This picture is of my father's parents Alex and Anna Kaczur probably taken in the 1930s. Alex died in 1939 at the age of 63. Anna lived to the age of 88 and died in 1967.
My grandparents came from the village of Jaworzec in Galicia which is now in the SE of Poland. At the time they lived there it was part of the pre-WWI Austria. My grandparents were married in 1899 and then my grandfather came to Pennsylvania USA in 1900. My grandmother followed later in 1904. The spelling of the family name was changed when they became US citizens in 1921.
The family ethnic background is referred to as Rusyn, or Carpatho-Rusyn, or Lemko which are pastoral farmers that inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. Many people of this group identify themselves as Ukrainian but it has also been identified as a distinct ethnic group. The villages in the area were destroyed by Stalin in 1947 (long after my grandparents left) and people resettled to Russia. I have found some interesting websites about the history of Jaworzec and this area. I have also been studying maps of the area (click on map page 90 for Jaworzec.)
My grandparents settled in the US on a farm near Starford in western Pennsylvania. They were very poor but hard-working people. My grandfather worked in the coal mines as well as farming. My grandmother had 10 children (with 2 that died in infancy or childhood) and worked in the garden as well as in the field. She was very small (well under 5 feet tall) but must have been quite strong.
I of course never saw my grandfather but I did see my grandmother when we went to the US by train when I was 4 years old. In that post you can see a picture of what my grandmother looked like in the 1950s.
My grandparents came from the village of Jaworzec in Galicia which is now in the SE of Poland. At the time they lived there it was part of the pre-WWI Austria. My grandparents were married in 1899 and then my grandfather came to Pennsylvania USA in 1900. My grandmother followed later in 1904. The spelling of the family name was changed when they became US citizens in 1921.
The family ethnic background is referred to as Rusyn, or Carpatho-Rusyn, or Lemko which are pastoral farmers that inhabited the Lower Beskid range of the Carpathian Mountains. Many people of this group identify themselves as Ukrainian but it has also been identified as a distinct ethnic group. The villages in the area were destroyed by Stalin in 1947 (long after my grandparents left) and people resettled to Russia. I have found some interesting websites about the history of Jaworzec and this area. I have also been studying maps of the area (click on map page 90 for Jaworzec.)
My grandparents settled in the US on a farm near Starford in western Pennsylvania. They were very poor but hard-working people. My grandfather worked in the coal mines as well as farming. My grandmother had 10 children (with 2 that died in infancy or childhood) and worked in the garden as well as in the field. She was very small (well under 5 feet tall) but must have been quite strong.
I of course never saw my grandfather but I did see my grandmother when we went to the US by train when I was 4 years old. In that post you can see a picture of what my grandmother looked like in the 1950s.
4 comments:
Now that is a great blog. I will send it on to any Качури (transliteration into Cyrillic) and Kachurs (transliteration from Cyrillic to Latin alphabet)
My father's baptismal certificate and grandparents marriage certificate say Kaczur and were written in Latin by the church. The information I have seen is the name Kaczur is Качур in cyrillic.
Hi! I am doing research about my husband's family and I found your blog. Alex and Anna Cotcher were my husband's great grandparents. I think your father and my husband's grandfather (George Cotcher) were brothers. Thanks for the great info!
Amy, thanks for your comment. I think my wife and I met you and your husband (and daughter) when we were down for George's funeral. I have more information I could send if you email dcpower01@gmail.com.
Post a Comment