OVER THE HILLS OF RUTHENIA by HENRY BAERLEIN circa 1925 : MAGYAR-AMERICAN BOOK REVIEW

This book was published in 1925 in New York at by Boni and Liveright Publishers and that means that it reflects the times as well the author's opinion.  It includes travel to Ezhorod, the Ruthenian Capital, and mentions Rahova, Bodan, Maramos Sziget, and other locations. Ruthenians are called Ruthenes. (Previously in posts I mentioned that there are three tribe or clan groups and the ones in Southern Poland and Northern Slovakia, once Hungary, are of the Lemko group. I also mentioned these people are also called Rusyns and are of an East Slavic group, while Polish people are of the West Slavic group.  The book is now considered a classic and has been reprinted.

At first I thought I was going to be prejudiced against this book when I read early on that the "real" Magyars (verus people who became Hungarian because Hungary was the country where they lived) were "gentleman so lofty that they were not wont to have personal commerce with the aboriginals" meaning the Ruthens. (page 9)  I stuck with it, however, and was glad I did, for truly the way the people were living at some point close to 1925 is so interesting and there were characters - real people the traveler encountered - who were also entertaining and revealing. One of them is a man who has been to America to work in the mines four times but was injured and worries that the Americans won't let him in if he tried again because of that.

One always wonders when people who came to America the gave up their "national costume" (i.e. daily wear clothing) and why. We have images of immigrants coming into New York Harbor - Ellis Island - some in national dress, many not, and we wonder what they left behind.  The people in Ruthenia are depicted wearing their national dress - embroideries - white pants with fringe - boots containing a cushion of straw that remain on the feet for months - and capes that don't seem to be warm enough to keep out the mountain mists or the snow. 

The forests and weather conditions, the lonely homesteads of one room and high plateaus, the issues over grazing grounds, the hospitality of the people, all these things are brought to light in this book. Also what comes forth is that the people seem(ed) to feel satisfied with their lives or their lot in life without many of the material things that are thought to be needed by outsiders. The author admires the Czechoslovakian forest keepers but reports that the people don't like that the Hungarians want a count of cattle so they can be taxed.

The traveler's accommodations are well below what we would expect of a bed and breakfast or a student hostel these days. Travelers are given food, maybe sausage and onions and white wine or a bit of cornbread, generously, but without a lot of fanfare. They find themselves in someone's one room house where the oven takes up much of the space and a shelf on top of it is the warmest place. Travelers sleep on the (dirt) floor or on carpets or on a wood bench and sometimes everyone just lays down where they find themselves in the outdoors to sleep, without any tent or special gear.

Rusyn women are portrayed as having an old custom in which they would not be considered hospitable if they did not gently offer themselves to a traveler, so when more than one man shows up, that creates a dilemma. (Baerlein resists any temptation.)  The wife has two men to keep company with that night already, and now there are three. I did have to wonder about this because I think taking the chance of pregnancy with a stranger would go against strong orthodox Catholic beliefs but he reports it. On the other hand the isolation of these people makes me wonder if perhaps this was understood as a rare opportunity rather than a duty? 

Baerlein mentions people going on pilgrimages where they walk for days, day and night, to reach a church where they say a Mass and then walk back the way they came. Wild boars as well as well as tricky spirits are in the beech and sycamore forests. Fields with maize and sunflowers and sweet peppers and geese that are Jewish geese because they are fed a different diet so their livers will taste good to Jewish people; all of it brings the readers to their senses.

When an itinerant peddler decides to walk with him, we see that the peddler, with his tray of ribbons, combs, buttons and whatnot enthusiastically welcomed.  He tries not to sell everything he has in one spot so others will have a chance, making me wonder why he didn't bring more. There are horses and carriages but also railway stations with phones.

The traveler however does have interactions with people who are not forested Carpathian Rusenes and reports on the attitudes between classes and ethnic groups.  We learn that "Russian Count Bobrikow" ***was once an important player in the scene and that Count Shonborn once owned half of Ruthenia.  Hungary with its educational system wants to turn everyone into Hungarians through education but Ruthen youth can't get down from the mountains to attend and the parents wonder about boarding schools.  Hungarian nobility is seen as in two categories.  Before Esterhazy and Apponyi there were those who bore no patent known as THE ARISTOCRACY OF THE SUN!

So, I wholeheartedly recommend this book!

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 *** "Russian Count Bobrikow : there is a village in Southern Poland, Podkarpakie province with a name similar to this.

MULTIPLE NAMES ON BIRTH RECORDS and ETHNICITY : GENETEKA - USING THE POLISH GENEALOGY SOCIETY DATABASE for RESEARCH : GENEALOGY PRO TIP #5

MULTIPLE NAMES ON BIRTH RECORDS and ETHNICITY : GENETEKA - USING THE POLISH GENEALOGY SOCIETY DATABASE for RESEARCH : GENEALOGY PRO TIP  #5 

In the United States the typical child was given two names, a first and a middle, before their surname. In some families you might find naming has to do with honoring a father or other family member.

