Jan Śliwka’s last will of 1873

Jan Śliwka (1823–1874) was a teacher, reporter, author of textbooks, presbyter of the evangelical Church in Cieszyn and also one of the leading Polish nationalist activists in the district of Cieszyn Silesia. The present article contains an edition of a valuable source to Jan Śliwka’s biography which up until now has been unknown to scholars. The source in question is Śliwka’s last will which was drawn up on 23 June 1873 and is currently to be found in the State Archive in Cieszyn. The source may also be used in research on the mentality of the Polish intelligentsia of peasant origin belonging to the Augsburg evangelical church. It also gives one an idea about the quality of the Polish language used by the graduates of the evangelical high school and the six-week teacher training course in Cieszyn