Gralla Newsletters

GRALLA FAMILY NEWSLETTER

                                                  Vol. 5 No. 1

                                                   Summer/1993

 

GRALLAS HAVE MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE IN BARCELONA.

In June of 1992 Eugene Gralla, his wife, Beverly, and son Steven with his wife Sue, spent some time visiting with Professor Clopas, family historian of the Gralla family in the Barcelona area of Spain.  The professor, now 82, was enthusiast about telling the Gralla descendants of the prestigious Gralla family which he had traced back to the 15th century.  He showed them some of the artifacts of the Grallas which are in his museum in Martorell, Spain.  The family of Eugene Gralla enjoyed its visit and was thrilled to hear more about the Gralla history and origins in Spain.  Eugene Gralla is a retired executive now residing in  Fl.

PHONE BOOKS HELP LOCATE GRALLAS IN POLAND.

As the last issue of the newsletter was closed, a continuation of the Polish research trip report was promised.  One thing worth mentioning was that in all the villages visited where Grallas lived many years ago, there are still Grallas there today as well as in all the surrounding towns.  While in Ostroleka, we met Josef Gralla, who presented us with a phone book of the entire area.  Numerous people with the Gralla name were found in this book.  Since returning home, I was also given two copies of the 1993 Warsaw phone book, which also carried the name of many people of this surname.  As part of the continuing research, these people will be contacted through correspondence, and perhaps they will also have information that may further enlighten us regarding the background of the Gralla family from this area.

FIFTY-SEVEN GRALLAS IN THE AREA OF MYSZYNIEC.

We were amazed as we went to the civil registration office of Ostroleka as to how many Grallas were still living there.  At first the office personnel was not willing to help us, but after some time we were able to convince them to share the addresses of the Grallas of the vicinity.  We recorded fifty-seven, and found an additional sixteen in Myszyniec when visiting the civil registration office there.  In Myszyniec, all the inhabitants were recorded on computer with names, parents, dates of birth, and addresses.

MONUMENTS OF JEWISH TIMES IN RÓZAN LOST IN THE WAR.

The Gralla family is not the only family of Rózan searching for clues to the past.  Other descendants of the Jewish people of this village have returned looking for traces of their past, with little success.  Several years ago, a Pole, Wojciech Kassian, searched for any remains of the Jewish history of the village.  He mentions in an article he published in Poland, how the city registrars mentioned others who were survivors of the war, returned to Rózan looking to see if any of their belongings could still be claimed or if their certificates of births, marriages, or deaths could be found.  They were very disappointed to find very little in the way of records.  The synagogue records were burned in the fire which also destroyed the synagogue itself.  Those records that were not lost were of the civil registration office which records began in 1899.  Wojciech Kassian urged all the readers of his publication to submit any information of Rózan to the city offices of Rózan to help develope a history of the Jewish people from the village.

There is also a society of people from Rózan in Israel which are survivors of the war.  This organization is the same which published the Rózan memorial book, mentioned in earlier publications of this newsletter.

PARISH RECORDS OF GRALLAS IN TOSZEK AND WISNICZE ARE STILL PRESERVED.

The records of Grallas in Toszek, Wisnicze and surrounding areas are still kept in the parishes.  It was in Wisnicze where in early 1600's church records a Jewish man, Jacob Gralla, was baptized into the Catholic church.  It is not yet known if this man was the only Gralla ancestor there at the time or if there were more which were in this area.  After this point, other Grallas are recorded in the records of Wisnicze.  The Grallas spread throughout this area into many small villages, as did those in the Grale area of Poland. 

Several years ago, a Jewish woman came to the archive where I work and asked for assistance in locating Jewish records of Wisnicze.  She said she had been told in her family of how her ancestors had come to Wisnicze as Jews expelled during the inquisition times from Spain.  Her people were not Grallas, but, although unsubstantiated, this shows there may have been groups of people from Spain which settled in areas as a group, rather than as single families.

