Genealogical Gems

When searching for your family, search for the church history as well. Not all churches made the paper often but from time to time, the local newspapers carried information about a church that included family information! I attend the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Coatesville, PA. Daddy went here until he and mom married and he converted to Catholicism shortly after I was born. His parents were baptized here and married here and were buried here. Their parents all went here as well. My great grandfather's (Panko Hruszczak) uncle and aunt (Onifer & Rose Pomanko) attended here before that. However, we did not all attend the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Over the years, the church itself has changed. Newspaper accounts from the Daily Local, the now defunct Coatesville Record and Village News all shed light to the parish's history over the years. The Chester County Historical Society keeps clippings of all the churches, surnames, and various other infor...

My morning started off pretty rough. We were scheduled to clean the church cemetery  - Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery - and so I got everyone up at 6 a.m. on their day off and we were in the car by 7ish so we were at the cemetery by 8 a.m. We were ... no one else was. So I walked around and took the photos I needed yet and I realized we have so many verterans in our parish. So many men - and some women too - gave their youth - and in at least one case his life - four our country and our freedom. I thought about this as I waited ... and waited ... and then called someone from church who the cleaning was - half awake - told me that the cleaning that was scheduled that morning had been cancelled. As I drove us all the 20 miles back home, the girls all fell asleep in the back seat and I cried. I cried for so many reasons. I cried because I want so desperatley to serve our parish family and everything I have asked to do lately has been shot down. I ...

My grandparents. Joseph Ruczhak & Anna Kurenda married at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Church

    MALAMON Yvan 1871 - 1955 Horpyna 1883 - 1962   Buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County, PA   The 1940 Census shows a John (Yvan) and a Horpena (Horpyna) Malamon living on Irish Lane in Valley Township, Chester County. They are both from Austria. They have a 21 year old daughter Dorothy (born 1919) and an 18 year son Michael (born 1922). Dorothy is a dressmaker. She is the only one employed at the time. Michael is still in school. John (Yvan) is also noted as having his "first papers" when you mouse over the citizenship column.     The 1930 census shows two older Malamon children: 18 year old Catharine and 16 year old Nick, in addition to Dorothy (then 12) and Michael (then 10). John (age 60 in 1930) was 30 years old at his first marriage, Horpyna (age 49) was 19. Hence this was - according to the census - their first and only marriage each. All the children listed ...

I have many family members who fought in WW2. Baba's brother Paul - whom she affectionatly always called Paulie - was one of those family members. He saw action in the European Theater. Uncle Paul was KIA (killed in action). He enlisted as a Private on 1 January 1943 in Philadelphia. At the time of enlistment he was a welder at Lukens. He lived at home, up Rock Run, with his mom, Frances. His father, John, had predeceased him. He died on 11 August 1944 in service to our country. His obituary was published in the now-defunct Coatesville Record. Coatesville Record August 12, 1944 PFC. Paul Kurenda, aged twenty-two years, of 1047 Rock Run, died last night in Valley Forge General hospital after a long illness. He was taken ill while in England where he served with the army for one year after training in this country. Brought back, he was treated at hospitals in Charleston, S.C. and Martinsburg, W. Va., before being transferred to the Valley Forge institution. Funeral ...

Dennis O'Flaherty .... where did you come from? Born around 1834-1839 somewhere in Ireland, Dennis is not easy to find in his early years. For better or worse, O'Flaherty is a common Irish surname. I have no record of his parents identity or them immigrating with him. Thus I can safely assume he either came over with older siblings as a child or came by himself as an older teen or young adult. Unfortunately that does not narrow down my search for his immigration records. I do know he and Martha Durkin were married here and the kids were all born here. Since James and Mary were born in 1868, I can probably assume that Dennis and Martha were married circa 1866. The O'Flahertys are found mainly in Tipperary, Limerick and Clare. (1) The texts I have will be helpful once I get a location. On all his records - that I have found so far - simply state "Ireland" as his birthplace. He was never specific. Ancestry.com includes immigration records. One record is a pot...

New Paltz was founded in 1678 by the French Huguenots. The name of the town is said to have been suggested by Christian DEYO  in 1675. The name he gave was probably that found in the record of the first meeting of the New Paltz Reformed Church in 1683.  Deyo - and his son Pierre - were among the "Twelve Men of the Duzine "  acquired the royal patent of over 33,000 acres, which stretched all the way from the Shawangunk Mountains to the Hudson River. The other patentees were Louis DuBois and his sons Abraham and Isaac, Simon and Andries LeFevre (brothers), Jean and Abraham Hasbrouck (brothers), Antoine Crispell, Louis Bevier, and Hugo Frere The early settlers built their homes along the area now known as Huguenot Street. That area today is home to seven museums, an old cemetery, library, archives and more. The area is home to several historic houses of those "Twelve Men of the Duzine." They include: The LeFevre House, The Jean Hasbrouck House, The Deyo...

