Kolodzeys of Pennsylvania

Andreas was born  on May 21, 1889, in Reľov, Prešov, Slovakia, the son of Josephus Kolodzey (1843) and Maria Pizartsik. 

Andreas was baptized on 23 May 1889, in the presence of his godparents Andreas Kominyak and Maria Krempaszky in the Roman Catholic church.

Andreas was the fourth of five children (Anna 1873, Joannes 1884, Josephus 1886, and Alojsius 1892).  The family of seven lived in the small town of Relov, in house number 68, next door to his Uncle Andreas in house No 69.  Although nearly all were older than Andrew, there were around 12-18 Kolodzeys living in those two houses.

On 7 July 1908, Andreas set sail on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm II from Bremen, Germany and on  14 July 1908, young Andreas (19yo) arrived in New York City to start a life in America.   It appears as though he traveled from Germany with Janos Marhefka (33yo & also a Slovak) who may not have been emigrating to the US.

In April of 1917, Andrew lived in Racine, WI and registered for the draft in response to WWI in April of 1917.  At the time, he worked as a laborer for M.L. Motor Company.

By the 1930s, Andrew had moved to Pennsylvania.  In 1934 he lived at 307 Elm St E. Vandergrift, Westmoreland, PA.  Here, he again worked as a laborer.  That year, he traveled to Pittsburgh to re-declared his intention to become a US citizen.  At the time, he was 5ft 10in and only weighed 147 lbs.

Andreas' friends in Pennsylvania were John Soska and John Pitszartsik (a relative on his mother's side).  On 26 Nov 1940, both attested to have known Andreas as he was naturalized in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at the age of 51. 

In April of 1942, Andrew registered for the draft while the world was at war in WWII.  He listed his address as 141 Columbia Ave and worked at the United Engineering and Foundry Company in Vandergrift, PA.

On January 4,  1943, Andrew died alone, an unmarried single man, from acute respiratory failure caused by hypoglycemic shock contributed by alcoholism and associated psychosis.   He was only 53 years old at the time of his death.  He was buried on 8 January 1943 in Vandergrift, PA.