Category: Slovak

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My Cousins – A Shared Journey

I Love MyCousins

I love MyCousins

Greetings,

My Cousins is an epistolary story told entirely in online communications.  Mostly told through email, there are Facebook and LinkedIn communications also shared. It is both about dialog and information sharing.  The dialog is what inspires the project to its eventual resting place with you.

It all begins with a Family Tree created for the Elcik and McClanahan surnames. A family record, however, is more than names, dates, and places.  It is about people – what they did, and why and the how.  This project is designed to record the history of our family and our ancestors forever.

The MyCousins project almost died in 2008 with a failed “family and friends” effort. It was to be a chronicle of favorite recipes and family history. And there were grand plans to revise and publish periodically.  We said at the time that there was a lot to do for this to be a success.  There was, and it wasn’t.   Even a modest request for help fell on deaf ears. Everyone was asked to contribute a favorite recipe and a page about themselves. The document produced was a lot of work and not particularly useful. Ultimately, it was used twice. Keri Lucas made inquires and received a copy. And Stacey Elcik used it as part of a school project.

Judith Lakkis, in 2011 tried to revive the Elcik family interest in genealogy research with a request for a DNA sample.  Her own research suggested a family connection, and she wanted to explore it further.  I was not ready for this. Not only did I not know much about the technology, but I was also too busy at work to give it much thought. The opportunity thus came and went.

In 2020, I took a fresh look at updating the family tree. This time it was different. My cousin Jack Gamache volunteered his wife Beth to help.  Beth had spent years working on building family trees. And she is passionate about her love for the work. The Elcik tree was the least developed, and we agreed to collaborate.  The process was much different this time. I was no longer working alone. Beth introduced others to the project and using social media, our numbers grew. The project includes 29 contributors and 25 subscribers as we go online.

Beth and I make a great team. First, we both are committed to ancestry research. For us, it is both important work and fun. Beth is outstanding with outreach both within the family and professionally. And I have the technology interests to support the work.

The ancestry research by Beth and I cover a lot of topics. But in the background is always the desire to solve the mysteries surrounding our immigration to America. Why did we immigrate? Why do we spell our surname Elcik? Are there other members of the family to find? Can we reach beyond our shores to Europe?  If answers are to be found, this is where we report them.

Yes, Elcik and McClanahan surnames were my starting point. I added: Adams, Brekke, Byras, DeRosa, Skillin, and Strand. And then Gamache and Lucas. There are now hundreds of surnames and still growing. Beth started with the Purinton surname. She has added Day, Gamache, and dozens more. For now, we are both happy with our separate trees. Who knows, someday there may be a need to combine contents into one World tree.  If, so it will be my job to handle the technology.

Dr. John P. Elcik, IV

Email: john@mycousins.org

 

I love MyCousins

Greetings,

The idea for turning our online communications into a book came about suddenly. I have a unique book my parents gave me on the genealogy of Durhan, Maine.  Both of us concluded that Lisbon Falls needed similar treatment.  This became even more pressing as we struggled with the mystery that connects the two communities. Eventually, we concluded that Lisbon Falls was too large a subject and focused on the mystery of Elcik immigration.

In the late 1800s, two Elcik families immigrated to America.  John Elsik came in 1891 and John Ilcik in 1905. Both families came from Austria-Hungary, spoke Slavic, and had a Catholic heritage in common. Both families have ties to Androscoggin County, Maine. John Elsik is John’s Great-grandfather with ties to Durham, Maine.  John Ilcik is the Great Grandfather of John Elcik in Rocky Point, New York. John initially referred to the Ilcik family as the New York Elcik’s.  In retrospect, we now believe his ancestral ties are also with Durham, Maine. Regardless, both John Elcik’s are steadfast in their belief that the families are related.  But how?

Beth Purinton Gamache

Email: beth@mycousins.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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DNA Match with Judith Spivak

DNA

06-17-2011 through 09-11-2011

Judith Spivak – Hello, Our DNA matches. My name is Judith Spivak. I live in California, born in Connecticut, Please respond. It should be interesting.

John – Judith, My apologies for taking so long to respond. Your communication came at a time that a lot was going on. In addition to the ancestory.com website, I maintain a family website. It would be a pleasure to provide you access. I need your email address to do so. The DNA testing is something I did for my son and daughter: J.P. and Michelle. All of us and my wife Pam have a profile on LinkedIn. Go to www.linkedin.com and search for the last name, “Elcik.” We all live in Fort Myers, Florida. Warmest regards, John John P. Elcik, IV

Judith – John It is exciting that we have a 12/12 match. Have you had this match before? The Y chromosomes in my family are limited. My father had three daughters, his brother never married, and as we know of “no children.” My grandfather was Tomos Spivak from Poland, and he was an only son. He came to this country in 1911 as a single man, getting processed through Ellis Island. If you are interested in finding out the genetic connection, we would have to do more tests. My father died in November 2009 at the age of 91 yrs old. I still have DNA from a toothbrush and hearing aids. He was born and raised in Connecticut. I brought him to California to live with my husband and me when he could no longer take care of himself. If you are interested, then we could start the process. If not, then it is not a problem. Sincerely, Judy Spivak Lakkis

