• Born: 19 Mar 1881, Gorzno near Garwolin, Poland
  (birth certificate)
• Married to Zofia Mroczek on 22 Jan 1905
  (marriage certificate: missing)
• Occupation: farmer, miller, carpenter
• Died: 25 Apr 1962, Warszawa Praga-Poludnie, Poland
  (death certificate)

1941

He was born in Gorzno and in his late teens moved with his parents and seven sisters about 17 kilometers (11 miles) north to Pienki, a part of the village of Slup near Parysow. His father purchased a large piece of land, about 22.4 hectares (about 56 acres). This was a newly cleared forest, so the whole family had to work very hard to remove the tree stumps and to build a new house. When in 1905 Jozef married Zofia Mroczek, he got 9 hectares (22.5 acres). He lived with his parents who kept 2 hectares (5 acres) of land for their retirement. Seven of his eight children were born in Slup; his daughter Marianna died in infancy. In 1918, together with his wife’s siblings and cousins, he purchased a large estate in Swoboda near Siennica (about 18 kilometers = 11.5 miles north of Slup) that was being divided into lots. He got 25 hectares (62.5 acres), part of the estate’s buildings and an orchard. He built a new house, finishing a special room for his father and mother. Jozef’s last son, Kazimierz, was born in Swoboda. In this village, Jozef survived the Bolshevik invasion of Poland in 1920 and lost part of his farm products and belongings due to theft and requisitions by the invaders. In 1926, Jozef was in debt and had to sell his farm and purchased a small 3 hectares (7.5 acres) farm with a mill in Dabkowizna, part of the village Mrozy, about 18 kilometers (11.5 miles) northeast of Swoboda. Soon, he sold the land and kept only the mill, a small meadow, and a garden. Because of his bad investments and because of the cost of educating his children in late 1929 Jozef sold the mill and moved to Kolonia Borkow (presently, part of Radosc, southeast of Warsaw). He supported his family as a carpenter and cabinetmaker. His main hobby was beekeeping.
     Although Jozef Pieniazek did not have formal education, he was self-educated, read a lot, and was interested in new ideas in agriculture. He understood very well the necessity for education and worked hard to put his children not only through elementary school, but also to provide them with higher-level education. Definitely, such attitude was rare in Poland before the Second Word War for peasant families and, in addition, was quite expensive. Janina, Jozef’s oldest daughter became a teacher; his oldest son, Stanislaw, finished the prestigious Gorski Gymnasium in Warsaw. His son Szczepan graduated with a Master of Science degree from the Warsaw University and in 1938 left on a graduate fellowship to study for a doctorate in Horticulture at Cornell University in the United States.
     The family treated Jozef with great respect. Every year, on March 19, when Jozef’s birthday coincided with Jozef’s nameday (in Poland people celebrate the traditional Catholic day of the patron saint, in this case, St. Joseph's Day), all of his children, grandchildren, and cousins would hold a reunion at his house. In 1955, there was a special reception to celebrate the 50th anniversary of his wedding with Zofia Mroczek. Even distant cousins came to honor them. Jozef had a very inclusive understanding of family ties. He treated even distant relatives of his wife as close cousins. The descendants of Jozef continue the tradition of family reunions. The “Pieniazek’s Family Website” would not be possible without inheriting from Jozef’s the meaning of strong family ties.