Streszczenie / Summary
In the history of Cieszyn Silesia representatives of peasant families performed a significant role, unlike in the former lands of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Their role was particularly important in the period after the abolition of serfdom in 1848 and constitutional reforms of the 1860s, which changed the political landscape of the Austrian Empire.
The following book is a monograph of a peasant family from the discussed region. It presents the history of the Morys family, starting with Tomasz (ca. 1706- 1750), the carpenter and the owner of the land in Leszna Górna (Horní Líštná / Ober Lischna), to the generation that entered adulthood in the early twentieth century. The main part of the monograph is preceded by an introduction, which includes a description of literature and primary sources for genealogical research on peasant families from Cieszyn Silesia.
The origin of Tomasz could not be determined. He could have come from Brzezinka (Birkenau), currently located within administrative boarders’ of Gliwice, and be a brother of Franciszek Józef Morys, a parish priest of Leszna Górna parish. However, it cannot also be ruled out that he arrived to Cieszyn Silesia from nearby Moravia, where families bearing the surname Morys also appeared. This direction of our study is also supported by the family’s tradition.
The fate of the representatives of the Morys family allowed us to capture some common features that are characteristic of peasants from Cieszyn Silesia:
1) The reluctance to share the land resulted in a situation that even children of wealthy farmers often fell to the status of landless population.
2) The abolition of personal serfdom in 1781 increased mobility of family members.
3) Most of the representatives of the Morys family were Catholics, but as a result of marriages with Protestant women (Evangelists of Augsburg Confession) there emerged a Protestant branch of the family settled in Cisownica (Zeislowitz). This is an interesting example, because usually multi-confessional peasant families in Cieszyn Silesia were the fruit of the Counter-Reformation (1609-1781), when a large part of peasants moved from Lutheranism to Catholicism, and the rest of them remained Protestants.
4) Although they belonged to the Polish language group, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century they represented different political attitudes. Brothers: Jan Morys (1874-1939), Józef Morys (1883-1945), farmers from Puńców (Puntzau), and Karol Morys (1886-1948), a teacher, supported the Polish national movement. Furthermore, Jerzy Morys and his son Paweł Piotr Morys (1875-1938), farmers in Zamarski (Zamarsk) belonged to the Association of Silesian Catholics (Związek Śląskich Katolików) representing the Catholic wing of the Polish national movement. Meanwhile, Andrzej Morys (1876-1950), who was a mayor of Cisownica, was a supporter of pro-German Silesian People's Party (Śląska Partia Ludowa) led by Józef Kożdoń. However, in the face of the changing political situation, he publicly renounced cooperation with supporters of Józef Kożdoń in May 1920.
5) The local Polish intelligentsia in Cieszyn Silesia had peasant roots. In the line of the Morys family from Puńców (Puntzau) there was a tradition that one of the children chose the teaching profession. Those were subsequently: Jerzy (1846-1890), the head master of schools in Olbrachcice (Albrechtice / Albersdorf) and Gnojnik (Hnojník / Hnojník), Karol (1886-1948), the head master of schools in Łąki (Louky nad Olší / Lonkau) and Karol (1904 -1999), a teacher in Kończyce Wielkie (Gross Kuntschitz), Pogwizdów (Pogwisdau) and Cieszyn.
6) In terms of the tradition of giving names the Morys family did not stand out from other peasant families living in this part of Cieszyn Silesia. Male names were dominated by Jan and Jerzy, rarely Adam, Andrzej and Paweł. Later, under the influence of the Habsburgs, both those prevailing in Vienna, and those bearing the title of the Dukes of Cieszyn, the name repertoire was expanded by Józef, Franciszek, Karol and Rudolf. Meanwhile, female names were dominated by Maria (in the nineteenth-century documents written sometimes as Marianna), Anna, Zofia and Ewa. Names like Helena and Katarzyna occurred rarely. In the nineteenth century, Jerzy Morys (1846-1890), a teacher, was more inventive in naming his children, which was fairly typical for this professional group.
7) The author of the monograph managed to positively verify the family tradition, provided by Karol Morys (1904-1999), the author's great-grandfather, concerning the blood kinship between the lines of Morys family from Puńców and Cisownica. The last common ancestor of both lines was Jan Morys, born in 1734. This is an interesting starting point for further research on the genealogical memory of peasants.
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