Buryk: Who are we?

Buryk. Burik. Burek. Burrock. Boryk. Bury. And, if you went to an Irish Catholic grammar school like I did, you were often call, "Burke". With such a short name, you'd think it would be simple! About as simple as trying to explain who we are. At times our families have been Austrian, Galician, Slovak, Russian, Ruthenian, Rusyn, Lemko, Boyko, Polish and Ukrainian in the Old World and American, Canadian, English, French and German depending on where we finally settled.

Our religion was mostly Greek Catholic before we left our homeland, but many of us are now Roman Catholic, or have moved into other Christian churches. I'm sure there are probably some of us who are Orthodox, either of the Russian or Ukrainian variety. Any Buddhists out there?

How many of us are there now? If we consider all of the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the Buryks who left Galicia (first in Austria-Hungary and then later split between Poland and Ukraine) sometime between 1900 and 1950, the total number worldwide is probably in the 1000's. There are almost 200 of us in the United States alone. And you always thought your family was the only one!

As you explore this site and share its content with your families, I'd like you to think of it as our new home in cyberspace. A new ancestral village where all the collective memories and experiences of all the Buryk families can be shared. Welcome to "Our Patch" and come share with us your stories, photos and dreams for the future.