Click
here for the Irla family tree (still in its rough stages).
This is what I know about my father's side of my family tree:
My grandfather Michal Irla (born September 16, 1893; died March 18, 1970)
left his wife and three children in Poland to create a better life for
himself and his family in Canada. He left Poland for Liverpool, England.
He sailed from Liverpool on June 22, 1928 aboard the S.S. Andania II (Cunard
Line) and arrived in Canada (port of Quebec) on June 30, 1928.
He worked for a short time for Peter Malowany in Redwater, Alberta and
then purchased a quarter of land north of Athabasca, Alberta (S.W. 1-69-21-4); an area known as Richmond Park, Alberta.
His wife Weronika
(nee Wawrzonek) arrived in Canada with their sons Jan (John) [b. 1923] and Michal (my father) [b. 1928 d. 2001]
and their daughter Stefanja (Stella) [b. 1926 d. 2011] June 6, 1932 aboard the Duchess of Bedford.
They all emigrated from Poland, namely the village of Radgosczcz in the district
of Dabrowa, in the province of Tarnow. Michal and Weronika had one more
child while in Canada: Mary [b. 1935].
Thanks to Rosemarie Naguski (RNaguski@aol.com), a distant cousin from Phoenix,
Arizona with Irla and Jaje in her backgound, I have found out more about my
grandfather's family:
My great-great-great-great grandfather was Laurenti Szczupak.
I do not know for sure the name of his wife (possibly Regina Lezon) [m. 1738]. I am only aware of one
child, Sophia Szczupak (my great-great-great grandmother).
My great-great-great grandfather was Mathiae Irla. He married his first wife Marianna Saladyga [d. 1779] in 1769. They had three children: Catherine [b. 1771], Stanislaus [b. 1775], and Mattheus [b. 1777 d. 1782]. Mathiae's second wife
(my great-great-great grandmother) was Sophia Szczupak.
They were married in 1779.
They had five children that I know of: Joannis
(my great-great grandfather), Agnes [b. 1782 d. 1784], Marianna [b. 1785], Salomae [b. 1796], and Anna [b. 1799].
My other great-great-great grandfather was Jacobi Jaje.
His wife (my great-great-great grandmother) was Regina
Soltys [b. 1789?]. They had seven children that I know of: Jacobus
[b. 1802], Lucia [b. 1802], Margarithae (my great-great
grandmother b. 1807), Jan [b. 1814], Franciscus [b. 1815],
Joannes [b. 1817], and Adalbertus [b. 1820].
My great-great grandfather was (Jan) Joannes Irla. His wife (my great-great
grandmother) was Margarithae Jaje. Jan and Magarithae had
eleven children that I know of:
Martinus [b. 1829], Joannes [b. 1831], Stanislaus [b. 1833 d. 1850],
Jacobus [b. 1835], Maria [b. 1837?], Catharine [b. 1840], Wawrzyniec
(Laurentius; my great-grandfather b. 1842),
Paulus [b. 1844], "girl child" [still birth 1846],
Kazimierz (Simon Casimirus) [b. 1847], and Thadeus Thomas
[b. 1847 d. 1850]. Kazimierz was married
twice: first to Mariannae Bator (children Martinus [b. 1881] and Thomas [b. 1884]), then
to Agnieszka (Agnes) Niemczura (children Sophia [b. 1887], Wojciech (Adalbertus) [b. 1889], and Magdalena [b. 1891]).
My other great-great grandfather was Petrus Bogacz. His wife
(my great-great grandmother) was Sophia Szczupak. Petrus
and Sophia were the parents of my great-grandmother Maria
Bogacz. They may have had other children, but I am not aware
of any at this time.
