Florian, MN

The Diocese of Crookston was formed in 1909 and consists of Becker, Beltrami, Clay, Clearwater, Hubbard, Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Mahnomen, Norman, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau Counties in Minnesota. The Assumption Parish in Florian is at the northeast corner of 270th Ave. NW & 390th St. NW. The cemetery is behind the building along 390th St. NW. The parish of St. John the Baptist near Argyle in Alma Township, MN was founded in 1915. It closed in 2002 and the building was razed in 2018. The parish cemetery is at the old church site. Holy Rosary Church serviced the Kroze Colony (mailing address in Lancaster). The Holy Cross Cemetery is a short distance north of the church on the right hand side of the same road. The map below makes it look like the church is Canada but if you zoom in sufficiently you will be taken to the church's front door.

My "go to" listing of Polish parishes did not list either Assumption or St. John the Baptist. I first became aware of Florian in the early 1990s. Edward Peckwas knew that the surname, Przekwas, was in Florian. News from Florian appeared in Chicago's Polish daily, Dziennik Chicagoski. I kept it in mind ever since. Marty C. Byzewski compiled a list of burials in the new church cemetery begun in 1902 on up to May 2005. This wasn't the original cemetery which is now called the Assumption Pioneer Cemetery. Marty created another list of burials for this cemetery (located in Section 35 of Augsburg Township in Marshall County). A history of the parish from 1975 says the parish had its beginnngs in 1881 with the arrival of Polish settlers. Florian is in Section 5 of Wright Township in Marshall County, Minnesota. [Marty said the pioneer cemetery was founded in 1820 which seems to be a mistake.] This index map for the county can take you to Wright Township and surrounding townships. Because Florian is in the northwest part of the township, you will also find Poles in adjacent townships. This region saw a lot of settlement including people who culturally identified as German but who emigrated from locales in what is modern Poland.