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GRANDPA

by, Kathi White

Family records research can sometimes be more like private investigator work. In the beginning stages of research, only the obvious were accumulated, items that did not fit were often discarded. As I followed the paper trail left by my ancestors, I often paid little attention to people and events to which I could not make an immediate connection.

When I started my family genealogy in 1992, I began by working on my maternal Grandfather’s side of the family. He had passed away almost twenty years previous. I obtained his 1906 birth certificate, using it to identify his parent’s names. His father was Michael Kaczmarek and his mother was Bronislawa (C)Helminiak. I confirmed through my Grandmother, that Grandpa had no siblings and that his dad (Michael) died when Grandpa was very young. The circumstances surrounding his death had long been forgotten. All that was known is that it was an accidental death.

I then went to County Hall and requested Michael’s death certificate for the years 1910 - 1915. Twenty minutes later, there I sat, with a 1912 death certificate. "Michael Kaczmarek, cause of death -- tuberculosis." I brought it to my Grandmother and asked how an accidental death could be listed as tuberculosis? We sat around shaking our heads with no explanation. I looked at the parent’s names; I looked at the name of the informant. It was the name of Michael's spouse, but her name was not Bronislawa Helminiak. ?!

My next step was to obtain Michael’s and Bronislawa’s marriage application. Working my way backwards from 1906 when Grandpa was born, I searched for my great grandparent’s marriage record for 1906, 1905, 1904, 1903, 1902, 1901. BINGO! A 1901 marriage for Michael and Bronislawa. Michael's parents were listed as Jakub Kaczmarek and Apolonia Waligora. Back to the 1912 death certificate for Michael. The parents’ names were not Jakub and Apolonia. Over to City Hall again, handed over my 1912 death certificate and exclaimed; "This cannot be my Michael, MY Michael had different parents." Back to the drawing board. Moments later, I was handed a death certificate for another Michael Kaczmarek. This one was dated December 1910. Cause of death: Accidental fall -- coal trestle. His parents were listed as Jakub and Apolonia; the informant, Bronislawa, his wife. Finally, I had the right Michael.

In the beginning stages of my research, I had no inkling that ANYONE in my family ever left a will. I went looking for Michael's because this is what research books instructed me to do! There it was! It was filed after his death by his wife, thus enabling her to file a lawsuit against New York Central & Hudson River Rail Road. The reason -- negligence in causing Michael's death. It also revealed two dependents: Grandpa age 4, and Tador age 1. How can that be? My Grandpa had no siblings!

I studied the death certificate and compared it to the marriage application. The interment was in the cemetery of the Polish National Church -- the breakaway Catholics whose records are not microfilmed. The marriage application was signed simply Rt. Rev. Stephen Kaminski.

Next step was to call the Rectory for the church. "Do you have a death record for my Michael?" I inquired. "Yes, we do. He is buried in our cemetery" was the response. WONDERFUL! Did you have a priest named Kaminski in 1901? Yes, we did. WONDERFUL again!! Now that I ascertained the church where my Michael was married, I asked if the register contained his town of birth in Poland. I was then informed that this type of information was not documented. In 1993, I dropped in to the church. Requesting to view the registers for 1901, I was informed that there is no register for that time. I then requested verification for my Grandfather’s 1906 birth. Without much ado, out came the register and there he was -- Edward Kaczmarek. What about the mysterious Tador?. Remember the dependent listed in the will?

We started towards the end of 1910, working backwards looking for Tador's birth. In a matter of minutes we found the record: December 1909, Teodor Kaczmarek syn Michal Kaczmarek i Bronislawa Chelminiak. "What on earth happened to him?", I thought, "Nobody knows he existed!" As I sat looking at the register, the woman announced, "Here is another Kaczmarek birth, an Eleanor in 1908." "Impossible," I said, "my Grandpa had no siblings." "But look!", she exclaimed, "Eleanor Kaczmarek born 1908 to Michael & Bronislawa Kaczmarek." That is ridiculous I thought, now Grandpa had two siblings that "don't exist." I thanked the woman for her time and went home to examine this new information.

Throughout the next few months, I gathered more information. I copied the full page of Kaczmarek surnames from almost every city of Buffalo directory. There were several Michaels in the 1900 directory. I began my census search with the first one. The only identifying information I had other than his parents’ names, was that Michael stated he was 20 years of age on his marriage application. The first Michael I found was 23, had different parents and had many siblings. I wondered if perhaps this was the same Michael from the 1912 death certificate. The next Michael in the directory proved to be the right one. He was 19 years old in the spring of 1900, his parents were Jakub age 49 and Apolonia age 50. This new information produced two out of three of his siblings' names, John age 16 and Catherine age 11. "Funny," I thought, "the Michael on the first census had a brother named John and so did mine!" This quickly became an issue as I traced them through other census years. Two sets of brothers by the same names, at one point they lived on the same street!

Reversing my approach, I was able to trace the only Jakub Kaczmarek in the 1892 city directory and locate the whole family in the 1892 County census! It revealed the name of the fourth and oldest child, Mary. While at the Historical Society securing Jakub’s address, I proceeded to look through microfilmed newspapers for Michael's obituary. There had to be a record of this accidental fall from a railroad trestle. He was, after all, ONLY 30 years old when he died. Scanning the days after his death, there it was (in part) dated 15 December 1910: "Michael Kaczmarek died Monday, after injuries sustained in an eighteen-foot fall from a coal trestle. He is survived by his widow and four children." EXCUSE ME?! FOUR CHILDREN!? My Grandpa had no siblings!

Back to the church with the news clipping in hand. May I please see your registers again?! Lo and behold! There were the birth entries for Jakub born 1902, Cecelia born 1903, Grandpa in 1906, Eleanor 1908 and Teodor in 1909. This just can't be! Although the newspaper lists four children, I now have five documented! The next logical step would be to trace these children through the 1905 State census and 1910 Federal census when I had more time.

By 1994 I had attempted to gather all three marriage applications for Michael's siblings. Surely a church register would provide me with the clue I needed to bridge the gap to the old country. After several attempts, I came up empty-handed for my Michael's two sisters. I was, however, able to find the marriage record for my Michael's only brother, John. The marriage took place at St. John Kanty Roman Catholic and it was on microfilm! In the following weeks I had what I needed! John's 1910 marriage to Magdelena Jozwiak lists a Polish place name, "Przygo_ Poz." This was my first breakthrough. Knowing that I was now looking in "Poznan," off I set to find my town.

After dozens of attempts at finding my "Przygo_," I found nothing that matched. I scanned maps; I scanned gazetteers. Sure, there were dozens of towns starting with PRZY, but only a few were in Poznan or all of Provinz Posen for that matter. None had an ending that could fit my description. "Now what?", I thought. There was only one avenue to pursue, "The Internet." Picking one of the numerous ten free hour America On Line disks I had, I slipped it in, followed the instructions and used all ten free hours in one day. I was so absorbed by the enormous scope of this "computer thing" that I soon forgot all about why I was there in the first place. I spent months figuring out how to get around, where to find things, and "surfing the World Wide Web.

In the spring of 1995, I placed an "APB" on the Internet. "Can anyone help me read this document and find my mysterious town called ‘Przygo_?’" I was inundated with replies! I sent over a dozen copies of John Kaczmarek's microfilmed marriage entry as it appeared in the church registers. Copies of this document went to Germany, Poland, Australia, The Netherlands and various locations across the United States. After a week or two, the replies started coming in. Each one said the same thing, in essence, this town cannot be found. My heart sunk, I had done everything and more. I resorted to hitting what was to be, my first dead end.

