WOLOWSKI

WOLOWSKI (Schor ), Christian family in Poland of Jewish origin. In 1755–56, its members joined the *Frankists, after which they converted to Catholicism. Until the 1830s the Wolowski family exclusively married apostate Frankists, but subsequently they also contracted mixed marriages.

elisha schor, the first known of the ramified Wolowski family, was a descendant of Zalman Naphtali Schor, rabbi of *Lublin. For many years Elisha Schor held the position of Maggid in the community of *Rogatin, and was among the leaders of Shabbateanism in the southeastern sector of the Polish kingdom. In 1755, with his sons and his son-in-law Hirsch Shabbetais, the husband of his daughter Hayyah, he joined the sect of Jacob Frank, whom he regarded as the loyal successor of Shabbateanism. It was at Elisha's initiative and with his participation that the disputation with the rabbis was held at *Kamenets Podolski in June 1757; he also signed the Patshegen ha-Ta'anot ve-ha-Teshuvot ("Summary of the Arguments and the Replies"). After the death of Bishop M. Dembowski, the patron of the Frankists, Elisha was compelled in the autumn of 1757 to flee across the Turkish border with his followers. He died there during a popular outbreak against the members of the sect.

The children of Elisha Schor, Solomon, Nathan, Lipman, Hayyah, and their families adhered to the Frankist sect, until their conversion to Christianity in 1759, when they changed their name to Wolowski (Pol. wol = Heb. shor). They held various positions in the court of Jacob Frank in Poland and in Offenbach.

franciszek lukasz wolowski, son of Solomon and grandson of Elisha, became secretary of King Stanislaus ii Augustus, and was raised to the nobility in 1791. jan kanty wolowski (1803–1864), jurist, great-grandson of Elisha Schor, held the position of secretary of state in Congress Poland and was one of the draftsmen of the civil code of Poland. In 1839 he was raised to the nobility by Nicholas I and in 1861 was appointed dean of the faculty of law at the University of Warsaw. He was the only former Frankist not ashamed of his Jewish origin, of which he was even proud.

franciszek wolowski (1776–1844), jurist and statesman, great-grandson of Elisha Schor, was a member of the Polish Sejm (Parliament) in 1818 and between 1825 and 1831. He was raised to the nobility in 1823. In 1830, at the time of the Polish uprising, he opposed emancipation of the Jews. After the suppression of the uprising, he emigrated to France with his family. His son louis francois wolowski (1810–1876), French economist and statesman, born in Warsaw, took part in the Polish uprising of 1830–31, and later emigrated to France. In 1834 he began to publish the periodical Revue de législation et de jurisprudence. From 1848 to 1851 he was a delegate in the constituent and legislative assembly of France. In 1852 he founded the Crédit Foncier bank. In 1871 he was elected to the National Assembly. His important works are Etude d'économie Politique et Statistique (1864); La Question des banques (1864); and L'Or et l'argent (1870).

bibliography:

J. Emden, Sefer Shimmush (Amsterdam, 1758), 80, 82; J. Bernstein, in: Juedisches Literaturblatt, 27 (1882), 107; A. Kraushar, Frank i frankiści, 2 (1895), 11, 20, 33, 53, 91; T. Jeske-Choinski, Neofici polscy, (1904), 100–3; M. Balaban, Le-Toledot ha-Tenu'ah ha-Frankit, 1 (1934), 114–5, 117, 118, 120–3, 139; I. Schiper, Dzieje handlu zydowskiego na ziemiach polskich (1937), index; S.A. Kempner, Dzieje gospodarcze Polski porozbiorowej, 1 (1920), 97–105; J. Shatzky, Geshikhte fun Yidn in Varshe, 1–2 (1947–48), indexes; M. Roztworowski, Dyaryusz Sejmu 1830/31, 4 (1912), 6–8.

[Arthur Cygielman]