My Grandfather "Pysta"

My father's father died in 1948 when Daddy was 19 years old. He was known in the United States as Stephen Popp. His background was confusing to me. He was well educated. Spoke Hungarian, a Ruthenian/Rusyn dialect, some Italian, and English. He may have spoken Romanian, as well. His mother's family were Greek Catholic priests, and he was raised in a primarily Rusyn village. Because of his religion and the village he was from, I decided he was likely an ethnic Carpatho-Rusyn. 

But. Always buts. Lots of things didn't fit. The family were landowners and wealthy by Carpathian standards. His surname and his mother's were common Hungarian surnames. He and several brothers had government positions. They were sent away to school. His father's family had migrated to the Carpathian region from Romania sometime in the early 19th century when the Hungarian government was trying to send Hungarians to settle in the borderlands. None of these are common to Carpatho-Rusyns.

My father's DNA tests suggested a lot of Balkan ancestry. Also known as Romanian or Hungarian. A puzzle that I let sit. For decades.

My inheritance from that side of the family included boxes and boxes of photographs, letters, notebooks, address books, my grandmother's needlework, candles, icons, and a packet of letters my aunt handed to me stressing that these were important. They were from a brother in Europe, concerning land my grandfather had left in his brother's charge. And she shared a whispered story that my grandfather had also left a child in Europe. He hadn't married there. But he had a mistress and a child. He never told his wife or children, but another brother living nearby knew and they spoke of it some. Usually in Hungarian so their wives wouldn't understand, but my great-uncle's wife heard enough to let my grandmother know what they were discussing. My grandmother was a great one for keeping secrets. Fortunately, she shared them with her daughter before she died. Including the fact that her husband had a pressed flower in his prayer book that had been there since before they were married.

I scanned the letters and documents she gave me, made a couple attempts at having them translated, but no one locally could read the handwritten early 20th c. Hungarian. So they sat. 

The AI translation of telegram yesterday naming my grandfather as Pysta was my first attempt in decades to examine the papers. AI made the difference. Today I uploaded 18 years of letters and legal documents. Gem (my nickname for Gemini) proved worthy of the name, revealing the story we never knew. Gem titled the timeline "The Two Lives of István Pap". Slightly dramatic, but not wrong.  

The first dated document according to Gem was a 6 November 1920 Certified Public Notary Deed (Hiteles kiadvány) recording a land sale of 10 acres in Satu Mare, Romania from brother János Papp to his brother István Papp for the sum of 5,000 crowns (Hungarian currency). I am going to have to go over the rest of the documents carefully to determine how much of this transaction actually happened, for what my grandfather was doing was leaving assets in charge of his brother to provide for his son, living in Ukraine. A son his brother called "a kis Pista" or little Pista, likely named Stefan or István as his father was. This all becomes clear in the later letters and documents. 

On the back page is a handwritten accounting of items my grandfather Pysta left with his brother. It appears they were sold, yielding almost 4,000 lei. Gem translated it thus:

"There is a fascinating informal addendum written in a different hand, dated November 7, 1920 (the day after the notary meeting). It looks like a receipt for "moving costs" or a final settlement of accounts between them.

It lists items and their value in Lei (the Romanian currency):

• 3,000 lei cash (készpénz)

• 450 lei for a pair of shoes (pár czipő)

• 250 lei for boots and trousers (csizma nadrág)

• 200 lei for a fur coat/sheepskin cloak (bunda)

• 27 lei for house money (ház pénz)

• 16 lei for an advertisement (hirdetés)

• 1,050 Hungarian Crowns were also exchanged.

• Total: 3,943 lei"

Again, I need to go over this more carefully to figure out if these were funds my grandfather took and used to travel to the United States or funds left with his brother for support of the child. 

To say that I am a fan of using AI in family history research would be an understatement. 

Digging in with Artificial Intelligence

 I've begun using Artificial Intelligence to transcribe and translate written records in my research. It is still slow, but far better and more accurate than my own attempts at working with 19th c. church books written in Church Slavonic, Rusyn and Hungarian. 

Today I took a telegram my grandfather kept addressed to his brother and asked Gemini (Google's AI tool) to translate the Hungarian for me. 

This is what I received. 

*********

Transcription of the Hungarian Text

Recipient: Pap Janos, posta ellenőr, Satmar 1. postahivatal

Message: feierevarmat 472:-18:-21:-10-! Legyen szombaton délután három órakor owarynat a határon = pysta =

---

English Translation

Recipient: János Pap, postal inspector, Satmar 1st post office

Message: [Coded numbers/Reference] Be at Óvári at the border on Saturday at three o’clock in the afternoon. = Pista =

---

Key Details & Context

• János Pap: The recipient’s name. "Pap" is a common Hungarian surname, and "János" is John.

• Posta ellenőr: This indicates his profession—a postal inspector or controller.

• Satmar (Szatmár): Now known as Satu Mare.

• Óváry / Óvári: This likely refers to Óvári (now Oar, Romania), a village located right on the Hungarian-Romanian border near Satu Mare.

• Pysta (Pista): This is a common Hungarian nickname for István (Stephen). The spelling "Pysta" is an older or more phonetic variation of "Pista."

• The Numbers: The string of numbers (472:-18:-21:-10) is likely a telegram reference code, time stamp, or a specific postal tracking sequence rather than part of the conversational message.

The message is a simple coordination of a meeting time and place, specifically choosing a location right at the border.

*********

I was most pleased with this. It is the first time I learned that my grandfather used the nickname Pysta with his family. I never heard him referred to as anyone other than Daddy. The border meeting seemed dramatic, so I commented that I wondered what they were up to. Gemini had lots to say. 

