As I’m getting organized to compile my grandmother’s life story, Elizabeth Bodnar, I’ve been digging a little deeper into her traveling companion, Elizabeth Vas.
One mystery (of the many) I’ve had with my research is “Who was Elizabeth Vas?” and why did she come to the U.S. at 86 years old? I’ve asked my new-found Bodnar relatives from Slovakia if they know who she was but they don’t.
Here’s the story. My grandmother’s Ellis Island record shows that she came to the U.S. in 1926 at the age of 24. Traveling with her is an elderly woman, Elizabeth Vas, who is 86 years old! Wow, she must have been in good health to make that difficult journey at that age.
Not surprisingly the pair was detained at Ellis Island for a doctor’s evaluation. As it turns out, they ended up being detained for 6 days and then they were admitted. They were headed to Murray City, Ohio, to meet Elizabeth Vas’s son, George.
Going through the 1920 and 1930 census records for Murray City, Ohio, I found George and his family. George is married to Susie they have 2 daughters, Elizabeth and Helen. But no sign of the elder Elizabeth in 1930.
A little digging and I find Elizabeth (no pun intended). She passed away in 1929, 3 years after making the journey to Ohio from Czechslovakia. She was able to be reunited with her son and his new family in the U.S.
A little more searching on findagrave and I find the rest of the family. The 2 daughters are buried together, apparently never marrying. Elizabeth died very young at the age of 24 in 1930.
So why did my grandmother travel to the U.S. with this woman? As far as I can tell they weren’t related. I found George’s baptism record from Pavlovce nad Uhom and none of the surnames have ties to my family.
Here’s a theory, but it’s only a theory. I can’t find any proof.
When my grandfather, Joseph Kichka, came over in 1928, (see his life story), he mysteriously said he was going to Homestead, Pennsylvania. But, I know he was ultimately heading to Cleveland, Ohio, where his brothers lived and he would marry my grandmother in 1929. So why did he go to Homestead? What was in Homestead that made him go there?
My grandmother had two older sisters, Mary Bodnar Rectosh (1882-1946) and Anna Bodnar Polischak (1883-1936) both living in Homestead, PA. Homestead is not that far from Murray City, Ohio, a couple hundred miles. Could my grandmother have agreed to accompany Elizabeth Vas on her trip and take care of her along the way with plans to then go to Homestead to be with her sisters? Then, when my grandfather came back he met up with her in Homestead and brought her to Cleveland?
The Ellis Island record says that George Vas paid for the passage for both of them and, where it lists how much money they have, it says that Elizabeth Vas has $30 and my grandmother has $0. Was this also a financial arrangement for my grandmother? Did she agree to take care of her in exchange for having her passage paid for? There’s no way of knowing.
So the mystery remains, who was Elizabeth Vas and what part did she play in my grandmother coming to the U.S. ?