Вічная пам'ять - Eternal memory

This site is dedicated to all deceased members of the Witoszynskyj families and to the research on their ancestors. My curiosity on this family stems from my youth, when all of the few bearers of the name Witoszynskyj in the phone book were relatives and I always had to explain where this name came from since it was so unusual. This raised my interest and the more I found out the more interested I became.

Of course all kind of stories were told in the family, but as always it is hard to separate facts from fiction. Memories got lost or mixed up and to get all the pieces of the puzzle organized can be confusing.

There are various tools and websites for genalogical research, however, I often find them confusing and not matching my needs. In particular, one can find a lot of information, but seldom the source of the information is given. Therefore it is hard to judge the reliability of the information. Also, if a relationship is based on a guess, usually the reasoning is not given. For these reasons I decided to create my own website for collecting, organizing and presenting all information on members of the Witoszynskyj families.

Currently, the site contains information on 346 persons born as Witoszynskyj grouped into 72 "families". The number of "families" will hopefully decrease over time as relationships are discovered.

If you have information on any person listed on this page or know about a person that is not listed yet, I would be extremely grateful if you let me know and sent a message.

Origins

Of course, it is not known whether all persons named Witoszynskyj have a common ancestor or a common place of origin. My grandfather told legends about the family originating from a village named Вітошинці/Witoszyńce near Przemyśl. Some of them were too bizarre to be anythying else but legends.

One of these legends is that the village Вітошинці/Witoszyńce was given to the forefathers of the Witoszynskyj family by king Lev Danylovych of Galicia (c. 1228 – c. 1301). And actually two documents existed - one from 1296, which was confirmed to be authentic by king Kasimir in 1448, and a second from 1297, which was confirmed by king Zygmunt August in 1566 and by king Zygmunt III in 1631. The latin translation of the first document starts with "Nos dux Leo, regis Danielis filius, notum facimus uniuersis, quia seruitores nostri Wasil, Ihnatko, lilia, Iwan, Hrycko, Stepan, villae Witosyeniec heredes..".

However, according to the historian and first president of Ukraine, Mykhailo Hrushevsky these documents are forgeries produced in the 16-th century (see Грушевський М. С. Чи маємо автентичні грамоти князя Льва? – ЗНТШ, 1902 р., т. 45, с. 1 – 22.). The village Вітошинці/Witoszyńce (like some other villages in this area) had a special status since the time of the Kyivan Rus, which spared its inhabitors from serfdom. However, in the 16-th century Polish nobility tried to revoke this status. By forging the documents and actually getting them recognized by the polish king, Вітошинці/Witoszyńce managed to retain its status. In the XVII century, the inhabitants of Вітошинці/Witoszyńce even used the documents to improve their status and become member of the Szlachta - the nobility.

Coat of Arms

It is not known to me if any of the persons mentioned ever was bearer of a coat of arms. According to the family saga such a coat of arms existed. In my archive I have a seal with the Trąby coat of arms. However, on the various resources on Polish coat of arms, the family Witoszynskyj is not mentioned as bearers of this coat of arms. Nevertheless, one can find the name Witoszynskyj in lists of families using a coat of arms, but among the bearers of the Wieniawa coat of arms. Therefore on this site, the Wieniawa coat of arms is used. But it is used for aesthetic reasons only. No claim is made that any of the persons mentioned ever used this coat of arms.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this website and shared information. Of course, a lot of information came from relatives of different branches of the family who shared what they had collected and researched. But there were also individuals who are not connected to the family who contributed. Especially I would like to thank Larissa Goralski Bailey, Henryk Kulik, Volodymyr Moroz and Serhiy Perepichka.

Latest Additions and Updates

Other Updates

2021-11-30

Added an improvement to the list sorted by (first) names for increased clarity and usability.

2021-11-27

Acknowledgements were updated.

2021-01-26

Added "tree view" of the lists sorted by birthdate, place and ancestors for improved clarity and usability.