Born 2-6-1952 St Mary’s Hospital, Grand Junction, Colorado
Wife of Robert Charles Gardner
Daughter of George Douglas Gdovin and Miriam Grace Tabor (Gdovin)
Mother of Cristopher Robert, Richard David, and Jeffry Charles Gardner
Sister of John “Jay” Douglas, Mark Thomas,and Larry James Gdovin, Robin Sue Gdovin (Walsh) (Farmer), and Lori Ann Gdovin (Stone) (Benton) (Corporon)
Dance troupes beginning September 1954 through Spring 1969. Tap, ballet, modern jazz, and Hawaiian.
1956 Connie Clark school of Dance in Grand Junction Colorado
Active member of the Jobs Daughters as a teenager. Served as Choir Mistress.
Job’s Daughters has a rich heritage and tradition. The group was founded in 1920 to provide an opportunity for young women to work together, to learn about themselves and to help others. Job’s Daughters is open to girls ages 10 to 20 who have a Masonic Heritage. We do not follow any specific religion, but do require that our members have a belief in God. For over 75 years, Job’s Daughters has been actively promoting friendship and service. The organization was founded by Mrs. Ethel T. Wead Mick in Omaha, Nebraska. The group takes its name from the Book of Job, and in particular to a reference in the 42nd Chapter that says, “And in all the land were no women found so fair as the Daughters of Job.” Meetings follow a long tradition of order. The Officers wear traditional Grecian robes, symbols of democracy and equality, provided by the Bethel.
GJHS Class of 1970
Portrait by Curtis Photography, Grand Junction, CO in Sep 1969
Gdovin, George Douglas
Born 5-10-1924 (at home) 548 Van Everett Street, Akron, Ohio
Died 8-7-1995 (at home) 1755 N 18th Street, Grand Junction, Colo
Husband of Miriam Grace Tabor
Son of George Thomas Gdovin and Josephine Marvine Trail
Father of John Douglas, Mark Thomas, Larry James Gdovin, Constance Ellen Gdovin (Gardner), Robin Sue Gdovin (Walsh)(Farmer), Lori Ann Gdovin (Stone)(Benton)(Corporon)
Brother of Wesley Gdovin Goodwin, Carol Gdovin (Hodgson), Marilyn Kay Gdovin (Housand)
Gdovin, George Thomas Jr.
Grandpa Gdovin (far right) WWI March 1923
circa 1929
Born January 28, 1899 in Hastings, Pennsylvania
Died May 1, 1967 in Denver, Colorado
Son of George Thomas Gdovin Sr. and Mary Larko
Husband of Josephine Marvine Trail Gdovin
Father of George Douglas Gdovin, Wesley Gdovin Goodwin, Carol Gdovin Hodgson and Marilyn Kay Gdovin Housand.
Gdovin, George Thomas Sr.
Born 12-24-1876 in Slovakia, Kingdom of Hungary
Arrived in the United States in 1882
Occupation listed as coal miner
Husband of Mary Larko (Gdovin) Married in 1897 in Pennsylvania
1900 Resided in Hastings, Cambria, Pennsylvania
1907 Resided in St Boniface, Cambria, Pennsylvania
1918 September 12 Registered for Military Draft Universal, Vermillion, Indiana
Died December 12, 1919 Universal, Vermillion, Indiana from a gunshot wound.
(the following research was contributed by Keith Riggle)
I previously shared with most of you the baptism record I found for Georgius Gdovin (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KH8B-NNB, image attached). I’m now about 99% certain that this record is for our George Gdovin (Sr.). From this record we can see that Georgius was born 23 Dec 1876 and baptized 26 Dec 1876, both very close to the date of 24 Dec 1876 shown on his WWI draft registration, in the town of Folkmar, County of Szepes, Kingdom of Hungary (today known as Velky Folkmar, Slovakia). Georgius Gdovin and Anna Klein were his parents. A few other researchers, such as Helen Seebold, believed our Gdovins came from Velky Folkmar. Most significantly, George’s death certificate lists his father as George Gdovin born in Austria, which jibes, and his mother as Annie, no last name given, also born in Austria, which also jibes. I wrote to the Vermillion County, Indiana, Health Department, and they confirmed the names listed in the death records. I’ve attached a scan of the death certificate in case you don’t have it. I can see the bottom of the “A” and the “nie” part of “Annie” in the Maiden Name of Mother block. The informant for George Gdovin’s death certificate was his wife, Mary Gdovin. She was certain to have heard George say who his parents were. So until we can find corroborating evidence for his place of birth, such as his immigration record, this is about as good as it gets.
Speaking of immigration records, I obtained a copy of George’s naturalization certificate (also attached). It shows that he was naturalized 2 Aug 1904, but more importantly for our purposes, he supposedly arrived in the port of New York in Oct 1893. That means he should have arrived at Ellis Island, so I searched their database for him (again). Unfortunately, I couldn’t find him even using several spelling variations and wildcard characters and expanding the year of arrival to 1892-1894. I even searched EllisIsland.org for all males named Georg*, Juraj, and Gyorgy born 1875-1877 who were Austrian, Hungarian, or Slovakian arriving 1892-1899, but no surnames were similar to Gdovin. If you have a few spare moments, maybe you could try some searches and see if you have any better luck. Don’t spend too much time on it, though, as the passenger lists from that time period may not have listed George’s last residence, anyway.
