RESEARCHING THE PEOPLE
FROM 'NO MANS LAND'
© copyright 1996 by Thomas A. Peters, C.G.R.S. and FEEFHS; all rights
reserved
Latest Update: 19 August 1996 (Links updated)
Have you ever been asked the question: "What is your ethnic background?" Most of us, I
am sure, have been
asked this question many times, particularly by fellow genealogists. We all have the ready
answers: "I'm
German; I'm Irish; I'm English;" ad infinitum. Yet, there are about one million descendants
of an ethnically
distinct people from the Carpathian Mountains region of the former Austro-Hungarian
Empire who have a
confused or non-existent sense of ethnic identity.
These descendants of late l9th and early 20th century immigrants know that they are of
Slavic ancestry but are
unsure to which specific ethnic group they belong to. This is understandable when you
examine the origins of
the Carpatho-Rusyns. They came from a specific geographic area with defined
ethno-linguistic boundaries in
the northeast region of Austria-Hungary. This area encompassed the western part of Galicia
and the old
Hungarian counties of: Saros; Zemplen; Szepes; Abauj; Ung; Ugocsa; Bereg and
Maramaros. This area is now
occupied by the countries of Poland; Slovakia; Ukraine and Romania.
These immigrants originated in a small area of a very large empire. They did not come from
a specific
country. Furthermore, they were members of the Greek (Byzantine) Catholic Church (also
called Uniate) and
the Russian Orthodox Church, both of which were totally unfamiliar to native born
Americans. Their clergy
were not required to be celibate. It was indeed a difficult thing for Americans to
comprehend.
Even the Roman Catholic bishops in the United States, in some cases, refused to believe that
Catholic priests
could be married! As you might imagine, this caused many an unpleasant incident when
Eastern rite Catholic
priests came to America and presented themselves to the local Roman Catholic bishop. In
some cases,
communications between the two sides were strained to the point that Roman Catholic
bishops refused to
recognize Uniate priests. These priests often were insulted and angry because they were
refused permission to
exercise their religious rites and defected with their congregations to Orthodoxy. This
conversion required no
change in their religious rituals.
Confusion extended to secular life as well and it was no small wonder then that the Rusyns
did not know how to
respond to their American friends and neighbors to the question: "What is your ethnic
identity?" Some of the
immigrants responded that they were Austrian or Hungarian because they came from
Austria-Hungary. Some
said that they were Slovaks because they came from a village that was later included within
Czechoslovakia.
Some said that they were Ukrainian. These persons of Ukrainian national orientation came
primarily from
Eastern Galicia where ethnic Ukrainians were numerous and very nationalistic. Some
countered that they were
Russian because they were members of the Russian Orthodox Church. The Orthodox priests
reinforced this
identity. This was a very confusing situation to say the least!
The immigrants within their own ethnic community called themselves: Rusyn; Rusnak;
Ruthene; Ruthenian;
Carpatho-Russian; Carpatho-Ruthenian; Carpatho-Ukrainian and Lemko. These terms have a
religious
connotation signifying membership in either the Greek Catholic or Russian Orthodox Church.
Some of the
immigrants and their progeny called themselves "Slavish" which has no meaning at all and is
a slang term. The
Rusyns have a phrase in their language in which they refer to themselves as the "Po
Nasomu" People. This
meant to them: people like us who speak our language. This was often a response to the
question: "Who are
you." Such an answer leads one to the conclusion that a nationalistic identity problem did
exist (and still does)
for this East Slavic group of people.
The purpose of this lecture is to define the elements that characterize the ethnic identity of
the Rusyns and then
to cite and illustrate the U.S. record sources that will lead to the identity of the specific
ancestral village in the
European homeland where the immigrant originated. With this knowledge of the ancestral
village ascertained,
the primary sources for continuing genealogical research in primary European records will be
discussed.
This is especially relevant at this juncture in time, due to the breakup of the former Soviet
Bloc into independent
countries. Record sources are beginning to emerge as a result of recent microfilming in the
East European
countries of Slovakia, Ukraine and Poland. Third, fourth and even fifth generation
descendants of these
neglected immigrants are reaching out for their cultural and ethnic identity!
Useful References:
- The Transplanted: A History of Immigrants In Urban America by John
Bodnar, Indiana
University Press, Bloomington, Indiana, l985.
