MY FAMILY AND RELATIVES
(Zakhariy/Zacharij/Zakharii, Kukharski, Gawdyda, Melnychuk) from Berezhany, Trostyanets', Pidvysoke, Kyiv, Karabachyn and Lviv in the Ukraine (former Poland/Austria-Hungary)

WITH GENEOLOGICAL TREE OF MY ZAKHARIY FAMILY (FATHER'S LINE)

My family lives in town Berezhany (parents, two brothers: Bohdan and Taras and sister: Oksana), village Pidvysoke (grandparents: father's parents) nearby Berezhany and in city Lviv, former Lwow/Lemberg (grandparents: mother's parents) in the historical land of Galicia (Galizien/Galicja/Halychyna) in Western Ukraine.

My father's name is Yevhen (Spoken form Genko or Genyk as he is usually called. In English: Eugene). He was born on 2 of April, 1950 in Trostyanets', a village nearby Berezhany, most of our Zakhariy (Zakharii or Zacharij as it can be also transliterated from Cyrillic alphabeth) family originates from.

Trostyanets' is a village where most of my ancestors of father's line come from. It is located in a picturesque valley in the most high part of hilly western terrain Opillia of Podillian Uplands. It is only 20 km to Berezhany from Trostyanets' and peple used to walk this distance during early times. I even walked once myself with my father, though only halfway from Kotiv. Trostyanets was first mentioned in 1409, in "Administrative Division of Ruthenian (Rus'-Ruskie) and Belz Voivodships of XV cent." by Polish historian and lawyer Przemysl Dabkowski. Another recorded mention of Trostyanets was in 1441, when it was recorded that owners of the village were Jan Skarbek from Szaranczuky (Saranchuky) and Jan from Delejow (Deleyiv). Although my ancestors, two brothers Roman (older) and Fed' (or Fedir/Theodore, who is my great, great, great, great grandfather) Zakhariy settled there much later, in the early 19 th century (around 1815 - 1825 I presume), escaping from army from the Carpathian Mountains as my great grandfather was telling to my grandfather, very likely from the village of Pidzakharychi (present day Putyla District of Chernivtsi Region, that is Bukovina) on ther river of Cheremosh, the pearl of nature in Ukraine. Almost everybody's surname is Zakhariy in that village. Also among the Legends of the Carpathians, there is a legend "How Zakhariy had overcome the Monster (Strashylo)" which was recorded in that village of Pizakharychi. This is just one of the presumptions where these tow brothers came from...or maybe from Transcarpathian (Zakarpattya) region, where my grandfather Bronislaw had met a man with the same surname Zakhariy, who lived in Mukachevo.

My grandfather Bronislaw (my father's father) was born in 1922 in Trostyanets'. His name, Bronislaw, is a Polish one, since his mother Maria of maiden surname Cicierska, born in 1902 in Mechyshchiv (Mieczyszczow) was of Polish origin. Her father was Pole, of a very noble, Count Polish family which settled in Galicia from Mazowsze in Poland (where I had spent almost two years of my life working and living in Warsaw, having visited the my grandfather's cousin's family in Bydgoszcz. Thus I speak native like Polish). Mechyshchiv had one of very old Polish colonies. The coat of arms of this Polish family was a black cross with a white crow sitting on it. My grandfather Bronislaw was a engeneer. He built a whole limestone mining and slaking factory in Pidvysoke. Afterwards he worked as a procurement manager (supplies director) of a glass factory in Rohachyn, a village near Pidvysoke. He lives with my grandmother Mykhaylyna in Pidvysoke. Mykhaylyna (She is called Mykhalina usually, she Michaelina in English) was born in 1920, also in Trostyanets'. Her maiden surname is Gawdyda. She is from Gawdyda family from Trostyanets, though the Gawdydas originate from village Saranchuky (a few kilometers from Trostyanets) originally. She was the youngest child of her father Roman Gawdyda's nine children. Roman's wife was from Zakhariy family also. Roman's brother Theodore Gawdyda emmigrated to the US in 1908. That year, 21 persons from Trostyanets' emmigrated to the US. Now I maintain contact with Theodore's grandchildren in Ohio. Now both my grandfather Bronislaw and grandmother Mykhaylyna are in their late70 th. I grew up with them in Pidvysoke during my early childhoood and later for summers (when my preants moved to Berezhany) and was a sheperd there taking care of their cows at the pasture and helping with scything the grass and collecting of hay (making haystacks also) for cows and with garden works whole summers.