Many months went by, and in September, 1995, I "posted" another message on the Internet. I had learned of a group referred to as the "Roots-L" mailing list. This group of genealogists, who numbered over 5000 at that time, would ask questions of one another and give advice to those who requested it. My request to this group was more of a desperate plea for any help at all. I composed a letter, supplying all the information I could. I spoke of this town called "Przygo_." I explained that my great grandfather's brother was born there and I can't locate it. The one factor that was known was that it was in the Province of Poznan. I went on to say that my great-great-Grandparents, Jakub and Apolonia, were possibly married there around 1870. This was the best I could do with the information they supplied on the 1900 census, married 30 years.

I waited and waited, nothing. It wasn't surprising to not receive a reply, as the odds of finding someone who could find my family were tantamount to winning the lottery. Three months after posting my plea, on Christmas Eve 1995, I received an e-mail from an unknown sender. It began with the following; "I've been waiting to deliver the news as a Christmas gift. "I found your marriage record, in the parish of Grodziszczko, 22 October, 1871." This unknown sender had been working on a Poznan microfilm and took the time to look at the years around 1870. when I thought Jakub and Apolonia were married. Subsequent research indicates this parish covered many towns including one town called Drzazgowo. That was it! This was my missing town of Przygo_. The "P" should have been a "D" and what I thought was a "y" was an "a" with a "hook" under it.

I ordered the microfilm for this parish and for the first time I was looking at the marriage record for MY Jakub Kaczmarek and Apolonia Waligora. Jakub was from Huby Debickie and Apolonia was from Bojnice. Further investigation of the register for Grodziszczko, provided my Michael's birth in 1880. It also uncovered the birth and death records of two other Kaczmarek infants. I then ordered the microfilm for the parish of Maczniki. This corresponded to the town of which Jakub stated he was a native. Unfortunately, this microfilm did not reveal a July 1850 birth record for Jakub. The only Kaczmarek name it did reveal for all of 1850 was an October 1850 marriage. I recorded it and placed it in the infamous circular file!

In between all these revelations, I had completed my US based research. I had obtained the 1900, 1905 and 1910 census for Michael and the 1892, 1900 and 1905 census for Jakub in Buffalo. There was no listing for any Jakub in the 1910 city directory or any later years for that matter. I always marveled at the fact the information Jakub provided in each census never changed. He always indicated that he was born in July of 1850 and was married about 1870-1871. Depending on the time of year the census was taken, 1871 did prove to be an accurate year of marriage. I had no reason to dispute a birth year of 1850.

I did eventually lose track of my Jakub. I found no death certificate through 1920, nor a burial in any local Polish cemetery. This Father’s Day past, I paid my respects to Michael, the great grandfather that I never knew. As I stared down upon the small tombstone, I could only assume that proceeds from the railroad lawsuit went towards its purchase. In bending down to clear overgrown grass, I silently asked him to give me some sign as to where his father Jakub died and is buried. When I realized I was talking to the ground, I abruptly left. Surely my hobby had now turned obsessive! Later that month, while looking for someone else in a 1910 census, I stumbled across the Kaczmarek name. As my eyes focused, I realized they were still here! It was MY Jakub and Apolonia!. They were 60 years old, living just houses away to a "Kazimierz Kaczmarek" family.

In preparation to calling it quits, I made one final attempt to locate Jakub's birth record. I composed an article consisting of the town and parish names in the Sroda area of Poznan. I sent my article for publication to a Polish Genealogical Society with 1500 members who would read my article. Two weeks after my article was published, I received an e-mail from a woman in California who had read my article. It just so happens she is a cousin to my Guardian Angel who found the 1871 marriage record! She had been viewing civil records from an area near Sroda called Wengierskie. She informed me that she found a marriage record from October, 1875 for a Kazimierz Kaczmarek and Magdelena Mary Kazmierczak. What is the significance? The witness to the marriage was none other than a Jakub Kaczmarek. Could they possibily be brothers?

Within days, I received 15 copies of documents pertaining to various Kaczmarek and Waligora families. I could not translate the German script and requested the assistance of a professional translator, Mr. W. Fred Hoffman. He graciously translated what I considered to be the three most pertinent documents. The marriage record for Kazimierz indicated he was 22 years old in 1875. He stated he was from Wengierskie but born in Brzysiak. The document provided another clue to this Jakub -- his age was written out as 24. If I could find Brzysiak, could it lead to Kazimierz's and possibly my Jakub’s birth? The document listed an additional clue, listed were Kazmierz’s parents names, Jozef Kaczmarek and Antonia Jedrasiak. Did these names sound familiar, or was I losing my mind?

The second document was the recording of an infant death in 1876. It was a daughter, three hours old, of Jakub (a stable-hand) and Apolonia. I knew at that exact instant that these were my ancestors and that Jakub and Kazimierz had to be brothers. After three days, I was able to locate Brzysiak on a map. Its correct spelling is Brzeziak, falling under the jurisdiction of the parish of Maczniki. This is the same parish that covers Huby Debickie, where Jacob said he was from! Referring to my Maczniki notes, the only 1850 entry I recorded was the October marriage for none other than Jozef Kaczmarek and Antonia Jedrasiak. I now knew for certain these people were Kazimierz's parents but could they be Jakub's parents as well? Jakub stated was born in July 1850! Was he illegitimate?!

The witness to Kazmierz's October 1875 marriage was presumably my Jakub. If this Jakub stated he was 24 in 1875, this would mean he was born in 1851 not 1850. Did I neglect to look that far in the Maczniki microfilm because I was so sure he was born in 1850? Remembering that Jakub lived next door to another Kaczmarek family in 1910, I scrambled for my census materials. The census revealed the recording of none other than Casimer and Mary Kaczmarek. Their ages were exact matches to the Kazimier & Mary whose marriage record I had. They were born in German - Poland and had five children. Was this indeed part of my extended family that until now, I had no idea they were here!?

On December 13, 1996, I received a reply from the State of New York from a long forgotten request. A six month old query for a twenty-year state wide search for Jakub's death was answered. Enclosed was a copy of Jakub's February 11, 1926 death certificate in Buffalo, New York. Call it Psychic Roots, call it coincidental. This is the exact same month and day my own son was born. My son however, was born long before I indentified these ancestral names. The significance of course is my own son’s name -- Jacob. Who were the parents listed on Jakub’s death certificate? None other than Jozef Kaczmarek and Antonia Jedrasiak whose October 1850 marriage in the parish of Maczniki I've had in the circular file for months. Not only are they the parents to Kazimierz, but now they are my third great-grandparent’s as well. When I now look at my son, I can only wonder if he is some sort of reincarnation on his third great grandfather!

Days before Christmas of 1996, I relayed this story via e-mail to acquaintance Lukasz Bielecki in Poznan. Taking a personal interest in my story, Lukasz was able to locate and confirm Jakub’s July 21, 1851 birth in Poznan. Now that I have received incredible Christmas gifts two years in a row, I am already looking to next year! Jakub’s birth was recorded in the parish of Maczniki; I was left to assume I had made the biggest genealogical mistake of all. Originally checking the register myself, I neglected to look beyond 1850 because I was *so sure* that was Jakub’s birth year.

Referring back to the 1900 census for the "first" Michael I found, it confirmed what I suspected. This Michael, who was 23 years of age, had four siblings as was indeed the son of Kazimierz and Mary Kaczmarek.I have since located the correct 1920 census for this Michael and found he had nine children! His mother was identified as living with them as a widow. Although the Kaczmarek surname from Jakub’s line has ended with my uncle, I now know that Kazmierz’s line has lived on. The 1892 city directory lists only 5 Kaczmarek families in Buffalo, the current phone book however, lists over 100! I am now in the process of tracing the descendants of this Michael’s siblings as well as Michael’s nine children.

