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.