Better rooms cost two florins a day. I rise at five, drink… and then the mineral waters. At nine, I go for a warm shower of iron-rich water, which costs fifteen cents. Then… dinner at twelve. Four dishes cost seventy cents, but there is enough to have supper as well. Between five and six, I take a bath, which costs thirty cents. Service here costs two florins and fifty cents a week, with a similar expense for the music. Everyone must pay two florins… the bathing tax is two florins. But at least everyone is pleased to be healthier. Yesterday and today, the heat has been unbearable, whereas on the preceding days it was so cold that everyone wore hooded cloaks.

All my children are well. Every few days… writes to me, and in fact Wandzia is running the household. Władzio has quite good marks. Tell me, my dear, how far it is from here to you. Stronczakowa also wrote asking me to call for her on my way home, so that she could stay with me for a few weeks. But I no longer know how it will work out, because this is how I came here: by railway to Bochnia, then by express coach through Limanowa and Sącz to Krynica.

Please be so kind as to write soon. Every day I shall look out for your letter.

Warm kisses to you and the children. Tell me something about Helenka.

My respects to your husband, and I kiss your mother’s hands.

Baraniecka

My address:

At… near the baths
No. 20
Krynica

29 July 1862

I cannot discover how all these letters came into our possession. Logically, they should have remained with their recipients, Marynia Żywicka and Emilia Ortyńska, née Papst. How they returned to the Baraniecki family, I do not know!

Here is the last letter, written — who knows — perhaps in the spring of 1863.

Letter No. 11

My Dear Sister,

Having settled the debt arising from the promissory note issued by my late husband, Felix Baraniecki, on 30 December 1845, secured against his properties in the amount of two thousand Rhenish florins in Convention currency, of which one-third was due to you, I paid you that third on behalf of my children. On 29 October 1862, I received a declaration permitting this debt to be removed from the register of the properties inherited by my children. However, the declaration is unstamped and would require stamping. Furthermore, it permits the removal of this sum from the Pharmacy, rather than from the encumbered properties… and is therefore of no use to me.

Being very weak, I turn to you, dear Sister, with the request that you kindly sign and return as quickly as possible the formal declaration authorising the removal of the registered charge, which I enclose here. I feel very weak and would like to settle my children’s affairs as soon as possible.

I am very ill, so please do not be surprised that I am not writing in my own hand. I trust, however, that in consideration of this illness, you will not refuse my request and will sign and return the enclosed declaration as soon as possible.

I kiss you warmly and remain your sincerely loving sister.

The Family’s Property and Financial Affairs

The letters of Karolina Baraniecka, née Papst, Feliks’s wife, are legible. Their context, however, needs some explanation, because they touch on various business matters and the Family’s property.

Here is a brief account of these affairs.

On 20 February 1817, Wojciech Okoński bought the pharmacy from Józef Szczerbicki. On 22 May 1817, his ownership of both the property and the pharmacy was entered in the land register.

Property No. 25 in Dynów and the pharmacy within it were separate properties for registration purposes, with separate mortgage entries. Okoński bought the property from Jan Wyszatycki.

On 6 August 1825, Wojciech Okoński and his wife, Salomea, née Jamroziewicz, bought the meadow called “Moczary” from Fortunat Łobarzewski and Joanna Łobarzewska, née Wiśniowiecka.

On 27 March 1829, the Okoński couple bought the garden called “Pezolnik” from Perla, née Kercyk, and Malka Dyller, née Zuckerman.

On 6 June 1833, they bought farmland in Błonie near Dynów from Szymon Kawiński.

These were the Okoński family’s properties in Dynów. On 28 November 1853, they appointed Maryanna, née Baraniecka, formerly Skibińska and subsequently Stronczakowa, as their universal heir. Almost immediately, she transferred her rights to Feliks Baraniecki. Why it was done in this way is difficult to say.

I include here an extract from the land register for properties Nos. 25, 26 and 244 and the pharmacy situated there. As we can see, Felix encumbered the property with debts arising from loans taken from girls who were minors: Ludwika Łukasiewicz and the three sisters Karolina, Emilia and Matylda Papst. These loans were secured against the property and carried five per cent interest. Taking loans was nothing remarkable, but taking them from underage girls — I hardly know what to think. Where were the Papst sisters’ parents? As we shall later see, the girls owned a house, or houses, in Lwów, but that comes a little later. For now, I present the situation as it stood in 1853. I realise this document will be difficult to read, but do try.

Extract from the Land Register

Concerning the ownership and encumbrances of the properties in the town of Dynów numbered 25, 26 and 244, and the Pharmacy situated at No. 25, formerly belonging to Mr Wojciech Okoński and now owned by Mr Felix Baraniecki.

Ownership Entries

22 May 1817, No. 77. By the ruling of the judicial authority dated 22 May 1817, and pursuant to the purchase agreement concluded with Jan Wyszatycki on 22 May 1817, Adalbert Okoński is registered as the owner of property No. 25.

