Category: – Dr. John Elcik, IV

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Outreach to Judy Lakkis

DNA

Wed 7/1/2020 7:58 PM

Hello,

I know it’s been years (June 2011) since you reached out to me. Ouch!

I’m retired now and have time to experiment with DNA, etc. Are you still interested? Or did you get answers on your own?

I have set aside funds for research and can do another DNA test if you wish. Before I would do one, I would like to confirm that the Y-37 markers are where you are with your research? Or did you ever do the Y-111 markers? It would be a shame to do one test only to find you settled on something else. Also, do I correctly remember that you liked Family Tree DNA?

Warmest regards,

John

P.S. I have been working on a family website: https://mycousins.org. I use a membership plugin to control access for the privacy of living members. I can provide you a login/password if you like. ? Also, the Cousins Family Tree on Ancestory.com has been made public.

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BloodRelatives Website


Wed 7/1/2020 9:11 PM

Jim and Jeff,

Subject to additional thought and discussion with you guys.

Facebook is FREE but has detractors that say that it’s rules on privacy and the 1st amendment are reasons for being wary of its use. We all use it because it is convenient as well as FREE. The bottom line, it may mean that any use of the family site is unlikely? Maybe.

Ancestory.com has limited features for free usage. But if you are willing to pay, the features can’t be beaten. The ease with which online documentation of life events and family is used by Ancestry to generate reports is remarkable. There are two downsides. First, it is expensive: $24.99-$49.99 a month per user. The second is that while there is a standard for downloading a family tree, documents and artifacts uploaded or linked to online are not readily available. They become hostage to having an account. I doubt they would go out of business, but. I’m attaching sample reports on me for you to see.

The 3 Clan’s I created on BloodRelatives.org are unique and could be fun. Recipes could be fun. Obituaries, while not fun, could be uploaded to Ancestor.com. It, along with the hundreds of posts I’ve collected.

What do you think? Is there enough interest in our website? Do I continue to build the site out?

Before answering, you might like to take advantage of the one month FREE trial at Ancestory.com. Our Family Tree etc. is called “Cousins,” and I have made it available to the general public. Ancestrory.com protects the privacy of living people. Check it out.

John, IV

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Judy Lakkis and the Spivak Family Tree


Tue 7/7/2020 1:12 PM

Judith,

First, I hope all is well with you. Distant, or not, I like to think we are family.

You have been most kind by responding to my belated outreach.

Wow! How disappointing for you to have lost the data after your hard work and the expense. I feel somewhat guilty that I was not more receptive at the time. But you are wise in realizing that interests change, and I respect that.

Interestingly, I have found that building my family tree is a real challenge. It turns out, based on Census data, that three Elcik families immigrated to the United States from Austria. I can only confirm two are directly related despite the similarity of names and country of origin. Third, if it is related, the relationship will only be discovered through research in Austria. I probably won’t have the resources to take that journey. But it would be fun. ?

Nevertheless, I am tracking what I can for the third family and have added your husband into the tree as unassigned individuals for further research, someday.

When I attempted to build your family tree, I may have found data on your husband and father. We never identified him by name. Is your husband Howard B. Spivak born 1 Mar 1949? And could his father be Thoma Spivak, who passed 5 Sept 1960 in Connecticut?

I also was interested in finding your information, but I could not identify your records without your maiden name and birthdate. Likely candidates were not born in Connecticut, which I believe you said you were. If you wish to share your information with me, I may someday surprise you with results you aren’t expecting. ? No promises, but I will try.

Also, curiosity compels me to ask. Is the user account on “Find a Grave” yours? If so, it was a wonderful thing you did for others.

Warmest regards,

John, IV

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Find a Grave


Wed 7/8/2020 10:28 PM

Judy,

Wow! Your experiences with “Find a Grave” would have frightened any sane person. No, wonder you stopped. I am glad, however, that you had a couple of positive experiences. It was an excellent service you provided. Even more, people appreciated it, I’m sure. I’m not big on travel (I miss cruising), but when I did, I needed my GPS. Your challenge to locate the right gravesite may be as difficult, or more so than the hunt for distant relations. There would be the satisfaction of knowing you got right, which I bet for you happened frequently.

I’m struggling with a decision on which pictures to put into the Ancestry database. Based on what I think others are doing, a profile picture and the gravestone is all that most folks do. And for some, the headstone becomes the profile picture. Funny, without the examples, I don’t know if I would have thought to use images of the gravestones.

I was initially going to post many pictures, but have decided against it. The Image Gallery doesn’t function like a scrapbook. Instead, one must select a picture one-at-a-time to view them properly.

I have learned how to build websites in my retirement, and I think I will update and expand mine: www.mycousins.org. The difference between a private website and Facebook (aside from privacy) is the opportunity to curate the contents. I’m finding my Facebook contacts publish photos of fair, and only occasionally better quality.

As a photographer, you must notice this. One advantage of my newly developed web design skills is that I am becoming skilled at manipulating images to improve them. Often just cropping a photo makes it more interesting. I was a marketer before I retired, but my creativity was limited to hiring talent. Web design allows me to try my ideas. It has led me to build two websites for my wife, Pam: www.princessofcrafts.com & www.beadedneckaces.com. If you have the time, please check any of them out. Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing,

John, IV

 

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Would I Research Other Surnames?

Fri 7/10/2020 5:24 PM

All,

What would it take for me to research another surname?

It helps if I had some data to work with…

I could extend the research to Del Moral, Duryea, Flickinger, Grap, McMahan, and or Portell; if I had the
names and birthdates of siblings and parents.

And yes, I know it is early, for some of you to think about this.

John

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My Family Tree Project


Sat 7/11/2020 8:32 AM

All,

Facts are never enough. Knowing that our ancestors came here from Austria/Hungary does not definitively tell us the motivations. And changes in the spelling of surnames or given names are not necessarily done to make them fit better into their new lives in America. Sometimes, it is just a misspelling on a public document.

The motivation for immigration to America in the late 1800s is unknown. I have speculated it was both political and economic, given the timing and events in history. Census data records the early arrivals working as laborers in construction, wool, and paper mills, suggesting that economics may have been a factor. There are no first-hand accounts yet to tell us to what extent economics or politics played in immigration.

In researching the Elcik surname, I discovered that the name in official documents (Birth, Census, Marriage, and Death records) spelled “Elick” or “Elsik.” Is this a misspelling or a thoughtful name change? I don’t know. Certainly, misspellings occur. The transformation of Mary Elcik into “Marie” is the most obvious.

John

P.S. The three emails I have mailed you are published (with edits) in the family tree to document the journey.