This first contact documents a meeting of genealogists. Terry Karkos, a Maine genealogist and former journalist, was already known through his early genealogy website, Karkos Kronicles, one of the first Slovak-focused resources consulted during Elcik research. The exchange reflects shared methodology, mutual assistance, and the fragile nature of digital genealogy when sites go offline. At … 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 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 sequence of exchanges documents the quiet but decisive role played by Earl Williams of the Lisbon Historical Society. Through patient fieldwork, cemetery mapping, gravestone recovery, and local historical knowledge, Earl helped surface physical evidence that confirmed identities long obscured by weather, naming conventions, and incomplete records. His work transformed uncertain references into verifiable facts. … Read more
This exchange introduced a deeply experienced local historian whose personal, professional, and genealogical interests intersected with the Elcik story. Bill Cizmer brought multi-generational research experience, intimate knowledge of Lisbon Falls, and a practical understanding of Slovak naming conventions, immigration patterns, and archival limits. His perspective added breadth, realism, and valuable external connections. At a Glance … Read more
This exchange captured the voice of one of the oldest known Elcik descendants still living at the time of contact. Gene Elcik, writing from Maine at the age of eighty-seven, brought perspective shaped by military service, professional life, and earlier, often frustrating attempts to trace the family’s European origins. His message reflected both the urgency … Read more
This exchange documents the first direct contribution of structured genealogical data from outside the immediate Elcik family line. Devon Elcik (Flickinger), married to my nephew Christopher Elcik, acted as an intermediary between the MyCousins project and her father’s extensive prior research, enabling the transfer of a complete GEDCOM file and opening a new branch of … Read more
This exchange documents the first time primary-source Slovak parish records were explicitly mapped to known Elcik individuals in the United States. Deeb, contacted through Charile Hall at the Lisbon Historical Society, provided baptismal evidence from Parchovany that directly linked Magyar spellings to Slovak originals and to verified deaths in Maine. This correspondence converted long-standing theory … Read more