Jim Nance Tree

Spring is the best time, the showiest time, for the Jim Nance Tree, a flowering crab growing east and a little bit south of the house. I've numbered it #6 on the map of our three-acre place. Planted in 1994 this twenty-year old tree has bloomed every year and produces an abundance of bright red crab apples.

Bob first met Jim in the mid 70s when they were both students at Colorado Aerotech in Broomfield, CO, studying airframe and powerplant mechanics. A Texas boy, Jim was in the Air Force in the 60s, a B-52 bomber pilot in the Vietnam War while Bob, a Colorado native, was in the Navy with Underwater Demolition Team 11 in Vietnam. They became fast friends at Aerotech and graduated as the top two students in their class. One summer they made a driving trip together to the Experimental Aircraft Assoc. fly in at Oshkosh, Wisconsin then stopped in Iowa for an overnight stay with Jim's sister and her family...a great time for them both. Later Jim became the Larimer County Veterans Service Officer before trying his hand at politics. Jim's health was always an issue. He had a heart attack while in his 30s and had to step down from pilot to flight mechanic while still in the Air Force. Controlling his weight was a life-long struggle for he had a robust appetite and ate with gusto, like he did most things in his life, with gusto. At the time of his death Jim was about to embark on a big adventure, pulling his boat behind his pickup from Colorado to Texas where he and his new wife would launch the boat and sail the Caribbean. He checked into Poudre Valley Hospital to get checked out before the big trip and succumbed to a heart attack the morning he was to be released. Jim was a wonderful friend to the both of us so I bought a small flowering crab tree and planted it near the house so that each spring when it becomes the most beautiful tree on our place we think of Jim and remember him with love.

Spring Has Come to Colorado

After three blog posts and many hours of searching the web I'm finally over my obsession with researching my Lithuanian roots. Whew! Now I'm in the midst of a huge indoor project of moving our bedroom from the upper level of the house down to the main level, necessitated by my difficulty in navigating stairs. Before the bedroom could be moved we had to vacate the computer room which is the new site of the master bedroom, and before the computer room could be vacated we had to find space for several bookshelves overflowing with books, our two computers and all that goes with them .... and more, so much more. We are savers, collectors, archivists, probably hoarders, so moving rooms around is arduous and time consuming, not to mention mentally stressful because there are so many decisions to be made. Three weeks or more into the project the computers are now in the library on smaller desks and most of the books and file cabinets found a home in that room also. Now we are dealing with all the leftover items in the computer room, moving some to the barn, pitching others in the dumpster, integrating a few items into other spaces in the house. What to do with things like a camouflage popup tent for use in observing wildlife, a printer that still works but is redundant, a box of extra office supplies like print cartridges and staplers, a collection of astronomy calendars with wonderful photos, and on and on. After the computer room is totally emptied and the rugs rolled up we will touch up the wall paint then lay two new area rugs with pads and buy a brand new king-sized bed. What a treat that will be, our reward for all the hard work. The room upstairs that is currently our master bedroom will become a guest room and a place where our grandkids will stay when they come to visit. It too needs lots of work, wall paper removal, paint, wood floor rejuvenation...the work never ends. And what should happen this week to divert my focus from this huge indoor project? Spring is here! After a long, cold, snowy winter the sun is out, the grass is green, and my thoughts have turned to gardening. First order of business is adding a yard of soil to our raised beds in the garden. That is what I'd like to be doing today so I'm using that as the carrot on the end of the stick - once the computer room is empty and clean I will go buy a yard of soil in the pickup truck and start moving it into the garden, one wheelbarrow load at a time. Did I mention how all of this is heavy, tiring work? But at least I am not laying awake nights wondering whether Adam Jasaitis starting using his new last name, Sites, as soon as he emigrated or was it years later.

Jasaitis / Yasaitis / Sites - They Were a Big Family

I'm obsessed with this Jasaitis family, my Jasaitis family. I find myself hunched over my keyboard for hours at a time looking at every name on 1880 census records in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, trying to find Adam Sites...is that crazy or what? Granted this is wintertime and I can't be outside in the yard and my grandkids are busy with school so they don't need me during the week but really, I could be cleaning closets, sorting boxes of "stuff" that need sorting, or dusting, for Heaven's sake, but no, I'm hunting for Adam Sites in 1880, convinced that on one of these elusive census records I'll find an important clue that links the Jasaitis family to a particular region or town in Lithuania.

I have made some progress recently thanks to the help of a couple of online researchers like myself. I now believe my gr-grandma Petronella Jasaitis Uknavage had at least seven siblings here in this country, scattered from Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania to Franklin County, Ohio, up to Kent County, Michigan, down to Vermilion County, Illinois, and even way down into Coal County, Oklahoma - all from Lithuania! The oldest sibling, Adam, was born about 1851 and was one of the earliest Lithuanian immigrants to come to coal country in Luzerne County, PA about 1872. In the 1900 census he is shown as a "grocer" and in the 1910 census a "gentleman"...hmmm.....

