SLOVAK LATTA FAMILIES

By Anna Latta Owens, College Park, Maryland, alo17@wdn.com

Introduction - The Ruthenian (Rusyn) Lattas

    I have accepted Doc Huer's invitation to submit for publication in the Latta Genealogy Newsletter information on the Ruthenian (Rusyn) Lattas. Prior to 1918 the name was spelled Lata.

    The Ruthenian language belongs to the Slavic branch of the Indo-European family of languages.  In the United States, Ruthenians are also called Rusyns, Carpatho-Rusyn, Rusnak and Rusin. All refer to people whose ancestral home is in the Carpathian Mountain Region.

    I refer to myself as a pedigree Latta because my mother's maiden name was Latta and so was my maternal grandmother's. Their homeland was a village in Austro-Hungary. In Gungarian the village name is Mehesfalva. In Ruthenian the village name Pcalyny.

    In 1918 part of Austro-Hungary became Czechoslovakia.  In 1993 Czechoslovakia split into two nations, the Czech and Slovak Republics.

    Mehesfalva or Pcalyny is in Eastern Slovakia, about five miles from the Polish border and about 15 miles from the Ukrainian border.  The Slovak name for the village is Pcoline.

    My first visit as an adult to Pcoline was in 1977. I went to the village cemetery to find the unmarked grave of my brother. I was surprised by the dominance of the surname Latta on the markers in the cemetery. I imagine the same would apply to the unmarked graves. I was told that the name Latta was as common in the Pcoline area as the name Smith is in America. Further, it seems to be common knowledge that the name was of Italian Origin.

    My horizons on the surname Latta broadened when I was introduced to the Latta Genealogy Newsletter with its expansive Scotch-Irish population. The paper's editor has received a few inquiries from researchers of Slavic Lattas. I have kept record of them for future genealogical branching. I was excited to learn from Alex Latta (Branch 16) about his work contacting Italian Lattas. The Italian origin continues to be pursued.

    The EllisIland.org website offers clues of origin. I checked Lata and I checked Latta. I also viewed entries from countries of origin. I will put the analysis together in a future newsletter. To those using the EllisIsland.org website to check out the village of Pcoline be prepared to find the following spellings for the village:

CZALINA, PCOSLINA, RESOLINA, PSOLINA, PESOLINA, CSALINA, PASOLINA, PCSOLINA, PESDINA, PEOLINA, CALINA, TESOLINA, PESVLINA, PESOLUIA, PESITUBA, CZOLINA, PRZOLINA, POSLINI, PSALIN, PCOLINA, MEHASFALNO, MATASFALVA, MATESFALVA, HEJASFALVA, METHSFALVA, MEHESFALVA, MEGESZFALN, MEHESFALVA, MEKEFALVA, MEHASFALNA.

    Happy hunting.