Both, my father and mother graduated from Drohobych I. Franko Pedagogical Institute (now University)in town Drohobych in Lviv region. They got to know each other just there during their studies in Drohobych and then got married.

My mother's name is Liubov. She is usually called Liuba. Lubov means Love in Ukrainian and Russian. She was born in Lviv in 1952 and grew up with her grandparents in village Karabachyn in Brusyliv District of Zhytomyr region (formerly thsi district was part of Kyiv/Kiev region). Her grandfather (of mother's line) was named Petro Melnychuk. Many think that Karabachyn is a Tatar village, since the village's name is Tatar, it means presumably Black Paying Tribute Place in Tatar/Turkish language as I managed to figure out. Similiar geographical names occur only in Turkey. (for instance: Karabacak in Yozgat and Malatya provinces or Karabahce in Urfa province) . My mother's mother's (my grandmother) name and surname is Valentyna (Valentina) Kukharska. Her maiden surname is Melnychuk, from Ukrainian "melnyk=miller". This surname, ending with -chuk is typical for historical Volhyn region, which historically occupies also Karabachyn village in Zhytomyr oblast' where she comes from. Now she lives in center of Lviv, next to Lviv Opera Theater, at Furmanska Street, where I was always coming for lunch to my grandparents, during my History studies in Lviv University since I lived in Student Dormitory with my older brother Bohdan in Mayorivka (former Majorow) district of Lviv.my grandmother Valentyna divorced her first husband Arkadiy Kukharskyy (Kucharski). That is the real father of my mother and my real grandfather, when my mother was very small child yet and married Yevhen Nakonechnyy, my grandfather in law. He fostered my mother, so she calls him and is as real father to my mother. Arkadiy Kucharski/Kukharsky lives and comes from Kyiv/Kiev, though Arakdiy's mother Anna comes from Poltava region. As far as I know he and his family are Jewish (after the divorce he married another woman and one of their daughters married to Armenian pilot who flew the flights between Yerevan and Kiev. I have met their son David), though I know very little about my mother's real father's line from Kiev and met and visited him only once in life so far, in 1997 when I was visiting Kyiv/Kiev to get a visa from the Greece Embassy.

My older brother's name is Bohdan (which means "given by God" in Ukrainian from "Boh - God" and "davaty - to give") and he studied with me in Lviv I. Franko University, but at the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, so called Mechmat, one of the most difficult programs to study. He majored in the Mechanics. Now he teaches these subjects at Berezhany Agricultural College, which is the University now, being the branch of National Agricultural University in Kyiv, where my sister Oksna studies part-time. My father worked as teacher of Russian Language and Literature at the same Berezhany Agricultural College (then Agricultural Technical School, so called Technicum) as teacher of Ukrainian, Russian litearture, religion and culture.

My younger brother has very Ukrainian name Taras (like great Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko, whose portrait or statue is almost at every Ukrainian house, including ours in Berezhany and Pidvysoke) and he is 11 years younger me. He was born on 27 th of August, 1986 and still attends school in Berezhany. And my sister's name is also very Ukrainian. It's Oksana. She is 3 years younger me and was born on 16 th of June 1978. She studied Agricultural Law & Economics at the Agricultural College in Berezhany.

GENEOLOGICAL TREE OF MY ZAKHARIY FAMILY (FATHER'S LINE).

(Since our surname is written originally in Cyrillic, Latin transliteration can be different. In Polish and German it is Zacharij, in English it can be Zakhariy or Zakharii). Thus my great grandfather and his ancestors (known to me from the end of 18 th century and are present the geneological tree below) were Austrian citizens and are burried at the village cemetery near the church in Trostyanets'.

MOST OF MY ANCESTORS LIVED IN VILLAGE TROSTYANETS' which was part of Austria - Hungary until 1918.

