Even though I'm teaching part-time this semester, I have been blessed to have four of my own classes this fall. It's so nice to have a familiar group of students once again. I also love having a place to work on a regular basis where I belong--much better than subbing in different buildings all the time. It's a lot easier to get to know other teachers this way, and my teaching conference helps there as well. I have met some inspiring mentors and many creative intellectuals. In addition, it's great to be in such a rich academic and culturally diverse environment.
If you haven't checked this out yet, the website contains historic documents, photos and stories of my families heritage. It is a work in progress, but I've been spending a lot of my "writing" time on the family genealogy project. The website address for my family history project is: http://hricofamilyhistoryproject.shutterfly.com/. I would love to hear what you think!
I'm working on collecting bits of genealogical information so that I can write up little stories about my ancestors. The first of these stories that I've written is about my great-grandmother, Mary Bujko Hrico. I've shared this story below.
New Discoveries and an Old Project—Mary Bujko Hrico
August 7, 2012
In
1994, as a freshman in high school, I began a project that required me
to explore my ancestry and write a report for my social studies class. I
learned about my family mostly through my living relatives like my
Grandpap Hrico and my mom MaryAnn. Now, over 15 years later, I am
revisiting the information that I found for my report and using the
clues from my school days to help me delve further into my ancestors’
lives. With the assistance of modern technologies, such as the
Internet, I now have access to photocopies of many original records that
are available to those willing to search for them.
Most interesting to me has been finding copies of original records, such as ship manifests, that have allowed me to begin to trace my ancestors back to their native lands. Using these records, I have been able to piece together interesting stories of the journeys of my ancestors. For example, several of my ancestors on my father’s side came to America from what was known as the Austria-Hungarian Empire to escape from the violence and poverty associated with the early rumblings of World War I. They came here as Slovak-speaking children and crossed the vast Atlantic Ocean alone to arrive in a strange, new land. The fortunate ones came here to meet other family members in Pennsylvania who had arrived before them. Using the resources available to me online and cross-referencing them with other written records that my father George and I have collected over the years, I am beginning to see fascinating glimpses into the lives of my predecessors. In a way, I am getting to know the family that I have never met and to appreciate what they did to ensure our family a new start in a new life.
Most recently, I have been investigating my Grandpap Hrico’s parents’ immigration from the central part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire to the United States around the turn of the 20th century. Using some facts from my 1994 report I was able to learn a little about my great-grandmother Mary Bujko Hrico…for example, she was heading to Eastern Pennsylvania when she arrived in the U.S. However, there was a big question I had on Mary Bujko Hrico's birthday...but I finally solved the puzzle. I determined the exact date of her birth which was off by one year on my report from school...she was actually born April 16th, 1890. An important document that helped me with this process was the copy of John Hrico’s (Mary’s husband’s) naturalization papers from 1920. I also used a 1930 United States Census to verify Mary’s birthday. Using my ancestry.com membership, I was able to print these documents and find a great amount of new and valuable information. The facts on the naturalization papers gave me what I would need to find the immigration records of both Mary Bujko Hrico and John Hrico.
Using the date of Mary Bujko’s birth from the naturalization records, I first found Mary’s immigration records on the Ellis Island website (a free resource to the public). Next, I verified that it was the correct Mary Bujko by cross-referencing information my pap had given me for my 1994 Family History Project...in particular that Mary was from Stefanovce in Austria-Hungary and that she was on her way to Coatesville, PA initially. From the ship’s manifest that I obtained from the Ellis Island website, I learned that Mary was 16 when she came here. She also did not arrived on the ship with any other Bujkos, so I believe that she traveled alone and with very little money (approximately $2). The ship’s manifest says she was coming to stay with her brother Mike who was already in Coatesville. Mary’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean began when she left her home in Stefanocz, Austria-Hungary and boarded the passenger ship called the Noordam on July 21st, 1906 in Rotterdam, Holland. Ten days later, Mary arrived in New York, New York at Ellis Island. From New York, Mary traveled Coatesville in Eastern Pennsylvania to meet her brother Mike Bujko. She would ultimately end up in Homestead, PA.
My knowledge of Mary Bujko’s story continues in a 1994 letter from my grandfather. She worked in Coatesville as a housemaid for a wealthy Jewish couple. Mary’s first husband was George Vasco. She and George had four children, but two died at an early age. She was left with Michael and Mary. George and Mary Vargo owned two bowling alleys and four pool halls. Then Mary was widowed after George died from pneumonia.