LOCAL PEOPLE GIVE COLORFUL ACCOUNT OF "ROBIN HOOD" GRALLA.

In the village of Koszecin, Poland, stand the remains of the Franz Gralla farm of the late 1800's.  Although, much has changed on the property, the people who live there now were able to share what they remembered of Franz Gralla, father of twelve children and my great grandfather.  The current owners, the Soballas, bought the farm from a Jewish man who had purchased it originally from Franz Gralla in the year 1903.  Mr. Soballa tells what caused Franz Gralla to leave the area for Moscow and later  St. Petersburg, as he recalls in the year 1903.  Franz Gralla, although the owner of a farm and acreage was not the farmer "type" nor did he want to be.  He lived life a little on the "wild side" as he chose to defy the local nobility, the Hohenlohes, who owned the forests and most of the surrounding property.  Franz Gralla liked to hunt in the forests of the Hohenlohes, which was against the law.  But he did this to provide food for his large and growing family and to provide food for all the poor townspeople.  For this, the people of the village loved him and the Hohenlohes despised him.  He became known as "Robin Hood" Gralla.  Often times he would hide with his hunting friends in the forests as the local authorities tried to track him down.  He made traps out of bridges which would drop to the water below and help him in fast get-aways.  This he did for quite some time until the Hohenlohes eventually caught up to him, and knowing him to be very knowledgeable in forestry, rather than arrest him, as was expected, he was given a ranger's job in Russia on the Hohenlohe property there as an alternative punishment.  This same Franz Gralla was also a merchant, a business man who provided the stones for the road which still is there and leads to the next town.  According to the Soballas, Franz Gralla was involved in many interesting business "deals", but was a good man whom the people liked and respected for his help in feeding their families.

CONCLUSION OF TRIP TO POLAND.

The trip to Poland was very enlightening, very enjoyable and well recommended to all Grallas wishing to see the land their ancestors walked.  I did have some anxieties before the trip. But now my feelings are that if the trip is well planned ahead of time, much can be accomplished.  The economic situation at that time was interesting.  Certain things were inexpensive for the tourist, while gas and car rentals were very expensive.  Traveling can be difficult by car, unless accompanied by a native as there are very few road signs throughout the country and the few that are there, of course are difficult to read and understand.  The homes, at least those visited were very nice, modern and comfortable.  All had TV's, some satellites and microwaves.  For the local people, wages are relatively low and therefore commodities are very expensive for them.  Many of the villagers still travel with horse and wagon, which was a common sight all over Poland. But in the cities, things are quite similar to the United States with parking problems and traffic jams.  I highly recommend a family roots vacation to any who are interested in the Gralla family.

                                                                   NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST WELCOMED FOR FUTURE NEWSLETTERS.

We are anxious to share news of your families with others.  If you have items which are of interest to other Grallas whom you may have lost contact with, we will be happy to publish these in future issues.  These could include family accomplishments, births, marriages or other similar events.  Send these to Sonja Nishimoto at the return address on your envelop.  Currently, we are sending out a spring and fall issue.  Also remember to inform us of new addresses or relatives who are not currently receiving issues and should be added to the mailing list.                  

The Gralla family newsletter is printed and mailed free of charge to Gralla family members throughout the United States, most originating in Eastern Europe.  It is researched and written by an accredited genealogist, who is herself a Gralla descendant.

Gralla Newsletters Vol 6

                                                  Vol. 3 no. 2

_________________________________________________________________

1977 BOOK GIVES HISTORY OF ROZAN, ANCESTRAL HOME OF MANY GRALLAS.

The Rozan memorial book printed in Israel in 1977 shares the history of a shtetl in Poland as it was long ago.  It was near Rozan where the patriarch, Yussef Gralla settled in the early 1800's, and had six sons, five of whom are ancestors of many of the Grallas now in the United States.   A Jewish community existed in Rozan as early as the 16th century.  There was little documentation concerning the early Jewish settlement.  The writers of the memorial book feel the Jewish settlement in Rozan may have been even as early as the year 1173.

