Looking to reconnect with family from village of Demeshkivtsi near Halych

[lwasiluk]

Charles and Antoinette Mereck (Vasil Meretsky and Antonina Cikora Diakow) immigrated to the US, met, married and raised their family in Detroit, MI. They were very active in the Ukrainian-American Club in Detroit and always promoted their heritage. They kept in touch with their siblings and even visited their villages (Demeshkivtsi and Herbutow) in 1959 and 1968. After they died, the family lost touch and I would like to reconnect with my cousins. Charles/Vasil was the son of Vasil Meretsky and Malania Homeniuk. Antoinette was the daughter of Ivan Cikora and Anna Mazepa who remarried a Diakow. I was recently given a box which contained old letters and photos but I am unable to transcribe the handwritten cyrillic. If someone recognizes the names or can help me with this transcription, it would be greatly appreciated.

[levand]

ok, so here what is says:
sending to their uncle and aunt the photo from both daughters of Peter and the aunt Nastya
the second one is to the dearest brother from sister Mariya
the last one to Halyna and Marusya (which is the same as Mariya)

[lwasiluk]

Thank you so much! I sincerely appreciate your help.

[matera]

Hi lwasiluk,

There are about 300 people living in Demeshkivtsi and 550 in Naraivka - Нараївка (it's the current name of Herbutow)
I can drive to both villages and do a research for you.

You can find my webpage address in the contact details section. You'll be able to read the references of people I have helped to reconnect with their lost relatives and learn more about my person.

I'm passionate about this work, so I would be really happy to help you.

Regards,
Andriy

[lwasiluk]

Andriy - Thank you so much for your reply. I love your website and will gather my notes and contact you soon. I have letters from Ukraine dating from 1960s and 70s. Many of these letters include updates on the authors' children so I don't think they will be very difficult to find. It is the language barrier that is my greatest difficulty and I am so happy that you offer these services.

Thanks again, I look forward to working with you!

Leslie Wasiluk

[matera]

Thanks Leslie.

Please, feel free to contact me any time.

Regards,
Andriy

[lwasiluk]

Andriy,
I looked back to my original posting and cannot believe that in less than 3 months you were able to fulfill my dream of re-connecting with my family. The photos that you took were beautiful and information you were able to gather from your research was timely, professional and presented in such a way that it was very easy to share with everyone . But the most special part of this journey is that you took the time to visit the villages, meet my family, sit down with them and really listen to their stories. This experience was much more than learning names, dates and addresses...you were able to make real connections between our families and did so with sensitivity, respectfulness and patience. In our case, you didn't just translate words but culture, politics, religion and emotions,and I never felt that you were frustrated with all of my questions. : )
For everything, Andriy, thank you! We will definitely be using your services again when researching the other side of the family.
Leslie