Jim and Barbara's Genealogy Trip Day Five-September 12

In drawing up our trip, we had planned on going to Espanola on Days five and six.  After discussing our plans with Rhea, it became clearer that we probably needed more information before a trip to Espanola would be beneficial.  Since most of the Burjoski family lived in and around Niagara Falls, we decided to do a one day trip to gain as much information as possible.  So on Day five we drove the 133 miles down to Niagara Falls with Rhea as our guide.  After making our obligatory stop at Tim Horton's, we got the information on how to get to Ferguson Street and Billy Burjoski's residence.  Billy had been in the hospital the previous day, but came home and got out books, albums, pictures and lots of information.  It would take many pages on this web site to relay all the Billy Burjoski stories, but suffice it to say, Billy has had an interesting life.  What an extreme pleasure it was to meet Billy and I am looking forward to our paths crossing again.  Thanks Billy for the information.

After exchanging information and talking for a while, Billy took us to the Fairview Cemetery in Niagara Falls where Billy's mother Margaret Rose Burjoski is buried as is an aunt and uncle. William Burjoski was the oldest child of George and Mary Burjoski.  His first wife was Margaret Rose.  William and Margaret had Billy and Joan before they separated.  See the picture below of Billy standing near the gravesite of his grandparents Rose and his mother's gravesite.

We were then able to find the grave sites of my Aunt Sarah Burjoski and my Uncle Mike Burjoski.  See the grave markers below.  We also found the grave site of William A. Rusk who was Aunt Nettie's first husband. There was also a memorial plaque to Bobby Burjoski that was placed by his daughters in front of Aunt Sarah's grave marker.

In the afternoon, Billy guided us to our cousin Diana Berketa affectionately known as Diane. What a sweet lady.  Diane and I are very close in age. She was born May 14, 1941 and I was born January 5, 1941.  Diane and her brothers Peter and Paul Gerald (Jake) were the children of Peter Burjoski and his first wife Pauline Pigden.  Pauline later married Mr. Ecker and he adopted the three children.  Diane had a written family tree and had information from Bernice Dale who we will talk about later. I was able to add my grandmothers mother and father to my family tree using Diane's information.  We had afternoon tea which was enjoyable.

After dropping Billy off with the promise that we would be back, we headed back to Barrie.  We did stop for dinner at a Chinese restaurant called Mandarin.  This is a buffet style Chinese restaurant that is found throughout Ontario.  If you are in that neck of the woods, be sure and try them out.  Great selection of food and very well done.  We topped it off with a bottle of Niagara wine.  The Niagara valley has some of the best vineyards in the world and great wine. 

    

 

Here I am standing with my first cousin William Edward Burjoski affectionately known as "Billy" outside of his home in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.   Billy had been in the hospital the previous day but being the trooper that he is he would not take no for an answer and led us to cemeteries and another cousin.

 

Billy Burjoski at the grave site of his mother Margaret Rose Burjoski and her parents in Niagara Falls.  Margaret Rose was the first wife of William Burjoski, oldest son of George Burjoski.  William and Margaret had Joan and Billy before separating.

 

What thrill it was for me to be standing in front of my Aunt Sarah's grave marker.  Now some might find that morbid, but for a person doing genealogical research, these types of finds and the cataloging of hard information is so valuable.  I never met my Aunt Sarah or her husband Uncle Tony Dmitrijenko.  We did exchange Christmas cards for a number of years until Uncle Tony passed on. 

 

My cousin Bobby Burjoski was cremated according to his wishes.  His daughters, Debbie, Lori, Susan, and Diane have placed a memorial plaque in front of the gravesite of Aunt Sarah in the Fairview Cemetery. 

 

The grave marker of Uncle Mike Burjoski.  Youngest of the Burjoski siblings. Uncle Mike is buried next to Aunt Sarah.
 

Aunt Nettie's first husband was William A Rusk.  He is buried in the same row as Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mike.
 

View of both grave markers and Bobby Burjoski memorial plaque.

Okay, so my cousin Diane is going to kill me the next time I visit Niagara Falls.  What a sweet lady though and we will see her again in a few days. Diane and Billy have a good time trading barbs, it keeps both of them healthy.