Photo: Zofia Szczerba and Jozef Mirota on their wedding day
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The surname Mirota is known to have been in use, in written form, as early as the 12th century. It is not a common surname. In a recent search on Forebears, 565 people in the world currently have the surname Mirota, most of whom live in Poland.
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Jozef Peter Mirota
birth - Pławna, Poland (under Austrian Rule) 26 April, 1882
death - Whitehouse Station. New Jersey 18 Sept 1961
Jozef Peter Mirota was born in Pławna probably on or about 26 April 1882. A couple of records have a different date.
His father was Jacob Mirota (1835-1904) and his mother was Małgorzata Tabiś (1844-1927). Małgorzata was the daughter of Anton Tabiś (1816-?) and Agnes Gucwa (1822-?) of the neighboring village of Zborowice. Jozef Mirota left Pławna in 1906 after having served his two years in the Austrian Army. He is wearing his military uniform in this photo. From the uniform and battalion badge on his left breast the unit he served in was identified as the IR Nr. 20 Neu Sandez (Nowy Sacz), that is the 3d Battalion of 20th Infantry Regiments, during Austrian ruled Poland. He most likely did his military service around 1904-1905. That would have been a scary time to be in the army. As all Polish men could be called back to serve again in the Austrian army at any time, many left Poland as soon as they could. Jozef was very much afraid that with the unrest in Poland and Eastern Europe that was a very real possibility for him. Perhaps he had saved some army money to pay for his rail ticket to Hamburg and his passenger ticket to America, but he left his beloved Poland and his family in order to survive and have a better life. What we do know is that Jozef Mirota emigrated from Poland in 1906, From his naturalization records, Jozef stated that he had sailed to the US from Hamburg Germany on the vessel S. S. Patricia (Hamburg America Line) on or about the 11th day of 1906, and he arrived at the port of New York on the 24th day of November 1906. From there he would have taken another train out to Pittsburg, where he would have either been met by a friend or again found some way to travel (perhaps he walked or caught a ride with a farmer returned from the market) to Cherry Valley, PA where he had been told by his childhood friend Jan Popiela, who had emigrated to Cherry Valley PA ahead of him, that there were jobs to be had in the coals mines of Western Pennsylvania. Jozef was not keen on working in a coal mine, but it was a job and he could save money to buy his own small farm in America. His job turned out to be a "fireman," which meant you put out the fires in the mine. He knew if he didn't save enough money to buy a farm he would die in a fire in the mine shaft some day. That was incentive enough to save every penny he could. Fortunately under Austrian rule the Polish were allowed to continue to speak and study the Polish language. In the other partitions of Poland the government forced the Polish people to learn and speak German or Russian, depending on the territory. Someone said Jozef's mother was a teacher, but we aren't sure of that. We do know that he could read and write in Polish so someone taught him. He read the Polish newspaper every week and that is how he came to notice the advertisement for a 15 acre farm in Whitehouse Station, Hunterdon County, New Jersey. And the town was on the Central New Jersey Railroad line, making it easy for him to travel there from the the station in Pittsburg. (Guide to Polish Newspapers in America https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/196301/AGuidetoPolishAmericanNewspapersandPeriodicalsinMicroformOCR.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |
thThe Mirota ancestors Researching our ancestors in the "Galician" region of Austrian occupied areas in Poland was made easier since the Roman Catholic Church records during this time period under Austrian rule were kept in Latin in a log format. Prior to that time the church records were written in a journal format in Polish, and that would require a strong knowledge of 18th century written Polish and a lot of fortitude on the researcher's part. The parish priest listed each family by a house number, and since families tended to stay put, we began to realize the house number was a research tool to identifying our ancestors. Our Mirota family was assigned house number 4 Pławna. This town is next to Zborowice, in the Tarnow district of Malopolskie. Our Mirota family history starts in Pławna, Galicia, Poland. Pławna [ˈpwavna] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ciężkowice, within Tarnów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. The area is known as Małopolska (Little Poland). The village lies in the foothills of the Carpathian mountains, a few kilometers west of Zborowice and approximately 50 miles east of Krakow. The train goes through Pławna and even before that, it was along an important trade route. Yet the poor farm families of this region tended to band tightly together, suspect of outsiders. At present there are only a few houses left in the village of Pławna. The Third Partition of Poland took place in 1795 when this territory was annexed by the Habsburg Monarchy, And our story starts in that same year as it marks the first record we were able to find for our Mirota family. Fortunately for our ancestors, the Austrian government gave them more freedoms than the other territories of Poland were allowed under German and Russian rule. Poles in this region were allowed to speak their own language, become educated, and retain some administrative autonomy in exchange for their loyalty to Austria. At the time he emigrated. the area of Poland that he lived in was still under Austrian rule. The first city to be liberated from Hapsburg control was Krakow in 1918. The Polish Roman Catholic Church baptism, marriage and death records during the third partition of Poland are recorded in tabular form and written in latin, including the names. As difficult as it is to read them, each record includes so many more important details than the limited amount of information you may find through Ancestry.com or FamilySearch, including house number (each house had a number assigned by the Parish Priest), names of parents, godparents, grandparents, occupations of each, sometimes notations on the baptism record may indicate the death date, especially important to the researcher if a person died in childhood. A baptism record might also include the name and date the person got married, as the priest kept track this way. If a woman was unmarried when she gave birth, her name is included, as are the names of her parents and the godparents, but the father's name is generally not written down. On the marriage records, if a person was previously married, the surname of the first spouse may also be written on the record. As both men and women remarried within six months of the death of a spouse, this is again extremely important information. You won't find it on Ancestry or Family Search. You have to see the actual record. On top of that, whoever is "transcribing" the Polish Roman Catholic Church records neither has Polish nor Latin language experience. The transcriptions are horrid. So just use these as hints and hopefully you will. be able some day to read the actual microfilmed copies. That said, the microfilms are poorly filmed and often images are very hard to see. Someone should go back to those original records and re-film them someday. The Roman Catholic church records for Plawna and Zborowice are part of the LDS Microfilms #2064570 and #2064571. Note: we have both of those microfilms on permanent loan at our local Family History Center. If you have an ancestor who lived in these or nearby villages Genealogy Sisters can do a church record look-up once the FHC opens up to the public again. |
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Pławna. House Number 4, First Generation.
