Today, we know just how little we knew about our own noble Austrian, Hungarian, Polish, Prussian, Russian and Silesian ancestry, when we first undertook the Herculean effort to get better acquainted with our forefathers and -mothers. Over the last ten-plus years, we have rectified this most regrettable discrepancy. It was indeed an odyssey, which by definition is long, arduous and travels in unanticipated, crooked lines.
To begin with, the surname Gulgowski is not a very common name in Poland or elsewhere in the world. Of the total count of 128 individuals, the majority of 48 reside in Gdansk County, 25 in Bydgoszcz, 7 in Poznan, 6 in Bielski, 5 in Lodz, 5 in the United States of America, 6 in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1 in Great Britain, 1 in Sweden and 1 in France. (51)
For the benefit of our readers, we have decided to list the synopsis first and not last, which would have been the logical progression, because we did not wish the suspense of waiting for the final result be too long and drawn out.
II. Language
Delineating this element point by point, we should like to state that our family name possesses a locational form, signifying origin from, and/or ownership of, a locality named along the lines of Glogowo, Glugowo, Glogow, Glogovac, Gulkovo, Gulgow, Gulkowo, Gulowo and Gulgowy. In scholarly fairness, other village names like Gulki, Gólki, Golkowy,
Golkowice, Golkowitz, Golkow, Golkowo, Kulakow or Kulikowo, also had to be investigated, to be sure. The geographical aspects associated with some of these locational names will be discussed in greater detail under the heading of “Research.”
The discourse of this study would be less than complete, if we were not to consider at least a few linguistic aspects of this project. Names of places and families change often over the course of time. By and large, any language evolves over the ages and embraces different forms of spelling and articulation. Genealogists are constantly challenged by these phenomena. Sound shifts of vowels and consonants were rather frequent occurrences over decades and centuries. Karl Verner’s article “Eine Ausnahme der ersten Lautverschiebung (Exceptions to Sound Shifts)” in 1875 signified a massive breakthrough in historical linguistics. His findings complemented the Grimm Brothers’ research on Indo-Germanic sound shifts, such as from “b” to “p,” “d” to “t” and “g” to “k” or, in some instances, vice versa.
Many Polish nobility surnames were affected by similar trends. They gradually withered away or were diminished in form and expression not unlike their noble estates of the past. Fortunately for us, our last name was not mutilated by the immigration writing practices at Ellis Island, New York. For all practical purposes, we needed to only be aware of the reality that in the Polish language the “ó” is pronounced like “u,” while the “ó” may also be pronounced and written simply as “o.” The consonant “g” may under circumstances be pronounced like a “k” and the “k” like a “g.” (39)
The linguistic focus on the German root “Glug,” “Gulg” or “Gulk” is by and large inconsequential, because the location of the letter “l” had no or only little impact on its pronunciation.
This is equally true for the very closely related vowel variation of "o"; i.e."Glog", "Golg" or "Golk." However, the geographic/political implications are a totally different matter, as we will discover later on.
Beyond that, regional dialects have had a major effect on any language and still do. Courting the danger of over-simplifying this difficult academic subject, we, personally, only needed to be cognizant of the fact that Polish spelling was heavily influenced by Latin phonetics, a trend, which may still linger on today. While in the present-day Polish language the consonant “c” is
very much pronounced like the English “z,” the “c” sounds like a “t” and “s” in close connection with one another. But when Latin ruled the pages of the scribes, the spoken “c” could have been easily mispronounced as a “k” or “g.” And, last but not least, one may not ignore the impact that Austrian, French, German, Russian and Swedish occupations had on the Polish language, let alone
the orthographic ineptness of the early practitioners of writing, when the exercise of this activity was frowned upon by almost everyone in secular society, especially by military-oriented males.
Chevalier
Professor* Izydor (Ernst Seefried) Gulgowski's
Doliwa Coat-of-Arms
(*According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a professor is,
among several other things, one who possesses highly specialized wisdom.
In Prof. Gulgowski's case, he had such knowledge as a singular, widely acclaimed
and admired Kashubian ethnologist and distinguished author.)
Provided by:
Dame Zdzislawa Gulgowska-Doliwa
Diplomated Master of Embroidery,
Piece, Poland
Chev. Izydor Gulgowski-Doliwa
[Gulkowski/Golgowscy/Golkowski/Glogowski
in some records.]
Dame Theodora Gulgowska-Doliwa nee Fethke
Theodora must be greatly credited for having taught economically viable and profitable home industries such as embroidery, tailoring and doll making to Kashubian women, young and old.
Frequently, the income derived from such activities made all the difference of surviving the harsh winters of upper Pomerania, near the Baltic Coast.
School House of Izydor with Paul visiting
Book Title Page: Von einem unbekannten Volk in Deutschland
(About an Unknown People in Germany)
Simple spelling mistakes in the distant past, as well of those of recent and present times, also constituted a major headache. On the example of the highly acclaimed Kaszubian Ethnographer Ernst Seefried (in Polish: Izydor) Gulgowski, the “Father of the Kaszubian Identity,” one can see that our granduncle’s as well as our last name was spelled by different
well-renowned encyclopedias Gulgowski, Gulkowski, Golgowscy and Golkowski. Still, it was and remains one and the same name. (36) (48) (65)
Even during his U.S. Army active-duty engagement for friendship with America, his surname was frequently spelled "Gulkowski"
by various high-level German dignitaries and elected officials.
CLICK HERE to view the Ethno Park and the Gravestones of Ernst Seefried and
Theodora Gulgowski.
The Coat of Arms of H. H. Chev. Commodore Prof. Dr. Paul W. Margrave Gulgowski-Doliwa
can be seen
HERE
The Coat of Arms of H. H. Chev. Lt. Colonel Paul W. Margrave Gulgowski-Doliwa II
can be seen
HERE
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Music: Guiseppe Verdi (1813-1901), Opera Aida, Triumphal March
