Mlynek / Melenek Family 2002 Mail
Mlynek, Melenek and Uher Families
We are seeking descendants and relatives of the following surnames: Mlynek, Melenek and Uher.
*SEE Correspondence on this Family. Please contribute by email: contact
Dennis Chadra at
artlover@chadra.com
Correspondence 2002
MESSAGE:
July 23, 2002"Dennis, Thanks for the update. Rick doesn't go back to Paris until August 14th so I'm going to try and sit down with him again. I don't think he reads polish.
My husband thought the baptism certificates where in Latin and Rick thought it was Polish. I have a lot of phone calls to make. Keep you posted." Carrie Gamrat (nee. Mylenek)
MESSAGE:
July 22, 2002"Dennis, Well that was uneventful. No one has any pictures, but they will still look...... I guess when Andrew died so young the rest of the family was mad at my grandmother. Also, Joseph's one daughter said she thought the lady standing behind the lady with your dad looked more like Mary than the lady holding the baby. She said she was young so was not sure. My Aunt Shirley does remember going to Scarbro to see Mary. Joseph's kids did get to see Mary when they were younger.
Also, My Cousin Rick that lives in Paris said that Michalkovice is not to far from him. Is there another town that you can think of besides Alwernia that might be of help or a name of a church? Did we ever figure out who My GGrandfather's god father was. It had to be an uncle or something with the same name. Also, on Andrew's Baptism Cert. can you figure out what his middle name say's? His daughter threw a fit because she said in name was Andrew Raymond and everyone called him Ray. She was not much help to me. Have to keep digging. Need to try James Leon's kids.": Thanks Again , Carrie Gamrat (nee. Mylenek)
REPLY:
"Carrie, Sorry to hear that you are having difficulty in getting help from some relatives. I also have experienced the same thing. My aunts on my mother's side (Adamczyk) have photos and documents but won't let me see them. So, I have pretty much counted on only a few relatives that are interested and the rest is pure detective work on public documents.
As I have mentioned, I have accumulated a lot of things that I haven't had a chance to review closely yet because each new document or photo sometimes leads to more avenues of pursuit. It would be great if you could locate a photo of both Mary and John Mlynek so we could compare and confirm the identities in that christening photo.
Can your cousin Rick in Paris help us out by visiting Michalkovice, Czech Republic and Alwernia, Poland to search the Church and Public records? Does he speak or write in Polish or Czech? I would really like to nail down if the Mlynek family was originally based in either location. The two documents that I emailed to you that of my father's birth certificate and the Christening document indicates they were generated at one of the two catholic churches in Michalkovice. Both my father's birth certificate and christening document shows that my grandmother Florentyna was from Alwernia, Poland which is directly in a line between Krakow and Michalkovice. And since Alwernia is just west of Krakow I am certain that the family would have traveled there many times in the late 1800's so there may be some clues there.
Andrew's church baptismal record indicates his middle name was John because it is written the same as his father's (John) name. Andrew's and Geraldine's baptismal records indicate that their godfather was a Andrew Mlynek. I just wonder if John and Florentyna had a brother named Andrew visiting or living there in 1907 through 1913? It had to be an adult to be a godfather. The copies of the baptismal entries that I photocopied were only from a small part of the records at the church. I found them because I was looking for the Hadra / Chadra family and I was under a time restraint. Also, there must be a whole lot more at the Fayette county courthouse. I need to go back there and spend 2-3 days searching again now that I know more. It is very time consuming but very fascinating to me.
I don't have anything regarding your ggrandfather's godfather. I guess it is up both of us to continue to try to unravel the mysteries." Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com
MESSAGE:
July 4, 2002"Dennis, You're right it is very overwhelming. In the beginning my husband said I spent to much time on it. It's hard when you don't get answers from the older relatives, but it's hard to believe that I couldn't find anything on Mlynek's, It's like they fell off the face of the earth. I don't have much documentation. Most of it is on James Leon, Joseph and Andrew. I will get copies to you as soon as possible.
My version of Family Tree Maker is 9.0. The only thing we don't have right now is a scanner. I know my husband wants to get one. The only picture I have is of Andrew from the 40's. There is still family I have not contacted. Mary is the one that I can't find info on. It's annoying.
My cousin Chester Plewa I was this year (for the first time) he had some stories, and I am still waiting for more info from him. He said he did meet Mary once when they had went to California. He also said the girl's and boys did not get along and the only one they really kept in contact with was Geri. I don't know where the date of 1843 came from. It was on a family Tree I did in grade school. I probably had people that are no longer around helping me. We will be gone next week so when I come back I will get the copies to you.
