David Wenski

     In earlier times, the village of Schwente belonged to the rulers of Flatow. The Polish lords ruled Polish inhabitants and appointed a Polish mayor. The Polish mayoral estate, Schwente No. 1, went into German hands in the year 1751 when Martin Remus bought it for 2050 Tympf.

Because of the Great Northern War in 1700-1721, and plague in 1709-1711, the population of Flatow was diminished so drastically, that the lords settled Germans in the area, and gave them their own mayor. The first mayor of the Germans, David Wenski, son of Jacob von Wienskowski, was born circa 1690 in Poland.^4,3 He and his brother, Johann, changed their surname from Wienskowski to Wenski.³

David had already come to Schwente in the 1720's, and purchased the mayoral estate, called the Tomaszke and Rademacher farms, from the Counts Joseph and Augustin Dzialynski on 4 January 1732 for 2258 Tympf. In addition to the house, fields, orchard and gardens, the property also included a small lake.

Part of the arrangement included his responsibility as mayor to populate the empty farms with Germans and to treat the Poles just as the Germans were treated. He was allowed to have 300 sheep, to cut lumber, and to brew beer and brandy for his own use only. He was freed from having to pay yearly taxes. It was his duty to mediate the Germans complaints, but criminal acts were to be tried in a higher court. He was to obey any orders by the rulers, and was to keep a hunting dog. David was allowed to give or sell the mayoral estate to someone else.⁵

David Wenski married Susanna Splittgerber.^6,3,7

At his death, David left his mayoral estate at Święta (Schwente) to his son, Daniel.¹