Oberski & Schefka Genealogy

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The Name Oborski

According to stories that Dad & Mom always told our family, Oborski is not really our surname.  One of our ancestors was the result of an illegitimate birth.  The mother gave the child her surname which was Oborski.  The surname of the father of the illegitimate child was P»achetski.  

(Rose Mary informed me that there are two letters in the Polish alphabet for "l."  One has the standard pronunciation of "ell", the other has a slash through it and sound like a "w" when used in a word.  The name P»achetski is spelled with the slashed "l."  The "ch" in Polish is pronounced like the "h" in hot.  The pronunciation would then be  pwä h�t sk‘ ) 

Aunt Victoria's family tell me a slightly different version.  Apparently there was a scandal because a woman surnamed Oborski became pregnant before she was married.  The father of her unborn child, and her future husband, was surnamed Plachechi.  Due to the scandal, he took her surname as his own. 

Uncle Julius's family report a different story.  A man surnamed Plachowski married a woman that his parent's did not approve of.  His parent's disowned him and he took his wife's surname, which was Oborski, as his own.

I hope to determine which of the above stories, if any, are true during the course of my genealogical research. 

Land Purchase Formalities¹

Some of the Polish settlers went directly to the Detroit Land Office to obtain their patent (deed).  A Jacob Mindak and a John Oborski * jointly purchased 120 acres of land.  For the attestation, Mindak went to Detroit and his witness was a Stanislaus Melin, on September 18, 1858.  Melin resided in Detroit and was Mindak's relative by affinity.

All the Polish pioneers had to affix their signatures, and, amazingly, most of the Poles could write.  The educated Polish pioneers would write their names in Polish, even though the Land Office personnel Anglicized the Polish names.

Each Polish settler erected a dwelling house and cleared at least three acres.  The jointly owned property of Mindak and Oborski had two homes on it.  Mindak, in his affidavit, stated that he had two acres fenced, hence it can be assumed that he had cattle, sheep, oxen, or hogs.

The largest land purchase amounted to 160 acres.  When the Polish settlers went to Detroit to purchase the land, these pioneers paid for it in gold.  (See Land Records in the Documents page for copies of the actual land documents.) 

¹  Harry Milostan, Parisville Poles First Polish Settlers in U.S.A.? (MASSPAC Publishing Company, 1977), pg. 45

* my great, great grandfather

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Signatures of some of the actual settlers²
The box on the right contains the signatures of
Johann Oborsky (2nd signature in the left column) &
John Woytalewicz (last signature in the right column)

²    Harry Milostan, Parisville Poles First Polish Settlers in U.S.A.? (MASSPAC Publishing Company, 1977), pg. 31

Fire of 1881

Another act of heroism was carried out by John Oberski * of Paris Township, who, on seeing the fire approaching, placed his sick wife and a child about two weeks old together with his four other children and three children of his brother-in-law in a wagon and, hitching a yoke of oxen to it, attempted to reach an opening about a mile and one-half distant.  They had hardly started when the oxen became frightened and broke away, leaving the sick wife and eight children to be taken care of by one man.  However, Mr. Oberski, was equal to the emergency.  He took his wife with the infant in one arm, the youngest of the other children on the other, and instructing the remaining seven to keep close to him, made a dash for life.  Burdened as he was, and having to watch the children following him, he succeeded in reaching the open space.  The fire came so close that they were temporarily blinded, but all their lives were saved.³

³  Gerard Schultz, Walls of Flame (Library of Congress, 1968), pgs. 35 & 45

*  I have not yet determined which John Oberski this is.  

Leo Oborski Events⁴

1901    built a log cabin on what is now Uncle Dave's farm

1908    took boat with wife, three children, & horse from Harbor Beach to          Detroit (horse was stolen)  John Czeszewski, his brother-in-law, got him a job as 
a street car conductor (had an episode of rope burn as a result of switching
trolley rope)  Uncle Ted was born in May  (the only Oborski child born in Detroit)

1909    decided to raise a big family & moved back to the farm
             built a brick home and later dismantled the log cabin

⁴  provided to me by:  Gerald O'Bee 

Please e-mail me if you would like to share any stories or history about any of our relatives.

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