Nature VS Nurture ~ My 2 Dads (part 2 of 2)

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 20 (Nature)

This is part two of a two part series looking at NATURE VS NURTURE.  I worked in the field of social services, and studied Psychology. The topic of genetics vs learned has always fascinated me. Through no fault of my own I grew up with two fathers. Last week I focused on nurture - the stepfather who chose to be my dad. This week I am focusing on my birth father. Because my dad is still alive I won't be sharing in as much detail as I did in last week's blog. 

My parents separated when I was 8 years old, and I went from seeing a lot of my dad to only seeing him infrequently. My mom moved us to another province, and my dad was in the military so getting time off to visit with us was very difficult. Prior to the divorce dad sometimes went away for extended periods with the military, but when he was not away he was a hands-on dad. After a few years of only seeing dad for a month in the summer, and a week at Easter I moved in with him when I was a teenager, but moved back in with my mom and stepdad. In what became a 'parent hopping' situation I spent a school year with each parent until I graduated high school and moved out on my own. Dad and I are still close.

Dad, my brother, and I

My favourite memory was when I was 6 years old dad and I snuck out to see the Ice Capades. We had to sneak out because it was a special outing for me. Dad explained that my little brother was too little to go so we had to keep it a secret so he wouldn't be upset. I still remember being in awe as I watched Karen Magnussen skating. Dad bought me a mini pair of skates that attached to a pencil that I took to school the next day. I loved the outing and the souvenir. I was daddy's girl. 

Dad, my brother, and I 

I remember my mom telling me I was just like my dad, and I remember my dad telling me I was just like my mom. DNA doesn't lie. I am a blend of my mother and father in looks, temperament, and personality. My voice is similar enough to my cousin on my dad's side to have tricked her sister on the phone one day. I am the exact same height as my dad's mother was. I look quite a bit like my dad's paternal grandmother (now that I am getting older) which is very surprising since my dad didn't know she existed until I started searching. Nature/Biology is truly interesting when looking at what is inborn. 

Dad's paternal grandparents ~ Alexander & Mary (nee Maximiw) Pellack
Dad and I look quite a bit like his grandmother

Even though my dad wasn't there consistently for day to day I still share many of his mannerisms and traits. Some may have been learned from the years I lived with him, but many I was born with. My dad's early report card said he held his pencil too tight. One of my early report cards mentioned I held my pencil too tight. Did Dad teach me to hold my pencil?  Or do we naturally have a tight pencil grip? I still have a callus from those early years of pencil holding. We also share food preferences. We both love soup, sandwiches, chocolate, lemon meringue pie, and traditional foods. I have developed a taste for spicy and ethnic foods as an adult, but it was definitely a learned like. I have the exact same shaped eyes as dad, but my colour is the same shade as his sister's (a light green/blue colour). The colour is oddly dominant since my husband has brown eyes, and both our sons have the same shade as I do. It appears as though the light green blue shade is a common eye colour in the Ukrainian community. There is no one is my mother's side of the family with the same colour I have. 

 

Dad, my brother, and I 

When considering NATURE VS NURTURE it is often difficult to tease apart what is biology and what is environment.

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of this blog post***

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My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

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Please & Thank you!

Treasures from the Library - Interlibrary Loans

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 5 (At the Library)


After finding out that my grandfather was not Clyde Robertson as the family had believed I set out to figure out who he was. When I discovered he was Max Pellack born in Northern Saskatchewan I set out to find out what I could about the area my family came from. 

I was told that he was born on the homestead in Gronlid, Saskatchewan the year after his parents immigrated to Canada with their three older children. They arrived by ship from Skoryky (Скорики), Ternopil's'ka, Ukraine. Using Library & Archives Canada I was able to view a copy of the ship's manifest. Armed with a few spelling variation for the names and dates I began searching for more information about the Pellack family & the community of Gronlid.

