Nov 24, 2017

An account of Burgenlaenders’ migration to New Jersey

Frank Paukowits, a parishioner at Holy Trinity Church in Passaic, NJ, shared this account of the migration of immigrants from the Burgenland region of Austria to the Clifton-Passaic area of Northern New Jersey in the years around 1900. Marge Hanzl Ruppert passed this along — we have several cousins in Austria and in the U.S. who hailed from Burgenland. My mother attended Holy Trinity Grammar School in Passaic, class of 1937, and my parents were married in the Church of Holy Trinity in 1943. — Joseph Lasica

Burgenlaenders started migrating to the Clifton-Passaic area in New Jersey around the turn of the century. Most were from southern Burgenland and the Güssing area. Many of the immigrants worked in the wool and textile mills and small factories that were concentrated in the area.

Religion was a very important aspect in their lives. When they arrived in America, most continued to worship and attend services in their new homeland. The church became a place where the newly arrived Burgenlaenders could gather with friends and family to continue the religious traditions of the “Heimatland.” It was not uncommon then to establish national churches to
accommodate the new immigrant population groups. On June 17, 1900 (Holy Trinity Sunday), several men from Passaic met with the Bishop of Newark to request that a national church be built for the German-speaking people in the area, and the request was granted. Appropriately, the name chosen for the new parish was Holy Trinity.

A temporary church was used for religious services until a permanent church could be built. In the spring of 1903 the cornerstone for the church was laid, and the church opened up for services in September of that year. Its first pastor was Fr. Joseph Hasel from Newark, and there were about 400 parishioners.

Shortly thereafter in 1906 a school was established in temporary quarters in the back of a barbershop near the church. It was very popular and attendance grew rapidly. To accommodate all the students, additional land was purchased adjacent to the church where a permanent school building was constructed.

Having a church where masses were said in their native tongue made the transition to their new homeland that much easier for the Burgenlaenders. Many of the Burgenlaenders who came to this area as young adults ended up being married at the church, baptizing their children there, and celebrating the most important events of their lives in that church.

While I lived in New York, I had many relatives who lived in Clifton and Passaic. As a result, I attended many religious functions at Holy Trinity Church, and even served as an altar boy at my cousin’s wedding there more than 50 years ago. Also, since my mom lived in Clifton before getting married, my parents’ wedding service was held at that church. Thus, my bond to the church is extra special.

The church is in excellent physical condition. It was renovated for its centennial celebration in the year 2000. The church basement is still used for the annual Weinfest that is held in early November. Walt Groeller from Whitehall, Pa., has been entertaining crowds at this function for the last 30 years. It’s a tradition that people are not willing to give up.

More than 100 years have past since those first Burgenland immigrants attended services at Holy Trinity Church. While the neighborhood has changed and most of the old time Burgenlaenders have moved from the area, many still travel to the Church for Sunday services. The 10:00 AM mass is still said in German. The Church’s pastor, Fr. Antonio Rodriguez, who is Spanish, speaks fluent German and is supportive of the needs of the old parishioners. The Burgenlaenders show their appreciation with continuing support of the church, in the tradition of the early Burgenlaenders who worshipped there many years ago.

Aug 20, 2016

Owner of Hasbrouck Heights’ last farm, Edson Stagg, dies

This tribute/obituary appeared in The Record on Sept. 10, 2010:

Edson Stagg, the last farmer in Hasbrouck Heights, died Saturday at his home in Hunterdon County. He was 89.

Mr. Stagg operated a produce and flower farm for more than 25 years on land his father acquired in 1919. The land included a Dutch sandstone house dating to 1728. Mr. Stagg was born in the farmhouse.

Edson Stagg

Edson Stagg

Edson Stagg operated this produce and flower farm in Hasbrouck Heights for more than 25 years on land his father acquired in 1919. He sold the property in 1972 and moved to Hunterdon County, where he opened another farm.

