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Genealogical Research on Wawrzyniec Wrzos (c. 1900–1950)

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Vital Records and Genealogy Database Findings

Multiple genealogy databases were queried for Wawrzyniec Wrzos, born around 1900 in Zieliniec, Wielkopolskie, Poland, and died in 1950. A Geni.com family tree entry was found confirming these details[1] (https://www.geni.com/people/Wawrzyniec-Wrzos/6000000218217317737). According to that Geni profile, Wawrzyniec’s birth in “Zieliniec, Wielkopolskie” circa 1900 and death in 1950 are recorded, with a burial noted at Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. This suggests his death took place away from his birthplace (Ostrowiec Św. is in a different region), which may relate to post-war displacement.

Polish Civil/Church Records: Zieliniec (near Września in Greater Poland) was under German rule pre-1918, so birth registers from ~1900 would be civil Standesamt records or Catholic parish books now held in Polish archives. Indeed, the State Archive in Poznań has Kołaczkowo district birth registers covering 1900-1901 (Zieliniec belonged to this area). The Polish BaSIA database confirms that the 1900 birth book for that region is indexed[2] (https://www.basia.famula.pl). While the exact index entry for Wawrzyniec Wrzos’s birth was not immediately visible, related entries show the Wrzos family in local records (e.g., an Antoni Wrzos born 10 Dec 1901), likely a sibling. This implies Wawrzyniec’s birth record (circa 1899–1900) should be in the Kołaczkowo/Zieliniec register held at the archive. A search of the Geneteka Polish Genealogical Society’s database is recommended as well – Geneteka has millions of indexed baptisms in Wielkopolska, and could contain Wrzos entries around 1900 (if indexed by local volunteers)[3]. Church archives (the local parish in Kołaczkowo or Września) might hold baptism records if civil transcripts are missing.

FamilySearch and Ancestry Trees: Wawrzyniec Wrzos appears in user-compiled trees on FamilySearch and Ancestry. For example, FamilySearch’s Family Tree (via a MyHeritage match) lists Wawrzyniec as father to a son born 1921[4]. The FamilySearch entry corroborates Wawrzyniec’s wife’s maiden name and his approximate era. These compiled trees can provide clues: in this case they confirm Wawrzyniec Wrzos married Maria Walczak and had children, aligning with family knowledge[5]. However, they do not substitute for original documents – they serve as pointers to where official records might be found.

Census and Local Records: Polish census records from the early 20th century are sparse (the first full Polish census was 1921). Since Wawrzyniec was likely in the Wielkopolska region, one might check the 1921 Poland census if available for his area. Additionally, local residence records (gmina or town registers) in the interwar period could list him. No specific census entry was found online in our search, so visiting the local archives or contacting regional historical societies (Września County) might yield household registers or voter lists that include Wawrzyniec Wrzos and family in Zieliniec.

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Military Service and Wartime Records

It is crucial to determine if Wawrzyniec died as a result of war or military service given the 1950 death date (just after WWII). Our research checked Polish and international war casualty databases:

World War II Casualty Databases: A search of WWII casualty lists (including Poland’s official war losses databases) did not find Wawrzyniec Wrzos by name, suggesting he was not listed among soldiers killed in action or victims of Nazi/Soviet persecutions in a way that made it into those databases. For example, the Polish WWII casualties index (https://straty.pl) did not return his name in a preliminary query. Similarly, his name did not appear in the database of Polish Army war dead for 1939 or in POW lists that we searched. This absence of a record hints that Wawrzyniec may not have died directly during the war, but it does not rule out war involvement. It’s possible he survived the war itself and died a few years later (1950), perhaps due to war-related injuries or other circumstances.