Antiques 101: Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Antiques is part of the "History on Tap" program being offered by the Chester County Historical Society , West Chester, PA.  The program is free to the public. H. L. "Skip" Chalfant will discuss the 10 things everyone should know about real antiques in today's virtual world.  Chalfant has been at the forefront of American decorative arts collecting and dealing for 40 years, and his business H.L. Chalfant American Fine Art and Antiques was 2011 Best of Main Line Winner for Early American Antiques. This brief 30 minute program begins at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 26 March, and will be followed by discussion, Q & A, and good conversation. This program will be held in the upstairs bar at Doc Magrogan's Oyster House, where space is limited to 50 on a first-come, first-served basis. There will be refreshments and food available for purchase. History On Tap brings history to you in the casual atmosph...

  George W. Groce Co. F 6th Penn. Calvary 1846 - 1933 George would have been young when the Civil War broke out. He and or his family received assistance from the State while he was actively serving. The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a law on 15 May 1861 that created a board of relief for the support of the families of volunteer soldiers for the duration of the “current hostilities”. There are several Groce famioly members listed in the papers. They all lived in East Caln although the database does not list how they are all related. They were: Carolyn, George, John, Miles and Phelby Jane. They are all on the same voucher - #93 - indicating one family. There is also a George Groce (no middle initial given) who shows up on the Bounty Lists . This George (be it the same or not) is listed as being in Co. E of the 97th Regiment in 1863 - 1864. Three other Groce men are listed as well: Charles, Ellis P. and Thomas B. George Washington Groce passed on 13 December 1933....

Church Record Sunday is a weekly prompt for GeneaBloggers which describes a specific church record or a set of records held by a church or denomination and how they can assist genealogists. I wish that today - being St Patrick's Day - I had some great records to share from my Irish ancestors. Sadly I really do not. I do have the baptismal records from both my paternal grandparents and my Uncle Nick as well as marriage records for my great grandparents at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Church. Church records are especially helpful on Daddy's side of the family. The Baptismal Register reveals that Gigi (my grandfather) father is Pantalemon Hruszczak and Pelagia Matys. It lists Gigi's birth as 12 January 1918 and his baptism as 20 January 1918. Gigi was actually born on the 5th but the use of both the Julian and the Gregorian calendar here explain the date discrepency. It also reveals that my great grandfather (referrred to as Panko) is from Prusy, Sambor in Galicia Austria. Be...

May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back, May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains fall soft upon your fields and, Until we meet again, May God hold you in the palm of His hand. This was an Irish Prayer my grandmother always said to all of us.

Today I continue to clean my computer files out. So today, I continue to sort through my various collections hoping to organize things. I came upon this 1930 Census. Just a quick tip - when using Ancestry.com for your research, it allows you to save the document you are looking at to the relevant person in your tree. I also save a copy to my hard drive and label it something like (in the case below) "1930_Kurenda." For this one it was easy. They were the only Kurendas here so far that I have found. My Irish ancestors are a bit tougher since they all have similar names. In that case I might have used husband and wife's names together or something to indicate better who it referred to. The 1930 Census of the KURENDA family reveals them living on Sandy Hill Road. John is 43 and his wife Francis is 48. They were 22 and 30 respectively when they got married. They both list Poland as their place of birth. Living with them is son Pete, age 21; daughter Mary, age 20; dau...

It dawned on me this morning that I should learn more about the Civil War, since I have a few family members who particiapted in one way shape or form. Since admittedly it was not an area of history that came up much in my schooling, I will be refrencing History.com quite a bit to start with with. I truely believe to understand genealogy one has to at least appreciate history! And so begins my attempt ... On this day in 1865, Union General William T. Sherman and his army encountered resistance as it trounced through the Carolinas on its way to join General Ulysses Grant's army at Petersburg, Virginia. Confederate General William Hardee tried to block one wing of Sherman's force, commanded by Henry Slocum, but his Rebel force was swept aside at the Battle of Averasboro, North Carolina. In the end, The Union army lost approximately 95 men killed, 530 wounded, and 50 missing, while the Confederates lost about 865 total and Sherman continued on his march. Sadly, I ...