*********

If your grandfather was Pista (István) and the recipient was János Pap, you’ve likely found a record of two relatives coordinating a discreet meeting. In the context of the early 20th century in this region, a meeting "at the border" (a határon) was rarely just for a casual coffee.

Here is the likely historical backdrop for what they were "up to":

1. Navigating the "Trianon" Reality

The telegram likely dates to the period after the Treaty of Trianon (1920). Overnight, the region around Satmar (Satu Mare) was transferred from Hungary to Romania. This drew a hard international border through communities that had been unified for centuries.

• Óvári (now Oar, Romania) is a village that sits literally feet from the Hungarian border.

• Meeting "at the border" at a specific time (3:00 PM Saturday) suggests they were meeting at a point where they could talk or exchange items without necessarily going through formal, and often difficult, border checkpoints.

2. The "Postal Inspector" Advantage

János Pap’s job title, Posta ellenőr (Postal Inspector), is a crucial detail.

• As an inspector, he had significant authority over how mail and packages moved.

• In a time of heavy censorship and high border tariffs, having a relative who was a high-ranking postal official was a massive asset. He would know exactly when and where the "eyes" of the state were looking.

3. Possible Motivations

Given the family connection and the cryptic nature of a telegram (which was expensive and often monitored), they were likely doing one of the following:

• Family Logistics: Exchanging family news, money, or goods that were difficult to send across the new international border due to high taxes or Romanian-Hungarian tensions.

• Business or "Shadow" Mail: Your grandfather might have been using János’s position to bypass official mail channels to ensure a letter or package reached its destination without being opened by government censors.

• Legal/Travel Planning: If one relative stayed on the Hungarian side and the other on the Romanian side, meetings at the border were the only way to maintain family ties without the expense and scrutiny of formal travel visas.

Pista (your grandfather) was the one setting the terms, and János was the one with the official "insider" status at the post office. It's a classic example of family members working together to navigate the complicated geopolitics of the era!

*********

I am a history major, pretty well-informed as far as border changes in Europe following World War I but I never made the connection that Satu-Mare, where my great-uncle lived became part of Romania then while across the river Transcarpathia became part of Czechoslovakia. This began to be far more interesting than let's meet for beer at the border. A border that did not exist before the Treaty of Trianon.

My grandfather left Europe in 1920, sailing from Cherbourg on December 20th. We were told he left because there was a conflict with someone. That he may have killed someone while serving as a Gendars or Hungarian State Police Officer. That the family might seek revenge. That was a story none of the cousins we met in Ukraine or Slovakia knew. This telegram and the context Gemini provided suggest there might have been more involved in his decision.

More to follow. It gets better. 

40th Wedding Anniversary

 

Bob and Iva Williams Sawyer 40th Anniversary

My grandparents were married 1 October 1925 in Portland, Oregon far from their families in East Tennessee. Forty years later their children threw them a party in Morristown, Tennessee where they spent most of their lives. Their children, grandchildren, Granddaddy's sisters and brothers, a couple cousins, and a few close friends attended. All but one of the adults in the picture has passed away. We children are now standing. 

Seated in chairs Conway Sawyer, Iva Williams Sawyer, Bob Sawyer, Emma Sawyer, Winston Sawyer. Standing from left to right Flavia Sawyer, friend, Bob Sawyer Jr., Carolyn Popp, Janis Green, friend, Andy Popp, Connie Haun, Burr Haun, Selma Sawyer, Clevel Luttrell, Joanne Bryan, Mary Kathryn McKenzie, Charlie Green, Mr. Rogers. Standing behind on the right are some cousins, in-laws and friends. 

A Speculative Popp Family Tree

 I have spent decades deciphering how my late father's paternal Popp family is related to both those Popps we "knew" were cousins, and those cousins who appeared when he graciously consented to have his DNA tested and uploaded to as many genealogy sites as possible. 

Andrew Popp, my father, was a first generation American, born to immigrants from the Carpathian Mountains in what was Hungary when his parents were born. It's a remote spot, ruled by more nations and monarchs than I can calculate. He identified as Carpatho-Rusyn but thought his father might have been at least part Hungarian. One day I may get into the differences between citizenship and ethnicity, but for my purposes here it's enough to point out that my father's own DNA ethnicity results show most of his paternal ancestry from what is now the Transcarpathian region of Ukraine. 

His father, Stephen Popp, was born Stefan Pap, a grandson of another Stefan Pap, in the village of Berezna, Maramaros County, Hungary (today it is known as Berezovo, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine). He maintained contact with three men he considered cousins in the United States - Frank Popp and John Popp, both born in Kovesliget, Maramaros, Hungary (now Drahovo, Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine) and sons of men bearing the same names; and Joe Popp, who was also born in Berezna and a grandson of a Ferenc/Frank Pap. We knew that John and my grandfather were related through John's mother, Ilka Papp, but not what the relationship was. Our attempts at formulating a family tree were complicated by the fact that none of our furthest "known" ancestors shared the same name and we had limited access to any records. 

After DNA testing became available lots more "American" cousins appeared, but few had any information on where their families had originated. I eventually gained access to church records from Berezna and Kovesliget which helped. Some. But what really helped was newer genetic genealogy tools that allowed me to use DNA match data from the web of matches and from multiple testing companies. Using frameworks developed on DNA Painter I was able to finally construct a very speculative tree on BanyanDNA that does fit within all the information provided by 15 matches on my father's paternal side. 

