Genealogical Gems

  My Baba's parents: Frances Skrabalek & John Kurenda

  Dmytryk   Peter b. 30 January 1936 Audrey b. 16 November 1937 d. 27 May 2003   buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery, Valley Township, Chester County, PA      Tombstone Tuesday is a daily blogging prompt prompted by GeneaBloggers in which an image of a gravestone is featured. It may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor.

My apologies ... I was going through looking at past posts (so as to cover fresh info versus covering exactly the same thing) and noticed Google+ has "lost" several photos. I'm having a problem on another site with Google hence my suspicion that Google is the issue. I will work on fixing them later today/this evening. If - after today - you should come across a post that has an error instead of a photo, please feel free to either comment on here or email me privately. My info is under the contact tab above. Thank you.

Helen L. Rice, 91, of Coatesville, passed away on Sunday, 13 April 2014 at the Neighborhood Hospice Center of West Chester.  She was the widow of the late Everett Rice Sr., with whom she shared 48 years of marriage before his death in 1988.   Born in Compass, she was the daughter of the late Helen (Thompson) and Fred Schlimme.  Helen was a member of the Fraternal Order of The Eastern Star Chapter #249 of Coatesville and the Hibernia Methodist Church.   She had been employed by the Lukens Store, Pepperidge Farms, Lukens Office and most recently drove school bus for Krapf Bus Co.     Helen is survived by her beloved son Everett Scott Rice, Jr., husband of Linda, of Parkesburg.    Funeral Services will be held on Friday, 18 April 2014 at 11 AM at the Wilde Funeral Home, 434 Main St., Parkesburg, followed by interment in the Fairview Cemetery.  The viewing will be held from 10 until 10:45 AM at which time the Order of th...

The courtyard at the Historic Preservation Trust headquarters at 123 North Prince Street will be the setting for an English High Tea on Saturday, 10 May from noon to 4 p. m. “The courtyard at the Preservation Trust is a beautiful venue and quite appropriate for a tea in the tradition of European teas,” said Donna Lussier, owner of La Petite Patisserie and hostess for the event. “Proceeds from the tea will benefit the Preservation Trust’s countywide initiatives to identify and protect homes, barns, bridges, mills and other structures that are historically significant.” According one account, Anna Maria Stanhope (1783-1857), a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria and known as the Duchess of Bedford, is credited as the creator of afternoon teatime. Because the noon meal had become skimpier, the Duchess suffered from "a sinking feeling" at about four o'clock in the afternoon. At first the Duchess had her servants sneak her a pot of tea and a few breadstuffs. A...

My niece (my husband's niece to be more specific) got me the Ancestry DNA kit and I finally got back the results. Big surprise here ... wait for it ... I am 100% of European descent! Like I couldn't figure that out, right? But what I did find interesting is the breakdown of each ethnic background. I am from - according to the results - 35% Eastern Europe, 29% Great Britain, 17% Ireland, and 14% Scandinavia. Trace regions showed also 3% Western Europe (which includes Germany), 1% Italy/Greece, and les than 1 % (so literally a trace) of European Jewish. The Eastern Europe did not surprise me at all figuring I am after all half Daddy and half mom and Daddy is all Slavic. It would have been interesting if the DNA test could actually distinguish between Polish and Ukrainian and Russian blood for example. Great Britain is primarily considered England, Scotland and Wales. It did surprise me that the number was higher than my Irish. Although Ireland here is defined as Ireland, W...

  Johnny A. Zomolski 27 February 1942 5 July 1955 An angel visited the green earth and took a flower away.   buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County, PA   Tombstone Tuesday is a daily blogging prompt prompted by GeneaBloggers in which an image of a gravestone is featured. It may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor.

