10 Days Or 100+ Years We Are All Immigrants

Sophia Bazarnicki, a 20-year-old Russian immigrant, was my great-grandmother. She came to the United States from the Ukraine through Ellis Island in 1903.

She only had $20 in her pocket. Despite her lack of money, she spoke three languages and had been a governess in her native Poland.

Sophia also had a dream of making a new life for herself.

Between 1870 and 1914, the majority of Ukrainian immigrants came from Austro-Hungary (Galicia and other regions). They were described as Ruthenians, Rusyns, or “Russniaks.” Many arrived in New York City and Pennsylvania. In 1899 estimates of the number of Ukrainians in the US ranged from 200,000 to 500,000.

Can you imagine making such a journey at that age? She sailed on the ship Graf Waldersee.

When she got to Ellis Island, she met her cousin Maciej.

She met and married her husband Simeon K. 10 years later.

They had two children, one of whom was my grandfather Cyrus.

I have written about him previously. He also lived a very colorful life: