Масляник

My father, Mikolai Maslanyk, was born in September 1917 in Turechki-Vyzhniy (Tureczki-Wyzne) in the former Austrian Province of Galicia (now Ukraine and formally Poland).

Grandparents and Ellis Island records

My grandfather was Mychailo (Michal) Maslanyk, he lived in the States for a while in the early 1900s. It appears that he travelled back and forth over a period of 10 years or so eventually returning home relatively wealthy.  He died of typhoid around 1922 when my father was quite young. From Ellis Island records, on 15 July 1910 Michal Maslanik and Iwan Maslanik entered the US (note: Iwan = John). They gave their destination as c/o Jacko and Mikolaj Wasiowicz in Bayonne City NJ. Michal gave his next of kin back home as Femia (note: Femia = Eufemia) Maslanik (wife) and Iwan gave Peter Maslanik (father), both from 'Turoczek'. According to the records, Michal was 42, 5ft 4in, with light brown hair and grey eyes and Iwan was 24, 5ft 6in with fair hair and blue eyes. Michal had been in the States before; he entered in August 1906 and stayed in Bayonne City.

My grandmother, Eufemia (née Zytniak), was younger than my grandfather and after my grandfather died she re-married (Pavlo Wasiowycz - brother of Jacko mentioned above) and had two more sons and a daughter; Michael, Theodore and Catharine. My father was not raised at home, he lived with his mother's brother and he left what was then Poland soon after the onset of the Second World War (click here for more). He settled in England soon after, married Zofia (née Drwal) and had two sons, Jan and myself. He died in September, 1986.

Alex and John

Searching the Maslanik name reveals a large number living in the US. Some of them have been trying to trace their ancestry, using message boards in order to create a family tree. They say that all the Maslanik clan comes from two brothers who settled in the States - John and Alex who both had very large families and lived in Pennsylvania. Their death's are noted in US death records and their dates of birth given in their death records were 1878 for Alex and 1886 for John, this corresponds to the Ellis Island record above, John would have been 24 in 1910.

Other Information

There is also evidence that a son of Mychailo (Michal) Maslanyk by a previous marriage moved to New South Wales in Australia around 1950. He was prominent in the Ukrainian Youth Movement, he passed away in the 1960s in Newcastle NSW and left a daughter who would be around 50 today. There may be a record of his entry into Australia via Melbourne, NSW on 19 October 1949.

Different Spellings of the Same Name

The name, Масляник, is Ukrainian, Maślanik is the Polish version and is a transliteration of the Ukrainian. A number of different spellings have been used when translating into English. The second 'a' [я] has been written in the following ways; 'a', 'ia', 'ya' or 'ja' and the 'y' [и] can be written 'i' or 'y'. The various renderings of Масляник are; Maślanik, Maslanik, Maslanyk, Maslianik, Maslianyk. The Americans appear to use the Polish spelling (Maslanik) almost exclusively. Its quite common for people originating from this region to use either the Polish and the Ukrainian variants. The spelling of my grandfather's surname in the American records is given 'Maslanik' yet his sons used 'Maslanyk' in later records. My guess is that the American spelling originated with the Port Entry Officer at Ellis Island. In any case, its clear they are all from the same family. Ukrainian and Russian speakers sometimes use 'Maslianik' or 'Maslianyk', I have even seen 'Masljanik'.

Any additional information would be very much appreciated, it may clarify a number of confusing points.