Category: Gamache

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MyHeritage Discovery


Sun 9/20/2020 3:09 AM

Beth,

I received the email below this morning. It says that MyHeritage can add an entire branch to my family tree with one individual. The Discovery is for Charles Harry Purrington.

The email refreshed my memory as Charles Harry Purrington was the name I sent you as an example. My source for the name Charles Harry Purington was the Elcik family tree by Family Search when I accepted one of their HINTs. To produce the report of individuals, I synced a copy of the FamilySearch tree with my MagicRoots software.

I now recall that this HINT prompted me to discover that before I added you, there were still six Purington individuals in my Ancestry.com tree. Assuming you made FamilySearch entries, I decided to ask if your marriage is the only connection between the Elcik and Purinton branches of the family tree.

The additional HINT from MyHeritage makes me even more curious. Yes, I have six Purington’s (including one Purinton) in my current Ancestry.com tree. But both Family Search and MyHeritage suggest that there are at least 40 more.

I have been focusing on the Elcik, Elsik, and Ilcik surnames, knowing that you have individual trees for the Purington, Day, and Gamache family branches. As marriages occur, I typically follow the spouse’s family for only one generation. The thought I had was that a single generation is enough to identify where our trees meet.

Have we reached the point where a combined tree is needed to answer a research question? Is your marriage to Jack the only connection between the Elcik and Purinton branches of the family tree? Could there be another?

It this clear, or have I muddied the situation more?

John

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Slovak Translations

Monday, September 21, 2020, 10:02 PM

John, IV,

I’m exchanging text messages with a cousin of Jack’s, Dan Gamache. He speaks Slovak and has interpreted some of the Slovak words on gravestones. He also knows a couple of people in the John Stephen Karkos photo. Joseph is the father of my good friend in high school, Pat Karkos. I knew him but didn’t recognize him in the picture because he was younger then. Also, two other men in the picture, Stephan and Andrew, were the fathers of two other Karkos families in Lisbon Falls. Stephan’s son was Steve Karkos, and I went to school with him, and Andrew’s son was Norm Karkos, and Jack went to school with him. Dan Gamache lived on the same street as all three Karkos families.

On the Ilcik gravestone, Rod is an abbreviation for born, Zom means died, Jeho Jenna means wife. Those words are on other gravestones as well. I always wondered what they meant, and now I know, and you do too.

Beth

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I’m Still Here


Fri 10/2/2020 12:36 AM

John,

To give you an update on what I’ve been doing. I’ve been back to St Cyril and Calvary cemeteries and taken more pictures and have imported them to my pictures folder. I’ll put those and others on the flash drive you sent me and send it back to you.

I talked to Eugene Elcik today, and he will come to our house and help me figure out some of the Elcik questions I have. I told him about you and what you’re doing, and he seemed very interested. He remembered the Durham Elciks and that they moved to NY. I told him all except George, who married Anna Gamache. He remembers both of them. I’m anxious to get together with him.

I’m also waiting to hear back from Marilyn Keamy (her maiden name was Karkos). She knows all the people in the Karkos family picture and will identify who is who.

Sorry, it’s been a while since I’ve sent any correspondence. We’ve been very busy with family stuff, and at the end of the day, I’m too tired to think about much of anything. That plus going to cemeteries wears me out. I think I’m done taking pictures…for now at least.

Will keep you posted,

Beth

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Re: Questions & Answers

 
 
Fri 10/9/2020 10:52 AM

You’re missing my Goddard family tree.  My mother’s maiden name was Goddard.  It also includes Croteau and Dearnley’s families, which is my grandmother Goddard’s family.  Her maiden name was Croteau, and my great grandmother’s family is Dearnley.  The Dearnley tree goes back to the 1700s, and they were from England.  The Croteau family tree goes back to the 1800s, and they were from Canada.  I traced the Goddard family back to the 1600s.  I have a lot of pictures in the Goddard family tree.

 
I originally told you I spent 2 years researching my Purinton family tree.  That’s partly true.  That included the Goddard and Day family trees.  I did quite a lot of the Gamache and Byras family trees during that time as well.  As you know, the Elcik family tree has been difficult with some roadblocks.  I’m very anxious to talk to Eugene Elcik again.  He talked about getting together, and I hope that’ll happen soon.  The Karkos family has intrigued me too.  It’s a never-ending search for more information!!!
 