Mary then married a widower name John Hrico who had six of his own offspring…three boys and three girls (that’s they way they became the Brady Bunch). John and Mary Hrico had three more children, one of whom was my grandfather, George Hrico. In 1921 after John lost his job at the Steel Mills in Homestead due to a strike, he and Mary opened a butcher shop. They funded the butcher shop with the money Mary got from the businesses she owned.
Later during the Depression, the family lost the butcher shop. My dad recently told me that they went out of businesses because they gave away too much food for free during the Depression.
During all of this, Mary taught herself to sew on a machine and became a skilled seamstress and was able to earn a few dollars on the side. She was able to make dresses from “scratch”—without using a pattern. My grandpap recalled watching his mother sew, and now as I sit at my own sewing machine sewing with no patterns, I feel connected with my great-grandmother who I never knew.
Most interesting to me has been finding copies of original records, such as ship manifests, that have allowed me to begin to trace my ancestors back to their native lands. Using these records, I have been able to piece together interesting stories of the journeys of my ancestors. For example, several of my ancestors on my father’s side came to America from what was known as the Austria-Hungarian Empire to escape from the violence and poverty associated with the early rumblings of World War I. They came here as Slovak-speaking children and crossed the vast Atlantic Ocean alone to arrive in a strange, new land. The fortunate ones came here to meet other family members in Pennsylvania who had arrived before them. Using the resources available to me online and cross-referencing them with other written records that my father George and I have collected over the years, I am beginning to see fascinating glimpses into the lives of my predecessors. In a way, I am getting to know the family that I have never met and to appreciate what they did to ensure our family a new start in a new life.
Most recently, I have been investigating my Grandpap Hrico’s parents’ immigration from the central part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire to the United States around the turn of the 20th century. Using some facts from my 1994 report I was able to learn a little about my great-grandmother Mary Bujko Hrico…for example, she was heading to Eastern Pennsylvania when she arrived in the U.S. However, there was a big question I had on Mary Bujko Hrico's birthday...but I finally solved the puzzle. I determined the exact date of her birth which was off by one year on my report from school...she was actually born April 16th, 1890. An important document that helped me with this process was the copy of John Hrico’s (Mary’s husband’s) naturalization papers from 1920. I also used a 1930 United States Census to verify Mary’s birthday. Using my ancestry.com membership, I was able to print these documents and find a great amount of new and valuable information. The facts on the naturalization papers gave me what I would need to find the immigration records of both Mary Bujko Hrico and John Hrico.
Using the date of Mary Bujko’s birth from the naturalization records, I first found Mary’s immigration records on the Ellis Island website (a free resource to the public). Next, I verified that it was the correct Mary Bujko by cross-referencing information my pap had given me for my 1994 Family History Project...in particular that Mary was from Stefanovce in Austria-Hungary and that she was on her way to Coatesville, PA initially. From the ship’s manifest that I obtained from the Ellis Island website, I learned that Mary was 16 when she came here. She also did not arrived on the ship with any other Bujkos, so I believe that she traveled alone and with very little money (approximately $2). The ship’s manifest says she was coming to stay with her brother Mike who was already in Coatesville. Mary’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean began when she left her home in Stefanocz, Austria-Hungary and boarded the passenger ship called the Noordam on July 21st, 1906 in Rotterdam, Holland. Ten days later, Mary arrived in New York, New York at Ellis Island. From New York, Mary traveled Coatesville in Eastern Pennsylvania to meet her brother Mike Bujko. She would ultimately end up in Homestead, PA.
My knowledge of Mary Bujko’s story continues in a 1994 letter from my grandfather. She worked in Coatesville as a housemaid for a wealthy Jewish couple. Mary’s first husband was George Vasco. She and George had four children, but two died at an early age. She was left with Michael and Mary. George and Mary Vargo owned two bowling alleys and four pool halls. Then Mary was widowed after George died from pneumonia.
Mary then married a widower name John Hrico who had six of his own offspring…three boys and three girls (that’s they way they became the Brady Bunch). John and Mary Hrico had three more children, one of whom was my grandfather, George Hrico. In 1921 after John lost his job at the Steel Mills in Homestead due to a strike, he and Mary opened a butcher shop. They funded the butcher shop with the money Mary got from the businesses she owned.
Later during the Depression, the family lost the butcher shop. My dad recently told me that they went out of businesses because they gave away too much food for free during the Depression.
During all of this, Mary taught herself to sew on a machine and became a skilled seamstress and was able to earn a few dollars on the side. She was able to make dresses from “scratch”—without using a pattern. My grandpap recalled watching his mother sew, and now as I sit at my own sewing machine sewing with no patterns, I feel connected with my great-grandmother who I never knew.