In the Evreiskaya Encyclopedia it states there were 173 Jewish people in Rozan in the year 1765, 773 in the year 1856 and 1,698 in 1897.  Today the city has 151 households.

There were six craft guilds in the city for spinners, knitters, weavers, furriers, tailors and shoemakers.  Traders dealt in grains and forest products such as wood, pitch, wax and honey as well as animal hides.

Rozan, a town in the district of Makov, where the Rozhanitza joins the Narew river, is 20 Km. east of Makove Mazovietzk, on the crossroads between Warsaw-Ostrolenka and Czarnow-Ostrov-Mazovietzk.  This is in eastern Poland, which at various times fell under rule of Germany or Russia.

Beginning in the 15th century, Rozan became the capital of the district of Rozan or Makov.  The town flourished in the middle of the 17th century, but later the population dropped to 250 and in 1777 there were only 65 houses.

In the 19th century some progress was felt.  Six fairs were held yearly.  There was a tannery, a brewery, and with these the population grew from 582 in 1810 to 1,810 in 1860.  The population grew steadily, reaching 4,435 in 1910.  At the outbreak of the Second World War, Rozan counted 3,500 Jews, about 60% of its total population.

During the Second World War, Rozan was destroyed twice, first in 1939 and again between 1944-45.  It was at this time the Jewish population was expelled.  95% of the buildings were in ruins and of 6,000 inhabitants in 1939, only 739 remained in 1945.

The location of Rozan on the main road from Warsaw to Russia made it one of the strategic points along the river Narew to protect.  This is why Rozan was destroyed so many times in different wars.

It was a farming region and the people lived from agriculture, cattle raising, fishing and forestry.

The small synagogue in Rozan served not only as a place to pray and worship, but also as the center of the village, a place where elections were held, public events occurred and artisans would meet.

This synagogue was packed with thousands of people when the German armies entered Rozan.  The synagogue was set on fire and thousands of people rushed to escape, trampling many in the panic.  The details are shared in the Rozan Memorial book by those who survived.

This book can be found on microfilm at the LDS Family History Centers throughout the United States.  The film number is 1183647.

GRALLA RECORDS DISCOVERED IN RYCHWAL, POSEN.

Recently records were discovered of yet another small branch of Grallas which resided in Rychwal, Posen. 

Josef Gralla and his wife Josefa Janiaka had one child:  5 Feb. 1853, a daughter Josefa was born.  At this time Josef Gralla was 38 years old.

Another Josef Gralla and his wife Marianna Walezaka had the following children:  30 Sep 1855, a daughter Maryjanna was born.

14 Jan. 1858, another daughter Maryjanna was born.  At this time Josef Gralla was 40 years old and his wife was 31 years old.

More research will need to be done to determine the origin of these Gralla families and other details concerning them.  Due to the difficulty in reading these particular documents, research has been slower and more difficult than usual.

STANLEY W. GRALLA, ARCHITECT AND HORSEMAN.

Stanley Gralla of Oklahoma is a well know architect and a founder of his own consulting firm.  He has worked on many noteworthy projects, including schools, banks, nursing homes, apartments, as well as many equine facilities.  He has cooperated consistently with Gralla family research.

Mr. Gralla is a well known horseman as well as a well known architect.  He has written a book the Horseman's Architect, which is a guide to planning equine facilities.  He owns and operates  a 680 acre horse breeding and hay farm. 

Stanley Gralla was born in Housatonic, Mass., the son of the late Stanley Gralla, also of Housatonic.  He has two brothers, James Gralla of South Lee, Mass., and Thomas Gralla of Boston.  His grandparents were John and Sophie Gralla.  He married Mary Anna Conley and has two sons, Shawn, age 26, and Todd, 21. 

NEW FILMS PROVIDE CONTINUED INFORMATION.