(Trostyanets is located 20 km south from Berezhany in Ternopil region of West Ukraine now)

Theodore Zakhariy (nickname: Fed' the Younger - Fed' molodshyy), my great, great, great, great grandfather. He came together with his older brother Roman Zakhariy to Trostyanets in early 19 th century from the Carpathians, escaping from the army. They went north to rarely populated Berezhany land and settled in picturesque valley, surrouned by immense thickets and forests in Trostyanets (name Trostyanets' comes from Troshchi - Thickets) . Theodore's older brother Roman Zakhariy (The Older by nick) had 1 daughter Maria, who was born in 1832 and married Mykola Bilyk (born 1838) in 1856. Maria and Mykola had 5 children: Anna Bilyk (30/8/1873), Pavlina Bilyk (22/10/1864), Antin Bilyk (22/1/1868), Pavlina Bilyk (22/10/1864) and Dmytro Bilyk (19/2/1861). Only Dmytro left offsprings, and as many as 14 children (Nastia married do Didukh family, Antin, Mykhaylyna married to Babij family: so called "Susovi", Vasyl, Mykola married to Teklia Karas' and others)

Theodore had 4 children:

1. Matviy (Matfej/Mateusz) Zakhariy, my great great great grandfather (1829-1/07/1902) (see below blueline),

2. Josyf Zakhariy(married to Ksenia Ciselska in 1842 from village Kotiv),

3. Theodore Zakhariyborn on 17/2/1853 (married to Olena Lyktey on 22/2/1880, who was born on 22/5/1862. Theodore's and Olena's had 8 children: Hryhoriy (30/1/1900-1847, who had two children Theodore and Myrona. His surname took the form Zakharkiv) , Lev (30/8/1884-19/2/1886), Yevheniya (born 31/12/1897), Kornyliy (16/12/1886-21/12/1886), Anastasia (born 17/3/1888), Yulianna (22/12/1890, married to village Rybnyky), Andriy (born28/12/1893) and Mykola (9/12/1880-11/4/1881)

4. Anna Zakhariy(13/12/1844 - 3/12/1896) married to Yakym Czawurski, 1839-1862. Anna, being a widow alredy and her son Tymofiy Czawurski (Tymoteus, born on 20/6/1885) emmigrated to Bosnia in 1895. 27 persons (of Palczak, Rychicki, Czortolomny, Babij, Gordasz families) from Trostyanets' emmigrated to Bosnia in 1895. Anna and Yakym had three children, mentioned Tymofiy and also Maria (died on 13/10/1889) and Natalia (married on 30/5/1802, died on 7/4/1805)

Matviy (Matfej/Mateusz) Zakhariy (1829-1902, my great, great, great grandfather), born in 1829 married to Anna Tatarchuk, my great great great grandmother from village Bozhykiv(from 1964 to1989 this village's name was Pryvitne)in 1848 . Original surname of Tatarchuks was Skaskiv (Skazkiv) but the legend tells that once her ancestor hand a one to one fight with Tatar inavador and overcame him having killed him. Tatars used to invade Berezhany lands frequently starting from 1488 through 17 th century). Matviy died on 1 st of July, 1902 and hsi wife Anna died one year earlier, on 7 th of March, 1901.

Matwij, like his father, also had 4 children:

1. Iwan Zakhariy(born 4/10/1850 and married on 20/11/1827 to Julianna Prociw)

2. Atanas (Atanazij) Zakhariy, born on 28/1/1857 and married to Yevheniya Semeniw on 28/5/1882. Atanas had 11 children: Olga (born 12/7/1906), Nicolaj (born 8/3/1903), Julia (born in 1909 and married to Szczyry family in Lviv), Wolodymyr (born on 26/7/1894 and married to Polish woman Olga Jurkewicz and later to Jewdokija Czepej on 19/3/1920. He studied law and finished Vienna and Prague Universities, was very active in national political life in Trostyanets'. He had 5 children: Volodymyr who emmigrated to the US; Teresa married to Danylo Pavliv in Narayiv-Rohachyn; Volodymyra or Vilia, as she is called, born 26/9/1956 and lives in Berezhany and Oles born 1/4/1949, who lives in Drohobych), Julianna (born 11/10/1891), Natalka (born 8.1891), Anna (born 18/6/1889), Anastasia (14/11/1885-6/12/1901), Maria (30/8/1883-11/2/1885), Tatjana (born 1/10/1899 and married to Szyszkowski, having a few children with him: Iwan, Nastia, married to Mieczyszczow and others), Tereza (23/7/1893-1974, married to Husak),

3. Mykhaylo (Michael) Zakhariy (born 3/6/1860 - died in winter 1932), my great great grandfather for his offsprings see below the blueline

4. Marta Zakhariy(born 9/7/1862 and married to Vasyl Procyk on 28/1/1882 having one son Andriy Procyk with him)

Mykhaylo (Michael) Zakhariy (3/6/1860 - 1832) my great great grandfather. On 1/1/1888 he married Anna Jarembecka, my great great grandmother (who died in 1945) from village Mieczyszczow (Mechyshchiv).

