My sister-in-law has a picture of her Slovak/Czech/Hungarian great grandparents. Two woman and a man are wearing a regional costume. Would there be anyone who could identify the area they were from by the dress? Both men and woman have white shirts with long, very full sleeves and are wearing dark colored vests. The women have scarves (babushkas) on their heads. The picture has the name of a photographer in Lwow but there is no family history of being Ukranian. I searched the web for pictures of regional dress but couldn't find much for Slovakia although I found a nice page for the Ukraine. Donna

IT IS LIKELY, HOWEVER, THAT THE AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION MAY PUT THE ACCENT ON THE SECOND SYLLABLE, WHERE IN SLOVAK IT WAS PROBABLY ON THE FIRST. I BELIEVE IN CZECH THE ACCENT IS ALWAYS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE, BUT DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS ALSO THE CONVENTION IN SLOVAK. I'm not sure of the normal protocol, but my Slovak family name, Kolesar, is pronounced here in the US with the accent on the first syllable. In Slovakia, the relatives pronounce the accent on the second syllable. Just the opposite of your experience. Lorrie

HI, LINDA. > > >Hello. I am researching the name Kochalka. My grandfather was from > >Malatina, Slovakia. The spelling was originally Kocalka (with an accent > >mark over the c giving it a ch sound). The spelling was changed to > >Kochalka upon coming to America. THIS IS A LOGICAL OUTCOME. THE "H" WAS ADDED SO THAT THE AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION WOULD BE THE SAME AS IN SLOVAK. IT IS LIKELY, HOWEVER, THAT THE AMERICAN PRONUNCIATION MAY PUT THE ACCENT ON THE SECOND SYLLABLE, WHERE IN SLOVAK IT WAS PROBABLY ON THE FIRST. I BELIEVE IN CZECH THE ACCENT IS ALWAYS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE, BUT DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS ALSO THE CONVENTION IN SLOVAK. > >I am looking through film from a Roman Catholic Church in Malatina. The > >writing is in Hungarian & Latin. I have found my Kocalka's but the > >spelling is now Kocsalka. Would that be the original spelling? PROBABLY NOT. THE WRITER WAS PROBABLY WRITING IN HUNGARIAN TO PLEASE THE HUNGARIAN ADMINISTRATION, SO, SIMILARLY TO THE AMERICAN CHANGE, THE HUNGARIAN CHANGE WOULD BE TO ADD THE "S" TO GET THE "CH" SOUND. > Or does it > >have to do with being written in Hungarian or Latin? YES, HUNGARIAN. > > > >Any explanations would be welcome! > > The "cs" in Hungarian is equivalent to the è in Slovak. There are seven > Koèalka listed in the phone directory for Malatina. YES. FROM THE PHONE BOOK RESEARCH IT LOOKS LIKE YOU MAY HAVE A NUMBER OF KIN IN MALATINA! GREAT! JOHN: THERE ARE PROBABLY NO SIMILARITIES BETWEEN MATSKO AND KOCSALKA. THE DIPTHONGS ARE SIMPLY DIFFERENT, AND PROBABLY LEAD TO DISSIMILAR PRONUNCIATIONS. IN MY LIST OF NAMES IN VARIOUS LANGUAGES I FOUND CESLAV (HOOK OVER THE C) IN SLOVAK SPELLED WITH A "CS" IN HUNGARIAN TO GET THE EQUIVALENT SOUND. JOE PECENKA (MY FORBEARS WEREN'T INTERESTED IN KEEPING THE PROPER PRONUNCIATION BY AMERICANS. HENCE, INSTEAD OF BEING PRONOUNCED CORRECTLY AS PECHENKA IN CZECH, IT IS PRONOUNCED BY AMERICANS AS P'SANKA, AS IN SANKA COFFEE.