14 May 1838, No. 7. Pursuant to the purchase agreement concluded on 20 January 1838 with Józef Wyszatycki and Agnieszka Wyszatycka, née Łukasiewicz, Adalbert and Salomea Okoński are registered as joint owners of property No. 26… belonging to No. 25.

14 May 1839, No. 26. Pursuant to the purchase agreement concluded on 13 May 1839 with Maycher and Marjanna Stankiewicz, Mr Adalbert Okoński is registered as the owner of property No. 244, adjoining properties Nos. 25 and 26.

4 April 1845, No. 25. Pursuant to the purchase agreement concluded on 2 April 1845 with Mr Adalbert Okoński, pharmacist in Dynów, Mr Felix Baraniecki is registered as the owner of the masonry house at No. 25 and the pharmacy situated within it, with all rights, etc., together with properties Nos. 26 and 244.

4 August 1853. Pursuant to a purchase agreement, Mr Felix Baraniecki sells the whole of property No. 25, half of property No. 26 and the whole of property No. 244 to Mr Franciszek Xawery Janicki.

1 December 1853. Wojciech Okoński is registered as the owner of half of property No. 26.

2 December 1853. Maryanna, née Baraniecka, formerly Skibińska and subsequently Stronczakowa, takes the place of Wojciech Okoński and is registered as the owner of half of property No. 26.

Encumbrances

2 October 1845. Pursuant to a promissory note issued by Felix Baraniecki, the sum of two hundred Rhenish florins, together with interest at five per cent, is registered as a charge against his properties Nos. 25 and 244 in favour of the minor Ludwika Łukasiewicz.

3 January 1846. Pursuant to a promissory note issued by Mr Felix Baraniecki on 30 December 1845, the sum of two thousand Rhenish florins, together with interest at five per cent, is registered in favour of the minors Karolina, Emilia and Matylda Papst as a charge against properties Nos. 25, 26 and 244, together with plots Nos. 430, 417, 418 and 2028 near Dynów, owned by Mr Felix Baraniecki.

7 March 1846. Pursuant to a promissory note dated 9 February 1846, Mr Jan Fedaczyński registers a claim of one thousand florins, with half-yearly interest at five per cent, against properties Nos. 25, 26 and 244, owned by Mr Felix Baraniecki.

23 December 1846. Pursuant to a promissory note dated 10 May 1846, a loan of two hundred florins, with interest at five per cent, is registered in favour of the minor Ludwika Łukasiewicz as a charge against properties Nos. 25, 26 and 244.

To conclude these reflections on the Baraniecki family’s financial affairs, I shall quote a note I wrote some twenty-five years ago. It concerns the rather puzzling matter of the debt Karolina mentions in her letters to her sisters.

Here is that note:

The mother of the three Papst sisters, Karolina Papst, née Kampf, the wife of Krystian Papst, owned two properties in Lwów.

After her death, her heirs — her three daughters — lent Feliks two thousand Rhenish florins.

As evidence of the loan, Feliks issued a promissory note, which was deposited with the Court.

When the loan was made, the Court ordered the sum to be registered as a charge against the property in Dynów and, additionally, against the properties in Lwów.

Although the sum was registered against the property in Dynów, it was not registered against the properties in Lwów, despite the Court’s order!

Why???

Furthermore, as we read in the Court’s reply to the application submitted by Great-grandmother:

The promissory note was released from the Court’s custody not because Feliks had returned the money — in other words, repaid the debt — but because he held power of attorney for the three Papst sisters, one of whom, Karolina, became his wife.

Feliks died without a will. His widow paid off her two sisters, giving each one-third of the two thousand Rhenish florins.

The fact that the loan had not been registered against the properties in Lwów came to light forty-seven years later, only because, for reasons unclear to me, Great-grandmother Wanda Salomea initiated an enquiry into the matter.

That enquiry revealed a curious situation: in 1845, the Court’s instruction had been disregarded!

From my point of view, that was the right thing to do, because, as I have mentioned, what sense did the requested registration make in the first place? Even so, why was the Court’s order ignored?

And above all, why did Great-grandmother bring the matter to light after so many years?

Was she preparing to sell the properties in Lwów?

And whose hands were they in at that time?

Was Great-grandmother laying some claim to them?

In my view, these questions are connected with a whole series of property transactions conducted by Wanda Salomea and, after her, by her son, Grandpa Franio.

There were so many such transactions that they deserve a separate study.

That is all for now.

Perhaps this is not a particularly spectacular story, but it may be the beginning of something larger.

For example: do those houses in Lwów still exist? What interest did Great-grandmother have in reviving the matter after so many years? How did the Papst family come to own those properties in Lwów at all? After Karolina’s death, did her sisters Matylda and Emilia remain their owners? And so on…