Overview
Connecting people and bringing the past alive
Ancestor Summaries
Mack (Mach) - Czechia 
The earliest connected record of the Mach ancestors is from 1720 where a marriage record shows that Jan Mach married Dorothea (Knapp) at the Parish Church of St. Nicholas in Nová Paka. They were both from Valdov, a small village about 4 km away. Their descendants stayed in the village and surrounding area for several generations. In the early 1830s Ignác Mach married Maria (Pospišil) from Horní Kruty. Ignác moved to this new village likely during his "journeyman" phase and it was likely a trek of 2-3 days where he would have spent nights at local roadside inns. It's possible that his father Josef, who was a master blacksmith at that time, could have forged steel tools for him and would have had strong horses to send those tools ahead of him on his journey. Ignác's son, Karel moved to Vitice after marrying Kristyna (Pěnkava) from Malotice. It was his son Emil Mach who would immigrate to Cleveland, Ohio in the United States of America near the end of 1911 after spending some amount of time in Vienna, Austria. His brother Bohumil was receiving care at the Brothers of Mercy Hospital in Vienna until he passed away at the age of 17 in 1907. It is unknown for how long Bohumil was in Vienna and whether Emil's time there overlapped with his brother. Many of his descendants still live in Cleveland to this day.Gliebe - Slovenia 
Coming soon!Zarobila - Slovakia 
Coming soon! Vasziľ - Slovakia
The earliest connected record of the Vasziľ ancestors is from 1760 where a record shows that Juliána Jankovszky was born. She would marry Andrej Vasziľ on January 24, 1779 in Hrčeľ, Slovakia, then known as Gerčely. Their descendants stayed in the village and surrounding area for several generations. In 1854, Andrej Vasziľ married Juliána Kotoš on October 16, 1854 in Slivnik, Slovakia where they put down roots as a new family. Among their children was Ján Vasziľ, born in 1859 who married Maria Szovak from Kuzmice, Slovakia, a neighboring village. They raised their family in Slivnik, Slovakia where they faced uncertain times. So much so that in 1902, Ján Vasziľ (1859) accompanied his eldest son Ján Vasziľ (1887) on a 7000+ km trek to the United States of America to find fresh opportunities and likely try to help support the family back home. While the elder Vaszil returned home to continue to grow and raise his family, his children would eventually be split between 2 continents. Over the next 20 years, 4 of his children Ján, Andrej, Juraj, and Anna would make their way across the Atlantic, while his other surviving children Michal, Pavol, Anna, and Julia would remain in Slivnik, Slovakia. Ján and Andrej first went to Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania where they worked in the mines alongside many of their countrymen. They eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio, likely finding better opportunities there as the steel industry boomed during the 1910s - 1920s. Contact abroad waned as time went by, with occasional connections made back to the homeland in Slovakia. Over a century later, 2 descendants of this split family made their way back to Slivnik, Slovakia and rediscovered long lost family connections again. Many descendants still live in both Cleveland, Ohio and Slivnik, Slovakia to this day.Ancestor Stories
Ancestors of Emil Mack (Mach)
Roots Cultivated: A November 1720 Wedding in Nová Paka
It was the 26th of November, 1720 in Nová Paka and a young couple had made the 1-hour journey by foot to the Parish Church of St. Nicholas, which at the time would have been a modest stone building without an impressive tower, but nonetheless an important place for them because they were getting married. Jan Mach married Dorothea (Knapp) that day in Nová Paka. They were both from Valdov, a small village about 4 km away. They would return there to start a family, having their first child Anna Terezie on the 4th of January, 1722, just over 1 year since they were married. They would have 3 other children Benedict (1724), Jeremiah (1726), and Jiří (1729). While nothing is known of Jan's occupation, he likely was a rural farmer since the village was largely an agrarian settlement at the time. There were at least 2 other Mach families established in the early 1720s, namely Jiří and Kateřina Mach and Jakub and Kateřina Mach. In 1725, David and Anna (Kubalik) Mach were married and became a 4th family in the village. The Mach family line had a strong presence in the village of Valdov for well over a century into the mid-1800s.
Ancestors of Jan Vasil (Vasziľ, Vaszily, Wassel)
New Century, New Opportunities, but a Familiar Guide
In late May of 1902 in the small village of Slivnik, Slovakia, then known as Silvaš, a teenager there had just celebrated his 15th birthday. Yet, he was about to say goodbye to all he had ever known to make the over 7,000 km trek to the United States of America. Given that he was the oldest son in the family suggested a desperate plight in search of resources and opportunity. However, he wouldn't be doing this alone! On this journey the young Ján Vasziľ would have his dad along with him; he was also named Ján Vasziľ. The two would also be accompanied by his dad's cousin Ján Kotosz. They would have had to first go to Bremen, Germany where their ship, the SS Kaiser Wilhelm began the trip across the Atlantic to arrive in New York City, passing by the Statue of Liberty and going through Ellis Island. The 3 planned to meet Joseph Leue at 454 Walnut Street, in Yonkers, New York. Nothing is known about why they met this man. However, sometime over the next 6 years, the younger Ján Vasziľ made his way to Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania where he worked alongside other countrymen in the mines. His dad and dad's cousin made their way back to Slivnik, Slovakia some time before mid-1906. We know this because the family back in Slivnik, Slovakia welcomed a new child named Maria Vasziľ in March of 1907 and the younger Ján's brother Andrej Vasziľ went to visit him on his own when he was 18 years old in 1908 and met up with his brother in Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania. Andrej returned to Slovakia some time between 1908 and 1911 before making the return journey to the United States of America in 1911 to work alongside his brother and live permanently in the US. Ján Vasziľ married Julia Simko on June 4, 1910 and started a family. Their son Joseph Vasziľ and daughter Julia Vasziľ were both born in Twin Rocks, Pennsylvania. However, the family and Andrej moved to Cleveland, Ohio sometime in the latter half of 1912 or early part of 1913. The brothers lived in the same house in 1920, but both lost their first spouses early, remarrying and setting roots down in Cleveland, Ohio where many of their descendants live to this day.