- The Other Catholics, Selected and Introduced by Keith P. Dyrud, Michael
Novak and
Rudolph J. Vecoli, Arno Press, A New York Times Co., New York, l978.
- Byzantine Rite Rusins In Carpatho-Ruthenia And America by Walter C.
Warzeski, Byzantine
Seminary Press, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania l52l4, l97l.
- Our People: Carpatho-Rusyns And Their Descendants In North America by
Paul Robert
Magocsi, Multicultural History Society of Ontario, Toronto, 3rd Rev. Ed., l994.
- The Carpatho-Rusyn Americans by Paul Robert Magocsi, Chelsea House
Publishers, New
York, l989.
- American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Diocese of U.S.A. Silver
Anniversary
l938-l963, Johnstown, PA, l963.
- History of the Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church of North America
by Basil M.
Bensin, New York, l94l.
- Byzantine Slavonic Rite Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh Silver Jubilee
l924-l949, McKeesport,
PA: Prosvita, l949.
- "Ukrainians and Ruthenians" In Joseph S. Roucek and Bernard Eisenberg,
eds.
- America's Ethnic Politics by Walter Dushnyk, Westport, Conn. and
London, England:
Greenwood Press, l982.
- "Immigrants From Eastern Europe: The Carpatho Rusyn Community of Proctor,
Vermont" in
Vermont History, XLII, l, Montpelier, VT, l974.
- "The Establishment of the Ruthenian Church in the United States,
l884-l907" in Pennsylvania
History, XLII, 2, Bloomsburg, PA, l975.
- "The Establishment of the American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic
Diocese in l938: A
Major Carpatho-Russian Return to Orthodoxy" by Jaroslav Roman in St. Vladimir's
Theological
Quarterly, XX, 3, Crestwood/Tuckahoe, NY, l976.
- The Rusyns by Alexander Bonkalo, translated by Ervin Bonkalo, East
European Monographs,
Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York, l990. Originally published in
Hungarian under the title:
A Rutenek and was published by Franklin-Tarsulat, Budapest, l940.
- Proceedings of the Conference on Carpatho-Ruthenian Immigration,
transcribed, edited and
annotated by Richard Renoff and Stephen Reynolds, Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute,
Harvard University,
Cambridge, MA, l974.
- The Quest For The Rusyn Soul: The Politics of Religion and Culture in Eastern
Europe and in
America, l890-World War I by Keith P. Dyrud, The Balch Institute Press, London and
Toronto:
Associated University Presses, l992.
- The History of the Church in Carpathian Rus' by Athanasius B. Pekar,
OSBM, East European
Monographs, No. CCCXXII, Columbia University Press, NY, 1992.
- The Rusyns of Slovakia, An Historical Survey, by Paul Robert Magocsi,
East European
Monographs, Columbia University Press, NY, 1993.
- The Persistence of Regional Cultures, Rusyns and Ukrainians in their Carpathian
Homeland and
Abroad, Paul Robert Magocsi, editor, East European Monographs, Columbia
University Press, NY,
1993.
- The Official Catholic Directory Anno Domini l99l, published annually by
P.J. Kennedy &
Sons, Wilmette, IL 6009l.
- National Directory of Churches, Synagogues, and Other Houses of
Worship, First
Edition
- Volume l, Northeastern States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont by J. Gordon Melton, John Krol, Editor,
Gale Research Inc.,
Detroit, MI, l994.
- Volume 2 covers: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri,
Nebraska, North
Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
- Newsletters:
- Carpatho-Rusyn American, A Forum on Carpatho-Rusyn Ethnic Heritage,
The
Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center, Inc., Carpatho-Rusyn American, P.O. Box 192, Fairfax,
VA 22030-0192,
US$l2.00
per year.
- The New Rusyn Times, A Cultural-Organizational Publication of the
Carpatho-Rusyn Society,
Carpatho-Rusyn Society, 125 Westland Drive, Pittsburgh,
PA 15217,
US$20.00 per year.
- Trembita, Published by Rusin
Association, 1115 Pineview
Lane North, Plymouth, MN 55441-4655, US$12.00 per year.
- Nase Rodina, Newsletter of the Czechoslovak
Genealogical Society International, P.O. Box 16225, St. Paul, MN 55116-0225, US$15.00
per year.