At 10:29 AM 5/5/02 -0400, Linda Visnaw wrote: >Hi John. > >Thanks for the response. I went back to the library again & this time found >another spelling - Kotsalka. > >Thanks, > >Linda >My surname was spelled Maczko in Hungarian. The "cz"in Hungarian makes a "ts" sound; therefore, my name is now spelled Matsko. In Slovak, it is spelled Macko but pronounced Matsko. It seems then that Kocalka in Slovak would be pronounced Kotsalka.< In your original post you mentioned that the name was spelled with a "c^" which indicates that it be would pronounced as Kochalka. The search for "Koc" in Malatina using the online directory produced seven Koc^alka and no Kocalka nor did "Kot" produce Kotsalka. The EIDB shows 2 Kocalka children from Malatina, ages 10 and 7, arriving with guardian in 1909 and going to Michigan I believe. Good luck. John

At 10:29 AM 5/5/02 -0400, Linda Visnaw wrote: >Hi John. > >Thanks for the response. I went back to the library again & this time found >another spelling - Kotsalka. > >Thanks, > >Linda My surname was spelled Maczko in Hungarian. The "cz"in Hungarian makes a "ts" sound; therefore, my name is now spelled Matsko. In Slovak, it is spelled Macko but pronounced Matsko. It seems then that Kocalka in Slovak would be pronounced Kotsalka. John

At 12:25 AM 5/4/02 -0400, Linda Visnaw wrote: >Hello. I am researching the name Kochalka. My grandfather was from >Malatina, Slovakia. The spelling was originally Kocalka (with an accent >mark over the c giving it a ch sound). The spelling was changed to >Kochalka upon coming to America. > >I am looking through film from a Roman Catholic Church in Malatina. The >writing is in Hungarian & Latin. I have found my Kocalka's but the >spelling is now Kocsalka. Would that be the original spelling? Or does it >have to do with being written in Hungarian or Latin? > >Any explanations would be welcome! The "cs" in Hungarian is equivalent to the è in Slovak. There are seven Koèalka listed in the phone directory for Malatina. John

I agree with John on place name Divik being todays' "Diviaky nad Nitricou". You need appreciate that the villages had many names thru time and the name you are looking was from 100 years ago, not necessarily the name used today. Contemporary-name "Diviaky nad Nitricou" was: 1863-1888 - Divek 1892-1913 - Nyitradivek (a Hungarian reformulation of the name, during the period of Magyarization) As early as 1773, the Name was Devek, Devik, Divick, Diwjaky. Source "Nazy Obci Slovenskej Republiky", 1998. Ditto for Kokova, John is right-on there too. I have seen many, many, many mistakes on the manifests. Search for CSERVEN using phonetic variations which will sound similar. Then search for variants based upon what sloppy handwriting may yield. I have found several relatives this way. Bill Tarkulich -----Original Message----- From: John M. [mailto:jmatsko4@comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2002 11:39 PM To: SLOVAKIA-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: CSERVEN/CHERVEN of Divish or Kokova At 03:53 PM 4/30/02 -0700, you wrote: >Grandfather John CHERVEN/CSERVEN, b. Dec 26, 1868 said he was from Hungary, and apparently arrived in USA about 1900-1905. We have been unable to identify his village, have reason to believe he and his wife Illona CMARO were from Slovakia. The new Ellis Island web site lists two possiblities, his age would be about right for either. I guess it is possible that he returned and came back again. They were: Jan CSERVEN from .....ivik (I read original as Divish); date of arrival Oct 4, 1899, 32 years old, and< The manifest shows a Jan and a Michael Cserven from what appears to me to be Divik. Jan is going to a cousin Andras Seleznak in Homestead and Michael is going to a friend Andras Zeleznak in Pittsburgh. Probably going to same place. The closest I could come to Divik was Divek, which is now known as Diviaky nad Nitricou. I also found a Maria Cerven (pronounced Cherven) and daughter Fan from Divik going to her husband Jan Cervan in Oliver, PA in 1901. It appears then that this is not the Janos you're looking for since his wife's name appears to be Maria. I also found a Jan Cerven from Divik (which was crossed out and US put in) arriving in 1906 at age 38 going to Duquesne, PA. It looks like it was probably the same Jan returning from a visit. There is usually a note indicating that the person has visited the US before. Also found a Maria Cserven, 19, from Divek going to a cousin Daniel Kuzma in Union Hill (PA?) in 1911. >Janos CSERVEN from Kokova, date of arrival Dec 5, 1904, 36 years old.< Unfortunately, the original manifest page that comes up does not have Janos Cserven on it. He may be on one of the other pages of the manifest I looked at a few but didn't locate him. Kokova (1863-1902) is now known as Kokava nad Rimavicou. I located a few C^erven (pronounced Cherven) in Brezno, Zvolen, Poprad, Bratislava, etc. but none in Kokava nad Rimavicou >Does anyone know where "...ivik" or Divish, or Kokova are, or how I could find the actual birth date of these passengers?< Uae Mapquest to locate the towns in Slovakia. I believe your best bet would be to check out US census, church records, citizenship documents, etc to confirm village name. John ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Hello. I am researching the name Kochalka. My grandfather was from Malatina, Slovakia. The spelling was originally Kocalka (with an accent mark over the c giving it a ch sound). The spelling was changed to Kochalka upon coming to America. I am looking through film from a Roman Catholic Church in Malatina. The writing is in Hungarian & Latin. I have found my Kocalka's but the spelling is now Kocsalka. Would that be the original spelling? Or does it have to do with being written in Hungarian or Latin? Any explanations would be welcome! Linda

