Elizabeth Bodnar’s Story

Elizabeth Bodnar was born in Pavlovce nad Uhom, Slovakia on the 23rd of April, 1902.  She was the 13th child born to Jan Bodnar and Julianna Csatlos.  Yes, the 13th child of 14.  Her oldest sibling was Julianna, born in 1877 and her youngest was Stefan, born in 1904.  That’s a span of 27 years between the oldest and youngest kids.

I have a handwritten copy of Elizabeth’s baptism/birth certificate that my aunt gave me.  Elizabeth must have sent away for it after she came to the U.S. because it’s dated 17 September 1926.

Until I traveled to Slovakia and met with her niece and other family members, I thought that her mother’s maiden name was Fulajlar, because that’s what her baptism certificate says.  But they told me this certificate was wrong.  Her mother’s maiden name was really Csatlos, not Fulajlar.  I’m guessing that whoever copied the information out of the book did it wrong.

Elizabeth came to the U.S. through Ellis Island in May of 1926.

She was 24 years old and came with an elderly woman, Elizabeth Vas, who was 86 years old. (see my post about Elizabeth Vas)  They traveled through Hamburg, Germany on the SS Deutschland and arrived in New York on 17 May 1926.

 

There’s a lot of information in this passenger list, including a separate sheet since they were detained.  One piece of information that I found odd was that they kept track of the number of meals they were given while they were detained.  They each had 6 breakfasts, 4 dinners and 6 suppers.  From that I guessed that they were detained for 6 days.

The code that was used as a reason for them being detained was “LPC” which means Likely Public Charge.  If it was thought that they’d be a burden to society (because they didn’t have a job, a place to live, money, etc.) they weren’t allowed to enter the U.S.  They were probably worried about Elizabeth Vas’ age and that she’d need medical attention.  But, they allowed them to enter, probably after George Vas was contacted and convinced them he’d take care of his mother.  So Elizabeth went on to Murray City, Ohio.

The next piece of information I have is the marriage license of Elizabeth and Joseph Kichka.  They were married in Cleveland, Ohio on the 3rd of August, 1929.  How my grandmother got from Murray City to Cleveland and what she was doing for those 3 years is still a mystery that needs to be solved.

Notice that Elizabeth’s mother’s maiden name is listed as Fulajlar on the marriage license.  I’m guessing she used that baptism certificate to get the license.  I wonder if she knew what her mother’s maiden name really was?

In the 1930 Federal Census, Joseph and Elizabeth are living at 4118 Warren Street, which was very close to St. Wenceslas, the church where they were married. They are renting part of a house for $13 per month.

Joseph and Elizabeth had family Christmas cards made somewhere around 1933 or 1934. (My father was born in 1930 and he looks to be 3 or 4 in this picture.) I don’t know how popular it was to have custom family Christmas cards made but I’m guessing it was a splurge, not cheap. I really like this picture. My grandparents are all dressed up and look proud to be living in the U.S. after just coming over from Europe. I’m wondering who they sent these to because they’re printed in English.

Here’s another picture of Joseph, Elizabeth and my dad. This looks to be from William’s 1st Communion which would have been about 1937 or 1938.

Finally, in the last available census, the 1940 Federal Census, Elizabeth, Joseph and their family have moved again. They have 2 kids, William (my dad) and Betty Ann. They’ve bought another house at 4329 Martin Avenue and said that’s it worth $2000. Since they just moved there that must be what they paid for it.

Here’s a picture of Elizabeth with my dad, William, and my aunt Betty Ann.  This picture would have been taken in 1940 when my dad was 10 and my aunt was about 6 – 8  months old.

Joseph and Elizabeth lived in that house on Martin Avenue until the early 1960’s. They were forced to sell the house and move because the government was buying up all of the property in that area for a new highway, Interstate 77. I found the Deed from the sale of the house on Martin to the State of Ohio. They were paid $8,600 for the house. They then turned around and bought a house in Brooklyn, Ohio, for $18,500. This is the house that I remember visiting as a young child.

In 1942 Elizabeth filed papers to become a U.S. citizen.  This is somewhat unusual because her husband was a natural born citizen so she didn’t really have to.  I’m not sure if she ever worked outside of the house (another reason to need papers) but she probably wasn’t looking for work in 1942 with 2 kids.  Here are all of her naturalization papers.  She officially became a naturalized citizen on the 19th of November, 1943.

Joseph Kichka changed his surname to “Kay” in the early 1950’s when my father changed his name. My father changed his name when he came back from the Korean war. One of the stories is that my father was feeling patriotic and wanted to sound less foreign and more American. That I can understand. What I can’t understand is why my grandfather also changed his name.

Joseph and Elizabeth Kay celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary in August of 1979. This picture was taken at Our Lady of Lourdes church, where a lot of St. Wenceslas parishioners went after it was closed.

Elizabeth died on 10 August 1989, just a few days after she and Joseph would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

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Sources:

[1]    Family Photo / Document
[2]   Ancestry.com. Passenger Ships and Images [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007.
Original data: Various maritime reference sources.
[3]   Year: 1926; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: T715, 1897-1957; Microfilm Roll: Roll 3850; Line: 1; Page Number: 59
[4]   Ancestry.com. Ohio, County Marriage Records, 1774-1993 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016.
Original data: Marriage Records. Ohio Marriages. Various Ohio County Courthouses.
[5]   Year: 1930; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: 1769; Page: 8A; Enumeration District: 0206; FHL microfilm: 2341503
[6]   Year: 1940; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: T627_3216; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 92-324
[7]   Google Maps
[8]   The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; ARC Title: Naturalization Petition and Record Books for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, Cleveland, 1907–1946; NAI: M1995; Record Group Title: Records of District Courts of the United States; Record Group Number: 21