John – You are the first ever to contact us regarding any match. I don’t yet know what a 12/12 match is or what the next step would entail. I’ll have to investigate. My best family website is a SharePoint site that requires I provide permission for each email address that accesses it. If you offer yours, I’ll let you in. Meanwhile, www.elcik.org has information anyone can view. We have long thought that most of our extended family originated from Slovakia. 🙂 Warmest Regards, John johnelcik@msn.com or jelcik@edulytics.com

Judith – Well, a 12/12 match means that we are related to how far back depends on more testing. It means we share a common male ancestor. We need to do a 37 or even better, a 67 marker test. I will be sending in my father’s hearing aids to Family Tree DNA. FTDNA for short. It will take approx 6-8 weeks for results. DNA Solutions did the 12/12 ancestry markers in the first test. Then I plugged the markers in Ancestry.com, and your name was a perfect 12/12 match. You can send your DNA at Family Tree DNA also for the 37/67 marker test. It is where we shall begin to find out who our common male ancestor is. My email address is judylakkis@yahoo.com, as I forgot to give it to you last time. My grandfather originated from Poland, lived in the Carpathian Mountains and Austria. I can show pictures and tell you more. Sincerely Judy Lakkis

Judith – 06/26/11, Good News, The Paternal Test we had done has 46 Markers. Could you get retested with familytreeDNA.com? The reason being, if we get the same test with the same lab, we leave it to them to find our ancestors. They will not take another’s lab results. They start with the 12 markers, then upgrade. It is about making money, but I am very interested in finding out how we connect. And one more question, I thought you were from Fort Myers, not Wellington, Florida?? Who is John Paul Elcik, IV from Wellington, Florida?? [That is me.] I have sent my dad’s hearing aids, and I have paid extra for the extraction. Sincerely, Judy

Judith – 08/12/11, Hello John, I am still waiting for more Y markers from FTDNA. They are very slow. Just to let you know. I wanted the ancestry markers for a family reunion in September, but it seems that I have to accept disappointment. J. Lakkis

Judith – 09/03/11, Hi. I have checked with experts from FTDNA, and I did have to increase 2 of the markers to make it a marker standard with SMGF… DYS442 +5… and GATA H4 +1 point. That leaves three matching markers. My family would like to pay the $159.00 for you to do the 37 Y marker testing from FTDNA. We are very curious to see how we are related. Please send me your address, and I will purchase the swab kit. And we will soon know. Sincerely, Judy

 

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Karkos Kronicles

October 15, 2018
I was flipping through my genealogy program last night and realized with a shock that I hadn’t put my Mom’s adopted mother’s death date, nor my Mom’s death date in it. And, of course, I can’t find her adopted mom’s obit online or her husband’s, but I know I have the newspaper ones somewhere in my genealogy stuff.
For 7 years straight, I did my family’s genealogy research in between work and volunteer work. Since then, I’ve been doing it off and on and still finding stuff I didn’t have or stuff from cousins I met via Facebook (I’ve really got to get my Karkos Kronicles back online.). And all I started with were memories of my Dad.
For instance, my wife’s mother’s ancestors came from Russia, and my Dad’s ancestors from far eastern Slovakia, near Russia. Fate or coincidence? I didn’t marry until I was 41. It was her second marriage.
I know we all go back to Adam and Eve, but I’m more interested in filling in the gaps and learning about our stories and history. Still, Google has the current world population at 7.2 billion. That’s A LOT of sex since Adam and Eve.
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The Spelling of our Last Name


Sat 7/11/2020 4:38 PM

Jim & Jeff,

I realized after the last message that there is a follow-up to the story in why today we spell our name “Elcik.”

If we look at the history of usage based on United States Federal Census data, we learn:

  • In 1910 Sr. had his surname recorded as “Elsik” while Jr. and the rest of the family were written as “Elcik.”
  • In 1920 Jr’s and family had their surname recorded as “Elcih.”
  • In 1930 and 1940, John III’s and family had their surname recorded as Elick”. It, of course, predates our birth.
  • Today the surname is used as “Elcik.”

It looks like our Dad over several decades, used “Elick” as our surname, but with our generation, he and we have gone back to our roots by using “Elcik.” Recall that I said the “Elick” spelling was used for Dad’s siblings: Madelyn, Gertrude, Mary, Richard, and Elinor. I was also of interest that “Madelyn” and “Elinor” eventually become “Madeline” and “Eleanor,” respectively. When overtime names change, it becomes increasingly difficult to be sure you have been recording them right. ?