My grandfather’s missing siblings? I did find a record of baby Tador’s death in 1911. He is buried in an unmarked plot in the same cemetery as his father Michael, and possibly near Jakub as well. Looking back to my Father’s Day request at the cemetery, I realize why Michael couldn’t tell me where his father Jakub was buried. I was most likely standing on the unmarked family plot when making my request. Jakub was probably beneath me the whole time!. In looking for baby Tador's death record at the church, I located a fifth sibling to my Grandpa! Wladyslaw was born in April 1911, four months after his dad fell off the railroad trestle. These siblings appeared in no census; local marriage records are nonexistent; and Social Security numbers appear to not have been applied for or issued. My great grandmother Bronislawa, remarried the year after her husbands death. Apparently, she did not keep in close contact with her first husbands Kaczmarek family. My Grandfather was raised never knowing of second cousins by Kazimierz’s children. These descendants apparently don’t know "we" exist either -- YET!

THE SEARCH FOR ANCESTORS FROM AUSTRIA-HUNGARY

by, Eric N. Kuns

1907 Wedding of Simeon Vrabel & Susanna Timko

Passaic, New Jersey

My maternal grandparents both came from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, from what is now Slovakia, at the turn of the century. Until a few years ago, I knew little else about them or their origins. Surprisingly, this is despite the fact that they lived in the same town in Pennsylvania that I spent my early childhood in. Although I knew my grandparents, I really didn't know them. My mother was next-to-youngest in a large family and "Baba" and "Grandpap" died when I was a child.

By the time I reached adulthood and developed an interest in my roots, the older generation had passed away. Most of us take for granted knowing our grandparents, but when I attempted to find names, places, and other information on my mother's grandparents, I found that even the names of these ancestors were unknown. Neither Mother nor her brothers and sisters knew the identity of their own grandparents. This made my genealogy an especially challenging undertaking.

In 1990, I took my little family from our home in Idaho back to my birthplace in Pennsylvania to participate in a family reunion. I spent considerable time visiting with my Uncle Andy Vrabel, in hopes of obtaining information on our ancestry. Although I did get some insights on our relatives who lived in the United States, I was disappointed there was no detail to link us to the old country. At about 1 am, as I got ready to leave, my Aunt Catharine came down from upstairs with an envelope. She said that the contents of the envelope might be of interest to me. Sure enough, the envelope contained the birth certificates for both of my grandparents, complete with birth date, place, and the names of all four of my maternal great-grandparents! My grandfather, #SIMEON VRABEL (Americanized to Samuel) was born in Circ, Slovakia. Grandmother, #SUSANNA TIMKO Vrabel was born in Orlov, Slovakia.

Of course, the birth certificates were not issued at the time of my grandparents' birth. These were official documents sent by the church officials in Czechoslovakia after World War I, as proof of birth so that Baba and Grandpap could apply for U.S. citizenship. As I was to discover later, the certificate for my grandmother, Susanna (Timko) Vrabel was the source of family confusion concerning her birth date and age. When the Orlov priest researched Susanna's birth and baptismal entry, he erroneously took the information for Susanna's older sister (also named Susanna), who was born in 1885 and died the following year. Baba was born in 1888 and was given the name of her deceased sibling.

The fact that I now knew the point of origin for my grandparents allowed me to mount a letter-writing campaign to the Greek Catholic priests of the two towns. I wrote in English, since I knew no Slovak at the time. Both queries yielded names and addresses of living family members still residing in these towns. I found out that there had been no real contact (other than letters years before) between the family members in America and those in Europe, since 1919. That was the year that my grandmother's oldest brother, Jan was obligated to return home to Orlov after sustaining severe head injuries in a coal mining accident.

When relatives in Slovakia invited us to come to visit them, my wife, Melanie and I were anxious to do so. We were invited to stay for a month or more, but with limited vacation, and four little ones at home, the longest we thought was prudent was two weeks. It was not nearly enough! We spent part of the time staying with second cousins in Kosice and the rest of the time traveling around the rest of the country. Every where we went, family members wanted us to visit with them. Some days, we had five meals in five different homes. Cousins who had heard that we were coming had totally redecorated their flats (apartments) in hopes that we might come to see them. We were treated like visiting royalty. We found it hard to graciously turn down gifts and had to insist that we pay our own way.

I had always associated castles and palaces with Germany and other countries. Little did I know that Slovakia had such treasures in abundance! More than the sightseeing, though, I got to visit the birthplaces of my grandparents. I could tour through the churches where generations of Timkos and Vrabels had worshipped and view the cemeteries where many of my ancestors are resting. It was only after the visit that I learned the term, Rusyn. I noted a distinct difference between the dialect spoken by the older generation in the Lower Tatras Mountains and the Slovak heard from the younger generations elsewhere. Now I know why!

I could go on and on about the details associated with our wonderful trip, but I'll restrain myself. Suffice it to say that my only regrets about Slovakia were that we could only stay two weeks and that my mother and the other oldsters did not feel well enough to share in the experience. Although some people consider genealogy to be mostly a study of our dead ancestors, a very important aspect for me was the renewed association with living family members. It seemed strange to visit with my mother's first cousins...none of whom had she ever met! In a touching farewell, one elderly cousin implored me that we would not again forget our roots and our relations in Slovakia. How could we forget?!!!

1957 Golden Anniversary of Simeon & Susanna Vrabel

The Kovalak Family

(A Pictorial History)

My name is Thomas James Kovalak, Jr. and I was born in Ann Arbor, MI on October 15, 1968 to Thomas James Kovalak and Patricia Richardson. I became interested in genealogy in 1989. I started with my mother’s family. After spending about four years on her side, I began my father’s side.

My father, Tom Sr. was born in Willis, MI on January 16, 1941. His parents were George Kovalak and Mary (Adamova) Kovalak. They also had Nancy (1933), James (1943) and Georgeanne or Jeanie as we call her (1946).

George Kovalak was born in March of 1906 in Punxutawney, PA. His parents were Mikulas (Mike) Kovalak and Anna (Kovalcik) Kovalak. Mike and Anna Kovalak had 11 children. Michael, John, Steve, Elias (Elic), Joseph, George, Anna, Mary, Julia, Susan, and Martha. Some of the boys and girls spelled their last name Kovalak and others Kovalyak. The actual spelling in Slovakia was Koval’ak. It was pronounced Ko-VAL-yak.

Mikulas Kovalak was born in Circ, Slovakia in 1863 and Anna Kovalcik was born in Orlov, Slovakia in 1867. Mikulas immigrated to the US in 1885 and Anna in 1887. They both left the German port of Bremen, and I even have a copy of the passport for Mikulas. A cousin of mine in Indianapolis has the original. They both settled near Punxatawney, in Anita, PA.

My grandfather, George, moved to Detroit around 1928. He soon married a Rusyn-American, my grandmother Mary Adam(ova). She was born near Pittsburgh in 1907. Mary’s parents were both born in the Gorlice region of Southern Poland (Lemko). Her parents were Jozef Adam and Paraskeva (Pearl) Ropicky. They came to the US around 1903. My grandmother Mary could not speak English when she first went to school. Her teacher ended up changing her name to Adams, and she kept that until she got married.

I went to Circ in August of 1994 at the age of 25. I was living in Orlando, FL at the time. No one in Slovakia knew about me or that I was coming there. I was now three generations away from Slovakia. I started learning Slovak about 3 months before I left. Helen Rudzik, a recent immigrant from Slovakia, taught me from a book on the weekends. I would practice everyday, and I did learn enough to get by. I bought a round trip ticket from Orlando-New York-Vienna for $766.