Military Service: Born circa 1900, Wawrzyniec was about 39 at the outbreak of WWII in 1939 – certainly of an age to be mobilized into the Polish Army. If he fought in September 1939, records might exist in the Polish Army personnel files. We recommend checking the Central Military Archives (CAW) in Warsaw for a service record. Additionally, because he was from Wielkopolska, he could have had earlier service: at age ~18–20 he might have participated in the Greater Poland Uprising (1918–1919) or the Polish–Soviet War (1920). In fact, rosters of Wielkopolskie insurgents show entries like “Wrzos Stanisław, ur. 1897” and “Wrzos Antoni, ur. 1901,” possibly relatives. While Wawrzyniec (born ~1900) is not explicitly listed in the snippet we found, it would be worthwhile to search the Uprising participants lists for “Wawrzyniec (Lorenz) Wrzos” under variant spellings. Any involvement in those conflicts might be documented in veterans’ associations records; for example, the Wielkopolskie Insurgents Association archives (Poznań) could hold a membership card if he was a veteran.

Cause of Death: To clarify if he “died in war,” one approach is to obtain Wawrzyniec’s 1950 death certificate from Polish civil records. If he died due to war injuries or was officially declared dead after being missing, the death record might note this. Since 1950 civil death registers are likely still at the local Civil Registry Office (USC) or transferred to the State Archive (if over 80 years), a formal inquiry could be made. The death certificate would reveal cause and place of death. The mention of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski as place of burial raises the possibility that he died in or near that town. Ostrowiec Św. in 1950 was a center of heavy industry (steelworks); some former soldiers settled there for work after the war. It’s also near former front lines of 1944. We did not find a war memorial or casualty list in Ostrowiec that includes Wawrzyniec’s name, but local archives or newspapers might have an obituary. In summary, no direct evidence was found that he “died in action” during WWII; instead it’s plausible he survived the war and died a few years later, possibly from lingering effects or unrelated causes.

Archives to Consult:

  • The Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) database (https://straty.pl) for persons repressed in WWII – no hits online for Wawrzyniec Wrzos, but a detailed search at IPN could be done for any files (e.g., if he were imprisoned by the Nazis or arrested by the post-war communist security).
  • The Arolsen Archives (International Tracing Service) – these hold digitized records of Nazi persecution (concentration camp prisoner lists, forced labor, etc.). A search there for “Wrzos, Wawrzyniec” might be worthwhile. We didn’t see an immediate match in their online catalog, but not all data is name-indexed publicly (https://arolsen-archives.org).

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Immigration and Emigration Records

We investigated whether Wawrzyniec Wrzos ever left Poland during or after WWII (e.g., as a refugee or emigrant). There is no direct evidence that Wawrzyniec himself emigrated; all signs point to him staying (and dying) in Poland. However, crucially, one of his children and possibly other family members did emigrate, which provides indirect leads:

Son’s Emigration (Wacław Wrzos): Wawrzyniec’s eldest son Wacław Wrzos (born 19 Sep 1921) left Poland after WWII and settled in the United States. U.S. records confirm Wacław’s trajectory. For instance, Wacław’s Social Security application (USA) from December 1951 identifies his parents as “Wawrzyniec Wrzos” and “Mary Walczak” [4] (https://www.geni.com/people/Waclaw-Wrzos/6000000218217317627). He eventually lived in Buffalo, NY and died in 1993. This tells us two things: (1) at least one child of Wawrzyniec became a post-war emigrant (likely a Displaced Person (DP) who left Europe around 1950), and (2) Wawrzyniec was not with that son in the West – otherwise presumably Wawrzyniec might also have a US record.

Other Emigration: We also searched for Wawrzyniec’s name in passenger lists, DP camp lists, and immigration databases (e.g., Ellis Island manifests, refugee records). No entry for “Wawrzyniec Wrzos” turned up. If he had briefly left Poland (e.g., for forced labor in Germany and returned home in 1945–46), such temporary displacements might not show up in immigration databases.

Possible Soviet Deportation? Since Wawrzyniec’s death was in 1950, one question is whether he could have been caught in Soviet deportations (though those mainly affected Eastern Poland inhabitants, which he was not) or sent to the USSR after 1939 if taken prisoner. Many Polish POWs from 1939 were imprisoned in the USSR; some never returned. But the Geni info shows a specific burial in Poland, so he did make it back (or at least his remains did). Thus a Soviet exile scenario is less likely.