I pieced together screenshots of the tree and the calculation results. The purple boxes represent people who did DNA testing at Ancestry, My Heritage or 23andMe. The purple lines are connections that we have either documented or have personal knowledge of from our parents or grandparents. The yellow lines are speculative relationships. The cluster of yellow lines in the center of the tree are believed to be descended from a child Stephen Popp had before he emigrated to the United States. We were told the child existed, but nothing more. Not even the gender. 

The work is complicated by the fact that there are multiple cousin marriages and marriages to Tegzes (my grandfather's mother) and Stoyka/Stoykos (his grandmother). What little information I have on the European matches we believe descended from my father's unknown half-sibling strongly suggests at least two of them also have Tegze ancestry apart from what they inherited from Stephen Popp. 

Speculative Popp Family Tree from BanyanDNA. Best viewed on other tab. 

Descendents of Frank and Joe Popp have tested. Their results support Frank and Joe's closer connection to one another but also support a slightly more distant relationship to Stephen's family. No known descendants of John Popp have tested. 

DNA testing suggested two possible siblings to Stephen's father Ivan. Documentation from Berezna church records confirmed that the Maria Papp who married Pete Stoyka was a sibling and supported the theory that there was a brother Nicholas whose great-grandchildren showed up as strong matches. I found it especially moving in light of current events in Ukraine that testing is allowing those separated around the world to reconnect. Testers live in Cyprus, Sweden, New Zealand, Australia, Ukraine, Slovakia, and the United States. 

BanyanDNA validation calcuation. 

 

This is by no means a definitive tree. Several of the matches are well outside normal ranges, though if there are additional Tegze relatives that would explain much of the variance. I hope to follow up with all the testers and get further information, if available. But it is the first time I've come up with anything that seems remotely possible given the DNA tests. Pretty exciting after decades of work. 

Perekstas in America - Conclusions

Years ago - long before the internet or digitized records - my Aunt Rose would look through the phone book wherever she traveled in the US. If she found a Popp (her maiden name) or a Pereksta (her mother's maiden name) she would call them, introduce herself and ask if they might be related. She had no luck with Popps. It's a pretty common name. But Pereksta? There aren't many and she managed to collect information on many of the Perekstas in the US. Which she passed on to me. Along with a LOT of photographs, notes, papers of all kinds. And cookware. 

Siblings Sue Pereksta Bolas, Mary Pereksta Zelenyak, John Pereksta, and Anna Pereksta Popp taken in Dec 1948. 

About the name. It's a very rare name. Very. I can count those in the US with the surname and all of those living in Europe have roots in far northeastern Slovakia where my Pereksta grandmother was born. Years ago, Rose was told that it was a surname that was made up and that our Perekstas were Jewish. DNA confirms the Jewish Ancestry. The name itself translates to "bridge" or "crossed over". Apparently a pretty recent ancestor (c. 1800) converted and adopted a new surname. Whether by choice or not is an open question. 

I started truly working on our family history over 40 years ago. Still in the age of letters and phone calls. Through Rose, I connected with my known cousin George Pereksta in New Jersey who was also trying to figure out the relationships of the Perekstas in the US. And with Chuck Pereksta in Ohio. There are a lot of Perekstas in Ohio and New Jersey. And not many any place else. At least that was the case when we were all exchanging letters. 

Slowly we figured out how Chuck's Ohio Perekstas connected with our New Jersey Perekstas. DNA testing confirmed our belief that the Ohio patriarch - George Pereksta (1875-1938) and my great-grandfather Ivan Pereksta (1857-1933) were nephew and uncle. 

Eventually digitized records confirmed our stories. And expanded our knowledge. And left us with a few stray Perekstas that didn't fit into either family. I was flabbergasted to discover that my Baba was not the only Anna Pereksta in Binghamton, New York. I called Rose - my source and sounding board for all things Rusyn - and she blithely said, "Oh yeah. That was the tall Anna Pereksta. Mom was short Anna Pereksta." True. She was VERY short. But I'd have been interested in knowing about the other before I dug through hundreds of records! 

Tall Anna Pereksta turned out to be from a nearby village, Starina. She had two brothers in the US and may well be related, but so far, we don't know how. Certainly, her life and my grandmother's life intersected often here in the US. They were members of the same church and shared many cousins. 

There were other "stray" Perekstas showing up in various records, but the two I was most curious about were Mike Pereksta (the dead miner that Rose remembered hearing about as a child) and Frank Pereksta who lived in New Jersey. 

Mike's parents and birthplace remain a mystery. 

Frank was absolutely NOT my grandmother's brother, but she knew him and had a photograph of his first wife in her photo album. He was born in Prislop, the same village my family and the Ohio Perekstas came from. But he died when Rose and my father were babies and there was no further communication with the family. Chuck Pereksta remembered a story that his father, George had a brother in New Jersey, but nothing more. And no one from that family appears to have done DNA testing. 

Recently I've pushed back into research, trying to define and source what I know about my Rusyn immigrants. DNA and the internet have been heaven sent. I've put together a family tree on Ancestry about the Perekstas called Perekstas in America. I've come up with enough information that, even without DNA testing, I am assigning Frank to the Ohio Pereksta clan. I had the picture of Frank's wife with Rose's note on the back that this was Julie Pereksta in New Jersey. I found an immigration record for a Julie Pereksta traveling to her husband, Ferenc (Hungarian for Frank) and naming her father-in-law, Gyorgy Pereksta, in Priszlop as her nearest relative in Europe.* Prislop/Priszlop was a small village of only a few hundred people. And George or Gyorgy Pereksta was a known figure there. He was the father of the Ohio George Pereksta and the documented brother of my great-grandfather, Ivan Pereksta. I reached out today to Chuck's brother (Chuck and George have both passed away) who is one of our treasured DNA matches. He and I both recall Chuck speaking of his grandfather having a brother in New Jersey. Frank fits perfectly. 

