My wife and I attended the CGSI (Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International) conference in Pittsburgh last year. During one of the sessions on Carpatho-Rusyns the speaker, Rich Custer, mentioned that there were so many immigrants from some villages that they formed their own clubs (aka, fraternal organizations). He mentioned that in Cleveland there were clubs for Bajerovce, Jakubany and Sambron. He got my attention. The Marsinicks (my mother’s paternal line) are from Sambron and settled on the near west side of Cleveland.
Since then I’ve been looking for information on the Sambron club in Cleveland but haven’t been very lucky. However, I was able to find 2 mentions of it in the Plain Dealer archives, the local Cleveland newspaper.
In this article from 25 August 1935, it mentions that there have been efforts to start the “cultural and social club”. It says that there are 250 families from Sambron living in Cleveland. That just shocked me. When I visited Sambron it was a small village. I’m guessing that today there are only about 250 families living there, if that.
The only other mention I can find is in an article from 21 June 1937. In this article, which is mostly about the Bajirovcan Club, it says that “the more than 1,000 Clevelanders who emigrated or are descended from the people of Sambron danced and drank”. Wow, that’s a lot of people from Sambron in one place that isn’t Sambron!
I’ll continue looking for more information on this club. My ancestors most likely belonged to it and were probably at that party dancing and drinking.