Mary Nazar’s father Thomas (Tymko) was born in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine on May 6, 1883. Koniukhy is a small village located between the cities of Lviv and Ternopil on the Korsa and Koniukhy Rivers and has been in existence for over 600 years.
Thomas (1883-1964) was the second of seven children born to Basilius Nazar and Maria Procyk. Thomas’ siblings included Anna (1880-?), Parasceva (1886-?), John [or Iwan] (1889-1936), Maximus (1892-1930), Eudocia (1894-1981), and Theodore (1896-1979). Based on local church records, his mother Maria died on December 22, 1897 while giving birth to a stillborn child when Thomas was only 14. His father Basilius remarried on February 15, 1898 to Marta Senik who gave birth to at least 2 more children (Michael [1898] and Herasym [1900]).
Limited information exists relative to the family in Koniukhy prior to Thomas’ immigration as records were lost over time or during the wars. However, here is a summary of what has been found for key family members and others from Koniukhy (more information can be found on the Family Tree page). Note – In addition to the documentation found in the Ukraine and described below, a significant DNA match from a person born in Koniukhy in the 1990s confirms that this is the home village of the Nazar family.
Basilius Nazar (Mary Nazar’s Paternal Grandfather)
Basilius was born about 1850 and dies before 1922 when the census does not list him. He has 9 children and 2 wives (Maria Procyk [1860-1897] and Marta Senik [1864-1928]). His three oldest sons emigrate to America in the early 1900s (Thomas, John, and Max). Based on church records, his parents are Eliae Nazar and Anastasia Tokar and he has at least 3 siblings (Mariska [1855-?], Michael [1864-?], and Anna [1860-?]).
Maria Procyk (Mary Nazar’s Paternal Grandmother)
Maria was born about 1860 and dies on December 22, 1897 while giving birth to a stillborn child. She has 7 children, of which the three oldest sons emigrate to America in the early 1900s (Thomas, John, and Max). Based on church records, her parents are Gregorii Procyk and Tatianna Horban and she has at least 1 sibling (Helena [1850-?]).
Thomas Nazar (Mary Nazar’s Father)
Per church records, Thomas was born as Tymko Nazar on May 6, 1883 in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (House #381).
Nothing is known of his life in Koniukhy before his immigration at age 20. He departs Europe from Rotterdam, Holland on October 9, 1903 aboard the SS Ivernia (see below) and arrives in Boston on October 29th and does not travel with anyone else from the village. He has $6 to his name.
Per his immigration record, Thomas’ destination in America was 198 Park Place, Scranton, PA where his cousin Joseph Zapotoczny lived (see more about Joseph below). Thomas becomes a naturalized citizen 17 years later on July 27, 1920. His paperwork shows that he was 5 ft 10 inches tall, 152 lbs with brown hair and brown eyes.
The first record of Thomas in Scranton is in the 1905 City Directory where he is living at 1112 Meade St with his cousin Joseph with an occupation listed as a laborer. Thomas marries Catherine Progorowicz in ~ 1907 and they have 4 children: Charles (1908-1982), Peter (1911-1972), Olga (1913-2001), and Mary (1915-1963). The below picture taken ~1913 with 2 oldest children Charles and Peter.
Between 1910 and ~ 1930 he lives at various houses (between 863-870) on Mt Vernon Ave with an occupation as coal miner. Sometime between 1925 and 1930 he completes construction of his family home at 1124 Farr St where he lives until his passing on July 16, 1964 at age 81 (obituary from July 17 and 20, 1964 Scranton Times-Tribune).
John (Iwan) Nazar (Thomas Nazar’s brother [Mary’s Paternal Uncle])
Per church records, John was born on June 22, 1889 in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (House #381).
He departs Europe at age 18 from Hamburg, Germany on December 11, 1907 aboard the SS Kaiserin Augusta Victoria (see below) and arrives in New York on December 21st. He has $7 to his name.
John travels by himself and lists his brother Tymko Nazar in Scranton as his point of contact in America. John becomes a naturalized citizen 19 years later on January 21, 1927. His naturalization paperwork shows that he was 5 ft 6 inches tall, 158 lbs with light brown hair and brown eyes.
John is first found in Scranton living with his brother Thomas at 863 Mt Vernon Ave in the 1910 Census as a coal miner. He lives at 892 and 914 Mt Vernon Ave as a miner until the 1930 Census when he lives at 903 Monsey Ave as a grocer. He marries Anastasia Bomba in ~ 1913 and they have two children: Anna (1914-1999) and Peter (1919-2007). Anastasia came to Scranton from Poland in 1911 with a point of contact being her brother-in-law Wasyl Mrmanec at 840 Mt Vernon Ave. Anastasia and John bring her sister Ksenia to Scranton in 1913 who subsequently marries John’s brother Max in ~ 1915.