The Family History Library Acquisitions department has been doing extensive filming in Poland.  Recent acquisitions include an area in which I am interested.  My Gralla family came from the village of Tost, now called Toszek in Silesia.  From that village, my great-grandfather, Valentin Gralla moved to another village called Koschentin, or its Polish equivalent, Koszecin.  The library has filmed only some of the civil registration for that town.  Recently two more films were received. 

Although I was not able to locate extensive material, I was able to determine that two daughters of Valentin Gralla married and had children in Koschentin.  One daughter Marianna Gralla married Josef Nanzka Nov. 18, 1882, and on Nov. 15, 1884 they had a daughter named Maria Gertrud.

Another daughter married Johann Galuschinsky  on Oct. 8, 1880 and had a son on the Dec. 14, 1883 named Franz Josef.  A third daughter Pauline, died in infancy at the age of 1 year and 4 months on May 27, 1878.

It is very exciting to find these and all documents regarding the various Gralla families.  It is also interesting to be able to see their signatures, more than one hundred years after they signed particular documents.  To show the types of sources that we are using for the information in these newsletters, a copy of a document, and its translation follows.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT:

Number 8.  Koschentin, on the 8th of Oct. 1880.

Appears before the civil registrar, today in the instance of marriage, the gardener Johann Galuschinsky, single, who is known here, Catholic religion, born on the 8th of June 1853 at Wiersbie, resident of Wiersbie, son of the gardener and carriage driver, Constantin Galuschinski and his wife Franziska nee Kukowka of Wiersbie. 

And the unmarried farmer's daughter, Sophie Gralla, known here, Catholic religion, born on the 13th of May 1860 at Irrkau-Koschentin, resident of Irrkau, daughter of Valentin Gralla and his wife Josepha Kandzia, residents of Irrkau.

FAMOUS GRALLAS FOUND IN GREAT CATALANA ENCYCLOPEDIA.

Bernardo Gralla.

Resided at Lerida and Barcelona around the time of 1467.  Bernardo Gralla, Politician, honorable citizen and councilman of Lerida during the years of 1453 and 1461, was the son of Nicolas Gralla, co-founder of the famous Santa Maria hospital, of which he was the first manager in 1454.  He intervened in the revolutionary action of 1460.  The purpose of which was to detain prince Carlos de Viana.  When the war against King Don Juan II (1462) broke out, he was an outstanding member of government.  Later he was chosen as a governmental representative for the region of Catalunya.

Miguel Juan de Gralla.

He possibly resided in Lerida during the 15th century. He died in 1531.  Miguel Juan de Gralla, was a distinguished official and royal teacher in a classroom, and delegate of the generals (1491-1494).  He was a royal accountant teacher of Catalunya. (1501-1520).  Originated the Borques de Lerida lineage.  He was also the castellan and feudal lord of the castle of Subirat.   (This castle was the subject of earlier newsletters.) He was at the service of Ana de Bretana until the capitulation of Reunes in 1491.  He returned to Cataluna and intervened in the name of the king in the municipal reforms and of the Generals and he was designated by the king as a delegate.

He also intervened as an ambassador in matters of the distribution of the kingdom of Napoli.  In the year 1499, he was again sent to France because of the marriage of Ana de Bretana to Luis XII of France.  Miguel Juan de Gralla was married in 1506 to Anna Despla i de Corbera,  He transformed the Barcelona house of Despla into a lavish palace with a facade  of beautiful decoration of the renaissance and it was known since then as "Casa Gralla".  In its interior there was a beautiful patio whose lower level was of renaissance style.  The Gralla palace was torn down in the year 1856.

In the year of 1517, in Bruselas, Miguel Juan de Gralla  received, the title of Lord.  In 1520 he was aid in the position of rational teacher (royal accountant) by his son Francisco de Gralla i Despla, who inherited the position and got married in 1527 to Guiomar D' Hostalric Sabastida and became an aristocrat in Bolonia in the year 1530.