My grandma, Petronella Jasaitis, was born the next year in 1860 but she didn't come to the United States until 1889 when she arrived with her husband Joe Juknewicz and their three children. They lived in the Pittston, PA area for seven or eight years before moving to Vermilion County, Illinois. Joe was a miner and died around 1903 leaving Petronella (Petrona) with five children ages eleven through seventeen. She had family there, thank goodness, a brother Andrew, and possibly a cousin, John.

The next sibling, Joseph, was born in Lithuania in 1862 and came here about 1886, moving to Columbus, Ohio where he lived out his life as a tailor (no coal mining for this brother). He married a local girl who was Irish and they had three children together. A granddaughter, Carol Kasberg, still lives there and has been a wonderful source of family history for me - a cool cousin too!

John was the next child born in 1865. He married in Lithuania and immigrated in 1888.  They lived for a few years in the Pittston, PA area near Adam before striking out for Coal County, Oklahoma, around the turn of the century to join a sizeable community of Lithuanian men mining coal there. They had six children together before John's wife, Agnes (Agota, Agatha) died of the Spanish flu in 1918.

Andrew was born in December of 1866 and immigrated in 1885. Interestingly, he is the only one of the Jasaitis clan to keep his Lithuanian name. Sometimes he appears in  records as Andrew Jasaitis, sometimes Jasitis, and even Yasaitis. He must have had an independent streak to keep his name and not change it to the Americanized Sites. He married a Lithuanian girl in Vermilion County, Illinois, and they settled there, near my gr-grandma Petronella, his older sister. They had five children while he worked in the mines, dying at the young age of sixty-one.

Frank was born in 1870, immigrated about 1890, and lived in Columbus, Ohio, near his older brother Joseph. Frank also made his living as a tailor and married a local girl just as his brother Joseph did. Frank was only fifty-two when he died in 1922 leaving a wife and two children.

William was born in 1872 and immigrated in 1891 with his wife, Tillie. They moved to Vermilion County, Illinois for a short time and their first child was born there but soon they were back in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania where they raised their six children while William worked as a grocer, a driver, and a hotel employee, according to census records.

The youngest sibling, and my gr-grandma's only sister, Frances. C. Jasaitis, was born in Lithuania in 1880 and immigrated between 1883 and 1885, still a very young child. I have to wonder if she came to this country with her parents or an older sibling, maybe Andrew. Perhaps I'll stop obsessing about Adam and start on Frances. Her immigration records could hold an important clue about the family's home in Lithuania. In 1899 in Pittston, PA she married Charles Gillis, also from Lithuania, and they stayed in Pennsylvania a few years before moving on to Grand Rapids, Michigan where there were Gillis relatives already established. Frances and Charles had four children and two of their grandsons, Roger and Gary Gillis have been very helpful with my family history research.

It has been such fun finding out all this information about the Jasaitis family. Initially I searched for my Lithuania roots by tracing my gr-grandfather, Joe Uknavage (Juknewicz, Juchniewicz, Juknevicius) but got nowhere with that. He was born in Lithuania in March of 1860, immigrated in 1889 with his wife and three children accompanied by one other Jasaitis relative and possibly a Juknewicz relative (the name was spelled differently on the ship's manifest but close to the same spelling). He lived a few years in Pittston, PA, worked as a coal miner, went to the Catholic church where his two American-born children were baptized, moved to Westville, Vermilion County, Illinois, where he appeared in the 1900 census but by the 1910 census he had gone missing. I do believe he died there for his wife is listed in the census as widowed and much later in her 1938 obituary it mentions that her husband died thirty-eight years ago. We've never found a death certificate, burial place, or any other evidence of his death but there are explanations for that such as a fire at the Vermilion County Courthouse, poor recordkeeping by the mine owners, dismantling of the local Catholic Church, etc. When I wrote to the Urbas Funeral home who handled his wife's burial I was told that "if only you had written two years ago when the owner was still alive - he knew that family and all the Lithuanian families so well." Ahhh...if only.

So, the search continues, and that's the part I love, the search.

Origin of the Names Jasaitis and Juknevicius

 In the search for clues to my Lithuanian connections I found two highly credible sources, LITUANAS Magazine and Lithuanian Heritage Magazine, along with several online history and genealogy sites. I learned that until the late 18^th century when Lithuanians had need of formal documents like passports most of the villagers did not have patrilineal surnames, that is, last names in common with their fathers and grandfathers. Instead a man might be called by his first name followed by a second name, that of a saint or the area where he lived or who his brother was. His first name was a nickname given to him when he was young which differentiated him from others, such as Rudis for red-haired or Kalvis for blacksmith. With the addition of a Christian name Rudis might become Rudis alias Antanas (St. Anthony) then shortened to  Rudis Antanas. Or he might be Rudis brother of Rimgaudo written Rudis Rimgaudo brolis.

