Genealogical Gems

  Sixth Grade 1980-81 Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School Coatesville, PA   Row 1 (Top): James Huff, Greg Ramaley, (forget teacher), Billy Row 2: Audrey, Maureen Doyle, Deanna Skowood, Helen, Troy Gaines, Tony Previte Row 3: Ben Walus, Michael Jason, Bridget Olesky, Kathy, Gina DeFazio Row 4: Susan Pacana, Cindy, Steve Dovidio, Brenda Barlow, Brian Blakely, Reuben, Steve Row 5 (Bottom): Tom Masculli, me, Kim Karmilowtcz, Marty McDonald, Bronwyn Zappacosta, Stephanie Palmer, Bridget Fuller

  Sushinski Michael 1893 - 1964 Magdalena 1890 - 1981   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.

Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia today back in 1914 after a Serbian nationalist assassinated  the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and his wife. By 1914 my immigrants from that area were all here, already settled in Coatesville, Chester County. Panko Hruszczak (my great grandfather) arrived at Ellis Island on 20 April 1911 aboard the Volturno from Rotterdam, Holland. His last known address was Prusy, Austria. He listed his ethnicity as Austria, Ruthenian. He was an 18 year old single white male. According to my grandfather he had only two sisters and they both ended up married in France. It is believed that his parents Theodore and Catherine Romanko Hruszczak remained in Prusy, Austria. Panko registered for the draft but was not called upon to fight. Panko met and married Bessie (Paska) Matys. Bessie was her Americanized name. She arrived at Ellis Island on 28 October 1912. She listed her ethnicity as Ruthenian-Austrian and she was from the village Fraga. She was an 18 y...

Charles M. Eckman, 86, formerly of Strasburg, died Tuesday at ManorCare Health Services, 100 Abbeyville Road, after a long illness. A Pennsylvania Department of Transportation employee early in his life, he then worked in quarry operations for D.M. Stoltzfus & Son Inc. for 30 years. Eckman served in the US Navy during World War II. Born in Strasburg Township, he was the son of Galen and Octilla Eberly Eckman. He was married to the late Hazel Fisher Eckman and the late Dorothy Brown Eckman. Eckman is survived by a daughter, Jane L. Horner of Lancaster; a grandson; three sisters, Bertha Spade of Denver, Martha Dominick of Middletown and Mildred Ness of Columbia; and a brother, Edgar Eckman of Leola. NOTE: Published in Lancaster Newspapers, Lancaster PA on Wednesday, 14 June 2000

I joined a Polish Genealogy group on Facebook and came across a resource, similar I suppose to our white pages here. The site, Moikrewni , led me to realize that the surname Matys is more common that I had thought.   There are, according to this site, 2,446 people with the last name Matys. That said, it does say "people" as opposed to "families" or "households."   On a whim, I searched for Matys in Ancestry.com using only a location as "Fraga, Poland" (which by the way did not self populate. The results? Over 47,000 entries! I should point out that I currently only have the US edition of Ancestry. I am so close to upgrading but I wanted to wait until I had several lines ready to cross the pond, to make it cost effective.   Find A Grave (yes I realize it is now owned by Ancestry.com) revealed 52 entries using only the last name Matys as my search requirements. That's a little more manageable! It also includes some from Poland, ...

  This is a shot from my daughter's blog. She is quite the baker and does a good job cooking meals too. I, sadly, am domestically challenged. My mom would always shoo me out of the kitchen and do things herself. I would get yelled at - or worse, laughed at - every time I attempted to do something in the kitchen so much so that even now if I do not have to enter the kitchen and cook up something so much the better. I actually have come to hate the kitchen ... but enough of that and back to my Anna!   Anna has started Anna's Culinary Treats ! Once she has a few more recipes that are uniquely hers, we will create a Recipe Book. Until then, I invite you to check out her site, try out a recipe, and please by all means leave your comments.   Note: Family Recipe Friday is a GeneaBloggers writing prompt that I rarely use since I do not cook much. I may have Anna try out a few recipes and perhaps guest blog on those days!

  Fifth Grade 1979-80 Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School Coatesville, PA   First Row: Bridget Fuller, Bronwyn Zappacosta, Greg Ramaley, Peggy ?, Steve ?, Marissa Buttaro, Helen ? Second Row: Billy ?. Deanna Skowood, Tom Masculli, James Huff, Susan Pavana, Tony Previte Third Row: Bridget ?,, Mike Jason, Brenda ?, Cindy ?, Kim Karmilowcz, Brian Blakely, me Fourth Row:?, Audrey ?, Troy Gaines (I think), Stephanie Palmer, Steve Dovidio, Kathy ?