TOSZEK, HOME OF MANY GRALLA ANCESTORS IN SOUTHERN POLAND.

The town of Tost, Silesia, now known as Toszek, Poland is a district town in Southern Poland.  As early as 1222, a castle stood in the town.  This castle was attacked in 1241 by the Mongols, 1433 by the Hussites, and in 1570 and 1811, it was destroyed by fire.  After the 30-year war, Count Caspar Colonna rebuilt it into a renaissance castle.  Today only ruins remain of the castle.  Gralla family members still live in the town and in the surrounding areas of Tost.  Some Gralla ancestors earned their livelihoods working at this castle as servants and gate watchmen. 

This entire area is heavily industrialized.  In 1970 the population of Tost was 4,868.  The town was greatly destroyed in WWII by Soviet Troops. 

Entry to the castle Toszek           Catholic Parish in Toszek

COMPUTER LISTING OF GRALLA NAMES BEING FORMULATED.

Because of an ever-increasing number of names of Gralla ancestors, it has become difficult to keep track of them without the help of a computer.  Therefore, we have begun a listing of all Gralla names and are gradually getting them recorded on computer so we can easily make both alphabetical listings as well as geographic listings of Grallas throughout the world.  Below is a listing of Grallas from Olschienen, East Prussia.  This is not a complete listing as research is still continuing in this town.  As new names are found, we will add them to the Gralla lists.

INFORMATION REQUESTED FOR FUTURE NEWSLETTERS.

In the hopes of making the newsletter interesting for all branches of the Gralla family, we hope that you will continue to send in items of interest which can be published in future issues.  We appreciate those of you who have done so in the past.

 

                                                 _________________________________________________________________

1977 BOOK GIVES HISTORY OF ROZAN, ANCESTRAL HOME OF MANY GRALLAS.

The Rozan memorial book printed in Israel in 1977 shares the history of a shtetl in Poland as it was long ago.  It was near Rozan where the patriarch, Yussef Gralla settled in the early 1800's, and had six sons, five of whom are ancestors of many of the Grallas now in the United States.   A Jewish community existed in Rozan as early as the 16th century.  There was little documentation concerning the early Jewish settlement.  The writers of the memorial book feel the Jewish settlement in Rozan may have been even as early as the year 1173.

In the Evreiskaya Encyclopedia it states there were 173 Jewish people in Rozan in the year 1765, 773 in the year 1856 and 1,698 in 1897.  Today the city has 151 households.

There were six craft guilds in the city for spinners, knitters, weavers, furriers, tailors and shoemakers.  Traders dealt in grains and forest products such as wood, pitch, wax and honey as well as animal hides.

Rozan, a town in the district of Makov, where the Rozhanitza joins the Narew river, is 20 Km. east of Makove Mazovietzk, on the crossroads between Warsaw-Ostrolenka and Czarnow-Ostrov-Mazovietzk.  This is in eastern Poland, which at various times fell under rule of Germany or Russia.

Beginning in the 15th century, Rozan became the capital of the district of Rozan or Makov.  The town flourished in the middle of the 17th century, but later the population dropped to 250 and in 1777 there were only 65 houses.

In the 19th century some progress was felt.  Six fairs were held yearly.  There was a tannery, a brewery, and with these the population grew from 582 in 1810 to 1,810 in 1860.  The population grew steadily, reaching 4,435 in 1910.  At the outbreak of the Second World War, Rozan counted 3,500 Jews, about 60% of its total population.

During the Second World War, Rozan was destroyed twice, first in 1939 and again between 1944-45.  It was at this time the Jewish population was expelled.  95% of the buildings were in ruins and of 6,000 inhabitants in 1939, only 739 remained in 1945.

The location of Rozan on the main road from Warsaw to Russia made it one of the strategic points along the river Narew to protect.  This is why Rozan was destroyed so many times in different wars.

