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WARGIN Family History, Part I

According to Ancestry.com's compilation of WARGIN surnames from New York passenger lists, 88% of WARGIN immigrants came from Germany-occupied Poland and Prussia. Not surprisingly, 80% of Polish immigrants to America during the period of 1854-1890 came from the area which Prussian's ruled as the province of "Posen," named for the principle city of Poznań. This province roughly conformed to the modern Polish province of Wielkopolskie (Greater Poland), the origin of the Polish nation dating from the 10th Century.

Censuses record that John and Ludwika WARGIN were from German-occupied Poland. The 1920 census deviates slightly by refering to their origin as Western Prussia, while John's brother Michael, is noted as originating in "Posen". Prussia, essentially northern and southwestern Poland, regained Poznań and parts of northern Germany in 1815. Just before John's birth, Otto VON BISMARCH became Minister-President of Prussia (1862-1890) under King William I of Prussia. VON BISMARCH engineered the unification of Germany and gained parts of northern Germany during the Danish and Austrian wars (1865-1866). In 1867 he became chancellor of the North German Confederation. Later when the German Empire was formed in 1871 and William I became emperor, VON BISMARCK became its first chancellor.

In 1872 the Prussian parliament ordered compulsory instruction of German in all schools and outlawed the speaking of Polish in public. In 1888 the parliament established a commission for the purpose of purchasing land from Poles in Wielkopolskie and leasing that land to German colonists, hence the Polish immigration wave to America and likely John and Ludwika's journey in 1890-1891 as well.

DNA Analysis

DNA testing of John WARGIN's descendants, reveal that we belong to Haplogroup R1b1c. From this we find that after "Eurasian Adam" (M168) left the Ethiopia-Sudan region of East Africa some 50,000 to 79,000 years ago, one branch of descendants entered the Middle East (Haplogroup F, M89) and spread throughout the northern hemisphere with Haplogroup K (M9) some 40,000 years ago. From a branch on the Central Asian Steppes (M45) some 35,000-40,000 years ago Haplogroup R (M207) and its subgroup R1 (M173) sprang and gave rise to Cro-Magnon Man (R1b/M343) in Western Europe 35,000 years ago. Yes, it appears our earliest WARGIN ancestors, along with those of most Western Europeans, were Cro-Magnon.

The R1b1 (P25) subclade likely resettled in Western Europe after the last glacial age ended some 10,000-12,000 years ago. As such, this widespread haplogroup is noted in 70-90% of the Western European population, and not only encompasses our Polish WARGIN ancestors but those of my German MILLER ancestors and my Italian-Swiss MALUGANI ancestors.

Among this widespread, common Western European ancestry there arose a further off-shoot, the R1b1c (P25+) subclade, which includes our WARGIN lineage and my German MILLER ancestors.

WARGIN

1. The father of the WARGIN family is believed to be Stefen WARGIN, as identified through suspected son Michael's 1921 passport application information. Stefen was likely from Wielkopolskie (Posen), Poland, perhaps from Głomsk in Złotów County. At least two suspected sons immigrated to America in 1890 and settled in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin:

Per Michael's passport application, Stefen died prior to 1921.

Likely WARGIN Relatives

In searching over the Wisconsin and Minnesota records, other WARGIN families of the approximate age of John's are also noted. So far I've not been able to determine what connections, if any, these families have to John:

