By all family accounts, Eli and Nicholas Medich were Serbian. Born in an area that was originally part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the real estate changed hands a number of times, so "country of origin" on various documents varies, according to the year in which the document was produced. However, their ethnicity was definitely Serbian.

Eli's WWI Draft Registration lists his next of kin as "Cousins". I believe the "Cousins" were in South Bend. Does anyone have any information, or a family tree of the South Bend Medich families?

Thank you!

Karen

There is a WW I Draft Registration for Nickolas Medich which lists next of kin as brother Eli Medich

Name: Nickolas Medich
City: Gary
County: Lake
State: Indiana
Birth Date: 1 Jan 1883
Occupation Grocer

The WW I Draft Reg for Eli does NOT say cousin, a closer look reveals the 2nd question on line 10 asks "Race specify which" the answer is Caucasian. The first part of line 10 simply states he is single.

Immigration records find several Ilija MEDIC and some that have been mistranscribed as Jlya

Robert

I would guess SEVOROVIC is not the original spelling perhaps it is SEVEROVIC or SEVAROVIC.

Most of the SEVEROVIC I find in US immigration records come from an area in Croatia called Zumberak where the Uskok's mentioned by the other poster settled. Many of them are Byzantine Rite Catholics. We have a fair number here in Cleveland and the only Byzantine Catholic Croatian Church in America. At one time there was a church in Chicago, Sts. Paul and Peter but I believe it closed in the 70s or 80s. In fact it appears that Iljia SEVEROVIC was a priest in Chicago in the 1920s. there is a record of his family found on a ship manifest coming from Stojdraga, Croatia

Robert

Thank you for supplying the derivation of the surname Medic / Medich. I am very happy to have this information!

Yes, you are correct about their immigration information. Eli and Nicholas came from what was a Croatian area at the time, but were actually Serbian.

Karen

Robert;

Thank you for the Draft Registration correction and for your research efforts.

Yes, have Nicholas' WWI Draft Registraton, noting Eli as his brother.

According to his citizenship documents, Eli Medich / Ilija Medic arrived at Ellis Island on March 27, 1910, aboard the Columbia, from a place called "Zboriste", then in Croatia. Ellis Island records substantiate.

Eli was born on July 23, 1890 in Krupa. His father was Peta Medic, mother, Mary Sosa.

He died on March 1, 1952 in San Bernardino CA. Have SSDI and other records.

Karen

Hi,
My grandfather was Medic. His father was Milan Medic (his wife Jozefina). They originated from Dobro Selo and the area around it as well as Grant Medich's. That is in Bosnia and Herzegovina nowdays. They are of Serb orign.
As I remember there were quite a few close relatives of his who migrated to US during first half of XX century. i will ask my mother, if she can remember.
Regards
Nataliya

Hello!

I recently obtained copies of Nikola Medic/Medich & Zora Severovic/Severovich's 1919 Gary, IN marriage documents. Both had been married before and both were widowed. I do now know the names of their previous spouses, or if either had children by their previous marriages.
Zora's maiden name was Fabicic/Fabicich.
Zora Medich is listed in the 1955 Gary City Directory as "widow Nick".
Not sure if Nikola was born 1883 or 1885. His WWI Draft registration lists one date, marriage documents another.

Eli Medich / Ilija Medic married my grandmother, Cornelia Mischan, in 1922. They had two daughters, divorced in 1927. My grandmother remarried, Eli did not.

The family story is that the two brothers, Ilija/Eli and Nikola/Nikolas, had Medic/Medich cousins/relatives who also emigrated to America. There are many Medich listings in census documents, old city directories, etc. but I have no idea who's who. Thank you for any information!

Kind regards,

Karen

Karen,

Zora (Jora on the census) is listed as having arrived in the US 1906 and is listed as Croatian vs Serbian for Nikola in the 1930 census.

Could this be your Zora?

