ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 115443 - Translation - Polish - Poland - Rawa Maz - PIWKO, RAYCH


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - Polish
Approval Date: 9/27/2026 4:40 PM
Family Surname: PIWKO, RAYCH
Country: Poland
Town: Rawa Maz
Date of Image: 1846

Click the picture to enlarge

I would be very grateful for the extraction of names, dates and places in this marriage registration. I do not require a word by word translation.
Three different AI translators have made a hash of this so I am presuming the handwriting is difficult. Could I please request human eyes and expertise?

Many thanks, Robyn

Response

9/27/2026 7:25 PM

Hello,
This is indeed very difficult handwriting. This is the best I can do.

A note: The groom’s hometown looks to be written like “z Miasta Bolmowa, Powiatu Sochaczewskiego, Gubernii Warszawskiej,” which translates to “from the town of Bolmów, Sochaczew District, Warsaw Governorate. There is no town called “Bolmów” in that region that I could find, but there is one called “Bolimów” that was in that area at the time, and is now in Skierniewice County, Łódź Voivodeship. That is my best guess. Bolimów is actually very close to Rawa Mazowiecka, despite the difference in political divisions.

Also, the groom’s surname looks like PIPKA to me, definitely not PIWKO.

——

No. 9

Registration of Marriage: Rawa, 8 December (26 November [Julian calendar]) 1846, 4 p.m. [16:00]

Religious Marriage: Rawa, 8 December 1846; performed by Moyzes Dawid PILIZER[?], rabbi at the local synagogue

Groom: Josek Chaym PIPKA[?], 21 years old, unmarried, tanner, residing with his parents, from the town of “Bolmów” [see note], son of living parents Jakob PIPKA[?] and Bayla née RUSK[?], tanners in “Bolmów”

Bride: Lieba [or Liba] Cywia RAYCH (RAYCHOWNA), 18 years old, unmarried, from Rawa, daughter of Aron RAYCH (alive) and Fromet née [daughter of] Izrael (deceased), local day-laborers

Witnesses: Mendel LEWKOWICZ, 57 years old, synagogue sexton; and Moszek [or Moyzes] BRAUNER, tailor, 46 years old; both residing in the local town

Marriage Banns: Published in “Bolmów” on 17, 24, and 31 October 1846; and in Rawa on 14 (2), 21 (9), and 28 (16) November 1846

The groom’s and the bride’s father were both present and consented.

The newlyweds declared that they did not sign any prenuptial agreement.

9/28/2026 12:05 PM

I will always defer to a manual translation ... however here is my AI generated analysis (4th?)

### Prosopographical Breakdown

This breakdown separates explicit textual facts contained in Act No. 9 (1848) from secondary genealogical inferences and contextual reconstructions.
---

1. Officiating Officer / Civil Registrar
* Name: Jan Skrzynieski (Skrzynecki)

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Role: Civil Status Officer / Registrar (*Utrzymujący Akta Stanu Cywilnego*).
* Actions: Read the act aloud to the appearing parties and witnesses; recorded and validated the signatures/marks.

Genealogical Inferences:
* Catholic / Christian administrative official appointed by the Kingdom of Poland local government to maintain civil registration records for the Jewish community (which was mandatory under standard Polish-Russian civil registry laws of 1826–1867).
---

2. Officiating Religious Authority
* Name: Moszek Dawid Pifko (also signed as Moyżes Dawid Pelicer)

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Role: Officiating Rabbi (*Rabin przy Tutejszym Urzędzie* / *Rabin M. Rawy*).
* Age: 38 years old (*lat trzylesci osm maiący*).
* Residence: Residing in Rawa (*tu mieszkaiący*).
* Actions: Appeared at the civil office at 2:00 PM on December 26, 1848, to report and record the marriage.

Genealogical Inferences:
* May belong to the broader Pifko / Piwko extended family network in Rawa, given the shared surname with the groom, though no direct paternal relationship to the groom is explicitly declared in the body text.

---

3. The Groom
* Name: Chaim Szmul Pifko (Piwko / Pifka)

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Age: 21 years old (*lat dwadzieścia jeden*).
* Marital Status: Never married / Single (*Stanu wolnego*).
* Occupation: Tanner (*Garbarz*), working alongside his parents in their joint household (*przy Rodzicach mieszka jącym w spólnoscy*).
* Origin / Jurisdiction: Born in / origin of Warsaw District and Warsaw Governorate (*poywatu Warszawskiego Gubernii Warszawskiey*).
* Parents: Son of living spouses Jakób Pifko and Mayla (née Szulm).
* Consent: Paternal consent given by his father Jakób Pifko.

* Genealogical Inferences:
* Born circa 1827 in the Warsaw Governorate region.
* Followed his father's trade (tanning), reflecting a common hereditary guild/craft pattern in 19th-century Polish Jewish shtetls.

