My name is Brian Paul Kaess. I currently live in Las Villas, Durango, Mexico, but I hail from Chicago, 'City of the Big Shoulders.' So I grew up a 'happy' Anglophone. My Paternal Grandmother (or 'babcia') Dorothea 'Doris' Dorschke (1922-1951) was from the Prussian Partition, notably Upper Silesia (now Poland). Her birth name was Dorothea Drożdżok. She later changed her surname to Dorschke, before marrying Paul Ernst Kaess on March 14, 1944 in the Johannes der Täufer (St. John the Baptist) Ostrog Catholic Church in Ratibor (now Raciborz, Poland) during wartime [1]. See their Marriage photo[2]. I have been researching my Polish ancestors since about 2013- especially after I came into contact with Heike Dorschke on facebook, who I am related to by marriage. She put me in touch with my 2nd Cousin Melanie Dorschke in Hamm, NRW, and thereafter a wealth of information began to flow. It was Melanie and her dad Uwe Dorschke who, after sifting through photos for what seemed like a week, sent me some gems such as the photos of Dorothea and her brother Arnold Dorschke (1925-1945) (both shown)[3]. The photo of Arnold is the only one known to exist.

   While visiting my Family in Europe in 1990, I was told by my Grandpa Paul and Half-Aunt Arnhild Kaess that his 1st wife Doris was Polish. Some of the Dorschke Family members were Displaced Persons from the East after WWII and fled to West Germany. These folks started to clue me in on the family. My Cousins Inge Dorschke and her daughter Tatianna Christmann Pösler were helpful in that regard. I even had a chance to meet Eduard Viktor Dorschke, my Granduncle, and place flowers on Doris' grave. He showed me his late-model Mercedes-Benz sedan, which he was indeed proud of!  My 2nd Cousin Boris Christmann took me to a Pizza Parlor in Ludwigsburg during that vacation. It shows that many people in Germany have some Polish ancestry. After this, many years later, with the help of Elizabeth Kissel, a German Translator based in Australia, I was able to relocate the November 10, 1914 Marriage record of my Gr. Grandpa Viktor Drosdzok (later Dorschke) and Marie Kokot, which occurred in Markowitz, Kreis Ratibor[4]. From the Bundesarchiv, I leaned that Viktor Dorschke had changed his surname and that of his children from Drozdzok to Dorschke in 1934 while the family was living in Upper Silesia. It was an inquiry to Kirchlicher Suchdienst, a Catholic Church Tracing Service, that allowed me to learn the Death date of Marie Kokot (March 4, 1948). I learned the towns my ancestors were from included Hohenbirken (Brzezie) and Adamowitz. 

   I located Dorothea's Polish Birth Certificate in 2013 through the Katowice State Archives Branch in Raciborz with the help of Krzysztof Langer, an Archivist there[5]. It confirmed the birthdate (January 30, 1922 in Hohenbirken (Brzezie)) I had seen on secondary sources. 

   In 2022, my 3rd Cousin Johanna helped me make further progress when she handed me a tranche of documents related to Dorothea's Mom Marie Kokot (1897-1948)[6]. She still lives in the house (in Adamowice, Poland) that my Gr. Granduncle Leon Kokot built many years ago. Then I started adding many further surnames on her side of the family and the tree began to grow! These surnames include Kokott, Piela, Niewrzoł, Broża, Syrnik, Klima, Swienty, Schneider, Stallmach, Kordula, Pielczyk, Kloshek, and so on. I added another town Lukow in Kreis Rybnik.  

   Furthermore, in 2023, I received a lot of help with Polish records from Julie Busse at the Wilmette Familysearch Center in Illinois[7]. This helped me piece the Kokot side of the family together nicely. 

   It was the Dorschke/Drosdzok/Drożdżok/Mandrisch side of the family that was a bit more pesky. I was trying to break through this 'brick wall' for seven years, when it finally started to crack in 2024. I got help from Dr. Wojciech Schäffer,  Director of the Catholic Church Archives in Katowice, after reading fruitful posts at Genealodzy.pl[8]; Also helpful was Barbara Piasecka of Polish Origins, who helped me obtain some civil records and direct/collateral ancestor vital dates. Kasia Rutkowska of Polish Genius handed me a Marriage record for Georg Manderla & Marie Boron, dated to 1847 from Pschow, Rybnik, but Arturro, a contributor at Genealodzy.pl stressed that this was likely not the correct marriage record for Johanna Buroń & Georg Mandrisch. The surnames, he believed, were for different couples from different locations. So I discarded the marriage record, but kept looking at her baptism and OFB record which still seemed viable. But before his astute remarks, I went down a 'rabbit hole' and delved into Czech/Moravian/Slovak Genealogy for awhile. But thankfully, on December 31, 2024, dr Wojciech Schäffer, Diretor at the Katowice Regional Church Archives, stated that Georg Mandrisch & Johanna Buron were married on September 27, 1843 in Pogrzebien, Silesia. The groom, a bachelor, was 22, and the bride was 15. Therefore, the 'marriage' problem was solved, as a Protestant missionary might say. As a result of some of these findings, I have dug back to at least the 3rd-7th Gr. Grandparents on the Drozdzok/Mandrisch/Buroń side.  

