Maria Kolodzey was the firstborn child of Joannes Kolodzey and Maria Tokarszky. She was born in Stara Lubovna on 30 August 1858 and was baptized on 5 September 1858 in Saint Peters Roman Catholic Church located in the square of the town. The church historian recorded her godparents as Georgius Molesanyi and Anna Vinogrovsky.
Ferencz (Franciscus) Ronczkevits, Maria's husband, was born on 31 October 1848 to parents Ferencz (an older version of the name 'Franciscus') Ronzkevits and Maria Dlugolinszky. He was baptized by Mihaly Molesanyi and his godparents were listed as Jakab Pahorcsik and Katalion Yorcs.
The picture to the right is a representation of what Maria might very well have looked like in traditional costume.
Franciscus and Maria's first son, Franciscus (Frank) Ronskavitz, was born in Stara Lubovna on 27 January 1878 and was baptized on 3 Feb 1878 in the Roman Catholic church in the town square. His godparents were listed as Franciscus Kolodzey and Catharina Leutemberg.
Victoria Urbansky was born in Stara Lubovna on 18 April 1878. She arrived in the United States in April of 1893.
According to his Declaration of Intentions in 1937, Franciscus documented that he immigrated to the US in May of 1895, entering at New York City.
Franciscus and Victoria Urbansky married on 19 November 1898 in Newark, NJ.
After the birth of their oldest daughter, Julia in New Jersey, they moved to and and settled down in the Glastonbury, CT area.
Franciscus and Victoria had nine children in all:
Julia Ronskavitz
Frank Ronskavitz
Mary Ronskavitz
Amelia T Ronskavitz
Anna V Ronskavitz
Joseph Ronskavitz
Charles Ronskavitz
Margaret Ronskavitz
Helen Ronskavitz
Franciscus' grandnephew (Frank) mentioned that Franciscus Roncskavitz and his brother, John Ronskevitz, arrived at Ellis Island with the same surname. The two brothers stood in two different lines, younger-brother John's surname was spelled correctly by the administrator, but older-brother Franciscus' surname was misspelled by his administrator. This is why Franciscus' surname is spelled differently than the rest of the family.
John Roncskevitz was born in Stara Lubovna on 20 April 1881.
Emilia Zseleczky was born in Stara Lubovna on 5 October 1883 to parents Jacob Zseleczky and Julia Kalita.
John and Emilia were married in New Jersey in 1907 (State Record 24 545).
By 1940, John, Emilia, and their two children all lived next to each other in Linoleumville, on Staten Island.
Emilia died tragically on 18 February 1946 after being struck by a vehicle and dragged for nearly a mile. She had multiple fractures and wounds from the accident. Heartbroken, John died a few months later on 26 October 1946.
Both John and Emilia were buried in Saint Peter's Cemetery in Staten Island, NY.
Their children: Mary and Frank.
As the picture depicts, this site is dedicated to the Kolodzeys that left behind the mountains of Slovakia, Galicia, Deutchia, and Prussia to live in the United States of America. This is our story.