In this post: Two naturalization papers. The same daughter. Two completely different birthdays. When my great-grandfather Vasil Marcisak recorded his daughter Eva’s birth date on his 1935 naturalization petition, he got it wrong. Here is how four documents — including Eva’s own signature — settle the conflict and offer a textbook case of weighing conflicting evidence in genealogy. Not all sources are created equal.
Every genealogist eventually finds it: two documents, the same person, two different facts. It is a little unsettling at first. Which one is right? Whose memory do you trust? Welcome to Week 9 of the #52Ancestors challenge — Conflicting Clues — and a birthday mystery involving my grandmother, Eva Marcisak.
If you have read my earlier posts about Eva — “Nicknames: Moms and Pops” and “My Favorite Family Photograph” — you already know her as the woman we called Moms. She was the heart of our extended family, a coal miner’s daughter who grew up in the mining towns of western Pennsylvania and later made her life in New York City. She lived to age 84 and is buried beside her husband George Dubinsky in Morganville, New Jersey.
But when was she born? Depending on which document you consult, the answer is either March 4, 1911 or May 15, 1911. The difference is ten weeks — and the conflict comes straight from her own parents.
The Conflict: Father vs. Mother
In 1932, Eva’s father Vasil Marcisak filed his Declaration of Intention in New York. In listing his children, he recorded Eva’s birth date as March 4, 1911.
A few years later, around 1936, Eva’s mother Anna Hurkala Marcisak filed her own naturalization petition. She listed Eva’s birth date as May 15, 1911.
Same parents. Same daughter. Ten weeks apart. One of them was wrong.
| Source | Date Recorded | Year Filed | Informant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vasil Marcisak Petition for Naturalization | March 4, 1911 | 1935 | Eva’s father |
| Anna Hurkala Marcisak Petition for Naturalization | May 15, 1911 | 1943 | Eva’s mother |
| New York Affidavit for License to Marry | May 15, 1911 | 1945 | Eva herself |
| New York City Certificate of Death | May 15, 1911 | 1995 | Eva’s son |
The table tells the story. Three sources say May 15. One outlier — Dad — says March 4.
Why May 15 Wins
Weighing conflicting evidence is a core genealogical skill, and this case offers a clear lesson. Not all informants are equally reliable for every piece of information. Genealogists consider two key questions: Who provided the information? And how close were they to the event? This is the kind of evidence analysis the Genealogical Proof Standard asks us to do.
Both Vasil and Anna were reporting from memory, years after Eva’s birth. Vasil filed his petition 24 years after the fact. Anna filed hers 32 years after the fact. Neither parent had a birth certificate in hand — Pennsylvania’s compliance with statewide birth registration was scattered through at least 1915, and rural mining communities often fell through the cracks.
Here is the difference: Anna gave birth to Eva. Whatever date was lodged in her memory from that day, it came from lived, physical experience. Vasil was her father, and fathers in that era rarely attended births. He recorded what he believed to be true, but his information was probably secondhand from the start.
Then there is Eva herself. On September 13, 1945, Eva Marcisak signed her own Affidavit for License to Marry in the Borough of Manhattan. She listed her date of birth as May 15, 1911. She was not relying on an official document. But she was reporting her own birthday — a date she had been told, celebrated, and lived with her entire life. That carries more weight than a father recalling a detail from memory on a government form decades later.
Finally, her 1995 death certificate — completed by her son — records the same date: May 15, 1911. George grew up with his mother. He knew her birthday.
Three independent sources, all pointing to May 15. One father filing from memory more than two decades later, pointing to March 4.
Some Small Bonus Discrepancies
Sharp-eyed readers will notice one more conflict lurking in these documents. Eva’s marriage license records her birthplace as Mt. Braddock, Pennsylvania. Her death certificate records it as Hofstedder [Hostetter], Pennsylvania. Both are small communities in Fayette County, close enough that a family moving between them would barely notice. The Marcisaks lived in the area during those years, and either community could represent where Eva was actually born versus where the family was living at the time information was reported. It is a reminder that even “resolved” details can carry small wrinkles worth noting in your research files.
Another discrepancy – Eva’s mother’s name is listed as Anna Marchak when it was actually Anna Hurkala (See “From Wide Open Spaces to New American Lives“).
The Lesson Worth Remembering
Naturalization papers are invaluable genealogical sources, but they come with an important caveat: petitioners filled them out from memory, often without supporting documentation. Spelling variations, approximate ages, and slightly off dates are not uncommon. Finding a conflict in these records is not a failure — it is an invitation to weigh the evidence and think critically about who knew what and when.
Vasil Marcisak was a good man who worked hard and built a life for his family in a new country. He just forgot his daughter’s exact birthday. It happens in the best of families.
Your Turn!
Have you found conflicting birth dates for the same ancestor across different family documents? How did you sort it out? Share your experience in the comments.
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Declaration of Intention no. 337537, Vasil Marcisak, 22 December 1932; imaged, “New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2280/images/47294_302022005557_0488-00650 : accessed 3 December 2025). ↩︎
- U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, Petition for Naturalization no. 392526, Anna Marcisak, no date; imaged, “New York, State and Federal Naturalization Records, 1794-1943,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2280/images/31301_168775-00691 : accessed 2 December 2025). ↩︎
- City of New York Department of Health, New York State Certificate and Record of Marriage License and Marriage Certificate no. 23830 (1945), Manhattan, George Dubinsky and Eva Marcisak; imaged, NYC: Records & Information Services (https://a860-historicalvitalrecords.nyc.gov/view/11438197: accessed 25 Oct 2024). ↩︎
- New York City Department of Health, Certificate of Death no. 156-95-062570 (1995), Bronx County, Eva Dubinsky, died 24 Nov 1995; issued 26 Oct 2023 to Kirsten M. (Sten) Max-Douglas, [ADDRESS FOR PRIVATE USE]. ↩︎
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