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An Intriguing Immigration Theory for Joseph Becker

I've been asking the question, "What could have drawn my great-great-great-grandfather Joseph Becker and his family to Port Dalhousie from Sheldon, New York?" I heard back from one Ontario repository that I had inquired with regarding my question.  The Mayholme Foundation staff answered me this week with a simple answer and an interesting theory. The short answer was "employment opportunities." The theory involved a man named Owen McMahon.  Mayholme staff noticed that McMahon lived two doors down from my Joseph Becker in the first Canadian census in which he appears in 1871 in Port Dalhousie. The staff reported that this was significant as apparently Owen McMahon was known to have advertised to bring workers to Port Dalhousie to work in the various businesses in this growing port city. I found that McMahon was named one of the first city councillors in Port Dalhousie when it was incorporated in 1862 . Perhaps McMahon was facilitating immigration to the area in
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GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021 - Double Wedding


GENEALOGY CHALLENGE 2021

Double Wedding -  January 30th entry of a 31-day challenge to post a document, photo or artifact on social media every day in January.  

by Nancy Gilbride Casey

 

My Slovak great grandparents, John Simonik and Anna Tatar, married in 1901 while still living in their hometown of Forbasy, Slovakia. 

A fellow researcher, who has done extensive extractions of microfilmed Forbasy civil and church records, was kind enough to send me an image of John and Anna's marriage record from these microfilms. Imagine my surprise when I noticed that John and Anna were married on the same day as John's younger brother Laurence!

The image below is a detail of the #3 entry on the left side of the church register, which shows that on 13 November 1901, Joannes Szimonik, age 28, the son of Stephen Szimonik and Catharina Skapura, married Anna Tatar, daughter of Michael Tatar and Maria Haneczak. 

Directly bellow, on #4, Laurentius Szimonik, age 24, son of Stephen Szimonik and Catharina Skapura, married Catharina Haneczak, daughter of Joseph Haneczak and Anna Dubjel.


Left side of register, showing the marriages of Joannes Szimonik (John Simonik) and Anna Tatar, above that of his brother Laurentius Szimonik and Catharina Haneczak.


Right side of register, showing the brides' addresses in Forbasz (Forbasy), witnesses and minister.

John and Anna Simonik emigrated to the United States shortly after their marriage began, settling first in Westmoreland County, and later in Fayette County, in Western Pennsylvania, where John worked in the mines.

Lawrence and Catharine also emigrated, in 1905-06, but moved to the eastern part of Pennsylvania, settling in Fell Township in Lackawanna County. They later moved to Throop, close to Scranton—ironically, to work in the same mining industry which drew my paternal Gilbride ancestors to the area in the mid-1800s.

The double wedding must have been an amazing event in the lives of the Simonik, Tatar and Haneczak families, whose lines intertwined for years. It was a fun discovery to see it on paper.

 

NEXT UP: Wrap Up

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