Hungary · Carpatho‑Rusyn

George Gondorchin

Soo Line Railroad · immigrant farmer · b. 29 May 1882 · d. 7 January 1959

George Gondorchin was born on the 29th of May, 1882, in Lyuta — a village of wooden churches and grazing sheep folded into the Carpathian mountains of old Hungary. Like so many of his Rusyn kinsmen he turned his back on the highlands and set out west, and the mountains gave way at last to the flat bright water and pine of Lake Mille Lacs.

In Minnesota he broke land as a farmer and hired on with the Soo Line Railroad — one of the immigrant hands who kept the iron arteries of the Upper Midwest running. He and Mary Cheranick raised their children in the Catholic faith, and they lie together still beneath the oaks of St. Anthony Cemetery in Minneapolis.

Note. His exact birth date and Soo Line employment come from his 1942 “Fourth Registration” draft card — a census of men 45–64 who were NOT draft‑eligible. It documents his work and identity, not military service.

Family

Father László Gondorcsin Family patriarch (inferred) Spouse Mary Cheranick Matriarch of the Gondorchin household Child Peter Gondorchin U.S. Army · World War II Child Anne Gondorchin Peter’s sister Child Mary Gondorchin Peter’s sister · beautician Child George Gondorchin Jr. Peter’s brother · serviceman

Documents & sources

George Gondorchin — WWII Draft Registration Card (Fourth Registration), 1942

FamilySearch

Employer “Soo Line Railroad”; b. 29 May 1882; wife Mary; Minnesota.

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U.S. Census, 1940 & 1950 — Gondorchin household, Kathio Township, Mille Lacs Co., MN

FamilySearch

George & Mary with children incl. Peter; birthplace Austria/Hungary.

Reference

Gondorchin memorials — St. Anthony Cemetery & Fort Snelling National Cemetery

Find A Grave

Burials and dates for George, Mary, Peter, Iris and others.

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