My Grandmother Mary Gjavis (birth certificate states her name is spelled Gjavic) has told everyone in the family that she was raised by her Uncle and Aunt, she said her parent's died when she was 2 years old. My Grandmother said she knew her Uncle (Joe) and Aunt (Celia) as her parents... They called here Katharine (Katy). She said her biological Father was her Uncle's Brother, but she didn't know her birth parent's names, which I think is strange, considering she was supposedly raised by her Birth Fathers Brother (her Uncle). Her Uncle and birth Father have different last names, although they are similar, Her Uncles last name is Gjarich (sometimes spelled Garich), My Grandmother told me when she was alive that the reason her father and her Uncle had different spellings of their last name is because when they came to America from Yugoslavia area that they came at different times and that is how the American people checked them in (with different spellings).
She said before she lived with her Aunt and Uncle they had already had 2 children of their own, and she was raised with her them as a sister (when biologically she would have been their cousin). Then shortly after my Grandmother settling in to her new home with them, her Aunt and Uncle had another child. From oldest to youngest their names are Nick Gjarich, Steve Gjarich-deceased (sometimes spelled Garich) and Milan Gjarich (the spelling of the last name varies from brother to brother). They are all born in or are from the Ohio and Michigan area. My Grandmothers Aunt, (known to her as her mother) had the maiden name of Bokenton or Bonkenton (something like that), which is listed on my Grandmothers death certificate & Social Security application as her mother's maiden name, it is also listed on my Grandmother's Brother/Cousin, Steve's Death certificate & Social Security application, although both the names are spelled slightly different.
And to make matters even more confusing... My Grandmothers birth certificate states she was born January 20, 1917 in the township of Greenfield, County of Wayne, Michigan (this is what I knew her birth date as) and that her parents names are Joseph Gjavic and Celia Bokouton or Bokovton or Bokauton (it is hard to make out the spelling on her mother's maiden name. Her birth certificate also states how many children her mother has alive prior to my grandmother's birth and it states 2 children... and it states that her mother is 25 years old and was born in Austria and her father is 35 years old and he was born in Austria as well. hmmmm!
So... I called my grandmothers oldest son. His name is George Hill who was born illegitimate (although, he didn't know he had a different father from his siblings until he was 17 years old and even to this day he does not know who his real birth father is, although he did find out by getting his birth certificate when he was 30 years old that he was born July 28, 1936 and it states his birth name as George Gjarich), he said that he has never heard such a thing about my grandmother being raised by her Aunt and Uncle because her parents had died when she was 2 years old... He said that it isn't true and that my grandmother told a lot of fibs (lies), so I asked him if her parents (his grandparents) names are Joseph (Joe) and Celia Gjarich (maiden name Bokouton) and he said he has never heard those names before in his life and that it wasn't his grandparent's names. He said that my Grandmother's supposed cousins raised as her brothers are really my grandmother’s brothers, which makes sense according to her birth certificate.
There are a lot of stories that I have heard from my Grandmother and my Mother and her 8 siblings (my Aunts and Uncles), but all of them agree about the story of my Grandmother being raised by her Aunt and Uncle because her parents died except for my Mother's oldest brother George. I know from my Grandmother's oldest daughter that is alive Lorraine, that when my Grandmother went to vital records in Michigan to get a copy of her Birth Certificate, my Aunt said that my Grandmother was having them look her up under the name Katharine Gjarich, which my Aunt Lorraine thought was strange since my Grandma went by the name of Mary Gjavis (the name that she told her children she was born as), the strange thing is that the vital records of Michigan could not find any record of a Katharine Gjarich.
Another strange story is one that my Great-Uncle Steve (my grandmothers brother/cousin, he was the 2nd child born to Joe and Celia, born January 06, 1916) told my grandmother (in front of my Aunt Lorraine and Aunt Arlene) that he wanted to be honest and stop keeping secrets, that they need to tell the truth to everyone about where they really came from. He said that he was sick of lying and that everyone should know the truth about them... he said: "Why don't you tell everyone, Katy!" "Tell them where we were really born, that we were really born on an island!"
At that point my Grandmother kicked him out of her house and became very upset and aggravated and told him she is tired of his lies. My grandmother explained that he is nuts and that he wouldn't know the truth if it hit him in the face, that he just said all of that to get a kick out of her. My Great-Uncle Steve did have a reputation of being someone who exaggerated things and lied, so my Aunts didn't doubt my Grandmother's explanation at all. Shortly after that my Great Uncle Steve died, he was shot in a Hotel in Costa Mesa, CA. The killer or reason for killing him was never really solved, the police and investigators said it was for his money, which added up because Steve was always flashing off his money and trying to look more prestigious than he really was. I wonder though, I know there are the Croatian Islands, which could be a good candidate. The Croatian Islands have been inhabited for a long time, I'm not sure how long, but I think since the 1200's or maybe even earlier.
I think my Grandmother's youngest brother (or cousin) Milan and his wife Lydia may still be living, as well as her Oldest brother (or cousin) Nick... the last my family has heard from them was in 1996 after my grandmother died. My Grandmother would visit with her Brother/Cousin, Milan and his wife Lydia at least once a month (until she passed away), they would enjoy chatting in the Serbian or Polish Language (she told me it was Serbian, but I know she could speak several languages as well as Finnish, which she had learned from her Husband's side of the family).
The only other clue I have that would help me to locate family members of my Grandmother would be someone that went by the name of "CHICO", I don't know if this is a nickname, last name, or first name... My grandmother would tell stories about this man, she said he is her favorite Uncle (which means there could be other Uncles of my Grandmother that she ever knew of or mentioned), she said he was her Uncle on her Father's side of the family (her fathers brother).
This really is such a big mystery to me... I would think that somewhere out there I have some heritage and some relatives that are honest and know what and why my Grandmother did or her parents did to create such a huge mystery. I'm sure one day I will figure all of this out! It would be nice to and I would feel blessed to have a connection somewhere out there to my Grandmother Katy (Katharine, Mary) Hill (Married Name) and that just because she died or her parents died taking all of their secrets to the grave, the truth will be known and my family can pass down their heritage to their future generations.
With love and respect to my Grandmother Hill.
Sincerely,
Shauna Ayres