Welcome to the John Yaros (of Gary, IN) Family Tree!
My name is David Yaros, and I am the Site manager of this Web site. My genealogy research is focused on the John Yaros/Anna Pavlo-Susana Lipps paternal family, and the Gunder-Landgraff maternal family.
To contact me, send email to: OldsD88 -at- gmail.com You are also invited to sign the Yaros Family Guestbook. Thank you for visiting!
About our family
Yaros is a fairly common name in the Slovak regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A derivative spelling may be Jarosz.
John was a Slovak by nationality. It appears he may have hailed from the Sub-Carpathian (Kosice) region of Slovakia. This is based on the fact he claied an affiliation with the Ukranian Orthodox Church, and that his native tongue was Russian.
John came here in 1902, at age 17. I can find no records of his transit and entry. He had relatives awaiting him in Bradford (McKean), PA.
The NW IN YAROS clan has a lot of relatives still residing in the Bradford, PA area. They bear the name of Yaros, Platko & Oleska.
Sometime prior to his 1909 marriage in Lake Co. IN to Anna Pavlo, John settled in Gary. He had "struck it rich in America" by landing a job in the steel mills! [John's sons, grand sons and great grand children have also worked in those same mills.]
John, with wives Anna and Susana, fathered seven (7) children; #4 being stillborn. All were males with the exception of the youngest, Marie.
During the lifetime of he and his 2 wives, a house was never owned. The only known residence they occupied was a rented single-family house in the 900 block of Ellsworth St. in the Tolleston area of Gary.
John died in 1947, at age 62. Family legend has it that he had a heart attack while on the job, working as a straightener in the Merchant Mill.
John, along with most of the second generation of Yaros', is buried in Calumet Park Cemetery, in Merrillville (Lake), IN.
Missing pieces
I have no idea where in the Austro-Hungarian Empire my grandfather was born, lived or left to come to America. Likewise with his spouses, Anna Pavlo and Susana Lipps. I suspect it may have been in the Carpathian Mountain Valley region. I say this as in a census he indicates his native tongue as Russian.
There is also some reference to a daughter of John, who would have been my maternal aunt, named Susia, of whom I have never heard a thing about, or am aware? This may be his step-daughter, Sue Blakemore (nee Lipps), but then again, who knows?
As for the maternal side of the clan, both sides had their roots in Noble County, IN; the Ligonier area. My mother, Hope Constance Yaros (nee Gunder), was born in Chicago, IL, but apparently resided there for only a very short time.
