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Ilas Family, Diamond, Indiana

Replies: 15

Re: Ilas Family, Diamond, Indiana

Bob Ellis (View posts)
Posted: 9 Oct 2003 11:01PM GMT
Classification: Query
Hello Bill! (and hello to any others who may read this)

I wanted to try to answer your question concerning the immigration papers on the 2 adults and 4 children that you asked about. Yes, I believe that they were grandmother, daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren. Anna (age 57) is the wife of John Sr (who immigrated here almost 30 years earlier!). Ilona (AKA Helen) was the (first) wife of John Jr, who arrived here a year earlier. Both passages appear to have been paid by George, according to your receipts. I can't get over how John Sr. apparently immigrated here alone, leaving Anna to raise the children. My guess is that his plan was to pay their passage here as soon as he could save up the money. Sophie (Anna), Mary, and George apparently came here individually. Anna apparently did not see her husband (John Sr.) for almost 30 years until she came here with the last of the family in 1912. The 1920 census bears that out under the year of immigration. I found it curious that Anna's age went from 57 to 70 in only 8 years! My father and I wonder if she was afraid of not being allowed in the country if she was 62? I noticed on your paid passage receipt (1912) that the boat passage was for 2 adults and 4 children, and the train passage from Baltimore to Carbon, Indiana was for 2 adults and 3 children (ages 5 to 12). My grandfather Martin was only 4 at that time. It appears he got to ride the train for free.

While the 1930 census did list Ralph Dowell And George Ilas as working in a cement plant, who's to say that Ralph didn't start working in a steel mill the next day? The census only lists their occupation as of the day of enumeration. Just a thought.

I am currently looking into renting microfilm from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for passenger names who arrived in the Port of Baltimore. The lists are indexed by last name, so I hope to locate the immigration records for everyone else in the family. NARA claims that I can rent the microfilm through my local library. I'll let you know if I have any luck.

Do you agree that the Anna Bettasso info I found would make her the Anna (Battassa) that Justine had told you about? Her son's death record stated that her maiden name was Peperak.

You'll notice that the only 1920 census listing I've found was for George's family (including John and Anna ). There were 2 enumeration districts in Clinton in 1920 in which the records were lost. I believe that all the Peperaks, Roskovenskys, and John Ilas Jr. were living in those lost districts that year (John Jr and family were still living there in 1920. Also on the 1930 census page beginning with Anna Roskovensky (enumerated as wife), the previous page is missing! The pages typically go from 1A to 1B to 2A to 2B to 3A and so forth. Their district goes from 1A to 2A. This means that at least her husbands name, as well as possibly other Roskovenskys and Peperaks were lost. If her husband was not living with her, than Anna would have been enumerated as "Head" (of household) and not as "wife".

Well, those are some of my thoughts.

Looking forward to further correspondence.

Bob Ellis
SubjectAuthorDate Posted
B_Ellis61 5 Mar 2003 1:08AM GMT 
Bill Easton 7 Sep 2003 7:22AM GMT 
B_Ellis61 12 Sep 2003 12:43AM GMT 
Bill Easton 13 Sep 2003 7:46AM GMT 
Bill Easton 18 Sep 2003 6:13AM GMT 
B_Ellis61 22 Sep 2003 1:54AM GMT 
B_Ellis61 29 Sep 2003 1:11AM GMT 
B_Ellis61 1 Oct 2003 12:15PM GMT 
Bob Ellis 10 Oct 2003 5:01AM GMT 
lisacc 5 Feb 2006 3:45AM GMT 
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