When the Records Are Hard To Find ~ Family Name Spelled So Many Ways

I was 29 years old, and pregnant with our 2nd child when I first heard the name Pellack. I was 49 before a DNA match confirmed my grandfather, known as Clyde Robertson, was Max Pellack.

In the years since I have been unable to trace the family back very far. They immigrated from Ukraine in 1909 to Saskatchewan, Canada. 

The name was spelled many different ways over the years making it hard to find all of the records that might be available.  Finding records in Ukraine was a difficult task before the Russian Invasion, and now it's next to impossible. 

I wonder how exactly the name was spelled in Ukraine, but in sounding out the various spellings the pronunciation can be heard. 

Alexander & Mary (nee Maximiw) Pellack - my Great Grandparents

The family name eventually was spelled PELLACK, but over the years it was spelled many different ways. 

On the ship's manifest from the trip to Canada in 1909 the name was spelled PELECH

In the 1911 (their first in Canada) &  the 1916 census the name is spelled PELICK

In the 1926 census the name was spelled PELYCK.

BUT I also found my grandfather enumerated separately (he was also at home with his parents), and the name was spelled PELLACH.

On the homestead records  the name was spelled PELYCK

On the Cummins map the name was spelled PALACK

Trying to find the records when the spelling of the family name keeps changing!!!

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***

Sources:

Library & Archives Canada, Immigration, Passenger Lists, Page 16, Retrieved March 6th 2020 from
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/immigration/immigration-records/passenger-lists/passenger-lists-1865-1922/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=5121&fbclid=IwAR0bFKIO58BlaeooRHtWlgBb6yrB7Ii6RlXBMf3dzADF_YdBLfITZJzNJtw

Our Courageous Pioneers : History of Gronlid and Surrounding Districts of Argus, Athol, Edenbridge, Freedom, Maryville, Murphy Creek, Sandhill Creek, Taelman, Taras, Teddington,." (Melfort Saskatchewan: Phillips Publishers , 1991),

Pellack family, 1916, 1921, 1926 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. 

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Homestead Documents, received 2017

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Cummins Map

Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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!

______________________________________________________________

Twins ~ Clara & Lena Pellack

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: 2020 Week 28 (MULTIPLE)

I have always been fascinated by multiple births. When I was young I had friends who were mirror twins. One was left handed, and the other right handed. One had her hair parted on the right, and the other parted on the left. They had the cutest cheek dimples - one on the left and the other on the right. I don't know if they found it creepy that I was fascinated by their appearance &  how they moved that I stared intently at them while we played. On the playground watching them doubles skip perfectly synchronized I wished my future children would be twins or triplets or quadruplets of quintuplets....they would be so darn cute.


I was a smidge disappointed when our first child arrived as a single. My disappointment changed to gratitude when he developed colic. I have always been blessed to receive what I need - not necessarily what I want. I can't imagine looking after 2, 3 or more colicky babies at once. 


I found 6 sets of twins in our Bramble Bush. No triplets or quadruplets, or quintuplets..... 


I am pretty sure I have added more multiple births in my tree, but I just can't find them. It's only been recently that I have begun identifying multiples with a suffix (ie twin 1, twin 2) in family tree entries which allows for easy searching.


The twins I write about for this blog are my great aunts:
Clara and Lena Pellack.
They were born about 1914 as evidenced by this census record:

1916 Canadian Prairie Census, source: Library and Archives Canada
clickable link to the full document in sources below

Family members listed are Alexander, Marry, Harry, Stephania (Esther), Max (my grandfather), John, Annie, Lena, Clara.


 The twins were not in the 1921 census:

1921 Canadian Census, source: Library and Archives Canada
clickable link to the full document in sources below

Family members listed are Alex, Mary, Harry, Esther (Stephania), Max (my grandfather), John, Mike.


Something happened to the twins (Lena & Clara) between 1916 and 1921.


I wondered if they had died in the Spanish Influenza Epidemic 1918-1919. 

I wondered if they were buried on the homestead. 

I found no record of their birth, but none of the children born on the homestead had their births registered. Mike and John appear to have registered their own births as adults. 

The lack of birth registration made if fairly easy for my grandfather to recreate himself as an entirely different person. 

A cousin theorizes Clara and Lena were not the children of Alexander and Mary - that they may have been neighbour children who happened to be there on the day the census was taken. 

They are listed as daughters, but the census records have been known to be wrong. Take a closer look at Max in the 1921 record above - my grandfather is listed as female and a daughter.  

If I ever get a chance to walk the old homestead I would keep my eyes down searching for a spot where my two great aunts might be buried.


Remembering this set of multiples who I believe are my aunts.

Clara Pelleck
BIRTH ABT. 1914 • homestead, SW, Section: 1, Township: 48, Range: 17, Meridian: W2, Gronlid, Saskatchewan, Canada
DEATH BEF 1921 • Not in 1921 census with family, but there for the 1916 census

Lena Pellack
BIRTH ABT. 1914 • homestead, SW, Section: 1, Township: 48, Range: 17, Meridian: W2, Gronlid, Saskatchewan, Canada
DEATH BEF 1921 • Not in 1921 census with family, but there for the 1916 census.




Remembering those who left their mark on the generations to come even when passing too young to leave a mark on the world!







