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!

______________________________________________________________

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!

_____________________________________________________________________

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!