At 03:53 PM 4/30/02 -0700, you wrote: >Grandfather John CHERVEN/CSERVEN, b. Dec 26, 1868 said he was from Hungary, and apparently arrived in USA about 1900-1905. We have been unable to identify his village, have reason to believe he and his wife Illona CMARO were from Slovakia. The new Ellis Island web site lists two possiblities, his age would be about right for either. I guess it is possible that he returned and came back again. They were: Jan CSERVEN from .....ivik (I read original as Divish); date of arrival Oct 4, 1899, 32 years old, and< The manifest shows a Jan and a Michael Cserven from what appears to me to be Divik. Jan is going to a cousin Andras Seleznak in Homestead and Michael is going to a friend Andras Zeleznak in Pittsburgh. Probably going to same place. The closest I could come to Divik was Divek, which is now known as Diviaky nad Nitricou. I also found a Maria Cerven (pronounced Cherven) and daughter Fan from Divik going to her husband Jan Cervan in Oliver, PA in 1901. It appears then that this is not the Janos you're looking for since his wife's name appears to be Maria. I also found a Jan Cerven from Divik (which was crossed out and US put in) arriving in 1906 at age 38 going to Duquesne, PA. It looks like it was probably the same Jan returning from a visit. There is usually a note indicating that the person has visited the US before. Also found a Maria Cserven, 19, from Divek going to a cousin Daniel Kuzma in Union Hill (PA?) in 1911. >Janos CSERVEN from Kokova, date of arrival Dec 5, 1904, 36 years old.< Unfortunately, the original manifest page that comes up does not have Janos Cserven on it. He may be on one of the other pages of the manifest I looked at a few but didn't locate him. Kokova (1863-1902) is now known as Kokava nad Rimavicou. I located a few C^erven (pronounced Cherven) in Brezno, Zvolen, Poprad, Bratislava, etc. but none in Kokava nad Rimavicou >Does anyone know where "...ivik" or Divish, or Kokova are, or how I could find the actual birth date of these passengers?< Uae Mapquest to locate the towns in Slovakia. I believe your best bet would be to check out US census, church records, citizenship documents, etc to confirm village name. John