Roger Sherman died of typhoid in New Haven, Connecticut today back in 1793. He was 72. Sherman was a Connecticut Patriot, who sadly I must admit I had never heard of until he popped up on "Today in History" on the History.com page. Sherman was the only one among the Patriots of the American Revolution who signed all four documents that gradually assigned sovereignty to the new United States: the Continental Association of 1774, the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. The National Park Service offers a nice write up on Sherman as well. Photo: NPS

  Joseph J. Sushinski 1925 - 2003 WW II Vet   buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County, PA   About Joseph: Joseph was born 18 June 1925. He enlisted in the US Army on 3 September 1943. He passed away on 25 August 2003.  

Panko Hruszczak (Ruczhak), 75, of 274 New Street, 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 55 years after coming to this country as a young man. He retired from Lukens' 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 Bethlehem Steel Co. Hruszczak was a member of the Holy Ghost Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Coatesville. Surviving besides his wife are five sons: Joseph Ruczhak, Theodore Ruczhak, Nicholas Ruczhak, Paul Ruczhak and Peter Ruczhak, all of Coatesville; and four daughters: Katherine, wife of Chester Wiker of Coatesville; Mary, wife of Michael Senn of Drexel Hill; Helen, wife of Jack Prybylinski of Chester; and Ann, wife of Jack Peazzoni of Downingtown. He is also survived by 15 grandchildren and fo...

Follow Friday is, for me at least, one of the more difficult Geneabloggers' prompts to write. Today however, I hopped online and found one that was perfect for where I am now in my research on my MATYS line and I had to include it! My great grandmother - Bessie Matys - came from Fraga. It has been a most difficult place to find information out about. PolishRoots.org is an awesome resource. This particular post, "How to Write a Letter Requesting Records in Polish" is timely and a God-send, for me at least. In it, are examples of phrases to use so that anyone essentially can write a letter requesting information. The site itself is a wealth of information. It covers land records and maps and tips. It covers the history of Poland as well. It is a "must check out" for anyone doing Polish or Ukrainian research.

Tsar Nicholas II of Russian and his family were executed at Yekaterinburg today (17 July) in 1918. Born Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov in 1868, he was the last Tsar of Russia. He, his wife Alexandra Fyodoronova, daughters Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia, and their son Alexey were executed by the Bolsheviks. Hoping to save his country from the violence that was occurring, Czar Nicholas abdicated in February 1917. The abdication did little to calm the revolutionists though and after the Bolshevik Revolution in October, he and his family were exiled to Siberia under house-arrest. It was there, in a basement, the still young family was lined up in the basement and shot. Their bodies were discarded by the Bolsheviks in an unmarked grave. Today, the Romanov family are saints of the Russian Orthodox Church. Royalty and martyrdom were joined together, O blessed ones, In your death for righteousness and right belief, O wise Sovereigns, Nicholas and Alexand...

  Fourth Grade 1978-79 Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School Coatesville, PA   First (Bottom) Row: Gina DeFazio, Bridget Fuller, Theresa Hanna, Bronwyn Zappacosta, ?, ?, Maureen Doyle Second Row: Helen, Marissa Buttaro, Susan Pacana, Steve, Deanna Skowood, Greg Ramaley, Stephanie Palmer, Audrey Third Row: Bridget, Michael Jason, Barbara Larkin, ?, Brenda, James Huff, Cindy, Brian Blakely, Kim Karmilowcz Top Row: Kathy, ?, me, Steve Dovidio, ?, Jason, Peggy, Tony Previte, Mrs. Karen Tatela

Blacksmithing was an essential trade. The blacksmith made and repaired the iron parts for farming implements. He crafted carriage wheels and shod horses. His work, by the early 1900's, had grown to include repairing all types of manufactured, horse-drawn farm machinery. He repaired wagons, carriages and sleighs and sharpened plows, saws and other tools. In some areas, he even doubled as the local veterinarian. Over time, new technology led to horses being used less and less in the fields and for transportation. Many blacksmiths either found themselves out of business, learning to repair automobiles, or taking up another trade. My great grandfather Pierson George Still was a blacksmith and farmer in Chester County around 1900. When he met Mary Kilpatrick, he was a blacksmith on the Main Line (outside Philadelphia). They married in 1908. CENSUS NOTES: Born in 1886, he is only 14 in the 1900 census and living therefore with his parents on the family property in Eas...

