abriel Zuck & Barbara (nee: Melnychuk), along with their son John and
his wife Anna (nee Deneka) were farmers in the village of Dowznie, in the
district (powlit) of Sokal, in the deaconate of Warez and the Eparchy of Przemysl in Western Ukraine. Anna was the daughter of Barholomew Deneka
and Rose (nee Mishka) from the Village of Hilcze in the district of Chochliw,
Western Ukraine. The province of western Ukraine from which they originated
was known as Halychyna, which was later 'Latinized' to Galicia by the
Austro-Hungarian Empire of 1867-1916.
he year 1908 was one of great unrest in Europe. Bulgaria was struggling for independance from the Ottoman Turkish Empire. There was ferment brewing in Turkey itself as well as insurrections against the Ottoman Empire in Macedonia. A revolutionary movement in Russia had been quashed by Czar Nichols II just two years earlier. The Anglo/Russian entente was negotiated a year earlier. Acts and rumors of war were common.
ohn Zuck was not going to let himself and his family become enmeshed in this melee. His oldest son, Dan, was 19 years old and subject to conscription in the Austrian army. His next son Anthony, age 16 years, was also close to the age of conscription. So John and Anna liquidated their possessions and holdings, collected just a few personal belongings, and along with his family, and accompanied by four other families were to set out for South America in September 1908
heir plans were changed, literally, at the last minute. Why is unclear, although it was likely due to reports from the Kazimer Jaseniuk family, also from Dowzniw, The Jaseniuk family had emigrated earlier to South America, and suffered many hardships before returning to East Prussia and then on to Canada. Canada then became the Zuck's destination. John, Anna and their five children came together to Canada as a family unit. They had one more child Katherine, three years later in Canada.
Born -
Died - 1928
Married
Born
Died - 1956
Married -
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Born - 1889(?)
Died - 1974
Married - Dora Bodnarchuk 1913(d:1934)
Children - Edward, James, Helen(Brooks)
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Born - July 21, 1894
Died - April 25, 1954
Married - Katharina Harach 1914 (d: June 20 1945)
Remarried - Helen Novicki(nee:Zaleschuk) widow of Peter Novicki in 1949 (d:December 14,1985)
Children - Anastasia(Nettie), Donald, Bodan(Bud), Ann(Zaleschuk), Victor, Julie(Saganski)
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Born -
Married - Paul Klimczuk 1913
Remarried - Harry Sheremeta
Children - John(deceased), Mike and Edward
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Born
Died - 1940
Married - Helen Chuhaniuk
Children - Orest, John, and Olga(O'Neill)
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Born -
Died - August 7, 1987
Married - Adam Hocak(d:1948)
Children - Zane, Alice(Thorpe), Helen(Thorpe), Tony
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Born - 1911
Married - John Kutnikoff
Children - Sam, Nettie and Anna
mbarking from Antwerp, Belgium, in September 1908, they were delayed because the ship that was to take them was quarantined due to typhus. They were billeted at a hotel at the shippers expense till a 'clean' ship arrived. The voyage lasted two weeks. It was a difficult passage in fall, the Atlantic Ocean is stormy and most of the passengers suffered acute motion sickness. John and Antonia were the only members not afflicted and they actually enjoyed the adventure. It is unknown if they disembarked at Montreal or Quebec City.
long and tedious train journey to Rosthern took place in 'tourist class' coaches. They were the lucky few who had pull down wooden bunks. Most sat on hard wood seats below these bunks.
he Zuck family, along with three other families (names unknown), detrained in Rosthern. Here, land was selected from a 'book' in the Land Titles Office. John and one of the other families, who all were destined for the Krydor/Hafford area, joined forces, John purchased a team of oxen, the other family purchased a wagon, and together the two families departed Rosthern.
s was now late fall and winter was fast approaching, the Zuck family took up residence with John's stepsister Mary (nee:) who was married to Kuzma Zarubiak. The Zarubiak's had children of their own, so the two room house was very crowded. During this first winter, Anthony and Dan kept busy cutting poplar trees to provide the logs for the construction of the Zuck homestead, located on SEC22 TWP44 W3. In 1909, Dan and Anthony built the first house at that location over that winter. The winter of 08/09 was very cold, with a unusually large amount of snow. Because the Zarubiak house was so crowded, and Mary was then expecting their third child, Andrew, the Zuck family moved into this house as soon as it was habitable.