I have a six-page personal handwritten letter from a distant relative in eastern Slovakia that I have had great difficulty in translating. She has gotten on in years and sometime forgets that I do not speak Slovak. Professional translators I have contacted want upwards of $75 to translate. Most charge anywhere from 7-10 cents per word (I estimate that each page has 200 words, 1200 words total). The cost adds up. Could anyone recommend a reasonably priced translator? I would be willing to fax the letter or send it as a MS Word attachment to an email Thanks, Richard Kepko

Grandfather John CHERVEN/CSERVEN, b. Dec 26, 1868 said he was from Hungary, and apparently arrived in USA about 1900-1905. We have been unable to identify his village, have reason to believe he and his wife Illona CMARO were from Slovakia. The new Ellis Island web site lists two possiblities, his age would be about right for either. I guess it is possible that he returned and came back again. They were: Jan CSERVEN from .....ivik (I read original as Divish); date of arrival Oct 4, 1899, 32 years old, and Janos CSERVEN from Kokova, date of arrival Dec 5, 1904, 36 years old. Does anyone know where "...ivik" or Divish, or Kokova are, or how I could find the actual birth date of these passengers? Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Hello, My ancestors are from the small village of Blatnica, between Martin and Turcianske Teplice. For the central Slovakian district there are two archives, one in Banska Bystrica and one in Bytca. Blatnica looks to be only slightly closer to Banska Bystrica. I would like to know which archives I should send a request for information to--Banska Bystrica or Bytca? Thank you, Jill Spealman spealman@aol.com

Hello fellow list members, Just tonight I have discovered a family letter in Slovak or other language that I cannot read. I would appreciate it if someone could translate this. Here is the text including the letterhead Martin Ruttkay Foreign Exchange & Steamship Agent Real Estate - Translator in Foreign Languages - Notary Public Drafts - Money Orders - Traveler's Checks - Checks to All Foreign Countries Windber, Pa. Oct. 3rd, 1939 Mr. George Evanchik, Central City, Pa. Cteny Pane Iwanczyk: Pripojeno Vam zasielam sobasny list - to je Certificate of Marriage - pod Cislom 73828 co bolo vystavene na 2-ho oktobra 1915-roku vo Wilkes-Barre, Pa., a vtej vecy License bol vydany pres Orphans Court pod Cislom 73828; teda to lem znacim v pade byste dakedi strateli tento sobasny list, abyste mali rekord. Ponevac nateras uz to je vsetko naporjatku, to ten sobasni list si za-opatrijte dobre, a pripojenu Postal kartku podpiste, to znaci zeste odebrali tento dokument, a tak zaras zaslijte pres poctu, natu kartku nepotreba stempel. S pozdravom: Martin Ruttkay

----- Original Message ----- From: "Budd Family" <4budds@rica.net> To: <SLOVAKIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, April 26, 2002 5:58 PM Subject: Re: SLOVAKIA-D Digest V02 #43 > In the most recent Slovakia-D email, the email from DCBugan@ aol.com > arrived with a virus....My virus scan said the file name is href.pif If > this person is > still on this list, you may want to check your system so as not to infect > others. > Good luck. Deb > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: <SLOVAKIA-D-request@rootsweb.com> > To: <SLOVAKIA-D@rootsweb.com> > Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 1:01 AM > Subject: SLOVAKIA-D Digest V02 #43 > > > > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >

In the most recent Slovakia-D email, the email from DCBugan@ aol.com arrived with a virus....My virus scan said the file name is href.pif If this person is still on this list, you may want to check your system so as not to infect others. Good luck. Deb ----- Original Message ----- From: <SLOVAKIA-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: <SLOVAKIA-D@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, April 24, 2002 1:01 AM Subject: SLOVAKIA-D Digest V02 #43