When I arrived in Vienna (I was alone by the way), I drove about eight hours in my rental car to the village of Circ. It was around 5pm when I arrived on August 18, 1994. I found a man herding sheep on the main road into the village. I said to him in my pathetic Slovak "Ja hladam pre rodina Kovalak. Moje meno je Tom Kovalak od Amerika". I guess he figured out that I was some American Kovalak, so he got in my car and told me "do l’ava, do prava" etc, until we got to this old house near a log cabin. It was the home of an old woman named Anna Kovalak. After some introductions, a little kid ran next door to get a young blond woman who could speak some English.

We visited for several hours, and they fed me some meat and a salad. They were very kind and hospitable. Communication was extremely difficult, but it didn’t matter. These people were my relatives! I could even see the resemblance between my older relatives and them. It was like looking right at some of my relatives I had always known, just now a million miles away.

I visited the cemetery (cintorin) and took pictures and videotape. I also went to Orlov on my journey and found many tombstones of the Kovalciks too. I was only in Slovakia for 5 days, but it was a wonderful experience. I would recommend that if anyone out there knows the actual village of their ancestors that they take the time and money to visit. You will not regret it!!

Passport

The Paroskaj Family - Miroslav Paroskaj 

 

Family Paroskaj 1907

On this photo is my grandfather, great grandfather, and great-great-grandfather.

 

(Click Photo to Enlarge)

My name is Miroslav Paroskaj.  I'm from Novi Sad - it is city in Serbia. I am 24 years old, and I'm graphic engineer. 

My forefathers come to live in Novi Sad in 1840, just like and most other Rusyns from the area from today's Eastern Slovakia.  

I suppose that the surname Paroskaj originated from the village name Porach or Poroshko (Paroshko) which today, we can find in Western Ukraine or the village Porach in Eastern Slovakia. 

These villages were populated mostly with Rusyns and from before about 200 years ago, the Rusyns moved out and went to South Hungary (Kerestur, Kocur, Novi Sad, etc.). 

In the past my family consisted of many family members, but nowadays unfortunately only I have this surname. 

Recently I was researching the history of my family. I knew from family stories that the brother of my great grandfather (Janko Paroskaj) immigrated to America but I did not know what became of him or his family. 

With the assistance of  Steven Osifchin at The Carpathian Connection I found out that Paroskaj's from Ujvidek (Hungarian name for Novi Sad) were listed on the Ellis Island Ship Records. 

According to these records in 1903 John Paroskai (Janko Paroskaj) came from Novi Sad to Cleveland, Ohio. He was 28 years old and married. His nationality is listed as Ruthenian. He was going to stay with a friend, John Stibran. According to ship records John Striban also came from Novi Sad. In 1903 John Paroskai’s wife Julianna and child Julianna traveled from Novi Sad to Cleveland to join her husband. 

In 1910 Julianna Paroskai age 34, child Maria age 15, and child Julianna age 8 again traveled from Novi Sad to Cleveland, Ohio. The nearest relation in Novi Sad was Julianna's Father-In-Law, John Paroskai. In 1911 child Julianna Paroskai and her sister Anna age 13 also came to join their Father John Paroskai in Cleveland. They left behind in Novi Sad their Grandfather John. 

Steven Osifchin from TCC located for me on the 1930 Census John Stibran living in Cleveland, Ohio. John Stibran listed his birthplace as Yugoslavia (Serbia) and  nationality as Slovak. He owned a store in 1930. The Fekete family lived nearby. On ship records it indicates that this family too was from Novi Sad. 

GOOD NEWS FOR MIROSLAV..."With your help, your site, and my story on it, and with help of Paul Powers, who wrote story and offer his help, I successfully found grand grand daughter of John Paroskai, Ivadell (Buchko) Candow."

Family Links Below

http://www.paroskaj.netfirms.com/

http://www.paroskaj.netfirms.com/index_files/ivadell%20story.htm

http://www.paroskaj.netfirms.com/index_files/galerija starih fotografija.htm

Miroslav Paroskaj 

Dositeja Obradovica 8

21201 Rumenka

Serbia

e-mail: paroskaj@nspoint.net

Searching For My Slovak Roots

by, Pete Semanick

I have been researching my family history for four years and it has been a slow process. It requires a lot of time and much patience. Fortunately I was able to acquire 300 Semancik, Semanick, Semanik, Semanek, Semanchik names and addresses for which I am thankful to a couple of newly found cousins. Without their help I probably would have hit dead ends.

The first break-through was an unmarried female cousin in Pennsylvania. One of my 300 letters reached her and she was able to give me some real sound history information. Her father, along with six of his brothers and sisters, had immigrated from Olsov (Olyso) located in eastern Slovakia. Their immigration began in 1886 and ended in 1930.

With the help of this new cousin and her two sisters (ages 80-82-84), I was able to ascertain that my grandfather was the first to immigrate. He was the oldest in the family and he settled in the Hazelton area of Lucerne County Pennsylvania. The rest of the family also immigrated to the Wilkes-Barre area, which included Plymouth, Kingston, and Larksville.

Grandfather Carl John Semancik, later changed to Semanick, married and started a family in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. They were devout Roman Catholics and were active in their church in the area. Grandfather was a coal miner and suffered many hardships according to the oldest of the three sisters. In the late 1800’s he was involved in a coal mining strike and during a scuffle he hit one of the security guards and knocked him down. Not knowing whether the man was dead or merely knocked out the UMWA Union officials secretly sent him out of the state to Cascade, Montana where he again went to work in the mines.

At this time the families in Pennsylvania lost contact with him. Several years later an article appeared in the Slovak Newspaper, "Jednota", stating that several Slovak families were migrating to Tennessee as they had acquired farmland there. Some of the families contacted "Jednota" and were able to obtain an address. Contact was finally made and they again were re-united. Over the next few years several members of the families were able to visit one another. As the older folks died off several of the remaining clan again lost contact with one another.

Unfortunately I started my family research later in my life and not having any knowledge of my paternal family I started from scratch. Since finding the first cousin in Pennsylvania I have now found cousins from all brothers and sisters of my grandfather, with the exception of one great-aunt. She married after immigrating and no one knows her married name as she died at a young age.

In August of this year I made plans to go to eastern Slovakia in hopes of finding my roots. I was very fortunate in making contact with Helene Cincebeaux, who made arrangements for hotel reservations for me in Levoca. Once there, I made several trips throughout the local area and made contact with Vladimir Flak, a local genealogy guide. He took me to two archives and we were able to acquire information on the youngest brother and his wife, the last of the family to leave Slovakia in 1930. I was also able to find information on my great-grandfather and great-grandmother. All of the their children had been born and raised in Olsov.

The guide and I visited Olsov (population 400) and met with the mayor. I had several documents with me which were in the English and Slovak languages. He immediately looked at one of the documents (passport of my great-aunt) and stated that his grandfather was the brother of my great aunt. What a find! The thrill of visiting in the village and finding a relative was over-whelming. I was able to visit with several other relatives. I took pictures of the tombstones in the cemetery, which showed several of the inter-marriage relatives I had been told about by the newly found cousins in the states.

I met with one older man in the village and showed him five passport pictures from the 1930 era. He pointed to the picture of the youngest boy and said he remembered the day the family left for America. It seems that he and the youngest boy were playmates and each were sad that day knowing that they would never meet again.

After much research and consultation with members of the Semancik clan I have discovered that there were two Szemancsik (Semancik) brothers who had married women from different families either from Olsov or nearby villages. In August of 1873 both families had deaths occur. Joannes Szemancsik died leaving Dorothea Jun a widow and Maria Szlavkay died leaving Stephanus Szemancsik a widower. Both families had children by this time and in April 1875 Stephanus married Dorothea Jun. It seems that the custom of the land was that when there was a need by one of the women in the village that the surviving brother took the responsibility of taking over both families.

