This is the story of my Ukrainian great-grandparents, most of it given to me by their granddaughter, my aunt Mary, during a lengthy interview on 21 July 1999. (I’ve been adding data here and there as additional information is discovered.) Aunt Mary was the oldest child of my grandparents, William & Katherine, but she grew up in Ukraine with her grandparents, my great-grandparents, Konrad & Ludmila. When Mary was 2 years old her mother Katherine sailed to America without her to join her father William, who had emigrated a year earlier. Mary didn’t see her parents again until she was 18 years old when her parents could finally send for her.
In September 2025 my second cousin, Tetiana, who lives in Ukraine, found this page and has given me much additional information, family pictures and some corrections!
My great-grandfather, Konrad Fusiak, probably the son of Gabriel & Euphosina (Dziuta) Fusiak, was probably born 29 September 1855 in Zdynia, Małopolskie, Poland, and died c. 1927 in Ukraine. He married (as his first wife), Ludmila Karasek, who was born c. 1865 in Prague, Czechia, and died c. 1918 in Ukraine.
Konrad died at the age of 72, according to his granddaughter. He was a Lemko, a land owning farmer, and a deacon in the Greek Catholic Church. Ludmila came from Prague to Ukraine with her parents to the village of Stara Síl. Konrad & Ludmila raised their granddaughter Mary when their daughter Katherine left for America. Ludmila died of double pneumonia. Apparently after Ludmila’s death, Konrad married (as his second wife) (—) Blenday. Mary remembers this step-grandmother as being very kind.
This picture was taken in Ukraine, and brought to America by my aunt Mary. Konrad & Ludmila were the parents of eight children, five of them emigrated to America. Order uncertain:
1. Katherine Fusiak (my grandmother), born 19 November 1887 in Luzhek Verkhniy, Ukraine, when it was part of Galicia in Austria-Hungary, died 22 October 1943 in New London, Connecticut. She married 16 February 1907 in Ukraine, William Chomiak, who was born 2 February 1882 in Nahuievychi, Ukraine, when it was part of Galicia in Austria-Hungary, and died 7 November 1965 in Willimantic, Connecticut, son of Teodor and Anastasiia (—) Chomiak.
2. Mary Fusiak, born c. 1889, lived in Stariy Sambir (or Sambor) and married a Polish railroad worker (perhaps surnamed Nyedv or Niedźw) in Masuria (Mazury), a region in northeastern Poland.
3. Anna Fusiak, born 1 November 1891, arrived in America 23 January 1911, settled in New Jersey and married 21 February 1914, a boarding house operator, Michael Prytuliak/Palmer. She died on 11 December 1963 in East Newark, New Jersey.
4. Andrew Fusiak, born 13 December 1896, arrived in America 3 July 1913, and died 6 November 1940. He attended school in Sambor, married in Ukraine, Christina Wolanski, who was born 6 August 1909 in Poland, arrived in America 21 October 1929, and died 15 July 1995, daughter of Paulo & Kasia (Tupolnycka) Wolanski. He was a butcher and they lived in New Jersey.
5. Julian Fusiak, born 6 August 1898 and died 22 June 1976 in Irvington, New Jersey. He didn’t like school (in Sambor) and ran away from home often. He married Božena Lowda, who was born 24 April 1902 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire [now Czech Republic] and died 26 October 1986 in Irvington. Julian might have served in the Austrian army during World War I. He and Božena emigrated from Ukraine on 27 July 1949, and became naturalized citizens on 25 November 1957. In America, he worked as a storekeeper.
6. Augusta “Gussie” Fusiak, born c. 1900, died 24 January 1939 in Harrison, New Jersey, age 39. She married a butcher, Jacob Wasyliw, who was born 5 April 1895 in Lviv, Ukraine.
7. Mykolay Fusiak, born in May 1903, around Warm Nicholas Day, died 8 September 1943. He married Anastasia Mitko, who was born 11 November 1906 in Miski Mlyny, Poltava, Ukraine, and died 1 February 1987 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. He had gone to school in Sambor. Mykolay was studying to be a teacher in the Soviet Union and taught in Ukrainian schools. According to his granddaughter he was arrested on 15 December 1937 and was never seen again. In 1957 Anastasia received a certificate of his rehabilitation, and in 1958 she received a certificate of his death from typhus in 1943, about fifteen years after his death actually occurred.
8. Stepan Fusiak, born ?, also went to school in Sambor. He apparently had a child, but died young of tuberculosis.
In 2010, my second cousin, Tetiana, granddaughter of Mykolay Fusiak, who lives in Ukraine, went to Verkhniy Luzhok (Luzhok Horishniy) to visit the grave of our great-grandmother Lyudmila Fusiak.