I found that there was a history book that was written in 1991 titled OUR COURAGEOUS PIONEERS, History of Gronlid and Surrounding Districts of: Argus, Athol, Edenbridge, Freedom, Maryille, Murphy Creek, Sandhill Creek, Taelman, Teras, Teddington that was not available to purchase or borrow anywhere that I could find. I emailed the Gronlid library to ask if there was any way that I could borrow their copy of the book. I explained that I didn't know anything about my Gronlid family because my grandfather had changed his name and left them behind, but I understood there was some information about my great grandparents in the book. The librarian replied that there was no way for me to borrow the book, but she transcribed the page about my grandparents that included information about my grandfather and his siblings.

This little bit of info about my probable family left me hungry for more. I sent an email to the Interlibrary loan department of my library explaining that the book seemed to not be available via any source, but maybe she could work her magic for me. 

About a month later I was notified that she had managed to find a way to borrow it for me, but there might be a fee. I was willing to pay the fee so she went ahead with the order. When it arrived there was no charge. The book was leather bound, 11 inches by 9 inches, and 2.5 inches thick. It was full of detailed listings about families and their people.  I had never been so excited to take a book home from the library before. This was one beautiful book. I opened the book right there in the library to the page about my grandparents, and discovered the librarian had scribed word for word for me what was there. What she hadn't told me was there was a photo. This was the first time I had ever seen my great grandparents. 

Mary (nee Maximiw) and Alexander Pellack

As I looked at the photo of my great grandparents I realized that my dad sort of looked like his grandmother, and that I shared some features as well. My uncle looked so much like his grandfather. I was still uncertain that Clyde Robertson really was Max Pellack even with the similarities.

I only had the book for 2 weeks because it was a library book that had to go back to the Gronlid public library.  I pored over the details making copious notes. Still uncertain these were my relatives. How could I ever be sure? I scanned a few pages feeling uncertain that I wanted to store information about people that might not even be my relatives. 

On an interesting side note I found my husband's coworker and his family listed in the book. We were both surprised to discover our people had been neighbours. They may have even been connected socially. There is so much I will never know about my family of origin.

It was a couple of years later when my Ancestry DNA results confirmed that Clyde Robertson really was Max Pellack.  And a couple of years after that I received a copy of the book OUR COURAGEOUS PIONEERS, HISTORY OF GRONLID.... as a present from my new found cousins.  

I spend a lot of time going over the details in the book now that I know for certain these were my relatives. There was much I missed when I had it for that two week loan period. 

I will be eternally grateful to the Gronlid public library for loaning it to me through my local library's interlibrary loan department. The first glimpse of my great grandparents, great aunt, great uncle, and cousins was an amazing experience for me. 

This is why I search - 

Cause ... 

You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your family you know!

***Any errors are my own. Please send me any updates or corrections via the comments at the bottom of to the blog post***

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!

I'm back -- news from the past two years

My last post was December 26th 2014. In the past 2 years much has changed, and yet much has stayed the same.

This past September Ancestry DNA confirmed that my grandfather Clyde Robertson really was Max Pellack. A year earlier  my Ancestry DNA results were completed, and I logged onto the site with excitement to finally find out who I really was.

I had confirmation of one person on my paternal maternal line. Since this was the only line that I actually knew anything about I was not delighted with the results. About 6 months later I convinced my dad to let me complete his DNA for my Ancestry account. Hopes dashed again when the same single relative matched. Now I had about 300 folks that I, or my dad, shared DNA with and absolutely no way to figure out how. About 6 months after that one new shared tree notification arrived for both my dad and I. He was the great grandson of my grandfather's uncle. The mystery of who Clyde Robertson was is now solved.

He was Max Pellack. DNA doesn't lie.

Those missing 10 years still exist. How he became Clyde Robertson still a mystery. I have found the family's arrival to Canada via Quebec on a ship's manifest in 1909 leaving the Port of Bremen. Where they were before that? Still searching for records that connect the Pellack/Pelyck family to the village of Skoryky, Скорики, Ternopil's'ka Oblast, Ukraine . I'm 12% European Jewish and my dad 27% according to our Ancestry DNA results. Ukrainian?  Austrian?  Jewish?

Still looking for Alexander & Mary (nee Maximiw) Pellack - the roots of my current Bramble Bush!!!

If you reference or use my blog posts in any way please

include a link to the specific blog and

credit http://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/

My blogs are ©Deborah Buchner, 2014 forward.

All rights reserved.

Please & Thank you!