According to my research from church archive records from that area at least fourteen children were brought into this world by the two families. Children that survived all immigrated to America. They were Carl, John, Thomas, Anna, Stephen, John, Dorothy and Baithasar.

I have found cousins in San Jose, CA., San Diego, CA., Boise, ID., Cleveland, OH., Erie, PA., Plymouth, PA., Kingston, PA., Larksville, PA. & Hackettstown, NJ. All of these families and I are in contact and exchanging information on our respective families. It is great to be able to know where your roots originated. I am proud to be Slovak.

As a token of good will I intend to send money to the village mayor in Olsov for the sole purpose of providing playground equipment for the village children. During my short stay in Olsov I saw no playground equipment in the village and I saw no signs of anything for the children. I have made contact with 20 of my cousins asking for donations and hopefully by March 1999 I will have sufficient funds to provide swings, climb bars and a slide for the village children.

Pete Semanick

Stephanus Semancik & Dorothy Junova Semancik

Great Grandparents of Pete Semanick

Taken Late 1800's in Olsov, Saris County, Slovakia

Read about Pete's trip to Slovakia on our Travel To Eastern Europe Page

The Andrew Chanda Family of Maly Lipnik

Descendants of Andrias Nastcsin Csanda

Generation No. 1

1. ANDRIAS(Andrew) NASTCSIN¹ CSANDA(Chanda) was born Abt. 1820 in Maly Lipnik. He married ANASTASIA SZEMBER Abt. 1849. She was born Abt. 1824 in Maly Lipnik, and died December 04, 1889 in Maly Lipnik.

Children of ANDRIAS CSANDA and ANASTASIA SZEMBER are:

i. ANNA NASTCSIN² CHANDA, b. Abt. 1850; m. JOHN SZEMBER, November 01, 1869, St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik; b. Abt. 1845.

2. ii. JOHN NASTCSIN CHANDA, b. Abt. 1852, Slovakia.

3. iii. MICHAEL NASTCSIN CSANDA, b. Abt. 1856, Mali Lipnik.

iv. MARIA NASTCSIN CSANDA, b. July 06, 1858, Maly Lipnik, House 53, Slovakia; d. July 10, 1881, Maly Lipnik.

v. JOSEPH NASTCSIN CSANDA, b. April 15, 1861, Maly Lipnik, House 53, Slovakia; d. January 27, 1863, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

4. vi. SUZANNA NASTCSIN CSANDA, b. January 01, 1864, Maly Lipnik, House 53, Slovakia.

vii. JOSEPH NASTCSIN CSANDA, b. March 26, 1867, Maly Lipnik, House 53, Slovakia.

viii. STEPHAN NASTCSIN CSANDA, b. January 01, 1871, Maly Lipnik, House 36, Slovakia.

ix. PETRUS NASTCSIN CSANDA, b. October 17, 1873, Maly Lipnik, House 36, Slovakia; d. October 25, 1873, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

Generation No. 2

2. JOHN NASTCSIN² CHANDA (ANDRIAS NASTCSIN¹ CSANDA) was born Abt. 1852 in Slovakia. He married EVA MUDRICK November 04, 1877 in Maly Lipnik, daughter of ANDREW MUDRICK and ANNA VARHOLY. She was born August 19, 1858 in Maly Lipnik, House 11, Slovakia, and died May 11, 1944 in Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

Children of JOHN CHANDA and EVA MUDRICK are:

5. i. MARIA³ CHANDA, b. July 10, 1878, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia; d. 1948, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

ii. SUZANNA CHANDA, b. August 29, 1879, Maly Lipnik, House 120, Slovakia; d. February 20, 1883, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

6. iii. JOHN CHANDA II, b. September 18, 1881, Maly Lipnik, House 120, Slovakia; d. 1959, Maly Lipnik.

7. iv. MICHAEL CHANDA, b. September 26, 1883, Maly Lipnik, House 142, Slovakia; d. 1961, Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

v. JOZSEF CHANDA, b. September 09, 1886, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia; d. September 16, 1886, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

vi. JOZSEF CHANDA, b. April 15, 1888, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

8. vii. ANNA CHANDA, b. January 21, 1891, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia; d. 1936, New Jersey.

3. MICHAEL NASTCSIN² CSANDA (ANDRIAS NASTCSIN¹) was born Abt. 1856 in Mali Lipnik. He married ANNA SZVISTAK November 07, 1881 in St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, daughter of MICHAEL SZVISTAK. She was born Abt. 1859.

Children of MICHAEL CSANDA and ANNA SZVISTAK are:

i. JOSEPH³ CSANDA, b. August 06, 1876, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

ii. JOHN CSANDA, b. January 29, 1879, Maly Lipnik, House 89, Slovakia.

iii. ISTVAN CSANDA, b. January 09, 1892, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia.

4. SUZANNA NASTCSIN² CSANDA (ANDRIAS NASTCSIN¹) was born January 01, 1864 in Maly Lipnik, House 53, Slovakia. She married JOHN HRICZKO May 24, 1886 in St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, son of JOHN HRICZKO. He was born Abt. 1863.

Children of SUZANNA CSANDA and JOHN HRICZKO are:

i. SUZANNA³ HRICZKO, b. January 01, 1887, Maly Lipnik.

ii. JOHN HRICZKO, b. September 15, 1888, Maly Lipnik, House 111.

iii. NIKLOS HRICZKO, b. December 16, 1889, Maly Lipnik.

iv. JOSEPH HRICZKO, b. December 14, 1890, Maly Lipnik.

v. MICHAEL HRICZKO, b. November 17, 1893, Maly Lipnik; d. September 04, 1983, Mount Clemens, Macomb County, MI.

Generation No. 3

5. MARIA³ CHANDA (Click Photo to Enlarge) (JOHN NASTCSIN², ANDRIAS NASTCSIN¹ CSANDA) was born July 10, 1878 in Maly Lipnik, and died 1948 in Maly Lipnik, Slovakia. She was married to STEFAN SESTOK b. Abt. 1877, son of (John Sestok & Suzanna Varholy) February 18, 1899, St. Michael's Greek Catholic Church, Passaic, NJ by the Rev. Eugene Szatala. Witnesses Joseph Gladis and Andro Varhol.

Children of MARIA CHANDA and STEFAN SESTOK are:

i. VERONICA⁴ SESTOK, b. 1900, Maly Lipnik; d. 1952, Maly Lipnik.

ii. JOHN SESTOK, b. 1907, Maly Lipnik; 

m. MARIA SEMBER; b. 1918, Slovakia.

 

 

iii. STEFAN SESTOK II, b. 1910, Maly Lipnik; d. 1986, Slovakia; m. UNKNOWN.

iv. ANNA SESTOK, b. 1912, Maly Lipnik; d. 1996, Hajtovka; m. ? JANOSKO; b. Slovakia; d. Hajtovka.

v. HELENA SESTOK, b. 1913, Maly Lipnik; m. ? HRINAK; b. Slovakia.

vi. PETER SESTOK, b. 1916, Maly Lipnik; d. 1938, Slovakia.

vii. JOZEF SESTOK, b. 1917, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia; 

 

viii. ALEXANDER SESTOK, b. 1919, Maly Lipnik; d. 1995, Slovakia;  

ix. MICHAEL SESTOK, b. PRIVATE, Maly Lipnik; 

6. JOHN³ CHANDA II (JOHN NASTCSIN², ANDRIAS NASTCSIN¹ CSANDA) was born September 18, 1881 in Maly Lipnik, House 120, Slovakia, and died 1959 in Maly Lipnik. He married MARY LESKO b. Abt. 1887 daughter of (John Lesko & Maria Gladis) Married February 4, 1906, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Alpha, NJ by the Rev. Caroll Policsek. She died 1953 in Maly Lipnik.

