Some time ago, my aunt, who currently lives in Arizona, sent me a photo of a letter. This letter was written and sent many years ago (in 1980) from Australia to our family. Due to the universal lack of time 😉, the matter was put aside for “later”…
After a year and a half, during a conversation with my husband about warmer countries, I suddenly remembered the letter. That’s when I felt inspired to track down our relatives. I knew that Ivan’s parents had remained in Ukraine after he and his wife moved to Australia. Beyond that, no one in the family could provide any more details. At first, it felt impossible—what can you possibly find with just an address and the first letter of a name? Yet, step by step, I began to piece the puzzle together.
The first breakthrough came when I discovered a listing for the sale of the house where they used to live. This confirmed that the address on the letter was no longer valid. However, that “old” address led me to the 1980 electoral roll, which listed Elsa Górecki—the mysterious “E” from the letter.
Next, I found records on the National Archives of Australia website about the ship Elsa and Ivan traveled on. It was called the General Heintzelmann, departing from Naples on October 24, 1949, and arriving in Sydney on November 24, 1949. Now, I knew how my relatives got to Australia. From these records, I also learned Elsa and Ivan’s birth dates and discovered they had two daughters: Walentina and Lora.
Still, I hadn’t found any living relatives…
Continuing my search through available archives and databases, I came across a photo of Elsa and Ivan’s gravestone in a Sydney cemetery. I reached out to the cemetery’s administrator, asking them to forward my contact information to whoever was maintaining the grave. Unfortunately, I was met with a response that they don’t provide such services.
But my determination didn’t let me give up. On Ancestry, I found a family tree managed by someone named Karen. However, her account hadn’t been active for over a year. So, I turned to Facebook, searching for someone with her name. That didn’t look promising either 😉—her last post was over a year and a half ago. Still, I sent her a message and waited for a month without receiving any reply.
Meanwhile, I joined numerous Australian groups and posted a message about finding the owner of the Ancestry tree. One of the comments pointed me toward LinkedIn, and that turned out to be the perfect lead. 🙂 The account seemed active, with a post made just a week earlier. Of course, even though I was already in bed—it was 11:30 PM—I immediately sent a message. And now, I’m waiting for a response… 😉
That, in a nutshell, is how my search unfolded. 🙂
If you’re curious to see how the story of the letter from Australia continues, follow my profile on Facebook. 🙂
And if you’re also searching for ancestors or living relatives, feel free to reach out to me!
