Category Archives: Figlar

Fearless Females Blog Post: March 4: Marriage Records

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March 4 — Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.

[Note: This post originally ran during the Fearless Females series in March 2010]

I have marriage records for both sets of grandparents.(I’m opting not to post those here). My father’s parents, John & Elizabeth (below) were married in Duquesne, (Allegheny County) PA in January 1915 in SS. Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Church. He was 21 and she was 18. I don’t have any stories but do have a photo (see below).


My mother’s parents, John & Veronica, were married on November 1,1924 in St. Nicholas Church in Barton, OH. Their wedding and reception lasted for three days. I wrote about their marriage in my book Three Slovak Women.


Copyright, 2013, Lisa A. Alzo

All Rights Reserved

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Fearless Females Blog Post: March 19: Surprising Fact

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March 19 — Have you discovered a surprising fact about one of your female ancestors? What was it and how did you learn it? How did you feel when you found out?

[Note: Portions of this post originally ran during the Fearless Females series in March 2010]


One of the more interesting facts I uncovered was my grandmother’s hospital stay upon arrival at Ellis Island in August 1922. I first learned about this from the story my mother told me over 20 years ago,when I first began researching my family’s history–that my grandmother was suspected to have tuberculosis (she did not–she suffered from asthma most of her life). I then saw a notation “hospital discharged” on the passenger list. Then, I found her listed on a “Record of Detained Aliens.”




Of course it’s a relief to know that my grandmother was eventually released. I can’t imagine how she handled that situation, or how she did not catch TB from being in the hospital ward!



Copyright, 2012, Lisa A. Alzo
All Rights Reserved
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Fearless Females Blog Post: March 15: Six-Word Memoir Tribute

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March 15 — Write a six-word memoir tribute to one of your female ancestors.


My entries below were first published on my Blog in 2008.

Anna Figlar Alzo (my mother): Generous heart. Wonderful cook. Dearly missed.

Verona Straka Figlar (maternal grandmother): Family devotion. Inner strength. My inspiration.

Elizabeth Fencak Alzo (paternal grandmother): Fine hair. Tough as nails. Enigma.




Copyright, 2012, Lisa A. Alzo
All Rights Reserved



















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Fearless Females Blog Post: March 9: Family Documents

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March 9 — Take a family document (baptismal certificate, passenger list, naturalization petition, etc.) and write a brief narrative using the information.


[Note: This post originally ran during the Fearless Females series in March 2010]

This is my grandmother’s baptismal certificate (1899, Lutina, Slovakia).


SOURCE: Greek Catholic Church, Lutina, Slovakia, Baptismal Record for Verona Straka, 11 November 1899; issued 1960.



and the passenger list showing her arrival at Ellis Island in New York in 1922.



SOURCE: Manifest, S.S. Orduna, 26 July 1922, List 2021 for Verona Straka (age 22).



Verona Straka was born on November 11, 1899 in Milpos, (Hungrary, later Slovakia) to Maria Verbovsky and Andrej Straka. She was the youngest of 13 children. On July 26, 1922, Verona, along with countless other immigrants, boarded the S.S. Orduna, which left the port of Hamburg, Germany for the United States. When she arrived at Ellis Island, NY on August 7, 1922, she was listed on the ship’s manifest as a “laborer” with $25 in pocket her pocket en route to her final destination—her sister’s house, in Duquesne, Pennsylvania.


Copyright, 2012, Lisa A. Alzo

All rights reserved

http://theaccidentalgenealogist.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Fearless Females Blog Post: March 6: Heirlooms

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March 6 — Describe an heirloom you may have inherited from a female ancestor (wedding ring or other jewelry, china, clothing, etc.) If you don’t have any, then write about a specific object you remember from your mother or grandmother, or aunt (a scarf, a hat, cooking utensil, furniture, etc.)


This is a trunk that my grandmother, Verona Straka Figlar, brought with her from Slovakia when she arrived in America in 1922.


In this trunk, my grandmother carried all of her worldly possessions: two or three dresses, a goose-feather quilt, a few family photographs, and her prayer book. I wonder how she managed this on such a long journey? If the trunk could talk, what stories would it reveal? It is a true family treasure.




Copyright, 2012, Lisa A. Alzo

All rights reserved


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Fearless Females Blog Post: March 4: Marriage Records

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March 4 — Do you have marriage records for your grandparents or great-grandparents? Write a post about where they were married and when. Any family stories about the wedding day? Post a photo too if you have one.


[Note: This post originally ran during the Fearless Females series in March 2010]


I have marriage records for both sets of grandparents.(I’m opting not to post those here). My father’s parents, John & Elizabeth (below) were married in Duquesne, (Allegheny County) PA in January 1915 in SS. Peter & Paul Byzantine Catholic Church. He was 21 and she was 18. I don’t have any stories but do have a photo (see below).