Children of JOHN CHANDA and MARY LESKO are:

i. MARIA⁴ CHANDA, b. 1907, America; d. 1989, Slovakia; m. JOSEPH SEMBER.

ii. MICHAEL CHANDA, b. 1909, Rowlesburg, West VA; d. 1988, Toms River, New Jersey; m. MARY (C)HANAT, October 02, 1939, Brooklyn, New York; b. New York City.

7. MICHAEL³ CHANDA (JOHN NASTCSIN², ANDRIAS NASTCSIN¹ CSANDA) was born September 26, 1883 in Maly Lipnik, House 142, Slovakia, and died July 11, 1961 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey. He was married to MARIA YOUPA November 20, 1904, St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, Alpha, NJ by the Rev. Caroll Policsek. Maria was the daughter of MICHAEL JOPPA and SUZANNA OSIFCHIN. She was born August 25, 1885 in Maly Lipnik, Slovakia, and died March 18, 1966 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

(Click Photo to Enlarge) Children of MICHAEL CHANDA and MARIA YOUPA are:

i. MICHAEL CHANDA, b. November 04, 1905 Alpha, New Jersey; d. Bet. 1907 - 1910.

ii. VERONICA CHANDA, b. November 04, 1906 Maly Lipnik House 144; d. December 17, 1906 Maly Lipnik.

iii. MARY HELEN CHANDA, b. 1908, New Jersey or Security, Garrett County, Maryland; d. 1995, New Jersey; m. CLARENCE FRANKLIN SEIP, December 07, 1926, Allentown, Penna. by the Rev. G. H. Kinard; b. 1904, Easton, Penna.; d. 1977, Phillipsburg, New Jersey. They had 4 children.

iv. ANNA CHANDA, b. 1909, New Jersey or Security, Garrett County, Maryland; d. Bet. May 1910 - March 1911.

v. JULIA ELIZABETH CHANDA,  b. 1911, Brainards, New Jersey; d. 1993, PA; m. (1) CHARLES VINCENT RENNIE, 1932; m. (2) DAVID LUTZ; b. 1890; d. 1958; m. (3) MARTIN TURANO; b. 1900; d. 1992, Pennsylvania;  Julia had one child.

 

vi. CHANDA, b. Bet. 1912 - 1913; d. Bet. 1912 - 1915.

vii. KATHERINE CHANDA, b. Abt. 1914, New Jersey, Maryland, or West Virginia; d. Bet. January - December 1915.

viii. (Click Photo to Enlarge) NICHOLAS CHANDA, b. 1915, Brainards, New Jersey; d. 1958, Easton, Penna.; m. (1) MARY SOZANSKI, b. 1919; d. 2000, Easton, Penna. Daughter of Stephen Sozanski & Anastasia Bosic; Married on October 24, 1936 West Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania;  (2) DOROTHY HOCKMAN CORDOS. Nicholas had 4 children.

ix. STEPHEN CHANDA, b. 1917, Brainards, New Jersey; d. 1979, New Jersey; m. PRIVATE, May 13, 1944. They had one child.

 

 

 

x. MIKE CHANDA, b. 1919, Brainards, New Jersey; d. 1919, New Jersey.

xi. (Click Photo to Enlarge) SUSAN CHANDA,  b. 1920, Brainards, New Jersey; d. 1945, Phillipsburg, New Jersey; m. EMIL MAINHART b. 1919; d. 1950's; son of Stephen Mainhart & Gizella Yost.

xii. ELIZABETH CHANDA, b. July 13, 1922, Brainards, Harmony Twp. Warren County, New Jersey; d. Bet. 1922 - 1924.

xiii. JOSEPH CHANDA, b. PRIVATE

xiv. EDWARD ANDREW CHANDA, b. 1925, Brainards, New Jersey; d. 1997, New Jersey; (1) JENNIE TILLMAN; m. (2) SARAH E. COLES; b. 1928; d. 1999, New Jersey. Edward Andrew had 2 children.

 

 

 

xv. MARGARET CHANDA, b. PRIVATE; m. MICHAEL OSIFCHIN.

8. ANNA³ CHANDA (JOHN NASTCSIN², ANDRIAS NASTCSIN¹ CSANDA) was born January 21, 1891 in Maly Lipnik, Slovakia, and died 1936 in New Jersey. She married JOHN YOUPA July 30, 1910 in St. John's Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church, Alpha, New Jersey, son of MICHAEL JOPPA and SUZANNA OSIFCHIN. He was born December 04, 1887 in Maly Lipnik, Slovakia, and died 1968 in Alpha, New Jersey.

Children of ANNA CHANDA and JOHN YOUPA are:

*See Youpa

Searching for descendants of Joseph Chanda b. 1888 or any other Chanda families from Maly Lipnik. Chanda cousins were known to have lived in Steelton, Penna., Stanhope, NJ. and Bridgeport, Ct. More distant Chand(o) family members lived in Phillipsburg, NJ.

Two Unknown Chanda or Mudrik Family Members

Contact:

The Dorin/Hirkala/Kacsmar/Knap Family, An Overview

Malcov, Saros, Austria-Hungary

Our paternal great grandparents were:

1.Adam Kacsmar married Maria Minarics/Mlinarics on November 14, 1825 in Malcov.

Their children were:

1. Andrej Kacsmar Dorin, baptized March 06, 1928 In Malcov, #28, Austria-Hungary. Andrej married Anna Hirkala on November 17, 1986 in Malcov.

2. Georgius Jurij Kacsmar Dorin, baprized March 28, 1830.

3. Anna Kacsmar Dorin, baprized July 23, 1832.

4. Basilius Vasyl' Kacsmar Dorin, baptized January 22, 1835.

Our maternal great grand parents were:

1. Joannes Ivan Hirkala, born in Malcov married Maria Stephanov, November 19, 1821 in Gerlachov, filial parish of Malcov.

Their children were:

1. Michal Hirkala, baptized July 31, 1823.

2. Maria Hirkala, baptized August 22, 1826.

3. Anna Hirkala, baptized May 10, 1829.

4. Maria Hirkala , baptized July 15, 1832.

5. Joannes Ivan Hirkala, baptized May 26, 1836.

6. Anna Hirkala, baptized May 23, 1840 in Gerlachov, married Andrej Kacsmar Dorin , November 17, 1856 in Malcov.

 

Our paternal grandparents were: 

1. Andrej Kacsmar Dorin, b. abt. 1830 and Anna Hirkala, b. abt. 1837, married November 17, 1856, Malcov House #90, Saros, Austria-Hungry. 

They bore 11 children.

1. Anna Maria, b. January 29, 1858, married Michal Boczko, b. abt. 1839.

II. Children: 1. Zuzana, November 23, 1882, 2. Andrej, b. November 22, 1884, 3. Vasil, b. February 09, 1889, 4. Maria, 1892-1893, 5. Michal November 11, 1893, 6. Jan, b. September 05, 1895.

2. Maria, b. August 20, 1860 married Andrej Kosczelnyik, November 08, 1880.

II. Children: 1. Maria, 1882-1895, 2. Anna, b. December 26, 1884, 3. Zuzana, 1886-1890, 4. Andrej, b. May 15, 1889, 5. Zuzana, b. April 10,1892, 6. Jan, b. January 01, 1894.

