THE GAYK FAMILY HISTORY

---My father, Dagobert "Bert" Gayk (b. 12-24-1907; d. 7-10-1954), immigrated from Germany to Ellis Island, New York, when he was a young man. Born out of wedlock in Essen, Germany to Charlotte Gayk (b. 2-15-1885; d. 5-1971) Essen, and Carl Realich, of Ruegebeith, he was an only child. He was raised as a Lutheran. He had a half-uncle, Stanley Rockwell (b. 6-12-1882; d. 5-17-1959) and an uncle, William Gayk (b. 4-7-1875; d. 1-9-1947) who both migrated to the United States from Germany and resided in Pennsylvania. William was married to Dorothea (b. 2-12-1865; d. 1-28-1943). Bert's maternal grandmother's name was Karoline Gayk, my namesake.


Karoline Gayk

---One opinion of where the Gayks came from, is that they were exhiled from France because of their Protestant religion (Hugenotten). They are said to have migrated to Prussia, where the King was relatively liberal. Some Gayk families actually did come to Germany from East Prussia, "Ostpreussen", when they were forced to leave their beloved homeland where many of them had lived for generations. However; there are different opinions about where the name Gayk came from. Some say that the Gayks came to Germany from the Netherlands, or Flandria and that the Gayk families traveled east during the middle ages, the time of the "colonization" of the east.

---Another opinion (and the most probable), is that the name Gayk (or Geik or Geiko, etc) is of Friesian origin, Friesian being a Germanic tribe in the area of the North Sea.

---There are currently many Gayk families in the region around Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein. Undoubtedly a lot of Gayks came from East Prussia and left there during the 19th century, to find work in other countries and in Germany. Many of the Gayks traveled, as other East Prussians did, to the"Ruhrgebiet" in West Germany to work in the coal mines or in other industries.

---Dagobert Gayk, my father, was born in Essen, which is a part of the "Ruhrgebiet" and it is highly probable that his father, or his grandfather, was born in East-Prussia. In fact, although the research is not complete, it appears that our Gayk history does go back to East Prussia, where records show that Michael Gayk gave birth to a son, Johann Gayk, who was born June 24, 1804. Johann Gayk and Maria Dudeck gave birth to children Regina Gayk in 1826, Johann Gayk in 1829, Michael Gayk in 1832, Gottleib Gayk in 1835, Fritz Gayk in 1839, and Charlotte Gayk in 1841. All were born in Alt Kaikutt, East Prussia. Charlotte Gayk, b. 3/26/1841; d. 2/3/1918 married a Michael Gorny (date unknown). Although my research continues, the names coincide with what what I heard as a child. My grandmother, another Charlotte, said that her father's name was Michael. The search continues.

You Are Visitor Number Since March, 1999

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page