The earliest record we found for the Mirota family was for Jan Mirota and comes from his death record in the microfilms of the Roman Catholic Church for that village. Jan Mirota died on 21 January 1795 in Pławna. His age was reported to be 70, from which we calculate his birth to be about 1725. |
Pławna. House Number 4, Second Generation
Jan's son Jozef Mirota was born about 1758. He was married to Catherine Skzabosc (names of her parents are unknown).The couple had at least six children; including Margarita, Sebastian, Francisca, Mariana, Adalbert "Wojciech", and Martin. Jozef Mirota died on August 13, 1828. |
Pławna. House Number 4, Third Generation
First born of Jozef Mirota and his wife Catherine Skabosc appears to be Margarita Mirota, born on or about her baptism day of 20 May 1789. Her godparents were Paulus Mirota and Teresa Zazasina. No death date found.
Their next child was named Sebastian Mirota. He was born on or about 20 May 1789. His godparents were Paulus Mirota and Teresa Zazasina. Nothing else is known of Sebastian.
Their third child was Francisca Mirota who was born on or about 2 March 1791 Her godparents were Paulus Mirota and Dorotha Komorhis. Francisca died on 4 February 1794, not quite three years old.
Mariana Mirota was born 14 March 1793. She died later that year.
Adalbert "Wojciech" Mirota (Adalbert is the Latin name used in place of the polish name Wojciech, which is translated to either Albert or Walter in English. Adalbert was born 14 April 1794. He married Salome Ksiazek (b. about 1792) on 7 February 1821. Her parents were Kristoph Ksiazek and Mariana Ligcza. Adalbert and Salome had at least two children whose baptism records we were able to find. These two children were Agnes Mirota (1823-1823) and Magdelana Mirota (b. 4 July 1826). Adalbert and Salome's death dates are unknown to us.
Their sixth child was our ancestor Martin Mirota (1796 - 1867). Martin was born on or about 27 October 1796. His godparents were Petrus Gucwa (hortelanus) and Joanna (unreadable surname). Petrus Gucwa's occupation was described in latin as "hortelanus".
Martin Mirota was married four times. He first married Marianna Bochenek on 4 November 1823. Marianna Bochenek was born in Pławna on 11 November 1802 and she apparently died prior to 1836, when Martin remarried. From his first marriage to Marianna Bochenek, Martin had five children, including Catarina, Magdalena, Francisca, Jacob, and Adalbertus. Jacob is our ancestor. He lived in House #4 his entire life.
After Marianna's death Martin married Lucia Urban of Plawna on 24 January 1836. Lucia was born about 1802 and her parents were Joseph and Catherine Urban. Martin and Lucia had two children, Anna Mirota and Marianna Mirota. Lucia died prior to July 1854.
Martin Mirota again married on 20 July 1854, this time to Apolonia "Pauline" Majcher, daughter of Joannis Majcher and Franciska Gasior. Martin and Apolonia had two sons, Jozef Mirota and Andreas MIrota. Apolonia died on 21 January 1867.
In August 1867 Martin married a fourth and final time. His last wife was Franciska Rudczonka. They did not have any children together. Martin Mirota died a few months later, on 30 November 1867 in house #4. He was 71.
First born of Jozef Mirota and his wife Catherine Skabosc appears to be Margarita Mirota, born on or about her baptism day of 20 May 1789. Her godparents were Paulus Mirota and Teresa Zazasina. No death date found.
Their next child was named Sebastian Mirota. He was born on or about 20 May 1789. His godparents were Paulus Mirota and Teresa Zazasina. Nothing else is known of Sebastian.
Their third child was Francisca Mirota who was born on or about 2 March 1791 Her godparents were Paulus Mirota and Dorotha Komorhis. Francisca died on 4 February 1794, not quite three years old.
