Posts documenting the Elcik family line, including lineage research, narratives, and personal reflections.
This first contact marks a turning point in the MyCousins project. Unlike earlier solo efforts, the collaboration with Beth Gamache transformed genealogy from an individual pursuit into a shared, sustained research partnership. At a Glance First Contact: 2020 Primary Surnames: Gamache; Purinton (birth) Medium: Email, Facebook, Ancestry.com collaboration Role in Project: Co-researcher; outreach lead; documentation … Read more
Date of First Contact: December 1, 2008 Type of Contact: Foundational Family Outreach Role: Co-Founder, Organizer, Early Advocate The First Invitation This First Contact predates all others in the MyCousins archive. On December 1, 2008, Pamela (McClanahan) Elcik sent a family-wide letter inviting relatives to participate in a shared project to preserve recipes, stories, photographs, … Read more
Date of First Contact: June 17, 2011 Type of Contact: DNA Match (Y-DNA and Autosomal) Location at Time of Contact: California (born Connecticut) How This Contact Began This first contact originated through early DNA testing, when Judith Spivak reached out after identifying a 12/12 Y-DNA marker match. At the time, DNA genealogy was still emerging, … Read more
This exchange captures a quiet but pivotal moment in the MyCousins project. Jim Elcik, my brother, helped rally broader family participation at a critical early stage and, most importantly, prompted our youngest brother Jeff to share the photographs and artifacts he had inherited after our father’s death. Though brief, Jim’s involvement materially changed what could … Read more
This was the first sustained exchange between two men sharing the same name, the same surname, and overlapping family geography—but not yet a clear understanding of how they were related. What began as a tentative outreach quickly became a collaborative reconstruction of family memory spanning Lisbon Falls, Queens, and multiple generations of Johns and Andrews. … Read more
This first contact marks a pivotal transfer of physical family history. As the youngest sibling, Jeff lived with our father the longest and inherited the bulk of family photographs and albums. His willingness to release those materials—despite their disorder—made large portions of the MyCousins archive possible. At a Glance First Contact: July 30, 2020 Primary … Read more
This exchange captured firsthand workplace memory and family artifacts connected to Pejepscot Paper and multiple Elcik generations. Mark Elcik provided photographs and context that anchored names to places, jobs, and lived experience—linking family relationships to a specific industrial setting and era. At a Glance First Contact: August 6, 2020 Primary Surname: Elcik Medium: Email Role … Read more
This exchange reflects a careful, exploratory outreach to a possible keyholder in the Elcik family history. Joseph Elcik, whose lineage traces through Maine and New York, was believed to have access—directly or indirectly—to a privately compiled Elcik family tree. While definitive materials were not immediately recovered, the correspondence clarified relationships, corrected name confusions, and opened … Read more
This exchange marked the first deep engagement from the next generation of the Elcik family. Christopher Elcik—my nephew—responded with both intellectual curiosity and emotional connection, asking thoughtful questions about lineage while reconnecting with family photographs and videos. His interest directly led to the sharing of inherited images and helped bring his wife Devon, and her … Read more
This exchange marked the reconnection of first cousins after many years of silence. Cheryl (Elcik) Heath, whose father was Richard Elcik, reached out from Maine as the family tree work surfaced familiar names and renewed connections. What followed was a warm, wide-ranging conversation that reestablished family ties and reopened an ongoing channel of communication. At … Read more