Like his father and grandfather, Michael had 4 children with Anna:

1. Theodore Zakhariy (2/9/1890 - 20/6/1920) my great grandfather

2. Maria Zakhariy born 30/11/1899 and married to Vasyl Samaryk in Siolko, now village Kvitkove and having 4 children with him: Mykhaylo Samaryk, (died in 1944), Stepan Samaryk (1922-1991) lived in Siolko, Olga Samaryk, and Jaroslaw Samaryk who lives in Lviv. One of Maria Zakhariy's grandchilds Vasyl (or Vasiliy) Samaryk, who lived in Pustomyty district near Lviv, emmigrated to the US with his family about 1991 and lives in Renton, WA.

3. Natalia (Natalka) Zakhariy, born on 3/11/1896 and died in 1911, being very young, only 15 years old.

4. Jemeljan (Omeljan) Zakhariy, born on 18/8/1893 and married to Natalia Dovhan (Dowgan/Dowhan) on 26/10/1920. Jemeljan had one son Volodymyr (Wladek) who is still alive and lives next to my grandparents' house in Pidvysoke and whom I was taking care of cows with at the pature in Pidvysoke. Volodymyr is in his 70 s now and has 4 daughters: the oldest Halyna, who married to Bohdan Mostriansky (Bohdan Mostriansky's two brothers Yevhen (or Gene) and Stepan eemigrated to the US, Syracuse, NY a few years ago) from Mechyshchiv, Nadiya, Lusia and Vira. I played and grew up and in Pidvysoke with Halyna's two children Liudmyla and Natalia. Also I remember old Omeljan from my childhood in Pidvysoke.

Theodore (Fed' / Fedir) Zakhariy (born on 2/9/1890), my great grandfather married Polish lady Maria Cicierska on 20 th of June 1920 at the Roman Catholic Parish Church in village Kotow (Kotiv) next to Trostyanets'. She was of noble count family of Cicierski from village Mieczyszczow (or Mechyshchiv, since he used to visit that village very often because of his grandparents who lived there). In 1930 s during missionary work of Bobyk, who returned from the US, my great grandparents Theodore and other Trostynets' family namely Maria and Posicznyk left Catholic church and became Evangelicals (Pentecostals) attending the Evangelical Congregation in nearby village Siolko (since 1964 Kvitkove). That is why most of my father's family is Evangelical. Theodore served in Austrian Army (since Trostyanets and Western Ukraine belonged to Austria-Hungary during his first 28 years of life) and went through World War First fighting on the Italian and Bosnian front. He was wounded at his leg in Italy and was transferred to hospital in Vienna, from windows of which he saw the burial of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph (I have spent also half year of my life in Austria, living in Mittersill at the Schloss) . He spoke fuent German (and Yiddish to local Jews in Berezhany area) and was a barber having a Barber's shop in Düsseldorf in Germany. He was in Köln also and all around Bosnia and northern Italy during the war, and after having eaten soup made of snails when visiting Italian family and having seen frogs being put into the milk to keep it fresh, he liked to mention about it in Trostyanets. Before he married Maria, he was about to marry one Austrian lady from nearby Vienna. He was very strong man but unfortunately I know him only from pictures. He died in 60 s before I was born in 1975. His wife and my great grandmother Maria died in spring 1993, and though last years of her life she lived in Pidvysoke with at my grandfather

Theodore and Maria had two children. Maria gave them Polish names:

1) Ivan (Jan/Janko as he is called in our family), born on 17/6/1936 and married Pylypyna (Filipina) Landviytovych (who died of cancer about 12 years ago) having two daughters: Halyna/Halia Zakhariy (born on 3/5/1962 and married to Vladimir of Crimean White Russian family from Simferopol and they have one son Andriy) and Maria (born on 9/3/1964 and married to German man Jürgen Hoffman and they live in Sömmerda, in Thüringhen land in East Germany). Ivan Zakhariy finished German Philology Department of Lviv I. franko University where I studied as well. He taught and teaches German in Musics College nn Drohobych, where he lived with Filipina. But a few years after Filipina died he moved to Truskavets, having married again to Natalya Pylypivna Magola (like his daughter, her son Bogdan Magola emmigrated and lives nearby Bonn in Germany)

