The Roots of MyCousins portrait is the only known photograph of our earliest identified ancestors.
In the top row, from left to right, are John P. Elcik, Jr.; Michael Elcik; and Andrew Elcik.
In the bottom row, from left to right, are Mary (Dutko) Elcik, Elizabeth (Small) Elcik, John P. Elcik, Sr.;
Mary (Pelcarsky) Elcik; Susan (Kiszonak) Elcik; and Annie (Karkos) Elcik.
These same individuals also appear together in the 1910 United States Federal Census.
As this project unfolds, the census will continue to serve as a critical source for understanding
family structure, occupations, home ownership, and migration patterns.
John P. Elcik, Sr.
John P. Elcik, Sr. (1867–1941) was born on November 28, 1867, in Parchovany,
then part of Czechoslovakia. He was baptized as Jan Ilcik (also recorded as Ilscik)
on December 28 of the same year.
In 1891, he immigrated to the United States and settled in Durham, Androscoggin County, Maine.
By the time of the 1910 Federal Census, he had been married for twenty-one years,
was employed as a washer in a woolen mill, and owned his own home.
John P. Elcik, Sr. died on May 24, 1941, in Lewiston, Maine.
John, Mary, and Their Children
In 1893, John P. Elcik, Sr. married Maria Anna “Mary” Pelcarsky (1870–1936).
Together, they raised seven children:
- John Paul Elcik, Jr. (1896–1963)
- Michael Joseph Elcik (1897–1980)
- Mary Anna Elcik (1899–1982)
- Andrew J. Elcik (1901–1952)
- Elizabeth Annie Elcik (1905–1988)
- Annie Marie Elcik (1905–1982)
- Susan M. Elcik (1910–1999)
Extending the Roots
Identifying the parents of John P. Elcik, Sr. would extend the documented Roots of MyCousins
to six generations. Locating his siblings, if any, remains another central research goal.
In a 2007 letter written to his father, Dr. John P. Elcik, IV speculated that his great-great-grandfather
may have had brothers or sisters and even identified a possible younger brother named Joseph.
Given family size norms of the late nineteenth century, the existence of additional siblings
would not be unexpected.