Posts Tagged ‘Theodor Iwaniw’

In my last post I stated that I was going to search out information about my grandmother and great grandmother because I was running out of options/data regarding my grandfather but, at that time, I didn’t know where or how to start because I didn’t have much information about either of them.

However, thanks to the Polish Ancestry Researcher, Lucjan Cichocki, and the municipal clerk in Lutowiska, Poland I may have received the church record of my grandparents marriage.

marriage record

There are a few inconsistencies that I need to resolve and explain.  But if this is the true record of my grandparents marriage then it helps in explaining other data I received.  One of those was about my grandmother’s maiden name.  Some time ago when I was first starting my family research and while my father was still alive, I starting asking him the basic questions; i.e. what was your mother’s maiden name, what was your father’s name, etc.  It was this time that my father told me that he never knew his father because he passed away when he was a baby.  I acquired a copy of my grandfather’s death record confirming that he died when my father was just a baby, less than a year old.  The death  record listed my great grandparents as Basilius and Anna Iwaniw.  Well, that didn’t help me with my great grandmother’s maiden name.  I already knew that my great grandfather was named Wasyl (Basilius) and my great grandmother’s name was Anna from my father, but I didn’t know my great grandmother’s maiden name.  According to the marriage record my great grandmother’s maiden name was Stefanow

Now, where did the Shubish come from?  If you look at the record at the information regarding Matrona’s mother you’ll notice one of the surnames referenced is Skubycz.  Could this be where my father got the surname from?  Lucjan was kind enough to send me his translation of the information on the marriage record.

Here’s the translation:
no. 15
date 7/22/1902 (this is a Greek Catholic church record, there was no civil registration in the Austrian-controlled part of Poland back then)
house no. 26
the groom: Michael Iwanow, single, a son of Basilius Iwanow and Anna nee Stefanow, farmers in Lutowiska, a Greek Catholic aged 25
the bride: Matrona Iwanow, single Greek Catholic woman aged 19, a daughter of Maria Smolij [who was] a daughter of Gregorius [and this Maria Smolij was] 1st married [to a man named] Skubycz [and then] 2nd married [to a man named] Iwanow, [Matrona and/or her mother was] from Michniowiec [I am not 100% positive about the place name]
witnesses: Michael Iwanow, Joannes Iwanow, farmers of Lutowiska
The translation/record raises more questions.  When it comes to the bride’s lineage it does seem a bit confusing.  Trying to put things together logically, I would presume that Matrona’s parents were Gregory and Maria Smolij.  From here things seem to get a bit confusing.  The narrative isn’t very clear.  But my logic would dictate that Maria was married in the following chronological order:
  1. First married to Gregory Smolij
  2. Then married a man named Skubycz
  3. Finally married to a man named Iwanow.

But what was Maria Iwanow’s maiden name?  The record doesn’t say.  I could leave things as is because Matrona’s family line is not a surname that I am trying to research.  Its purpose is to help me connect to others that are researching their family history that may be connected to mine.  I’ve written to Lucjan for further clarification and explanation of the information in the record.

I’ve been searching for Iwaniw relatives online peertaining to my genealogy research. I have come across many people with the Iwaniw surname but, unfortunately, I haven’t come across anyone that is related to my family line. What I have found regarding that situation will be a blog post for another time.
As I stated I have been searching for relatives with the surname of Iwaniw with little luck. But if i look at the family tree I can see why. My father had 3 brothers and one sister. Well, his sister married and took on her husbands name, Marika Iwaniw became Marika Koval. Even though she had 3 children, none of them would have carried the last name of Iwaniw.
My farther’s oldest brother, Wasyl, had disappeared during the war and he was the reason I started my gemealogy research. I am not aware of any of his descendnents. So, taht is a temporary dead end. My father’s other brother, Mukola (Nicholas) has never contacted my father but I may have a lead on him from information I found through Anolsen Archives. But that is for another blog post.
Then there is my Uncle Ivan. I met him in when he came to visit. The actual year escapes me but it was some time in the 1970’s. He had 5 daughters. All would marry and none would carry on the Iwaniw name. Fast forward to this past January when I received a message my account on MyHeritage.com from someone names Julia. She was writing to me to find out if I had a picture of her great-grandfather, my Uncle Ivan. I come to find out that Julia is the granddaughter of my cousin, Olga, who is the daughter of my Uncle Ivan. So, now I have a connection to a relative in my father’s fmily line. And as a bonus, she is also interested in conducting her family research. She has helped in filling in the many gaps that I have in thqt line. My Uncle Ivan had 5 dughters and they are all still alive in Easter Ukraine.
Using information that Julia has provided, I have been able to connect with other descendents of my Uncle Ivan and build out the family tree. It was by sheer luck that I was able to connect and communicate with my 1st cousin twice removed. Due to the war in Eastern Ukraine I have not been able to connect or contact my cousin Olga except through Julia or her mother Svilana. who I also was able to connect with.,