Are Josephi and Oliva Pakledinac My 3rd Great Grandparents?

Josephi Pakledinac and Oliva Simunic in Legacy Family Tree

Are Josephi Pakledinac and Oliva Simunic the parents of Markus Pakledinac, which would make them my 3^rd Great Grandparents? This is the theory that I have and one that I must work to prove. In this post I am going to write out the information that I have discovered that leads me to this theory.

The source for all of this information is from the Family Search images, Croatia Church Books, 1516 – 1994, specifically from the Parish of Sotin covering years 1857 - 1885, unless otherwise noted.

The basis for my theory is that John Pakledinac and Jakob Pakledinac are cousins. Therefore, their fathers, Marcus and Bonus Pakledinac are brothers. The records show that both of them were the son of Josephi Pakledinac, which was married to Oliva Simunic. Therefore, Josephi and Oliva must be my 3^rd Great Grandparents.

Facts of my theory:

•           My Great Grandfather, John Pakledinaz, is the son of Markus Pakledinac, born 16 March 1885 as I presented in this post: Birth Record of John Pakledinaz.
•           The baptism record of Jacobus Pakledinac, 1 May 1857 lists parents as Josephic Pakledinac and Oliva Simunic.
•           The baptism record of Theresia Tadianovic, Oct 1865, shows the witness as Marcus, son of Josephi Pakledinac.

  

  Baptism Records showing Marcus as the son of Josephi Pakledinac

•           My Great Grandfather, John, had a cousin named Jakob. The immigration manifest for John says that he was coming to join his cousin, Jakob, in Youngstown, Ohio. I wrote of this manifest in this post: John Pakledinaz – Immigration-Ship’s Manifest.
•           I have Jakob Pakledinac living in Youngstown, Ohio in 1918 and lists his birthdate as 11 August 1876.[1] He also appears in Youngstown for most of his life past 1918.
•           I have Magdalena plus children arriving in New York in 1903 to join her husband Jakob Pakledinac in Youngstown, Ohio.[2] 
•           Baptism records show a Jakob born to Bonus Pakledinac and Maria Jvic on 11 Aug 1876.
•           Baptism record of Josephus Lovric, 24 July 1868 shows witness of Bonus, son of Josephi Pakledinac.

  

  Baptism Records showing Bonus as the son of Josephi Pakledinac

 Some Conclusions from the facts:

•           Jakob Pakledinaz, born 11 Aug 1876, son of Bonus Pakledinaz and Maria Jvic is the same Jakob Pakledinac that is living in Youngstown, Ohio in 1918. All the evidence matches with birthdates and village of origin for Jakob.
•           The above Jakob Pakledinaz is the cousin of John Pakledinaz whom he was joining when he immigrated in 1905.
•           Since John and Jakob were cousins then their fathers, Marcus and Bonus, were brothers.
•           The baptism records of Both Marcus and Bonus show that they are the sons of Josephi Pakledinac, therefore making them brothers.

Some Fuzzy Areas and my rationale that clears them up:

•            There could be more than one Josephi Pakledinac in Tompojevci which could mean Bonus and Marcus may have different fathers, although both named Josephi. All references to Josephi appear to be to the same person. Either he is being referred to as the father of someone or the husband of someone. The records do show a Catherine, wife of Josephi in 1868. This leads me to believe that there may be two Josephi Pakledinac’ in Tompojevci, one married to Oliva and one to Catherine. However, I investigated further (and jumped forward in the records) and found that Oliva died in September 1858. Then there is a marriage record for Josephi to Catherine in May 1862. I cannot find anything else that would tell me there were two Josephi’s.
•           The Jacob Pakledinaz living in Youngstown, Ohio may not be the cousin John said he was joining when he immigrated. This is a key part of my theory since if they are cousins then their fathers were more than likely brothers. However, I cannot put Jakob and John together in Youngstown, although I know both of them lived there. John married Anna Hinterhauser in Youngstown in January 1910 and they are shown in the 1910 census for Youngstown. I cannot show Jakob in Youngstown or anywhere for that matter before 1918 except for the arrival of his wife in 1903 to join him in Youngstown. However, he appears to live the rest of his life in the Youngstown, Ohio area. I find him in the 1920, 1930, 1940 census in Youngstown and also a record of his death in Youngstown in 1942. A 1910 census record of Jakob living in Youngstown would be great, but that has eluded me thus far. However, with all that said, I find it very unlikely that there was another Jakob Pakledinac in Youngstown. Too much coincidence with such a unique last name.

So, is Josephi Pakledinac and Oliva Simunic my 3^rd Great Grandparents? Have I discovered another generation in my Pakledinac line?  I’m thinking that the probability is high.

However, this is still a theory and I can’t prove it and only continued research will tell the tale. I will continue my discovery into these church records and will hopefully find the birth record for Marcus that will ultimately prove who is parents are. I’ll also pursue the collateral line of Jakob Pakledinac in Youngstown, Ohio and maybe more of his story will help prove or disprove my theory.

What do you think? Has my bias and wanting for this theory to prove true clouded my judgment? Have I missed anything?

Thanks for reading and keep diggin' for the family, 

Chris

© 2014 Copyright, Christopher Shaw, All Rights Reserved.

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[1] Ancestry.com. U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.

[2] "New York, Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JFGY-2JX : accessed 06 Sep 2014), Magdalena Pakledinac, arrived at New York, 02 Jul 1903, on the Pennsylvania; citing National Archives, Washington D.C.