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Reunion Information

Jacob Kocsis (the name was changed to Kocis when he immigrated to the USA) was born July 7, 1864 in Jamnik (house number 19), Slovakia and was baptized on July 17, 1864 in Odorin, Spis, Slovakia (in 1864 known as Austria-Hungary) to Michael and Elizabeth Hleba Kocsis.  He immigrated to America when he was 17 years old and settled in the coal mining community of Leisenring in Fayette County, PA., three miles from Connellsville, PA and about 30 miles from Latrobe, PA.  In Leisenring he got a job in the coal mines.  When he was 22 years old he went to a neighbor's wedding and met Kathryn Puskar.

Kathryn Puskar was born November 6, 1871 in Odorin, Spis, Slovakia to Andrew (b. November 25, 1840, d. May 7, 1917) and Maria Farcas Puskar.  Andrew and Maria Puskar's are buried in St. Florian's Cemetery in United, PA.  Kathryn came to the United States when she was 13 years old.

Jacob Kocis and Kathryn Puskar were married January 11, 1887 at Saint Vincent’s Monastery in Latrobe, Pa.  In those days winter weddings were common because people were too busy in the summer planting and harvesting crops to take time out to get married.  Jacob and Kathryn had to walk through three feet of snow to get to St. Vincent’s.  They started out walking early January 10 and got the Monastery late that day.  Two other couples went along as witnesses.  The monks fed them and put them up for the night.  In the morning they went to confession, received communion and were married.  They then started walking back to Leisenring to make their new home.  Within the year they had a baby girl, Anna, who only lived ten days.  Their second child, Steve, died when he was two and a half years old from black fever. 

The coal mine in which Jacob was working went on strike and there was no work.  Jacob and Kathryn went to Nebraska with Kathryn parents because they had heard that the United States government was leasing land free to anyone wanting to work it for a living.  They stayed with Kathryn uncle’s family, the Puskars.  However, they didn’t like Nebraska because it was so desolate and they started back to Pennsylvania.  Jacob and Kathryn's son Steve picked up black fever on the way back to Pennsylvania and died within a few days.  When Jacob and Kathryn came back to Pennsylvania they stayed on the Buchina place in Mount Pleasant and Jacob delivered beer with a wagon and a horse named Charlie.

Jacob and Kathryn had thirteen children, Anna and Steve, who died in infancy, and John (b. August 9, 1892, d. January 9, 1981), Pauline (Mischick) (b. June 5, 1894, d. January 1, 1980), Mary (Matuzek) (b. March 28, 1896, d. March 1966), Anna (Safko) (b. July 21, 1898, d. March 1953), Veronica (Stefanek) (b. December 12, 1900, d. April 7, 1969), Jacob (b. August 6, 1903, d. January 26, 1985), Kathryn (Frazier) (b. March 23, 1906, d. February 9, 1988), Elizabeth (Mook) (b. August 4, 1908), Andy (b. November 7, 1911, d. December 2, 1992),  Edward (b. August 14, 1914, d. June 1967) and George (b. May 4, 1918).