I am trying to tie these names together in my BUGAN research. Does anyone else have these names? They seem to be Hungarian spelling. Catherina Ozanjak born 1890~ daughter of John Ozanjak and Sophia Rafsik. Anna Ozanjak born 1886~daughter of above John Ozanjak and Sophia Bielik. They also may tie in with my SLADEK surname. Martin Szladek born 1876~son of Emericus and Maria Szladek. Sponsors last names are Bugany and Bizik. Any help is appreciated. Darlene Bugan researching: BUGAN HOLES HOLESCH SMEHIL SMEHYL ZAJAC SLADEK Martin Bugan born 1890 Austria - Stephan Bugan born c1856 possibly in Austria~Bohemia - Mary Holes born c1850 Zilina -Zofia Smehil born 1890 in Zilina son of Joseph Smehil of Slovakia- Anna Zajac born c1850-60 place unknown- Sladek=cousins to Bugans.

For those of you requesting various genealogy forms online, you might want to try the following: The most helpful census one for me has been: http://www.ancestry.com/save/charts/census.htm Through the familytreemaker.com site, there is: http://www.genealogy.com/00000061.html?Welcome=1019660163 Other helpful charts(pedigree charts, family record charts) to have: http://www.genealogy-mall.com/freechar.htm Hope this helps. Debbie

I visited your site - - - that's a very nice job in reproducing the census forms. Thank you for all of your work. Dr. "Q" Ken wrote: > Hi Listers, > > Not sure if this is an appropriate method, but couldn't find a general > list to send too. > > Over the course of researching my family history, I have created many > documents for recording and publishing research findings. I recently > finished creating MS Word documents for recording Census information for > the: > 1880 US Federal Census, > 1900 US Federal Census,and > 1894 Michigan State Census > > Thought some of you might be interested. The MS Word Census Forms can > be found on my website below, in the "Forms" area. > > Hope they're useful. > > Ken > > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Ken Miesmer Miesmer & Parsons Family Albums > Email: Searching@attbi.com http://home.attbi.com/~fiftyblue/ > > Researching: APPLETON, AUSTIN, BENTLEY, BONNET, GOODWIN, HEINRICH, > HEINTZ, KMECOVA, KORNEC, KROLL, KUSHNER, KUSNIR, LAWSON, LOZINAK, > MIESMER, PARSONS, REYNOLDS, SMOOT, STANLEY, TOUGH, WIERICH, WEBSTER > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237

Greetings John, Thanks for the information on the phone books for Slovakia. I tried it and had luck. Found three names that I intend to investigate and maybe contact. Not sure how to go about this though. Regards, Ginny Pietsch Houston, Texas

You have the address for the English version which does not yet work use the Slovak site: http://www.zoznamst.sk/sk/index.html Select VŠETKY STANICE V SR (on the right) Put in at least three letters of the person's last name in the field - Názov alebo priezvisko Put in at least three letters in the town field - Mesto (You can ignore the rest) Press “search” - Vyhľadať Vymazať means “clear” - press it if you don't want to begin the search After the search, click on the name for details or Späť for a new search. Ďalších (any number) záznamov = the next (any number) records Predcházajúcich 20 (unless it's the last few hits) záznamov = the previous 20 (...) records Začiatok stránky = sort in alphabetical order back to the first records (Note: Regardless of the number of entries found, only the first 200 will be displayed.) The other fields: Kľúšové slovo = key word Ulica = Street Meno, titul = First Name, Title Číslo domu = House Number Smerové telefónne číslo = Telephone Area Code Branžovnik = gives an alphabetical listing of key words for businesses and services, copy the word to the Kľúšové slovo field to get a list of the corresponding names and telephone numbers Dr. "Q" Kathleen Tomko wrote: > Hello Listers, > > Does anyone have any other access to an online web address for phone listings in Slovakia? The only one I have (listed below) says "page under reconstruction". > > www.zoznamst.sk/eng/index.html > > Thank you, > Kathleen Tomko > kamtomko@netzero.net > > (Searching for Tomko, Berta, Vasko, & Soltis)