The Krysakowski family comes from south-eastern Poland, in the area known as western Galicia, during the partitions. In the materials from the times of the First Republic, the name appears in 1779 – Maciej Krysakowski, altarist of the Wawel Cathedral, in 1794 – Michał Krysakowski, sergeant of the Kościuszko Uprising.
The currently living branches originate from the forks of the San and Vistula rivers. The places where this name appears in the 19th century are Majdan Królewski, Nisko, and Kolbuszowa. In the parish books in Gawłuszowice, there is an entry from 1834 about the wedding of Michał Krysakowski, son of Szczepan and Joanna née Milkowska, with Rozalia née Willam. Gawłuszewice is a village at the mouth of the Wisłoka River to the Vistula River in the Mielec County. Michał Krysakowski had four sons. Michał Franciszek was an official of the magistrate in Rzeszów, Wincenty Ignacy was a clerk of the District Court there. Antoni was a postal clerk in Nisko.
Four lines can be distinguished from Antoni, his brother Alexander and cousin Jan. Antoni is the progenitor of two lines – Gorlice and Canadian. The Kraków line originates from Aleksander. Jan, the secretary of the Kolbuszowa City Hall, is the great-grandfather of the American line.
Antoni and his cousin Jan were great friends and visited themselves often. Antoni used a cart to see his cousin. One winter on such a trip, he froze and contracted pneumonia, and died as a result. Two years later, his wife Cecylia died. There were three orphans left to be taken care of by the family. The eldest, 14-year-old Karol, was taken care of by his aunt and uncle Aleksander and Kunegunda. He grew up with Józef, Henryk and Maria. 6-year-old Domicela (Kamila, that is what she was called in the family) was given to Jan Krysakowski, who lived in Krzadka near Majdan. Stanisław was sent to a convent school, where he was to learn gardening. After turning 18, Stanisław joined the army. During this time, they met Karol, fell out and broke off contact. Karol later tried to find any information about Stanisław, but he failed. Stanisław Antoni Krysakowski appears on the list of Warsaw defenders in 1939 as a captain, staff officer. This is the last information about him. In the Krysakowski family, the father’s first name is often the middle name of men. This makes it easier to identify people with duplicate names.
Karol, after graduating from high school, moved to Lviv. There he graduated from the 2-year University of Accounting. At 22, in Lviv, he married Wilhelmina Rothlander. Wilhelmina was the sister of Anna Limbach, the wife of Józef Limbach, and they were the parents of Albina, wife of Henryk Krysakowski, son of Aleksander.
Józef Limbach was a teacher in Lviv, and later a School Inspector. He was a well-known naturalist, in the field of biology he was the author of textbooks for high schools, scientific papers, and books for young people – “Travels to Trieste”.
In Gorlice, Karol was the Bank’s Director, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the “Sokół” Gymnastic Society. Karol and Wilhelmina had three children – Stanisław, Janina and Władysław Mieczysław (the family used the name Mietek). Wilhelmina died young of heart condition, during her stay in Krakow, with her cousin Bielecka. Stanisław, Janka and Mieczysław attended to secondary school in Gorlice. Mieczysław then continued his education in Lviv. He died there on November 6, 1918, in the Polish-Ukrainian war. Janina studied at academy in Krakow. Later, she took the position of a teacher in Siary, and then she was appointed to the Higher Teacher Training Course in Krakow. She married Gustaw Firl, who worked in counterintelligence, and then was directed to the embassy in Stockholm
as a military attaché, in the following years to Berlin and in 1938 to Paris. Janina and Gustaw had a son, Leszek. During the Second World War, Janina and her son fled to Switzerland. Gustaw was killed by the Germans. In 1916 Stanisław joined the Polish Legions. After Poland regained independence, he was an officer in the 5th Light Artillery Regiment in Krakow. Then he married Maria (Maryla) and had two sons, Mietek and Janusz. Stanisław was transferred to the General Staff in Warsaw, where they lived with Maryla. During World War II, he was murdered in Pawiak.
Stanisław’s sons fought in England during the Second World War. Mietek was a 302 squadron pilot, and Janusz served in the ground forces. In Great Britain they took the surname Keyes. After the war, they emigrated to Canada, creating the Canadian part of the family.
Karol Krysakowski remarried, in 1930, with Julia Puchajda, died in 1936, leaving half- orphans Krystyna and Jerzy. After the war, Jerzy married Krystyna Smosna, the daughter of the school’s headmaster. He worked at the Factory of Mining Machinery, initially as a procurement manager, then as a social affairs director. The family lived in Gorlice, where Lucyna, Janusz and Jacek were born.
The Krakow line was started by Alexander. His son Józef Aleksander was a doctor and officer. In the years 1901-1918 he served in the army of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, where he obtained the rank of major. After Poland regained independence in 1918, he joined the Polish Army. Appointed a doctor colonel. In the years 1922–1927 he was assigned to the military District Hospital No. V in Kraków as a commandant. From 1934, he was assigned to the Reserve Staff of the 7th Regional Hospital in Poznań. In the September campaign, he took part in the Battle of Bzura. Aleksander’s second son, Henryk, was a school inspector and an instructor for the “Sokół” in Strzyżów. Henryk’s son, Aleksander, was born in Strzyżów and spent the war in Lviv. After the war, he moved to Wrocław, where his children, Ewa and Krzysztof, were born. Then the family moved to Krakow.
The fourth line comes from Jan Krysakowski from Majdan. Jan’s family lived in harsh conditions. In 1907, his son Mieczysław immigrated to the United States and settled in Stamford, north of New York. Jan died in 1909, so the family’s financial situation deteriorated even further. In 1911 Maria, John’s widow, and their four daughters crossed theocean and settled in Stamford. The family trip was financed by Mieczysław. All the daughters got married and achieved high material status in America. Mieczysław had two sons – Joseph Edward and John Felix. Before 1939, Joseph studied law. During World War II, he was a military aviator in transport aircraft. He participated in transports to England, France, Italy and Africa. After the war, he ran a legal practice. In 1949 he returned to the army and served as the attorney of the staff judge. In 1970 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. Josef had two sons, Don, who lives in Chico, California, and John, Jupiter, Florida.