(Here rests Lyudmila Fusiak, 1865 ┼ 1918)
Last Revised: 10 December 2025
Hello, Barbara! I’m Tatiana from Kyiv. I’m Mykola Fusiak’s granddaughter. Where can I write to you in more detail?
Hi Tatiana! I sent you an email and am looking forward to sharing our information. Looks like we might be second cousins.
Hi Barbara. Some information for you. Take care of yourself.
During peacetime, the Austro-Hungarian army drafted men at age 21.
During wartime, the Austro-Hungarian army drafted men at age 18.
After World War I, the Austro-Hungarian army ceased to exist with the collapse of the empire in 1918.
Austria established its new army only in 1955.
At the beginning of World War I, Julian Fusiak was 16 years old.
By the end of World War I, Julian Fusiak was 20 years old.
Theoretically, Julian Fusiak could serve in the Austro-Hungarian army for two years during World War I.
Julian Fusiak could not have served in the Austrian army in 1955 because by then he had already lived in America for six years.
At the beginning of World War I, Mykolay Fusiak was 11 years old.
By the end of World War I, Nikolai Fusyak was 15 years old.
Mykolay Fusyak could not possibly serve in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I.
Stepan Fusiak was younger than Mykolay Fusiak. At least, Stepan was younger than Julian Fusiak.
Stepan Fusiak could not possibly serve in the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I.
Thank you so much for this, Tatiana. I will try to make the changes this morning. I’ve been meaning to email you but have been occupied with so much to take care of after Tim died. I hope you and your loved ones are okay – I often think of you in Kyiv. Stay safe, dear cousin.
I rushed to send you a comment before the light went out and didn’t notice two translation errors.
I sent it at the last second. Of course, Mykolay Fusiak is correct.
It’s scary during an air raid.
Four hours of power on, four hours of no power.
Sometimes the electricians take pity on us and leave the lights on longer. The Rooster House was finished.
Air raids sound very scary, Tetiana. My heart is aching over what you are going through and my prayers daily are for your safety. I can only imagine what it must be like to live through that day after day. It must be hard to get things done when the electricity comes and goes. Is your heat electric? Do you think Mykolay Fusiak was held in the Rooster House when he was arrested? I’m so sorry for all these painful memories your family has and for the nightmare you are living in now. ♡ 🙏
Thank you for thinking of us.
Mykolay Fusiak could not be held in the Rooster House. That former NKVD facility is located in Poltava. Poltava is not the region where Mykolay Fusiak lived. The book “The Rooster House” contains a great deal of fiction. Therefore, the first edition of the book was not published in Ukraine.
Memory is such a tricky thing. Wasn’t Poltava where your grandmother Anastasia was born? I think that’s the connection that my brain made. Anything written from people’s memories is bound to be inaccurate. It always amazes me how even children growing up in the same family in the same house look back and often remember things very differently.
You’re absolutely right about the memory. For example, the story about the Karasek family on the page «Fusiak, Konrad & Ludmila Karasek» (4th paragraph).
Not far from Verkhniy Luzhok, there really is a village called Stara Síl. The salt mines were closed in 1853 after almost exhausting the local natural salt reserves. That happened 12 years before Ludmila Karasek was born.
It’s unclear why Ludmila Karasek’s parents came (with her) to Stara Sol from Prague. But certainly not for salt mining.
https://castles.com.ua/sil.html
Translate the page that opens and read the second sentence of the third paragraph of the section “From the history of Stara Síl and the Starosilsky church”: The mines were closed…
Not to worry, Tetiana. I have blog comments set up to be held for moderation if they contain any links. It helps prevent spam from getting through. In the future, if you include links, be patient and I will see the comment and approve it, usually within 24 hours.
I do wonder about my aunt Mary’s memories. She was only 18 when she came to America and she was 91 years old when I interviewed her. And for some reason she was very reluctant to share her stories. It’s not surprising her memories were so skewed.
I was told my grandmother Katherine died of a heart attack, but when I found her death certificate it indicated that she died of a strangulated hernia. Things like this happen all the time as family stories are compared to vital records and historical documents. And my family history research has had to be adjusted and updated many times over the years as more accurate information comes to light.
So I am very appreciative of all the fact-checking you are doing and am trying to keep updating this post as you point things out to me. I’m not on top of things these days as I continue to grieve my loss of Tim, but I hope to catch up soon. Thank you so much for all your help!