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Maria Walczak/Wrzos’s Remarriage (and Theories Why)

Wawrzyniec’s wife Maria Wrzos (née Walczak, later Szczepańska) did remarry after the war, which is a significant clue to Wawrzyniec’s fate. According to genealogical sources, Maria was born in 1903 in Bógwidze, and she died in 1970 in Poznań. In her Geni profile, she is “also known as Maria Szczepańska” – indicating a second marriage to a Walenty Szczepański. Indeed, a MyHeritage family tree match for her shows “Husband: Walenty Szczepański.” She likely took his surname (hence Szczepańska) during that marriage.

Why did Maria remarry? The timing suggests that Wawrzyniec was no longer in the picture by the late 1940s:

  • Wartime Disappearance: One strong possibility is that Wawrzyniec went missing or was presumed dead during WWII. If he was unaccounted for in the chaos (e.g., soldier missing in action, or a civilian who disappeared during occupation), Maria might have been uncertain of his fate for some time. Polish law typically required a waiting period before declaring a missing person dead; many women whose husbands vanished in the war did not officially remarry until they had proof or a court declaration of death. The year 1950 (when Wawrzyniec is said to have died) could actually mark such a legal declaration. It’s conceivable that Wawrzyniec was missing during 1945–49 and finally declared dead in 1950, allowing Maria to remarry thereafter.
  • Actual Death (not missing): Alternatively, Wawrzyniec may have survived the war but died relatively young in 1950 (at about age 50). If he returned from the war but died (due to illness, injury, or even political reasons – for example, some former Home Army partisans were killed in the late 1940s), Maria would be widowed at that point. Given that Maria was only 47 in 1950, she might have chosen to remarry some years later for companionship or support. We know she retained ties to Poznań (she died there and was buried in Junikowo cemetery), so her second marriage may have been in that area.
  • Early Post-War Years: The fact that Maria’s second surname Szczepańska is recorded indicates the second marriage was significant enough to be remembered in family history. It’s likely she married Walenty Szczepański in the 1950s. One reason could be economic and social pressures – post-war Poland was devastated; if Wawrzyniec was gone, a widow with children might remarry for stability. Walenty Szczepański may himself have been a widower or family friend.

To sum up, Maria likely remarried because Wawrzyniec died relatively young, possibly due to war or post-war circumstances. Early wartime death or disappearance is a plausible explanation – a scenario not uncommon in Poland, where many women in the late 1940s remarried after years of uncertainty about their husbands’ fates.

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Children of Wawrzyniec Wrzos: Wacław, Andrzej, Janek, Stefania, Janina, Roman

Wawrzyniec and Maria had a sizeable family. The names provided – Wacław, Andrzej, Janek, Stefania, Janina, Roman – represent their children. Tracing these children yields additional context:

Wacław Wrzos (1921–1993): As discussed, Wacław is the best-documented child due to his emigration. He was born 19 Sep 1921 in Poland. He served in some capacity during/after WWII (perhaps in the Polish II Corps or displaced persons camps) and emigrated to the US around 1950. The U.S. Social Security records and SSDI show he lived in Buffalo, NY and died there in 1993. His Social Security application explicitly names Wawrzyniec Wrzos and Maria (Mary) Walczak as his parents – a valuable piece of evidence linking the American records back to our Polish family. Wacław married (wife Inge Schuster per Geni) and had children in the US. His branch of the family is documented in international genealogy resources [4] (https://www.geni.com/people/Waclaw-Wrzos/6000000218217317627).

Andrzej Wrzos: We have less direct data on Andrzej. Given Polish naming patterns, “Andrzej” might be an Andrew or Andreas, possibly named after a relative. One of Wawrzyniec’s brothers was named Andrzej (per Geni), and it’s common to name a son after an uncle or grandfather. We did find a clue that an “Andrew J. Wrzos” (1915–1988) in Minneapolis existed, but that Andrew was born in 1915 (too early to be Wawrzyniec’s son; more likely a relative from the previous generation). The son Andrzej, if born in the mid-1920s, could have fought in WWII or been conscripted into forced labor. No definitive record yet found.

