Town and Neighborhood Locations

As follows are descriptions of towns in West Prussia and Illinois important to the location of the Gainowski and the Pajewski/Page families.

1. West Prussia
2. Illinois
3. Also see Gainowski Addresses for detailed locations and street addresses through the years.
4. Also see Pajewski/Page Addresses for detailed locations and street addresses through the years.

West Prussia

As follows are text descriptions of towns and locations in West Prussia related to the Gainowski and Page families.

Danzig

Danzig, now Gdansk Poland was part of Prussian Germany in the early 1800s. Danzig has had a long history of being invaded and controlled by outsiders over the centuries. Danzig was Polish since 1466, but fell to the Russians in 1734. It then became a free city in 1772 but passed to the Prussians in 1793. It was made a free city by Napolean from 1807-1814 but then reverted to Prussia.

In their 1926 Name Change document, John Pajewski and Anna Gainowski indicated they were born in Danzig. However, their 1930 census data indicates that they were born in small towns near Marienburg, which is about 30 miles southeast of Danzig, now Gdansk. Most likely they just used the name of the larger more well known city in the document as their place of birth.

Melencz

John Pajewski was born in Melencz in the County of Marienburg about 1865. The identification of the exact town came from the 1930 Census data for the John and Anna Pajewski/Page Family. In the census it was spelled Melense, which appears to be a phonetic equivalent. Today it is called Miloradz.

Muntau

Anna Gainowski was born in Muntau in the County of Marienburg on 3 December 1871. The identification of the exact town came from the 1930 Census data for the John and Anna Pajewski/Page Family. Today it is called Matowy Wielkie.

Gnojau

Anna Gainowski's parents, Joseph Gainowski and Rosalia Wogervodka were married in 1867 in Gnojau. This data came from the IGI. Today it is called Gnojewo. The translation of Gnojew is most interesting. It appears to translate to Manureville or Sh--burg. Sounds better when you don't know what it means.

All three towns are within a few miles to the west of Marienburg, today called Malbork. And Marienburg is about 30 miles southeast of Danzig. Muntua is the furthest west of the three and Gnojua is directly north of Melencz. Various maps on the web can help pinpoint these still small towns. One source for finding these towns in Prussia and obtaining a map is from Kartenmeister.

 

Illinois

Chicago

In the mid to late 1880s, the Abend, Gainowski, Pajewski and Pastwa families located on the near north side of Chicago. It is believed it is in the St. Boniface Parish on Noble Street. Key streets that are still named the same are Division Street and Elston. More information will be added as maps from that time period show the street names of the times.

In the early 1890s, the Abend, Gainowski, Nicolai, Pajewski and Pastwa families began moving to the south side of Chicago. Generally around 50th and Laflin in the St. Augustine Parish. This was also near the Chicago Stockyards and was known as Back of the Yards. At the time it was a growth area with new housing, more open land, and on the upwind side of the Stockyards.