I knew all my close and immediate family members, including aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., growing up. Still, I NEVER realized how big my family was until I joined My Heritage and then Ancestry months later. What an eye-opener that was for me. In 2018 I went to a cemetery in West Bowdoin, ME, where…
Category: MyCousins
Join Us in Preserving Our Family’s Heritage
Join us in going forward. Hopefully, each of us will heroically dig into the basement and search the attic for photos that can be added to the family history. [In Florida, this means the garage as we don’t have a basement. Heroic is not a term I chose haphazardly. Take a look at the pictures…
MyCousins – We Have Traveled Far

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin. Ancestry research is rewarding and fun. There is both the joy of learning and the satisfaction of solving puzzles. Ancestry research benefits come with involvement. If anything, this book seeks to involve you and others in…
One Great Leap
Mon 3/15/2021 2:45 PM Beth, I’m putting the following on the Ancestry messenger account for John J. Elcik, where the DNA discovery was made. Please note that I realize I’m writing to a “dead” man. I try to make that clear with the heading. John, IV ————————- To: John J. Elcik (1943-2018) From: John P….
Grandparents
Sun 2/14/2021 1:01 AM Beth, I agree. My father always used Zeda for grandfather and Buba (one or two “b’s”?) for grandmother. My mother put “Buba” on her gravestone. I have yet, however, to find those translations in any Slovak dictionary. This may be where Goldie’s reference to different Slovak dialects is relevant. …
Why Is There No Y in Elcik?
Sun 1/31/2021 3:27 PM Beth, I woke up singing, “Why is there no Y in Ilcsik?” to the tune, “The monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga.” No way this song makes the Billboard top 10. I don’t drink very often, but I thought about a beer to cry into. It would be a first, Lol….
Re: A Data Entry Question
Thu 1/28/2021 10:55 AM Beth, It is Clyde Raymond Skillin, Jr., my mom’s brother. He is also the subject of a poem written by his father that I shared a few days ago. I once or twice claimed that I knew a hitman in the New York Mob. He wasn’t that person. Honestly, he wasn’t….
Elcik Humor
Definition of “Smart Aleck” On Wed, Jan 27, 2021, at 11:40 PM Beth, Given all the alternative spelling for the Elcik surname has given me cause for concern. People might think that the term “smart aleck” is a reference to my family or me. Ouch! Let me assure you it is not. The term ”smart-alec”…