The Zilinskis

 by Roberta McGee

George Zilinskis (sometimes spelt Zelensky) was born about 1878 in Lithuania (Poland-Russia) and married Ona (Anna) Rudzeviclute  in 1897 in Garlecva, Poland. Their first child Steffina Agnes was born in 1903 at Kelme, Kelme District Municipality, Siaulial, Lithuania. George was a coalminer and by 1907 they had moved to Glengyron, Old Cumnock, where their son Anthony was born, followed by Levonas in 1908, Lana in 1910, George in 1913 and William, who was born in 1918 at Waterside Place.

Both George and Anna remained in Cumnock. George died in 1930 at Waterside Place and Anna in 1949 at 55 Keir Hardie Hill, Cumnock.

Their daughter Steffina Agnes sailed out of Glasgow on 9 March 1921 on the Columbia , arriving in New York on 20 March 1921. Her destination was to her uncle Antanas Rudzeviclute in Century, Barbour County, West Virginia. She was only seventeen years old and a few months later on 29 May 1921 she married John Edward Prutsok in Century. John was a miner who was born in 1895 at Lucerne, West Virginia. His parents were Austrian. 

Steffina’s Wedding - Cumnock Connections 

John and Steffina had three sons but sadly John died in 1935 leaving Steffina a widow aged 32 years. Steffina married again in 1941 to Russian born Michael Superfisky and spent the rest of her life in Barbour County, West Virginia where she died in 1963.

Anthony Zilinskis was born in Glengyron Row in 1907 and married Auchinleck born Annie Gibson Pooley in 1932 at Auchinleck. At some time he changed his surname to Rogers. Anthony was a motor mechanic and died in 1914 in Mauchline. 

Levonas (Leonard) Michael 'Scotty' Zilinskis was born in 1908 at Glengyron, Old Cumnock. He sailed out of Liverpool for New York on the Cedric arriving there on 17 September 1928. He gave his occupation as miner. Although his parents were still alive and living at Waterside Place, Cumnock, he gave his nearest relative in Scotland as his uncle Peter Kilvites, Beechwood Square, Auchinleck. His final destination in the USA was to his brother-in-law John Prutsok, his sister Steffina's husband, Century, West Virginia. 

On his Draft Card of 16 August 1940 he gave his address as Mellette, Spink, West Virginia and his employer was The Century Coal Co. Scotty joined the US Army on 2 September 1942 and was married that same year to Lillian Anna Hamilton who was born in West Virginia. He became naturalised in 1943. Scotty died in 1967 at Buckhannon, Upshur, West Virginia.

Image Cumnock Connections

A description of Century in the Cumnock Connections Tree presumably by one of Scotty's children

            

            The town we grew up in was called Century. The name originated because the

            company who opened the coal mine thought they had about a century of coal,

            plus it opened at the beginning of the 1900s. The Mine was Bethlehem 101. It

            was owned by the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, out of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

            It was a very nice town with an elementary school and two churches;one Catholic

            and one Methodist. We rode a school bus to high school, which was about eight

            miles away. Very close knit community.

                    Scotty, front row centre, representing Bethlehem Steel in a first aid & mine rescue team

                                                            Image - Cumnock Connections

Lana (Ellen) Zilinskis  was born in 1910 at 54 York Street Lane, Ayr and married John Drain Brown in 1933 in Cumnock. However, they divorced in 1939. Ellen then married Hugh Loy in 1841 in Cumnock and she died in 1978.

George Zilinskis was born in 1913 at 13 Glengyron Row. On 22 March 1950 he sailed out of Southampton on the Queen Elizabeth  arriving in New York on 28 March 1950. Aged 36 years and single, he was en route to Century, West Virginia where his brother and sister lived. George was naturalised in 1966 in Cleveland, Ohio and died there in 1973.

William Zilinskis was born in 1918 at Waterside Place, Cumnock. He changed his name to William Rogers legally in 1939 at Cumnock. At the time he was a miner living at 55 Keir Hardie Hill, Cumnock. Sometime afterwards he went to Rhodesia to work as a miner. 8 July 1947 finds William, aged 29 years, arriving in Southampton on the Carnarvon Castle having departed from Capetown, South Africa, his country of last permanent residence being West Rhodesia and his proposed address being 55 Keir Hardie Hill where his mother was still living. William's mother died in 1949.

                                               William Zilinskis Rogers - Image mandyerogers

Five years later, in 1954, William was living in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and had acquired a wife, Tryphena Edith Rogers. He was a miner. Possibly he was a goldminer. It was at Kilgoorlie that Australia's famous Gold Rush took place in 1893 and goldmining remains a major industry. However, by 1968 he had changed his occupation and become a linesman. William died in 1977 at Geraldton, Western Australia and is buried at Utakarra in Greater Geraldton City.