Category: – Beth (Purinton) Gamache

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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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Message From the Authors

I love MyCousins

Greetings:

Someday, someone will ask about their ancestors and their family history. I wish that when they do that, there is a written record that includes not just names and dates of significant events; but also some idea of who we were both as individuals and as families.

Currently, genealogists are fond of saying that a Family Tree without sources is Mythology. True. But I argue that we gain nothing from good record keeping without stories and images to tell us the lessons learned.

What follows is a transcript of electronic conversations with relatives as our ancestors’ roots are traced as far back as possible.

Ancestry conversations don’t take off until 2020, when my cousin Jack Gamache volunteers his wife Beth’s help. Beth and I will converse using email, and the result is this ebook, which she is the second most prominent contributor and co-author. You will “hear” from her shortly.

Thanks to technology, it is relatively easy to go back five generations to when our family reached the shores of America. What drove us to make the journey? We can only guess, and we do. Our sincere hope is that someday the situation in Europe that prompted our immigration will be revealed. To identify and meet relatives from “across the pond” is something we wish for our children.

What is generally missing are life stories. Beth and I captured a few, added images, and pray that others will pick up where we left off.

 

 

Dr. John Paul Elcik, IV

Email: john@mycousins.org

Email:

I love MyCousins

Greetings,

No one, not even an academic, needs to read this like a book. Scan the message headings until something looks interesting, and then begin reading. Move on as you feel the urge to do so. There are information and nuggets of wisdom everywhere. We found both in the experience, and so can you.

Beth (Purinton) Gamache

Email: beth@mycousins.org

 

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One Tree Was Not Enough

Beth Purinton Gamache

Beth Purinton Gamache

Greetings,

John thinks I’m “amazing” because of my six family trees. The truth is it was simply easier for me to organize my time.

I originally told him 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 he knows, the Elcik family tree has been difficult with some roadblocks.

I share John’s frustrations with poor spelling and shared family names. I’ve had to deal with Puddington, Purrington, and Purington. Then, Purinton, which is how my great grandfather, grandfather, and father spelled it. I didn’t think about that when I first joined Ancestry. Now I check everything on gravestones, birth certificates, etc., and trace the changes.

Poor spelling and shared family names make it effortless to introduce duplicates into a family tree. I experienced the same thing with my Purinton family. There were 3 generations of Humphrey Purinton’s marrying women named Thankful. That was a complete nightmare for me because each generation had 11 and 12 children, and I had to connect the right Humphrey and Thankful to my family. No wonder I don’t sleep at night!!!!

Fortunately, there are tools to help find and fix them. John has helped with some of this, but mostly it is a lot of hard work.

Most of my Purinton ancestors are buried in a cemetery in West Bowdoin and some in Hillside. My Purinton ancestors established the Baptist church in West Bowdoin, and some were deacons and reverends. I never knew any of that until I read many articles about them in my Ancestry search. It was a huge eye-opener for me. My mother was from Durham, my dad, from Lisbon Falls. Most of the Goddard and Day families (my mother’s maiden name was Goddard, my dad’s mother’s maiden name was Day) are buried in Durham, and some at Hillside in Lisbon Falls. Yup, I’ve taken lots of Day and Goddard gravestone pictures. I have spent considerable time in cemeteries getting pictures for us. John says they are much better than what he could get at the FindAGrave website. Larger file sizes make for better visibility of the writing on gravestones.

The biggest disadvantage I had with multiple family trees is keeping them straight for others. Just the other day, John asked me what the sixth tree was. He was 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.

John likes working with technology, and I like the outreach work. I’ve worked to involve others in our research. Among those who have become interested through outreach are Bob Elcik, Dan Gamache, Charlie Hall, Eugene Elcik (the Maine writer), George Karkos, Marilyn (Karkos) Keamy, Pam (Karkos) Lizotte, and William Cizmar.

Currently, I’m very anxious to talk to Eugene Elcik again. We have gotten together once. He also has corresponded with John. The Karkos family has intrigued me too. It’s a never-ending search for more information!!! ….

John has me wondering if I can sync the trees and have one Purinton Tree, including everyone. If so, then I can delete the Goddard- Day and Purinton Tree, including Cox trees. He thinks that there is value in my approach, given that human nature focuses our attention on our grandparent’s surnames. He thinks that researchers are quite willing to travel down the paths of additional trees. There must, however, be enough detail to send them in the right direction. We also found and contributed to the One World Tree sponsored by the Church-of-Latter-Day Saints. The latter may someday help us find Elcik’s in Europe.

