Beth,
I’m going to recommend that we do not use location to describe the differences between the two Elcik families immigrated to America.
I started by using New York as a description for John Elcik in Rocky Point, New York, and later we both changed that to Durham Elcik’s to reflect the common origins in Maine. Because of my father and his siblings, I always self-identified with Lisbon Falls.
After a closer look, it would appear that both Elcik families immigrated to Durham, Maine, and are Durham Elcik’s. John Elsik immigrated in 1891 and Mary Pelcarsky in 1896. John Ilcik immigrated in 1905 and Mary Maria Yonek a year later in 1906. Durham was a relatively small community of 1,625 people in 1910 and, by 1920, the population had shrunk to 1,144 people.
John Elsik, Sr. (1866-1941), and Mary Pelcarsky (1870-1936) were born in Austria and died in Lewiston, Maine. At least six of their seven children were born in Durham, Maine.
- 1886 John Elcik, Jr.
- 1897 Michael Joseph Elcik
- 1899 Mary Anna Elcik
- 1901 Andrew John Elcik
- 1905 Annie Elcik
- 1905 Elizabeth Elcik
- 1910 Susan M. Elcik (location unknown)
John Ilcik (1886-1962) and Mary Maria Jonek (1887-1951) were born in Slovakia and Austria. Both died in Lewiston, Maine. All five of their children were born in Durhan, Maine.
- 1907 Joseph Elcik
- 1908 John Ilcik, Jr.
- 1911 Andrew John Elcik
- 1915 George Michael Elcik
- 1919 Marie E. Elcik
Both men and their wives died in Lewiston, Maine.
Subsequently, both families’ paths would take them in different geographic directions.
The offspring of John Elsik would have their children in Libson Falls, Maine. John Elcik, Jr.’s wife and all six of their children would be born in Lisbon Falls.
The offspring of John Ilcik would have their children in New York. The first in 1931 is John Joseph Elcik, the son of Joseph Elcik.
John Ilcik’s brother Paul Joseph Ilcik, Sr. (1896-1970) and his wife Mary A. Fabian (1891-1978) would have two children
- 1915 Paul Joseph Elcik, Jr. (Durham)
- 1917 Mary A. Elcik (Lisbon Falls)
Based on this new information, I find it less confusing if I refer to each family as the descendants of John Elsik or John Ilcik. John Elsik was the family that relocated to Lisbon Falls and John Ilcik, the family that relocated to New York.
Both families would move on to other locations. At one point, we each had family in Butler County, Ohio. Pam and I lived in Fairfield, Ohio; simultaneously, Jacqueline Elcik lived close by. A piece of mail belonging to Jacqueline was delivered to my house by mistake when my mother, formerly Jacqueline Elcik, now Jacqueline Skillin, lived with us. It was a check which we deposited by honest mistake. Ouch!
That was easy, wasn’t it? Lol.
John Elcik, IV
