Greyhounding the U.S.A. - 1973 USA research
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ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, April 1973 - This isn't quite a
travelogue in the strict sense of the word, but I am sure every reader
will have a good feeling for the dispersion that has taken place among
the European immigrants who came to the United States of America in the
last 125 years. (The traveler is Ruben James (Ben) CIRIACKS, webmaster of this site.)
So, there I was, sitting and waiting for the bus to Chicago, when lo and behold I saw a sign saying that one could travel all over the U.S. for 60 days for only $149.50. It took only a minute of pondering before I was back at the ticket counter, cancelling my one-way ticket to Los Angeles and obtaining the "60-Day Greyhound Ameripass." That was just the start of a hiatus that further increased my knowledge and awareness of this great CYRIACUS family of ours. My first stop was in Fontana, California to visit and stay with Ruth and Dan L. while reconnoitering that area for job opportunities. I can't adequately express the thanks I owe to them for all their hospitality and warmth. They hosted a family reunion while I was there so that I could meet others from the Nebraska branch of the family. Harold and Ruth, Jo Ann, Mike and Kathy V., Don, Ruth, Craig and Julie, and Tracy and Mary L. all helped to make it a very memorable day for me. A side trip to Riverside, San Jacinto and Los Angeles, and information gathered later in Salt Lake City, established another branch of this already enormous family. It appears that Herman H. and Fred R. CYRIACKS were brothers who settled in the Southern California area at the turn of the century. Herman was living in San Jacinto at the time of his death and was listed as a farmer. He died at the hospital in Riverside in 1951. His parents were Herman and Sophie (Brems) CYRIACKS, farmers in Germany. Fred was in the automobile business around 1918 and later switched to real estate investing, and possibly counseling by the time he became involved in the shooting of "Peter the Great" in 1927. His wife's name was Audry, but nothing is known of her history or later whereabouts. Herman apparently never married, and he and Fred are buried side by side in the original Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale. (1999 note: I stood over their burial site in 1973.) Harold C. may be able to provide us with more information about these people at a later date. (Being a detective sure helps in this family!) My next stop was Albuquerque to visit my Dad and to see if I really wanted to settle here instead of in California. The daily sunshine and the abundance of trees around the University area where I am now living eventually won me over to Albuquerque. After a return trip to Milwaukee, I started out again -- this time for Salt Lake City and the Library of the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. There was a gold mine of information there, but not enough time to retrieve it all. I did find some missing information about the New York area CYRIAKS and discovered two new branches of the family in Baden-Baden (1999update: 40 miles/64 kilometers west of Stuttgart), West Germany and Mecklenburg-Schwerin, East Germany. The former might eventually tie into the CYRIAX family in England and the U.S., while the latter seems to be related only by name and not by blood. Next was the discovery of another branch of the family in Baden, Bremen, Germany. Ursula and Kenneth L. of Sacramento, California not only feasted me to a wonderful spaghetti dinner (proving we CYRIACUS must have Italian blood somewhere), but also provided the names and dates of Ursula's closest relatives presently living in Baden. Hopefully, she will have the information to link our families together by the time of the family reunion this August. They are going to try and make this reunion and I look forward to seeing them again there. While in Phoenix, Arizona, I happened to look in the telephone book under the Z's and discovered a Donald J. ZIRIAX living in Scottsdale. Once I start looking into the CYRIAX side of this family, he'll undoubtedly be contacted. A one-day trip to Dayton, Ohio, in search of the missing Uncle Herman, showed that although various CYRIACKS and CYRIAKS lived in Dayton from 1901 through 1948, not a single one was born, married or had died there. George J. was a civil engineer. He and his wife Elsie lived there from 1907-18. Henry was a butcher from 1929-33 and then a brewery worker for the Miami Valley Brewery Company from 1938-48. Herman C. ran saloons at various locations from 1901-15. Susie M. lived at 314 W. Dakota in 1907. Other than this information, these people are a mystery. I hope someone out there can help to identify them and help link them up to the rest of the family. On the way to Massachusetts to investigate the New England family I detoured to Brooklyn, New York to visit Lillian B. Lillian provided the names and dates of her close relatives and provided the information I needed to complete some questions about her side of the Scharmbeck family. I sure hope Lillian makes it to the reunion in August--I must have gained five pounds at her dinner table one night! Marion and Dave N. were my hosts in the Boston, Mass. area. Prior to this trip, we knew very little about the Massachusetts family. But thanks to Marion and the clerks in the Dedham and Lynn Town Halls, and the State Capitol, we now know that Charles Lewis (Louis) and Hannora (Magany) CIRIACK had at least eight children, among whom were Marion C-M-C-B's great-grand-mother Caroline, Marion C-N's father Ernest Louis and Ralph's father Henry V. It's also apparent that Ernest R. of Connecticut is a third cousin, twice removed to Ralph and Marion N. and a fourth cousin, once removed to Marion B. His great-grandfather, Frederick Herman, along with a Charles Lewis, a Bernard CIRIACK and a T. CIRIACH, may have been cousins who came from Prussia to the New England area in the Mid-1800's. Once Ernest gets a look at the roving copy of the family history and obtains more information, we may be able to establish a direct link between our families. This New England family has the distinction of being the first known CYRIACUS family to arrive in the U. S. This is
highlighted by the marriage of Louis and Hannora on September
