Five Generations – Chapter I
Contents
- Chapter I — Frischman or Frischmann?
- Chapter II — The First Generation — Johann and Zofia Frischman
- Chapter III — The Second Generation — The Children of Johann and Zofia
- Chapter IV — The Third Generation — The Children of Franz Frischman and Marcjanna Fuchs
- Chapter V — The Fourth Generation — The Children of August and Wanda Salomea
- Chapter VI — The Fifth Generation — The Children of Franciszek and Wanda, née Grochowicz
- Conclusion
- Appendix I — The Pharmacy Profession in the Nineteenth Century
- Appendix II — The Criminal Case of Antoni Frischmann
- Appendix III — Stanisław Adolf’s Letters from America
- Appendix IV — Karolina Baraniecka’s Letters and the Family’s Financial Affairs
- Appendix V — The Elisabeth Commemorative Cross
- Appendix VI — Karolina Baraniecka’s Children
- Appendix VII — Building the House in Dynów
- Appendix VIII — The Adoption of Franciszek Frischman-Baraniecki
- Appendix IX — Staszek Baraniecki’s Letters from Auschwitz
- Appendix X — The Family of Filip Frischman-Baraniecki
- Appendix XI — An Account of the Ukrainian Attack on Dynów, Including Our Pharmacy
- Appendix XII — Franciszek Frischman’s Professional Placements
- Appendix XIII — Kazimierz Baraniecki’s Professional Placements
- Appendix XIV — Grant of Nobility and a Coat of Arms to Georg Frischman — 3 May 1727
Frischman or Frischmann?
Even the spelling of the surname can cause some confusion.
In the documents, we find both Frischman and Frischmann, and sometimes de Frischmann as well.
There is nothing unusual about this.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the spelling of surnames was not as settled as it is today. The same person could appear in different documents with a slightly different spelling of their name.
I use Frischman as the basic form, because that is how Georg’s surname was written in the document of 1727, where the documented history of our family begins.
This does not mean that the other forms are wrong.
Adolf, the brother of my great-grandfather August, used the spelling de Frischmann.
The double “n” also appears in later family documents.
Throughout this history, therefore, I retain the spelling used in the particular document.
Georg Frischman and the Year 1727
The National Archives of Hungary holds a remarkable collection known as the Libri Regii — the Royal Books.
These volumes contain copies of important documents issued in the monarch’s name. The collection includes tens of thousands of entries, among them grants of nobility and coats of arms. According to the National Archives of Hungary, its 73 volumes contain some 38,000 entries and almost three thousand colour illustrations of coats of arms.
And it is there that we find the document concerning Georg Frischman, confirming his ennoblement.
It was issued by Emperor Charles VI at Laxenburg on 3 May 1727.
This is the earliest document known to me from which the story of the Frischmans can begin.
Georg served as estate administrator to Prince Paul Anton Esterházy of Galanta. The document speaks of his faithful service, but, of particular importance to us, it also names members of his family: his wife, Katharina Händlein, and his children.
The original document is reproduced in Appendix XIV.
The same coat of arms later appears on the visiting card of Adolf de Frischmann, who lived in Romania in the nineteenth century.
Everything points to this being the same family, although several links in the genealogical chain are still missing.