Mariana Mirota was born 14 March 1793. She died later that year.
Adalbert "Wojciech" Mirota (Adalbert is the Latin name used in place of the polish name Wojciech, which is translated to either Albert or Walter in English. Adalbert was born 14 April 1794. He married Salome Ksiazek (b. about 1792) on 7 February 1821. Her parents were Kristoph Ksiazek and Mariana Ligcza. Adalbert and Salome had at least two children whose baptism records we were able to find. These two children were Agnes Mirota (1823-1823) and Magdelana Mirota (b. 4 July 1826). Adalbert and Salome's death dates are unknown to us.
Their sixth child was our ancestor Martin Mirota (1796 - 1867). Martin was born on or about 27 October 1796. His godparents were Petrus Gucwa (hortelanus) and Joanna (unreadable surname). Petrus Gucwa's occupation was described in latin as "hortelanus".
Martin Mirota was married four times. He first married Marianna Bochenek on 4 November 1823. Marianna Bochenek was born in Pławna on 11 November 1802 and she apparently died prior to 1836, when Martin remarried. From his first marriage to Marianna Bochenek, Martin had five children, including Catarina, Magdalena, Francisca, Jacob, and Adalbertus. Jacob is our ancestor. He lived in House #4 his entire life.
After Marianna's death Martin married Lucia Urban of Plawna on 24 January 1836. Lucia was born about 1802 and her parents were Joseph and Catherine Urban. Martin and Lucia had two children, Anna Mirota and Marianna Mirota. Lucia died prior to July 1854.
Martin Mirota again married on 20 July 1854, this time to Apolonia "Pauline" Majcher, daughter of Joannis Majcher and Franciska Gasior. Martin and Apolonia had two sons, Jozef Mirota and Andreas MIrota. Apolonia died on 21 January 1867.
In August 1867 Martin married a fourth and final time. His last wife was Franciska Rudczonka. They did not have any children together. Martin Mirota died a few months later, on 30 November 1867 in house #4. He was 71.
"Jacob drinks, Joseph drinks, we all drink! If you don't drink, we'll beat you with a stick!" Polish drinking song Pije Kuba do Jakuba.
My grandfather, Jozef Mirota taught me this song when I was a little girl so that I wouldn't forget his name was Jozef and that his father's name was Jacob. I learned in in Polish, phonetically, and except for the two names I had no idea what I was singing about.
Jacob Mirota was born in Pławna Poland on 22 July 1835 in House #4. On 28 October 1863 he married Małgorzata (Margaret) Tabiś (1 May 1844 - 20 February 1927) who was from the neighboring town of Zborowice. Her parents were Antonin Tabiś (1816-1897) and Agnes Gucwa (1822-1856). More about the Tabiś and Gucwa families of Zborowice will be written on their own pages in future days to come. When Jacob and Małgorzata were married, a relative named Jan Oroff was one of the witnesses. I haven't found the common ancestor yet, but his descendants are DNA matches with our family.
Jacob & Małgorzata had 9 children together. In a place and time where infant mortality is extremely high, only one of their children did not survive past infancy, that was their son Jan, who died at the age of 7 months in June 1872. Tomas was the oldest, born 8 Dec 1864. We believe he immigrated to Sao Paulo, Brazil but have not found the passenger record or any papers on his arrival there. His brother Jozef wrote to him many times from America, often sending what little bit of money he could to help Tomas immigrate to America. At some point Jozef stopped sending him money and Tomas stopped sending letters. We think, but are not positive, that Tomas married a Brazilian woman and had children whose descendants are still living in Brazil.
My grandfather, Jozef Mirota taught me this song when I was a little girl so that I wouldn't forget his name was Jozef and that his father's name was Jacob. I learned in in Polish, phonetically, and except for the two names I had no idea what I was singing about.
Jacob Mirota was born in Pławna Poland on 22 July 1835 in House #4. On 28 October 1863 he married Małgorzata (Margaret) Tabiś (1 May 1844 - 20 February 1927) who was from the neighboring town of Zborowice. Her parents were Antonin Tabiś (1816-1897) and Agnes Gucwa (1822-1856). More about the Tabiś and Gucwa families of Zborowice will be written on their own pages in future days to come. When Jacob and Małgorzata were married, a relative named Jan Oroff was one of the witnesses. I haven't found the common ancestor yet, but his descendants are DNA matches with our family.
Jacob & Małgorzata had 9 children together. In a place and time where infant mortality is extremely high, only one of their children did not survive past infancy, that was their son Jan, who died at the age of 7 months in June 1872. Tomas was the oldest, born 8 Dec 1864. We believe he immigrated to Sao Paulo, Brazil but have not found the passenger record or any papers on his arrival there. His brother Jozef wrote to him many times from America, often sending what little bit of money he could to help Tomas immigrate to America. At some point Jozef stopped sending him money and Tomas stopped sending letters. We think, but are not positive, that Tomas married a Brazilian woman and had children whose descendants are still living in Brazil.