John dies at age 47 at Mt Sinai Hospital in NYC on December 29, 1936 while on a business related trip (obituary from January 4, 1937 Scranton Tribune). Note that the flower bearers include Bert Flaherty (Mary Nazar’s husband), Andrew Pepper (Mary Nazar’s brother-in-law) and Philip Singlevitz who is also from Koniukhy, but I cannot determine any family connection.
Maximus Nazar (Thomas Nazar’s brother [Mary’s Paternal Uncle])
Per church records, Max was born on January 31, 1892 in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (House #381).
He departs Europe at age 20 from Rotterdam, Holland on November 10, 1912 aboard the SS Rotterdam (see below) and arrives in New York on November 18th.
Max travels by himself and lists his brother Thomas Nazar in Scranton as his point of contact in America. Max becomes a naturalized citizen 10 years later on August 23, 1922. His paperworks shows that he was 5 ft 5 inches tall, 164 lbs with blonde hair and gray eyes.
Max is first found in Scranton in December 1914 living at 883 Mt Vernon Ave as a coal miner. He lives at 897 Mt Vernon Ave, 912 Mt Vernon Ave, 1712 Dorothy Ave, and 1301 Dorothy Ave between 1914 and 1930. He marries Kzenia (Christina) Bomba in ~ 1915 and they have three children: Maurice (1915-1986), Charles (1919-1979), and Jennie (1922-1995). Kzenia is the sister of the wife of Max’s brother John and her 1913 passage to America from Poland was paid for by John per Kzenia’s immigration record.
Max works as a coal miner his whole time in Scranton and dies at age 38 on March 15, 1930 (obituary from March 15, 1930 Scranton Republican).
Eudocia Nazar (Thomas Nazar’s sister [Mary’s Paternal Aunt])
Per church records, Eudocia was born on April 4, 1894 in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (House #381).
She is the youngest sister of the three Nazar brothers who immigrated to Scranton. Eudocia marries Nikita Bidnyi in Koniukhy and they have 4 children: Maria (1926-?), Vasyl (1928-1972), Dmytro (1931-2012) and Elias [Ilko] (1934). Eudocia dies in 1981 in Koniukhy. Additional details concerning the 4 children are provided below as this is the portion of the family we were fortunate enough to meet in 2019 during our visit to Koniukhy.
Maria marries Mukola Perets and they have 2 children: Vasyl (1948-1999) and Myron (Roman). Roman and his family currently live on the original Nazar property in Koniukhy. Note that Perets translates to Pepper in English. It is unknown what connection, if any, there is between this family and Andrew Pepper described later. Below is a picture of Maria.
Vasyl is brought to Germany as a teenager during WW II as forced labor by the Nazi’s. Following the war, he immigrates to North America to avoid persecution from the Soviets for “helping” the Nazi’s. He eventually arrives in Toronto, Canada and marries Mary Poturnay and adopts her son (they have no children of their own). Vasyl dies on July 31, 1972 in Toronto. Below is a picture of Vasyl along with a picture of his gravesite in Toronto taken in July 2020.
Dmytro marries Dariya and they have 4 children: Petro, Vasyl, Maria, and Mykola (1967-2012). Dmytro dies in Koniukhy in 2012. Below is a picture of Dmytro.
Elias (Ilko) marries Anna and they have no children. Anna dies in August 2020. Here is a picture taken of Anna and Ilko in September 2019 during our visit to Koniukhy.
Theodore Nazar (Thomas Nazar’s brother [Mary’s Paternal Uncle])
Per church records, Theodore was born on February 28, 1896 in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (House #381) and is the youngest child of Basilius and Maria.
He marries Paulina in ~ 1918 in Koniukhy and they have one daughter Anastasia (1930-2019). Below is a picture of Theodore from ~ the 1970s. He dies ~ 1979 in Koniukhy.
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Joseph Zapotoczny (Thomas Nazar’s Cousin and Point of Contact in America)
Per church records, Joseph was born on January 5, 1881 in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine to Clemens Zapotoczny and Anna Kurylo.
Joseph arrives in New York aboard the SS La Gascogne on August 24, 1902. He travels alone and has $8 to his name. His point of contact in America is his cousin Michael Mellia who lives in Brooklyn; however, I cannot find any record of Michael. Joseph becomes a naturalized citizen 18 years later on December 20, 1920. His naturalization paperwork shows that he was 5 ft 9 inches tall, 175 lbs with dark brown hair and brown eyes.
