Ipotesti-Suceava-Bukovina
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Emigration |
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The emigration of the people of Ipotesti to the North American continent started around the year 1900 and continued up until the beginning of the First World War. Emigration resumed again between the years 1920 and 1940. They usually left in groups embarking from Trieste, Italy. The distance from Bucovina to Trieste was the shortest distance to a seaport within the Austrian Empire. Others went to the major seaports of Hamburg or Bremen in Germany, Rotterdam in the Netherklands, Liege in Belgium or LeHavre in France to embark on a trans-Atlantic steamship. They traveled to these ports by rail using the railroad system which had been built-up by the Austrian Empire starting in 1869. In 1920, a ticket for the trans-Atlantic voyage of an emigrant cost about $100 and lasted 2-6 weeks
Per the pages shown here of the passenger list of the SS Gerty, the ship departed Trieste on September 21, 1907 bound for New Orleans, Louisiana in the US. On board were 32 men and boys from Ipotesti between the ages of 15 and 49 years. After several weeks at sea, they arrived in New Orleans on October 26, 1907. A great number of people from Ipotesti emigrated between the years 1910 and 1913 but documentation of these passages have not yet been located. Some of the people who emigrated during these years eventually returned to Ipotesti but many others did not.
The emigration of Ipotesti residents continued even during the communist dictatorship years in Romania. Those who fled during the communist reign, had to hide their movements, often remaining in hiding-places for a time before being able to safely leave the country. Following the 1989 overthrow of the communist government in Romania, the people are free again and may now emigrate or travel abroad legally.
Some images of the emigration time
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| SS Alice | SS Ultonia | SS Iperator | 1900 | 1898 | Baltimore 1910 | |
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| Ellis Island-arrivals | Ellis Island | Waiting medical examination | Toronto-the station 1910 | Canada- Grosse-Isle | ||
The S.S. Gerty was built by Readhead, of South Shields, England, for the Unione Austriaca di Navigazione, familiarly known as the Austro-Americana Line. 4,212 tons; 346 feet long x 45 feet broad; 1 funnel, 2 masts; screw propulsion, service speed 12 knots. 23 May 1904, maiden voyage, Trieste-New York. 1919, became "Gerty" (Cosulich Line, the successor to the Austro-Americana Line). 1928 sold to Greece.
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New Orleans |
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Trieste the port 1907 |
BayouStJohnBridge1907 |
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SS Gerty- the passengers list |
Among the information listed on the microfilmed passenger list is the profession of each passenger -- all were labourers -- and their locality of origin -- all were from "Ipotesti, Austria" (Bucovina was considered Austrian between 1775-1918). |
SS Gerty- the passengers list |
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Passengers from Ipotesti1 |
Passengers from Ipotesti2 |
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Passengers form Ipotesti Suceava Bucovina on SS Gerty 21 sept - 26 oct. 1907, Trieste-New Orleans Transcription list nr.1
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Transcription list nr.2
The passengers marked in red were crossed off the original list. They were not permitted to board the SS Gerty but were found on another ship bound for New York which sailed a few weeks later (see webpage link "Other Emigrant Ships")
List nr.2 Webmaster's Note: many lied about their age |
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| Some interesting links: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.ancestry.com/ http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/ | http://www.rootsweb.com/~websites/international/canada.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| http://www.bukovinasociety.org/ http://www.theshipslist.com/ http://olivetreegenealogy.com/ships/index.shtml | http://www.collectionscanada.ca/ill/index-e.html | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Who were they and what became of the Ipotesti Gerty passengers ?
The surnames of the listed Ipotesti passengers are family names which are still very common in the village of today. To differentiate the many family groups with the same surname, these Ipotesti families have a traditional nickname or clan name. Identified to date, the clan names associated with the surnames of the following passengers are:
List nr.1
2&4 – Botusan, are of the clan "Leau Misinec"
3 Hostiuc Ilie:
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Hostiuc Ilie 1940
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Hostiuc Ilie (1882-1946), nr.3
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was 25 years old and unmarried when he sailed to America in 1907. He was
the son of Dumitru-Petru Hostiuc (b. 1845) and Vaselina Bucaciuc (b. 1847).
On the passenger list he named his older brother "Georg" (b. 1873) as his
next-of-kin back in Ipotesti. He also had 4 sisters: Maria (b. 1870),
Domnica (b. 1875), Maranda (b. 1879) and Ana (b. 1884). His grandmothers
were of the Ipotesti families Moscaliuc and Negriuc. About the other men
and boys from Ipotesti who arrived with him in New Orleans in 1907, Ilie
said that they all "scattered" and went their separate ways. Ilie went
first to St. Louis, Missouri where he worked for a few years in the lead
mines. By 1913, he had traveled to Pennsylvania where he met and married
Fesia Bulbach, a Ukrainian immigrant from Galicia (close to Bukovina). They
had 9 children: 8 sons (including a baby who died) and 1 daughter. In
America, his name was "americanized" (changed) first to "Elia Hoschuck" and
then to "Alex Hoskie". In America, Ilie was friends with
Hreniuc Lazar, the son of
Hreniuc, Mihai (nr. 9).
Ilie worked in the coal mines of central Pennsylvania until his death in
1946. He never returned to Ipotesti. His descendants in America do not
know what became of his family back in Ipotesti.