That's what passes for meeting the Genetic Proof Standard with my Rusyns. Decades of communication on both sides of the Atlantic. A photograph. A few records here that refer back to family in Europe. Even fewer records there, but enough to confirm the relationships. Still hoping for a DNA match to Frank's family, but they've been hard to connect with. 

I'm working on the strays. I would bet almost anything that the Starina Perekstas turn out to be related to our Prislop Perekstas. Not sure what to make of the other outliers, but I'll document what I know. And move on. 

* "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957," database with images, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com/search/collections/7488/ : 6 Dec 2025), search terms" "Tulia Pareksta" Birth Date "1886" arrival date "1907". 

Uncle Earl Left His Mark

One of the things I love most about blogging is connecting with others who are interested in the people and places I write about. Ten years ago I posted about my Williams great-grandparents' home in Johnson City, Tennessee. The present owners of the house found the post and we exchanged information and photos. It gave me great joy to think the house was in the hands of a family that loved it.

411 W. Maple, c. 1911

Last week I got a new email from them, sharing a recent find. With their permission I am posting it here. While working on a shared wall between the kitchen and dining room they found a penciled signature reading "Earl W". The rest of the name was painted over, but there is no doubt my great-uncle Earl Williams (1892-1915) left his name there. According to their research, the house had extensive work done in 1907, about the time my family moved there. Earl would have been 15, old enough to share in the work with his father, older brother, and uncle. 

Uncle Earl's pencil signature on a door casing, found in 2021. 

I teared up when I saw this, and am most grateful to the lovely caretakers of this old house for recording and sharing it. The house looks better than ever today.

The house on Maple Street today. 

 

So Glad They Got Married

Carolyn Sawyer and Andrew Popp, 4 September 1954

Today would have been my parent's 67th wedding anniversary. I've never done a blog post about their wedding. Not even a photograph. It's time. 

They were married at her parents home by her parents' Baptist minister in a civil ceremony attended by her family and friends. More on that. Following the wedding they spent a very quiet honeymoon at Myrtle Beach recovering. There was never a photo of their wedding anywhere in their home. The one wedding album was tucked away in a bookshelf. The day was acknowledged as we got older, but never celebrated in any big way. It was a private time and memory for them, though as we grew older they spoke of it in response to our questions. They remained married until my mother's death in 1999. It was, most days, a good marriage, with sacrifices on both sides. But they had enormous love, devotion and respect for one another. Theirs was the model I have used for my own 42 years of marriage. 

Mother and Daddy met in Washington, DC after college. Both worked at the Navy Department, though that's not how they met. Both finished school and very deliberately chose to NOT return to the towns and families they'd grown up with. Both loved those families fiercely. 

Dad's best friend was dating Mother's roommate and suggested they meet. His motives weren't pure. Mother never left the apartment and he was hoping for time alone with his girlfriend (later wife). So Dad phoned her, they chatted and he asked her out for a beer. She declined, but graciously enough that he called back. And back. And back. Same story. Finally he asked Ted who asked Margaret who asked Mother why she wouldn't go out with him if she was willing to spend hours on the phone. She answered, "I don't drink beer." Dad called and invited her for coffee. She accepted. The rest is history. 

They were from wildly different backgrounds, but met a need in each other beyond their obvious attraction and love. Daddy, child of Eastern European Catholic immigrants, wanted an "American" wife as he assimilated into mainstream culture. Mother, rejecting the bigotry and narrow parochialism of her very southern, pre-civil rights childhood, wanted someone "other". Neither family was thrilled, but my father's family very quickly recognized and accepted the relationship. 

Not so my mother's. At least not her mother. Mother had moved back to Tennessee for graduate school. She was teaching and weighing two different proposals. She loved both men. Deeply. We spoke of those days of decision many times as I got older. She was very, very clear about her decision and her reasoning. And that it was the most difficult decision of her life. 

Once made, she turned to planning the wedding. Whatever subtle opposition her mother had expressed to her daughter marrying a Catholic first generation American was made clear. No member or friend of my father's family was invited, other than Ted, the best man. My grandmother never mailed those invitations. She cancelled florists and musicians. She launched a full out campaign to derail the wedding. My mother was heartsick, ill, but determined. Daddy finally showed up, uninvited and unwelcome, and announced that if they could not be married at home as Mother wished, then they would be married in his Byzantine Catholic Church in Binghamton, NY. His mother was fully capable and willing to put on the wedding and his priest had already consented. At that point my grandfather, utterly uninvolved by choice, finally spoke up and ordered my grandmother to cease her sabotage efforts and put together the wedding their daughter wanted. More or less. It did not include Daddy's immigrant family. The two families met for the first time at my sister's wedding, decades later. 

The effects of this were long-lasting. My father spent very little time visiting my mother's parents. The excuse was always he was working, but the truth told later to us as adults, was that it was easier for Mother to be there with us and without him. She still adored her family, they adored her, and by extension, us. He did make it clear that Grandmother was to stop cross-examining us about church and faith or he would stop our visits. Never Mother's. He knew how deeply hurt she was, but also knew how much she needed her family. And so we grew up. 

My sister and I had truly beautiful weddings. Joy-filled, and far more lavish than either of us wanted. Those wedding mattered as much to our parents as they did to us. They believed one of the most important things they could do as parents was to support and celebrate our choices. 

