Maternal Branches in the Family Tree: Anna Haluska (1832-1899+)

Today, we continue the life sketches of the ladies in my family tree. My 2X great grandmother, Anna Haluska, led a similar life to Maria Repka, although Anna’s family life was not nearly as tragic as that of Maria.

To begin, Anna was born a year after the devastating 1831 cholera epidemic that swept through what is today’s eastern Slovakia in the summer of 1831.

Anna Haluska was baptized on 27 December 1832 in the town of Ruska Nova Ves, in the same small geographical area where my Repka family lived. She was the daughter of Greek Catholic Andreas Haluska and Maria Hovance, his Roman Catholic wife.

My Repkas lived in today’s Podhradik, which is the outlined area on the bottom right. The Haluskas’ home in Ruska Nova Ves is a small village slightly southwest of Podhradik.

I had thought for a while that perhaps Andreas Haluska born in 1787 might be my Andreas. However, that man died of a tumor in 1817.

Quite annoyingly, images are not available on FamilySearch for Ruska Nova Ves, although they were in the past because I have images of Haluska baptisms, which I save several years ago.

Haluska was not a common surname in the area during the first half of the 1800s. There were perhaps three or four families living there before 1850, but the surname doesn’t appear in the village in the 1869 census, so the lines either died out or the families moved to another town.

With lack of access to records and online images listing only three children, my Haluska family was very small.

If Andreas had no previous marriages, he was likely born c1806 and Maria born perhaps about 1810.

There are only three known children:

1. Maria, baptized 30 January 1831
2. Anna, baptized 27 December 1832
3. Andreas, baptized 5 October 1834

Anna’s marriage record to Michael Kacsenyak in Ruska Nova Ves gives another hint about the family:

Roman Catholic Michael Kacsenyak lived in nearby Felso Sebes, while Anna Haluska, working as a servant, lived at Gulyves #4.

A priest’s note not seen in the crop indicates “orphanus” and assuming that is the male form of the Latin word, Michael’s father, and possibly his mother, had already died. That seems to say that Anna’s parents, or at least her father, was living.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t help with finding Anna’s parents after the births of their children because the Greek Catholic parish for Gulyves (today’s Dulova Ves) is Ruska Nova Ves.

There are only two Haluskas in Gulyves in 1869 – Martin, born 1835 in Gulyves with a wife and one child and John Haluska, born 1813 with his wife and two children. Both are Greek Catholic.

It’s possible that John Haluska might be a brother of my Andreas, but Martin is a son of John.

Even when the records were accessible online, I was unable to find burial records for Anna’s mother and father and I know nothing about either of Anna’s known siblings.

From this roundabout introduction to the family, it is apparent that Anna’s family history is quite limited in scope.

What is certain, though, is that Anna was 25 years old when she married, which is a bit later than what was typical for village girls. She most definitely would have been expected to contribute to the family’s economic well being or, if she was orphaned, to make her own way in the world.

Since I don’t know what became of the rest of her family, Gulyves #4 could have been her family home or the house where she worked as a servant.

Although there was strife between Austria and Hungary in the 1840s, with the Russian army passing through the area, there were no battles fought near the village.

Most of the villagers were probably not even aware of the empire political struggle. All but the priest were illiterate and the priest would have been the only person aware of government changes, as church registers changed several times from Latin to Hungarian to Cyrillic and back to Latin in the 1840s and 1850s.

How Michael Kacsenyak and Anna Haluska met is unknown. Gulyves is just south of Ruska Nova Ves on the map above. Felso Sebes is today’s Nizna Sebastova, which is shown by the purple arrow near Lubotice on the map.

The villages are only a few miles – less than five – apart from each other and it is probable that they met through family or friends at a social gathering such as a baptism or wedding.

Anna’s life changed dramatically after marriage. Michael Kacsenyak, baptized 21 September 1834, Roman Catholic and the son of John Kacsenyak and Anna Fucsik, was a couple of years younger than Anna. That was not a common occurrence for young people entering into a first marriage. Michael’s father was Roman Catholic, but his mother Anna was Greek Catholic.

