my daughter, CLAUDIA
my son, SCOTT
my 2 nieces, KATHY & FRANCES
and nephew, RICH
to see the old Galician towns where my parents were born, SNIETNICA and STAWISZA. They both immigrated to America at the turn of the century, and I have always been curious about where they came from and why they left.
I am the youngest of 11 children born to SAM & ALICE MUSLEVE (Sedor Mysliwy & Alexandra Basalyga). Sadly, only one of my sisters, Rose, is still alive. Several years ago we decided to gather up all the "cousins" (my nieces and nephews) and their offspring for a family reunion in Akron, Ohio (where most of us grew up).
Some family members had not been in contact for 20-25 years! Not everyone responded, but those that did expressed much interest and curiosity about their family history.
My niece, Kathy, is a whiz on the computer (and a Librarian to boot), and she immediately delved into the internet to search for information. (I'll let her tell you on a separate "page" how and what she discovered.) I do know that she searched for the name "Snietnica" (where I knew my mother was born) and pulled up a webpage by John Kuzmich, Jr. who traveled to Snietnica and Stawisza to do research on his family. We learned a lot from his "page" and we hope to spread our knowledge to others thru this "page."
I do not have a computer, so I used the "old tele" and rang up a few of my long, lost cousins up in Pennsylvania (children of my parent's brothers). One was JOHN BASALYGA and the other was VIOLET (MISLEVY) DALESSANDRO. They had both started genealogy lists for their families, and asked me to gather the names and dates for mine. One phone call led to another, and I talked to more cousins, second cousins, and cousins once, twice and thrice removed!! This actually, and miraculously led to contact with cousins in Poland, children of my mother's sister who "stayed behind."
Somewhere along the line we learned that we are decendants of an "ethnic" group called "LEMKO" from the region of Lemkovyna in the Carpathian Mountains of southern Poland. The info became so interesting and enticing that we began to talk of traveling to Poland to visit Lemkovyna. Through more of Kathy's research, we found guides (to interpret and drive us around) and a comfortable country inn, where we ate healthy authentic "Lemko" meals. We spent 10 days in the most BEAUTIFUL countryside you can imagine, and we sometimes felt we had actually gone back in time.
We found the actual birth records of my parents (and their brothers and sisters) and discovered some surprises, including my grandparent's and great-grandparent's names.
I was also thrilled to meet two of my cousins who traveled a great distance to visit Snietnica for the first time since leaving in 1947 during "the VISLA" (WISLA or WISTULA).
Our plan for this website is to provide information to others (especially "Lemkos") who wish to research their ancestry. Hopefully, future "links" from this intro page will give you specific information on : traveling to southern Poland, pictures of our trip, immigration to Ellis Island, our genealogy lists, history of Carpatho/Rusyns and Lemkos, the Lemko language, Lemko recipes, birth records, and other web pages to visit.
Until such time as my family members add these "links" feel free to call me at 407-321-5471, or my daughter, Claudia who actually wrote this text, at 912-748-0731.
We ultimately hope to discover more distant relatives that may provide exciting pieces of our family puzzle . .
http://www.carpatho-rusyn.org/rich
http://www.gopoland.com
http://www.carpathorusynsociety.org/events/Tours/LemkoTour2003_3.html
. http://www.lemko.org
http://www.lemko.org/comm/malecki.html
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