  Fedoryk   Catherine 1900 - 1978 Nicholas 1893 - 1974   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.

Bessie Matys, my great grandmother, was born 5 June 1895. She came to America in 1912, leaving her father and three older sisters in Fraga, to join her brother in Coatesville, Chester County, PA. It was there she met and married Panko Hruszczak in 1915. Together they had 10 children. One passed in infancy but the others lived full lives. But today, I'd like to focus on Bessie herself. Little is known of her life before she immigrated. She was born in Fraga, Rohatya, Galicia to, according to church records here, Joseph Matys and Olena Vaspleship. I know of her four sisters only because of a letter from her brother's oldest daughter, Catherine. Catherine Matys Rothermel immigrated with her parents. We wrote and visited several times. She wrote once that there was four girls and her father and that Bessie was the youngest of all. She was 18 when she boarded the ship Cincinnati in Hamburg, Germany to join her brother, Frank, here in America. She arrived, according ...

Our Aunt Jo (hubby's father's sister) passed away at the age of 86. She and I used to write each other often. I used to get so excited when there would be a letter of hers in the post. Above is a photo from one of the family events. Aunt Jo is on the right. My husband's mom Dorothy Deyoe Eckman is on the left. Aunt Jo's sons Robert (left) and Anthony, Jr. are in the back. Below is her obituary from the LeRoy P. Wooster Funeral Home : Josephine M. Pelikoski (nee Eckman) passed away peacefully on January 26, 2013. She was the loving wife of the late Anthony Sr.; Loving daughter of the late Mabel and John Eckman of Philadelphia; Sister of John and Frank. Josephine is survived by her two loving sons, Anthony Jr. (Betty) of Atco and Robert (Nancy) of Ocean City, NJ; Proud grandmother of Christine and Anthony III and Nancy's son, Jim and great grandmother of Chase. Josephine was raised and educated in Philadelphia. After high school she became employed in ...

  Third grade Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School Coatesville, Chester County, PA 1977 - 78

Today, I thought I would introduce readers to a resource: Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1790. This text was compiled by John B. Linn and William H. Engle. It was published by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. out of Baltimore, Maryland. I am, to be honest, not sure it includes ALL marriages before 1790 and I say this only because I found no Eckmans listed and I have other (church) records indicating several were in fact married before then. That said, I did find several Van Horn family members. The text offers simply the raw basics. It provides, in alpha order, the year, month, day and names of the couple. So for example, in 1776 Jacob Van Horn married Lydia Moode. The text offers the following: "1776, Feb. 1. Vanhorn, Jacob, and Lydia Moode." It does not tell me who married them, if it was a civil service or in a church, or even what city or county in which the marriage occurred. The text also does not offer the parents of the couple or even the couple's ag...

  The Bodnar Family   Petrenella 1891 - 1977 John 1886 - 1959 and their sons: Michael 1919 - (living) Stephen 1926 - 2002 Paul 1928 - (living) Wayne 1952 - (living)   Buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery, Valley Township, Chester County     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.

James Deyoe, son of Jacob and Mary Schermerhorn Deyoe, fought in the Civil War, according to New York, Town Clerks' Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca 1861-1865. He was born in Lexington, Greene Co, New York on 8 July 1822. At the time of his enlistment he was married and living in Ulster County, New York. James enlisted on 8 August 1862 at Shandaken, Ulster, New York. A Private, he served in the 120th Infantry, Company B. He was discharged in June 1865 in Kingston, Ulster County, New York.     Source: New York State Archives; Albany, New York;  Town Clerks´ Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War, ca 1861-1865 ; Collection Number:  (N-Ar)13774 ; Box Number:  64 ; Roll Number:  35 .  