Anna’s first child arrived 11 months after her marriage and her tenth child was born in 1881 when Anna was 48 years old!

All children were baptized in Nizna Sebastova, Slovakia. Some church records provide both the birth and baptismal dates, while others only the date of baptism, which definitely would have happened when the child was newborn.

Children of Michael Kacsenyak and Anna Haluska:

1. Maria, born 14 August 1859; died 5 March 1926, Passaic, Passaic, New Jersey
2. Anna, baptized 9 February 1862; buried 17 September 1863
3. Barbara, baptized 25 February 1864
4. Anna, baptized 12 June 1866; died before 1870 when another Anna was born
5. John, born 28 August 1868; buried 29 October 1868
6. Anna, born 29 July 1870
7. Stephen, born 11 February 1873
8. Elizabeth, born 16 January 1875; died 16 January 1875
9. Maria, born 3 February 1879
10. John, born 23 July 1881

Notice that there are two Marias born to Michael and Anna. The first Maria is my great grandmother and she definitely didn’t died young.

I’ve wondered why they named a second daughter Maria when my Maria was still living and I’ve also wondered if my Maria was disowned by her family for her behavior and choice of husband.

Maria became pregnant when she was only 17 years old. She married Stephen Kucharik, who by all accounts, was a difficult man. Could the naming of the second Maria, born 19 months after my Maria married, been a reaction to my Maria being turned out by her family for dishonoring them? It would have been a huge social scandal for a 17 year old girl to be pregnant out of wedlock.

It’s just a supposition on my part, but having two children with the same given name born to the same parents just didn’t happen. The other possibility is that the second Maria wasn’t named Maria at all and the priest erred when entering the baptism in the books.

From my own record abstractions of Udol church records, this happened far more often than one might suspect.

Anna buried at least four of her children when they were very young and, given that I don’t know what became of the others, she might have buried even more in childhood. My Maria and Barbara were the only two children at home in 1869, which matches with findings in the burial records.

Remember, these villages had no electricity until half way through the 20th century. Medical care was non-existent with epidemics of diseases like typhoid, cholera and even chicken pox for children wiping out 50 or more villagers with each occurrence. There weren’t even any village schools until the 20th century.

In spite of the hardships, Anna and her husband lived relatively long lives. The accessible church records online end in 1899. No burial record has been found for either so they apparently lived to see the 20th century.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Are/Were You a Wild and Crazy Genealogist?

This week’s challenge for Saturday Night Genealogy Fun with Randy Seaver is actually a challenge to tell a bit of our own stories.

Here is our challenge:

1) What is the most wild, crazy, off-the-wall, or really stupid thing you have done in pursuit of your ancestral families and their family history?

By nature, I’m much more of a reserved, boring person than a wild and crazy one, but I have done a few things in my quest for genealogical information.

One of the first memories I have is of visiting the Old Burying Ground in Gloucester, Massachusetts because I have several ancestors who died in the 1700s who are not only buried there, but have legible gravestones today.

Accessing the cemetery was the wild and crazy part. First, Dave and I had to obtain directions because we couldn’t find an entrance off the street. It seemed that there was no public road access as the cemetery was located on a hill in the back of someone’s yard. We were told to drive through the backyard (and we passed the wash hanging on the clothesline) to get close enough to walk the cemetery!

There were a lot of graves, but the cemetery grass was very overgrown and it was summertime bug season. Dave enjoyed visiting Gloucester because he’d never been there before, but he wasn’t so thrilled about tromping around through the weeds looking for a handful of gravestones. At one point, he said we were leaving, but I made it very clear that I didn’t come 3,000 miles and drive through someone’s yard to give up and go home without photographing my ancestors’ stones. He realized that I was determined and, a short time later, we found all the graves near the top of the hill. They were some of the earlier burials.