First Name: Zora
Last Name: Fobccic (manifest actually shows FABICIC)
Race: Croation
Last Place of Residence: Gorica, Hungary
Date of Arrival: Dec 13, 1906
Age at Arrival: 19y Gender: F Marital Status: S
Ship of Travel: Samland
Port of Departure: Antwerp
Manifest Line Number: 0007
Destination to bro in law Alois GREGOVIC at 74 Grand Ave, Chicago IL

It would appear that she was traveling with her sister on the lines above are Dragutin (=Charles or Carl) age 3 and his mother who Ancestry transcribed as Faur, which is not a name, perhaps she was Jana? Gorica (means little hill)

I wonder if this name is actually FABEČIĆ which is found at Velika Gorica, which is near Zagreb airport? In either case the name comes from the male given name Fabian or Fabijan

FABECIC and FABECICH appear in the 1910 and 1930 Gary IN census and one WW II Draft Reg shows the birthplace of Ivan Michael FABECIC and Steven as Velika Gorica

Looking for SEVEROVIC(H) I found this marriage record....
Groom's name: John Severovich
Groom's age in years: 28
Groom's estimated birth year: 1887
Groom's birthdate: 1887
Bride's name: Zora Fabec
Bride's age in years: 28
Bride's estimated birth year: 1887
Bride's birthdate: 1887
Marriage type: Marriage
Marriage date: 12 Oct 1915
Marriage place: Chicago, Cook, Illinois
Film number: 1030602
Frame number:
Digital GS number: 4272398
Image number: 1208
Reference number: 704542
Collection: Illinois, Cook County Marriages 1871-1920

And then this WW I Draft Reg
Name: John Severovich
City: Chicago
County: Cook
State: Illinois
Birthplace: Velika Gorica,Croatia;Austria
Birth Date: 10 Oct 1887
Race: Caucasian (White)
FHL Roll Number: 1493542
DraftBoard: 26

John may have been Ivan, Ivo or Janko in Croatian (Serbian may have been Jovan) Janko SEVEROVIC is found in 1910 Chicago census arrival given as 1905

This Cook Co Death record is found

Name: Janko Severovic
Death Date: 8 Apr 1918
Death Location: Cook County, IL
File Number: 6010291
Archive collection name: Cook County Genealogy Records (Deaths)
Archive repository location: Chicago, IL
Archive repository name: Cook County Clerk

I would suspect he was one of the many victims of the "Spanish" Influenza.

And this ship manifest


First Name: Janko
Last Name: Severarc
Race: Croatian
Last Place of Residence: Gorica
Date of Arrival: May 22, 1905
Age at Arrival: 19y Gender: M Marital Status: S
Ship of Travel: La Bretagne
Port of Departure: Havre
Manifest Line Number: 0013
Destination to brother M. SEVERARC 27 Krall St

His brother may have been Miko who arr at Baltimore 1903 from V. Gorica destination Chicago to friend Alois SKALA

Alois often becomes Louis in America.

Robert Jerin
Croatian Heritage Museum
Cleveland Ohio

Robert,

Thank you so much for you very successful research efforts! What a wealth of information you have supplied!

Yes, Zora identifies herself as Croatian on the 1919 Gary IN marriage documents. She also lists her first husband's death date as April 8, 1918, so, no doubt, your research is entirely correct and Janko Severovic was her first husband. She also signed the document, in a clear hand, as "Zora Severovic", so that is the correct spelling and the indexed "Sevorovic" is mistyped.
My mother, Eli Medich's first daughter, still remembers Zora as a lovely, very kind lady who often took care of her and her younger sister when they were very little. So, I am happy to learn her history and to honor her in our family history. Thank you!

Nikola Medich gives his first wife's death date as June 2, 1917 in the Gary marriage documents, but I do not know her name or have any clues as to her identity. In fact, I do even know Nikola's death date, except that it must have occurred before the 1955 Gary Directory was printed, which lists Zora as his widow.

The mistranscription of many records certainly adds a layer of confusion. I believe that is the case with Nikola Medich's birthdate, which is given as Jan 1, 1883 on his WWI Darft Registration and Feb. 2, 1885 on the marriage documents. No doubt a problem interpreting handwriting: 1/1/83 or 2/2/85. The information on both documents was handwrittten by a clerk, as the handwriting does not match the signatures in either case. Flowery 1's can easily become 2's and 3's and 5's are often misread as well. As a result, I haven't found his immigration record as yet.

Anyway, thank you so much for your very helpful research and for saving me a lot of time at the library!

Kind regards,

Karen

Karen,

You're very welcome.... glad you did not mind me helping out a bit.

In regards to the different birthdates for Nikola, it may have been a clerk's error... or it could have been that Nikola did not know his actual birthdate, which was not at all uncommon in those days.

In regards to Zora's good penmanship... since around 1860 the Habsburg Empire required all children to recieve a 4 year primary education, which would have had a goal of teaching the 3 Rs... and looking at Zora's manifest she was literate.

Did I mention that Zora translates to Dawn?

Robert