As for our family, we are today a very tightknit cohort of cousins, children of the three daughters Sawyer. Those sisters were a force - due in strong part to their mother. They were devoted to each other. Again, due to their parents. My father, particularly, expressed his admiration for all of them. He was careful to make clear that love and devotion could and should survive hurt and pain. It's a model to live by that I have difficulty following, but aspire to.  

Furnished for Burial Purposes

Receipt, dated March 18, 1893

"March 18, 1893

Received from Wm Sawyers Guardian

Lanie Sawyers 65/100 Dollars

in full for goods furnished for burial purposes

$0.65        Maloney Bros"

This receipt was one of many my great-grandfather Gee Sawyer kept tucked away in a trunk at his farmhouse in Warrensburg, TN. It answers a question I had for many years about one of his nieces, Delaney Sawyer. 

Delaney Sawyer was born about 1878 to Gee's brother Jake Sawyer and his wife, Sarah Elizabeth Fox. She appears with them on the 1880 census, living across the Nolichucky River in Cocke County with one younger sister. There are no further public records for her. She is not recorded in any local cemetery. No marriage records have been found. There were notes in Gee's chest indicating his older brother William had taken guardianship of Jake's children after Sarah died in 1884.

William, who never married, served as the head of the family once his father died. In 1880 his widowed and paralyzed mother was living with him, as was a widowed sister and her children, and Gee, his youngest brother. 

This receipt from Maloney Brothers (one of two stores in Warrensburg) confirms William's guardianship of Delaney and tells me she died in March, 1893. Her mother and Sawyer grandparents were buried at Josephs Chapel in Cocke County so she may have been buried there. With whatever was needed for burial purposes. 

Sources: 

Sawyer Family Papers.  Privately held by Susan Popp Clark . 2000.

 1880 U.S. census, Cocke, Tennessee, pop. sch., Chuckey Knobs, p. 360B, ED 61, dwelling 204, family 213, Delaney Sawyers; NARA film T9, roll 1248.

1880 U.S. census, Greene, Tennessee, pop. sch., District 4, p. 65C, ED 046, dwelling 162, family 162, William Sawyers: NARA film T9, roll 1258.

Uncle Herbert Bit the Bullet

Herbert Sawyer 
(1895-1923)

 The story of my great-uncle Herbert Sawyer's death was too gruesome not to share. And far too gruesome not to remember. He died young. Before my mother was born. Before his younger siblings were fully grown and came to know him as adults. Thus what we and our parents heard about Herbert growing up was little more than the tale of his death. And that his nephew Bob, Jr. resembled him. Which is an understatement. 

But what a tale. His youngest sister told me Herbert was a bit of a hypochondriac, implying he would have lived if he'd only skipped the dentist. I asked her what they did for toothaches and she answered. "Pliers." I don't doubt her, but I can't blame Herbert for seeking an alternative. 

The (Knoxville) Journal and Tribune
March 28, 1923
From Sawyer family photo album

 My mother suspected he was given too much ether and, in an effort to reassure me, said he received grossly inadequate care by modern standards. But this was 1923 in a small town in East Tennessee. Modern dental care was still to come. The newspaper speculated he died of strangulation. Which leads back to inadequate care. Because if you are performing dental surgery on someone you ought to at least notice them choking.

Whatever happened, his family mourned their son and brother. And eventually came to treat his death as a great, if tragic, story. Which they shared with relish. Until my mother realized I was going to need extensive dental work. Under anesthesia. And shut down all mention of Uncle Herbert in my presence. 

I hate going to the dentist. 

Aunt Emma Got Hold of the Camera

Sister by Emma Sawyer

 Two words I heard whenever I was with my great (very, truly great) aunt Mary Kathryn McKenzie (aka Sister) were frolics and fooling. She was my grandfather's youngest sister, the 9th of ten children. As such she spent many years both checking in on her older sisters and younger brother who lived on the family farm. She eventually moved back home to care for them. She and they laughed. All. The. Time. 

I am going through their photo albums now and laughing, as well. Aunt Emma Sawyer had a wicked tendency to shoot pictures of her sister regardless of what she was doing. And to keep them. All those "looks" she received from Sister were surely followed by laughter from both of them. 

Iva Belle

 I am convinced my grandmother Iva Williams Sawyer (1900-1993) was one of the most photographed children her age in all of East Tennessee. I've shared a couple photos of her as a very young child and several of her as a young woman. But these newly scanned photos seal the deal. She was named Iva Belle, but grew to hate her middle name. She used Beverly on the rare occasions she used anything other than her maiden name as an adult. 

Clockwise from the top center, Iva studying (note the telephone on the desk): Iva (on right) with her uncle, Judson McAdams, aunt, Alice Deacon McAdams, and cousin, Merle McAdams; Iva at the piano; Iva and her cousin Mary D. Williams who lived with them when Iva was a girl; Iva in a tam; Iva as a toddler with a doll and carriage (and ringlets!!); and Iva as a toddler in coat and bonnet. 

I have to wonder if her elder brothers were as well documented. Iva didn't have any portraits of them as boys beyond one of her brother Earl. 

Kowalczyk Family Photos from Poland

One of the (mixed) blessings of being the family historian is ending up with thousands of photographs, some originally belonging to people I neither knew nor was related to. My father's sister had most of her family photos and records. She also had some photos that originally belonged to her mother-in-law. 

Marianna (Mary) Kowalczyk was born in Gaczyska, Poland about 1892, a daughter of Franciszek Kowalczyk and Rozalia Mydlo. She married John Wiktorek after emigrating to the United States and had four sons - including her son Tony who was wise enough to marry my aunt Rose. She died in Johnson City, New York in 1985. These are photographs of her Kowalczyk family in Poland. A few are labeled. In Polish. Not a language I can decipher especially well. 

