Genealogical Gems

Onifer Romanko and his wife Rosalie are buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery in Valley Township, just outside Coatesville, Chester County, PA.  Onifer is my great grandfather's uncle. I first "found" Onifer on the passenger list for my great grandfather (Panko Hruszczak). Panko had listed his Uncle Onifer as the person receiving him in Coatesville. From other records, I believe Onifer arrived in Coatesville himself in 1901. My goal is to determine when exactly he came over and where he actually came from!  Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers. (c) Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2017

Nicholas Hruszczak (my grandfather’s brother) was just 20 years old when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor . The next year, in August 1942, he enlisted in the US Army. His Veteran Compensation Application shows he served domestically from enlistment to 30 December 1942 and then again from 2 November 1945 until he was honorably discharged on 9 November 1945 at Fort Indiantown Gap. Photo from the Coatesville Record 28 August 1944 In between – specifically, 31 December 1942 to 1 November 1945 – he served in foreign service. On 20 July 1943, according to the National Archives World War II Diaries, he came aboard the USS Rigel. He boarded, along with many other men, at Pontoon Landing, Laulan Island , Milne Bay , New Guinea . At that time his rank was PFC. These “war diaries” are daily operational journals created by naval command throughout the Navy during the Second World War. They were decommissioned on 31 December 2012. The original source is the National Archives. T...

When I was young, I thought Hruszczak was a unique name, that MY family was the only one with that name. It is after all an unusual name here in America . As I grew older and got interested in knowing more about the family, I realized that we are not the only ones with that name. My grandfather (1 st generation American) did not know much about his father’s life before he came here. He did once tell me that there were three of them and that his father (Panko Hruszczak) was the only son. The two girls, he had heard, married Frenchmen and stayed there. He never was certain if they moved to France or not, just that their husbands were from France . So when I notice someone with the same last name, I pay attention. During a random broad search on Ancestry.com, I found the obituary for an Anna Hruszczak Coffey. I have not connected this family with mine. I know little about them, although I will trace them too and see if we do connect. Her obituary reads: Anna Hruszczak Coffey,...

Nicholas Ruczhak – my paternal grandfather’s brother – and his wife Anna are buried at the S. Nicholas Russian Cemetery in Valley Township , Chester County . Their stone reads: Ruczhak Nicholas           Mar. 9, 1921     Mar. 4, 2008 Anna                Oct. 22, 1922   May 26, 2014 I was fortunate enough to know Uncle Nick and Aunt Ann. Uncle Nick was born 9 March 1921 in Coatesville to Panko & Bessie Matys Hruszczak. He fought in World War II, serving as a Corporal in the Army. He served in the South Pacific in the Philippine Liberation with one Bronze Star, according to his obituary. After the War, he came home and married Aunt Ann – then Anna Petro – in 1948. They had three children, all girls. Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers. © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Panko and Bessie Hruszczak, my great grandparents, are buried at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery in Valley Township , Chester County . Their stone reads: Hruszczak Panko    1893 - 1968 Bessie    1895 - 1972 Both my great grandparents came over as teenagers, settling in Coatesville. Panko’s Uncle Onifer Romanko – his mother’s brother – was already in Coatesville, also attended Holy Ghost and is buried up our cemetery too. Bessie followed her brother Frank here. After Bessie and Panko married, Frank and his wife and children moved to New Jersey . One of my goals for 2016 is to concentrate on my immigrants and my ancestral homelands. Panko, on his naturalization paperwork, stated he was from Prusy, Sambor , Galicia . Bessie’s (maiden name was Matys) homeland was Fraga, Rohatya , Galicia . Tombstone Tuesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers. © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

This coming Saturday will be the 47 th anniversary of my great grandfather passing away. Panko Hruszczak left his parents and his homeland when he was just a teen. He came to America , traveling in steerage, hoping for a better life. He settled in Coatesville, Chester County where he met and married Bessie Matys. He worked in the steel mill for most of his life. He and Bessie raised a large family here. Their second son, Joseph, is my grandfather. His obituary reads: Panko Hruszczak (Ruczhak), 75, of 274 New St. , Coatesville, died at his home Thursday afternoon. He had been in failing health for four years. Hruszczak, who was the husband of Bessie Matys Hruszczak, was born in Galicia , Austria , and had resided in Coatesville for 35 years after coming to this country as a young man. He had retired from Luken’s Steel Co. approximately 11 years ago where he was employed in the die shop of central maintenance for 15 years. He was formerly employed by B...