 Now what does all this have to do with my search for the Jasaitis and Juknevicius families, you might ask. For me it means these names are not very old, probably won’t be found in old Lithuanian records prior to the mid 1800s. In fact, before 1861 when serfdom was abolished in Lithuania there may be no written records of my family, not unless their local Catholic church recorded baptisms and marriages and that same church survived decades of occupation by Russians and Poles and Germans.

 Jasaitis is a form of the name John, based on the Polish or Belorussian root Jaś with the Slavic diminutives or terms of endearment adding the “aitis”. At the time surnames were added the official government language in Lithuania was a Slavic language, a combination of Belorussian and Polish. That means Jasaitis is not even a true Lithuanian name. It means “Johnny”.

 Juknevicius  derives from the Belarussian _Jukneviy_ which is a diminutive form of
Eufemiusz [Greek: "good" + "prophecy" or "well" + "spoken of"], according to my source David Zincavage writing on a genealogy website. No wonder there are so many Jukneviciuses in Lithuania! Joe Good Guy would be preferable to most other options.

 By the time my Lithuanian relatives were settled in Westville, Illinois around 1900 they were no longer Jasaitis and Juknevicius. Instead they were Sites and Uknavage. Fortunately I have found documentation linking them to the old names and feel confident that the names in Lithuania were Jasaitis and Juknevicius despite many other spellings I’ve encountered. The ship’s manifest dated June 28, 1889 spells the names Jeschaitis and Juchnewicz. A church baptismal record for their child born in Pittston, PA in 1891 spells the names Jasaitis and Juchniewicz. An obituary in 1937 confirms the Jasaitis name change to Sites.

 There are many other spellings of those names that appear in records across this country such as Jesaitis, Josaitis, Yasaitis, Yukenavage, Juknevic, etc. but they are not my direct relatives. The “J” sound in Lithuanian is much like our “Y” sound which explains how customs officials may have misspelled the names upon arrival in this country especially since most of the newcomers were illiterate. The Juknewicz name was probably Polisized or Germanized before immigration and may be a clue to which region the family was from, but maybe not. On the 1889 ship’s manifest, the mother’s last residence was shown as Langenberg, a German city between Lithuania and the port of departure in Bremen, Germany, so the name may have been Germanized while they were there. But she's the only one listed with that residence. The husband, Josas Juchnewicz and their children have "Russia" as last residence so maybe it was a clerical error that linked them to Langenberg. How long they were in Germany before they left for the United States is anybody’s guess. And why "Russia" rather than a city or province in Russia? There is always the possibility they were running, hiding, burning their bridges behind them, figuratively speaking, of course.

 In summary, the names themselves offer few clues to my relatives’ lives in Lithuania. Unless I can find a document linking them to a town or region in that country my research may be stalled. However, I still have hope that on the Jasaitis branch I will find a naturalization record or death certificate which gives me that much-needed clue leading to an old Catholic village church.

My Ties to Lithuania

 I always thought our Lithuanian name, Uknavage, was unique, or if not truly unique then surely rare for I've never found anyone other than a family member with that name. Believing that it was unique, I was not prepared for the response I got at the Lithuanian State Historical Archives in Vilnius in 2001 when I asked for help in finding family records.."Oh, that name is very common here, very common," and then she pronounced it just like we do. They spell it differently in Lithuania, Juknevicius with a little mark over the "c", but the pronunciation was right on making me believe she knew what she was talking about. The archivist went on to explain that before any search could be made in Lithuania I should go home and gather together all records of the family in this country, especially ships' manifests, naturalization papers, and birth certificates, anything that might link them to Lithuania and only then submit them to the Archives for help. So that's what I've been doing for over a decade and I've still not found one record that gives the name of the town or region where the Uknavage family lived in Lithuania before emigrating in 1889.
 Josas Juchnewicz/Juknevicius/Uknavage and his wife Petronella Jasaitis married in Lithuania about 1884 and brought their three small children with them to New York having sailed from Bremen, Germany aboard The Lahn. There were two other adults who travelled with them, a 25-yr. old female Franzka Tokewicz (perhaps a misspelling of Juknewicz) and 21-yr. old male Vinc Jeschaitis (most likely a misspelling of Jasaitis), probably relatives. Online research has shown me that there were Jasaitis relatives here when my family arrived in 1889 and the moves my gr-grandparents made after their arrival in New York down to the coal fields of Pittston, Pennsylvania, then westward to another coal town Westville, Illinois  probably followed the path and reunited them with the Jasaitis relatives, not Juknewicz relatives. Again I learned that Jasaitis is a very common name in Lithuania so here I am looking for the Lithuanian equivalent of Smith and Jones families which is ironic for my husband's Oklahoma grandparents were a Smith and a Jones. As those of you who do genealogy research know common names are more difficult to pin down than unusual names.
 Oh, I've learned much about the Jasaitis family, how most of them changed their name to Sites, where they scattered to, who they married, where they went to church, and where they are buried, but I still have not found the name of the town or region in Lithuania where they lived. I'm about to decide that it doesn't matter to me, that one Smith and Jones family, or in this case Juknewicz and Jasaitis family, is enough like another that I can be satisfied with a possible scenario, a historical novel version of my family's past.
 I discussed this with my brother last week, told him of my frustration, how I've learned so much about those difficult times in Lithuania that forced thousands to flee their homeland, what their exodus must have entailed, why they settled where they did, how they fought with the Polish over the Catholic churches in their communities, determined to hear the liturgy in their own tongue, how they became tailors, coal miners, bartenders, and undertakers. He encouraged me to write it down, mix the known with the supposed, record the story of our Lithuanian relatives as it might have been, knowing I might get it wrong. I'm going to give it a whirl.

