Records from Torysky, Slovakia

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Georgius’ dad, Joannes Kolodzey (Kolodzej is used interchangeably) was born in 1835. We know this because on the 1869 Slovakia Census in Torysky, Joannes listed his birth year as 1835. 

Joannes Kolodzey married Anna Vaszecsko and had seven children, the first in 1865. Unfortunately, at least 4 died at a young age. Their second child, Georgius, lived a full life and eventually emigrated to the United States.

In 1869, Slovakia held a census, and families throughout the country answered questions about the people living in their homes. The census in Torysky shows Joannes (or Janos) and his wife Anna Vaszecsko with two children, Gyorgy at age 2, and little baby Janos (who tragically died soon after).  They lived in house No. 103 in Torysky, about 20 miles south of Stara Lubovna.

By 1894, Georgius was 27 and had married Maria Petriscko – they had a daughter named Maria. Maria would live a full life and would later emigrate the US. Unfortunately, Maria Kolodzej may have been the only child of Georgius to make it to adulthood.

When Gyorgy Kolodzey entered into the US on his way to visit Janos Petrisko in Connelsville, PA, he listed Janos Petrisko (his father- or brother-in-law) as his sponsor in America.

On 31 Dec 1904, Maria’s dad, Georgius (or Gyorgy) age 38, arrived in New York City from Torysky, Slovakia.

The Cserpak family was very close to the Kolodzej family of Torysky, as each of Georgius and Maria’s children had a “Cserpak” as their godparent. This might be the reason that Mary Kolodzej later married John Cserpak. John Cserpak (or Cherpak) listed his place of birth on official documents as “Toriska”. The changing of names of the towns in old Slovakia was rather common, as Ottomans, Magyars, Hungarians, and later Czech, influences shaped how the towns names were spelled.

John Cserpak, or Cherpak, was born on 13 Dec 1891 and was baptized three days later in the Catholic church in Torysky.  He and Mary likely married in Slovakia, as their oldest son was born there.  On 24 Sep 1907, John and a family member arrived in New York City aboard the SS Vaderland.

John Cherpak and Mary Kolodzej lived on Oliver Avenue in Duquesne, PA and in all, had four children: John (1912), Maria (in 1913), John (in 1915), and Michael (1918). 

Tragedy struck this young family many times in the few years they had together.  

In October of 1912, their firstborn, John, was born.  Two months later, in December 1912, Baby John died of malnutrition and gastroenteritis - an inflammation of the intestines.  

If losing their first child was not tragic enough, on 4 Sep 1918, only nine months after being born, Baby Michael died, also of gastroenteritis.

One month after burying her second child, Maria tragically died at the young age of 24 on 18 October 1918 due to pneumonia.  

Her widowed husband, left with three children to raise alone, understandably remarried.

Maria's son John (the second one, born in 1915) grew up and moved out to Arizona; he lived until 1975.  Her daughter Maria (Mrs Edward Rousseau) lived in the Duquesne area of Pennsylvania until she died there in 1990.  Despite her passing at an early age, Mary's family line lives on to this day.