I’ll wait for you to send the new Flash Drive before I send the other one back.  I’ll include the other one you sent me with my information on it.  I have lots of work to do with that before I’m done.  
 
Beth
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Our “My Cousins” eBook

Sun 10/11/2020 8:22 AM

Dear Family,

The conversations I have had these months with you and others are precious to me, so I am reaching out to you today with a small request.
 
I want future generations to enjoy the experience I’ve had researching our family connections. To accomplish this, I am working with Beth Gamache to turn our conversations into a private eBook called My Cousins for family members only.
 
As a member of our family, I would like you to do something easy-to-do.
 
Would you please write a 2-3 sentence descriptive profile of yourself for other family members to read in the eBook?  That and a current picture would be most helpful.
 
Here is my profile as an example.
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 in Higher Education. His interests include child advocacy (as a Mason and Shriner); animal rescue, education (especially eLearning), mysteries, and science fiction.
Naturally, if you have pictures or Life Stories you want us to include, we would be most grateful to receive them.  You may also submit profiles and pictures of other family members who are not eBook contributors. Everyone is welcome to be included. Send me an email, and you may also become a contributor. ?
 
We will course make sure you are sent an invitation to read the eBook when complete.  The family tree, pictures, and documentation will also be put on a flash drive. It, too, will be available to you, and as a contributor, it will be yours for FREE.  
 
I do believe that this is a worthwhile project and will be a positive experience for you.  Please join Beth and me.
 
What do you think?  Can we count on you?
 
John Elcik, IV
 
johnelcik@msn.com
15117 Cloverdale Drive
Fort Myers, FL 33919
(561) 543-3626 (Pam’s phone #)
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Beth Gamache’s Introduces John Elcik to Bill Cizmar

 
Mon 10/12/2020 12:15 PM
Bill,
 
Beth Gamache has been trying to introduce us and has just shared your email with me. She is married to my 1st Cousin Jack and is a co-author of an eBook we are writing about our collaboration on ancestry research.
 
I apologize if I missed it; I can’t find any evidence of a Facebook invitation from you. Could you have reached out to one of the other Facebook John Elcik’s? If so, it is just one more piece of evidence that the same name can create identification issues.  This is true in real life, as well as ancestry research. 🙂
  • My Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/jelcik
  • John Elcik (my son J.P., V): https://www.facebook.com/john.p.elcik
  • John Elcik (Rocky Point, New York): https://www.facebook.com/john.elcik
I am reachable through Facebook (above) or email at johnelcik@msn.com.
 
Bill, I understand from Beth that we both share interests in Ancestry.  Better yet for me, Beth tells me you know a lot about Lisbon. Beth is so happy that you introduced her to the Historical Society 3 years ago.
 
Our brick wall has been to find a link between two Elcik families and/or “jump the pond” to Europe to locate the 6th generation of our Elcik family.
 
Also, I apologize that this email will be so long. It has allowed me to summarize where we are and clarify our goals.  
 

Background Information

 
John Elsik (1866-1941) married Mary Pelcarsky (1875-1936) through whom I (IV), Dad (III), and John (Jr.) descended. In the 1910 Census, John Elsik identified his surname as Elsik. Elcik is the spelling used for the rest of the family.  John immigrated in 1891 and Mary in 1896. Ancestry and I agree that John Elsik is my great-grandfather.
 
John Elcik (1886-1982) was married to Mary Jeho Zena Jonek (1887-1951). John immigrated in 1905, and Mary immigrated a year later in 1906. He came to America through Ellis Island, and the name was changed to Elcik from Ilcik, as told to his grandson. His son, Andrew J. Elcik (1911-1995), married Jeannie Pascarella through whom many of the “New York” Elcik’s descended. This family includes my “New York” contact: John Elcik.
 
