Polkowo Creation and 18th Century Land Battle
from Studia i materialy do dziejow Pojezierza Augustowskiego
Białostockie Towarzystwo Naukowe, and Jerzy Antoniewicz, 1967.
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4. Creation of villages on bog islands and colonization on Biebrza River. The difficult socio-economic situation of the peasant population did not further promotion of settlement in the area. Quite contrary – in the first half of the 17th century it caused de-population in the Augustow area villages. Fields cleared earlier with difficulty now were empty. Part of the fields was occupied by manor estates, part of them were overgrown by bushes. However, this process did not diminish the scope of settlement. On the other hand, there were no other lands suitable for colonization. The Starostwo of Augustow was already colonized, Tajno leasehold, due to being located in the bog area, was not suitable to more settlements. Only "bog islands" were suitable here to settlement and agricultural cultivation which was mentioned already in 1565 by land inspectors from Augustow. The starostwo also brought attention to this. Starost Marcin Dulski issued a letter in Rajgrod on June 23, 1582 and allowed Marek Konoza and his wife Elzbieta clear fields on Polikow bog island and to settle there in perpetuity while paying rent. Queen Anna confirmed Dulski's letter by issuing a privilege in Warsaw on May 3, 1585; Dulski, in a separate document in 1587 described the borders of the land grant (5 wlokas) which led from the first sign on Netta River, from the old river bed called Tłum to an alder tree on Czarny Grąd (which was excluded from the grant), from here next to two birch trees and one by wild bee keepers' shacks, two mounds, alder tree on the road to Dolistów [now Dolistowo], by the corner of the alder forest, next to a branchy oak tree on Chrościewina bog island on Netta and from there to Tłum. Konoza's descendants received a new privilege from King Jan Kazimierz in 1661. Konozas' obligation, in addition to paying rent, was supervision of nearby forests and meadows. They were free from villein service so Tajno leaseholders tried to force them to pay higher rent. The Commissariat court, with its seat in Rajgrod, with the decree of September 13, 1639 lowered the rent from 50 zloty to 10 zloty. The Konozas' descendants multiplied and in 1664 there were 5 families here, and in 1781 there were 20 settlements. "The Polkowians in higher and higher numbers" crossed the borders of the land grant and "by clearing lands" took over Czarny Grąd and bog island Chrościewina, or Chrościelina.
In 1565 attention was paid to the fact that marshes are being crossed by poachers from Mazovia and Prussia. They were damaging animals in royal forests. Therefore, bog islands Jasionowo (2.5 wlokas) and Kopytkowo (8 wlokas) were settled by osoczniks from Knyszyn forestry. They were told to guard nearby forests and meadows. Otherwise, they only paid rent. They took 40-60 haystacks from the nearby bog meadows for which they paid to the forestry and they gave 1 capon. Łąki Klewiańskie [Klewianki Meadows] located in the vicinity of these villages most likely belonged to Klewianka near Goniądz. We don't know more exact dates of origin of these villages. They were here in 1602. Residents of these three bog villages, belonging to Dolistów parish, in the 18th century were called the bojars because they were free from villein service all the time and their villages had second name – Bojary. In Bargłówka's "back yard" village Piekutowo originated (8 wlokas). The first mention of this village dates from 1637. In 1650 it belonged to Michal Konopacki, son-in-law of starost Dulski. In 1658 former Tajno starost Kazimierz Dulski received it in lease. In the second half of the 17th century it went back to Tajno leasehold.
Translator's notes:
Osocznik – beater, his duties included inspection of royal forests, preparations for royal hunts, and guarding forests against poachers.