However, it is unusual in Old Polish/Latin records for most children who were baptized to be given two names. This is not just because a person was born humble, a peasant or poor, which may be indicated by the term 'rustic' or 'Ag' = Agriculture = a farmer.  (Not all farmers were poor.  You may have to find out if they are tenant farmers or subcontractors.)

When a Christian child reached the time to be Confirmed, they got to choose a name for themselves, which was repeated by the priest or bishop who was performing the Confirmation ritual. Old school is that this is the name a person would be called in heaven, having been a 'soldier for Christ'. In the United States Polish immigrants named their child at birth, and the child used the name they chose at Confirmation as their middle name in adulthood. (So that's why three of your aunts all took the name of their mother at Confirmation.)

Try not to get genealogy myopia by looking for Honorifics or naming patterns in your research.  Quite likely it is not a person but a saint that the parent or parents were honoring. There were saint calendars with saint name days that they could look to, in order to name their child. Much depends on the church, the order of the priests who ran it, and the place they lived, how big the population was, if it was subject to outside influences because of trade and being a market town (more cosmopolitan).  If your ancestors went to a Polish speaking Catholic church as immigrants, you may find that they were still naming a child for the saint whose day they were born on or near.

I've seen pages of children born within a few days of each other all being given the same name indicating to me that the church their parents belonged to and baptized them in was very traditional. This name they found was on the Franciscan name days calendar.  The Franciscans were originally out of Italy, and this is how there got to be so many Polish Anthony's (Antonin or Antal).

If the child is Greek Catholic, the choice of names extends to some names that are rarely used within Roman Catholic churches. (Basil, Theodora, etc.) Please note that many Greek Catholics claim a Ruthenian heritage and there is now a revival and cultural awareness of this ethnic group that lived in the Carpathian Mountains and thus at least three countries (depending on the border history.  See previous posts about them!) However, when you hear the term Ukrainian, this may mean Ruthenian is the actual ethnic heritage rather than ethnically Ukrainian. In Galicia, there was significant intermarriage between the two groups, and also a group that combined Roman and Greek Catholicism called Uniates.

Now, if you see two or more given names, don't assume that those are twins. You may see the word binomial, that means two names. Gemelli is the word for twins.  Another indication of twins may be the number of godparents. Sometimes you will see that the person was given not just two names but three or four.  In this case the child most likely has parents or family that is noble, aristocratic, high ranking, notable, or rich. (But the names given still might not be honorifics) or it may simply be a Germanic influence.

Here are some articles that I thought would be of interest on this subject.

CULTURE POLAND : BEGINNERS GUIDE

This guide by Mikolaj Glinski is quite interesting, as it deals with nicknames and the origins of the rarest Slavic names.  According to his site, Mikolaj studied classics in Berlin at Humboldt University and also cultural studies at the University of Warsaw Institute of Polish Culture.

WIKITREE : POLISH and UKRANIAN NAMES

EXCERPT: Mary (Marena)  Polish 'Marya.'  Ukrainian: Mariya or Maria  (Note: "Most of our ethnic Polish ancestors who used the name Mary in American were actually baptized as Marianna.  This name isn't a combination of "Mary" and "Anna." It's actually a name that means "like Mary." In Polish culture, Mary the Mother of God was held in such reverence that it was considered sacrilegious to name a child Mary, in the same way that one didn't name a boy "Jesus" after the Son of God.  Instead, the name Marianne was used, in the hopes that the child would be like Mary."  You will see the same Marianna in Ukrainian baptisms and marriage records.

In Hungary Maria is a common name given to the first born daughter.

ROMAN CATHOLIC TRADITIONAL FRANCISCAN SAINTS CALENDER  

Please note that you should look for a calendar that was used about the time that the child was born, as there could be some variations by Holy Order and also you will notice that the majority of the saints named on this master list did not seem to get honorifics in Poland.  But let's take a look at a fictional family that has a girl child born September 4th.  Her name Rose, perhaps Rosalia or Rozalia, which comes from Saint Rose of Viterbo, and Italian saint. Let's say the next year in early September, the couple have another girl child. They can't give another girl the same name, Rose, so instead they might name that child Marianna for the Nativity (birth) of the Blessed Mother. A son born in late August - early September might be Joseph. Alternatively, another girl might be named Josefa.

If you know or suspect someone was baptized in the Greek Orthodox tradition, look for the appropriate saint calendar. On Geneteka, Greek Catholic records are clearly marked in the database as such, however, something you may find is that a surname is represented in both Roman and Greek Catholic churches.  Check the meaning of the surname.*  This will help you avoid spending time on a surname over a spelling question when the two surnames actually mean very different things though they are quite alike.

In either case, check to see if the church in the village is still standing and what the name of it is, because the records rarely record the name of the church. Some of these old churches are simply breathtaking inside.  Others feature amazing structures made of carved wood.

In Hungarian records you will see naming patterns among common people that are mostly about birth order.  Also, if a child dies, the given name may be repeated. I have yet to find that in the Polish records. So, remember that the Greek Catholic person does not have to have lived in the Ukraine and you will find Greek Catholics in Hungary - or Hungarian Lands which would include present day Slovakia and Romania too.

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This post is part of a series on the subject. To pull all the topics up, click on the tag Pro Genealogy Tips - Galicia