A few months ago I received an email newsletter from Ancestry.com that discussed their record tool bar.  At the bottom, there was a link for requesting the original documents associated with a record.  The reason you would want to do this is that the originals often have information that is not recorded online.   Armed with this new information I went straight to the person in my family tree that I knew I wanted to try this out with first.  My great-grandfather Kirilo Cipko (aka. Mike Cipko aka. Mike Matulis) has been a huge brick wall that I have not been able to break through for as long as I have been doing family research.  With all his different aliases and his immigration from Russia, I had a problem finding information about his parents.  I did, however have many records for Kirilo saved to my tree.  I knew which one I wanted to look up.  He had a Social Security number and I found that there was an original application (SS-5) that I could send away for.  Using the toolbar to the left of the record, I clicked on “Request Copy of Original Application” and generated a letter to send to the Social Security Administration.  I mailed it off with the $27.00 fee they charge and crossed my fingers.  I was not sure what kind of information, if any, I would get back.

My great-grandfather is listed as Kirilo Cipko on the SSDI.  I knew that he also went by the name Mike…but was still shocked when I got my results back.  About six weeks after I mailed off my request, I found a letter from the Social Security Administration in my mailbox.  It had been so long, I forgot all about it and wondered what they could be sending me.  I was sent a form letter notifying me that under the Freedom of Information Act, I was entitled to a copy of the original application for a Social Security number for the individual, as requested.  Yes!!  Along with the letter was a very good photocopy of the application, signed by my ancestor.   The crazy thing is that he filled out and signed the application Mike Cipke.  And I almost cried when I saw that I now had the names of his parents – Nick and Anna Cypke.  Here it is in all its glory:

It has always been a challenge finding information on my grandfather John Cipko’s parents.  I have pictures of his father Mike and even some records I’ve found through Ancestry.com, but Mary has always been even more mysterious.  I had some information that they might be buried in Portage Indiana, so while we were in town, my dad and I made our way to the cemetery.  Calvary Cemetery is where all of our Walters relatives are buried in Portage, but it is a little odd for the Cipko’s to be buried there.   As far as I know, the last place they lived was in Gary, Indiana.  When we got to the cemetery, my dad went into the main building and asked if there was anyone by the name of Cipko or Matulis buried there.  They said there was no one by that name, so we proceeded to the Walters graves.  I was disappointed that I had heard wrong and wondered where they could be buried.  Maybe they had the spelling wrong?  Later that day, we met my dad’s cousin Kathy who has been working with others to document everyone buried in the cemetery.  To my surprise, she said that the Matulis grave was in the cemetery.  Someone had shown it to her once and she knew the general area it was in.  We returned to the cemetery and within minutes we found them at last!  The grave has been sinking over the years and we had to dig a few inches of earth away to see the engraved dates.  Just to the right of Mike and Mary was a child’s grave, Mary Ann Turza.  Grandpa’s sister Helen had the married name Turza, so now I have to find out more about Mary Ann.  Here is the evidence that we found them.  You can see from the photos how far the headstone has sunk.  If I make a trip back, I will have to remember to take some supplies to clean this up better.

Mike and Mary Matulis, Calvary Cemetery, Portage, IN

Mike Matulis

Mary Matulis

Mary Ann Turza headstone, Calvary Cemetery, Portage IN