2) Bronislaw Zakhariy, my grandfather, born on 15 th of January in 1922 (see below)

Bronislaw Zakhariy, my grandfather, born on 15 th of January in 1922 in Trostyanets and lives in Pidvysoke (In Trostyanets there is still our old estate and house built by Mykhaylo, which is empty and desolate after my great grandfather died and great grandmother was taken to live to village Pidvysoke, where my grandfather Bronislaw worked as engeneer at Limestone Slaking factory and where he has built a new house (see the picture of the house by clicking hereor at the top of the page), after having rented accommodation from Duda in village Lopushna near Pidvysoke for many years.

Bronislaw married Mykhaylyna Gawdyda, my grandmother, on 17 th of August, 1945. She was also from Trostyanets' and was the youngest child of Roman Gawdyda's 9 children (Vasyl', who was deported to Siberia with his family and two children Roman and Dania. They spent 2 years in Irkutsk and returned back. He died of cancer. Oleksy/Oleksa who was taking to the Soviet Army during the war and never returned, Anastasia(born in 1905, married to Kovbasnyk and had daughter Stefania, now retired pharmeceutist), Natalia who died because of lungs inflamation being 18 years old. She went to a wedding and having danced there, got a cold and lung inflamation in the end. At those times the desease was non-curable) Roman's brother Theodore Gawdyda emmigrated to th US in 1908 and his offsprings live in Ohio now. I keep in touch with one of his grandsons Gary. Roman also went to the US but returned back since he was unable to adjust to the climate). Mykhaylyna's mother, Roman Gawdyda's wife was also from Zakhariy family. Roman Gawdyda served in the Austrian Army participating in the World War First, like his brother Mykhaylo Gawdyda (his son Orest lives in Berezhany, and grandchildren Volodymyr Gwadyda, Liubomyr Gawdyda (my close friend who died because of brain cancer this summer) and the youngest Natalia Gawdyda who is getting married in November.

My grandfather left Trostyanets' for nearby village Pidvysoke after the World War II, where was small limestone slaking industry run (by Jewish enterpreneurs, yet since Austrian times). He started working there. After part-time studies in Kiev Mining Tecnical School finishing it he became engeneer at the factory (with these qualifications he could be a director but since was not a member of Communist party like all my family, he was not allowed). He had been saving all his working life but with the collapse of Soviet economy he lost his fortune in one day due to hyper inflation.

Bronislaw and Mykhaylyna had only one son and that is my father Yevhen (born on 2 of April 1950 in Trostyanets')(Eugene in English/German, Eugeniusz in Polish, Eugenio in Italian), who married my mother Liuba (Liubov) Kukharska on 19 th of July, 1973 in Lviv

Father's line, ancestors' life lengthes

My great great great grandfather, Austrian citizen, Matviy (Mateusz) Zakhariy lived 73 years (1829-1902) in Trostyanets'

My great great grandfather, Austrian citizen, Mykhaylo (Michael) Zakhariy lived 72 years (1860-1888) in Trostyanets'

My great grandfather, Austrian, Polish and Soviet citizen Theodore (Fedir) Zakhariy lived 74 years (1890-1964) in Trostynets'

My great grandmotherAustrian, Polish and Soviet citizen, Maria Zakhariy (maiden: Cicierska), Polish, lived 82 years (1902-1993)

My grandfather (Polish, Soviet and Ukrainian citizen) Bronislaw (Bronislav) Zakhariy is 78 years old (born on 15.1.1922) lived in Trostyanets, now lives in Pidvysoke

My grandmother Mykhaylyna (maiden: Gawdyda) is 80 years old (born in 1920) lived in Trostyanets. now in Pidvysoke

FAMILY PICTURES:

Me, see my photo album

My grandparents: Bronislav and Mykhaylyna, near the house in Pidvysoke

My father Yevhen

My mother

My Younger brother Taras

My younger sister Oksana

My one year older brother Bohdan

Another photo of Bohdan

Update follows in the near future. I 've found 8 metrical records of my ancestors in Lviv Archives recently.