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***









Sources:

1916 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from 
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1916/Pages/1916.aspx

1921 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from 
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1921/Pages/search.aspx

Pellack family, 1916 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from
https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1916&op=&img&id=31228_4363971-00315

Pellack family, 1921 Census records, Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved July 10th 2020 from
https://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.item/?app=Census1921&op=img&id=e003219191





Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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!

___________________________________________________________

On a Virtual Walk - Visiting the Old Homestead

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 39 (MAP IT OUT)


I sent away for the homestead grant information for my great grandfather, Alexander Pellack. When the envelope arrived from the Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan I was very excited to see what had been sent.


My grandfather claimed to have been born in San Francisco. He was born in Gronlid, Saskatchewan, Canada. A small town in the northern part of Sasksatchewan. His parents arrived from Ukraine (part of the Austrian Empire at the time) in 1909 with their three oldest children. My grandfather was the first born in Canada. He was born on the homestead that would eventually be the family farm. I can find no records of grandpa's birth being registered. His younger brother registered his own birth as an adult. Having never been registered it would have been easy for Grandpa to choose a new name for himself as he did.

I had previously found these two maps and record at the Library & Archives website.. 

Name:

• Alexr Pelyck

Part:

SW

Section:

1

Township:

48

Range:

17

Meridian:

W2

Folio:

38

Liber:

633

Microfilm Reel Number:

C-6439

Item Number:

87918

I opened the envelope to find a Cummins map noting the homestead plots with the associated name. This is a very small piece of the 4 page map.

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Cummins Map

Also included was all of the pages of the complete Homestead Grant file. I noticed that my great grandfather did not sign the document. His mark was recorded. I now understood how the name Pellack ended up spelled in so many different ways: Pellack, Pelyck, Pelack, Pelec, Pelyk, 

His mark, Alexander Pelyck (Pellack) 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

I loved seeing the farm grow

Pellack Family Farm is growing 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

On October 9th 1914 my great grandparents became landowners having met all the requirements of the homesteading terms.

Pellack Family Homestead 
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan,

I tried to use Google Maps for a street view of the farm my grandfather had grown up on, but was not successful.   


I took a look to see where I might be staying if my virtual visit was real.

I then went looking for the church my grandfather attended as a child. The Ukrainian Catholic parish of St. Michael at Gronlid. His father wasn't included in the original church planning names, but his uncle was. Many of the names included are found throughout this part of my family tree. The original settlers began arriving in 1908, and by 1919 decided that a local church was needed. They began the planning and financing, and 

"By April 18, 1919 the framing was completed. On Palm Sunday
of that year the parishioners, without a priest, were directed by
Tymko Bodnarchuk and John Buriock in their first holy
service in the church. Subsequently, they met every Sunday
and on holy days for prayer services, hymns and Molebni.
There were very few priests in this area and they visited
the parish once or twice a year" 1

Using Google's Street View I decided to walk the streets of Gronlid, Saskatchewan finding:

The SALOON 

The FIRE HALL

The COMMUNITY HALL

I then took a walk down a rural road, and imagined my grandpa growing up on a farm that looked a lot like this one

Presumably not the family farm
I couldn't find the address using the homestead details
will need to visit in real life to see the family homestead

My first time visiting my grandpa's hometown via Google Street View!







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***





Related Previous Blogs:

Somehow Related Blog Spot,
First Things First - Going Back to the Beginning of My Genealogy Blog
https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/first-things-first.html

Somehow Related Blog Spot

Treasures from the Library - Interlibrary Loans

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/01/treasures-from-library-interlibrary.html

Surprise -- I'm Ashkenazi Jewish

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/02/surprise-im-ashkenazi-jewish.html

Max Pellack ~ I'm Not a Diamond Heiress with a Tiny Flluuuffy Dog in a Sparkly Flllluuufffy Handbag!

somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/03/not-diamond-heiress-with-tiny-flluuuffy.html

Reposting ~ If I Were a Man, and Wore a Cowboy Hat

https://somehowrelated.blogspot.com/2019/06/reposting-if-i-were-man-and-wore-cowboy.html

Footnotes:

1 Church of St. Michael constructed 1949-1951 near Gronlid; R.M. 458. Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from

https://www.skeparchy.org/wordpress/about-us/parishes/gronlid-st-michael/



Sources:

Alexander Pellack, Homestead Record, Libraries & Archives Canada, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from
https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/land/land-grants-western-canada-1870-1930/Pages/item.aspx?IdNumber=87918&


Gronlid hotel, Google Maps, Retrieved September 16th 2019 from
https://www.google.ca/maps/place/Gronlid+Hotel/@53.1565402,-104.5444177,11z/data=!4m8!1m2!2m1!1shotel+near+Gronlid,+SK!3m4!1s0x0:0x9720b62a7a558922!8m2!3d53.1638578!4d-104.4314218?hl=en&authuser=0


Streetview, Gronlid, Google Maps, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from https://www.google.ca/maps/@53.1012373,-104.4652601,3a,75y,101.76h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1se4AErGQd1vairtOFANbXZA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3De4AErGQd1vairtOFANbXZA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D109.11898%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en&authuser=0

Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, Homestead Documents, received 2017

Church of St. Michael constructed 1949-1951 near Gronlid; R.M. 458. Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Saskatoon, Retrieved September 15th 2019 from
https://www.skeparchy.org/wordpress/about-us/parishes/gronlid-st-michael/





Links:

Amy Johnson Crow, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge
https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/

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!

_____________________________________________________________________