Fri 1/15/2021 10:49 PM
John, IV
I think people have lost interest and don’t share the enthusiasm you and I have. No matter the reasons, you’ve worked hard on the project, and I’ve done what I can on my end.
I have to tell you; I went to St Cyril cemetery today because I couldn’t wait until Spring to find your great grandfather’s/grandmother’s gravestone. Their last name is definitely spelled Ilcik because I traced it with my finger. I did the same with their names and dates. It says he was born in 1867, and we’ve been putting 1866 as his dob. I took 2 pictures and will send them to you when I download them to my computer. I’ll do that tomorrow as I’m tired tonight.
I didn’t sleep well last night because this has been on my mind, plus I’m adding names to the Byras family tree. Something I hadn’t mentioned to you before now….as you know, I grew up in Durham, and a good friend of mine and close neighbor was Stephen Byrus. His father and mother were Joseph Byrus and Marie Yvette Pelletier Byrus (she used her middle name Yvette), and his grandfather and grandmother were Joseph Byrus and Louise Crowley Byrus. Our parents were very good friends and spent a lot of time together. Stephen was an only child; his dad had cancer and died young at 43. It upset my parents greatly, especially my dad because he lost a great friend. Yvette worked in a bank in Lisbon Falls, and she and my mom remained friends until her retirement, and she moved to Camden, ME., where she died. Yvette would visit once in a while, and they often exchanged letters.
The point of this story is… Stephen stopped at our house a few years ago with lots of information about the Byras family. The Byras family had a family reunion in Bowdoin every year, and we always went when Gert was alive. After she died, Jack lost interest in going, and so did his dad. Stephen went every year and knew all the Byras family. He also knew I had joined Ancestry and wanted to know the Byras family history. He told me all the family members, and thankfully, I wrote it all down. I hadn’t done much on the Byras family until a couple of days ago, and now I’m obsessed with completing that tree. I’m not done yet, but I’m close. I can only work for a few hours and don’t always get back to it until the next day.
Another bit of information… Joe, Yvette, and Stephen Byrus spell their last name Byrus, and the rest of the family spells it Byras. I don’t know if you had noticed that. I asked Stephen why one time, and he said he didn’t know, but his family always spelled it that way.
I’ve rambled enough for now, but I thought you’d be interested to know my connection to the Byras family. Little did I know when I was growing up, I’d marry Jack and become involved with his family history as much as I have. I couldn’t wait to get to the cemetery today to find the Elcik/Ilcik gravestone. I even saw Earl’s footprints in the snow!!!!
I’m shutting down for now. I’ll send the pictures tomorrow.
Beth