I share them hoping her family may find them here. I will be glad to provide what information is on the back of the photos upon request. With luck I can forward these on to someone for whom these will have more meaning. Though I do adore seeing them. 

 

Catherine & Gee Sawyer Revealed

 My Sawyer great-grandparents lived large. Large family. Large personalities. The stories are numerous, full of love and laughter. Much like their children. But since they died long before I was born, my images of them were constrained by the few photos I'd seen. Especially for Gee Sawyer (Jehu Stokely Sawyer, 1855-1940). My great-great aunts Selma and Mary Kathryn resembled their mother Catherine. I knew them well. I could imagine her cooking, or chatting, or chasing down a stray child. But the only photos I'd seen of Gee were a formal portrait at the time of his marriage, and this one of him not long before he died. 

Sawyer family, c. 1940 (from left to right, Clevel Sawyer Luttrell, Gee Sawyer, unknown man (perhaps Clevel's husband Hardin Luttrell), Mary Kathryn Sawyer McKenzie, Emma Sawyer)

It was hard to get the sense of him that I knew from the stories. However....

Looking through my aunt Mary Kathryn's photo album from the 1920s I found what I am certain is a snapshot of her parents. Faded, and not the greatest image of her mother. But, after I put it through the photo enhancement program at MyHeritage.com,  I can see Gee now. His little smile. Sparkling eyes. The relaxed embrace he and Catherine share. 

Catherine Conway and Gee Sawyer, c. 1927

That caption says it all. For me, too. Happy? Yes.

Social Media 1880s Style

I recently found a small collection of my great-grandmother's social media. Circa 1887. Her daughter kept the calling cards and autograph album tucked away in one of later boxes I've been examining. 

Late 19th c. calling cards and autograph album

The autograph book is from the years 1887-1888, when Flora McAdams (1867-1945) was finishing her schooling and getting married. The calling cards appear to be from the 1880s. 

The cards belonged to Flora's family and friends. I've identified all but one of people who visited her. Moving clockwise from the top left, the cards belonged to Maggie S. Bayless, Elmer E. McAdams, Ed McAdams, Della S. Hicks, Annie M. Williams, J. B. Mulkey, and Lizzie H. Range. 

Maggie Bayless (Sarah Margaret, 1868-1947) was Flora's first cousin, school mate, and life long friend. Their mother's were sisters. Elmer (1869-1925) and Ed McAdams (1874-1930) were Flora's younger brothers. Della Hicks (1868-1915) was a neighbor in the county west of Leesburg, Washington, Tennessee. I haven't identified Annie M. Williams. She may be a cousin of Flora's husband, R.J. Williams, but not one I've previously identified. J.B. Mulkey (James B., 1856-1883) was her mother's first cousin. Lizzie Range (1867-1899) was likely a classmate. She and her family lived across the county near the church Flora's Mulkey ancestors founded. I believe it was the church she attended with her family. 

The album was given to her by one of her teachers as a graduation present in December 1887. Most of the entries are from the holiday season that year and from the time of her marriage in March. Many of them were written in pencil and a challenge to read, but I had no trouble reading the first entry.  Dated January 14th, it reads "Miss Flora how can you love and thrive and be without a mate to comfort thee? Written by your friend R.J. Williams". They married in March. I suspect she kept the first page for him, for an entry dated in December is on a later page. 

Flora McAdams Autograph Album, R. J. Williams page dated Jan. 14, 1888.
 

Flora McAdams Autograph Album, R. J. Williams page, undated. 

Later in the album another message from R.J appears. This one is undated. I suspect it is nearer to their wedding. It reads "Every joy that Heaven can send, wealth and every kind of Treasure; health and love to thee my Friend and happiness without measure. Yours, R.J. Williams."

Sources: 

Flora McAdams Williams Papers.  c. 1883. Privately held by Susan Popp Clark . 2000

1880 U.S. census, Washington, Tennessee, pop. sch., District 17, ED 035, p. 563B, dwell. 262, fam. Samuel McAdams. 

1880 U.S. census, Washington, Tennessee, pop. sch., District 4, ED 030, p. 467D, dwell. 34, fam. 8, Margaret Bayless. 

1880 U.S. census, Washington, Tennessee, pop. sch., District 17, ED 035, p. 561A, dwell. 216, fam. 221, Delia Hicks. 

1880 U.S. census, Washington, Tennessee, pop. sch., District 4, ED 030, p. 484B, dwell. 342, fam. James B. Mulkey.

1870 U.S. census, Carter, Tennessee, pop. sch., District 5, p. 32B, dwell. 10, fam. James C. Range, Lizzie H. Range. 

Claiming Robert Hampton ~ a DNA victory

This is worth briefly returning to blogging. I am elated! 

Rachel Hampton Mulkey, my 4th great-grandmother has been a focus of my research efforts from my earliest days as a family historian. Given that I've been at this a while, she and I are nearing 50 years of rampant curiosity on my part and maddening discretion/mystery/stubborn refusal on her part to share her parentage. 

I've written about this before. More than once. I gave up believing the Andrew Hampton story decades ago when not a shred of any believable evidence linking her to ANY Andrew Hampton could be found. What could be found were a myriad of clues connecting her to the family of a Robert Hampton who died in 1796 in Washington County, Tennessee. 

Robert's will named his wife, Mary, five sons and no daughters. There is however, evidence  that Elizabeth Hampton Edwards (abt 1787-1840), the wife of Abel Edwards, and Sarah Hampton Bayless (abt. 1786), the wife of Samuel Bayless may have been his daughters. Abel Edwards and Hampton's sons attended a crying sale together and a marriage record exists for Sarah Hampton and Samuel Bayless. Hardly conclusive, but this is the frontier. Conclusive documentation is scant. There are also no records suggesting any other Hampton family lived in the area at the time Rachel, Elizabeth and Sarah Hampton were born. 

