PHOTO OF THE WEEK (Week of 10/21/12) UPDATED INFO!

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

This photo is a unique photo for me as it ties in my mother's lineage to my father's lineage in previous generations.  Both my grandmothers appear in this photo, my paternal grandmother Estelle Ledney Adams is the female on the left and my maternal grandmother is on the female on the right, Mary Oschip Taczak.  My grandmother's were both, at one time, members and officers at St. John's Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church in Sharon, Pennsylvania.  I am not sure who all the gentlemen in this photo are or what the circumstances surrounding the photo are---if anyone should know, please click on this link for contact information and let me know! Contact me! Since this was posted, with the help from my mother and father, I was able to identify from the left, Ed Vavrek, Father Raphael Sotak, August "Augie" Vavrek, UNKNOWN and then of course my two grandmothers.  Both my father and mother recall that the event in the picture was the paying off of the mortgage of Saint John's Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Church in Sharon, Pennsylvania.  The church originally had a 25 year mortgage and was built in 1938, so this picture was circa 1963. 

 

From left to right: Ed Vavrek, Father Raphael Sotak, August Vavrek, Unknown and then
Estelle Ledney Adams and Mary Oschip Taczak.

 

PHOTO OF THE WEEK (Week of May 20, 2012)

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

This photo is of a young William and Mary (Oschip) Taczak, holding a baby.  William and Mary were my maternal grandparents.  I believe that baby they are holding is my Uncle Bill, their first child, but haven't been able to confirm that it is in fact him.  My grandfather was born March 12, 1910 in Dixonville, Pennsylvania, the son of John and Mary (Kovalyak) Taczak.  My grandmother was born September 23, 1917 in Idamar, Pennsylvania to Metro and Piza (Turenchalk) Oschip.  They married on May 8, 1943 and spent their married life in Masury, Ohio.  My grandpa passed away in 1979.  My "Gram" passed away just shy of her 90th birthday in July of 2007.  A big thanks to my NEW FOUND cousin Cassandra for scanning and sharing family photos, she provided me with this photo of my grandparents! 

William & Mary (Oschip) Taczak,
(Possibly) holding their eldest son, Bill.

I am Rusyn

Geneaology is in my nature; I have always been interested in my ancestral roots.  It is as if I hear my ancestors whispering my name asking me to share their story; it is my calling.

I first became interested in my dad's family, the Adams family.  How cool is it that we are likely related to TWO Presidents of the United States?  How could anyone NOT be interested in that?  How about the fact that my ancestors crossed the Atlantic on the Mayflower and the Fortune and participated in that first "Thanksgiving?"  Super neat!  To me, these roots helped me understand the history involved to a deeper extent than most people do.

About 10 years ago, as I was looking at information I had compiled as a kid, it struck me that the quarter of me that was an Adams was just that, a quarter of me.  What about the other three-quarters of me?  I didn't know much more than that I was Slovak and Ukrainian (and possibly Polish!).  I knew the stories of AFTER these families came to the US, but what about before?

At this point I began to search, obviously the first place I turned was the Internet and Ancestry.com.  I kept seeing the same words pop up over and over again on various pages: Rusyn, Ruthenian, Lemko.  These names were associated all six names that I was researching (Oschip, Turenchalk, Ledney, Bitlyan, Taczak and Kovalyak).  What is Rusyn, I asked?  Finally it began to sink in.  That other three-quarters of my blood wasn't from Slovakia, Ukrainian, or Poland; it was all from one common heritage, the Rusyn Heritage.

In this blog, I will share what being Rusyn means and explore the roots of my family.  I hope this blog allows me to expand the knowledge of my family and connect with new family members or others that share this common heritage.  I also want to utilize this blog to help keep the Rusyn heritage alive.