Family History

The sum total of our genealogical research so far (with help from many others)

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The Gresiak and Grzesiak Line

The Tucciarone Line (including Carano and Scarpine)

The Karpinski Line (Poland and Denmark)

The Kasovich Line (under construction)

The Bartholomew Line (under construction)

The Beeman Line (under construcion)

The Beemans

This part is under construction.

I have some information but have not had a chance to enter it yet.

The Bartholomews

This part is under construction.

I have some information but have not had a chance to enter it yet.

The Kasovich Line

This part is under construction.

I have some information but have not had a chance to enter it yet.

The Tucciarone Line

Rosaline Tucciarone, John's mother, was born in Coalburg, Hubbard Township, OH in 1924. (Click here to read about the Tucciarone family) (Requires Abobe Acrobat Reader, free from Adobe). She had two brothers, Andew (Buster) and John (Jack). Except for brief work-related jaunts to Florida, she spent her life in Hubbard, attending Saint Patrick's Elementary School and Hubbard High School. While she originally worked at Truscon, much her working life was spent as an executive secretary to Monte Friedkin and his family, who owned and operated Benada (later Easco) Aluminum in Girard, OH and then Friedkin Industries, a holding company for a variety of ventures, and, most recently, FI Management in Boca Raton Florida. Rosaline recently turned 80 and was feted at a surprise party given by her son, John and nephew Jim Tucciarone and his wife Kathy (who was John's 7th-grade teacher). Rosaline is retired but is still active doing volunteer work for the Hubbard Alumni Asssociation and enjoys spending time with friends and family. Shown at left is a picture of Rosaline and her husband Andrew Gresiak taken at Cedar Point Amusement Park, Sandusky, OH in the late 1960's

William Tucciarone ("Papa"), John's maternal grandfather, was born in Sharon, PA on February 12, 1901. In 1903, William and his parents moved to Coalburg, OH (just a few miles over the state line). Coalburg is part of Hubbard Township. After several months, they moved into Hubbard. In 1913, they moved back to Coalburg where William spent much of the remainder of his life. He married Mary Carano on November 28,1922. They lived in Coalburg with William's parents. The location was known as "the farm" as it was a large property where a large variety of crops and fruits were grown. William worked for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. William died February 16,1998. At left is a picture of William and his wife, Mary Carano taken on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1972 in Hubbard, OH.

Mary Carano, John's maternal grandmother, was born on June 20, 1901. She and William Tucciarone were married on November 29, 1922.Presumably, she was born and they were married in or near Hubbard, OH, but I have not certified this. William and Mary lived with his parents, Andrew and Rose Tucciarone, on "the farm", on North Bellwick Rd in Coalburg, Hubbard Township. Mary was a loving and devoted wife, mother and grandmother throughout her life. Mary died on December 10, 1981.

Andrew (Andrea in Italy) Tucciarone, father of William Tucciarone, was born on April 4, 1874 in Tufo, Provincia de Caserta, Italy. In the town of Tufo there is a street, a bridge and a building bearing the name "Tucciarone".On May 22,1896, Andrew left Italy from the port of Naples on the S.S. Algeria and arrived in New York City on June 8, 1896. He lived in New York for some time before moving to Sharon, PA (just across the state line from Hubbard, OH.) to "get away from the big city". This is where he met Rosaline Scarpine. They were maried on August 8, 1899 at Sacred Heart Church in Sharon, PA. Their first home was at 40 Hickory St. in Sharon. Andrew died on December 3, 1946.

Rosaline (Rose) Scarpine was born December 3, 1882 in Colobraro, Provincia di Potenza, Basilicata, Italy. She left Italy from the port of Naples on February 24, 1899 on he S.S. Victoria, arriving in New York on March 17, 1899.She was met my her aunt, Philomena Cuifo, of Sharon, PA, who had sent for her to come to America. This is how Rosaline ended up in Sharon and met Andrew. Rosaline died on August 20, 1978. Rosaline is pictured in the center of the photo to the left. This was taken in 1972.





Andrew Tucciarone's parents were Biagio Tucciarone and Theresa Paparella.His grandparents were Guiseppi Tucciarone and Maria Antonia Piembia. This is as far back as the Tucciarone family has been traced at this time.

Rosaline Scarpine's parents were Nicholas and Philomena Ross Scarpine. Nicholas was the son of Joseph and Rosaline (last name unknown) Scarpine. This is as far back as the Scarpine family has been traced at this time. Philomena Ross Scarpine was the daughter of Frank and Theresa (last name unknown) Ross.