9th, 1852, in Lowell, Massachusetts.) 1856, New York City, a tailor named Heinrich CIRIACK; This must be a relative of Clothesmaker John Gottfriet CIRIACK, 1/15/1798; quite possibly a brother of Charles Lewis, who settled in New England. 1860, Cleveland, Ohio, a fancy-goods merchant named Catharine CYRIAX; The names Catherine and Katherine are, so far, unlisted in the CYRIAX family tree, but the occupation is in line with the others. 1864, Cleveland, Ohio, a homeopathic physician named Bernard CYRIAX; (Evidently Ernst Carl Bernhard CYRIAX, born 11 August 1822 in Gotha, Germany. He was a first cousin to Julius CYRIAX of London, who is the grandfather of Margaret L., Dr. Enid H., and Dr. James of London, England. Ernst's brothers, Carl Friedrich (probably above) and Carl Edmund, born 8/7/1833, also settled in the United States. 1866, Detroit, Michigan, a laborer named Schalles CIRIACUS. A visit with Dorothea and Bernard Y. in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, provided the opportunity to meet Thea's mother, Katie, and the chance to compare genealogical notes. Katie has many old pictures of her close relatives and indicated that she would be happy to have them incorporated into a bound version of the family history, to be published eventually. Throughout my journey, I made various attempts to reach relatives by phone. The ones farthest away were the easiest ones to get hold of, rather than those just across a state border. John and Florence of Omaha say hello, as does Leroy in Gothenburg. Steve in Annapolis was the only member of the Minnesota family I managed to converse with. I also spoke with Richard and Rosemary of North Bergen, N.J., and they extend their greetings. I hope that they or someone from their family can attend this August's reunion. Herman Henry says hello and wishes someone would do something about the transportation problems on the East Coast! Henry of Bayonne, N.J. told me that his father was the John who was a grocer at 157 Spring Street in Manhattan from 1877-95. (Now I still have to find out who the John was who was a grocer at 1085 Washington Avenue in 1888, and at 1052 Park Avenue in 1897, both in Manhattan.) More greetings from Donald M. Sr. of Suffolk, N. Y., and from Jack of Staten Island. Jack talked about his life and that of his father's. Hopefully, he will send my brother, John, as much of that information as possible so that we can incorporate it into the family history. It seems a crime that the Scharmbeck (Germany) CYRIACKS family has only one page in the history when it appears that it is as large, if not larger, than the rest of the family that has appeared so far. Maybe some of the descendants of these people can send us the information about their families (dates of birth, marriage, death and full names of blood and legal relatives) and stories to put into the next revision of the family history. Oscar M. of Lakewood, Ohio also says hello, and "keep up the good work." I hope to meet Oscar in person this August. It does look as though we will have exhausted all of the available channels in the U.S. in regard to research on the CYRIACKS name by the end of this year, so now is the time to start looking into the information we have on the CYRIAX name with the X ending. There were or still are people with the last name of CYRIAX or fairly close to it, in the following cities: (the number in parenthesis indicates how many different people were listed) New York City (21); Trenton (1), Paramus (1), New Jersey; Cleveland, Ohio (7); Detroit, Michigan (3); Milwaukee (7) and Waukesha (2), Wisconsin; Los Angeles, California (1); Nassau, New York (1); Richmond, Virginia (1). So, it's quite apparent that the CYRIAX family has spread around the states, also. Wow! Ny name is supposed to be CYRIACKS instead of CIRIACKS. No wonder everyone mispronounces it and few people can spell it without help. Wow! My great grandfather came to the U.S.A. from Germany to avoid the Prussian military draft. Wow! He had three brothers who also came to the U.S.A. And each of them settled in a different state. (Brother Herman disappeared to some state.) Oldest Brother John stayed to inherit the family farm in Bremen, Germany. How many other CYRIACKS were there in the U.S.A? What happened to Herman? What about this Fred CYRIACKS who shot a dog in Hollywood and was sued for half a million $? That was in August of 1969. Now, in 1973, I'm wondering where this great family of farmers, ministers, bankers, engineers, doctors, dentists, accountants, artists, machinists, military men, etc., will ever end! We have found over 1000 persons, living and dead, associated with our name. The name itself is over 2000 years old. It is the name of various early Saints living when Christianity was in its youth. The name means 'the Sunday child' in Greek. Does this mean I'm really part Greek, Italian & German? Will my descendants have the CYRIACKS nose, slightly larger than average? Am I going to marry a 30th cousin? Am I from a family of criminals and down-and-outers or hard workers and respectable leaders? What sort of an influence does having a large family heritage have on an individual? I'm from a family of independent, hard working, adventurous, low-keyed but firm individuals who have a heritage going back farther than 99% of the rest of the population. Luckily, our name is not so common that it cannot be traced. We may be able to do what 99% of the rest of our fellow men cannot - trace our family heritage back to the beginnings of Christianity. Whether we can do that still remains to be seen, but we are well on our way toward accomplishing it. I'm convinced that knowing one's heritage can only help to face the everyday struggles and hardships of our lives. We cannot know how hard or easy our lives are until we know that of our forefathers. Toward accomplishing that knowledge, I've just toured the U.S.A. trying to piece together various facts gathered in earlier searchings through city directories, telephone books, library books and visits with persons named CIRIACK, CYRIACKS or CYRIAKS. We have the lineage of our forefathers going back to the early 1600's. Before going back any further, it seems necessary to establish the relationship between that lineage and the various other CYRIACKS and CIRIACK families now residing in the U.S. The CYRIAX families of England & the U.S. are also probably related to each other and to us, but establishing that relationship will involve searching the records in southern Germany prior to the 1600's. That branch of this family, once established, will undoubtedly double the number of persons related to each other. 2006 update: One noteworthy characteristic about our
Wisconsin Family genealogy is that we are descended from a long line of
'eldest' or 'close to eldest' sons who seem to have married 'eldest' or
'next to eldest' daughters - quite logically so
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Website link/location/URL: http://News.Cyriac-FHP.com or http://www.Cyriac-FHP.com/ckx73.htm