On the same trip, we drove up the coast to Calais, Maine. One of the highlights of that visit was taking the ferry over to Deer Island, where my Adams ancestors had settled. My goal was to meet some cousins and it happened by chance that the first person I met off the ferry was a very nice lady named Alice, who was an Adams by birth! Not only did I chat with her, but I managed to talk her into bringing me around to visit several elderly cousins who could share some early family stories. Turning up unannounced at the front door of distant cousins who have never heard of me is wild and crazy for me!

A second activity, similar to knocking on the front door that I’ve done repeatedly is to cold call distant cousins who I’ve been able to identify and locate using modern day public databases. Everyone is always very surprised to hear from a 3rd, 4th or whatever cousin out of the blue, but no one has ever hung up on me. Once they realize that I’m not a scammer, they’re very happy to share family stories.

That’s about as wild and crazy as this person ever gets!

Thank you, Randy, for this week’s interesting challenge.

Szadloch/Sedlak Family of Udol, Slovakia & America

This family is part of my one-place study of St. Dimitry’s Greek Catholic (today Byzantine Catholic) Church parish, serving Udol and Hajtovka, Slovakia, covering the years 1827-about 1920. I will be sharing family records, roughly once a week, until all families in the parish are posted. Be aware that ages at marriage and death frequently don’t match baptismal records, when found. If you have ancestors who lived in these two villages and would like to receive an invitation to a shared Dropbox folder, please leave a comment and I will contact you.

SZADLOCH, SZEDLOCK, SZEDLAK, SEDLAK

Szadloch, Anna, daughter of John, born cMay 1826, buried 16 March 1827 in Plavnica, Hajtovka, RC, aged 10 months

Szadloch, Anna, Ujak, born c1764, buried 25 September 1828, aged 64 years

Szadloch, Anna, Hajtovka, born c1819, buried 5 April 1854, aged 35 years

Szadloch, Anna, wife of Michael, Ujak 44, born c1805, died 18 March, buried 20 March 1861, aged 56 years

Szadloch, Anna, Hajtovka 3, born c1805, died 24 September, buried 26 September 1863, aged 58 years

Szadloch, John & Anna Unknown, Hajtovka, RC
Children:

  1. John, bp 24 November 1805 in Plavnica; buried 18 July 1806 in Plavnica, aged 7 months

Szadloch, John & Maria Gerak, Hajtovka, RC
Children:

  1. Joseph, bp 31 March 1819 in Plavnica
  2. John, born c1809, married Anna Gmitrisin, born c1810, daughter of John Gmitrisn & Maria Adam, 14 November 1831

Szadloch, John & Nastasia Kyapova?
Children:

  1. Catharine, born c1807, married Basil Szokoly, born c1803, son of John Szokoly & Anna Hnat, 15 February 1828

Szadloch, John & Maria Fabian, Hajtovka, RC, GC
Children:

  1. Michael, bp 9 February 1822 in Plavnica
  2. John, bp 10 June 1832; buried 2 March 1833, aged 6 months

Szadloch, John (c1809-10 July 1861) & Anna Gmitrisin (c1805-24 September 1863), daughter of John Gmitirsin & Maria Adam, married 14 November 1831, Hajtovka 3, RC, GC

John died 10 July, buried 12 July 1861 in Hajtovka, aged 52 years. Burial records in Plavnica. Anna of Hajtovka 3, died 24 September, buried 26 September 1863, aged 58 years.
Children:

  1. Anna, bp 26 January 1834
  2. Maria, bp December 1838; married John Holodnyak, bp 17 March 1839, son of Michael Holodnyak & Anna Laczko
  3. John, bp 14 March 1841; married Helen Murczko, born c1843, 8 January 1864
  4. Michael, bp 14 January 1844; married Maria Sedlyar, born c1853, daughter of Joseph Sedlyar & Catherine Arendacs of Hajtovka 27, 15 February 1874
  5. Joseph, bp 20 January 1850; died 2 August, buried 4 August 1853 in Plavnica, aged 3 years

