In 2017, I experienced a significant breakthrough in my genealogical research. For years, my cousins and I struggled to find information about my great-grandmother’s family, the Hennigs. It wasn’t until I found a record in FamilySearch that everything started to fall into place.
Sometime between 1910 and 1911, the entire family changed their surname to Hennig, which was my great-great grandfather’s mother’s maiden name. The reason for this change is listed in his son’s naturalization papers, and an excerpt is provided below.
“While said name would indicate that the undersigned is Polish, that, in fact, he is German; that by reason of the name, those with whom the undersigned associates are given to understand that he is of Polish extraction, when in fact he is a German …”
Johann Leopold Schwittkowski became John Paul Hennig.
Johann insisted that he was German because he was born in Danzig (Gdansk), which was under German rule at the time. However, his parents were Polish, and Schwitkowski, his last name, is Polish. The “owski” in his last name felt too Polish for him.
After discovering the Schwittkowski name, I uncovered a flood of new ancestors. Don’t give up! The answer is out there. Contact me if you need assistance.
You can read more about this in-depth at Schwittkowski.
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