Peter Marcinek (Marsinick) was born on the 26th of December 1909 in Westville, Illinois, just outside of Danville. His parents were John Marcinek and Mary Hrin (Hryne).
Peter’s Birth Certificate [1]Peter had an older brother, John (1905) and 4 younger brothers, Joseph (1912), Stephen (1921), Andrew and Anthony (1923 twins).
In 1910, the Marcineks were living in Westville. Peter wasn’t even a year old. According to the 1910 Federal census Peter’s father, John, is a coal miner.
1910 Federal Census [2]In 1930 the Marcineks are living in Clinton, Indiana. Apparently they bought a farm and they are all working on the farm. Peter’s older brother John is not living with them anymore. Why did they move from Illinois to Indiana and why did they start to farm instead of being miners?
1930 Federal Census [3]As you may have noticed, Peter is listed as “Patrick” in the census. I don’t quite understand why but they often referred to him as Pat or Patrick. You may have also noticed that Anthony isn’t listed. Sadly he died when he was a baby. And, even though Andrew is listed he will also pass away later in 1930.
The next documentation I can find is from 1939. Peter has gotten married to my grandmother, Anna, and they are living in Cleveland, Ohio. I have no idea what took them to Cleveland from Clinton, Indiana, but not only is Peter living there, so are his parents and brothers John, Joseph and Steven. The whole family uprooted and moved. They left behind the farm and moved to the city, but why?
1939 Cleveland Directory [4]They are all living in the Tremont area of Cleveland. This area is where St. Theodosius Orthodox Cathedral is located, just down the street from them on Starkweather Avenue. This is significant because the Marcinek family is Rusyn and Orthodox. I don’t know much about my Rusyn heritage but I’m trying to learn. Apparently Sambron, where Peter’s father was born, is on the far western edge of the Rusyn area.
In the 1940 census, you can see that Peter and Anna have 3 girls, Mary (my mother), Jean and Jeanette (Janet).
1940 Federal Census [5]So Peter is 31 years old and has 3 young girls. He and Anna are starting their life together. Here are some of the only pictures I have of Peter and the family. The two photos from 1935 were taken in Clinton, Indiana and the two from 1943 would be from Cleveland.
Peter, Anna and Mary (1935) [6]
Peter and Mary (1935)
Peter, Anna and the girls (circa 1943)
Peter, Jean and Jeanette (circa 1943)
Here’s a picture of Peter and Anna from 1944, most likely taken on Starkweather Ave. in Cleveland.
Peter (Pat) and Anna, (circa 1944) [6]Just two years later, in 1946, Peter passed away. According to his death certificate he died of liver cancer.
Peter Marsinick’s Death Certificate [6]My mom was 11 years old at the time. She remembers sitting in the car outside of the hospital while my grandmother went in to visit. Apparently they wouldn’t let kids in to visit (or my grandmother didn’t want them to go in).
Peter is buried in Calvary cemetery in Cleveland.
Calvary Cemetery [7]
Sources:
[1] Vermilion County Court House, Danville, Illinois
[2] Year: 1910; Census Place: Georgetown, Vermilion, Illinois; Roll: T624_329; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0163; FHL microfilm: 1374342
[3] Year: 1930; Census Place: Florida, Parke, Indiana; Roll: 622; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0005; FHL microfilm: 2340357
[4] Cleveland, Ohio, City Directory, 1939. Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
[5] Year: 1940; Census Place: Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio; Roll: T627_3209; Page: 10A; Enumeration District: 92-158
[6] Family photo / document
[7] Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 04 February 2018), memorial page for Peter Francis Marsinick (26 Dec 1910–23 Jun 1946), Find A Grave Memorial no. 109024054, citing Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA ; Maintained by Jim Dernar (contributor 47011053) .
