{"id":2233,"date":"2022-12-19T05:07:40","date_gmt":"2022-12-19T10:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tubridy.net\/newblog\/?page_id=2233"},"modified":"2025-07-28T07:03:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T11:03:20","slug":"kovach","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.tubridy.net\/newblog\/family\/kovach\/","title":{"rendered":"Kovach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kovac family about 1933<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My mother was born Betty Kovach on April 7, 1928. Her parents, Michael and Mary (Gurelo), had immigrated from central Europe around 1908. Kovach (Cyrillic: \u041a\u043e\u0432\u0430\u0447, meaning blacksmith) is a Slavic surname. They were part of a mass migration of Slavic peoples from the Carpathian mountain area to work the coal mines in Pennsylvania. These people, the Rusyns, brought a unique culture and have become known as Rusyn Americans<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Lintsi, a small town in the easternmost part of the Ukraine., It is situated at the foothills of the Carpathian mountains shown in darker green.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Brother Dave found a location in the eastern part of what is now Ukraine, which corresponds to some of the historical data we have on her parents. They are likely from what is called Lintsi<\/a>. Situated in the Zakarpattia Oblast<\/em> (administrative district), the historical region is known as Carpathian Ruthenia. This was a melting pot of people from many ethnic backgrounds, including the Rusyns.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Kovach Homestead Dunbar Township, Pennsylvania<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After immigrating, the family settled in New York, where their oldest daughter, Ann, was born shortly after establishing a homestead in Vanderbilt, Pennsylvania. Notably, St. Stephan\u2019s Byzantine Church stands as a prominent landmark in this region. Constructed in the 1880s, it served as the dominant religious center for the Rusyn community, which adhered to East Orthodox Christianity. Michael and Mary are interred within the church\u2019s grounds, as are their eldest son, Michael, and his unmarried siblings.<\/p>\n\n\n

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St Stephans Byzantine Church in Dunbar Township<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The oldest son stayed behind in Europe until his teens before joining them. They had 13 children, including two who died as infants. My Mom was the 12th child. Her mother died after giving birth to their last son, George, in 1929. My mother told me her death was due to infection (sepsis), likely due to poor medical care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My grandfather Michael<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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My grandmother Mary<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

After the mother’s death, the father disappeared, and the older children were responsible for providing for the family. This was during the Depression of the 1930s, and times were tough. My cousin Sandra has told me that before her death she canned over a years supply of food for the family to survive. When they ran out they had to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The eldest son, who had recently relocated from the homeland and was still struggling with his English, had a reputation for being stern and quick to anger. In contrast, the eldest daughter, Ann, was a replacement for her mother and was already an older teenager. The second oldest daughter, Helen, was grappling with mental health issues and had been hospitalized multiple times. Notably, neither Ann nor Helen chose to marry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There appears to be a significant amount of strife and long-standing resentments that stem from the 1930s. The family faced the brink of disintegration but managed to stay together as the older children took on the responsibility of providing for their younger siblings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click to reveal Kovach Descendants<\/summary>\n
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