John Figorski, early1900s. Source: Picture Sheffield.
John Figorski, a retired cabinet case manufacturer, died form influenza in 1912, aged 84. He was a member of the Wentworth Lodge of Free Masons and, for over 50 years, a member of the Upper Chapel. However his early life was very different. He was born in Russian Poland and descended from Polish aristocracy. After the doomed Hungarian uprising against Austrian rule in 1848 many young Poles, including Figorski, left to fight for the cause. His obituary appeared in the Sheffield Daily Telegraph (14 February 1912). This told the story of his earlier years: his first challenge was to cross the Vistula River into Austrian territory. When he made it to the other side after battling a strong current, he was discovered by fishermen who directed him to a “friendly Count” who allowed John to stay with him.
After a short spell teaching in a village school he joined the University Volunteer Corps in Rzeszow, and from there rode to Budapest. John was one of the Polish Lancers who, with two squadrons of Hungarian Hussars, turned the tide of the battle at Scholnek. However, after the battle of Temesvar where Hungarian forces were overwhelmed, he fled to Turkey. Here, like many others in the Polish Legion, he suffered from typhus, which spelt the end of his military career.
Figorski escaped to England and was first dependent on charity. He was then sent to Todmorden and became a blacksmith’s striker. After a period of illness, he came to Sheffield where he found work as a scissor bow filer, working a 15 or 16 hour day. Eventually he obtained work with John Round & Son, manufacturers of silver-plated wares and, as the obituary explains, ‘he was still poor but his education brought him into good society, and he made the acquaintance of Miss Bell, daughter of the firm of Bell & Sons, one of the first case makers in the city. He married Miss Bell and entered the firm’.
In later life he yearned to see his relatives in Poland but, as a political exile, was unable to return there. Eventually he made one more journey to the border where he was able to exchange final greetings with surviving family members. He is buried with his wife Emma and three sons in the Nonconformist area KK 55.
You can read more about John in the SGCT publication Incomers: a hidden history of global connections in Sheffield General Cemetery.