08-17-2020
John,
I never knew I was married to a celebrity!!!! I have a Gamache family tree on Ancestry, which includes Elcik and Byras. Byras was Gertrude’s mother’s maiden name. I will share what I have with you on Ancestry. I have some missing links on the Elcik family, but you may help me with that. Jack isn’t on Ancestry and isn’t interested, but I AM!! Hopefully, we can help each other with all this family “stuff.”
Beth Purinton Gamache
Mon 8/17/2020 10:53 PM
21 Davis St. is in Lisbon Falls. Zillow probably saw it as the Town of Lisbon, which is comprised of Lisbon Falls, Lisbon Center, and Lisbon. The Town of Lisbon has one governing body and one school department. There are 2 zip codes; Lisbon Falls is 04252, and Lisbon is 04250. It’s confusing for sure.
I sometimes go to realtor.com, looking for homes for sale in Lisbon. We’re not looking to sell our house or buy another one; I like to “look” once in a while. If I say, Lisbon Falls, it always comes up with homes in both Lisbon Falls and Lisbon. As far as I know, there isn’t a Davis St. in Lisbon, only Lisbon Falls.
The kitchen cabinets were built before I came into the picture, and the chicken coop was gone as well. I’ve heard many stories about both of them and the before and after the renovation of the kitchen, living room, bathroom, and Gert’s sewing room.
Beth
Aug 19, 2020, at 6:06 PM
John,
I have a book “History of Durham, Maine” written by Everett S. Stackpole that my parents gave me in 1979. I’m assuming it’s the same one you mentioned here.
Beth
The original book was published in 1899 and had been out of print for decades. It was published again in 1979 with only 500 copies. My parents were able to obtain several copies at that time. It was a Christmas gift from my parents that year. In my mother’s handwriting, it says “Jack and Beth, Christmas 1979 from mom and dad.” I cherish it. There are many wonderful “old” pictures of residents in the book that I love.
I also have a book “Vital Records of Durham, Maine” that I bought from the Maine Genealogical Society. This book has been a tremendous help with birth and death records of the Days and Goddards.
If only there was one for the Elciks, we’d be all set!!!
I may have won this round but you’ve won many more than me but then “who’s counting”??
Beth
John,
I reached out to a friend at the Historical Society about the two Catholic churches. He’s our “tech” guy and has over 10,000 pictures on his computer at home and at the Society of Lisbon, gravestone. He’s helped me with so many questions I’ve had, technology shortcuts, etc. He’s my go-to person there. He isn’t on Ancestry but has a wealth of information about computers.
Anyway, he thinks Catholics married other Catholics and Slovaks. They were all Catholic. They would go to the wife’s or husband’s church depending on the dominant spouse. Originally there was only one Catholic church in town, Holy Trinity which is the church Jack’s family attended. All Slovaks attended that church.
Eventually, another Catholic church was built. I don’t know how it was determined or decided who attended the new church but they were all Catholic. Families were buried in either cemetery depending on the dominant spouse. But we can’t forget some Catholics/Slovaks are buried in Hillside which is mostly Protestant. Possibly the dominant spouse was Protestant????
As far as we know, that’s the story, the whole story and nothing but the story.
Beth
Sat 8/22/2020 2:24 PM
John, IV,
Yes, absolutely, your need to help your son. I’ve been so busy the last few days and haven’t had a chance to look at email and am just now trying to catch up.
I do have some good news. I was able to find out where Bob Elcik, George’s son, is living. He and his wife Peggy are living in PA. They’ve moved a few times over the last several years but are back in PA now. If you remember, Bob’s father, George, married Jack’s father’s sister Anna Gamache.
I was able to get his phone# and email address. Jack called him yesterday, and we talked to them for about 1 1/2 hours They were so happy to hear from Jack, and we plan to stay in touch. That’s good news. The bad news, he doesn’t know anything about his grandfather’s family, which is the Durham John P. Elcik, or Ilick if you will. He does remember going to Durham with his dad and Jack and his dad to make Kielbasa.
PLEASE tell Pam how much I appreciate the card she sent me. It means a lot to me. I’m feeling much better now, especially knowing there’s no cancer.
I’m sure you’ll be a BIG help to JP. I will now proceed to catch up on the last 2 days of emails.
Beth
Sat 8/22/2020 5:47 PM
John, IV,
My head is spinning, thinking of all you have to do. I know how much you LOVE doing this “stuff,” and good luck helping JP. I know you CAN DO THIS!!! The shoulder and neck pain is another story for sure!!
I just sent an email to a friend of mine who was in high school with Jack (not the same class.) He’s the one who helped me find Bob Elcik, son of the Durham George Elcik. He has a Lisbon Maine Ancestry page documenting everyone who was born and lived in the town of Lisbon. His exact words to me were: “the Elciks are the most unfiguroutable family in Lisbon Falls.” I laughed when I read that and proceeded to tell him how you and I have been working on this “project” for several weeks now.
My point is, I had to look up each individual with birthdates, death dates, etc. to try and clarify which John P. Elcik belongs to the correct family. He also mentioned there are too many Johns, Andrews, Marys, and Marys married to Pauls. That took me a couple of hrs. Because I have CRS: Can’t Remember Shit!!! Jack came up with that a long time ago, and now it’s an official medical diagnosis because everyone we know has it, and it’s REAL!!!
Take Care and stay in touch.
Beth