“When my father bought this farm … it was a mile long and 500 feet wide. It stretched all the way from the Erie Railroad tracks in Hackensack to the Lodi bleachery,” Mr. Stagg told a reporter in 1972, after he sold what remained of the family’s property, including the farmhouse, to a developer. By then, Stagg’s Farm was shoehorned between Routes 80 and 46, and a 12-story hotel, now the Hasbrouck Heights Hilton, was across the way.

Mr. Stagg grew and sold flowers in the spring and vegetables in the summer and fall. He sold Christmas trees during the holidays.

Edson Stagg operated this produce and flower farm in Hasbrouck Heights for more than 25 years on land his father acquired in 1919. He sold the property in 1972 and moved to Hunterdon County, where he opened another farm.

Edson Stagg operated this produce and flower farm in Hasbrouck Heights for more than 25 years on land his father acquired in 1919. He sold the property in 1972 and moved to Hunterdon County, where he opened another farm.

“He was a strong, determined man who knew what he wanted and was fussy about his road stand,” said his wife, Tory. “Everything had to be spotless, and anything not of A-1 quality would go right into the garbage.”

“We used to go there to buy our corn and tomatoes in the summer,” said Louise Davenport, 81, the Hasbrouck Heights historian and former borough clerk.

Mr. Stagg continued to operate the farm after moving to East Paterson in 1963. “But his heart, his whole life, was in Hasbrouck Heights,” his wife said. “He was very sad he had to sell, but he knew things were changing after they built the hotel across the street.”

The Staggs moved to Kingwood Township in 1980. Mr. Stagg had another Stagg’s Farm there — this one growing annuals and poinsettias.

In addition to his wife of 63 years, he is survived by his children, Edson Emil Stagg of Carlstadt and Jessica S. Morgan of Elmwood Park; two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Visiting is today from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Patrick J. Conte Funeral Home, Elmwood Park. The funeral service will be held there Thursday at 10 a.m.

Jan 2, 2014

Spie, Poland

jd-in-spie
That’s me with Bronislaw and Zofia Sudol in Spie, Poland.

By JD Lasica

spie-roadsignMy side of the Lasica family — the American side — has had only fleeting contact with our cousins in Poland since my grandfather, Wojciech (George) Lasica, arrived on Ellis Island on Feb. 13, 1912. (For some perspective, that was a month before the Titanic sank.) My grandmother, Katarzyna Delenta Lasica, and my aunt Tory (Sophie) Lasica Stagg, sent items of clothing over in the 1950s, but since then, the connections have faded away.

spie-mapSo when I headed to Poland in June 2013 for the first time, as a speaker at the Bitspiration startup conference, I decided to mix business with family affairs by hiring a Krakow-based family researcher from Your Roots in Poland to accompany me to the former Lasica family homestead in Spie, about 2 1/2 hours northeast of Krakow.

Here are 34 photos of my trip to Spie and the surrounding countryside. And here’s a map of where Spie is located (at right).

Kinga, Krzysztof and I spent June 27 tooling around Wilcza Wola, the district that encompasses Spie, with a local historian, Wojchiech Mroczka. We spent an hour going through records dating back to the early 1800s in the church parish’s offices with the help of Father Stanislaw. But the highlight came when we visited the now-abandoned house at 11 Spie and met the neighbors, Bronislaw and Zofia Sudol, who still maintain the land there for the property owner.

I won’t go into the backstory of how a determined family matriarch, Maria Lasica Bordon, cajoled family members to up and move to Toronto. But the Łasica family (pronounced wa-SHEET-sa) left an indelible mark.

Here’s a short video I took of Bronislaw when we arrived — he was quite excited to pass along his recollections of family members who once lived there, and it was quite touching to meet him and Zofia. For your hospitality, dziękuję bardzo! (more…)

Dec 25, 2013

Wojciech Lasica’s immigration to the U.S.

The Zeeland, which brought Wojciech "George" Lasica, the patriarch of the Lasica family, to Ellis Island in February 1912.

