The Zurbys

[zurbette]

Originally Posted by Hannia

Averkij was your GGrandfather's real given name. It's an ancient canonical (taken from Orthodox Calendar of Saints & Martyrs) name. It was first documented in appx 14th century. It is rooted in the Greek language and means PUT TO FLIGHT. In modern times it shows up more frequently as a surname.

It was not unusual for immigrants to anglicize their given names, especially one as rare and hard to pronounce as Averkij. In general it just made life easier.
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Is this GGrandfather? It certainly looks like him.

Rootsweb has AWERTIJ ZURBEJ using border crossing @Niagara Falls, NY May 11, 1921. He was born in 1893 appx. He was 28 at the time. He lists himself as a miner working for Creighton Mine Ontario. Wife Katy??? He was 5-10, brown hair and grey eyes. Shows that he had been in Quebec from 1912. Visited someplace???can't make it out for a week.

HE LISTS HIMSELF AS RUSSNIAK/RUTHENIAN from Pidpilipia, AUSTRIA??? Was GGrandfather Greek Catholic?

Take a very good look at this record.

You might also want to look at Rootsweb for surname ZURBEY. Lots of those in Minnesota.

Also look at Anna Zurbej. She might be the sister???

Yes!! Thank you once again! We know that he worked for the Creighton Mines for awhile. We don't know who he may have visited in the US? The name wasn't familiar. Thank you so much, now that I know how it's spelled I may get more hits on the genealogical sites!

[zarjacks]

I think on the original border crossing document it says he was going to visit FR - friend, Jno - John Mateychunk in E. Hammond, Ind. (Indiana). Creighton Mines I believe are near Sudbury, ON. My uncle worked there for Inco for years.
Ruth

[zurbette]

Yes! Creighton Mines is near Sudbury, ON. Apparently, he hated being a miner and became a dairy farmer which is so interesting because Northern Ontario is NOT known for dairy farming, mining and forestry yes ;0)!!

Thank you so much for your interest and help. I have learned more in the last 2 days than I have in many, many years, it is so exciting!

[Hannia]

Z,

You might put following in your file for contact later.

John Mateychuk Jr
1218 169th St
Hammond, IN 46324-2004

(219) 844-7712
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Ivan Matauczuk must have been old friend w/GGrandfather, for Grandfather to vist him for one week. Ivan (John) was from Podverbec (Pidverbowka) appx a little bit over one mile away from Pidpilipye. Both villages are in the BORSCHIVSKIJ (Borschiv) raion/district of the Ternopil oblast today.

[Hannia]

Today GGrandfather's side of selo/village Pidpilipia (cordinates 48.46-26.15) still exists, but barely, with a population of 96 souls. It is clustered with selo Turylche and selo Verbivka (this is probably John's village?). The Village Administration and post ofc are in Turylche. I am not sure that the Church of St. Anthony in Pidpylypia, built in 1895, is still functioning. It seems Turylche is the one with the functioning church for the village cluster. Not very long ago there were some archeological finds in the immediate area dating back to Kyivan Rus Historical Period (appx 9th/10th century).

I have looked high and low for possible LDS films for any of the hamlets in this village cluster. I did find some very old birth registers from 1875-1888 for Turylche. I just don't think that will do you any good. Old church registers are very difficult to decifer.

According to Lenius' Gazatteer, both the filial Greek Catholic and the filial Roman Catholic Churches were in Turylcze. The filial Jewish Kahal was in Skala

Title
Metrical books, 1875-1888

Authors
Greek Catholic Church. Turylcze (Borszczów) (Main Author)

Notes
Microreproduction of original manuscripts at the State Archives of the Ternopil Oblast in Ternopil, Ukraine.
Text in Latin, with some Russian.
Greek Catholic Church records (births) for Turylcze (Borszczów), Galizien, Austria; later Turylcze (Borszczów), Tarnopol, Poland; now Turyl′che, Ternopil′, Ukraine.
Record group 487, series 1, file 32a.

Subjects
Austria, Galizien, Turylcze (Borszczów) - Church records
Poland, Tarnopol, Turylcze (Borszczów) - Church records
Ukraine, Ternopil′, Borshchiv, Turyl′che - Church records
Україна, Тернопіль, Борщів, Турильче - Метричні книги

Format
Manuscript (On Film)

Language
Latin
Russian

Publication
Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1998

Physical
on 1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.

Film Notes
Note - Location [Film]
Volume 487-1/33 Births 1875-1888 - VAULT INTL Film [ 2160028 Item 9 ]
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Geopolitical History:

From late 18th century to 1919 wies/village Podpilipe was hamlet size . Bororszczow was both the POWIAT (county/administrative district) and the GMINA (judicial/tax district/tax district) > Tarnipolskie wojiwodstwo/region > Galicia/Halyczyna Province, administered by ethnic Poles for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the Interwar Period (1919-1939) this region came under Reconstituted Poland's domain. Technically Poland had not existed for the previous 125 yrs. All previous place name are Polish.
Post WW2 this region became a part of SSR Ukraine under Soviet domain until 1991, when Ukraine became independent.

Today selo/village Pidpilipya > Borschivskij raion/district > Ternopilska oblast/region > Ukraine, latest zip code 48726 c/o post ofc Turylche.
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My suggestion is that you speak to your siblings and extended family members, and consider hiring someone in Ukraine, like IreneLviv, member here, whose rates are very fair and who does exc archival work. She comes with exc references and produces results. Additionally, you should have someone visit the village, interview the elders that may still remember GGrandfather's family members and photograph the place for you. There may even be the possibility of finding a surviving member of GGrandfather's direct line. The economy in Ukraine dictates that these hamlets will quickly disappear and the old people in these places will die off and take their village stories to their graves.

[BigZurb1]

Hello,

My name is Alexander Zurby and I believe my cousin must be making the initial inquiries about our Great Grandfather. I would like to thank you for your research Ms. I found the information fascinating, my children and I looked up in the atlas our ancestral village. I have always felt somewhat disconnected from my Ukrainian heritage by other Ukrainian Canadians not identifying us as having a Ukranian name. I will have to share the story of the Ukranian Cowboy in a future post.