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7 Hostiuc Toader
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Toader Hostiuc 1930 |
Hostiuc Toader (Latca) nr.7 1879-1961, was the son-in-law of Hreniuc Mihai (nr.9), married to Marghioala (1881-1963). He returned from America with his father-in-law. He had a son born during his stay in America and two daughters born in 1910 and 1920. He was a farmer. |
9 Hreniuc Mihai
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Hreniuc Mihai 1916 |
Hreniuc Mihai ( Sculi) nr 9 (1858-1951), was married to Raritza Tofan (1864-?); had ten children, seven sons, (of which 1 died as a baby) and three daughters. He returned from America to take care of his family. His youngest son, Nicolas, was only 3 years old in 1907. A few years later when his children were older (circa 1913), he mortgaged all his property, took a loan from the bank, and sent three sons and a daughter to America: Demitrie (1885 -?),Victoria (1888 -?) Gheorghe (1890-1981) and Lazar (1894-1985). Demitrie and Lazar never returned to the village. Lazar married, had children, and lived in America till his death. It is not known what became of Demitrie. |
10 Tofan Pintilie
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Tofan Pintilie |
Tofan Pintilie (Liotio) nr 10(1873-?), 34 years old, returned to Ipotesti. He was the brother-in-law of Mihai Hreniuc (nr.9) Photo sent by Pintilie from America to his family in the village.
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12 & 13 Chibici Pavel, 28 years old and Chibici Dumitru, 32 years old, are of the clan "Ouciac".
16 Gulei Georgi, 40 y.o, is of the clan "Boshtanek". He worked a few years in America and returned to the village.
17 Hreniuc Ioan, 23 years old.(1884-1953), son of Vasile Hreniuc, Sculi, is the younger brother of Mihail Hreniuc no.9. He remained in Canada and became Canadian citizen. In 1912, he was living in Montreal where he took in his nephew, Demitrie Hreniuc, son of Mihai nr.9
20 & 21 Hostiuc Ilie and his son Ioan.
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Ilie & Ioan Hostiuc
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Hostiuc Ilie (1865-?), nr. 20, and Hostiuc Ioan, (1892-1944) nr. 21,Latka family, were father and son. Ilie was 42 years old and his son Ioan was 15 at the time they sailed to America in 1907. Ilie's next-of-kin was his wife (Ioan's mother) Katerina left back in Ipotesti. Ioan was the only-surviving child of many children (about 12 sons) born to Ilie and Katerina. They later both returned to Ipotesti, Ioan returning in mid-1920 to look for a Romanian bride. He married Ilaria Tofan in November 1920 and they had 1 daughter, Mafta born in September 1921. Ioan then returned to America without his wife and child, working at the Ford "Rouge" auto plant in Dearborn near Detroit, Michigan. Reportedly, he sent money back to his wife and daughter in Ipotesti, enough to build a nice traditional house there on "tzarasca". He returned to Ipotesti in 1929, when his daughter was 8 years old, and tried to convince his wife to join him in America. She refused so he divorced her. He returned to Michigan and continued to work at the Ford Motor Company. In America, he became known as "John Hostuck". He become an American citizen, never again married, and never again returned to Ipotesti. He died at age 52 in 1944. He is buried in Dearborn near the Ford "Rouge" plant.
Photo Ioan Hostiuc, 1913 or 1914 in America |
List nr.2
19 Krassi Simion. Born in 1889, 18 y.o, son of Nicolai Crasi, from the Clishi family, was scratched off the Gerty passenger list. He didn't take this boat. A few days later he boarded the SS Francesca witch sailed from Trieste to New York (see webpage link Other emigrant ships)
20 Hostiuc Gregor (1889-1953), 18 y.o was scratched off the Gerty passenger list and, therefore, did not take this boat. He boarded another ship, the SS Alice, on Oct. 13. 1907 wich sailed from Trieste to New York (see webpage link Other emigrant ships)
21 Hreniuc Demitrie,18 years old. was the son of Pavel the Sculi family. He is the nephew of Mihai Hreniuc nr.9
22 Iatcu Ioan:
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Iatcu Ioan (Cosmarcen) no.22 (1886-1944) returned to the village in 1915 to visit his parents. While he was home, the 1st World War broke out. He was drafted by the Austrian army and was sent to the Italian front. He became a warrant officer (plutonier major), was taken prisoner, and released in 1919 at the end of the war. He returned to the village and married Maria Hladiuc (1902-1944). They had four children. He became the mayor of the village, and during the Second World War, carried out an evacuation of the entire village to the "free zone". photo: standing left, Ioan Iatcu, and standing right, Hreniuc Demitrie nr.21. Photo sent by Ioan from América.
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26 Tofan Pavel:
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Tofan Pavel (Clevet) nr. 28 (1888-1974) ) returned to Bucovina and married Maria Hreniuc, the daughter of Mihai Hreniuc (nr.9). He was a farmer and had two sons and four daughters. In 1930 he went back to Canada (see webpage link Other emigrant ships ) Photo Tofan Pavel 1955 |
27 Gulei Ilie:
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Gulei Ilie nr. 27 (1889-?) 18 years old in 1907, son of Alexandru Gulei. He became an American citizen and never went back to Ipotesti. |
I did not finish with the passengers on SS Gerty. I hope to identify others of them still. (nov.2006)
I await your comments and why not an old history of emigration, on the guestbook
updated 2007-12-29
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Copyright © 2006 Maritza Hreniuc. All Rights Reserved.