Szadloch, John & Anna Unknown of Plavnica, Hajtovka, GC, RC
Children:

  1. John, bp 31 March 1836

Szadloch, John & Anna Matisz?, Hajtovka, RC
Children:

  1. Helen, bp 20 June 1847 in Plavnica

Szadloch, John (c1835-30 April 1881) & Anna Miklus (c1844-25 December 1881), Ujak 50, 53, 54, 62 & 66, GC, GC

John died 30 April, buried 2 May 1881, aged 43 years. Anna, widow of John, born Miklus, died 25 December, buried 27 December 1881, aged 38 years.
Children:

  1. Helen, born c1864; married Michael Jaczko, born c1858, widower, of Ujak 70, 8 June 1887
  2. Maria, born 27 June, bp 7 July 1872
  3. Adam, died 30 December 1874, buried 1 January 1875, newborn
  4. Nicholas, born 13 December, bp 18 December 1875; died 11 June, buried 13 June 1876, aged 6 months
  5. Michael, born 24 May, bp 27 May 1877
  6. Stephen, born 3 November, bp 7 November 1880
  7. Nicholas, born 18 October, bp 30 October 1881

 Szadloch, John (c1836-1870+) & Anna Kascin (c1842-1870+), married 11 November 1861, Ujak 44, GC, GC
Children:

  1. Maria, born 9 April, bp 14 April 1868
  2. John, born 5 February, bp 13 February 1870

Szadloch, John (bp 14 March 1841-1869+), son of John Szadloch & Anna Gmitrisin & Helen Murczko (c1843-1869+), married 8 January 1864, Hajtovka 3 & 36, RC, GC

Michael Szadloch, RC, born 1845, lived with them in 1869
Children:

  1. Stephen, born 27 August, bp 28 August 1866; died 16 October, buried 18 October 1866 in Hajtovka. Burial recorded in Plavnica.
  2. Paul, born c1869
  3. Anna, born 2 May, bp 4 May 1879 in Plavnica; died 9 May, buried 11 May 1879 in Hajtovka. Burial record in Plavnica, aged 1 week

Sedlak, John (16 July 1867-1900+), son of Michael Sedlak & Maria Fengya & Maria Hnat (born c1867-1900+), daughter of John Hnat & Maria Szoroka of Ujak 39, married 5 October 1891, Ujak 38, GC, GC
Children:

  1. John, born 6 August, bp 14 August 1892
  2. Maria, born 10 June, bp 17 June 1900; married Peter Scserbak, born 25 December 1895, Passaic, Passaic, New Jersey, son of Michael Scserbak & Anna Murczko, 10 June 1922

Szadloch, John, Hajtovka, RC, born c1815, buried 8 June 1819, aged 4 years, Burial record in Plavnica.

Szadloch, John, son of John, RC, born c1825, buried 27 November 1837, aged 12 years

Szadloch, John, Ujak, born c1773, buried 1 December 1847, aged 74 years

Szadloch, John, widower, Hajtovka, RC, born c1774, buried 16 February 1844, aged 70 years. Burial record in Plavnica.

Szadloch, Joseph, son of Michael, Hajtovka, RC, born c1845, buried 20 June 1848 in Plavnica, Hajtovka, RC, aged 3 years. Burial record in Plavnica.

Szadloch, Maria, Hajtovka, RC
Child:

  1. Maria, born 27 February, bp 1 March 1863

Szadloch, Maria, Ujak, born c1783, buried 15 June 1833, aged 50 years

Szadloch, Maria, Ujak 79, born c1774, buried 27 August 1852, aged 78 years

Szadloch, Maria, daughter of John, Ujak, born c1864, died 15 March, buried 17 March 1869, aged 5 years

Szadloch, Maria, daughter of John, Hajtovka, RC, born c1812, buried 6 November 1842, aged 30 years. Burial record in Plavnica.