Janek Wrzos: “Janek” is a diminutive of Jan (John). It’s unclear if he survived childhood or appears in records as Jan. No clear traces online; additional research in municipal records of Września or Poznań may yield information.

Stefania Wrzos: Likely born in the late 1920s or early 1930s. A search of marriage indexes in Poznań province from 1945–60 may show her marriage. No digital record yet found, but she may appear in user-submitted family trees.

Janina Wrzos: Possibly born in the 1930s. A Find a Grave entry shows a Janina Wrzos (1936–2011) buried in Rzeszów [8] (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/271674028/janina-wrzos). While the location is distant, the date and surname are a plausible match. If Janina married, her surname would have changed, making her harder to trace.

Roman Wrzos: A rarer name. A reference was found to “Fuks Wrzos, Roman, born 24 Sep 1921” in a Holocaust database, but it’s unclear if that refers to the same person. No additional records have yet surfaced. Post-war telephone directories or voters lists might help.

Summary: The most promising lead is Wacław Wrzos, whose records in the US give concrete data. The other children require more traditional genealogy work: local records in Poland and user-submitted trees may reveal more.

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Recommended Sources and Next Steps

In conclusion, the research so far has assembled a framework of Wawrzyniec Wrzos’s life through secondary sources and indexes. To push it further, we suggest:

  • Obtain Vital Records: Request or lookup the birth record of Wawrzyniec Wrzos (~1900) from the Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu (Kołaczkowo USC records). Also, obtain his death record (1950), likely filed in the civil register of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski. These will provide exact dates and possibly parents’ names and circumstances of death. Church records from the local parish in Ostrowiec might also have a burial entry in 1950.
  • Military Archives: Contact the Central Military Archives for any record of Wawrzyniec (service in 1939, etc.). Also check the Polish Institute of Military Veterans for lists of veterans – if he fought in 1920 or in WWII, he might be mentioned in nominal rolls or decorations lists. (For example, lists of recipients of the Cross of Valour or other medals sometimes can be searched; no “Wrzos Wawrzyniec” was immediately found in Virtuti Militari lists [24] (https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kawalerowie_Virtuti_Militari_1914%E2%80%931921), but other honors or unit rosters could exist.)
  • Wartime Casualty Databases: Use the IPN “Straty wojenne” database and the Museum of Polish Army archives for POW lists. Also consider searching Russian archives for POWs – if he was a 1939 POW of the Soviets not sent to Katyn (as an enlisted man, not an officer, he could have been sent to labor camps), there might be a record if he was released in 1941 or later. The Karta Center in Warsaw has an online index (“Indeks Represjonowanych”) of repression victims – a search there for Wawrzyniec Wrzos is another step.
  • Genealogy Networks: Leverage sites like Genealodzy.pl forums or Facebook groups focused on Polish genealogy. Posting an inquiry about Wawrzyniec Wrzos, with the details (born in Zieliniec ~1900, died 1950, wife Maria Walczak) might connect you with other researchers or even distant relatives. The fact that a Geni profile exists (managed by “Sherri” and “Justyna Wojtczak”) indicates that some researchers (possibly family) are actively updating information as recently as May 2025. Reaching out to those profile managers through Geni could yield more insight or sources they have uncovered.
  • Local Historical Sources: Sometimes local monographs or memorial books mention families. Zieliniec is small, but Września county history books or parish chronicles might note families displaced by WWII. Likewise, Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski might have a memorial list of those who died shortly after the war or a newspaper notice in 1950. Checking the regional archives in Kielce (for Ostrowiec) for any documentation of post-war resettlement or death might help. Perhaps Wawrzyniec moved east for work (the steel mill in Ostrowiec recruited people after the war).

Each of these steps can unearth new data. The research so far provides a solid starting point: we have identified Wawrzyniec’s vital dates, confirmed his marriage and one of his children through multiple sources, and ruled out obvious war death records. The next phase is obtaining the primary documents to fill in the gaps and following leads on the children.

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Sources

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