3. Michal, October 10, 1862-March 26, 1939 married Anna Bucsko, February 11, 1889.

II. Children: 1. Michal November 10, 1890-December 20,1890. 2. Zuzana, b. November 12, 1895.

4. Zuzana, October 02, 1864 married Mikulas Bucsko February 11, 1889.

II. Children: 1. Mikulas and 2. Michal (twins) b. November 06, 1890, 3. Anna, April 08,1892/October 12, 1892. 4. Andrej, b. November 14, 1895.

5. Katarina, b. March 01, 1866.

6. Marta, b. April 05, 1868, married Michal Kurutz, November 10, 1890.

7. Jan, b. September 10, 1870.

8. Andrej, b. June 28, 1873- 1961, married Zuzan Palinski, 1876-1948.

9. Jurai, b. February 19, 1876.

10. Peter, b. August 09, 1878, married Anna Ivanovna Knap, SS. Cyril and Methodius Russian Orthodox Church, New Britain, CT.

II. Children: 1. George, 1906-1991, 2. Ann Marion, b. 1908, 3. William,1911-1912, 4. William Edward, b. 1913, 5. Helen, b. Jean, 1916, 6. Fr. Robert, S.J.

11. Vasil, June 17, 1882- 1970 married Anna Dobrovich 1891-1939, settled in Bridgeport, CT.

II. Children: 1. Mary, 1909-1970 married Steve Lucas, 2. William, 1911-1984 married Helen Pasturchik, 3. John William, 1913-1990, married Rose B. Matyszeski, 1917-1994 4. Helen, b. 1917, married Domenick Mosca,1912-1987, 5. George 1918-1988 married Marion Hawkins, d. 1985, 6. Frances, 1924-1933, 7. Joseph, 1927-1935, 8. Steven, 9. Anna.

 

Maternal Side: Sulin, Saros, Austria-Hungary

I. Michal Knap, b. 1793 married Eva Vengrin, b. 1795, Sulin, Saros.

II. Children: 1. Anna, 1818-1818, 2. Anna 1819, 3. Joannes, b. 1825, 4. Andrew, b. 1828, 5. Mihaly Vengrin Knap, 1822-1886, married Maria Hriczenyak, b.1830, III. Their children: 1. Basilius, 1849-1868, 2. Mihaly, b. 1850 married Ursula Unknown, IV. Children: Georgius, b. 1865, 2. Anna, b. 1869.

III. Petrus Vengrin Knap, 1856-1908, married Anna Vitko, b. 1860.

IV. children: 1. Maria, b. 1880, 2. Anna, 1884-1887, 3. Katarina, b. 1887, 4. Petrus, b. 1889, 5. Michal, b. 1892, 6. Anna, b. 1894, 7. Knap child, b. 1897. III. Catherine V., b. 1858.III. Andreas, 1860-1912, married Catharina Juliasik-Kalisak, b. 1861 IV. Children: 1. Joannes, 1886-1888, 2. Michael, b. 1887, 3. Janos,1888-1888. 4. Anna, b.1889, 5. Johanes, 1892, 5. Maria, 1894-1897, 6. Andreas, b. 1896.

III. Elias V., b. 1862, married Catharina Kreta, b. 1866.

IV. 1. Michael, b.1886, 2. Catherine, 1888-1888, 3. Veronica, 1888-1888.

III. Istvan V., b. 1864, married Unknown.

IV. 1. Janos, 1879-1879, 2. Joannes, 1887-1888, 3. Katalin Catharina. 1889-1889.

III. Anna V., 1869-1870.

III. Joannes, 1852-1910 married Zuzana Gladisova, b. 1856.

IV. Their children: 1. Anna K. 1879-1883, 2. Michal, 1882, 3. Maria, b. 1884, married Stephen Vitko, V. Children: 1. John, 1905-1973 married Mary Vozak, 1906-1975.

IV. Anna Ivanovna Knap married Peter Kacsmar Dorin.

IV. Zuzana Knap, 1891-1975, married Vasily Beley, 1879-1943.

V. Their children: 1. George John, b. 1922, married Ann Aloia/Mcdonald, 2. Mary Bailey, b. 1924 married Edward Gdovin, b. 1926, 3. Margaret, b.1926, 4. Helen, b. 1929, married Ray Laneri, 5. Elizabeth, b. 1931, married John Gdovin, b. 1924 IV. Katarina Knap, 1899-1989, married Michael Vikarcik, 1899-19509, V. Their children: 1. Ann, b. 1927, married Joseph Holmes, 2. Helen, b.1930, married Patrick Spagnuolo, 3. Michael, 1920-1937.

IV. Veronika Knap 1896-1953, married John Plohetski, 1895-1958.

V. Their children: John Plohetski, b. 1927 married Ann Francevitz

IV. Anthony Victor, 1920-1944, married Elizabeth Bromfield.

Contact:

Descendants of Andrew Froelich

Generation No. 1

1. ANDREW¹ FROELICH married ANNA LUMERNER (aka Firmender) November 15, 1798 in Roman Catholic Church of Plavnica, Slovakia.

More About ANDREW FROELICH: Religion: Lutheran

More About ANNA LUMERNER: Religion:

More About ANDREW FROELICH and ANNA LUMERNER:

Marriage: November 15, 1798, Roman Catholic Church of Plavnica, Slovakia

Witnesses: Jacob Lumerner & Michael Sztarinski

 

Children of ANDREW FROELICH and ANNA LUMERNER:

i. ANDREW² FROELICH, b. October 06, 1799, Plavnica.

More About ANDREW FROELICH: Baptism: Lutheran Godfather: Andrew Doctor, Godmother: Maria Duchony

ii. JOHN FROELICH, b. January 15, 1801, Plavnica. 

More About JOHN FROELICH: Baptism:

iii. ANNA FROELICH, b. December 07, 1802, Plavnica. 

More About ANNA FROELICH: Baptism: Roman Catholic Godfather: Joseph Raslavsky, Godmother: Judith Glucs

iv. ANNA FROELICH, b. April 26, 1803, Plavnica. 

More About ANNA FROELICH: Baptism:

v. ANDREW FROELICH, b. February 04, 1805, Plavnica. 

More About ANDREW FROELICH: Baptism: Roman Catholic Godfather: Joseph Raslavsky, Godmother: Judith Glucs

vi. PAUL FROELICH, b. May 12, 1806, Plavnica; d. June 28, 1814, Plavnica.

More About PAUL FROELICH: Baptism:

vii. JOHN FROELICH, b. July 20, 1807, Plavnica.

More About JOHN FROELICH: Baptism: Roman Catholic Godfather: Joseph Raslavsky, Godmother: Maria Fur

viii. SUZANNA FROELICH, b. July 28, 1808, Plavnica; d. October 30, 1887, Maly Lipnik.

ix. MATHEW FROELICH, b. September 11, 1810, Plavnica.

More About MATHEW FROELICH: Baptism: Roman Catholic Godfather: Joseph Raslavsky Roman Catholic, Godmother: Maria Monak Roman Catholic

x. MARIA FROELICH, b. April 19, 1812, Plavnica.

More About MARIA FROELICH: Baptism:

Generation No. 2

2. SUZANNA² FROELICH (ANDREW¹) was born July 28, 1808 in Plavnica, and died October 30, 1887 in Maly Lipnik. She married JOSEPH JOPPA November 22, 1826 in Roman Catholic Church of Plavnica, Slovakia. He was born Abt. 1808 in Maly Lipnik.