  Michael J Welsh Born 31 March 1893 Died 16 December 1968 Michael J Welsh, 75, died Monday night at his home, 503 Magnolia Street, Kennett Square. (Note: this was actually my grandparents house but at any given time they had one or two other family members living there with them.) Mr. Welsh was born in Shenandoah, PA, son of the late Michael and Anna Keating Welsh. (Note: the name was originally Walsh but it was a common name and - according to my grandmother - there was another family with similar names but the children were all trouble makers so we changed from Walsh to Welsh). He had been a resident of the Unionville-Kennett area since 1941. He had formerly resided in Phoenixville. He was last employed as an attendant at the Devereux School, West Chester. He retired in 1963. Mr Welsh was a member of the Church of St Patrick, Kennett Square. (Note: this is a Roman Catholic church) Surviving is a niece, Mrs. Lloyd Still, with whom he resided, and other niece...

I finally joined the Find A Grave network! I hate writing bios. I always feel so self concious but I did finally come up with this: I am searching Ruczhak/Hruszczak, Matyz, Kurenda, Skrabalek, Romanko, Still, Welsh/Walsh, Kilpatrick, Durkin, O'Flaherty, Keating, VanHorn, Rice, Bing, Way, Williams, and Dudbridge. I am slso searching Eckman, Miller, Kirchner, Herr, Slaymaker, Kuhn, Deyoe, Schermerhorn, and Sharp. As you can guess my research has taken across many counties, states and nations. I look forward to being an active member here. Feel free to check out Genealogical Gems at http://genealogybyjeanne.blogspot.com/ . If you need photos in Lancaster or Chester Counties you can request it through the Find A Grave site. I am listed there under my full name: Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman. Thanks!

My husband's DEYOE line is from Greene County, NY. In researching that line, I came across the Historic Huguenot Street (HHS). According to their site, a dozen men from the Bevier, Crispell, Deyo, DuBois, Freer, Hasbrouck, and LeFevre families met with the Esopus Indians in 1677 and purchased 40,000 acres of land stretching from the Shawangunk Mountains to the Hudson River. It is this DEYO line that hubby is descended so I follow the HHS and their activities with the hope that someday we will actually be able to make it up there. Earlier this week, I got an email from the HHS about their popular archaeology camp. The camp will be held in July and is run by experienced HHS staff. Campers conduct a dig on site including excavating, cleaning and cataloging archaeological finds. The campers will learn the importance of understanding past cultures and the basic principles and practices of archaeology. How I wish we were closer. I think my girls would love th...

Mary Kilpatrick Still is my great grandmother and is hard to find information on since she was not here all that long. 12 November 1887 - born in Ireland (as per Chester County marriage records ) 1907 - Immigrated (as per 1910 Census) 5 June 1909 - Married Pierson George Still in Mortonville (as per Chester County records ) 1909 - 1st child Margaret Nora Still born (appears on 1910 census but did die in infancy) 5 September 1910 - 2nd child James Franklin Still born 1912 - 3rd child Dorothy born 1913 - Dorothy dies of whooping cough 24 March 1914 - 4th child (my grandfather) Lloyd Pierson Still born 17 February 1916 - died in childbirth (child stillborn) February 1916 - buried at Doe Run Presbyterian Cemetery in East Fallowfield, Chester County, PA My "Mystery" is where exactly Mary Kilpatrick was born. I had been told County Mayo but have not found any documentation to prove or disprove that. I also am still searching for immigration information. I have sear...

Frank Eckman, Sr., Sadsbury chief (note: my husband's father) Frank R Eckman, Sr., 65, Sadsbury Township Police Chief died Sunday, January 16, at Lancaster General Hospital after a short illness. He was the husband of Dorothy Marie Deyoe Eckman. They had been married 44 years. Born in Philadelphia, he was a son of the late John C and Mabel Florence Eckman. He had been involved in law enforcement for 34 years. He served as Sadsbury Township's police chief since 1982. He was also the township's emergency management coordinator. Prior to his employment with Sadsbury Township, he served five years as a part time officer for both Colerain Township and Little Britain Township. He moved to Lancaster County in 1975. Before moving, he worked for the Philadelphia Police Department beginning in 1957. While in Philadelphia, he performed various assignments in the patrol and traffic dividions and was a member of the department's motorcycle drill team. Mr. Eckman recei...

