John Ilcik (1886–1982) immigrated to the United States in 1905. His wife, Mary Jonek, entered the country a year later, in 1906.
- John Ilcik was born in Austria-Hungary on March 16, 1886.
- Mary Jonek was born in Austria-Hungary on September 28, 1887.
John Ilcik immigrated in 1905, followed by Mary Maria Jonek in 1906. John Ilcik (1886–1982) was married to “Mary Jeho Zena Jonek” (1887–1951).
Mary’s name, as reported on many public family trees, has caused confusion. She did not have multiple marriages. The phrase “Jeho Zena” means “my wife” and appears on her gravestone at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Lisbon Falls, Maine.
Despite a seventeen-year age difference between Mary Jonek and Mary Pelcarsky, some public trees have mistakenly merged these two women. They were separate individuals.
John and Mary Ilcik had four children:
- John Ilcik, Jr. (1908–1916)
- Andrew John Ilcik (1911–1951)
- George Michael Ilcik (1915–1917)
- Marie E. Ilcik (1919–2009)
John Ilcik, Jr. died at the age of eight—one of many reminders of the hardships faced by earlier generations.
Did the two men, John Elsik and John Ilcik, know one another? Durham, Maine was a relatively small community of 1,625 people in 1910. By 1920, the population had declined to 1,144.
Both John and Mary Ilcik died in Lewiston, Androscoggin County, Maine. John Ilcik died in 1982, and Mary Ilcik died in 1951.
Census data alone is not sufficient to resolve the relationship between the Elsik and Ilcik families. Further documentary, church, and European records will be required.