Bill and Christie, You have both been very kind to take the time to prepare and send me all the data you have. It has already been very helpful to me as well as your very good advice. Christie, I see our Kolczun family is the one living in Brooklyn, New York with Annie & Mary. I now have a bit of intrigue on my hands with the family in PA! You can be assured I will be working on this information. I am so glad I finally took the time to ask my question to the list Bill, I have used the LDS filmed records before but at the time I was researching this line I could not find anything listed for the towns of Trnava pri Laborci nor for close by Vinne' where my husband's grandmother was born (Horanics). Thank you for pointing out the available data and for giving me the film numbers. Actually back in 1984 I had attempted to do some research and I needed to go through the Embassy of The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic in Washington DC. I quickly gave up with no data received on George Kolczun. You are right...it is much more rewarding to do the research yourself and that is what I am going to do, thanks to you both. It is only as a last resort that I use a professional researcher. Genealogy is a hobby to me; it is something I thoroughly enjoy accomplishing myself. After 20+ years I am back on the right track again with our Slovak ancestors! You are correct, Bill, in saying they were probably baptized in the Greek Catholic Church. I will try to order the fil very soon at the LDS Family History Center not so terribly far from my home. Thank you to you both, so very much. Marion ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Tarkulich" <bill@iabsi.com> To: <SLOVAKIA-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2002 10:21 AM Subject: RE: request help Kolczun in Trnava pri Laborci > Why do you need to have his official birthdate? Frankly, it's not > necessary. It sounds like this "professional" researcher is trying to > get you to do his/her work for him/her. It's not like you are filling > out an official document for release of benefits or something. Plenty > of people do very solid gen research with only a general idea of his > birth. If this fellow will not, there are plenty of other researchers > who will. > > If you go to the Mormon's Family History Center near you (find one here > http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp ), you can > order microfilms yourself for about $3.50 which will contain your church > records. There is no obligation to you. > > I just checked myself: go to http://www.familysearch.org , you will > find for the village of Slovakia, Trnava pri Laborici the following: > > Greek Catholic parish registers of baptisms, marriages and deaths for > Trnava pri Laborci; formerly Tarna, Ung, Hungary. Text in Latin, > Hungarian, and Church Slavonic. Order film numbers 1794056 and 1794057 > > > It contains: > Krstení (christenings) 1813-1874 > Krstení 1874-1932 Sobásení (marriages) 1861-1933 Zomrelí (Deaths) > 1862-1943 Zomrelí 1945-1949 . DRUHOPISY (Bishop's copy, a second copy): > Krstení, sobásení, zomrelí 1885-1891 > > So. All you ancestors will probably right there on that film. These > villages are small enough that you can scan it yourself and find them. > You don't even need to know the language in which they are written. All > you need is this little decoder: http://www.bmi.net/jjaso/ I Guarantee > that within two hours of sitting down with the films, you will be > looking at your ancestors. > > How do you know his religion was Roman Catholic? Is that the church he > attended in the US? GC and RC both recognize Rome and head, and have > reciprocal rights. Small villages often had only one church. Where he > worshipped in the US may be a result of what church happened to be > present when he arrived. He probably was baptised Greek Catholic. > > Suppose you'd just rather have someone else do the research. That's > fine, but there is no need to write away, spend lots of money and waste > lots of time on this. He's just being l..a...z...y... > > My GPs were born in the 1880's and died in the 1940s and 1971. I found > them, their brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents, etc. etc. in > the film, all by my little old self. > > Here are the facts: > - "official" records from those time periods are always suspect, very > error-prone. So no date will EVER be precise. > - The only birth records are stored by the Slovak State Archives, were > the church records. The church was an agent of the state. You have to > write to the Archives, wait 4-6 months for a reply. They will read the > exact same pages you can get from the FHC for approx. $3.50/film. If > you want them to send you an official certificate, that's fine., but > it's not necessary. I would much rather make a paper copy of the filmed > page of my ancestor's birth record. That is so much more precious to > me. The original document when he was born. Period. > > Let me know if you have any more questions. > Good luck, > Bill Tarkulich > > > -----Original Message----- > From: genie110 [mailto:genie110@optonline.net] > Sent: Tuesday, October 01, 2002 8:43 AM > To: SLOVAKIA-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: request help Kolczun in Trnava pri Laborci > > > Hello,..... In order to proceed with a professional genealogy research, > I need the birth date of my husband's grandfather, George Kolczun born > in Trnava pri Laborci, (today in the eastern most part of Slovakia) > between 1868 & 1871. His religion was Roman Catholic. From later > unconfirmed records, he immigrated to the USA , arriving on 15 July > 1895. He died in Braddock PA on 20 Feb 1936 (confirmed). Could someone > tell me where I should write for his birth record? I believe, at the > time, the people of that area spoke Hungarian and I am able to have a > letter to Slovakia translated to Hungarian. Thank you for any help you > can provide. Marion > > > ============================== > 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 >