My great-grandfather Wawrzyniec was married twice. His first wife was
Agatha Kubek. They had nine children that I am aware of:
Catharine [b. 1869], Marianna [b. 1871], Sophia [b. 1874],
Joannes [b. 1874], Apollonia [b. 1877], Aldabertus [b. 1879],
Honorata [b. 1881], Agnieszka (Agnes) [b. 1883],
and Jan (Joannes) [b. 1885 - died at 8 months]. Wawrzyniec's second marriage was
to Marianna Bogacz (my great-grandmother). Wawrzyniec and Marianna had
three children: Marianna (b. 1891 - married Joseph Lipinski of West Hazleton,
Pennsylvania in 1917 - d. 1959), Michal (my grandfather), and Josephus
(b. 1895 - died at 22 days).
THE WAWRZONEK FAMILY 
This is what I have found out about the other half of my
father's side of my family tree:
Again thanks to Rosemarie Naguski (RNaguski@aol.com), a distant cousin from Phoenix,
Arizona, I have found out more about my grandmother's family:
My great-great grandfather was Jan (Joannis) Wawrzonek. His wife (my great-great
grandmother) was Jadwiga (Hedvigis) Mietl~a. They had two children that I know of:
Stanislaus (my great-grandfather) and Jan (Joannes). Jan married Catharine
Chudy. They had two children that I know of: Michal [b. 1885], and
Wojciech (Adalbertus) [b. 1887 - died 1890].
My other great-great grandfather was Martini Lichorobiec.
His wife (my great-great grandmother) was Agnetis Noga. I am
only aware of one child, Salomae Lichorobiec (my great-grandmother).
My great-grandfather Stanislaus Wawrzonek married Salomeae Lichorobiec.
They had at least five children: Appollonia [b. 1886],
Franciscus [b. 1889 d. 1890],
Antonina [b. 1891], Franciscus (Frank) [b. 1894],
and Weronika (my grandmother) [b. 1903 - died 1975].
Click here to see Weronika's baptismal certicicate.
THE RATSOY FAMILY 
This is what I know about my mother's side of my family tree:
Ilucha (or Ilie as he was known in Canada) Ratsoy was born on July 9, 1875
in the village of Toporivtsi, in the province of Bukovina in the Austrian Empire
(present day Ukraine). His wife Domnika (nee Palichuk), who also came from the
same village was born September 25, 1881. They were married February 4, 1899.
Ilie worked for the rich lords 16 to 18 hours a day and barely provided a mere
existence for himself and his family. Having heard about Canada and its unlimited
opportunities Ilie realized it would be a better place to plan for his family's future.
On August 24, 1904, Ilie and Domnika set sail for Canada with their two sons,
Ilis (Alex - born 1900) and Stefan (born 1902). After three weeks of sailing they arrived in
Montreal, tired and homesick. From Montreal they took a train to Edmonton.
Ilie filed a claim for his homestead in the Edwand
district of Alberta, east of Smoky Lake (S.E. 22-59-16-4).
Ilie and Domnika had four more children: Rosie, Bill (my grandfather),
George, and Katrina.
Ilie died in 1958. Domnika died in 1960.
My grandfather Bill was born in 1910 and died in 1991. He married Annie Statsko (born 1903 in Borschova, Ukraine; died 1980), who had been previously
married with three children: Lena, Mary, and Helen. Bill and Annie had five children together: Elmer
(died 1945), Peter (died 1973), Annie (my mother), Metro, and Lily.
To help trace my Ukrainian roots beyond my great-grandparents I have been
using the Internet, as finding records from the Ukraine are tough. I have only been in contact with a few people with Ratsoy in
their family trees; I am hoping to have better luck in the future.
IF ANYONE OUT THERE IN 'CYBERSPACE' CAN HELP ME WITH MY
FAMILY TREE, I WOULD APPRECIATE YOU EMAILING ME!
Genealogy Links
Alberta Genealogical Society
Canadian Genealogy and History Links
Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet
Helm's Genealogy Toolbox
PolishWorld: Find Your Roots!
Polish Genealogical Society of America
Genealogy & Poland - A Guide
Poland World Gen Web
Bukovina Society of the Americas
InfoUkes (includes some genealogy info)
My Biography
irla@telusplanet.net