Rachel Hampton Mulkey lived near Jesse Hampton, a son of Robert Hampton. Rachel and Isaac Mulkey named one of their own sons Robert Hampton Mulkey. Their children served as witnesses on documents relating to the family of Robert Hampton, another son of Robert. They were members of the same church. 

A few years ago, after spending days pouring through the last boxes of documents from the era at the Archives of Appalachia and finding nothing naming Isaac or Rachel Mulkey and Robert Hampton I declared my reasonably exhaustive search complete. While I can build a convincing case, there were enough holes that I did not feel I could declare Rachel's parentage solved to my own satisfaction. 

Ancestry tree showing DNA matches to family of Robert Hampton. Rachel, as my direct line, is shown with green arrows. 

Enter DNA. I was thrilled when my maternal aunt (Rachel's 3rd great-granddaughter) matched a descendant of Elizabeth Hampton Edwards. And thrilled again when she or I matched three different Robert Hampton, Jr. descendants. And yet... The match to Elizabeth did not prove their parentage, only their kinship. One of the matches to Robert Jr. also shared other lines, so I could not be certain all of them supported the Hampton kinship. This week I found a match to a descendant of Robert's son John Hampton. That makes matches to three different documented children of Robert Hampton. The aggregate data persuaded me. I am waving the victory flag. 

Now who were Robert Hampton's parents? Who was his wife, Mary? 

Goldene Fillers Burgner, Washington County, Tennessee Wills 1777-1872 (Southern Historical Press, 1983, Easley, SC), p. 6. 

Washington County Inventories of Estates, Vol. OO, 1779-1821(WPA records), p. 113-122. Samuel Culbertson's Estate May Sessions 1799

  

Blog Caroling 2016

One of the women I admire most in the world has requested Christmas carols. She is one I joyfully obey!

So, dear fM, here is one of my favorite, favorite carols. One I heard constantly as a child and hear still today. I never tire of Harry Belafonte's voice. Nor of his version of Mary's Boy Child. Written by Jester Hairston in 1956 (a REALLY good year) it topped the charts the next year when Belafonte recorded it. It still tops mine.
#BlogCaroling2016 #fMRules#MerryChristmas

Long time ago in Bethlehem
So the Holy Bible say
Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ
Was born on Christmas day.

Hark, now hear the angels sing
A new King born today
And man will live forever more
Because of Christmas day.

While shepherds watched their flock by night
And see a bright new shining star
And hear a choir sing
The music seem to come from afar.

Now Joseph and his wife Mary
Come to Bethlehem that night
And find no place to borne she child
Not a single room was in sight.

Hark, now hear the angels sing
A new King born today
And man will live forever more
Because of Christmas day.

By and by they find a little nook
In a stable all forlorn
And in a manger cold and dark
Mary's little boy was born.

Hark, now hear the angels sing
A new King born today
And man will live forever more
Because of Christmas day.

Catholic Burial Records in Frederick, Maryland

This once in every 20th blue moon post is inspired by a superb book I was given during a recent trip to Frederick, Maryland. My Catholic in-laws have lived in Frederick for centuries. And been buried there. I regularly visit their graves at St. John's Cemetery when I am back for a visit. And wonder. For many of the Smith and Jamison kinfolk there died decades before the cemetery was created. The skeptic in me has questioned whether the markers were memorial stones or actually marked their graves.

A dedicated group from St. John's and the Frederick County Historical Society answered this and several other questions tumbling about in the back of my mind in the book Burial Records St. John the Evangelist Church Frederick, Maryland From 1779 Through December 31, 2000. It turns out the Smiths and other early Frederick settlers were moved from their original graves at the Jesuit Novitiate graveyard when the Jesuits left Frederick in the early 20th century. Which FINALLY explains how Leonard Smith, who died in 1794 is buried in a cemetery that opened in 1845. 

The book is drawn from church records recording deaths rather than actual burial records. As such, it includes people who were buried from St. John's but not at St. John's. It also includes at least two men not yet buried - my father-in-law and uncle, whose ashes await their very strong and long-lived wives. Long may they wait. 

The book costs $25 and is available privately. I, of course, no longer have the name of the gentleman selling the book (you can find it on the board near the entrance to the cemetery) but contacting the church or historical society bookstore should yield contact information. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Frank Popp (1889-1966)

Frank Popp was another of my grandfather's cousins who emigrated to the United States. He was a storied cousin to my father and his siblings, living a glamorous life in Los Angeles and sending photographs to them of beaches and Rose Bowl parades.

Several years ago I was fortunate to be able to talk to Frank's daughter and get some information about his life beyond the pictures. After our conversation she sent me this photo of her parents and brother taken sometime after his birth in 1913.

His daughter knew very little about his life or family in Europe. He was born Ferencj Pap, in a Carpathian mountain village, either Drahova or Berezovo (now in Ukraine). She thought he was about 20 years old when he came to America. She thought he came through Ellis Island and then went to the mines in Pennsylvania. He may have gone to stay with another cousin, Joe Popp. Her mother, Mary Burjosky, came with her family as a child. They settled in Wyoming. 