Working on genealogy goals for the New Year. Thinking of concentrating efforts on my immigrants and ancestral homelands. There are a few (on Mom's side) that I am still not certain of yet. Daddy's side was actually easier, probably since I am only third generation American on his side so I only have four direct immigrants (my great grandparents). Mom's however ... Frances & John Kurenda My known immigrants are: Daddy's side: Panko Hruszczak - from Prusy, Sambor, Galicia Bessie Matys - from Fraga, Rohatya, Galicia John Kurenda - from Tatary, Sambor, Galicia, Poland Frances Skrabalak - from Temeszow, Poland Mom's Irish lines: Mary Kilpatrick - my great grandmother Michael Walsh - my 2x great grandfather Anna Keating - my 2x great grandmother Dennis O'Flaherty - my 2x great grandfather Martha Durkin - my 2x great grandmother I got my AncestryDNA results back earlier and would also like to confirm which of my lines is my European Jewi...

The “Old Man’s Draft”, known formally at the Fourth Registration registered men who born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 and who were not already in the military. It was conducted on 27 April 1942. These men were between 45 and 64 years old. The registration cards offer a wealth of information. The registrar asked the name of the registrant, his age, birth date and place, current residence, employer information (not just simply occupation), the name and address of someone who would always know where he   would be, and a physical description of the registrant. In the example of my great grandfather, Panko Hruszczak, this document confirms this spelling of his name and his address as being 274 New St . , Coatesville, Chester County . His mailing address was given as “Box 266 or above street address.”   He had no telephone. He gives his age as 48 and his birth date as 6 August 1893. His birth place is listed as Galicia , Europe . He give...

Forty-three years ago today my great grandmother, Bessie Matys Hruszczak, passed away. She was 77. I was only four when she passed away so sadly I cannot honestly say that I recall her. That's her holding me in the photo below. Also pictured are my grandparents and my Dad. She was born on 5 June 1895 in what was then Fraga, Rohatya, Galicia to Joseph and Olena Vaspleship Matys. She boarded a ship in Hamburg on 16 October 1912 and arrived in Ellis Island 12 days later. She joined her brother Frank, who had come a year earlier, and settled in Coatesville, Chester County. It was there she met my great grandfather Panko Hruszczak. They married 24 July 1915 at my church. At the time though the church was Ukrainian Greek Catholic (we switched to Ukrainian Orthodox back in 1940). They had 10 children. One died at age two. The others lived full lives. One aunt is still living! Vichnaya Pamyat. Sentimental Sunday is a genealogy prompt of GeneaBloggers.   © Jeanne Ruczhak-...

My poor desks. I have just been piling things around and they were in need of a really good Sorting Saturday.   I also found things … things I forgot I even had! I found a USB extension thingie. Like that technical term? It gives me five extra ports. I had forgotten all about that one. I found some seed packages, several books that I have not around to reading yet, and my renewal form for the National Genealogical Society (NGS). Fortunately the deadline is not until next week so I’m still good there! I even found the instructions on how to use my “new” Windows phone. I got it several months ago and simply ask my twin 16 year olds to “fix it” when I get annoyed!   I found a post it note with information on my great grandmother’s naturalization information. Her name is Bessie Matys Hruszczak. The number written on a census was 3-172456 with the date 2/27/40. The 3 indicates District 3, which in 1940 was Philadelphia . Her application number then is 172456 and the verificat...

It was 13 years ago today that my Uncle Pete passed. He left his loving wife (my now late Aunt Marianne), two daughters and two grandchildren. He was born Peter Hruszczak on 16 October 1932 to Panko Hruszczak and Bessie Matys. His brother, Joseph, is my grandfather. I have many good memories of Uncle Pete. The photo is from the newspaper announcement of his wedding to Marianne Sherman. They were married in February of 1956 at St. Cecilia's RC Church in Coatesville. Before he married, he had served in Korea. He had been in the Army. He had enlisted on 10 February 1953 and was released on 22 December 1954. The photo is of him obviously in uniform at that time. I obtained a digital copy from my cousin, one of his daughters, awhile back. May His Memory Be Eternal.