The first record of Joseph in Scranton is the 1905 City Directory where he lives with his cousin Thomas Nazar at 1112 Meade Ave as a laborer. Joseph subsequently lives at 625 Philo St, 1926 Washburn St, 1011 N. Main St, and 1627 Dorothy St before moving to Cleveland in August 1917 with his family. Joseph marries Anna Bomba in Scranton in ~ 1904 and they have three children: Olga (1905-1959), Vladimir (1907-1993) and Mary (1909-1997). Anna is from the Western Ukraine also having immigrated to Scranton in 1904. However, I cannot find any evidence that she is related to Anastasia and Ksenia Bomba who marry Thomas Nazar’s brothers Max and John. She works as a midwife in both Scranton and Cleveland.
It is not known what connection brought Joseph to Cleveland but there are dozens of Ukrainians living near them in the 1920 Census from Galacia along with a John and Bartek Zapotoczny from Ternopil, Galacia who register for the WW I draft in 1918 in Cleveland. Joseph works in the coal mines, as a real estate agent, and bartender before dying in Cleveland on July 18 1943.
Two of Joseph’s brothers also come to Scranton prior to him moving to Cleveland: Harry (1877-1936) in 1904 and Onufry (1888-1962) in 1912. Both brothers work in the coal mines and marry and raise families in Scranton. While Thomas Nazar lists Joseph as his cousin, I cannot find any records from Ukraine to show this. However, based on DNA from descendants of Harry and Onfry, they are all maternal cousins to Thomas.
Andrew Pepper (Marries Catherine Progorowicz’s sister Mary [Mary’s Maternal Uncle by Marriage])
Per church records, Andrew was born on September 8, 1879 in Koniukhy, Ternopil Oblast, Ukraine (House #42) to Gregori Perec (translates to Pepper in English) and Maria Makowenecki.
He has at least one brother (Charles [1889-1949]) who also comes to Scranton in ~ 1913. He leaves Europe at age 21 from Hamburg, Germany in August 1911 aboard the SS Cleveland (see below) and arrives in New York on September 2nd. 
Per his immigration record, Andrew arrives with $20 with a point of contact in New York and does not appear to travel with anyone. Andrew becomes a naturalized citizen 29 years later on January 31, 1940. His naturalization paperwork shows that he was 5 ft 6 inches tall, 145 lbs with brown eyes and brown hair.
Andrew is first found in Scranton living at 883 Mt Vernon Ave as a laborer. He lives at either 883, 885, or 887 Mt Vernon as a coal miner in all available records. He marries Mary Progorowicz (sister of Catherine Progorwicz) in 1914 and they have three children: Peter (1914-2010), Myron (1916-2002), and Anna (1918-2003).
Andrew works as a coal miner his whole time in Scranton and dies at age 79 on February 28, 1959 (obituary from February 28, 1959 Scranton Tribune).
As discussed above, many of the family members lived on Mt Vernon Ave between 1910 and 1930 which was located near the Diamond Mine shaft originally owned by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company. From the 1920 Census, more than 100 Ukrainian, Polish, Lithuanian, and Hungarian families lived on the street with the Ukrainians typically living at the south end nearest the mine. Most of the men in the census identified their occupation as coal miner with a few working in the silk mills. The Ukrainians, including Thomas Nazar and Mary Progorowicz, identify their country of birth as “Galacia.” Below are pictures of the Diamond Mine taken in 1905.
It is also worth noting that several other individuals have been identified as immigrating from Koniukhy including those with surnames Gluck, Kozlowski, Kucej, Singlewitch, Senkowicz, Stadnir, Torbiak, and Waslyk. However, no family connection has been identified.
Finally, most of the obituaries listed above mention the Chomko Funeral Home at 262 Railroad Ave. The owner of this Funeral Home was Andrew Chomko who was Catherine Progorowicz’s 2nd Cousin based on DNA. More information relative to their burials can be found on the Ukrainian Burials page.
Koniukhy Today
In September of 2019, my family and I were able to visit Koniukhy and meet with family members who have not been in contact with those who came to America in over 100 years. The visit was arranged through Dorosh Heritage Tours and was an incredible and enriching experience, which included meeting the nephew (Ilko) of my great-grandfather Thomas Nazar. Several pictures of this visit are provided below.
For more pictures and video of Koniukhy, the 2011 movie Ivan – Back to the Past provides a moving story of a man from Koniukhy who returns to the village for the first time in 68 years after immigrating to Brazil following WW II.
