Credit: David Shankbone (Creative Commons License)

If I mention the movie When Harry Met Sally and your brain whispers “I’ll have what she’s having,” I’ve got good news for you. Meg Ryan, longtime rom-com queen thanks to her unforgettable performances in this and other favorites such as Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, is back with What Happens Later, a film she co-wrote, directed, and stars in. While in countdown mode, I couldn’t resist peeking into her past by exploring her ancestry because, well, that’s what I do.

When she embarked on her acting career, Meg adopted her maternal grandmother’s maiden name of Ryan, but her birth name of Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra hints more broadly of her heritage. Ultimately, I ascertained that she is 31.25% Irish, 25% Rusyn (from present-day Poland), 25% Polish (from present-day Lithuania), 12.5% German, and 6.25% English. As a fellow Irish-Rusyn American, this delighted me because there are so few of us, so I wrote about her Irish roots and am turning now to her Rusyn portion.

For those who may not be familiar with the word “Rusyn” (and no, I don’t mean Russian), we’re a Slavic people mostly found in the Carpathian Mountains, which is why we’re sometimes referred to as Carpatho-Rusyn. To further complicate matters, “Ruthenian” was once a more common term. Often overlooked, our favorite claim to fame is that Andy Warhol was one of us, but I hope you’ll take a few minutes to learn more by visiting the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.

This website provides a useful list of clues that you might be Rusyn (you’d be surprised how many are, but don’t know), but speaking as a genealogist, the two indicators I always seek are family documents that use words such as Ruthenian, Rusyn, Galician, and Austro-Hungarian, and ancestors associated with Greek Catholic churches, cemeteries, and organizations – particularly those in the old country before the family came to America.

It didn’t take long to trip across one of these giveaways. Following the path of the surname she was born with, I looked for Ryan’s Hyra grandfather in the 1920 census, and found him in Yonkers, New York with his parents and siblings. His father was recorded as coming from Galicia, and in the column for language, “Russian” is crossed out and replaced with “Ruthenian O.L.” The O.L. code stands for “other language” spoken at home, so this is how the Hyra family conversed a 100 years ago.

1920 census for Hyra family (Ancestry)

Languages census enumerators were told to expect to encounter for the 1920 census

As it happens, the immigrant in this branch, Orest Hyra, shared something in common with Meg’s Irish immigrant Ryan ancestor, as both were bartenders. Orest spent his first couple of decades in America working as a saloon keeper before shifting gears to running a grocery store.

So Orest Hyra, was Rusyn, but what about his wife, Anna, who was born in Pennsylvania? Chasing the answer to that question would reveal a tragedy all too common in Slavic families: a coal mining death.

The first trace I would find of Anna “Durkin” (the original name was Durniak, but variations like this are common) was as a step-daughter in the 1900 census. I then followed the trail of her mother, Catherine, to determine who her father had been and discovered that he was Nicolaus Durniak. Greek Catholic records noted that he died on December 24, 1893, and while I couldn’t make out the cause, thanks to Petro Orynycz’s Lemko translator (Lemko being a subset of Rusyn) and the help of Rusyn expert, Rich Custer, I learned that he was killed in a mine.

Death of Nicolaus Durniak (Ancestry)

Cause of death: killed in mine

Digging into coal mine inspector reports for 1893 reinforced this. As was typical, his name was distorted to Michael Durkin (those who are seasoned in Slavic research know how interchangeable Michael and Nicholas can be), but it was the right place and time, and he was about the expected age. So what happened? “Back severely injured; fall of roof” (“fall of roof” – not “off” – was common phrasing at the time).

Reports of the Inspectors of Mines of the anthracite and bituminous coal regions of Pennsylvania, 1893

I noticed that the accident occurred on the 21st of December, so had a go at finding a newspaper account, but when I saw how cavalierly his accident was treated, almost wished I hadn’t. “Happily no fatalities.” Well, not that day since he lingered for three more before succumbing.

The Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA), 21 December 1893 (Newspapers)

Since his death was uncovered in Greek Catholic records, I was confident that Durniak was Rusyn, but wanted to further verify this by finding his baptism in Europe. The mention of his place of birth in his death record steered me in the right direction, so I knew that Hańczowa, Poland was my target, and as expected, the answer was found in Greek Catholic church books.

Księga urodzeń dla miejscowości Hańczowa (1845-1898 Greek Catholic baptisms in Hańczowa)
(Archiwum Państwowe w Rzeszowie Oddział w Sanoku)

Birth of Nicolaus Durniak (Archiwum Państwowe w Rzeszowie Oddział w Sanoku)

There was no doubt. Meg Ryan’s ill-fated great-great-grandfather, Nicolaus Durniak, was Rusyn. His widow swiftly remarried out of necessity to a man named Jacob Korbelak and I couldn’t help but notice that Jacob’s surname appeared on the line immediately above that of Nicolaus’s birth. Though I didn’t check, there’s a good chance that this was a case of a fellow villager stepping in to help a widow with four children.

Newspapers unexpectedly turned up one more bit of evidence of the family’s Rusyn origins when Jacob assisted his step-children in trying to secure benefits that were apparently owed by a mutual benefit organization, likely the Greek Catholic Union of the USA.

The Times-Tribune (Scranton, PA), 9 January 1897 (Newspapers)

So yes, Meg Ryan’s Durniak and Hyra branches are undeniably Rusyn. In fact, her Hyra line hails from Zdynia, a village in Poland known for its annual festival of Lemko culture. And in case you’re curious, other Rusyn names that adorn her family tree include Filyk, Kardosz, Lukaczyn, Petkiewicz, and Wolchak. I’m beyond pleased that America’s longtime rom-com queen has Rusyn roots, and once they learn in her villages of origin, I have a feeling that they might be sleepless in Hańczowa and Zdynia!

More here about Meg Ryan’s Irish roots.

The post Meg Ryan’s Rusyn Roots appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

Osturna was selected for historic preservation way back under the days of Communism, so even today, it’s ridiculously charming.

Aside from the mayor’s name, I recognize all the surnames as classic Osturnite. They do a lovely job of capturing the spirit of the place and include our music, homes, and even village korj!

Should you wish to visit, check out Thom Kolton in the video. Though he’s speaking Slovak, he’s American and he runs an inviting pension in Osturna.

Warhol Soup Can Chess Set – The Rusyn in me really wants this.

World War II Airman identified after 70 years to be buried in Clearwater Saturday – What a lovely way to start the day. If you have a couple of minutes, please watch this about a viral video that happened to capture the homecoming of one of my soldiers who was buried this past weekend.

Welcome home, 1st Lt. George W. Betchley. Honored to have researched your family.

Photo Credit: Screenshot from Televíkend video about Osturna

The post Genealogy Roundup, October 25 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.

John Kasich: A Carpatho-Rusyn Pennsylvanian – I figured John Kasich was probably Carpatho-Rusyn and it turns out he is

New Ancestry Show is like Who Do You Think You Are? – With a Twist – Still more on that show I hope comes to America

Shutterbug: How One Female Photographer Produced an Invaluable Record of Communist Poland – Whoa . . .

Korean War Soldier Receives Full Military Burial Honor 60 Years Later – Whoa. This is a soldier I researched way back in 2001 (yes, really), and I can see from my notes that his was a tough case. So pleased he’s finally been identified and received proper honors. The video here has great footage of a military funeral. You can’t help but be moved by it.

On the trail of the Kearny Cross and Charlotte E. McKay – Check out this great detective work by Bob Velke involving one of the very few women to receive the Kearny Cross for bravery during the U.S. Civil War.

Trend Alert: Is Heritage Travel The Next Big Thing? – What do you think? Trend? (Kind shout out for yours truly at the end).

The post Genealogy Roundup, March 16 appeared first on Megan Smolenyak.