I am a little bit late on this but how could I miss this one! Seriously, did you notice my name: Ruczhak! It was Americanized when my grandfather went to school and the teacher couldn’t pronounce or spell it (could you just imagine the backlash if teachers actually did that now?). My grandfather was born Joseph Hruszczak and his father kept the spelling throughout his life here.   This week’s prompt for the 52 Ancestor Challenge is “How do you spell that?” Sure, there have been some interesting misspellings along the way. All in all though, my Hruszczak line has actually been one of my easier lines to trace (here in America ), unlike my Walsh line, to name just one of my more difficult lines.      52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks is a weekly genealogical challenge issued by Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small .    © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

March is Women’s History Month and as such, today’s prompt focuses on my paternal great grandmother, Bessie Matys Hruszczak. The prompt for the Fearless Females Challenge is: Create a timeline for a female ancestor using your favorite software program or an online timeline generator such as  OurTimelines . Post an image of it or link to it.    I am a strong believer in timelines so I thought I would love this one. Not so much. The program asks for a name ad birth and death year. It provides world events. The timeline that OurTimelines created for Bessie is: http://www.ourtimelines.com/cgi-bin/makehist.pl       My simple timeline: 1895 – Bessie is born to Joseph Matys and Olena Vaspleship 1904-1905 – Russian-Japanese War 1912 – Immigrates to America in October (that April the Titanic had sunk); settled in Coatesville 1914-1919 – WWI (US entered in 1917) 1915 – Marries Panko Hruszczak 1916 – 1 st son Theodore born 1918 – 2 nd ...

  My great grandmother Bessie Matys Hruszczak holding me. 1969   Wordless Wednesday is a genealogical prompt of GeneaBloggers.   © Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman, 2015

Lisa A Alzo of The Accidental Genealogist started the Fearless Females prompts for Women’s History Month. Throughout March, each day will feature a different female ancestor. Today’s prompt is: Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.   I have a (very poor) copy of my great grandparents’ marriage record from the Church register. Panko Hruszczak and Bessie Matys married on 24 July 1915 in the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Coatesville, Chester County . She would have been 20 at the time.   My late cousin Catherine Matys Rothermal was one of the flower girls at the wedding. Catherine would have been seven when Panko and Bessie got married. Bessie had arrived in Coatesville just three years before that, in 1912. Bessie had lived with Catherine’s family before she married.     ...

This week’s prompt is conducting cluster research. Cluster research, as defined by Thomas MacEntee is, “ When you research the friends, associates and neighbors (aka F.A.N. club) who were part of the community of your direct line ancestors. Most times this means focusing on the geographical area where your ancestors lived or the locales from and to which they migrated.” What a great definition! I did this without even realizing it when I started researching my Hruszczak line and my parish family. Many Ukrainians in Coatesville lived in Rock Run and many of them worked at the steel mill together. In this particular case, it helped me more understand the family dynamics within my parish more so than any specific information about my family.   For example, the 1930 census shows my great grandparents and their family living next to the Zydnsky family. They lived next to the Urbans who were next to the Maskulas. I did find a nephew living with the Maskula family who I had not...

Amy Johnson Crow, of No Story Too Small , challenges fellow geneabloggers each week with her 52 Ancestors Challenge. This week’s prompt is: Which ancestor do you love to research? The answer is simple: I love to research all of them! There are some I do spend more time on and some lines I have progressed more than others. There are some I knew and therefore felt a special bond with. Almost each one has taught me something.   Margaret Still, my 4x great grandmother, has told me perseverance and patience. I have been searching for her sons’ father(s) for years. She had the two boys out of wedlock and when she did get pregnant, story is, her family bought her a farm in a different township and put her out on it.   My great grandfather Panko Hruszczak has taught be to be flexible. My maiden name is Ruczhak. I have a cousin who spells it Ruzchak. I have found several other ways it has been spelled over the years. It is through Panko that I also learned the value of na...

This week’s prompt is evaluating evidence, and reviewing online education options. I have not ventured into online education options, except for some selective webinars. Hence, this week I plan to focus on evaluating evidence. Birthdates are the perfect example in regards to evaluating evidence.   My great grandfather Panko Hruszczak is my immigrant. He passed away a month and a half before I was born so I never knew him personally. For the longest time the only thing I actually knew about him was the information printed on his funeral card! Then in my teenage years I started asking questions.   His funeral card listed his birthplace as Austria Galicia. His obituary listed his birth information as simply having been born 75 years prior (putting his birth year as 1893) in Galicia , Austria . His death certificate lists his birth info as 5 August 1893 in Galicia , Austira. While I do not know who actually wrote the obituary, the informant of his death certificate was m...