It’s been a year since you left us to
re-join your beloved Wanda and I wanted to learn more about you. I previously
wrote about you here. I went back to the 1940 Census to see what I could learn
about your family and life in Martins Ferry, Belmont, Ohio.
 |
| 1940 US Census |
According to the census, you lived
with your parents Gus, variously called Augustinis, August,Gus,and Gustav, and
Mary (Maria) in a rented house at 120 Clay St. in Martins Ferry. The monthly
rent on the house was $11.00 per month. Since your father only worked for 14
weeks in 1939, earning an income of $168.00 ($2968.83 in today's dollars) we
know that money was tight.
Your father came to the United States
from Hungary in 1906 as a 15 year old with a 6th grade education. He initially
lived with his brother in Pennsylvania.
By 1917, he was living and working in Ohio. As America went to war in
1917, your father enlisted in the army with the unfortunate result that he was
determined to be an enemy alien since he did not yet have his naturalization
papers.[i]
By 1920, he was naturalized citizen
living in Martins Ferry.[ii]
Your father spent the rest of his life in Martins Ferry where he worked in the
coal mines to His faith was very important to him and he faithfully attended St
Mary's church in Martins Ferry and every night said his evening prayers on his
knees. A habit that you also practiced.
Mary Fendrick also came to the United
States at about age 16 traveling with her sisters Elizabeth and Julia. On the
ship, she was so sick she had to be hospitalized. On her arrival, she took a
job in a private household to help her learn the language.
In 1924 Gus Gulyban and Mary Fendrick
were married at St Mary’s Church in Martins Ferry.[iii]
Following their marriage, Gus and Mary raised their family in Martins Ferry instilling
their religious, patriotic and hard work values in their children.
From 1940 you attended Martins Ferry High School, graduating in 1944. That's your senior picture. In your Sophomore year you were a member of the stamp club, a hobby that would stay with you. In your Junior year you were a Hall Guard.
From 1940 you attended Martins Ferry High School, graduating in 1944. That's your senior picture. In your Sophomore year you were a member of the stamp club, a hobby that would stay with you. In your Junior year you were a Hall Guard.
You entered the US Navy shortly after
your High School Graduation. You were stationed on both the USS Lindenwald and
the USS Zebra. After the war was over, you settled in Chicago and began to work
for A&T in downtown Chicago. You met
and married Wanda Ferguson in 1949. You also acquired two children, David and
Patricia, who you would raise with love.
In 1952, your daughter, Susan, was
born and you moved your family to Wheaton, IL. where you had built a home.
You and Wanda raised your family with
the same values you were taught by your parents example. Hard work, prayer, and
a healthy dose of patriotism were the keystones to a successful life.
You were generous, cheerful,
hardworking, and honest. You loved music, cooking, stamp collecting, and
people. The stamp collecting was a holdover from your membership in the high
school stamp club. You embraced learning trying new challenges like doing crossword puzzles in ink and learning to make candles or stained glass.
Your success in raising your family
is a tribute to both you and your parents and I thank you for that. You are
honored and missed.
[i]
Ancestry.com images online; U S, Adjunct General Records 1631-1976; Ohio
1917-1918 p 6640 accessed 6 Nov 2017
[ii] “Ohio,
County Naturalization Records, 1800-1977,” index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:MM9.1.1/K84B-YQW:
accessed 13 May 2013, Gustav Gulyban, 1919.
[iii]
West Virginia, Marriages, 1853-1970, index FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:MM9.1.1/F19S-HJM:
accessed 13 May 2013), Gustav Gulyban and Mary Fendrick, 1924.
