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Stanisław Kazmirkiewicz of St. Vincent Seminary Westmoreland City P.A. to Anna Kazmirkiewicz, Ciechanówek, Golub-Dobrzyn district, December 8, 1890.

Dear Mother and Sister,
Thanks to God I'm in good health and I wish you the same; I have no news to tell you now - I will describe them later because now I will tell you about things which are more important for me and you. I would like to describe you how to get to America, first for Markowski and Kostus and then for you so that you will make no demur. I have known it for some time already, that the Russians don't allow to cross the border because they know that the Poles travel to America where they can get more clever and earn some money and after that they won't obey the Russian rule, and the Russians don't like it. So just in case of any problem you should do what I'm writing now, you should read my letter may and if Markowski is not with you at that time put this letter into another envelope and post it to him so that he knows what to do.
My dear Brother-in-law, if you want to come to America, do it immediately because it will take you a lot of time and I have already got a place for you and Kostus here, so take his letter with you to our uncle and you may read it him but in such a way that nobody can hear you, as they could try to stop you while crossing the border, because I know that the whole Prussian - Russian border is watched by the Russians so you should be silent and first go to the office and ask for a border pass to Prussia. You may say that you are traveling to some Prussian village to some family as a guest for a few days and that you will be back soon, so invent such a family and their name and it will be easier for you to get this border pass. Kostus may tell them that he is going cross the border to get married, he should give them any last name and village name so that they will not know it is not true. When you receive the boarder passes you may go wherever you want, to Dobrzen or Lubicz, or to any other place, and when someone asks you may answer that you are traveling to your girl-friend. If you don't receive border passes in the village office you should ask our uncle about Zajeziorze near Klonow, but it will be the best solution if you go to Zajeziorze together with him. There are two Poles living there who have their own horses and two times a week they transport birds for sale to a market in Lubicz. They leave home almost every Sunday and Thursday night; they may give you a better information so take with you a bottle of vodka and drink it drink with them; or reward them so that they will take you to a woman in Lubicz who sells border passes to Prussia, then you should pay her one or two roubles per border pass and so better cross the bridge than swim across Drwęca River, and protect yourself against the Russians at the border. And from Lubicz you may hire a wagon or walk to Torun. Of course you can arrange all this with one person only - you don't have to waste vodka on everybody, there are two such people in Zajezierze, you can use one or the other, one is called Pawel Frankowski - the other Jan Mokan. There are also two such people in Sikorek, the first one is Franciszek Zorembski, the second one Michal Zorebski, they are brothers. So with those people you can do everything if they want to. The way they do it is that they take you to Lubicz, but only on Mondays and Fridays, market days, then they give both of you cages with chicken or ducks and they tell you to go with them to the Prussian side as if you were their helpers; this way you can easily cross the border but both of you have to pay a rouble to some man or woman, and they will teach you what to do.
I know one more method to cross the border. This one may be good for Michcia, for Mother and for Nastusia. When they will be going to America, Mother may go to Dobrzyn to the Secretary Tejczer, maybe she knows him; she should ask him for advice, he is a good man and he will give her good advice. Mother may tell him that she wants to go with her daughters to America for her son's Ordination Ceremony; Mother may also tell him that I know him well because I was an apprentice at Neski in Dobrzyn and that I want to give him my greetings; he should be happy about it and Mother may tell him that I have asked for it myself and that I want to be his friend, then he will give her border passes to Prussia because he has connections at the border. I will send him a gift and you should give the letter which is in the small envelope to Tejczer in Dobrzyn - since I'm asking him myself, he will not reject it. There is also a woman in Dobrzyn or Golub who will carry all your stuff, clothes, sheets through the border and then she will take you through the border, you will know the other things from Tejczer; and don't say anything to anybody. Or maybe it would be better if you, Mother and Morkowski took this letter and went to Dobrzyn and gave it to him; later when he reads it ask him if he could take also Markowski and Kustus through the border; it would be better to go to Kowalewo in the direction of Lubicz, and they should hire a wagon to Kowalewo and travel further to Toruń, and from Toruń to Bremen. Don't buy a shipping ticket before arrival to Bremen. Ships from Bremen travel faster and safer than from other harbors. In Bremen you may buy a ticket to America, to New York City or Baltimore, and because it is the same distance you should ask to which city a ticket is cheaper.

S. Kazmierkiewicz

 

You, that is Mother and Markowski should go with my letter to Tejczer in Dobrzyn, he is a Secretary at the post office, and also in the customs house. You may visit him at home and give him this letter to read, but you should do it on a market day, as if you came just for shopping so that he would not feel pressed because he is a respectable man and he could get irritated but you may tell him that you came just for business - if you have a few pounds of butter, eggs, cheese you can take them with you and when he reads the letter you may wait as if for him to answer, and if after reading the letter he says yes or no, probably rather no, it will mean nothing because everybody would tell so in order to gain some time to think it over, and maybe he will think it over; anyway, what he says he says and Mother should give him the whole basket with everything inside and he will choose what he wants, and Mother should not tell him what is inside the basket because it would be rude, and if Mother does not have a nice basket then please Mother borrow it for this day, he will give it back, and if he wants to pay for it don't accept money, and if he doesn't want to take it, then you, my brother-in-law Walery, give it to him, and ask him to be so kind and not despise of such a small gift, so he will accept it. Don't regret these few pounds of butter, and a few dozens of eggs because we can benefit more later and maybe, when we want to go back home, he will also to be able to help us, and make it easier to come to Poland and bring something with us. When he takes this basket and takes everything out of it and thanks you then you may add that this is a very small gift and start talking with him, but don't start with asking him for anything because it would be unkind, speak only about other things and if he asks you about me then you may tell him more of what I write to you, how much I had to suffer and so on, but don't tell him that I want to help your children to be successful, tell him only that you want to go for my Ordination Ceremony. If he is not the first one to ask for anything then you may ask him if he has already been in America and what he thinks about it, and later, slowly, you may start talking about me, and you, my brother-in-law, will know how to start the conversation. You may take with you one of my nice photos and show it to him, and if he appreciates it you may give it to him and I will send you the same one; this way you will buy him and he will do for you whatever you want. You may tell him that I have been so lucky to expect a high position so that he will believe that I may help him in future, too. When you finish your conversation and you are about to leave, then you, my brother-in-law Walery, ask him to be so kind to give you advice how you could cross the border with Kostus in the easiest possible way, but don't ask him at once for a border pass, because it would be rude; he will give you advice because I asked him for it in the letter and this is why I think he will not reject you, you should only treat him in tactfully. Tact sometimes gives more benefits than money, he will also help you carry your stuff, and if he cannot do this then nothing can be done, you can't make something out of nothing; and if he says that everything will be all right, then thank him and you, my brother-in-law, may tell him that you will try to reward him for his efforts and his noble heart. Don't show him my letters because they are written in a ugly way, I write many letters and I don't have time to write nicely and correctly. I believe that you accept my letters and you don't pay attention if their are nice but to what the effects of these words may be for you and for me. I think the way I have described this to you is good enough for you, you have to take care of the rest on your own. Also tell Tejczer that you, my brother-in-law, want to come with Kostus immediately, and Mother, wife, and Nastusia want to come three or four months later. You must also mention your children to him and it would be good to give him some five roubles for this so that you will have a safe and peaceful way across the border. Maybe before the women come I will be able to send him some gift, then he would take any money from you, but better risk some money as I risk it. I hope everything will be all right with you. Don't despair and ask God and St. Mary for help and you will receive everything.

The State Archive of the Capital City of Warsaw, Emigrants Letters, No 159