---

4. Father of the Groom
* Name: Jakób Pifko (Piwko)

Explicit Textual Statements**:
* Status: Living (*żyjących*).
* Spouse: Mayla z Szulmów.
* Occupation: Spindle / specialty tanner operating his own trade (*Garbarza wrzecionek Własne Rzemiosło uprawiających*).
* Religion: Jewish (*Starozakonny*).
* Actions: Expressed formal parental consent for his son to enter into marriage.

Genealogical Inferences:
*Established artisan residing in Rawa or Warsaw District.
* Did not sign the document directly (or signature was replaced by the rabbi/witnesses), implying illiteracy in written Polish script.

---

5. Mother of the Groom
* Name: Mayla Pifko (née Szulm / Szulmów)

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Status: Living (*żyjących*).
* Spouse: Jakób Pifko.
* Religion: Jewish (*Starozakonna*).

Genealogical Inferences:
* Born into a family named Szulm (Schulm / Szulmov).

---
continues ....

9/28/2026 12:20 PM

continues .....

6. The Bride
* Name: Liffa Cynie Raychówa (Sura Liba Rajch / Raych)

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Marital Status: Never married / Maiden (*Stanu wolnego* / *Córką*).
* Residence / Origin**: Native/resident of the City of Rawa (*rodem z tutejszego Miasta Rawy*).
* Parents: Daughter of Aron Rajch (Raych) and Mora / Mory (née Finkelsztejn).
* Consent: Paternal consent given by her father Aron Rajch.

Genealogical Inferences:
* Age is omitted in this specific act text, but legally at least 16–18 years old per contemporary Kingdom of Poland civil statutes.
* Born and raised in Rawa Mazowiecka.

---

7. Father of the Bride
* Name: Aron Raych (Rajch / Szlych Aron Rajch)

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Status: Living.
* Spouse: Mora (Mory) z Finkelsztejnów.
* Residence: Rawa Mazowiecka.
* Occupation: Synagogue sexton / Grave digger / Cantor (*Ceyza* / *Nygrobnik* / *Śpiewak*).
* Actions: Gave formal consent for his daughter's marriage; signed the document at the bottom (*podpisma Znaczy aron Raych*).

Genealogical Inferences:
* Held a lower-ranking communal or religious staff position in the Jewish community (Kahal) of Rawa.
* Literate in Hebrew script (as evidenced by the signature mark/signature on the record).

---

8. Mother of the Bride
* Name: Mora / Mory Rajch (née Finkelsztejn / Finkelsztejnów)

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Status: Living.
* Spouse: Aron Raych.
* Religion: Jewish (*Izraelska* / *Starozakonna*).

Genealogical Inferences:
* Born into the Finkelsztejn (Finkelstein) family.

---

9. Witness 1

* Name: Moszek (Mendel) Lewkowicz

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Age: 57 years old (*lat piećdziesiąt Siedm mający*).
* Occupation: Stonemason / Stone worker (*Liturnika Kamiennego*).
* Residence: Rawa Mazowiecka.
* Actions: Signed the document (*podpis małznący Mendel Lewkowicz*).

Genealogical Inferences:
* Born circa 1791.
* Neighbor or professional associate of the family in Rawa.
* Signed as "Mendel", demonstrating the common usage of Yiddish Yichud names (Mendel) alongside official registered Polish-Hebrew civil names (Moszek).

---

10. Witness 2
* Name: Lewin (Moyżesz) Brauner

Explicit Textual Statements:
* Age: 40 years old (*lat Czterdzieści mającego*).
* Occupation: Tailor (*Krawca*).
* Residence: Rawa Mazowiecka.
* Actions: Signed the document (*podpis małznący Moyżes Brauner*).

* **Genealogical Inferences**:
* Born circa 1808.
* Signed as "Moyżes Brauner", showing another variant between body text naming ("Lewin") and personal signature ("Moyżes").

9/28/2026 12:32 PM

and I asked AI to check whether image contained the following text " “z Miasta Bolmowa, Powiatu Sochaczewskiego, Gubernii Warszawskiej,” "

And it said .....

No, the image does not contain that text. The original handwritten document references the location as "poywatu Warszawskiego Gubernii Warszawskiey" (and notes banns published in "Gminie Miasta Po Lwowa:" / "tutejszego Miasta Rawy"), but it does not mention Bolimów ("z Miasta Bolmowa") or the Sochaczew District ("Powiatu Sochaczewskiego").

I personally have no opinion .....

ViewMate Posting VM 115443

Submitted by Robyn Dryen

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles. University students can apply for the Bennett & Robin Greenspan L'dor V'dor Legacy Program, and those "out of school" can help preserve Jewish Heritage in Poland with unique study & volunteer experiences.

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 115443

Submitted by Robyn Dryen