Pennsylvania State death certificates are available online now through Ancestry.com.  The range available is 1906-1924. I lost half my morning already when I saw these were available! I was surprised how few people I have who passed between these years but I did find some. Some admittedly I already had the hard copies. Some were like ... "wow!" The death cert here at right for example is that of Martha Durkin O'Flaherty - my great-great grandmother. When I first got her certificate (it was one of the first I had actually ordered) I was so excited ... and so in despair! Her mom was a Murphy! A Murphy in Ireland ... that should be easy to find, right? Martha Durkin and Dennis O'Flaherty had eight children. One of whom was Hugh O'Flaherty. Hugh married Katherine Dee and they had six children ... and now - thanks to this database - I have all but one of their names! Five of the six passed between 1906 and 1913, the oldest of whom was 9 years old at the time ...

Historically, 17 April marks the day in 1907 when more immigrants were processed through Ellis Island than on any other day -- 11,747 people. Today, more than 40% of US citizens -- 100 million Americans – can trace their roots back to the 17 million brave and hopeful immigrants who took their first steps towards freedom and opportunity by going through the “Golden Door” of Ellis Island. Ellis Island Family History Day was first celebrated on April 17, 2001 to commemorate the opening of the American Family Immigration History Center® at Ellis Island and its companion website: www.ellisisland.org . Like many Americans, I can trace some of my immigrants as coming through Ellis Island.  My great grandfather Panko Hruszczak came into Ellis Island on 20 April 1911 by himself at the age of 18. He came over on the S.S. Volturno (seen here) from Rotterdam, Holland. He had listed his ethnicity as Austria, Ruthenian. On his shop manifest he li...

The Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County is accepting nominations for the annual awards for excellence in historic preservation. Nominations will be accepted until Friday, 4 July. “ Lancaster has one of the largest inventories of historic homes, barns, bridges, mills and other structures of any place in the United States ,” said Lisa Horst, president of the board of directors for the Historic Preservation Trust.   “The annual historic preservation awards recognize those in our community who are helping to keep historic Lancaster County historic through their exceptional work to save, preserve, restore and celebrate the beauty of structures built by our forefathers. Recipients will be honored at our annual awards program on Tuesday, November 11.” The historic preservation award categories are: Leadership -- presented to individuals or organizations that have demonstrated the vision, wisdom and perseverance necessary to incorporate historic preservation into...

Thomas H. Tracy of Exton, passed away on June 18, 2013, at his residence after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 70 years old. Born in Chester on June 15, 1943, he was the son of the late Thomas and Sophie (Matys) Tracy. He was an avid golfer and had retired five years ago allowing him to spend time near Myrtle Beach , N.C. enjoying the game he loved. Tom served two years as an Army captain during the Vietnam War and later served in the Army Reserves. He was awarded an honorable discharge for his dedicated service to his country. He is survived by his wife of 29 years, Kathleen A. "Kathy" (McConville); his three daughters, Brenda J. Tracy, Barbara J. Tracy, and Kelly A. (John) Livingston; and by five grandchildren. Along with his parents, he was preceded in death by his brother, John Tracy. Relatives and friends are invited to his viewing 10 a.m. to 12 noon Monday, June 24, followed by his prayer service at 12 noon from the Logan Funeral Home, 698 East Lincol...

The 2014 Gourmet Gala, the annual fundraiser for the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County, will be held on Sunday, 18 May, from 4 pm to 7 pm at the historic Mylin House (1787) and the Cultural Center at Willow Valley Communities in Willow Street. "The venue is ideal for the gala which has become Lancaster ’s premier food and beverage social and our primary fundraiser,” said Lisa Horst, president of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County Board of Directors. “The Mylin House will be the gala’s centerpiece while food and beverage will be in the adjacent and beautiful Cultural Center at Willow Valley Communities.   The care that has been taken in preserving and restoring the Mylin House is a must see and the reason why this venue was chosen for the 2014 Gourmet Gala.” The recipient of a 2013 historic preservation award by the Preservation Trust, the Mylin House was built in 1787 by Martin Mylin III and his wife Barbara Baer (granddaughter of Christian...

