Dear Scott.
My name is Margie Camomile. I have recently gone onto Ancestry.com and am trying to also figure out more about my grandparents. There is a good posibility that your great grandfather, and my grandfather( my mom's dad) were related or even brothers?? My grandfather was also from Brinje, Lika, and his name is Marko Karakas.( He married my grandmother Margaret Mesarek, her mom was a Soltich) He was born 8-16-1891. He came to this country and was a miner. He lived in W. Virginia, then moved his family to Jerome, Arizona where he worked in the copper mines.
My mom's family has little to share about particulars of the family, so it is hard to figure things out. But I will keep trying. Your request came up on a google search when I put in Lika, Austria. I finally figured out today that Lika was in Austria, before it was in Yugoslavia!!
Maybe you have found more information since you first posted this question?
Margie. I live in San Deigo county, CA.