an and Anthony Zuck were 'proving' two quarter sections of SEC22, TWP44. Here the John Zuck family resided in this first home, and their last child Katherine was born, until 1911. The first crop was wheat, grown on a four acre plot on Dans quarter and this crop was reserved for seed.
t the time, the nearest supplies came from Rosthern, a 75 mile trip. On one trip during winter, John and Mr. Omelian, each in a sled, set out for supplies in Rosthern. They never even got as far as the Petrofka area. Mr Omelian froze to death and John barely escaped with the timely aid from the Doukhobor colony there. He was returned home with very severe frostbite to his legs, arms, hands and face.
ith no small effort, 22 acres were cleared and under cultivation. This was on Hudson Bay land and was up for sale for cash and not available for 'homesteading'. So the Zuck Family was dispossessed from their first building site and moved to homestead in TWP45. In 1910 Anthony filed for his homestead in Redberry RM435; SW20; TWP44; R9; W3. There is still the remnants of those buildings including the house standing today, although it has long since been abandoned. In the meantime, Anthony worked in Rosthern at the very famous "Seeger Wheeler Farm". Here Anthony worked as a cattle herdsman and thus became involved in scientific farming. He from then on only used registered seed or the second generation on his own farm. It was all just normal life for Anna to walk the 75 miles to Rosthern and then a further 26 miles to the Seeger Weeler Farm. As the return trip took most of an entire week one can assume Anthony was not visited every week. Katherine was born in the spring of 1911 and was left, with the other children, in the care of Barbara when Anne was on these trips.
n 1913 Barbara left home as the bride of Paul Klimczuk. That same year, Dan married Dora Bodnarchuk. One year later, on St. Demetrius's feast day, Anthony married Katharina Harach, newly arrived from Ukraine whom was living with her oldest brother Harry Harach. John Zuck and his family were frequent visiters at Harry Harach's home. There Anthony met Katharina, courted her and became engaged. Katharina (nee:Harach Dec.1890-July 1945) was the daughter of Theodore Harach and Magdalena (nee:Maliicka-Mazurok) a farmer in Warez, in the district of Sokal. Katharina's four brothers Harry, Nicholas, John and Peter Harach preceeded her to Canada She arrived in Canada alone in 1914 to live with Harry. The wedding of Anthony to Katharina was solemnized by Rev. Sarmatiuk in the Ukrianian Catholic Church of Saint Demetrius near Krydor. It was a double wedding as Katharina's brother Peter Harach was also married to Catherine Toporowski on the same day. The reception was held at Harry's home for both couples and the next day, according to custom, Anthony and Katharina went to live with John and Anna till their home was built.
t this time purchases of household staples were made at a small store at Luxembourg nine miles away. 
Mail service was at a post office called Springbourne. The main cash crop was seneca root, a medicinal root still harvested today. Seneca root was dug with a special narrow spade called a 'kupach'. It took many trips, and many holes to dig enough roots to make a dried pound. But the price paid for the dried roots was good, although the women had no small fear of the feral long horned cattle that ranged where the roots were sought.
n the winter of 1916, brothers Anthony and Paul went north of TWP45 to cut coniferous trees for lumber. Anthony became critically ill with double pneumonia from camping outdoors and was brought to John and Anna's for tending. As was no improvement, Paul took Anthony and Katharina to Hafford to catch the train to the nearest hospital at North Battleford. Anthony recovered after a lengthy convalescence at the hospital. In the meantime Katharina took over all the duties on the farm. On release from hospital Anthony was employed as a land assessor for the Rural Municipality of Redberry.
hrough thrift, hard work, perserverance and brains the Zuck families grew and thrived. Then, the 1930's aka 'dirty thirties' so named as during these dry years dust storms were a common occurance. During 1936 Dan, Paul and their brother in law Adam Hocak went prospecting for farm land in the 'green belt' that had been receiving precipitation, located around Clouston/MacDowell area 25 miles south of Prince Albert. They were all successful in locating land and in 1937 relocated their families. To this day survivors of the trek of '37' and their descendants are still found there (2005). Dan and his wife Dora have passed, but sons Edward and James are still in Prince Albert, and their sister Helen Brooks lives in the United States. Paul, survived by his widow Helen is in Prince Albert, Son Orest has passed, son John is still In Prince Albert and their daughter Olga (O'Neill) is in Prince George B.C.
Ann, Anastasia(Nettie), Donald, Bohdan(Bud), Victor, Julie
John, Mike, Edward
Zane, Alice(Thorpe), Helen(Thorpe), Tony
Sam, Nettie, Anna
