Baselj / Straus:
My Slovenian Heritage
My Slovenian heritage comes from my great grandparents, John Basel/Baselj and Mary Straus. I am now on my quest to find out all I can about Slovenia and it's people, traditions, etc. I don't know very much about this part of my family, but what I do know, I will tell here.
My Great Grandfather, John Baselj (pronounced baa-shool; later to be changed to Basel, pronounced base-ool), came to Ellis Island in the United States from �mihel [�mihel pri Zuzemberk], Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia) in the late 1880's, before WWI. He settled near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His brother, Joseph, came to the U.S. before him, and got him a job in a mill. He was a member of the JSKJ - American Fraternal Union.
John had an arranged marriage to Mary Straus. Mary came to the U.S. with her brother Francis "Frank" Straus in the late 1880's. They were from pri Zuzemberk Na Dol Enscol (spelling?), Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia). My grandfather told me that this was a small town on the Swiss Mountains. I assume he meant the Alps, since a part of them does go through the western side of Slovenia.
Mary and her brother settled in and helped to build Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania (Allegheny County). At that time, it was a small farming community. Francis sponsored Mary, and got her a job working at the Heinz factory. Mary later quit her job to take care of family. Mary passed away in 1943.
John and Mary had 5 children, two of which died before the age of 3. John Joseph Basel, my grandfather, was born on October 15, 1918 in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania (probably in Pittsburgh). He passed away on November 7, 2000, in Pittsburgh, Allegheny Co., PA, and was buried on November 11, 2000, at St. Mary's Cemetery, Mt. Troy, Allegheny Co., PA.
John J. Basel married Leona Campbell on September 6, 1943. Leona was born on January 31, 1924, and passed away in July of 1988. She was buried at St. Mary's Cemetery, Sharp's Hill, Sharpsburgh, Allegheny Co., PA.
I was told that my grandparents always said that when they died, they wanted to be buried separately on the two mountains so that they could look down over the valley. They said that in the middle of the night, they would just lay there and yodel to each other over the hills!
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