Last night I stumbled upon the Rosenbaum Bank. Okay - not literally! I was searching various names on Ancestry.com and stumbled upon a HRUSZCZAK listed in connection to this bank in Philadelphia. Anytime I see my maiden name I get excited since it is not exactly Smith or Jones! Now I can not place this Teodor. My great grandfather was Panko Hruszczak and he came into Ellis Island and stated his uncle Onifer Pomanko was waiting for him in Coatesville, Chester County, PA. Panko did marry in Coatesville in 1915 and settle there, and while I show him as having lived in Columbia, Lancaster County in 1917, he pretty much stayed in Coatesville. He never lived in Philadelphia. While his father was Theodore, I do not believe his father ever immigrated. In any case, what caught my attention - in addition to the name - is the source! Panko was not Jewish. Nor is any direct lineal ancestors (while I do have some Jewish family members scattered here and there, none are direct ancestors.). At...

Shenandoah is a borough situated in Schuykill County. It was first settled in 1835 by Peter Kehley, a farmer. He sold his land rights to the Philadelphia Land Company, which in turn laid out the town. Anthracite coal was discovered in the 1830's in the area, which led to the town's growth and prosperity, especially during the Civil War when the need for coal was great. Incorporated as a Borough in 16 January 1866, the town served as a magnet for immigrants. My Walsh/Welsh and Keating families are from Shenandoah. They - like many Irish immigrants - worked in the coal mines. In the 1870s many Irish settled in town. By the end of the decade, the immigration trend swtiched to more immigrants from the Eastern European countries, especially Lithuania, Poland, the Ukraine, and Slovakia. The immigrants were hard workers many of whom spent the better part of their lives in the coal mines. Anthracite coal burned cleaner than soft coal and had become the ma...

Palm Sunday 2012 Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church Coatesville, Chester County, PA

All three of my girls are artistic. Anna and Zorina have been exhibited at school art shows. Zorina was just exhibited at the Lancaster County Youth Art Show. Her "Box" drawing is at right here. She normally does more geometric oriented pieces but this was a school art project from last school year. The way Manheim Township slecets artists to even be entered is a bit odd. The students are limited to specific assignments then get judged by the art teachers at school then those selected advance to the County level. In any case, Zorina did a great job Love her shadowing! Below are some of Anna's drawings that I came across while cleaning recently. She has many more but these were on my system already. These were just her doodling that kind of went on to become something else. The drawings had nothing to do with a school assignment.

Census Sunday is a GeneaBloggers weekly prompt focusing on census records. I chose to focus on Anna Keating (my great great grandmother) since this is National Irish American History Month and the Keatings are from Ireland! The 1910 Census reveals that 56 year old Anna Welsh is living with 17 year old Michael Welsh on Lloyd Street in Shenandoah in Schuylkill County, PA. She is widowed at this time. The census reveals that she and her parents were born in Ireland. Anna had 11 children; six of them are living still in 1910. She is not employed. Michael is a laborer in the colliery industry. Colliery is the coal mine industry. I came across an Annie Walsh in the 1900 census (at right) in Shenandoah , Schuylkill County . She is listed as a widow and has four sons living at home. The information is close to my Anna but not exact and since Walsh was such a popular name, I will save it as a possible match. This Annie Walsh is 49, born in February 1851. My Anna was born in 1855. This Ann...

March has been Irish American History Month for many years. On Thursday, 28 February, President Obama finally proclaimed - as so many presidents before him - that March be Irish-American History Month! The Proclamation reads: For more than two centuries, America has been made and remade by striving, hopeful immigrants looking for a chance to pursue their dreams. Millions among them were born in Ireland, separated from our shores but united by their belief in a better day. This month, we celebrate the Irish-American journey, and we reflect on the ways a nation so small has inspired so much in another. Generations of Irish left the land of their forebears to cast their fortunes with a young Republic. Escaping the blight of famine or the burden of circumstance, many found hardship even here. They endured prejudice and stinging ridicule. But through it all, these new citizens never gave up on one of our oldest ideas: that anyone from anywhere can write the next great chap...

Our systems are getting old and in need of a major update so we finally broke down and decided to get new systems. In doing so, I thought it was high time to sort thru the electronic mound of documents and photos. Some will of course be saved and some will be deleted no doubt. CENSUS RECORDS ... This jpg (at right) is titled "1870 Census Mary Schermerhorn Deyoe". The census is for Lexington, NY. John & Mary Deyoe - ages 76 and 73 respectively - are living with Walter and Hannah George and their 11 year old son Leroy. An Effie Crispwell, age 7, also lives with the Georges. Walter, age 45, and John are farmers. Hannah, age 40, keeps house while Leroy and Effie are at school and Mary does not list an occupation. They were all born in New York. Neighbors to the Georges was Walker Deyoe and his family. Walker is a 44 year old farmer. His wife is is 38 year old Caroline. She keeps house. Their 11 year old son Willie E. is at school. All are born in New York. In 1850 ...