Irek Jaworniciki is looking for former residents/descendants of ULUCZ. An announcement in a publication of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA reads: "Attention former residents of the village Ulucz, present day Poland, and their descendants. Please help us build the web site ( www.ulucz.org ) and create the monography of the Ukrainian village Ulucz, whose residents were forcibly resettled in 1947 as a result of 'Akcja Wisla'. Email us your memories, articles, old photographs and interesting stories about Ulucz. You may contact us at irek-jawornicki (at) wp.pl. "

Dr. G. Gary Kirchner, 79, of Lancaster, passed away surrounded by family on Friday, August 2, 2013 at the Lancaster General Hospital. Born in Lancaster, he was the son of the late George W. and Betty (Conn) Kirchner. He was married 54 years on June 13 to Betsy (Shirk) Kirchner. Gary graduated in 1951 from Lancaster Catholic High School, in 1955 with a B.S. from Franklin & Marshall College, and in 1959 with a Doctor of Medicine from Hahnemann University, Philadelphia. He served his internship at Lancaster General Hospital from 1959-60, and his residency at the Mayo Clinic in surgery from 1960-64. During the Vietnam War he served as Lieutenant Commander with the US Navy in the Medical Corps and as a U.S.S. Forrestal Medical Officer at the time of the Forrestal disaster. He began private practice in General Surgery and joined L.G.H. in 1964, where he was Chairman of the Department of Surgery from 1986-1989. He retired from surgical practice in 1998. He serve...

Yesterday, on the Fourth of July, we took the girls to Valley Forge. They said they enjoyed it - the encampment, the reading of the Declaration, Washington's Headquarters, - everything! There is also a church there and I came across a society that I had not heard of before: the Society of the Descendants of Washington's Army at Valley Forge. The Society, according to its website , was founded by Donald G. Cronan of Manhassett, New York. The purpose of the Society was "to compile a roll and preserve the identity of the individual soldiers, especially those who lie in unmarked graves". Private Jacob Eckman died at Valley Forge that fateful winter. Pvt. Eckman served under Capt. John Lorah in the German Regiment , 5th Division in Brigadier General Peter Muhlenberg's Brigade . He died there on 20 May 1778.

John Charles Eckman, Jr. was born 1 July 1924 to John Charles and Mabel Florence Eckman. He passed 21 March 1980. His funeral service was held 25 March 1980 at the Bacchi Funeral Home in Bridgeport (near Philadelphia). He was buried at the Valley Forge Memorial Gardens in King of Prussia. John is my husband's father's brother. I've always heard my husband refer to him as "Uncle Bud."

  Second grade with Sr. Mary Devota. Coatesville Area Catholic Elementary School. Coatesville, Chester County. 1976-77

Uncle Pete (Ruczhak) and Aunt Marianne (Sherman) were married in February 1956. Their wedding announcement ran in the Coatesville Record on 16 February that year. The announcement read: St. Cecilia's R.C. Church was the scene Saturday afternoon at three o'clock of the wedding of Miss Marianne Sherman, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank W. Sherman of Coatesville, to Mr. Peter Ruczhak, son of Mr. and Mrs. Panko Ruczhak, also of Coatesville. Mixed bouquets adorned the main and side altars for the double ring ceremony performed by the Rev. Joseph F. Curtin, assistant rector. Wedding music was played by Mrs. Edward Rissel, of Coatesville, at the organ, and sung by Mrs. Robert Doan, also of this city. The couple left for New York following a dinner and reception at the VFW home. They will reside at 617 East Lincoln Highway. Mr. and Mrs. Ruczhak were graduated from Coatesville High School with the class of 1950. Mr. Ruczhak is employed at the By-Products division of Lukens S...

  Edward J. Hough 19 May 1945 to 21 April 2005   buried at Holy Ghost Ukrainian Cemetery Valley Township, Chester County   His obituary was published in The News Journal . It read:   Edward J. Hough Age 59 of Downingtown, PA passed away on Thursday, April 21, 2005 at his home.Born in Philadelphia, PA, he was the son of the late Edward Hough and the late Mildred Benedetto Hough Farina. Ed owned and operated the Edward J. Hough Company. He was a former board member of Homemaker Health Services, a member of the Downingtown Lions Club and Brandywine Country Club. He had a passion for golf, boating, cooking and his friends.Ed is survived by his friend and companion in life, Carolyn of Downingtown; a sister, Joan Niglio of Philadelphia; and 2 nephews, Anthony and Nicholas Vaino.Family and friends are invited to attend his funeral service at 10:30 am on Saturday, April 23, 2005 at Holy Ghost Orthodox Church, 392 Charles Street, Coatesville, PA. Calling ...