To be ignorant of what happened before you were born is to be ever a child.  For what is man's lifetime unless the memory of past events is woven with those of earlier times?  Marcus Tullius Cicero

The Bartko Children:  The children of Anna Scšur's ancestral family that evolves first are the children associated with Anna Scšur's initial pregnancy in Europe plus her subsequent marriage to Janos Bartko after arrival in the coal fields of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.  Anna Scšur's first child, born prior to her marriage to Janos Bartko, is also named Anna by her mother.  After Anna's marriage to Janos Bartko in 1890, two additional children are born to the newly married couple, Janos and Anna Bartko.  The children are named Mary Bartko and John Bartko.

Ancestry Hub
Anna Scsur
Janos Bartko
Anna Scsur II
Mary Bartko
John Bartko
Kudrick Family

Anna Scšur II:  Anna Scšur II is Anna Scšur's first child.  She is born in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania in March, 1890.  Since young Anna is born out of wedlock, she prefers, in later years, to adopt her mother's surname as her maiden name.  However, as she is growing up, she is referred to by the surname of her step-father, either as a Bartko or a Kudrick.  Accordingly, I refer to young Anna's maiden name as either (1) Anna Scšur II which is proper for the period from birth until four months later when Anna Scšur marries Janos Bartko.  At that time her maiden name becomes (2) Anna Scšur II Bartko or most probably just Anna Bartko which prevails until the marriage of her mother, the widowed Anna Scšur, to Alex Kudrick in 1898.  At that point her maiden name becomes (3) Anna Scšur II Bartko Kudrick or simply Anna Kudrick.  In May 1909, at the age of 19, Anna Scšur II Bartko Kudrick marries John Mudry Sr..  Their marriage will produce six children, three boys and three girls.  The Mudry family is be discussed later.

The mining patch town of Sugarloaf in 1890 was probably not too much different from the Eckley, Pennsylvania version depicted above.  Homes were built by the coal operator so his workers would be close to his coal mining operation.  The houses were generally of poor quality and constructed close together.  The streets were unpaved, covered with coal dust from the nearby mines and turned to black mud when it rained. The coal breaker itself was always within view of the patch town residents and the odor of coal dust permeated the surroundings.  The only scenery the workers saw on their way to work were the culm banks and coal dust piles built by the mining operation between the patch town  and the coal mine.

Mary Bartko:  Mary Bartko, the first child of the Anna Scšur and Janos Bartko marriage is born in Sugarloaf, Pennsylvania in May 1892.  At the time of her birth, her older half-sister, Anna, is two years old.  Upon the death of Janos Bartko and the subsequent marriage of Anna Scšur Bartko to Alex Kudrick, young Mary Bartko's maiden name changes to Mary Bartko Kudrick or possibly just Mary Kudrick.  In 1916, at age 24, Mary Bartko Kudrick marries John Kelhart.  John and Mary will have two children, both girls.  The John Kelhart family is discussed later.

In 1892, the year Mary Bartko is born, a local coal operator named Alvan Markle Sr. establishes a public park (see above) dedicated to athletic events, recreation and landscape gardening.  It is called Hazle Park and is built on 40 acres having springs of pure water and the purest of air attributed to its lofty elevation of approximately 2000 feet above sea level.  This park is within walking distance of where the Bartko family is living plus it can be reached by electric trolley car operated by the Lehigh Traction Company.

John Bartko:  John Bartko, born in Sugarloaf, is the only son of Janos Bartko and Anna Scšur, but he is their second child together and Anna's third child overall.  He is born on December 28, 1894 which date falls between the Roman Catholic Christmas on December 25th and the Greek Catholic Christmas celebrated on January 7th.  Young John is baptized by Rev. Nicholas Szteczovics of St. Mary's Greek Catholic Church in Hazleton.

Ancestry Hub ~ Anna Scsur ~ Janos Bartko ~ Anna Scsur II ~ Mary Bartko ~ John Bartko ~ Kudrick Family