Frank left the mines as soon as he could and went to Chicago where his cousin and my great-aunt, Mary Popp Hricak was living. He learned to barber there, then left to work near, but not in the mines. He went to Wyoming where he met and married his wife, and then to Washington State where his son was born in 1913. By 1917 they had moved to Miami, Arizona (another mining community) where their two daughters were born. By 1920 they had moved to Hollywood, where Frank bought a barber shop on Hollywood Boulevard and even cut a few movie stars' hair. 

Frank lived the rest of his life in California. He died there in 1966. I don't believe he ever came to New York, but he did visit the Hricaks in Chicago. My aunt and uncle met him as adults when they were in California. 

I don't actually know how Frank and my grandfather are related. They were clearly close, but whether they were first cousins is open for discussion and further research. The documentation I have found supports the information his daughter shared (with the exception of the 1930 census which lists his son's birthplace as the District of Columbia, rather than Washington State). I have yet to find immigration documents that I can absolutely assign to Frank. He was not the only Ferencj Pap leaving those mountains at the turn of the century. 

Written for Amy Johnson Crow's blogger challenge 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.


Photo Source
Frank Popp family portrait, c. 1914; digital image, privately held by Susan Popp Clark, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE,] St. Louis, MO. 2006. 

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: John Popp (1886-1959)

My grandfather, Stephen Popp (Stefan Papp) was part of the tide of Austro-Hungarian immigrants that came to United States in the early 20th century. Like many others, he followed his family and neighbors. In addition to his siblings, three of his Popp cousins came to America from two small villages at the eastern edges of the Empire.

I grew up in Connecticut near the family of one of the cousins, John Popp. John died when I was a toddler, but I knew his widow and son's family. John had a certain stature in the family stories. He was dearly loved, a successful business man in Bridgeport, owned a car (this was a big deal), and was active in the immigrant church and cultural societies in the United States. He and his wife even hosted my aunt and uncle on their honeymoon in 1947, providing a sleeper sofa in the living room for the newlyweds. My aunt made it clear that they stayed a few days, then headed off to someplace more private for a traditional honeymoon. The notices that appeared in The Bridgeport Post following John's death don't mention the car or honeymoon hosting, but they more than illustrate his stature in the community.

JOHN POPP, 72, DIES; EX-HEAD OF SOKOLS
EASTON, Sept. 14 -- Services will take place Thursday for John Popp, 72, of 10 Palmer place, former operator of a liquor store on Arctic street, Bridgeport, who died yesterday in his home.
The will be conducted at 8:30 a.m. in the Adzima funeral home, 591 Arctic stret [sic], Bridgeport, and at 9 o'clock in St. John the Baptist church, Mill Hill avenue. Burial will be in St. John's cemetery, Stratford. Panahedeon services will be conducted at the funeral home tonight, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 o'clock.
Mr. Popp was past president of St. John the Baptist Carpatho Russian Greek Catholic church on Mill Hill avenue and supreme past president of the American Russian Sokols of the Greek Catholic Brotherhood, and a member of the Fathers' club, St. Basil's society and St. Nicholas' society.
A native of Czechoslovakia, Mr. Popp resided in Bridgeport many years before moving to Easton three years ago.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Elizabeth Wargo Popp; a son, George Popp, operator of the Appliance Center on Main street, four grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.

EASTON, Sept. 18 -- Services for John Popp, 72, of 10 Palmer place, were conducted yesterday in St. John the Baptist Carpatho-Russian Greek Cathoic church, Mill Hill avenue, Bridgeport. Burial was in St. John's cemetery, Stratford.
His Grace, Archbishop Benjamin, of Pittsburgh, officiated.
Celebrant of the Mass was the Rt. Rev. Andrew Slepecky, administrator of St. Clair, Pa.; co-celebrants, the Very Revs. John Kivko and Joseph G. Simko.
The Very Rev. Hrista Vasilescu, the Rev. John Shunda, the Rev. Victor F. George, the Rev. Alexander Kovachi, and the Very Rev. Stephen Antonuk were seated in the Sanctuary.
Father Simko assisted by Fathers Slepecky and Kivko, read the committal services.
Delegations from St. Basil's society, A.R.S. 3; St. Nicholas' society, and the Fathers club attended.
Bearers, all church officers, were Michael Tarasovich, Michael Hritz, Michael Soltis, Jr., Richard Kopchyak, Peter Liscinsky and George Komtos. 

John was born on 22 Dec 1886 in Drahovo, Maramoros, Austria-Hungary to Ivan Papp and his wife, Ilka Papp. Today Drahovo is in Ukraine. He came to the United States in 1903 with his mother. His father was working in Johnstown, PA, and paid for their passage. He had two surviving siblings who remained in Europe, Anna Papp and Stefan Papp. John's parents ultimately returned to Drahovo. While I cannot document the relationship between John and my grandfather, their children believed them to be first cousins through John's mother. If so, then Ilka Papp was a sister of my great-grandfather, Ivan Papp, and a daughter of Stefan Papp and Anna Stajko.

Written for Amy Johnson Crow's blogger challenge 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Sources

"John Popp, 72, Dies; Ex-Head of Sokols," The Bridgeport Post, 14 Sep 1959, p. 34, col. 8; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 22 Apr 2014), Newspapers & Publications. Cit. Date: 22 Apr 2014.  

"Obituary John Popp," The Bridgeport Post, 17 Sep 1059, p. 2, col. 9; digital images, Ancestry.com (accessed 22 Apr 2014), Newspapers & Publications. Cit. Date: 22 Apr 2014.  

"Ellis Island Ship Manifests," online images, EllisIsland.org (www.ellisisland.org : accessed 22 Apr 2014), manifest, S.S. Finland, 6 Oct 1903, Ilka Papp and Ivan Papp, lines 7 & 8. Cit. Date: 22 Apr 2014.