The Zeeland, which brought Wojciech “George” Lasica (my grandfather), who became the patriarch of the Lasica family in the U.S., to Ellis Island on Feb. 13, 1912. He was 19.

Immigration ship records for Wojciech ‘George’ Lasica

By JD Lasica

Around 1998, in response to my query, the National Archives sent several photocopies of records related to my grandparents. Here are the details for Wojciech “George” Lasica — including some real surprises:

S.S. Zeeland: Part of the fleet of immigrant ships

The S.S. Zeeland made her first voyage on April 13, 1901, from Antwerp, Belgium, to New York. She was registered under the British flag for the Red Star Line.

The Zeeland was 562 feet long by 60 wide with two funnels and four masts. There were accommodations for 342 First Class, 194 Second Class, and 626 Steerage class passengers. (Wojciech was almost certainly in steerage.) She was powered by 2 propellers, could travel up to 15 knots and weighed 11,905 gross tons. (more…)

Dec 25, 2013

Emil Lasica: Farewell to a family man

Emil George Lasica died in a hospital on Nov. 30, 1999, just three weeks before we had planned to fly east for the Christmas holidays for Bobby Lasica to meet his grandparents for the first time. JD Lasica delivered the following eulogy at his father’s funeral service on Dec. 4, 1999.

My last conversation with my father took place last weekend. Dad was looking forward to finally meeting his grandson Bobby during our trip back East just three weeks from now. We spoke for only a few minutes, but he took the time to remind me to send a photo of Bobby to his brother and sister, John and Vi.

Dad was always talking about responsibility, and about family. Those were the central touchstones in the household I grew up in — everything else flowed out of responsibility, and family. (more…)

Dec 24, 2013

Relationship chart

By JD Lasica

“Just how are we related again?” It’s a common question, especially when you get to the second-cousin once removed stage.

The chart below offers an at-a-glance look at family relationships.

                                4 X Great
                               Grandparents
                                 /      \
                          3 X Great    4 X Great
                       Grandparents    Uncle-Aunt
                           /     \            \
                    2 X Great   3 X Great   1st Cousin
                  Grandparents  Uncle-Aunt  4 X Removed
                     /     \            \           \
               Great     2 X Great    1st Cousin   2nd Cousin
           Grandparents  Uncle-Aunt   3 X Removed  3 X Removed
               /     \           \            \           \
         Grand      Great       1st Cousin   2nd Cousin   3rd Cousin
        Parents   Uncle-Aunt    2 X Removed  2 X Removed  2 X Removed
         /     \           \            \           \           \
   Father     Uncle   1st Cousin    2nd Cousin    3rd Cousin    4th Cousin
   Mother     Aunt    Once Removed  Once Removed  Once Removed  Once Removed
   /     \           \           \            \           \           \
ME      Brother       1st          2nd         3rd         4th          5th
         Sister      Cousin       Cousin      Cousin      Cousin       Cousin
   \           \           \            \           \           \
    Son     Nephew   1st Cousin    2nd Cousin    3rd Cousin    4th Cousin
  Daughter   Niece   Once Removed  Once Removed  Once Removed  Once Removed
         \           \           \            \           \
         Grand      Great      1st Cousin  2nd Cousin  3rd Cousin
         Child  Nephew-Niece   2 X Removed  2 X Removed 2 X Removed
               \           \            \           \
              Great    2 X Great     1st Cousin  2nd Cousin
           Grandchild  Nephew-Niece  3 X Removed 3 X Removed
                     \           \            \
                  2 X Great  3 X Great      1st Cousin
                 Grandchild   Nephew-Niece  4 X Removed
                           \            \
                        3 X Great  4 X Great
                         Grandchild   Nephew-Niece
                                 \
                              4 X Great
                              Grandchild

Common usage allows the Great Aunt-Uncle and Great Nephew-Niece to be referred to as Grand Aunt-Uncle or Grand Nephew-Niece. Although an allowable usage, it is not the preferred usage.

