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(photo from 1891)  Theodosiy Talpash - Lukas' eldest son
Summary: · born on 28 October 1859, in the village of Labowa · served four years in the Imperial Austrian Army · 2 April 1884 arrived in New York's Ellis Island immigration centre · 4 April 1884 travelled to Shamokin, Pennsylvania · worked as coal miner, bartender/bouncer, grocer, hotelier · married Anastasia; had five children: Olga, Jennie, Helen, Ann and John · active initiator of church, social and community organizations · 4 February 1894, in Shamokin, was elected founding President of The Ruthenian National Association, later known as the Ukrainian National Association
Biography:
Theodosiy Talpash was born on 28 October 1859, in the village of Labowa, in the Polish-administered province of Galicia, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. At age 20 Theodosiy began his compulsory military service; he served four years and two months in the Austrian Army and in the Gendarmerie. He saw action as Austrians put down unrest between Moslem Bosnia and Christian (Orthodox) Serbia. He spoke good German and was a personal servant to a Brigadier-General. When Theodosiy was completing his military obligations, his General stated that if he himself were a young man, he would leave to seek adventure and fortune in America.
On 13 March 1884 Theodosiy left Labowa for good. On 2 April 1884 he arrived in New York aboard the S.S. Rugia, of the Hamburg-American Line, its point of embarkation listed as Hamburg. (Information from "New York Immigraton Passenger Lists 1820-1943, a book of the Church of Latter Day Saints which lists the National Archives Microfilm Roll 474 Passenger Lists 11 Mar 1884-12 Apr 1884 FHLibrary Film 1027044") Incidentally, the Rugia was built in 1882, averaged 11 knots, and at 358 by 42 feet, with an iron hull, 3 masts and one funnel. It was one of the largest ships built in Germany to that time. Among the 1167 passengers on board, the handwritten Passenger List included Passenger #406, Theodor Talpasch, age 25, Farmer, Citizen of Austria, in cabin II, carrying 1 bag, in transit to points west. (Note that this date, his given age, all correspond well to census dates and ages, so the dates and ages he recorded in his "Recollections" are the inexact memories of an older man.)
After clearing Immigration at Ellis Island, he set out for Shamokin, Pennsylvania on 4 April 1884. Theodosiy worked as coal miner for Baumgardner and Douty, at the Enterprise Colliery. Because of his size, strength and natural street smarts, he became a bartender-bouncer in the Vanderbilt Hotel. His decent, fair and congenial nature earned him the trust of his fellow immigrants. He came to be very active in social and community organizations.
The young coal miners frequently had terrible injuries in the pits, and were far from their family support systems. They needed welfare programs to help them through bad times. After several unsatisfactory attempts at social organization by the Pole-dominated Roman Catholic Church, a Ruthenian (Lemkian, Ukrainian) grass-roots initiative called The Ruthenian National Association, later known as the Ukrainian National Association, was founded 4 February 1894 in Shamokin, Pennsylvania. Theodosiy Talpash was elected its founding President; he spent the next year organizing workers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey at his own expense. He promoted unity, education and improvement of material security of members through insurance policies managed by their own organization. In the next term, 1895-96, Theodosiy served as the RNA Vice-President, and sat on the Board as Councillor after 1896. He was still active and highly regarded, well into the 20th century: he presided over the 13th Annual Convention of the Ukrainian National Association, held in Buffalo, N.Y. on 7-12 Sep 1914. The official organ of the organization was the first Ukrainian language weekly Svoboda, which became influential and very widely read. Svoboda, and the English-language Ukrainian Weekly, are still published under the auspices of the Ukrainian National Association. (Encyclopedia of Ukraine, Vol V. University of Toronto Press. pp403-404.) Theodosiy was also one of the organizers of the Ruthenian Catholic Church in Shamokin. In the mid-1880s, brothers John and Benedict joined Theodosiy in Pennsylvania, and finally, when their father Luka died in 1887, he helped bring all the rest of his siblings, except for his married sister Maria, to America. Vol. I, line 3646, in the Catalogue of Naturalization Papers for Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, Index A-Z 1854-1913 FHL 961534, lists Thalpash, Theodore, Age 30, Declared Intention 22 Jan 1890, Admitted (Naturalized) 19 Sep 1892.
About 1891, he married Anastasia, a 19-year-old recently-arrived Ukrainian girl. They started up a boarding house which soon expanded to become a cafe and store on 246 Pearl Street in Shamokin. (There is an amusing advertisement in a Ukrainian language newspaper promoting the T. Talpasz restaurant and hotel for its friendly service, tasty sheep cheese and beer, at low prices).
At some point the spelling of the surname changed from the Polish rendering of 'Talpasz,' to better conform to English orthographical conventions; in the US Census of 1900, and in all documents after that, the spelling was 'Talpash.' In the US Census of 1900 Pennsylvania Enumeration District 151 Sheet 22 Line 21 he is listed as Talpash, Teodore, White, Oct 1859, age 40, living at 244 Pearl Street, Shamokin with wife Annie age 26, and daughters Holga, Eugenia, Ellie, and sister Stefinea, born July 1880, age 19.
In the 1910 Census he is listed as living at 320 Sunbury Street, Shamokin, as being 'Theodore', age 51, Landlord and Saloon Owner, Naturalized, having arrived in 1884.
 (These Census records also note names like Talpas, Talpus, Tolpas from Hungary and Slovakia. Only people describing themselves as Ruthenian from Austria, by which they meant the Austro-Hungarian Empire, are considered closely related to this family.)
He and Anastasia had five children: Olga, Jennie, Helen, Ann and John.
When the owner of the Vanderbilt Hotel went to England in 1912 he happened to book passage back home on the Titanic and never returned. Theodosiy helped the widow run the tavern, but soon took proprietorship. There are two entrances to the building - 320 Sunbury Street must have been the main door to the hotel, and the family must have lived in 318, because that was his address in the Census of 1910. He was a big game hunter and made several hunting trips far to the west.
 Theodosiy's hotel at 320 Sunbury Street is the third brick building on the right.
In the early 1900s it must have been an imposing building on a main street. Photo from 2007.
In later years he and Anastasia moved to New Jersey, then to Brooklyn, New York City to live with daughter Jennie, who was married to Basil Sawiski. Efforts to find his funeral records and burial site are ongoing.
(Information and documents available from US Census files, Ukrainian language newspapers, historical documentation of Businesses of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, a book on Pioneers of New York, and from oral reports of nephews, and in 2008 from his granddaughter in New York City.)
**See the photo of Theodosiy Talpasz' Baptismal record by his parish priest in Attachment 1 (1036) below: |