The Karpinski Line

Marcia Ann Karpinski, John's paternal grandmother, was born in Poland (exact location unknown), but possibly in Marcewo, a small village about 50 km east of Poznan, on January 10, 1881. After her first husband, Jacob died, she remarried. Her second husband's name was Charles or Stanley Karasiewicz. The date of this marriage was November 9, 1919. According to the marriage lisence application, Charles had also been previously married, his first wife having died June 3, 1917. The license lists Charles as being from Germany (perhaps a part of Poland that was controlled by Germany at that time). Andrew and his siblings retained the Grzesiak surname. I know of one stepbrother whose name was Bernard or Bernie, but I do not know when he was born (he was not listed in the 1930 census). Some descendents of the Karasiewicz's changed their names to Kasovich and some eventually changed theirs to Kass or Kaz. Marcia Ann Karpinski Grzesiak Karasiewicz died on April 21, 1967 and is buried at the Church of the Madonna Cemetery in Cardale PA. Marcia's parents were Thomas (Tomasz) Karpinski and Konstancya Kubiak. She had a brother, John (Jan), who was born on June 16, 1870 and died in 1951 at Somerset State Hospital, Somerset, PA. Apparently, there were other siblings: Panlin, b 1873, Rozalia, b August 28, 1862 and Cecylia, b October 1, 1860. There is also a Maryanna listed as being born August 17, 1867. I do not know if this is supposed to be Marcia Anna (although the birthdate is several years off) or a sister with a similar name. She also had a brother Walter (Wladislaw), who settled in Denmark and is the patriarch of a large Karpinski clan in that country. The picture above left show Marcia Anna (older woman on right) with Rosaline Gresiak (younger woman on left) and John Gresiak (in front). The picture was taken at the Grzesiak residence in Tower Hill I, PA in the 1960s.

Wladyslaw (Walter) Karpinski, brother of Marcia Anna Karpinska, was born May 13, 1888 and died July 19, 1969. On November 15, 1908, he married Maryanna Gruszczynska, who was born on November 3, 1887 and died July 20, 1944. They had five children, all in Denmark: Helena (March 14, 1909-March 25, 1987), Stanislaw Maryan (November 21, 1910-Feb 3, 1999), Anna Maria (June 7, 1912-December 29, 1976), Jan Thomas (July 6, 1917-October 16, 1977), and Leo Albert Gotfred (March 31, 1924-May 11, 1980). The fifth generation of the Karpinski Family is now living in Denmark, with surnames including Nielsen, Hansen, Schoning and Rasmussen.

The Gresiak/Grzesiak Line

Andrew Gresiak, John's father, was born in Buffington, Fayette County, PA on November 22, 1917. The original family name was Grzesiak, but Andy changed his last name to Gresiak, supposedly to make it easier to spell and pronounce. To my knowledge, he was the only one in the family who did that. He grew up in Fayette County, PA in the southwestern part of the state in a place called Tower Hill I. He had 3 brothers, Michael, Lewis and Joseph, and a sister, Ann. As a young man, he moved to Youngstown, OH and was employed by Truscon Steel Corp. for 30 years. This is where he met John's mother, Rosaline Tucciarone (she worked in the office). They were married on October 22, 1949. He later went on to work for Consolidated Freightways in Richfield, OH, retiring in 1983 after 15 years. He was a Marine Veteran of World War II. In his spare time, Andrew enjoyed golfing, watching sports on TV and helping his father-in-law (see William Tucciarone, below) on "the farm". Andrew died on January 8, 1992.

Jacob Grzesiak, John's paternal grandfather, was born June 21, 1876 in Galicia, Austria (now part of Poland) He married Marcia Anna Karpinska, place and date of marraige are unknown. They lived in Buffington, Fayette County PA. Jacob died Nov 12, 1918 in the 1918 flu epidemic.There is no further information on the Grzesiak line at this time.

Our Story

OUR STORY: The John and Wynne Gresiak Family began on September 10, 1988, with the union of the Gresiak and Bartholomew families. John Gresiak, only son of Andrew (dec.) and Rosaline Gresiak of Hubbard, Ohio, wed Wynne Bartholomew, first of four daughters (the "Fearsome Foursome") of Gary (dec.) and JoAnn Beeman Bartholomew of Pine Grove Mills, Pennsylvania. From that time through February of 1999, the family resided in tiny Moshannon, Pennsylvania. Two children joined the family during this time. RoseMary in 1989, followed by William in 1991. At the end of February, 1999, the family moved to State College, Pa. Three years and a few months later, they moved a short distance outside of town to a top secret location. During the summer of 2005, another move to another top secret location. They could tell you where they live, but then they'd have to kill you!