Another way to go about it

Here’s another way to figure out how you and a relative are related.

relationships-chart2

How to calculate how two people are related

  1. Select two people in your family and figure out the most recent direct ancestor they have in common. For example, if you chose yourself and a first cousin, you would have a grandparent in common.
  2. Look at the top row of the chart (in blue) and find the first person’s relationship to the common ancestor.
  3. Look at the far left column of the chart (in blue) and find the second person’s relationship to the common ancestor.
  4. Move across the columns and down the rows to determine where the row and column containing these two relationships (from #2 & #3) meet. This box is the relationship between the two individuals.

Source: About.com

Dec 21, 2013

Remembrance of John Martin Lasica

J. Martin Lasica with a bonsai tree.

J. Martin Lasica with a bonsai tree.

In his 40s John Lasica started going by J. Martin Lasica. He lived in San Jose, Calif., and ran a roof-repair business, Just Leaks, in nearby Santa Clara. He traveled often to Thailand. He died of prostate cancer that metastasized at age 59. His ashes were spread in Flemington, NJ, by his close uncle, Edson Stagg. His daughter, Jennifer, printed a wonderful tribute to her father a few months after he died. Here’s an excerpt:

J.Martin grew up in New Jersey. He spent a good deal of time working on his Uncle Ed’s farm. Throughout his life, he reminded us how important the work ethic was. Uncle Ed’s farm was where he internalized that life lesson and first experienced the rewards of hard work.

He had high expectations of himself as well as others. In 1963, he became a father to Craig and Scott when he married Irene. Together, they had three more daughters: Jenny-Sue, Cindy and Holly. Connecticut was home. When J. Martin and Irene divorced, he became a single father, raising his daughters in California. He has been there for the past 20 years. (more…)

Dec 21, 2013

John Lasica’s remembrances

From left, Walter Wojcik, Emil Lasica, his mother ("Babci"), John Lasica, George Maciag and his son Gregory, circa 1951.

From left, Walter Wojcik, Emil Lasica, his mother (“Babci”), John Lasica, George Maciag and his son Gregory, circa 1951.

John Lasica died in Port Richey, Fla., on June 30, 2010, at age 91. In his late 80s, he wrote this short bio and remembrance:

My father Wojciech (George) Lasica was born on Oct. 9, 1892, in Galicia, Austria. His parents were Jacob Lasica and Maryann Dul from Spiech, Austria (now Spie, Poland). My father had two sisters. [Actually, he had three sisters and two brothers.] My mother was born on Nov. 3, 1890, in Galicia, Austria. Her parents were Andrew Delenta and Honorato Zak in Kamien, Austria. She had two brothers, Luke and Joseph. Austria was part of Poland and after the war it was taken over by Poland.

My mother came to Warren, Rhode Island, where he brothers lived and met my father there, and at an early age, 21, they were married in Warren, R.I. Shortly they moved to New Jersey, where my father worked in a bakery. After a few years of working, he had enough money and bought a bakery in Garfield, NJ. My sister Violet was born on Sept. 17, 1916, and my sister Jean was born March 21, 1917. I was born on June 23, 1919, and my brother Emil was born on Aug. 14, 1920. My sister Sophie (Tory) was born on July 3, 1926. We were born very close because my father wanted us to be a close family. (more…)

Dec 10, 2013

Photo Gallery

Here are relatives and ancestors of the Lasica, Sporn, Schepper and Delenta families:

Oct 25, 2013

Posuchy and the ancestral homeland

The region of southeastern Poland where John Lasica, his son Jakub and his other children may have been born, in Posuchy, near Ranizow (141.6 miles SSE of Warsaw). Jakub Lasica moved his family to Wilcza Wola, and some of his children were baptized in Nowy Nart.

The region of southeastern Poland where John Lasica, his son Jakub and his other children may have been born, in Posuchy, near Ranizow (141.6 miles SSE of Warsaw). Jakub Lasica moved his family to Wilcza Wola, and some of his children were baptized in Nowy Nart.

poland
The area of Poland (in rectangle), enlarged above.