There is so much interest in genealogy today -- you want to find your roots even though you've been so far removed from your Ukrainian relatives for so long. Here are two articles about starting the search. (originals published in The Ukrainian Weekly)
I'll be leading my 16th (or so) tour to Ukraine in July (please see http://cobblestonefreeway.ca/tour-package/folk-art-and-culture-tour/ --- still a bit of time to register! Go for it!
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YOU WILL FIND THEM IF YOU GO – Finding Relatives
in Ukraine
Getting the Place Name Right
Orysia Paszczak Tracz
Five minutes sometimes…. ok, a half-hour at most…. that
is the time needed once you arrive in your ancestral village to find someone
from your family. If there are no living relatives,
someone in the selo (village) will know where the family lived, and show you
where their house is or was. Of course, you need to know the name of your
village and the povit (county or district). Knowing the oblast'
(province) would help. Why is the selo name not enough? Just like
in any other country in the world, there are a few settlements with the exact
same name – just how many Plainfields, Middletowns, and Baysides are there in
the U.S.A.?
So before we get down to finding the people, let me first
tell you where to go…
If you or your family have been in contact with the
family in Ukraine, or in the Ukrainian lands now within Poland, or Slovakia,
you are fortunate, because you have at least one letter from them, with the
family name, the village, the povit, and the oblast'. You're ready to go!
If your ancestors came to one of the Canadian prairie provinces, or to Pennsylvania,
New York or North Dakota a century ago, and your family
lost contact, don't pack your bags just yet. On the other hand, don't
lose hope. Usually, there is some family memory, some stories from the
family or from friends, photos, documents such as baptismal certificates, the
ship card, or some other identification.
But often there isn't. From the photos, maybe you
can tell what part of Ukraine
they lived in – the clothing will help, sort of. Depending on the
formality of the occasion, they may have worn their own traditional regional
costume, and then it is easier to at least narrow down the region. Or,
they could have gotten all gussied up for the portrait and wore the almost
non-descript urban clothing of that time, leaving no hint as to place of
origin.
The various Ukrainian genealogical societies in Canada and the US are most informative and
helpful, especially to the seekers who have very little, if any, information on
their family, and no knowledge of Ukrainian.
You need to be observant and careful, because some
websites are strictly commercial and may or may not have reputable people
running them. Some may be like the ones in the mail or online ready to
sell you the family crest for "Smith". A trusted friend or
community member may sift through some of this advice that should be taken with
a bushel of salt. Then there is one Ukrainian genealogy discussion group
which, while informative, seems to have been taken over by a person who tries
to convince everyone from any part of Ukraine that their ancestors were
"rusyn," even if they were from Lviv or Volyn.
But let's get back to the selo, the one you need to
visit. You remember your baba talking about Kuty, her village of so long
ago. She may have been a Hutsulka, from the Carpathian
Mountains, and her Kuty may have been the famous village everyone
thinks of when they hear that place name. But, a big but – rather than
that selo, maybe she was from one of the three Kuty in Lviv Oblast, or the two
Kuty in the Ternopil province? Oh, she was from Volytsia? One of the eleven in the Lviv
region, or the three in Ternopil? Dibrova (grove)? How about five each
in Lviv, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivske provinces. The common place names are
as prolific throughout Ukraine as forest mushrooms after a rain, but even the
more esoteric ones can give you trouble. There are four Khatky
["little houses"] in the Lviv province, and only one in Ternopil, and
two Tulyholovy ["heads cuddling together"] in the Lviv oblast.
Two Kapustyntsi ("cabbage things"), six
Zalissia (beyond the woods or forest) , two Shepit (whisper), a whole stack of
Sloboda (large village) and Slobidka (hamlet), four Dobriany and two
Dobrovliany, and Boyany, Boyanets', Boyanychi, Boyanivka and Boyanchuk…
Oy,
gotta stop, I'm having too much fun! Next time, we'll start looking for
family once we get to the right selo.
________________
YOU
WILL FIND THEM IF
YOU GO – Finding Relatives
in Ukraine
It Helps If They Look Just Like You!
Orysia Paszczak Tracz
We've established which selo, povit, and oblast' is "your" ancestral
place. Now we arrive in the village.
In the last article, I should have mentioned that one way of finding
family is writing to the sil'rada in the village – the Sil's'ka Rada
(village council), addressing to village, povit, oblast', Ukraine.
Try to have the letter written in Ukrainian, a neighbor or friend can
help but, if not, write in English – someone there will
know the
language. Ask very general questions about the family – give names,
years, but not much more. Let them reply to you with information.
This avoids "finding" relatives you
never knew (or actually had). You
don't want relatives coming out of every stodola.
Before you set out to the selo, you
need to arrange for a driver – and
interpreter, if you need. The
driver should be someone who knows his
way – not only around roads, but around people. This is important,
because the way you ask questions is crucial to finding
out anything
and anyone. Prepare ahead of time – ask people who have traveled, who
have family there, and who know people they can trust. And agree upon
the fee for the trip in advance (don't forget a nice tip, if
deserved).