It was a farming region and the people lived from agriculture, cattle raising, fishing and forestry.

The small synagogue in Rozan served not only as a place to pray and worship, but also as the center of the village, a place where elections were held, public events occurred and artisans would meet.

This synagogue was packed with thousands of people when the German armies entered Rozan.  The synagogue was set on fire and thousands of people rushed to escape, trampling many in the panic.  The details are shared in the Rozan Memorial book by those who survived.

This book can be found on microfilm at the LDS Family History Centers throughout the United States.  The film number is 1183647.

GRALLA RECORDS DISCOVERED IN RYCHWAL, POSEN.

Recently records were discovered of yet another small branch of Grallas which resided in Rychwal, Posen. 

Josef Gralla and his wife Josefa Janiaka had one child:  5 Feb. 1853, a daughter Josefa was born.  At this time Josef Gralla was 38 years old.

Another Josef Gralla and his wife Marianna Walezaka had the following children:  30 Sep 1855, a daughter Maryjanna was born.

14 Jan. 1858, another daughter Maryjanna was born.  At this time Josef Gralla was 40 years old and his wife was 31 years old.

More research will need to be done to determine the origin of these Gralla families and other details concerning them.  Due to the difficulty in reading these particular documents, research has been slower and more difficult than usual.

STANLEY W. GRALLA, ARCHITECT AND HORSEMAN.

Stanley Gralla of Oklahoma is a well know architect and a founder of his own consulting firm.  He has worked on many noteworthy projects, including schools, banks, nursing homes, apartments, as well as many equine facilities.  He has cooperated consistently with Gralla family research.

Mr. Gralla is a well known horseman as well as a well known architect.  He has written a book the Horseman's Architect, which is a guide to planning equine facilities.  He owns and operates  a 680 acre horse breeding and hay farm. 

Stanley Gralla was born in Housatonic, Mass., the son of the late Stanley Gralla, also of Housatonic.  He has two brothers, James Gralla of South Lee, Mass., and Thomas Gralla of Boston.  His grandparents were John and Sophie Gralla.  He married Mary Anna Conley and has two sons, Shawn, age 26, and Todd, 21. 

NEW FILMS PROVIDE CONTINUED INFORMATION.

The Family History Library Acquisitions department has been doing extensive filming in Poland.  Recent acquisitions include an area in which I am interested.  My Gralla family came from the village of Tost, now called Toszek in Silesia.  From that village, my great-grandfather, Valentin Gralla moved to another village called Koschentin, or its Polish equivalent, Koszecin.  The library has filmed only some of the civil registration for that town.  Recently two more films were received. 

Although I was not able to locate extensive material, I was able to determine that two daughters of Valentin Gralla married and had children in Koschentin.  One daughter Marianna Gralla married Josef Nanzka Nov. 18, 1882, and on Nov. 15, 1884 they had a daughter named Maria Gertrud.

Another daughter married Johann Galuschinsky  on Oct. 8, 1880 and had a son on the Dec. 14, 1883 named Franz Josef.  A third daughter Pauline, died in infancy at the age of 1 year and 4 months on May 27, 1878.

It is very exciting to find these and all documents regarding the various Gralla families.  It is also interesting to be able to see their signatures, more than one hundred years after they signed particular documents.  To show the types of sources that we are using for the information in these newsletters, a copy of a document, and its translation follows.

TRANSLATION OF DOCUMENT:

Number 8.  Koschentin, on the 8th of Oct. 1880.

Appears before the civil registrar, today in the instance of marriage, the gardener Johann Galuschinsky, single, who is known here, Catholic religion, born on the 8th of June 1853 at Wiersbie, resident of Wiersbie, son of the gardener and carriage driver, Constantin Galuschinski and his wife Franziska nee Kukowka of Wiersbie. 

And the unmarried farmer's daughter, Sophie Gralla, known here, Catholic religion, born on the 13th of May 1860 at Irrkau-Koschentin, resident of Irrkau, daughter of Valentin Gralla and his wife Josepha Kandzia, residents of Irrkau.