A 1940 Census document for Joseph’s family (sons John J. and James G.) uses the “Elsik” spelling of the Ilcik’s surname. This s particularly significant to us.  This is the first instance I have found of John Elcik (New York) direct relatives using this spelling, which can also be traced back to my Great Grandfather John Elsik, Sr.
 
Thanks to Beth’s research, we know one connection between the New York Elcik’s and us. Their George Elcik (in the 1920 Census) married Jack’s father’s sister Anna Gamache. The is not a blood relationship, yet both my John Elcik (Rocky Point, NY) contact and I think there should be one.  We all come from Western Europe (Austria/Hungry/Slovakia), spoke Slovak, and have a Catholic heritage.
 

Our Goals

 
We all believe the two families are more directly related, if and when, we can “jump the pond” to Europe. I briefly subscribed to Ancestry World Discovery to locate European Ancestors. I also have been trying to find an immigration document.  
 
I am looking hard for a European location to reach out to other descendants of our forefathers. But Europe is a big continent, and I have reached the proverbial brick wall. Individual responses in Census reports on our European origins are nonspecific. How our ancestors identified is as follows:
  • Czech Republic (14)
  • Austria (13)
  • Austria-Hungary (4)
  • Hungary (4)
  • Slovakia (4)
  • Austria-Slovakia (3)
The responses may be due as much to economics and politics as to specific geography.
 
My father always said we came here from Czechoslovakia, but our immigration in the late 1800s came before its creation.
 
As for geographic locations, I have found one reference to Parhovjani S, Czechoslovakia. Unfortunately, I don’t think it exists anymore.  And the literal translations are “parking lot.” Lol.
 
Based on the spelling of Elcik as Elsik in the 1910 Federal Census, I believe the surname spelling to research is Elsik. Or perhaps, Ilcik, if the Durham Elcik’s are relatives.
 
Beth tells me that you might know ways of researching documents, etc. that we don’t.
 
Any tips you have would be very welcome.  In addition to searching for immigration documents, I think a DNA test might help break the brick wall.  
 
It is a pleasure to meet another ancestry enthusiast.  I would like it very much if we can become friends as well.
 
Warmest regards,
 
John
 
Dr. John P. Elcik, IV
15117 Cloverdale Drive
Fort Myers, FL 33919
(561) 543-3626 (my wife Pam’s cell phone)
johnelcik@msn.com
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Re: Doctors Appointments

 
Wed 10/14/2020 5:13 PM
 
John, IV,
 
My doctor’s appointments went well.  I’m waiting for the hospital to schedule a stress test my cardiologist recommended.  Blood pressure, Blood work was all good, but there’s a gray area where they need to find out why I’m having shortness of breath after walking, going up a flight of stairs, etc.  We’re not sure if it’s coming from my neck or is a cardio issue.  We need to rule that out at this point.
 
I start PT tomorrow and am hoping that’ll help.  I’ve done this in the past, and it always does.  I’m anxious to get started.
 
I’m fine helping you with the eBook.  I wish we could figure out the Elcik family, especially if the Durham and Lisbon Falls Elciks are related somehow and if John and Joseph are brothers.  When I talked to Gene Elcik today, he said at the time the Slovak/Czechs began migrating to this country, Hitler was in power, and all those records were destroyed.  That’s why there aren’t any records available.  I just remembered someone else who may be able to help.  Her name is Patsy Armstrong (married name).  Her grandmother was Mary Elcik, your grandfather John’s sister.  Mary married Mike Dutko.  They had 3 children, Helen, Regina, and Mary.  Patsy’s mother was Helen.  She lives down the st from us.  I called her way back when about the Elcik family.  She may know the connection to Paul Joseph Elcik Sr, Paul Joseph Elcik Jr., and Mary A Elcik (not your grandfather’s sister Mary.)  Have I told you before that I drive myself “CRAZY” with this stuff!!!!
 
I also need to finish my Purinton/Day/Goddard family tree on Family Tree Maker.  I want to print it, but I am not totally familiar with how I want to do that.  I was working on that when we connected, and I went back to the Elcik/Byras/Gamache trees.  I had done a lot of that before we got involved, but I DO want to finish.  I get bogged down with technology, and then frustration sets in.  
 
If only I were as smart as you!!
 
Beth