During my tours, in helping people find and communicate
with
relatives, I have had to run interference. Some
folks had pushy,
intrusive very distant relatives that would not go away, others had
people they weren't even sure of. As the "glorious leader" of
the
group, I was the stranger who could say "no." I often go to the selo
with people from my group. It is a truly satisfying, blessed
experience.
Now to find your folks. We arrive in the selo, the
right one – we
hope. Our driver either goes straight to the sil'rada, or stops the
car as an elderly person walks towards the car. "Slava Isusu
Khrystu….. dobryi ranok, Vam, babusiu…" [Praise be to Jesus… good
morning to you, grandmother] You
must know the correct ritual
respectful greeting. Then you ask about this and
that family.
Usually it turns out there are a few families in the village with the
same surname. Then you go
into specifics. If you know
the first
names of the ones who emigrated, and when, that helps. If
not, you
ask if anyone had left for Canada or America so many
years ago. "Oh,
those Romaniuky, of course! Go down this way….
Wait, I'll go with
you…." And off you go to the house at that end of the selo.
Last August, Nadia [names have been changed] from Vancouver wanted to
meet her father's family in a village near Radekhiv. He had supported
his brother's family for many years, helping put the children through
medical school. We arrived in the selo on a Sunday, mid-day, during a
village council election. The officials were all there. We asked
for
the "Ivakhiv" family. The head of the council thinks a bit,
says that
there are three Ivakhiv families in the selo – but – you
should go to
the one on this-and-this road, because, turning to Nadia, "you
look
just like them." Sure enough, she did!
Another time, in Stari Kuty, in the Carpathian Mountains, Olia wanted
to find her grandmother's family. At the sil'rada,
no one recognized
the old names. Then Olia took out the old photographs from her baba,
and – of course – everyone there recognized the "Stakhiv" family.
Someone from the rada goes on the bus with us, and we all drive
through the selo to the Stakhiv house. Olia's distant cousin is quite
shaken, because a few days ago he had dreamt about something like
this.
Joe from Edmonton was looking for his uncle's family near Brody.
Approaching an old man on the village road, the guide asks about "Osyp
Senkiw." No, don't know anyone like that. "He's blind in
one eye and
has one leg." "Oh, that Osyp! Of course!"
When we went to the village of Uvysla, Halia found her great uncle's
face looking up at her from a book on the sil'rada display table – he
was a hero of UPA in this very patriotic village. The elderly lady
who wrote the history of the village was called, and told us all about
Halia's family. She showed us where the church bells had been buried
to prevent their melting down by the Germans. She also showed us the
burials mounds of the many village resistance fighters executed by the
Soviets.
One time, a person in my group just wanted to see her grandparents'
village. No one would be left, since the whole extended family had
left for Canada a century ago. We stopped at a light in Rohatyn, and
our guide opened the door to ask directions to Soroky. A young man
thought he was getting a ride and entered. After a confused
conversation, it turned out he was trying to get to Soroky! Well, we
had our guide, which was good, since this village was quite remote.
Donna did not find any actual relatives,
but half the village had the
same surname as her relatives – few related to each
other. The selo
was so old, with so many extended clans, that these were separate
families. The cemetery was full of "Saranchuks." We all
had a good
time anyway.
Near Terebovlia, in Zubiv on a rainy day (of course), we approach the
old man walking down the now muddy road. No, he can't tell us about
the Yurkiw family, because he's "new" in the selo, one of the many
exiled by the Poles in the Akcija Wiszla deportation in the late
1940s. He takes us to one house, where the people know others from
that particular extended family. This gentleman does ask if
we know
the Potichny family, because he was taught by a Potichny in Pavlokoma,
the village where the Ukrainian population was murdered by the Poles
after the war. As we were walking down the road, I looked back, and
there was a kerchiefed head looking out from every gate as far back as
I could see.
Some people going to Ukraine don't have any relatives
left there.
They are happy just to see the selo, to go to the church
and cemetery,
and walk around the streets. "I just wanted to see the place, to be
there." Even though these are people of a few generations in North
America, they instinctively take a small clump of soil from their
village to treasure. In the twelve years I have led the tour,
I had
only one person who went all the way to Ukraine who was not interested
in seeing her ancestor's village. And we were only about a half-hour
away. I still cannot figure that out.
Once you find your family, if you had not been in contact before, you
may wish to revisit them. Be prepared for a
celebration, a hostyna
that will last for a long time. And don't think that the first entrée
served is the only one of the meal. The food keeps coming and coming.
Be sure you bring your own gifts of drink, flowers,
family photos,
and envelopes with dollars (or – Euros?). You will
certainly be
loaded down with gifts for you and the family back home.
So, if you are motivated, do the
genealogical searches but, at the
same time, if you know the place,
just go and find them.
The family
will be waiting. They remember and will be waiting for you.