Sources should tell how Augustow vicinity looked like. Sejm constitutions of 1659 and 1661 sent all over the country commissions which were to inspect all royal estates. They [the commissions] worked for a few years, preparing so-called audits of crown lands. Unfortunately, full texts of audits of all Podlasie starostwos were not preserved, among them of Augustow starostwo. Only the Rajgrod and Tajno starostwos survived. So let's first look into these. Tajno leasehold was audited in autumn of 1664. Here is what we read in the text: Tajno "annihilated by crown enemy", Bargłówka – at the time only 4 settlers, they have (nothing) but one ox, and the second was given by the manorial estate, funditus burned by crown enemy". Buildings of the grange in this Bargłówka were "burned by enemy, and its lands have been empty for the last several years, they are not sown nor plowed". Orzechówka – "burned by crown enemy, there is (nothing) but only 2 settlers living in their gardens, they have neither ox nor any other beasts of draught." "A grange used to be located near this village but the horde burned it and its lands lay empty, nothing has been sowed there for the last few years". Wozna Wieś – "also partly burned by the horde and population taken away from it. Polikowo (Polkowo), located among bogs, was the only village not destroyed; in 1661 the King allowed Polikowo's residents to continue using cleared land which was granted earlier to their ancestor Marek Konoza only until his death. Out of three granges only Wolka (Karwowska) was farmed. In 1663 10 bushels of rye, 32 bushels of oats and 2 bushels of barley were sowed there. Bog islands were occupied by 11 wild beehives from which bee keepers gathered 10 gallons of honey. Pruska grange (5 wlokas) was partially overgrown. In 1664 by royal permit the grange was separated from Tajno leasehold and given to Grzegorz Wroblewski and his wife Elzbieta neé Gaszynska.
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Village Polkowo founded back in 1582 by one settler – Marek Konoza – free from villein service, was not touched by destruction and epidemics, grew robust over the centuries. More and more numerous residents were crowded on 5 wlokas of not particularly fertile land, so they started crossing the original grant. It also was also an eyesore in Tajno leaseholders' eyes who tried to impose on it various obligations. In 1748 Andrzej Karwowski, Tajno leaseholder, sued them, questioning the lifelong privilege of September 27, 1746 given to Wawrzyniec Odoj and his wife Konstancja neé Pomian. He also sued Wojciech Odoj and Jedrzej Polkowski for some reason. This conflict again broke out in 1777 when Anna Rostkowska, widow of Karwowski, started imposing various labors, levies (for example, 8 korzec of acorns), and higher rents on free Polkowo residents. The Polkowians, Mateusz and Marianna neé Kawalek the Konozas, Wawrzyniec and Konstancja neé Pomian the Odoj-Czerwinskis, Fabian and Katarzyna the Wiercioch-Sienkiewicz, Maciej and Agnieszka the Skiladzes, Adam and Jozef Wiercioch, Jan and Marianna neé Milewska the Omanowskis, Antoni Krukowski, Franciszek Litwinik, Benedykt Chata and others not mentioned, brought action in 1777 in the Referendaria Koronna court which took a few years to resolve, against general's wife Rostkowska and her officer Bartlomiej Turkowski (he had governed Tajno leasehold for about 20 years). They accused them of invasions on Polkowo, taking oxen, horses, household items, of wrongdoing and unfair treatment (Rostkowska, for example, imprisoned, chained and starved for 2 weeks 70-year-old Wawrzyniec Odoj-Czerwinski, whom she ordered to lash; additionally Fabian Wiercioch-Sienkiewicz was lashed with a whip at her orders). The court sent in 1778 a special commission (Wojciech Moscicki, District Chamberlain from Bielsk, Kazimierz Plonski, City Delegate from Bransk, and Romuald Rutkowski) to investigate the case and it [the court] cancelled forced obligations, as well as the obligation of carrying and delivering letters. Rostkowska accused the commission of partiality, so the court sent a new commission and in 1781 issued a decree in which it preserved Polkowians' (who at this time constituted a large village of 20 homes) in their right of ownership of 5 wlokas cleared by their ancestors, but at the same time, the court ordered to take away from them what they took by spreading beyond the borders of the land grant (Czarny Grąd and bog island Chruścielina). The court transferred those lands to Rostkowska, and gave the Polkowians priority in leasing the lands. The court also cancelled perpetually all forced obligations, leaving only the old obligation of guarding the forest and meadows and raised rent of 200 zloty. It also recognized the Polkowians' right to choose from amongst themselves two candidates for a wojt. In order to execute the decree a land court was appointed and was given a right to call army's help, it also ordered that new land bordering should take place according to the map prepared by the commission.. The Referendaria court in the same decree ordered punishment for Sokolowski and Mikolaj Gudel from Polkowo for wounding hitherto wojt Marcin Mitros, and also ordered that lands which he took in gage from Antoni Kuchar should be returned to him. Village Polkowo, as well as nearby village Kopytkowo and Jasionowo, in the 18th century were called Bojary.