FAMOUS GRALLAS FOUND IN GREAT CATALANA ENCYCLOPEDIA.

Bernardo Gralla.

Resided at Lerida and Barcelona around the time of 1467.  Bernardo Gralla, Politician, honorable citizen and councilman of Lerida during the years of 1453 and 1461, was the son of Nicolas Gralla, co-founder of the famous Santa Maria hospital, of which he was the first manager in 1454.  He intervened in the revolutionary action of 1460.  The purpose of which was to detain prince Carlos de Viana.  When the war against King Don Juan II (1462) broke out, he was an outstanding member of government.  Later he was chosen as a governmental representative for the region of Catalunya.

Miguel Juan de Gralla.

He possibly resided in Lerida during the 15th century. He died in 1531.  Miguel Juan de Gralla, was a distinguished official and royal teacher in a classroom, and delegate of the generals (1491-1494).  He was a royal accountant teacher of Catalunya. (1501-1520).  Originated the Borques de Lerida lineage.  He was also the castellan and feudal lord of the castle of Subirat.   (This castle was the subject of earlier newsletters.) He was at the service of Ana de Bretana until the capitulation of Reunes in 1491.  He returned to Cataluna and intervened in the name of the king in the municipal reforms and of the Generals and he was designated by the king as a delegate.

He also intervened as an ambassador in matters of the distribution of the kingdom of Napoli.  In the year 1499, he was again sent to France because of the marriage of Ana de Bretana to Luis XII of France.  Miguel Juan de Gralla was married in 1506 to Anna Despla i de Corbera,  He transformed the Barcelona house of Despla into a lavish palace with a facade  of beautiful decoration of the renaissance and it was known since then as "Casa Gralla".  In its interior there was a beautiful patio whose lower level was of renaissance style.  The Gralla palace was torn down in the year 1856.

In the year of 1517, in Bruselas, Miguel Juan de Gralla  received, the title of Lord.  In 1520 he was aid in the position of rational teacher (royal accountant) by his son Francisco de Gralla i Despla, who inherited the position and got married in 1527 to Guiomar D' Hostalric Sabastida and became an aristocrat in Bolonia in the year 1530.

TOSZEK, HOME OF MANY GRALLA ANCESTORS IN SOUTHERN POLAND.

The town of Tost, Silesia, now known as Toszek, Poland is a district town in Southern Poland.  As early as 1222, a castle stood in the town.  This castle was attacked in 1241 by the Mongols, 1433 by the Hussites, and in 1570 and 1811, it was destroyed by fire.  After the 30-year war, Count Caspar Colonna rebuilt it into a renaissance castle.  Today only ruins remain of the castle.  Gralla family members still live in the town and in the surrounding areas of Tost.  Some Gralla ancestors earned their livelihoods working at this castle as servants and gate watchmen. 

This entire area is heavily industrialized.  In 1970 the population of Tost was 4,868.  The town was greatly destroyed in WWII by Soviet Troops. 

Entry to the castle Toszek           Catholic Parish in Toszek

COMPUTER LISTING OF GRALLA NAMES BEING FORMULATED.

Because of an ever-increasing number of names of Gralla ancestors, it has become difficult to keep track of them without the help of a computer.  Therefore, we have begun a listing of all Gralla names and are gradually getting them recorded on computer so we can easily make both alphabetical listings as well as geographic listings of Grallas throughout the world.  Below is a listing of Grallas from Olschienen, East Prussia.  This is not a complete listing as research is still continuing in this town.  As new names are found, we will add them to the Gralla lists.

INFORMATION REQUESTED FOR FUTURE NEWSLETTERS.

In the hopes of making the newsletter interesting for all branches of the Gralla family, we hope that you will continue to send in items of interest which can be published in future issues.  We appreciate those of you who have done so in the past.