High... 100 years ago today, my Hungarian GreatGrandMother, Mary Bojtár-Boyter, (32 yrs) and 5 of her children, Sophia 13, Katherine 10, Julia 7, Alexander 4, and lil Mary 6 months, landed at Ellis Island after a long, rough sea voyage on the Gerty, from the port of Trieste. Her husband, Joseph had come over before her (arrived Sept. 20th 1904) to set up housekeeping and also helped to tell Mary how to live aboard the ship. The food provided by the ships company was horrible. She told of people who had not planned their trip well enough and did not have enough food to last the voyage. These poor souls sold their possessions for food. Joseph had told them not to wear any good clothing on the voyage, and to pin money under the clothing of every child so that they would not be sent back. She told of people not aloud to stay because they had bugs on their clothes and nothing clean to wear. They all seemed to do well except one daughter, who developed "spots", and the whole family was afraid that at least she or all of them would be sent back to their lil village of Újvidék in Budapest. They were lucky enough that the spots had disappeared by the time they sailed into New York Harbor. Mary always told that this was one of the most frightening experiences of her life. To this day, I can't imagine what it must have been like for her to leave her home, taking her 5 children, getting aboard a ship and sail steerage across the Atlantic to a country where she knew no one but her husband, and could not speak the language. We definately have to admire what a strong and courageous woman she must have been. THANK YOU MARY!!! I would also like to thank my mother's cousin, Miriam (Snookie) for her stories and information, and a HUGE thank you to the HUNGARY list at rootsweb for your help in bringing facts to these stories. Everyone on this list is so kind and helpful, I love you all!!! (And I'm sure I'm not done with you yet!!!) I've been hooked on genealogy for awhile now...I do it mostly for the challenge of the hunt and for the joy of finding something after hours of searching. I'm hoping after I'm gone somebody in my family will continue it, but if they don't that's okay, too. It was my hunt... Jeannie A. Gibbs, very PROUD descendant of Maria Bojtár, Owner/Manager of J & J Village Market and Gramma Jeannie to: Zach, Leah, Hannah, Camden, Madelyn, Ian, Mhallik, Maliyah, Ryley & Danny!!! What is the worth of human life, unless it is woven into the life of our ancestors by the records of history???