My mother’s parents, John & Veronica, were married on November 1,1924 in St. Nicholas Church in Barton, OH. Their wedding and reception lasted for three days. I wrote about their marriage in my book Three Slovak Women.



Copyright, 2012, Lisa A. Alzo

All Rights Reserved

http://theaccidentalgenealogist.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Ten Things I Learned at Our Family Reunion-2011 Edition

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On July 9, 2011 my mother’s family held it’s 44th annual reunion at South Park near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We hold these gatherings under the acronym ALAFFFA (this stands for Abbott, Lizanov, Alzo, Figlar, Figlar, Figlar, Augenstein). Each year we have a different theme for our reunion. This year’s theme was Mardis Gras.


Here are ten things I learned at my 2011 Family Reunion:

1. It takes teamwork and good advanced planning to make sure everything goes smoothly on the day, and yet the day comes and goes so quickly—I never get enough time to visit with all of my aunts, uncles, or cousins.


2. It’s amazing we’ve having this reunion faithfully for 44 years and that my generation is now in charge.


3. For those no longer with us: Grandma and Grandpap, Doug, Uncle John, Aunt Ann, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Toni, Uncle Joe. We miss you all very much. We know you are with us in spirit.


4. If anything goes wrong, it’s always “Eddie’s fault—Eddie!!!” (just teasing cousin, Ed).


5. You can plan organized activities and games, or have the latest toys or gadgets, but the kids seem to have the best time with good old fashioned fun: the sliding board and climbing apparatus, and anything that involves water (water balloons, squirt guns, etc.)


6. There has never been an event in my family where we ran out of food. We always have way too much (and plenty of leftovers)!


7. Even your closest relative will fight you for the last few homemade Lady Locks (small, cream filled puff pastries that melt in your mouth). My mother used to be the chief baker of these delights, but she passed the torch on to my Aunt Margie who makes them now that Mom has passed away.


8. There will always be a need to “Go for Ice” (inside joke in our family).


9. It’s not a real party unless “Aunt Fun” is there! And Uncle Mike always has the most creative t-shirt reflecting the theme.


10. My grandparents always stressed the importance of family and of being together. Yes, life moves on and the reunions evolve but one thing remains constant: We honor their memory by making the effort to gather each year.


Next year is our 45th reunion and we’ve already started making plans for a special reunion weekend celebration.


Photos by Lisa A. Alzo

Copyright, 2011, Lisa A. Alzo

All Rights Reserved

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Fearless Females: March 27: Immigration Story

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March 27 — Do you know the immigration story of one or more female ancestors? Do you have any passenger lists, passports, or other documentation? Interesting family stories?


[Note: This post originally ran during the Fearless Females series in March 2010]


The immigration story of my grandmother Verona was what prompted me to begin my genealogical research. She was the last of her siblings to immigrate to America, arriving at age 22 with her niece Mary, who was 16.



She was detained for several days at Ellis Island for medical reasons. I wrote about her experience in my March 19th “Fearless Females” post , “Have you discovered a surprising fact about one of your female ancestors? ” and posted an image of the ship’s manifest that documented she was detained.


Copyright, 2011, Lisa A. Alzo

All Rights Reserved


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Fearless Females: March 19: Surprising Fact

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March 19 — Have you discovered a surprising fact about one of your female ancestors? What was it and how did you learn it? How did you feel when you found out?

[Note: Portions of this post originally ran during the Fearless Females series in March 2010]


One of the more interesting facts I uncovered was my grandmother’s hospital stay upon arrival at Ellis Island in August 1922. I first learned about this from the story my mother told me over 20 years ago,when I first began researching my family’s history–that my grandmother was suspected to have tuberculosis (she did not–she suffered from asthma most of her life). I then saw a notation “hospital discharged” on the passenger list. Then, I found her listed on a “Record of Detained Aliens.”




Of course it’s a relief to know that my grandmother was eventually released. I can’t imagine how she handled that situation, or how she did not catch TB from being in the hospital ward!

http://theaccidentalgenealogist.blogspot.com/atom.xml

Fearless Females: March 15: Six-Word Tribute

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March 15 — Write a six-word memoir tribute to one of your female ancestors.


[Note: This post originally ran during the Fearless Females series in March 2010]

This exercise is based on the book, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure. My entries below were first published on my Blog in 2008.


Anna Figlar Alzo (my mother): Generous heart. Wonderful cook. Dearly missed.


Verona Straka Figlar (maternal grandmother): Family devotion. Inner strength. My inspiration.


Elizabeth Fenscak Alzo (paternal grandmother): Fine hair. Tough as nails. Enigma.



Copyright, 2011, Lisa A. Alzo
All Rights Reserved
http://theaccidentalgenealogist.blogspot.com/atom.xml