Primary focus on Czech
and Slovak heritage. An occasional article on Rusyns. Queries column includes people
researching
Carpatho-Rusyn ancestry.
Cyrillic Translations: Alice Weeks, 44-20 Ketcham St, #1A, Elmhurst, NY
11373.
Maps:
A detailed map of Uhro-Rus' by Andrew Perejda (1979) is available from:
The Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center
P.O. Box 131-B
Orwell, Vermont 05760.
2 sheets: US$7.75. Contains index of place names on reverse side of the maps.
Detailed maps (1:200,000) are available for the area of Carpatho-Rus:
- Lemko Area Covered by: Tarnow, Przemysl and Turka Maps
- Sub-Carpathian Rus Covered by: Leutschau (Levoca), Kaschau (Kosice), Uzgorod
(Uzhorod); Mukaceve
(Mukacevo) and Sathmar (Satu Mare).
These maps are available from:
Genealogy Unlimited, Inc.
P.O. Box 537
Orem, Utah 84059-0537
Telephone: 1 (800) 666-4363
Cost is US$11.00 per map
Some are in color; some are black and white.
Carpatho-Rusyn Books For Sale:
Carpatho-Rusyn Research Center
P. O. Box l3l-B
Orwell, Vermont 05760.
Thomas A. Peters, Certified Genealogical Record
Specialist
(C.G.R.S.)
59 Tracy Avenue
Totowa, New Jersey 075l2-204l
Telephone:; (201) 790-5053
GENEALOGICAL RESEARCH FACILITIES:
LDS FAMILY HISTORY CENTERS:
Once the ancestral village is known, your local LDS Family History Library should be
consulted to see if the
Greek Catholic registers for the village have been microfilmed. Most if not all of the Rusyn
villages in
Slovakia should be available on microfilm sometime in 1995. Some Lemko villages in
Galicia are represented
in the catalogue as well.
Microfilming in Kiev, L'viv and other Ukrainian archives
is continuing.
Many thousands of church registers are known to have been preserved in the various
Ukrainian state archives.
Many of these are for localities in Transcarpathia and Lemko villages in the former province
of Galicia.
For listings of LDS Family History Libraries, call 1 (800) 537-5950. They will send listings
for your area of
the country free of charge. Ask them to send you their Family History Publications List.
Their research
outlines for the U.S. in general and each state in particular are very useful in listing sources
of genealogical
information available as well as a listing of archives, historical societies, and governmental
agencies that can be
visited for further information.
EUROPEAN RESEARCH SOURCES:
Information concerning LEMKO RUSYNS and their church records, can be obtained
from:
Archiwum Panstwowe w Rzeszowie
ul. Boznicza 4
35-959 Rzeszow, POLAND
If you are requesting extensive genealogical research, set a monetary limit not to be
exceeded.
Information concerning RUSYNS from the former SPIS CO., SLOVAKIA, can be obtained
by
contacting:
Statny Oblastny Archiv v Levoca
Mierove nam 7
054 01 Levoca
SLOVAKIA
State how much research you wish performed. Set a monetary limit. No deposit is
required.
Information concerning RUSYNS from the former counties of SARIS; ZEMPLIN and UNG
(part) can be
obtained from:
Statny Oblastny Archiv v Presove
Nizna Sebastova, Slanska 33
080 06 Presov
SLOVAKIA
Set monetary limits.
Information concerning RUSYNS from the former counties of: UNG (part); UGOCSA;
BEREG; AND
MARAMAROS, now in the Transcarpathian Oblast of the Ukraine would probably be best
obtained by
contacting:
RAGAS
Russian-American Genealogical Archive Service
P.O. Box 236
Glen Echo, Maryland 20812
Enclose an SASE for the necessary forms that must be filled out. A search for a single
certificate is $22.00
(non-refundable if not found). A US$50.00 deposit for more detailed research is necessary
(non-refundable). If
positive, an additional fee of US$70.00 will be needed to continue the search. Finding aids
are incomplete; therefore, searches can be expensive.
Research can be performed by U.S. citizens that personally visit Poland, Slovakia and
Ukraine. Familiarity
with Latin, Hungarian, Polish and Cyrillic will be necessary to be successful. Familiarity
with the old script
(handwriting) is a must.
Compiled and copyright by: Thomas A. Peters,
C.G.R.S., 1995
Tapeters@aol.com
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