The search for the father of Joannes Nadwodny

 

 Like the situation with Brygida, I'm beginning to feel that this story is a bit like the book, 

As mentioned in another post, Joannes was born in Brooklyn, NYC in 1907. There is also no DNA evidence that we are related genetically to any Nadwodny, so this has baffled me for a long time.

An initial in-depth analysis of DNA matches led to three groups of descendants related on my mother's paternal side:

• Dalecki/ Medwadowski clan 
• Józefowicz clan
  
• Jankowska/Kolasinski clan

A recent analysis actually confirmed that there an overlap between the Jankowska/Kolasinski and Józefowicz clans of about 32 cM (between KL and CRH) and 24 cM (between ljogus and CRH).  Similarly we see a convergence on 23&Me (e.g., between RO and FZ/EG). Given the extent of the match between my mom and MC (139 cM), we will focus on the Jankowska/Kolasinski clan here. 

After much research I was able to connect KK (92 cM), RO (157 cM), and JO (149 cM) to Franciszka Jankowska.  She departed Bremen on the Stuttgart and arrived in New York on 22 May 1895 when she was 19 years old.  Her destination was New York.  The 1900 census record for Franciszka confirms that she immigrated in 1895.

 

From the 1900 census, we learn that Franciszka had a sister, Stanisława, who was living on Dupont St. in Brooklyn, with Franciszka and Wladysław.  I have connected MC (139 cM) to Stanisława. 

I found a immigration record for Józef Jankowski and Stanisława Jankowska, who departed Antwerp on the Kensington and arrived in New York on 18 May 1897. Józef was 44 years old at the time and Stanisława was 10.

 

Franciszka married Wladysław Kolasinski in Brooklyn, NY in 1897.

Back some time ago I wrote to St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in Brooklyn to ask for information about the marriage of Franciszka Jankowska and Wladyslaw Kolasinski. They were married on August 14, 1897. I was told that Wladysław Kolasinski parents were JAKUB KOLASINSKI MARIANNA RYBACKA and Franciszka Jankowska parents were JOZEF JANKOWSKI and ANTONIA STECHHOLZ. Their witnesses were Walenty Jabłoński and Józef Jankowski. This confirms that Józef was present in Brooklyn for their wedding.

Multiple records for Franciszka Jankowska state that she is from Plock, however, I have been unable to confirm this. I contacted the Secretariat in Plock and they replied: "Informujemy, że sprawdzono akta parafii rzymskokatolickiej i ewangelicko-

augsburskiej w Płocku tj. indeks osób urodzonych w 1876 i 1887 roku i nie odnaleziono aktu urodzenia Franciszki Jankowskiej oraz Stanisławy Jankowskiej" (We would like to inform you that the records of the Roman Catholic and Evangelical-Augsburg parishes in Płock, i.e. the index of people born in 1876 and 1887, have been checked and the birth certificates of Franciszka Jankowska and Stanisława Jankowska have not been found). Ok another deadend.
 

I created this map using what information I have.
Light blue: Dalecka/Kulenska line (my great-grandmother) - there is no evidence that the Dalecka/Jankowska lines crossed in Poland. 

Orange: Jankowska line (DNA matches to descendants of Franciszka and DNA matches)
Red: Kolasinski line (married Franciszka Jankowska)
Brown: Nadwodny (my grandfather's last name - but no DNA matches in any database).

Dark blue: Jozefowicz line

Green: Unknown line (DNA match to Antonina)

I followed the FBP line (match to multiple descendants of Franciszka) to Antonia Szczechowicz (b. 1855). So the dates match. And when I checked the pronunciation of Szczechowicz it sounds a lot like Stechholz. I also have several matches on the Jankowska line that are from "West Prussia", which is consistent with the location of the orange markers and the Germanic name. However, neither my mom, nor MC nor RO and JO nor FBP have any German ethnicity. KK has 24% but that likely comes from the Frick line.

 

As noted previously, Józef immigrated with Stanislawa in 1895, when she was 10. Stefania was born to Józef and Antonina Szczechowicz in 1893, Stefania died in 1894. Could Antonina also have died? Is why Józef immigrated to the US and Stanisława was living with her sister in 1900? 

I paid for a search of the marriage record of Franciszka Jankowska and Wladyslaw Kolasinski since it isn't available on the NYC database.  Unfortunately, a marriage recrod for Franciszka and Wladyslaw has not been located, so another deadend. 

 

So who is Joannes' father? I used the DNA matches on DNAPainter to check the hypothesis that either Józef or a son is Joannes' father. The hypotheses have equal weight and at this point I have not been able to confirm the presence of a son. And so, my working hypothesis is Józef Jankowski is Joannes' father.

Update 5/17/2026: I added the Józefowicz line to the same DNAPainter tree, but making Józef Jankowski the father of Stella and Franciszka Jankowska and also Ignacy, Jan, and Franciszka Józefowicz. When I do this, DNAPainter generates the hypothesis that an unknown child of  Józef Jankowski is the biological father of Jonas Nadwodny.  All other hypotheses have probabilities of less than 1%. The program predicts with a 93% probability that an unknown child of  Józef would be the father of Jonas and brother to Stella and Franciszka. It predicts that this unknown child was the half-sibling of Ignacy, Jan, and Franciszka Józefowicz. I can't see any other way that the two clans converge. Jonas' father is either with Józef Jankowski or Jan Józefowicz. Since the Jankowski and Józefowicz were from the same area of Mazowieckie, Poland, it is quite possible that Józef or Jan fathered all seven children.   It's also interesting that the all of the seven children immigrated to the US.  Either that or those left in Poland have not tested on any site that I'm aware of.