• Henry & Mathilda WARGIN: Henry was born in September 1843 in Germany and immigrated in 1868; they lived at 828 Fourth Street in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (1900)
• Joseph & Pauline (SELIG) WARGIN, Sr.: Joseph was born about 1855 and immigrated in 1880; he settled in Herman Township (near Duluth), Saint Louis County, Minnesota (1910)
• The widow Emilia "Emily" (KONITZER?) WARGIN was born about 1859 in German-occupied Poland (possibly in Kramsk [Głomsk?]) and immigrated in 1904; she and her five teenaged children resided on 9th Avenue in Milwaukee (1910), moved into Douglas County, Minnesota (1920), and returned to Milwaukee by 1927; two of her sons are recorded as being born in Königsdorf, Germany
• Antoni & Apolonia (MICHNA) WARGIN: Antoni was born in June 1869 in Western Prussian-occupied Poland. Antoni immigrated to America aboard the Weimar, which arrived in Baltimore on November 27, 1892; they resided at 938 Sixth Avenue (1900) and 953 Fifth Avenue (1910-1930) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Antoni worked as a tailor; Antoni listed his last residence as "Flatoff", possibly a reference to Flatow (Złotów). Antoni is believed to have been related to the Julian & Marta (MALINOSWSKA) WARGIN family of Sypniewo, Złotów County in Wielkopolskie Province, Poland.
• Paul & Angeline WARGIN: Paul was born about 1870 in German-occupied Poland and immigrated in 1899; they lived at 794 Gordon Street (1910) in Milwaukee and he worked as a moulder at a foundry
• Albert (Walter) & Mary (RANOWSKA?) WARGIN: Albert was born in April 1871 in Danzig (Gdansk), Poland and immigrated in 1893; they resided at 708 Grove Street (1900), 779 Greenbush Street (1910) and 700 Grove Street (1920-1930) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where Albert worked as an iron moulder at a foundry
• Antoni & Martha (SPIRAFSKI/SPIFSKI?) WARGIN: Antoni was born about 1877 in Wisconsin; this family lived cross-state in La Crosse, La Crosse County, Wisconsin (1905) on the border with the southeastern corner of Minnesota; they moved to Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota by 1920
• Mary WARGIN, perhaps a sister of Antoni's, was born in June 1878 and married John KUESTER in La Crosse County, Wisconsin in 1900

Jan "John" P(eter) WARGIN (1864-1931)

11. Jan P(iotr) WARGIN² ("John P(eter)") was born October 18, 1864^[Dth] in German-occupied Poland, most likely in Wielkopolskie (Posen). He married Ludwika "Louise" GRACZ in late 1887 or early 1888^{[Cen 1900]} and both immigrated by way of Ellis Island, New York in 1890^{[Cen 1900, 1910]} and were naturalized in 1903^{[Cen 1920]}. They settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and had 11 children (two of whom died in infancy):

After immigrating, John WARGIN settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and opened a tailor shop. By 1900, the WARGINs were living at 819 First Avenue in Milwaukee and had been naturalized as a U.S. citizen^{[Cen 1900]}. For the next three decades the family was enumerated at 911 First Avenue^{[Cen 1910-1930]} (now renumbered and renamed as 2201 South 6th Steet). John ran a small tailor shop in an outbuilding behind their home.

Most, if not all, of the Wisconsin-born children were baptized in the Basilica of St. Josaphat, a Polish Roman Catholic church about half a block away from their childhood home and John's tailor shop.

John WARGIN died in Milwaukee at his residence at 2201 South 6th Street on March 1, 1931. He died of cerebral apoplexy (stroke) after falling ill to hypostatic pneumonia a week prior. He was 66 years old and worked 45 years as a tailor, right up until he developed pneumonia. He was buried at Saint Adalberts Cemetery in Milwaukee.^{[Dth 1931]}

After John's death, Ludwika lived in a "Polish bungalow" off West Lincoln Avenue near South 8th, 9th,or 10th Street.

Ludwika "Louise" (GRACZ) WARGIN died 12 years later of a cerebral hemorrhage caused by hypertension on May 27, 1943 in Milwaukee at the home of her daughter, Mary, at 711 West Lincoln Avenue. She was also buried at Saint Adalberts Cemetery in Milwaukee. She was 73 years old.^{[Dth 1943]}

Michael WARGIN (1869-)

12. Michael WARGIN was born in September, 28 1869 in Głomsk, Złotów County, in Prussian/German-occupied Wielkopolskie (Posen), Poland. He boarded a ship in either Antwerp, Belgium, or Rotterdam, The Netherlands and arrived in America on July 28, 1891. He may have first lived in Chicago, Illinois, before settling in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He had been married once before he married Michaeline "Minnie" LATUS on September 20, 1897 in Milwaukee County. They had at least one daughter:

Michael's origin is chiefly recorded in his immigration documentation of 1891 and a later passport application in 1921 for a trip to France.

Michael and Michaeline lived at 409 Mitchell Street in Milwaukee by 1900. By 1910 they moved to 712 Lincoln Avenue. As was his older brother, John, Michael worked as a tailor. Michaeline also ran a millinery and her daughter Anna worked there as a milliner after her divorce.^{[Cen 1930]}

Continue on to Part II