Studio portrait of Louis Zborowski Circa 1920

This new book is the culmination of forty years research into the Zborowski family. The story begins in 1660 when a young Polish émigré, Albert Sabriskie, fled from Poland to the New World to seek a better life.  He arrived in New Amsterdam (New York) almost penniless but young and strong and able to work hard to survive.  He started by obtaining title to some land in New Jersey which after a few years yielded enough profit to buy more land. He married and had four sons that grew up in their father’s mould, working hard on the land, buying more land and becoming wealthy in the process.

One son, Christian, also married and had four sons who followed the family tradition and became affluent farmers.  The next three generations continued the enlargement of the Zabriskie/Sabriskie land holdings, extending their purchases into the burgeoning Manhattan.

Martin Zabriskie was born in 1810 and proved adept as a young man at real estate business becoming exceedingly asset rich.  He also researched his background and learned that there were two old Polish families bearing the name Zborowski that had joined in the 18th century and the head of the family earned the title “Count” from the Polish king.  Martin decided that Sabriskie/Zabriskie was only a corruption of Zborowski and decreed in his will that his son Elliott should adopt the spelling Zborowski and assume the courtesy title ‘Count’.  When Martin died in 1876 the newspapers reported his fortune as “over $40,000,000” – a gross exaggeration although he was certainly a millionaire with vast properties in New Jersey, Manhattan, and France.

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