A farmer plowing the field in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. This photo was aged to give it a more nostalgic look.

Paul Dworsky died on 01 Aug 1769 in Wendisch Karstnitz, Stolp, Pommern. No information can be observed about his age or birth. Records indicate that he was married three times. He was first married to Maria Albrechts, who died on 29 Oct 1758 in Wendisch Karstnitz. The Lupow church book states that Paul was a Bauer. Together, this pair had two known children:

  1. Martin Dworsky was born in November 1756 in Wendisch Karstnitz and was baptized on 05 Nov 1756 in Lupow. His Taufpate, or godparents, were: Peter Gergen v. Kleist, Gergen Dworsky, Anna Sophie Dworsken. He died on 31 Jan 1788 in Wendisch Karstnitz. The record listed him as Martin Dworschke who died “an der Hitzigen Krankheit,” the German name for Typhus. He and Sophia Lollen had one child prior to his assumed death.
    1. Fridrich Ernst Lollen was illegitimately born Mar 1786 in Rambow. According to the record, his father should be Martin Dworsky in Carstnitz. (There were two Martins. One was married to Sophia Rzechen, though it is unknown which Martin was the father. It seems more likely that this mentioned person fathered Fridrich Ernst Lollen.) The baptism date is not legible in this record.

There is a possibility that after Martin died, Sophia mothered another child with Christian Croseck who was a Jäger from Wendisch Karstnitz. A daughter was born to the couple, who named her Anna Fridrica Croseck. She was illegitimately born on 05 Feb 1790 in Wendisch Karstnitz and was baptized on 14 Feb 1790 in Lupow.

  1. Else Dworsken was born in Feb 1758 in Wendisch Karstnitz and was baptized on 19 Feb 1758 in Lupow. No further information about her has been discovered.

He then remarried Gottlieb Birkholzen (should be the female name “Gottliebe”) on 22 Feb 1759 in Lupow. They were living in Wendisch Karstnitz at the time. She was previously widowed Baschelken. One child is known from that marriage before her death on 17 Sep 1763 in Wendisch Karstnitz.

  1. Dorothea Louisa Dworsky was born in 1760 in Wendisch Karstnitz and was baptized on 04 May 1760 in Lupow. She died on 03 Mar 1762 in Wendisch Karstnitz.

Paul then married for a third time to Barbara Hildebrandt on 12 Jan 1764 in Lupow while he was still living in Wendisch Karstnitz. Barbara was born in Wendisch Karstnitz and likely died after 1786. Two children were known from this marriage.

  1. Catharina Elisabeth Dworsken was born in 1766 in Wendisch Karstnitz and was baptized on 02 Feb 1766 in Lupow. She died on 26 Jul 1796 in Wendisch Karstnitz from an accidental fall at the age of 28 years and 3 months. (Verlohr ihr Leben durch eine unglücklichen Fall vom —-)
  2. Michael Fridrich Dworsky was born in 1768 in Wendisch Karstnitz and was baptized on 30 Sep 1768 in Lupow. (The handwriting is smudged near the edges. It could also likely be the 31st of September or the 3rd of October.)

It is difficult to determine, however, the correct death date for Catharina. Several people were known in the family to have that name. Two were born Catharina Elisabeth and one was Catharina Maria. Few clues exist to help navigate which Catharina matches which tree for events such as marriages and deaths. Paul’s daughter is assumed to have died in 1796 as the result of an accident. Another died in 1780  as a “Mädchen.” Further complicating this is that the Catharina who is assumed to have survived, Catharina Maria, could not have been the mother of Charlotta Fridrica, as Fridrich Dworsken was her brother. Either other family members existed outside those outlined in the church book, or later events for this Catharina were incorrectly attributed to her. Decisions for mapping each line was assisted in part by listings of godparents in the parish records, though they still do not account for several possible errors by the record keepers. The records for Michael were also assumed to be correct by matching up people mentioned in records and deaths close in proximity.

To read the complete series about the Dworsky family from Wendisch Karstnitz, please see the origins of the Dworsky surname in Stolp.


This is one chapter in a ten-part series.

To read more about this surname study, please see the index to the entire series, "Dworsky and Dawurske Family Tree and Surname Series."

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