One final mystery. Until I got the dates right the John Elcik, who was born in 1886, was incorrectly finding his way onto our tree. First, we know John P. Elcik, Jr. was born in 1896. I doubt as a ten-year-old, he fathered a child. The mystery is solved with the 1910 United States Census. Both the “Elsik” and the “Elcik” spellings are used within the same household.

Finally, one other surname has been a source of frustration. John “Elsik’s” wife Mary Pelcarskey had has also been recorded as “Maria Ilcik.” Ouch!

Inquiring minds wanted to know. So, as Paul Harvey used to say, “That is the rest of the story.”

John

[All this research and I can’t answer for the way we pronounce “Elcik” as “El-check.” I do vaguely recall having uttered it “Elsick” when I was young. I also remember saying, “check, like in Czechoslovakia.” Could kids in school have been bullying us? Maybe. – Dr. John P. Elcik, IV, Editor]

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A Closer Look at the Are We Related Mystery


Fri 7/17/2020 7:35 AM

John (NY),

Still another way of looking at the mystery of are we related, but this time with even more detail.

My Family Relations

  • John P. Elcik, V (1986) – My son, Science Teacher
  • John P. Elcik, IV (1952) – Me, Doctorate in Educational Administration, College Administrative Software Marketing
  • John P Elcik, III (1928) – My father had a career in the U.S. Navy and electronic communications.
  • John P Elick (Jr.) (1896-1963) – My Grandfather, Worked in the Pejepscot Paper Company and lived in Lisbon Falls, Maine.
  • John Elsik (Sr.) (1866-1941) – My Great Grandfather was born in (Parhovjani S, Czechoslovakia, Slovenia) and immigrated to America in 1891. Worked in a woolen mill and later a paper mill as a “pulp man.” For a time, he lived in Durham, Maine.

Your Family Relations

  • John Elcik (born?) – You, Education
  • John Elcik (born?) – Your Dad
  • John J. Elcik (1943-2018) – Your Grandfather
  • [1912-1917 year born?] – Your Great Grandfather
  • John P. Elcik (1886-1962) – Your presumptive Great-Great-Grandfather was born in (Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovakland) and immigrated to America in 1906. Worked in a paper mill and Lived in Durham, Maine.

There is ten years difference in age between my Great Grandfather and your Great-Great-Grandfather.

My Great Grandfather immigrated in 1891, and I believe your Great-Great-Grandfather immigrated in 1906, i.e., 15 years later.

What we want to find out is the relationship between my Great-Grandfather and your Great-Great-Grandfather. Because of their ages, I know it was not a parental one. I suspect they were cousins. What do you think? Do you have access to a family history that could help us?

My limited understanding of European economics and politics suggests that Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovakland, and Slovenia were all of the same general areas in Europe. Who ruled when determined what you called it.

John IV

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Granting Access to Ancestry.com


Friday, July 17, 2020, 2:09 PM

John (NY),

This email is to share with you that Ancestry.com should send you instructions for logging in.

My educated guess is that family members have been on ancestory.com in the past. They chose to make their Family Trees private. Even if they had not, Ancestry hides the names of living people. Are Janien, Christine, Stephen, Kaitlyn, Nancy, Samantha, Jessica, Kathryn directly related? If so, I hope you will enter their names and birthdates.

I believe the only “general” connection between families is solved, but I have yet to build out the Family Tree to a direct link between the two of us. I believe when you begin adding names and birthdates, we will discover our specific family relationship.

John, I am making you an editor of the Family Tree site. Editor means you have access to everything. It includes individuals who are living and notes.

Send me an email at johnelcik.com with questions or if you need anything.

***The software identifies the individual’s relationship with ME as the “root” individual under each person’s name. Once we have you connected though family data to your Grandfather, I can show you how to make yourself the “root” individual. The presumptive grandparent (my best guess) is John Elcik, born March 16, 1886 – Slovakia and passed on September 05, 1962 – Lewiston, Maine.***

?

Enjoy!

John, IV

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Searching for a Great Grandfather


Saturday, July 18, 2020, 6:03 AM

To: Elcik, John (DFA) <John.Elcik@dfa.state.ny.us>

John,

I have a fresh candidate to be a presumptive Great-Grandfather.

John Ilcik was born in Slovakia on December 28, 1910. He came to New York through Canada.

The one concern I will raise is that he would have been 33 when he fathered your Grandfather.

I’m attaching a copy of the documentation.

I’ll look for a spouse that would help verify or eliminate him as a candidate.

I’ll keep looking till you say stop. ?

I will drop the Great-Great-Grandfather Ilcik candidate who had the eight-year-old son from any consideration. Until we find your Great-Grandfather, nothing can be verified.

John, IV

[I gave up too soon. John Ilsik is the missing Great-Grandfather. John Ilcik’s son George Michael Elcik will marry Anna Gamache establishing the first family link between our two families. Anna is sister-in-law to my Auntie Gertrude. Her brother is Norman Gamache. – John P. Elcik, IV, Editor]