Category: Outreach

Posted on by — Leave a comment

Ancestry.com’s Messaging Platform

 
Tue 11/10/2020 12:54 PM
 
Beth,
 
I think 3 Ilcik-Elcik’s males are on Ancestry.com’s messaging platform: Brian, John, Robert, and Stephen.  
 
I’m reaching out to them to share what I am doing to encourage interest in the Elcik family history.
 
The following text is generically what each received with some personalization added to each message.
 
———–
Greetings,
 

I’m working on Genealogy brick wall scenarios related to the Elcik surname.

Two families came to America in the late 1888s or early 1900s. Today both families share the Elcik surname, Slovak heritage, and a Catholic background. Back then, the surnames were Elsik and Ilcik.
 
⦁ John Elsik (1866-1941) was married to Mary Pelcarsky (1875-1936). John immigrated to America in 1891, and Mary immigrated in 1896.
⦁ John Ilcik (1886-1982) was married to Mary Jeho Zena Jonek (1887-1951). John immigrated to America in 1905, and Mary immigrated a year later in 1906
 
I believe that there is a family relationship linking John Elsik to John Ilcik.
Finding the link has proven difficult as the church records in Europe most likely were destroyed in World War II.  
 
John Elsik (1866-1941) is my Great Grandfather.  
 
One possibility for finding the link between the two families is through a DNA test between two males, one from each family.
 
I’m looking to identify someone from the Ilick family who has or is willing to take a DNA test and share data.  There are two options: Ancestry.com is currently offering a 40% discount on its $99 test. It might be helpful. The better option when you seek a match between two living men is a Y-111 test. Admittedly, this is expensive at $250 for each participant.  
 
This is a chance to make history within the Elcik family. If you know someone who might be interested, please contact me. I’m looking for a hero. ?
 
Also, let me know if you want to be kept informed about the Elcik Family Tree. It is called My Cousins and includes data for both families. The tree has 2,650 people, 1,399 Photos, and 140 LifeStories. Access is by invitation only.  I’ll send one upon request.
 
Warmest regards,
Dr. John Paul Elcik, IV
Fort Myers, Florida
johnelcik@msn.com

————————–

I will send a shorter but similar outreach message to the females on the Messaging service: Christine, Janie, Jessica, Kaitlyn, Kathryn, Marcie, Nancy. Primary, I’m limiting outreach to those spelling our surname Elcik. As you might expect, none are using the Ilcik spelling. 
I hope to gain additional interest in our family history. Here’s to hope!
 
John, IV
Posted on by — Leave a comment

MyCousins.ged

Thu 11/12/2020 8:34 AM
Devon,
You both are awesome!!!!  The GEDCOM file loaded perfectly.   You and your Dad have given the best response ever…
My thought is to add one generation to the MyCousins tree that I’m working on.  I believe that there is more value in keeping the trees as they are rather than trying to be the One World Tree.  I support that concept as I have put a lot of my data on the One Tree, FamilySearch website. ? By putting some information there, I hope my data connects to other trees. Maybe I will solve the brick wall difficulty we have in locating “cousins” from Europe. 
I am doing two major projects to send you a Flash Drive with everything on it. The projects are the MyCousins Family Tree and an eBook (400+ emails, Facebook, and LinkedIn conversations) on my journey to create MyCousins.  The publication date(s) have yet to be determined.
Beth Gamache, the wife of my 1rst Cousin Jack, is my coauthor for the eBook. She has 6 Family trees. The Flickinger Tree is awesome.  Other family branches, however, may provide me opportunities to match her efforts. I’ve also outreached to the Del Moral, Duryea, Grap, and Portell family branches. These could double as I also ask about the maiden names for the females.
You may not wish to wait for the Flash drive, so I have attached a GEDCOM file of MyCousins.  The Flash Drive is important as I have adopted the Genealogist slogan that a “Family Tree without Sources is Mythology.” I have thousands of source documents, images, and photos that will be on the drive.
At the same time, one of my favorite quotes is:
Patience is a virtue,
Catch it if you can.
Seldom in a woman,
Never in a man.
Thus, the GEDCOM file is attached.
Also, if you are unaware of it, GEDCOM files have one significate limitation. While you can share the family tree, the sources (documents, images, and photos) do not get shared.  I backup (synch) my family tree to Family Tree Maker 2019, which gives me a complete backup of everything on my local computer.  Another company that does the same is RootsMagic 7. If you are interested in learning more about this, let me know. I own both programs, and I love to share information on technology. I’ve always been a researcher at heart.
Again, I am over the moon with your response. Thanks.
John
Posted on by — Leave a comment

Outreach

Thu 12/17/2020 11:50 AM

Beth,

I text messaged this to several people. I included modified versions for Bill Cizmar and Robert Elcik.
John, IV
————-

I have just discovered the messaging feature here at Ancestry.com.  Imagine my delight that 14 people have connections of potential interest regarding my great-grandfather John Paul Elcik. I am John Paul Elcik, IV and I have a son who also bears this name whom we call “JP.”

My research shows two different families from Europe settled in the late 1800s in Androscoggin County, Maine. Both are Slovak with a Catholic heritage, and both initially settled in Durham, Maine.  I am sharing the following with everyone as I believe a lot of confusion exists regarding the surname Elcik.
The “Elsik” family which I am descended begins with John Paul Elcik (Elsik), and the first documented reference is the United States Federal Census 1910.  I have a cherished photo of the family from that time period I would be happy to share.
  • John Elsik (1866-1941) was married to Mary Pelcarsky (1875-1936). John immigrated to America in 1891, and Mary immigrated in 1896. I have some evidence that he had a brother, Joseph.
My grandfather in the 1910 census spells his, and only his surname as Elsik. Everyone else uses Elcik spelling.
The Ilcik family, which is a different family, maybe related, but the proof of that does not yet exist.  When they arrived in America at Ellis Island, their surname was changed from Ilcik to Elcik. There is a family relationship to us through marriage, but it is not a bloodline relationship.
  • John Ilcik (1886-1982) was married to Mary Jeho Zena Jonek (1887-1951). John immigrated to America in 1905, and Mary immigrated a year later in 1906.
I have written several documents on the Elcik family explaining all this in some detail.  I address the issues of spelling: Elcik, Ilcik, Elcik, Elick. These documents and the 1910 family photo are available to all who express interest.  Please email me with your request.
I also have a list of inquiries that are ongoing related to the Elsik and Ilcik families.  Those questions also will be shared. Will you be the one with answers?
Have I have provided enough detail that you want to share information?  I hope so. I am currently writing an eBook called MyCousins with Beth Gamache. Beth is the wife of my 1st Cousin, Jack.  They live in Lisbon Falls, Maine, which I have always viewed as my “home” town without ever having lived there. Auntie Gertrude and Uncle Norman lived at 45 Davis Street, and it is where my family always returned to after living in Guam, Japan, and the Philippines. If you guessed my brothers and I lived in a military family, you would have been right; Dad was in the U.S. Navy.
Warmest regards,
John, IV
Dr. John P. Elcik, Ed.D.
15117 Cloverdale Drive
Fort Myers, FL 33919
Email: johnelcik@msn.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jelcik
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnelcik/