I seem to get asked about my family history, often. It usually begins with my name when someone says, Durkac…what is the origin of your name? or they just ask, What kind of name is Durkac?

Durkac is a unique name, and I usually tell people if you meet another Durkac we are related. At least we would be related in some way, through family or marriage.

So here I want to jot down the Durkac story as I know it. I’m sure there is more to the story than what I am about to share, but I will put it as I know. Here it is…

Durkac is a Slovakian name. There are Durkac’s still in Slovakia and I am connected with some of them on Social Media and have exchanged emails with some, too. It seems that the Durkac’s I have had communication with are in the Bratislava area. My grandfather once told me he was from a town close to Bratislava called “Tutuka” or at least that was how he pronounced it. Although, I have not been able to locate anything on a map that looks close to that pronunciation.

The story is that sometime during the late 1910’s four Durkac brothers came to America after responding to some type of Slovakian recruiting program by the steel plant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Apparently, U.S. Steel targeted Slovakia for recruiting employees.

Of the four brothers who came to America to work at the steel plant, one became my grandfather and he moved to the Toledo, Ohio area to work at Libbey-Owens-Ford glass factory, who produced automotive windows for the car industry just a few miles north toward Detroit, Michigan.

I never heard the story as to why my grandfather seemed to move on to Toledo leaving his brothers and a Slovakian community, except that there was an account of tragedy among the brothers after moving to the Pittsburgh area. As I remember that story, the four brothers were on the front porch of a house and either cleaning or handling a gun. The gun was accidentally discharged and one of the brothers was killed.

My dad said that my grandfather never talked about his family, the brothers move to America, and never explained to him any of the details of that tragic accident. I will admit that the thought has occurred to me that maybe my grandfather was the brother holding the gun, because moving to Toledo could have been more of an escape plan than an upward career move.

Around 1922 or 1923, my grandfather returned to the Pittsburgh area for a friend’s wedding. My grandfather was the Best Man at this wedding and the lady who was the Maid of Honor, became my grandmother. You can read more about that wedding story at The Grandma Story post.

I seem to think that the four brothers came to America in 1919, and my grandfather’s wedding was in 1923, and my dad was born in 1928. My dad was an only child and was adopted from Pittsburgh where he was also born.

I don’t know anything about my dad’s birth or his adoption by my grandparents, but I do wonder if they had some kind of prearrangement or connection with the birth mother if the adoption took place in their previous residency area. Maybe not, but I do wish I knew more about that.

My father and mother adopted five children, of which I became the middle child, but growing up people would frequently say that I looked like my dad. Both of us were adopted so that always made me wonder why. Now that I know that I am 50% Italian it makes me wonder if my dad was Italian, too.

I realize I’m just thinking out-loud here, but stay tune and I’ll continue to share more life stories  about my family.