Welcome to Gembitz Hauland
Gembitz Hauland, present day Gebiczyn, Poland, was founded in 1735. A significant number of documents about the community have been preserved in the Archive in Poznan and its satellite in Pila providing valuable insight into the lives and communities of the former German residents of present day Wielkpolskie.
The community is special to me. In 1992 this ancestral home was my first genealogical visit to Europe. Each of my subsequent three visits to Poland has included a stop in the community.
During those visits I have not only found a wealth of information about the history of Gembitz Hauland and its neighboring communities but also have made many new friends with connections to this area across the globe. The preservation of what I have found and my desire to share it is the inspiration for this website.
I have created an Ortsfamilienbücher that is available at the website https://ofb.genealogy.net/gembitz_hauland/. On this website I will not duplicate that information. Instead, I will be sharing information about the history of the community that does not fit neatly on a family tree.
Please check back frequently for updates as I add new information about the farms, churches, cemeteries and schools from this community.
One Family’s Journey from Gembitz Hauland
Standing at the Grave
Standing at the Grave page 263 – “At that intersection one hundred and fifty years ago, my great-great-grandfather Albert Heyn was two miles into a five-thousand-mile journey to become the first of his family to emigrate to America. He turned east. I turn south. When the blinker clicks off, the family’s circuit from Gembitz Hauland to Minnesota and back to Gebiczyn has closed.”
Das Grab in der Ferne page 313 – “Vor hundertfünfzig Jahren hatte an dieser Stelle mein Ururgroßvater Albert Heyn, der erste Auswanderer der Familie Heyn, die ersten drei seiner achttausend Kilometer langen Reise nach Amerika zurückgelegt. Er wandte sich nach Osten. Ich drehe nach Süden. Als der Blinker wieder abschaltet, schließt sich der Kreis der Familie von Gembitz Hauland nach Minnesota und zurück nach Gebiczyn.”