Silesians to Other Parts of Minnesota

Villages Where Browerville Silesians Emigrated From

Strzelce Opolskie (Groß Strehlitz in German)

Silesians from the town of Strzelce Opolskie began immigrating to Browerville, Todd County, and Little Falls, Morrison County, around 1870. Strzelce Opolskie is 19 miles southeast of the city of Opole in Gmina Strzelce Opolskie, Strzelce County, Opole Voivodeship. The current population of Strzelce Opolskie is 17,900.

Strzelce Opolskie Parish

There were 6,000 catholics in Strzelce Opolskie in the middle of the 1800’s. The Catholic church in the town is St. Lawrence Catholic Church (St. Wawrzyniec in Polish). The first church dates back to the 13th century. Different church structures were built over the centuries and the current church building was constructed in the early 20th century. The church is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Opole.

There was another Catholic church in Strzelce Opolskie.which was originally built in 1505, then rebuilt in 1683. It is called the Church of St. Barbara, named after the patron of miners and is a wooden structure located in the middle of the Catholic cemetery. The church was owned by the Church of St. Lawrence.

FamilySearch has many baptism, marriage and death records (obtained from the State Archives of Opole and the Diocese Archives of Opole) for St. Lawrence Church dating from 1656 to 1963. Some can be accessed online from home, some are available at LDS Affiliate locations (the Hoffman Research Library is an affiliate), and others are only available at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

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Villages Where Delano Silesians Emigrated From

Silesians who settled in Delano, Wright County, Minnesota, came from the Opole area of Upper Silesia. The primary villages where they emigrated from were Brynica, Węgry, and Luboszyce. They immigrated between 1868 and 1890 (peaking around 1880).

Brynica (Brinnitz in German)

Brzyce is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Lubniany, within Opole County, Opole Voivodeship in southwestern Poland. It is 10 miles north of the regional capital Opole and currently has a population of 1,200.

Brynica Parish

The Catholic church in Brynica is St. Stephen Church, which is in the Diocese of Gliwice. This Diocese was established in 1992 from the Diocese of Czestochowa, Diocese of Katowice and Diocese of Opole.

Link to Wikimedia Photos of St. Stephen Church
Find-a-Grave for Brynica – There are 1,088 graves listed, some from the late 1800s, many from the 1900s.

FamilySearch has many baptism, marriage and death records for St. Stephen church, dating from 1657 to 1960, which were obtained from the State Archives of Opole and the Diocese Archives of Opole. Some are available online from home, some are available at LDS Affiliate locations (the Hoffman Research Library is an affiliate), and others are only available at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

Luboszyce (Luboschütz in German).

Luboszyce is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Lubniany, within Opole County, Opole Voivodeship in southwestern Poland. It is 5 miles north of the regional capital Opole and currently has a population of 1,000.

Luboszyce Parish

The church in Luboszyce is St. Anthony of Padua – there is not much online about this church. FamilySearch has records for this church from 1920-1957, so it is possible that the church was established in the 1900s as it doesn’t appear that there are records before that time.

Węgry (Wengern in German)

Węgry is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Turawa, within Opole County, Opole Voivodeship in southwestern Poland. It is 7 miles north-east of the regional capital Opole and currently has a population of 800.

Węgry parish

The Catholic church in Węgry is St. Joseph. FamilySearch has birth, marriage and death records for this church from 1923-1958. However, they are not available online from home. Some are only available at LDS Affiliate locations (the Hoffman Research Library is an affiliate), and others are only available at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City. It is possible that the church was established in the 1920s as it doesn’t appear that there are records before that time.

Turawa Parish

It is uncertain where Catholics from Węgry attended church before 1923, but a guess is Turawa, which is less than four miles from Wegry. The Church of Sts Peter and Paul was the Catholic Church there. FamilySearch has baptism, marriage and death records for this church from 1813 to 1924, which were obtained from the State Archives in Warsaw and the Diocese Archives of Opole. Some are available online from home, some are available at LDS Affiliate locations (the Hoffman Research Library is an affiliate), and others are only available at the LDS Family History Library in Salt Lake City.