Szadloch, Michael (c1799-12 December 1871) & Anna Velkyvanya (?-before 1869 census), Ujak 44, 54 & 79, GC, GC

Anna died before the 1869 census. At home were Michael, his son Michael’s family, son Peter and daughters Maria and Anna. Michael died 12 December, buried 14 December 1871, aged 72 years.
Children:

  1. Anna, bp 28 May 1829
  2. Michael, bp 11 March 1834; married Anna Szurgent, born c1843, daughter of Michael Szurgent, 31 October 1864
  3. Anna, bp 20 May 1839
  4. Peter, bp 29 August 1841; buried 27 July 1842, aged 1 year
  5. Peter, born c1845; married Maria Fengya
  6. Anna, born 13 April, bp 19 April 1851; married Michael Jaczko, born 27 May, bp 30 May 1858, son of John Jaczko & Maria Szovik of Ujak 71.
  7. Maria, born 13 April, bp 19 April 1852; married John Pruzsinszky, born 13 August, bp 27 August 1855, son of John Pruzsinszky& Anna Hrinya, 19 November 1877

Szadloch, Michael & Anna Havran, Ujak 44, GC, GC
Children:

  1. Anna, born 16 August, bp 20 August 1864; died 20 February, buried 22 February 1865, aged 7 months

Szadloch, Michael & Maria Dragan, Ujak, RC, GC
Children:

  1. Anna, bp 3 February 1833
  2. Michael, bp 3 April 1835
  3. Maria, bp 23 October 1842; buried 21 August 1843

Szadloch, Michael & Anna Kravecz, Ujak, GC, GC
Children:

  1. Susanna, bp 6 July 1843

Szadloch, Michael & Anna Murczko, Ujak, GC, GC
Children:

  1. Peter, bp 25 Aug/Sept 1845

Szadloch, Michael (c1821-before 15 May 1881) & Anna Kucsma (c1823-1881+), married 1843 in Plavnica, Ujak, GC, RC

Anna, widow of Michael, born Kucsma, Hajtovka 33, married (2) John Arendacs, born c1821, widower of Hajtovka 6, 15 May 1881.
Children:

  1. Joseph, bp 10 January 1847 in Plavnica
  2. Anna, bp 3 May 1849 in Plavnica

Sedlak, Michael (c1837-1873+) & Maria Fengya (c1835-4 January 1880), married 23 November 1862, Ujak 26 & 30, GC, GC

Maria, wife of Michael, born Fengya, died 4 January, buried 6 January 1880, aged 43 years.
Children:

  1. Maria, born 12 February, bp 15 February 1863; died 13 April, buried 15 April 1863, aged 11 weeks
  2. Michael, born 17 June, bp 20 June 1864; emigrated to New Jersey
  3. John, born 16 July, bp 21 July 1867; married Maria Hnat, born c1867, daughter of John Hnat & Maria Szoroka of Ujak 39, 5 October 1891; emigrated to New Jersey
  4. Nicholas, born 17 November, bp 27 November 1870; died 9 April, buried 11 April 1877, aged 7 years. Mother called Anna Fengya.
  5. Anna, born 17 April, bp 4 May 1873; emigrated to Pennsylvania

Szadloch alias Arendacs, Michael (?-1887+) & Anna Szurgent (c1841-13 April 1911), Ujak 43, 44, 52, 54, 57 & 67, GC, GC

Anna, widow, born Szurgent, died 13 April, buried 15 April 1911, aged 70 years.
Children:

  1. Maria, born 29 June, bp 1 July 1866; died 16 November, buried 18 November 1869, aged 3 years
  2. Anna, born 1869
  3. John, born 29 January, bp 5 February 1871
  4. Michael, born 20 April, bp 27 April 1873; died 18 January, buried 21 January 1878, aged 5 years
  5. Nicholas, born 17 March, bp 27 March 1875; died 20 January, buried 26 January 1879, aged 4 years
  6. Stephen, born 22 February, bp 4 March 1877; died 26 January, buried 29 January 1879
  7. Maria, born 24 April, bp 5 May 1880; died 6 March, buried 8 March, 1883, aged 3 years
  8. Julianna, born 22 January, bp 28 January 1883
  9. Michael, born 8 September, bp 18 September 1887

