52 Ancestors in 2018 - Week 31: Oldest

The prompt for week 31 is ‘OLDEST’.
(Remember, I am playing 'catch-up' and not doing the weeks in order!
To learn more about my 52 Ancestors in 2018 project, read my introductory blog post.)
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My great-grandfather, Paul Janco, to my knowledge, was my OLDEST living relative at the time I was born.
Paul was born 9 Nov 1865 and lived in what was at one time part of the Austria Hungary empire and later, Yugoslavia. I’m not sure what the jurisdiction was at the time of his birth.

Paul was 87 years old when I was born, and died just a few years later on 2 May 1957 at the age of 91. I don’t know if I ever met him; I certainly don’t remember it if I did, as I was very young when he died. It’s possible I did not meet him, as my mother does not have fond memories of him and didn’t enjoy spending time with him. He never masterer the English language and she found it very difficult to communicate with him. Though I wouldn’t remember meeting him, I do wish I had at least one picture taken with him. That would be so special!

 

​I don’t know when Paul came to the USA, but I do know that he was already here when his wife and younger children arrived in 1911. Paul lived in the US for almost 50 years before his death.The family originally settled in the Peoria, Illinois area, where Paul’s wife died 5 Jan 1913, shortly after the birth of her last child . Paul later relocated to  Branch, Michigan, where he was a farmer. The farm was somewhat primitive, probably even by the standards of 1930s America, but it did serve as a refuge for Paul’s children and grandchildren during the great depression. I’ve been told stories of having no electricity and snow deep enough that it was necessary to dig ‘tunnels’ to the outhouse, with a rope strung to hang on to so that no one lost their way when making the trip to the outhouse.