Andrew Gregg Curtin was born 22 April 1817. He married Katharine Irvine Wilson (1821 – 1903). Katherine was born to William Irvine Wilson (1793 – 1883) and Mary Potter (1798 – 1861). They had seven children: Mary, Myron, Katherine, Bessie, Jane, Martha, and William.   Mary Wilson Curtin (March 1846 – 1927) married a physician George Fairlamb Harris (March 1843 – 1911) in 1871 Catherine Curtin Harris (1871-1936) married a bank cashier named John McCoy Shugart (1870 - 1924) in 1899 Infant son (1900 - 1900) George Harris Shugart (b. 1 February 1903 – 23 June 1963) married Helen Cruse on 2 January 1937. George Harris Shugart, Jr. (b. 4 January 1940 – 7 April 2013) married Elizabeth Russell on 12 December 1980. Allison Elizabeth Shugart (9 May 1983 – 9 May 1983) Ame Laurine Shugart (9 May 1983 – 10 May 1983) Mary McCoy Shugart (b. 31 May 1907) Adeline (b. circa 1878) Jane ...

Andrew Gregg Curtin was the Governor of Pennsylvania during our nation's Civil War.  The son of Scots-Irish immigrant iron founder Roland Curtin (1764–1830) and his second wife, Jean Gregg (1791–1854), he was born 22 April 1815 in Bellefonte in Centre County. He was the grandson of Pennsylvania politician and president pro tem of the U.S. Senate, Andrew Gregg. Before becoming Governor, he served as schools superintendent. During that time, he started the state system of teacher training in "normal" schools - like Lock Haven State Normal School, now Lock Haven State University. As a war-time governor, he did sponsor taxes to finance the war but managed to keep the state's debt low. More military units for the war were organized in Harrisburg than in any other recruiting point in the North. He organized "The Loyal War Governors' Conference" to foster support among fellow governors. It was this unified group of governors who suggested General George ...

  Today is National Sibling Day! me & Noreen 1993

A major first step toward making records on more than 10,000 historic properties in Lancaster County available online has become a reality. The Preservation Trust’s Our Present Past has been digitized and is posted on the Preservation Trust’s website – www.hptrust.org .  “This is a significant achievement not only because it makes research of our county’s architectural history easier but also because it gives us peace of mind in knowing that we have digital files of the massive paper records that we maintain at our downtown Lancaster library,” said Lisa Horst, president of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County Board of Directors. “Our records date back to the founding of Lancaster County in 1729 so it is very reassuring to have digital backup files. Digitizing Our Present Past is phase one. The second phase involves digitizing hundreds and hundreds of file folders and other references. The third phase will merge phase one with phase two.” Funding f...

Onifer Romanko and Rose Wasylkow in May 1917. A friend sent me a link to Family Search for another relative and I stumbled across the marriage application for Onifer and Rose. Both are from Austria and both had previous marriage according to this. I first "met" my Uncle Onifer Romanko through my great grandfather Panko Hruszczak. Panko had listed Onifer on one of his immigration papers. He had to list who he was coming to see in America and he list his uncle. It dawned on me that I had seen the name Romanko - or something similar - and realized it was at our cemetery! I know little else about Onifer, except that he is my Panko's mother's brother.

    Hlady   buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery, Valley Township, Chester County, PA   Father John Hlady (1894 - 1965) ... He stated he was born 27 June 1894 in Galicia Austria. He arrived in New York in 1909 and was, at that time, a citizen of The Republic of Poland. In 1917 he registered for the WWI Draft. He was single then, living on New Street in Coatesville with his father, mother and sister. John was 36 when he filed his Declaration of Intention and Petition for Naturalization in 1930. At that time he was living in New York. He lists his last residence as Hlyszczaua, Austria. He mentions also that when he immigrated, he did so spelling his name Ivan Hladij.   He and Sophia were married in Coatesville on 2 June 1918. Their children - William (b. 21 March 1919) and Mary (b. 19 June 1921) were born in Coatesville. The 1920 census shows them (John, Sophia and William) living with Sophia's parents: Harry & Helen Mo...

