Compiled and written by David R. Schleper, 2023
Bernhard Sawatzki Sawatzky, a native of Germany, was born Sept. 13, 1850, in West Prussia. He was baptized that day, according to documentation at Laseczno, or in German, Groß Herzogswalde. It is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Iława, within Iława County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. The village has a population of 382, according to Wikipedia.
On Sept. 28, 1877, Bernhard married Pauline Buttler according to the Hesse, Hesse-Kassel, Hess Darmstadt, Hess-Marburg, Hess Reinfels, Rhineland, and Waldeck, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1661-1957. The marriage happened Sept. 28, 1876, in Sommerau, Poland. Sommerau, now known as Ząbrowo, is southeast of the regional capital Gdańsk in Poland. It is close to the Czech and German borders. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany. Sommerau was founded in 1383. Until 1772 Sommerau was in what was known as Royal Prussia (also known as Polish Prussia) in the Kingdom of Poland. The First Partition of Poland in 1772 resulted in the creation of a new province in 1773, called West Prussia, in which Sommerau was located. Sommerau was situated in the district (Kreis) of Marienburg until the end of World War I, when it came under the jurisdiction of the German province of East Prussia. The village came under the control of Nazi Germany during World War II until February 1945, when it was occupied by Soviet forces and returned to Poland. In 2012 Sommerau was a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stare Pole, within Malbork County, Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Bernhard and Pauline lived in West Prussia, where they had seven children. In 1890, Bernhard and Pauline moved to America, along with three of their children. Two other children died in Germany, and one married daughter stayed in Germany.
The family moved directly to Shakopee, according to the Shakopee Tribune on Nov. 10, 1905. Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905 for Bernard Sawatzka and wife, Pauline, showed they lived in Shakopee in 1905.
For fifteen years, the family lived in Shakopee, where Bernhard worked as a stone mason.
Stone masonry was considered a skilled trade, higher in ranking than a wheelwright or carpenter, for example. Many craftsmen were self-taught and some developed their skills and later became architects and civil engineers. Bernhard worked in Shakopee for fifteen years, probably at part of the Schroeder Brickyard. He worked continuously, never knowing a day’s sickness, according to a Shakopee Tribune article in 1905.
In March 1905, a small spot appeared upon his cheek to which he paid slight attention. But dangerous symptoms developed rapidly, and Bernhard consulted medical specialists who pronounced it as cancerous growth. There was no hope of recovery for the sufferer.
The ravages of his disease which attacked him compelled him to cessation from his labor. During the last few months of his life, Bernhard suffered intensely. For the last three weeks he was unable to receive nourishment in any form.
On Tuesday, Nov. 7, 1905, at age 55, Bernhard Sawatzki Sawatzky succumbed to the inevitable, and though the death struggle was severe, his consciousness remained until near the end. He still recognized the different members of his family gathering around his bedside.
Five of his children survived him, and Bernhard’s father, three sisters, and three grandchildren were left in Germany, as well as brother, Charles Kawatsky of Shakopee, and Mrs. Rudolph Sawatzky Quashnefski of St. Paul.
The funeral took place on Nov. 10, 1905, from St. John’s German Evangelical Lutheran Church with Rev. Carl Ganschow officiating. Interment was at Valley Cemetery in Shakopee.
Pauline decided to return to her native land to make her home with her daughters in Germany. She died there in February 1909, according to the Scott County Argus on March 19, 1909.