December 7, 2007
Dad,
Hello! You’ll never guess what I’m doing…
I’m finally taking advantage of the family photos you once sent me. THANK YOU!
I have a new scanner, and I’m building our family a website. As part of this project, I’ve started genealogy research and have run into several pieces of information that you might be able to help explain.
In September 1959, there was a marriage recorded in Maine between “John Elcik” and Helen B. Mosko. Do you know which John Elcik this might have been? Could it have been a second marriage for your father or grandfather?
Only recently have I concluded that Helen B. Mosko and my grandfather did marry. It was a second marriage for both, after each had been widowed years earlier.
— Editor
There are two “John Elcik” records in the Social Security files with only ten years separating their birthdates. I know your father (my grandfather) was born on January 5, 1896.
I believe the John Elcik born April 16, 1886 may be a typographical error. Is that not my great-grandfather (John Sr.)—and wasn’t his birth year 1868? I’m attaching copies of two Social Security numbers. What do you think?
I contacted Social Security for clarification, but the information they returned was no more than what I had supplied. A formal complaint led only to confirmation that the data met passport requirements—despite both men having been deceased for decades.
Years later, it became clear that the second John Elcik was a different individual: John Ilcik (1886–1962), married to Mary Maria Jonek (1887–1951). It would take many years before DNA evidence confirmed the relationship between the families.
— Editor
The U.S. Federal Census cross-references “Elcik” and “Elsik” in the 1910 and 1920 records. Were you aware of this spelling variation? Do you know of any others?
I later wrote a story published with this family tree titled “Why We Spell Our Surname: Elcik.”
— Editor
Do you know who the first Elcik was to arrive in America? When and where did they arrive?
Looking at the 1910 census, there appear to be two Elcik families: John Elsik (Elcik), who arrived in 1891, and Joseph Elsik (Elcik), who arrived in 1901.
The 1891 record aligns closely with the family photo you sent me and that I’ve kept. The Joseph Elsik record, however, is confusing. There are similar names but different birth years and arrival dates. Could John and Joseph have been brothers? What do you think?
This remains a mystery. There may be a connection between three Elcik (Elick, Elsik) families who immigrated in the late 1800s. Two can now be connected through documentation and DNA.
All share a common heritage (Austria-Hungary), surname patterns, recurring given names—especially John and James—and initial settlement in Durham or Lisbon Falls, Maine. Some family branches later moved to New York, where research continues.
— Editor
Your son,
John