Andrij "Andy" Szczesniuk, 63, husband of Caroline Wike Szczesniuk of Honey Brook, died on Wednesday, February 2, 2011 at Brandywine Hospital. Born in Germany on December 13, 1947, he was the son of Ewdokia Babenko Szczesniuk of Honey Brook and the late Onufrij Szczesniuk. Andy worked at Honey Brook Nursery, their long-time family business. He and enjoyed fishing as a hobby. He was a Vietnam veteran. In addition to his wife and mother, Andy is survived by; four sons, Andrij (Andy), Joseph, and Christopher all of Coatesville and Steven Szczesniuk of Ohio; three grandchildren; and a brother Stefan Szczesniuk. Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Panakhyda Service at 10 a.m. on Thursday, February 10, at the Maclean-Chamberlain Funeral Home, Inc., Route 340, Wagontown, with a visitation beginning at 9 a.m. Private interment at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery. In his memory, those who wish may make contributions to Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church, 399 Charles St., C...

All these years I have been going crazy looking for a CORADIS MILLER. According to Emma Miller's obituary her late parents were Coradis and Elizabeth Winter Miller. Turns out ... his name was Socrates; the obit was wrong! Emma's obituary reads: Emma Eckman, eighty-three of Providence Township, widow of Aldus J. Eckman, died at 4:45 p.m. Thursday at her home. The daughter of the late Coradis and Elizabeth Winter Miller and she is survived by the following children: William, of Buffalo, New York; Mrs. Charles Martin, of Conestoga Center; Mae Eckman, of Reading; Mrs. B.C. Hill, of Philadelphia; Jessie Eckman and Joseph Eckman, of Christiana; Mrs. John C. Eckman, of Philadelphia; Roscoe, of Harrisburg; Mrs. Pearl Silverthorne, of Reading; and Mrs. Walter Lawrence, of New Providence. Twenty grandchildren and ten great grandchildren also survive. Emma - who is my husband's great grandmother - was born in 1858 in Providence Township. So, I started with the 1860 Census and ...

The 32nd Annual Chester County Antiques Show begins today! The Show is a benefit for the Chester County Historical Society. The theme this year  is "Recreation, Hobbies, and Leisurely Pursuits." It will be held at the Phelps School in Malvern. Chairpersons are Jo Ann and John Carey, and Ida and Tom McIntyre. Antique dealers will include: A Bird in Hand Antiques Aileen Minor Antiques Bill Shaeffer Antiques Britannia House Antiques David Pownall Willis Diana H. Bittel Antiques Dixon-Hall Fine Art Dover House Antiques Emele's Antiques Eve Stone Antiques, Ltd. Gallery 51 Greg K. Kramer & Co. Hanes & Ruskin Antiques Heller-Washam Antiques Hilary & Paulette Nolan H.L. Chalfant American Fine Art and Antiques Holly Peters Oriental Rugs James Gallagher James M. Kilvington, Inc. Johanna Antiques Joseph J. Lodge Kelly Kinzle Antiques James M. Labaugh Antiques Malcolm Magruder ...

Chester County (PA) has uploaded several records on its sites that may be of interest if tracing your family there, including marriage records. Chester County kept marriage records from 1852 to 1855 and then again from 1885 to the present. Go to the "Records, Guides and Indexes" page on the Chester County, PA site at http://www.chesco.org/index.aspx?NID=193 . Now to be honest, I have this page bookmarked because I can never find it on the main page and it just frustrates me to no end so if you would like to do the same ... go to the page then add it to your Favorites. Once there, you have a choice of so many records! But for today - click on the " Birth, Death and Marriage " link on the left side. Select Marriages. For the years mentioned above, you can search by groom or bride. Remember if you are searching by the bride to use her maiden name.   The information that you MAY get from these records include: Groom's last name Groom's first nam...

  Ladun   John S   1916 - 1979  Anastasia Esther   1916 - 2002   Their daughter, Patricia Ann , is buried next to them at the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery in Valley Township, Chester County, PA. John grew up living with his grandparents, Frank and Helen Witok , in East Fallowfield Township.   Tombstone Tuesday is a daily blogging prompt prompted by GeneaBloggers in which an image of a gravestone is featured. It may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor.