Author: Dr. John P. Elcik, IV

Dr. John P. Elcik, IV is married to Pamela McClanahan and they have two children: J.P. and Michelle. John is retired from a marketing career for administrative software in Higher Education. His interests include child advocacy (as a Mason and Shriner); animal rescue, education (especially eLearning), mysteries, and science fiction.
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Re: Ouch!

Mon 2/1/2021 12:31 AM
Beth,
As for figuring this all out, I have a plan.
First, I am grabbing every document that potentially could be helpful on Ancestry.com and MyHeritage so I can transition away from “collecting hints” on those two platforms.  The number of documents I already have means I’m making good progress. I think I shared some summary numbers with you.  I’m almost done with this part of the plan.
Second, the Fantastic Four have given me what I need to take the project to a new level.  I needed the right surnames and specific geographical locations. Your network of friends has provided both. Thank you!
Third, some books and courses will teach me how to access the online databases in the Czech Republic and Europe. The answer exists, and I’m determined to find it.
I was briefly disappointed because I thought we were closer than we are.  What we have found is extraordinary and will make for a great story to tell.
As to the workload, I’m overwhelmed myself.  I forgot to mention the photo and document scanning project. That will be huge also. I think you can better understand now why I cried, “Uncle.”  I really needed to reset the publication date. My mental and physical health were in jeopardy. Lol.
More importantly to me is the desire to keep this fun. The November 3rd date will help me tremendously.
I may take a sabbatical. A week, not a month, not a year. 🙂
John, IV
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Hello Cousin

February 5, 2021, 9:02 AM
Good morning John,
Right from the start, I’m in Ohio, a female born under Czechoslovakia’s flag in eastern Slovakia, further East of Parchovany in Vinne. I have been going on the boards for almost 20 years.  I love to pass on the research sites and information that I know and have gathered thru the years.  Very pleased to help and to hear that you have been able to go that far.  Awesome.  Genealogy is never-ending.
Zlatica
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Name That Author

February 5, 2021, 9:11 AM

Beth & Nancy,

Let’s play a game.  Since I have no musical ability, I suggest “Name that Author” rather than “Name that Tune.”  

Here are three pages of a document. Can you name the author?

John, IV 
February 5, 2021, 5:13 PM
I don’t have a clue. Don’t recognize the handwriting either. Answer or a clue.
Nancy
 
February 5, 2021, 5:23 PM
Team,
If I am correct (Yes, I could be wrong, but let’s not go there so quickly. ), the document contains clues.
However, in the true spirit of giving, I will give three clues. One, it appears to be a speech rather than a letter. Note, for example; there is no signature.  Second, there could be a vague reverence to the place where the speech was given and who the audience might have been. Third, why might I have sent this to Beth?
Gee, I hope I’m right. If not, I will look really foolish. Lol
By-the-way clues are not like wishes. They rarely come in threes.
John, IV
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Re: Hello Cousin

February 5, 2021 10:00 AM

Zlatica,
Thank you for your help and for reaching out.
I guessed that you were female.  But my reasons may have been wrong.  Your Ancestry username ZlaticaBeca suggested to me that your first name might be Beca, short for Rebecca.
Is Beca your last name? And could Vladimir be a husband? If so, the only two women I know who share my interest in genealogy use their husband’s email account for genealogy. Lol.
I have had a team of helpers that I call the “fantastic four” helping me. Beth Gamache is my cousin Jack’s wife who uses his email account.  She has introduced me to others. I think they all volunteer with the Lisbon Historical Society in Maine: Charles “Charlie” Hall,  Earl Williams, and William “Bill” Cizmar.  I added the dynamic duo from the Ancestry Boards to my list of helpers, in which you are the lead volunteer.  Beth and Jack live in Lisbon, Falls, Maine. Quite by accident, we have learned that Earl is a DNA match. We are still seeking the individuals that make it so.
The Fantastic Four were providing me some of the same family information as you shared during overlapping conversations. It would have been fun to read everyone into the conversation. I didn’t think fast enough. I have had great fun and awesome helpers all along.
Beth and I are writing an eBook together called MyCousins.  It will be an expository story told through eMail, FaceBook, and LinkedIn communications with 20 contributors.  It is our journey in genealogy creating the MyCousins Family Tree.  There are over 500 posts.  We hope to self-publish to the family on a website. The goal is to do this on November 3rd, the 42nd anniversary of my wedding to Pam.
My wife Pam and I lived in Fairfield, Ohio, from 1986-2004. We have two adult children: J.P., a schoolteacher, and Michelle, a Pharmacy Tech with Walgreens. Both live nearby.  We recently celebrated my son’s wedding to Ana Del Moral.  We both “were” retired. I still am, unless you count dog sitting for my own two puppies. I do. Pam has taken a short-term position running drugs for Michelle. She delivers COVID-19 vaccinations between Walgreens stores.
I took your advice and posted the current Elcik Brick Wall on the Slovakia Ancestry Board. What do you think?
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Re: Hello Cousin

Fri 2/5/2021 1:50 PM
Ahoj bratranec,
When my e-mail was set up, it was set up under my husband’s first name Vladimir. BECA is his surname. He has his own e-mail. Neither of us goes into each other’s account.
I still have siblings and distant relatives in Vinne. Husband had a brother and a sister, but both passed away, so only nieces and nephews.
 
I’m not on FACEBOOK or any social media but e-mail.  
Congratulation on the e-book.  Exciting.
I went on the Slovakia Ancestry board and see that you have a query on there. I like that you also included the Slovak spelling of a surname.  Keep in mind that if the priest was not of Magyar ancestry, he most likely was not sure as to how to put a Slavic/Slovak surname into proper Magyar spelling. You might see ILYCSIK, which would be  IĽČÍK, and also you can see ILCSIK or ILCZIK.
In Magyar, LY would be the  Ľ sound in Slovak. In Vranov, we find both spellings:  IĽČÍK  and ILČÍK, but they are different pronunciation unless the spelling is wrong in the phone book.
 
My father was born in 1920, and his birth record does not show up in the Family Search. Some privacy law.  Possible that your Pal’s birth record was filmed, but if on that roll a record falls under privacy law, then the whole roll off the Family Search. Suppose Pal Ilysik (Pavol Ilcik) and Janos Ilscik (Jan Ilcik) were from the same location Parchovany than possibly some relationship. It cannot be ILSCIK but ILCSIK – Magyar grammar. It can be ILSZIK.
Zlatica 
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Re: Hello Cousin

Fri 2/5/2021 2:52 PM
Zlatica,
You are a goldmine of wonderful information. Lol.
I have been researching, and your name is “derived from the Czech/Slovak element, zlata meaning “gold.” The suffix of -ica is a popular one among feminine Slavic names denoting something small and feminine. Zlatuska (zlah-TOOSH-kah), and Zlatka, can either be used as a nickname or variation. The name also coincides with the Czech/Slovak word for the buttercup flower.” In the Southern Slavic languages, it just means “gold.”
Ok, Goldie. I will abandon my search for your social media.  I had found one Facebook account that I thought might be a possibility: Zlatica Bečková Nová. Lol. My question for you would have been, “did you visit the following?
Trenčín Region
Visited on August 5, 2014

Nitra Region

Visited on July 9, 2013

 
I once spend hours (days) looking for a Facebook account for my first cousin, Nancy Kashmer Gamache, on an indirect challenge from her brother Jack.  He said she would have the best family photos. Eventually, Beth ratted on Jack. Nancy also only uses email. 
I’ve tried twice to stop using Facebook.  It is an addiction, second only to genealogy. 
John, IV
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My Deer

On Feb 5, 2021, at 3:12 PM

Beth & Nancy,

There are no prizes for getting the answers right.  The reward is in participation.
I could, for example, ask you to name the deer in these three photos.  But you could lie, and I would never know. Therefore, my question to you is, can you name their companions?  I use the term loosely as the relationship between deer and individuals is not all that friendly.
John, IV
I could tell you the answers, but I won’t.  It is enough to say that both Beth and Nancy know. – John P. Elcik, IV