More About SUZANNA FROELICH:

Baptism: , Godmother: Maria

Religion: Roman Catholic is listed on her marriage entry

Burial: November 01, 1887, Maly Lipnik

More About JOSEPH JOPPA:

Fact 1: Maly Lipnik, House 38

Religion: Greek Catholic is listed on his marriage entry

More About JOSEPH JOPPA and SUZANNA FROELICH:

Marriage: November 22, 1826, Roman Catholic Church of Plavnica, Slovakia

Witnesses: Paul Czimerman & Seman Fecstino

Children of SUZANNA FROELICH and JOSEPH JOPPA:

i. JOHN³ JOPPA, b. Abt. 1826, Maly Lipnik; d. July 22, 1892, Maly Lipnik (Source: St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia, Entry #16, John Joppa, widower, age 69 years, cause of death - agzkov, burial, 7/24/1892.); m. (1) EVA HRICZKO, Abt. 1852; b. Abt. 1837, Maly Lipnik; d. April 25, 1874, Maly Lipnik (Source: St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia, Entry #11, Eva Joppa, wife of John, 36 years old, cause of death - Typhus, burial 4/27/1874, Priest - John Pregun.); m. (2) ANNA MIKLUS, May 10, 1874, St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia (Source: St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia, Entry #6, John Joppa, Greek Catholic, Maly Lipnik, age 43, Widower & Anna Miklus, Greek Catholic, Maly Lipnik, age 46, Widow.Witnesses Peter Lukacovzski & Andrew Chanda.); b. Abt. 1826; d. April 11, 1890, Maly Lipnik (Source: St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia, Entry #4, Anna Joppa nata Miklus wife of John, Maly Lipnik, age 64, cause of death - hydrops, (note re: the last rites--non vacatus sorcerdos), Burial April 12, 1890.).

ii. MARGARETA JOPPA, b. Abt. 1845; m. JANOS HRICZKO, November 25, 1883, St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia. Witnesses: Peter Csanda, GC, Gazda, Janos Hriczko

iii. MICHAEL JOPPA, b. January 1848, Austria-Hungary; d. Unknown, Maly Lipnik; m. SUZANNA OSIFCHIN, August 28, 1871, St. Cosmos & Damien Greek Catholic Church, Maly Lipnik, Slovakia; b. Abt. 1850, Austria-Hungary; d. Abt. 1954, Maly Lipnik.

Contact:

The Havran Family of Ujak/Udol

by, Jenny Havran

2.

1. 3.

1.John Hawran and Mary Gasior on their wedding day in 1914 in Chelsea, Massachusetts.

2. Michal Havran, Sr. taken abt. 1911, when he came to Chelsea, Mass to visit his children.

3. The 5 Havran children who came to America between 1902-1914.
Back row: John Hawran, Annie Havranova Biss, Stefan Hawron
front row: Mary Havranova Jaskulka, Michael Harvan

When I decided to look into my husband’s genealogy for the benefit of our three young daughters, I had no idea what a challenging and fascinating trip it would be. Being of German and English descent myself, I was rather spoiled at the abundance of information, and the ease of immigration I found while researching my own brood. When I took on the Hawran family I was humbled at the struggles these brave people fought both in Europe and here in America.

Researching these people I found that family memories varied...although many of the miscommunications came from the immigrants themselves who were uneducated, scared of retribution if they expressed their true nationality, and just plain secretive.

The name: My first hurdle. Of the 8 children born in my husband, Fred’s, grandfather’s family, 5 came to America--3 brothers and 2 sisters. The sisters married, and at first, no one could recall how they spelled their maiden name. And the brothers. Well, they all spelled the family name differently--and insisted, with great Rusyn tempers, that their way was the true way. Fred’s, grandfather, John, spelled it HAWRAN. John’s oldest brother Michal spelled it HARVAN. And the youngest brother to come over spelled it HAWRON.

I soon discovered that the family name was HAVRAN.

A brief overview:

Eight children were born to Michal Havran and Mary Suchanovska in Ujak, Slovakia.

1. Michael Harvan (1885-1974) (arrived in America 1902)
2. Mary Havranova Jaskulka (1886-abt. 1945) (arrived in America pre-1902)
3. Anna Havranova Biss (1888-1960) (arrived in America 1902)
4. John Hawran (1894-1967) (arrived in America 1911)
5. Stefan Hawron (1897-1963) (arrived in America 1911-1914)
6. Maria Havranova Dopirakova (1903-1978)
7. Mikulus Havran (1907-unkn)
8. Peter Havran (1909-1995)

All of our relatives settled in the Chelsea, Massachusetts area. A very unusual thing for anyone from the village of Ujak. Mary Havranova Jaskulka was the first to come over with her husband, Paul pre-1902. We assume they passed through the Passaic, New Jersey area where most of the immigrants from Ujak had settled. It seems likely they moved up to Chelsea because of job prospects for Paul. The siblings that followed; Michael, Anna, John and Stefan, all went up to the Chelsea area after coming through New York.

Eventually, Anna Havranova married John Biss and migrated south to West Hartford, Connecticut, where there were many factory jobs available. Anna encouraged her brothers, John and Stefan to move down to Connecticut as well, where they would find steady work. They did--and both settled in Hartford where they married and raised their families.

The elder Havran parents and their 3 youngest children remained in Slovakia for the remainder of their lives. Father, Michal Havran, Sr. came to America around 1914 to check on his 5 children. They each gave their father money they had earned to take back to Slovakia with him. The story goes that Michal went back like a rich man, and bought up several acres of land with that money. As far as we can determine, Michal Sr. and his wife, Maria Suchanovska, died in Ujak and are buried in the old cemetery.

Daughter Maria Havranova, married Michal Dopirak in 1920 and moved to Orlov, Slovakia. She died in 1978. Maria used to correspond with a relative in West Hartford, Connecticut until the 1960’s. The family had lost touch with them until I made contact with Maria’s daughter, Irena, in 1997.

Son, Peter Havran was "relocated" (this term was used by his daughter, Helena) to Ukraine in the 1940’s with his wife and 6 children. Helena found me on the Internet, via a friend of hers who works at a state office in Bratislava, Slovakia. Helena recalls her father telling her and her siblings that they had to move because the Czech people were tired of working the fields for the Russians and now they could go home. The Russians still needed someone to work the fields, though, so they wanted the Slovaks and the Rusyns to do it.

Second to the youngest son, Mikulus, also was "relocated" to the Ukraine in the 1940’s. His descendants still live there (in Rovno, Prospekt Mira), but the family has lost touch with them. We are trying to find them once again so they can tell us what has happened in their lives since the family left Ujak.

Included in this write up is a photo of the 5 Havrans who came over to this country between 1902 and 1914. They faced many hardships here. Choosing to migrate north to Chelsea, Massachusetts was a unique decision, as I said. They settled in an predominately Polish and Italian area of Chelsea. The family remained a strong and united clan that frequently got together for weddings, baptisms, and funerals. They were a colorful and lively group. The arguments and strife were as frequent as the joyful tears and great hugs.

I continue to research them, and have already instilled in our three daughters what intelligent and hard working people their ancestors were to have traveled away from the only home they knew, to a start all over again in a land they had never laid eyes on before.

For those of you who are a spouse to someone of Rusyn ancestry, I urge you not to shy away from delving into this research because you are afraid you don’t know enough about the culture. I knew NOTHING about the Rusyn culture. But I had a desire to learn for the sake of the history I knew I wanted to hand down to my children. The Internet was invaluable. If it weren’t for it, I would have never connected with the many people who grew up in this culture, and who have been so patient and tolerant of my lack of knowledge.

If you are researching the village of Ujak, or if you have the names, Havran, Bisz, Pruzinszki, Suchanovska, Jaskulka or Miklusovan in your family...please contact me. I am very eager to share and trade information.

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