Szadloch, Michael (crossed out) & Susanna Szadloch, married 26 April 1868, Ujak, GC, GC

Szadloch, Michael (bp 14 March 1841-27 December 1887), son of John Szadloch & Anna Gmitrisin & Maria Sedlyar (c1853-10 May 1888), daughter of Joseph & Catherine Arendacs of Hajtovka 27, married 15 February 1874, Hajtovka 3, RC, GC

Michael died 27 December, buried 30 December 1887 in Hajtovka, aged 42 years. Burial record in Plavnica. Maria, widow of Michael, born Sedlyar, died 10 May, buried 12 May 1888, aged 35 years.
Children:

  1. Paul, born 18 January, bp 22 January 1877 in Plavnica, died 31 January 1854, Plavnica; married Maria Hnat, born 12 September, bp 17 September 1873, daughter of Michael Hnat & Anna Scserbak, 13 February 1911
  2. Anna, born 14 August 1880; died 9 September, buried 11 September 1883 in Hajtovka. Burial record in Plavnica.
  3. Maria, born 6 June, bp 14 June 1885 in Plavnica
  4. Anna, born 8 February, bp 12 February 1888; died 24 July, buried 26 July 1888 in Hajtovka. Burial record in Plavnica.

Szadloch, Michael & Helen Murczko (c1843-24 February 1898), Hajtovka

Helen, wife of Michael, born Murczko, died 24 February, buried 26 February 1898, aged 55 years.

Szadloch, Michael, Ujak 37, born c1835, died 22 March, buried 27 March 1882, aged 47 years

Szadloch, Michael, Ujak 71, born c1834, died 10 January, buried 12 January 1896, aged 62 years

Szadloch, Misseeachi? & Anna Unknown, Ujak, GC, None
Children:

  1. John, bp 22 February 1836

Szadloch, Peter (c1844-1885+),  son of Peter Szadloch & Maria Fengya (bp 20 April 1845-1885+), daughter of John Fengya/Ilyasa & Maria Fecsisin, married 21 February 1869, Ujak 54, 55, 56 & 67, GC, GC
Children:

  1. Maria, born 30 May, bp 5 June 1870; married Joseph Szokoly, born 19 August, bp 25 August 1867, son of John Szokoly & Anna Szadloch, c1892, Passaic, Passaic, new Jersey
  2. Anna, born 12 May, bp 18 May 1873; died 17 January, buried 19 January 1874
  3. Helen, born 10 May, bp 14 May 1876; died 28 November, buried 30 November 1878, aged 3 years
  4. Veronica, born 19 February, bp 2 March 1879
  5. Peter, born 22 November, bp 4 December 1881; died 29 December, buried 31 December 1883, aged 2 years, 2 months
  6. Anna, born 27 October, bp 8 November 1885

Szadloch, Stephen (?-before 3 March 1881) & Helen Tidik (c1821-3 March 1881), Ujak 25

Helen, widow of Stephen, born Tidik, died 3 March, buried 5 March 1881, aged 60 years.

 Szadloch, Susanna, daughter of John, Ujak, born c1832, buried 16 August 1834, aged 2 years

Take care when researching the Szadloch family. first, the surname is common – it is the equivlanet of “Farmer” – and there are at least two apparently unrelated groups in and near Udol. One group was Roman Catholic and worshipped in Plavnica, while the other was Greek Catholic and attended St. Dimitry’s.

Further care needs to be taken when tracking them to America, as the surname is spelled several different ways, none of which identify a person with a particular family.

In my family, connections are by collateral marriage. They used the spelling Sedlak, ewre Greek Catholic and settled in New Jersey.

Genealogy Tips & Family History