Those Old Cottonwoods

There must be an east/west fault line on our place where the water table is higher than usual. How else to explain the presence and vitality of a line of six cottonwood trees north of the granery. The three featured in this article and shown in the photo were tall, healthy trees in 1972 when we moved in. Forty years have passed since then I’m guessing these trees are at least seventy years old, perhaps older, for a woman who lived here as a child in the 1940s, a daughter of August Gross, remembers watching lightning strike near the trees. There is an irrigation ditch that runs along the eastern edge of our property which may provide seasonal water to the roots of the tree closest to the ditch but the other two have also thrived despite years of neglect. I can’t explain that.

The plains cottonwood species is native to Colorado, often seen growing along creeks and ditches out on the plains. The trees usually live to about eighty years of age before succumbing to fire, high winds, or interior rot. The leaves quake with the slightest breeze and the sound of wind blowing through the branches in summer lulls one’s senses like waves on a beach. In early summer the female trees release millions of small brown seeds aloft on fluffy white, cottony parachutes. That cotton sticks to everything and makes our yard look like it’s been TP’d by teenagers. For that reason some Colorado cities insist only hybrid, seedless cottonwoods be planted in town.

I’ve never named these three cottonwoods but think of them as the old cottonwoods. They have become more beautiful with age for their trunks have such character as the bark thickens and crevices open, then widen in uneven furrows.

Our old cottonwoods have always been popular with crows and squirrels and they now support a swing for the grandkids and provide shade for summer parties. But we know better than to camp beneath them when the wind blows for those heavy branches sometimes let go with no warning and crash to the ground below. I hope they live past their average lifespan of eighty years for that is approaching soon just as I am fast approaching mine.

Our Best Friend, Bill

 

Bill West has been friends with Bob Russell since the fifth grade when the Russells moved to the Wellington area. That was 1953. Only a few months apart in age, they attended school together, joined the Boy Scouts, and became teenagers interested in cars, girls, and airplanes, not necessarily in that order.
When I came on the scene in 1971 Bill was married to Carol and they had two sons and owned their own home. Bob was married too but I was soon to become wife number two. When we married in January of 1972 Bill and Carol stood up for us at our wedding and hosted a party for us in their home that evening. Their boys became friends with my son, Patrick, and over the next forty years we have shared many experiences together as families.
Just this week Bill spent a few days in the hospital trying to get his erratic heart beat back in sync and it caught me by surprise, reminded me that I take Bill and his friendship with us for granted. I don’t want to do that any more, not with Bill or any of the people I love.
I feel lucky to be accepted by both Bill and Bob as their friend, someone privy to the conversations they often have ranging from astronomy and archaeology, to ham radio and bird migrations. I love the way their intellectual curiosity leads them to study science  and mathematics when a lot of guys are content with TV and beer. Watching them launch off on a new field of study is like watching a couple of Boy Scouts with their first telescope.
So Bill, if you read this, please know this is not written because I think you are on your last legs. Quite the contrary - you have taken very good care of yourself, golf several times a week, probably weigh the same you did in high school, and Lord knows your mind is sharp and your wit keen. I look forward to many more years of life, laughter, and good times with you. No, I’m writing this because I’ve never told you how grateful I am to you for your wonderful friendship. It is a rare gift. Thank you. You’ve done a lot of things really well in your life but none better than being our Best Friend.