Wawrzyniec Feige – śląski protoplasta warszawskiej rodziny Kowalskich
Wawrzyniec Feige – the Silesian Progenitor of the Warsaw Line of the Kowalski Family

Summary/Abstract: According to a family story, Jan Kowalski settled in Warsaw at the end of the 19th century, after escaping from Prussia, where he did not want to do the military service. Genealogical research reveals a slightly different course of events. Jan's father, Wawrzyniec Feige, fled from Prussian Silesia. However, the reason was an in absentia prison sentence (6 months) for petty theft (wood from the forest). In order to cross the border with his entire family, he used the documents of the late Michał Kowalski. Later generations of the Kowalski family knew neither Wawrzyniec's story nor his real name. Nevertheless, the Kowalski family carry the same Y-DNA haplogroup as men named Feige and men named Schultz, whose ancestors lived in Silesia in the 18th century. It is very likely that the characteristic mutation arose in the 16th century in Silesia and involved a man with the surname Feige. This surname was used in the Silesian area as early as in the 15th century and most likely came from the name Feit (Latin: Vitus).

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