So anyway, now we know with a high degree of certainty who George Gdovin’s parents were and where they came from. We’re Slovakian-Americans, not Czech-Americans, as some of us may have assumed. The cultures are similar but distinct. Please feel free to share with your family and distant cousins. I’ll continue to post it to my family tree at Ancestry.com and maybe a few other places as well. The search was fun and interesting, but sometimes you just want to find the answers.
In case you’re wondering who the addressees of this email are:
Celia Gdovin Riggle – my mother and daughter of Albert & Lois Gdovin, granddaughter of George & Mary
Priscilla Riggle – my sister
Christine Gdovin Hickey – daughter of Robert & Susan Gdovin, granddaughter of Albert & Lois
Jennifer Gdovin Richmond – daughter of Robert & Bebe Gdovin, granddaughter of Albert & Lois
Connie Gdovin Gardner – daughter of George Douglas Gdovin, granddaughter of George & Josephine, great-granddaughter of George & Mary
Marilyn Gdovin Housand – daughter of George & Josephine, granddaughter of George & Mary
Rita Gdovin McHugh – daughter of Joseph & Helen Gdovin, granddaughter of George & Mary
Helen Seebold – I’m not sure how or if she’s related, although I suspect she is, since she posted a few things on the www about the Gdovins. She’s never answered my emails and the phone numbers listed for her are disconnected. If still living, she would be in her 90s.
As you can see, we are all pretty closely related, with the possible exception of Helen.
5 thoughts on “Gdovin”
Thanks to Keith Riggle for his unwavering search on behalf of Gdovin’s everywhere!
I am looking for the back ground of a George Gdovin of Grand Junction, CO that used to ride his bike a lot with the local clubs. He was an employee at the airport and I knew him in the 1980s. Is he your people? Please contact me. Chris Brown, Brown Cycles Bike Shop 970-245-7939
Hi, I was excited to find your blog. My Papa (Mom’s father) was a Gdovin. As I looked through your photos, I clearly could see my great-grandfather, John Joseph Sr. and his brother, my great uncle Stephen, most definitely are related. I don’t know much of anything about the family, and I so want to. My Papa was always my best friend. From what I know, the Gdovins possibly landed in Eastern Pennsylvania (Dunmore, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre) but before my Papa was conceived and born, the family also moved northward to Western NY, as migrant farmers around Lake Ontario. My Papa was born in a small town outside of the city of Rochester called East Rochester. And his entire life was spent in a small house in the Village of Fairport, then the bigger house next door that he bought from his gramma before marrying my Gramma. (Whose family were lifelong next door neighbors in Dunmore, PA to the Gdovins!)
If you would be willing to connect and possibly help me find out more about my family (our family?!?) I would be so grateful to you. And, I would be more than happy and willing to send photos for you to view.
Thank you again for your time!
Lilly (Strobeck) Hastings
I love hearing from another Gdovin. I have only scratched the surface of the family history, however, my son has done extensive research and I am going to send your info to him. I am sure he can fill you in on many details and you to him. Should be fun!
Husband of Miriam Grace Tabor 
circa 1929
a gdovin girl's perspective 
Thanks to Keith Riggle for his unwavering search on behalf of Gdovin’s everywhere!
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I am looking for the back ground of a George Gdovin of Grand Junction, CO that used to ride his bike a lot with the local clubs. He was an employee at the airport and I knew him in the 1980s. Is he your people? Please contact me. Chris Brown, Brown Cycles Bike Shop 970-245-7939
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He most certainly is my people. He is my Dad – quirky, funny, determined and sorely missed.
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Hi, I was excited to find your blog. My Papa (Mom’s father) was a Gdovin. As I looked through your photos, I clearly could see my great-grandfather, John Joseph Sr. and his brother, my great uncle Stephen, most definitely are related. I don’t know much of anything about the family, and I so want to. My Papa was always my best friend. From what I know, the Gdovins possibly landed in Eastern Pennsylvania (Dunmore, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre) but before my Papa was conceived and born, the family also moved northward to Western NY, as migrant farmers around Lake Ontario. My Papa was born in a small town outside of the city of Rochester called East Rochester. And his entire life was spent in a small house in the Village of Fairport, then the bigger house next door that he bought from his gramma before marrying my Gramma. (Whose family were lifelong next door neighbors in Dunmore, PA to the Gdovins!)
If you would be willing to connect and possibly help me find out more about my family (our family?!?) I would be so grateful to you. And, I would be more than happy and willing to send photos for you to view.
Thank you again for your time!
Lilly (Strobeck) Hastings
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I love hearing from another Gdovin. I have only scratched the surface of the family history, however, my son has done extensive research and I am going to send your info to him. I am sure he can fill you in on many details and you to him. Should be fun!
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