Beth (Purinton) Gamache

Email: beth@mycousins.org

 

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John and Beth’s First Facebook Conversation

July 17, 2020
John Elcik – Beth, Thank you for helping me! I just told Jack that his Maine Maritime Acadamy photo was taken during the time I thought he looked like Ben Gazzara (it may also have been the voice.) More recently, a picture of him with you looks like a young Gene Hackman. And you, yourself, are extremely photogenic today. Here is a family picture from several years ago. We need to have a more recent one commissioned. J.P. is a teacher and getting married soon to Ana, also a teacher. Michelle is a Pharmacy Tech at Walgreens. Pam and I are enjoying retirement.
I never knew I was married to a celebrity!!!! I have a Gamache family tree on Ancestry, which includes Elcik and Byras. Byras was Gertrude’s mother’s maiden name. I will share what I have with you on Ancestry. I have some missing links on the Elcik family, but you may help me with that. Jack isn’t on Ancestry and isn’t interested, but I AM!! Hopefully, we can help each other with all this family “stuff.”
John Elcik – My pleasure! I asked Jack three questions, and he was helped with one already. It is a sad fact that with Elcik’s, the trail is complicated. The name is variously spelled Elcik, Elick, Elsik, or Ilcik. Ouch! Plus, everybody loved the names Andrew,  James, John, Joseph, and Paul. To further complicate everything, two Elcik families immigrated to America (and Lisbon Falls, Maine) 15 years apart, and I have yet to establish a link between them. I do believe one exists. I can do five generations but not the sixth. Finally, Mary or Marie is the most popular name for the wives, and getting the right wife and husband combination has been a struggle. Only Mary Byrus is known for sure. And she has been recorded as Mary Burns. Spelling. Grrr.
Beth Purinton Gamache – You’re absolutely right about the spelling of last names. I struggle with that not only with Jack’s family but mine. I’ve been doing this for 3 years and am just now figuring some of this out. Bringing the Byras/Byrus family name into Jack’s family’s mix further complicates it for me. That puts you in the same category as me. Unfortunately, Jack isn’t interested in any of this, but I’m hooked. What is your name on Ancestry? I want to be sure to share the Gamache family tree with the right person.
John Elcik – Beth Purinton Gamache,  the address is jelcik@identityxperts.com as the other site is very old and soon to be deleted. Give me a week more, and I will be ready to share. My new site is called MyCousins with a matching website. The old site was called Cousins and used a different email address. 🤔
Beth Purinton Gamache – John Elcik,  I still have more work to do on the Byras/Elcik family. I combined those families with the Gamache’s. My email address for Ancestry is jbgam2@gmail.com. I will share the Gamache family with you. Are you on Ancestry???
John Elcik – Yes. And with your email, I can and will send you an invitation.

John Elcik – Invite has been sent. Enjoy!

Beth Purinton Gamache – Thank you!
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Beth’s Ancestry Journey

July 22, 2020, 08:55 PM

John, IV,

I haven’t heard back from George Karkos but will keep you informed about what I find out. I have a 2nd cousin who lives in Bowdoin, ME (I never knew he existed), which is about 5 miles from where we live. When I started my Ancestry journey, I found him by accident after visiting a cemetery in that town from a poster with his name and phone # on it. I called him, we met at his house, and I discovered his mother had done some family genealogy all handwritten. That was before Ancestry existed and before I joined Ancestry. He let me bring home the album his mother created, and I took off from there.
I joined Ancestry after that meeting and spent the next 2 years working on my family genealogy. I started the Gamache, Elcik, Byrus genealogy during that time as well. It’s been a work in progress, to say the least. Now with your help, I’m filling in the missing pieces for the Elcik, Byrus family.

I’m sure Terry would love to see the picture of Annie.

I’m calling it a night—lots going on the next couple of days. We’ll talk soon.

Beth

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Ancestry Has Been Fun

July 23, 2020, 10:01 PM

John, IV,

Thank you, John, I’m loving this!! Jack, however, doesn’t give a hoot about Ancestry but I’m addicted. I spent 2 years on my family tree, the Purintons, Days, and Goddards with some Croteaus and Dearnleys mixed in. There are 3 generations of Humphreys (1st name) with wives named Thankful. It took me forever to figure out which generation was which. All that plus, they all had 11 and 12 children. That was just the Purinton line. It’s been fun.

I do more in the winter than I do this time of year. We do a lot of “front porch sittin” this time of year because we have LONG winters in Maine “front porch sittin’ is out of the question!! I will look at John and Andrew Elciks again tomorrow because they’ve confused me too. I’m sure I’ve made some mistakes, but they can easily be fixed.

Beth