This is so exciting to finally find information that you thought you would never find." Carrie Gamrat (nee. Mylenek)
MESSAGE:
July 4, 2002"Carrie Gamrat (nee. Mylenek), I started the Hadra / Chadra and Mlynek family history / genealogy about two and a half years ago. I have been collecting and scanning copies of family album photos and any documents available from my cousins. I have made two trips to Fayette County and Raleigh County in WV in the past two years. I visited the old SS Peter & Paul church and two other Roman Catholic churches and found records of the Hadra and Mlynek families. I visited the county courthouses and looked through the record books and copied records. I also took digital photos of the areas. I visited the WV state capitol historical library and found John and James Mlynek's Declarations of Intent.
Last year I and my cousin Joe Babat (son of Emily Chadra) attended the Scarbro, WV reunion. People I met there knew Geri Mlynek and one man said that he used to date her and that she had lived in Scarbro. They gave me a name of a Mlynek descendent / relative that moved to Florida so I called and left a detailed message. They never returned my call so when I received your email I just couldn't believe my luck in finally finding the "lost" Mlynek family.
Your family tree really answered a lot of questions I had, but also created many more. Have you any old photos of John and Mary or their children? You mentioned the birth year of Johann Mlynek as 1843. Do you have a document supporting this? I would like to know what documents and photos you have available to you. Do you have a PC, scanner, CD-Rom and Microsoft Word? I can create a CD-Rom for you with all the documents and photos I have scanned.
I have the Family Tree Maker program version 9.0 But have not updated the newer information I have collected because it can become overwhelming at times. What I do have is a very rough draft of the family history / genealogy in Microsoft Word and can email a copy to you today. I am just accumulating the information and entering it in then when I get time I plan on creating somewhat of a narrative and maybe a book." Dennis Chadra artlover@chadra.com
MESSAGE:
July 2, 2002
"Dennis, My name is Carrie Gamrat (nee. Mylenek). I found your web site last month and was not sure if your John and Mary Mlynek were my Great Grandparent's. However, I just found the message you posted on Rootsweb message board and yes they are my Great Grandparent's. Andrew Mlynek was my Grandfather who died in 1944.
The boys changed there name to Mylenek around 1931. Some of the dates on your list are slightly different and the names are different than what I have. They all seam to have changed their names, especially the girls. I started doing this in December. My father passed away in June of 2001 and my cousin volunteered me to do this.
We have a problem getting some information from the older relatives. You seem to have more info than I do on the SS Peter and Paul Church. We have not figured out in John and Mary had changed there last name to Mylenek. The Boy's moved to Michigan sometime in the late 20's and the girls were scattered. I do know that Mary and John both died in West Virginia and are buried there I believe the cemetery is called Oak Hill, the tomb stone would tell us if they had changed their name. Mary died on 11-8-1954 and John on 12-19-1936. None of the children are still living.
You have to last girl as Yriam who is our Aunt Geri, She died in 1991 and was the only one that I know of to stay in West Virginia. Her second husband was a Uher which I was told was a distant cousin. I believe she is probably buried in Beckley or some where around there. Some of the info I have gotten was from Josephine Plewa's son. He lives in Nebraska.
You also have Anilam Mlynek who is our Aunt Nellie she did move to Michigan and was married to Albert Moore. I have lots more to share. I also have our family tree I have been working on which I will send to you soon.
I am going to copy Josephine's son and my cousin who is Joseph's grandson. I have finally figured out that John did have siblings, your grandmother Florentyna. I wonder if there were anymore? Also, I found that John came over on 12-20-1906 with John ( who died in 1912 in coalmines) and Leon (James Leon). Then Mary come over May 2, 1907 with Mary, Josephine, Joseph, Stephanie (Ethel) and was pregnant with my Grandfather Andrew. Who was born July 29, 1907. I could go on and on.
You have made my whole day. Hope to hear from you soon." Thanks Again, Carrie Gamrat (nee. Mylenek) gamrat1991@earthlink.net
REPLY:
Hi Carrie, Wow! I thought that the Mlynek relatives were lost forever. You have made my day! I have much more to share with you, photos, documents, etc. I have to go to work now but will email later. Your Cousin, Dennis Chadra
artlover@chadra.com
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Mlynek / Melenek Family in Scarbro,WV 1906-1912
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