   So, new surnames now include Droszdzok, Buroń, Niestroy, Klemenz, Zemelka, Kapusczik (Kapuścik), &  Koziel. Furthermore, using info from an OFB for Makau und Polnisch Krawarn Kr. Ratibor, I was able to locate an ancestor (Rosalia Koziel) who was married to Pawel/Paul Kapusczik, and they also had an additional child listed in the OFB: Josepha Kapuscik.  It was suspected that Rosalia Koziel could be a duplicate for a Rosalia Kosnin/Koziel/Kozlick from Kr. Lublinitz, but their children's birth ages appeared to overlap, so the Lublinitz Rosalia Kosnin is likely not our direct ancestor. Summing up, there has been wonderful progress on the Dorschke/Drosdozk/Drozdzok /Mandrisch side of the Family in 2024. Hopefully, I can advance a little further!

   Morever, in December 2024, I received an email from my 6th Cousin Edyta Zadworna of Bielsko-Biala, Poland, who had grown up in Lubomia, not far from Brzezie. She had built the Kordula line five more generations past my 5th Gr. Grandfather Franciszek Kordula (1779-1847), thus growing the tree significantly in the process. New surnames include: Żyła, Kiszka, Gabryś, Buchta, Honin/Hoin, Doleżych, Laxander, Raczkowa & Skupien. These comprise five extra generations and appear valid. So, on the Kokot side, I am at the 4th-10th Gr. Grandparents. On the Klementz/Niestroy side, Edyta sent me Janowitz & Kranowitz OFB's that helped me reach the 7th Gr. Grandparent and add another surname: Zemelka. She also provided screenshots from a myheritage tree (mostly by Heinrich Pacharzina) that enabled me to do descendancy research on the Mandrisch/Buroń line. This was welcome news at Christmas Time! 

    In early 2025, Edyta noted Thomas Rabenda, a witness to Joannes Kiszka's 1686 marriage to Anna Razkowa, was a husband to Barbara Kisczyk. Are Barbara Kisczyk and Joannes Kißczyk siblings? Also, Barbara's ancestors are known (through an OFB), so, if the sibling match is true, this could possibly add one-two more generations on the Kißczyk/Kiszka side, thus reaching the 10-11th Gr. Grandparents. At this point, this conclusion is merely speculative and needs further proof. Further analysis also shows the presence of the first name Gallo/Gallum at least three times in the space of 1-2 generations of this combined tree, thus strengthening the theory. The problem is fitting in Joannes Kißczyk's unknown date of birth with Barbara Kiszka's known sibling group. Perhaps, a 2nd marriage might explain whether they are siblings or not. 

    So, I would like to hear from family researchers who know about the towns of Hohenbirken (Hohenbirken=Brzezie=Lukasine per the Rudnik & Silberkopf OFB), Pogrzebin, Pogwisdow, Adamowitz (Adamowice), Markowitz (Markowice),  Raszczyce/Raschütz/Raschuetz, Pawlau, Czyprzanow, Janowitz, Lekartow,  Ratibor or Raciborz, Babitz, Nendza, (all in Kreis Ratibor), Lukow, Pstrażna-Pstrzonsna, Lissek, Gross Rauden, Klein Rauden, Stanitz (Stanica), Stodoll (Stodoly) (all in Kreis Rybnik), & even Bojkow (Tost-Gleiwitz) (in Kreis Gliwitz). Also, any info on the surnames mentioned above would be great. I am happy to share photos, documents, stories, etc.; In addition, I have a family tree up at Familysearch Family Tree (FSFT)[9]. Here is a link to my family book hosted at ACPL Genealogy in Ft. Wayne, Indiana:  Kaess Family From the Neckar Valley (2019 edition) - ACPL Genealogy Center [10]  It includes a section on the Dorschke's of Silesia.   

My primary email is bkaess@protonmail.com

Thanks again!

      Brian Paul Kaess

 


[1] Catholic Marriage Record for Paul Ernst Kaess & Dorothea Dorschke in St. Johannes Baptist Ostrog Pfarrkirche. Kirchenbuch, 1811-1955. Heiraten 1910-1945. Familysearch Catalog. Film # 2085510 Item 1, DGS # 8022129.

[2] Courtesy of a family heirloom in the custody of Garret Thomas Kaess, res. of Indianapolis, Indiana. 

[3] Courtesy of Melanie Dorschke and Uwe Dorschke, Hamm, NRW, Germany.

[4] Civil Marriage Record for Viktor Drozdzok and Marie Kokot. Civil Registry Office Markowice (Markowitz), Poland.

[5] Dorothea Dorschke Civil Birth Record, Archiwum Państwowe w Katowicach Oddział w Raciborzu, Racibórz, Poland.

[6] Various Civil Records for Marie Kokot & her siblings. Civil Registry Office Markowice (Markowitz), Poland. Courtesy of Johanna (surname withheld for privacy reasons) in Adamowice, Poland. See also Find a Grave.com for online copies of Civil Records.

[7] Catholic Baptism Record for Carl Kokot. Markowitz, Upper Silesia, Catholic Parish; Also, Wilmette Family History Center, courtesy of Julie Busse. Film # 8020960, Image 461, Record Number 216.

[8] Wojciech Schäffer,  Director of the Catholic Church Archives in Katowice. Kontakt :: Archiwum Archidiecezji w Katowicach (archidiecezjakatowicka.pl)

Location: Durango, Mexico

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