Hello,

In Serbian the spelling of a name is simple but when people migrated to the States the immigration officer had to write down the name. This varied per officer. One thing that is consistent is the --vich instead of the --vic in English.

Do you have some scans from Ellis Island?

Attached is the 1920 passenger list from the 'Corsican' as well as his petition for naturalization.

Thanks a lot,

Auch, on the second scan did he fill that in? His name changed like 3 times and also the place of birth/residence in the region. Do you have any family there?

I assume he did provide some of the information on the scan since he signed it. I have talked to the small number of remaining family members, and this is all the information I have been able to gather from them.

As far as the different residence I tried searching for Egin Pallank, which did not exist. I have attached a definition I found for the Kriva Palanka which I believe might be the area they are refering to on the Passenger list.

I was hoping his surname was a common one for either residence and it would help narrow down the options.

Do you happen to have a color scan from Ellis Island? There is a lot of writing on and I have a hard time making up some of the writing.

Unfortunately I do not have a color copy. This document is from Ancestry.com and it is the only proof I have found of his immigration.

Who wrote down "Kumanovo" on the list?

I am not really sure, the document is his application for US Naturalization. It was found at a local courthouse. So you think Komonobt is really Kumanovo?

Thanks again for all your help.

It is my believe that his real surname was either Stanović or Stanisavljević. I make that up on how he registered his surname at the beginning. The officers had a hard time writing the name down properly so I believe he changed it into Stanovic. He was fairly young when he migrated. Did he came alone?

Who wrote Kumanovo on the immigration form? It is handwritten but I can't see if the immigration officer did it or you perhaps? Kumanovo today is in Macedonia back in those day's it was part of Serbia. Both surname variants are Serbian.

Sorry, I misunderstood the first time you asked me about Kumanovo. I did not write 'Kumanovo' on the immigration form so it may have been the officer. To my knowledge he immigrated alone and never returned to his homeland for visits.

Any idea on why he would have sailed out of le Havre, France? Was this a common port for Serbian immigration.

I really appreciate your insight on the possiblities of his surname. I would like to research it further. What is the best next step to continue my research and possibly find his parents. The immigration record lists him as having a brother Dimitri, maybe it would be easier finding him?

Le Havre is to be found on more forms so that is normal.

It could be Kumanovo, so I would suggest start writing to the archives there. Also see what info you can find on Dimitri, it might rule out any inconsistencies. Let me know if you have the archives address.

Please send me the archives address.
- Should I use the sample letter provided on this website?
- How are there records stored : Birth Certificates,Marriage Certificates?
I'm just wondering what I should ask for?
- Should I ask for both last name versions?

Thanks again for your help.

Yes you can use that letter template. Ask for both surnames, see the info below:

I am gonna have a go at this one even though I cannot see any of the documents you discussed -

I found surname STANOVIĆ to have been present in Montenegro.

The area  was called in the XVIII and XIX  century KOMUN .

I also found nearby area of origin listed for this surname as KOMANI (Podgorica).

Assuming that the original surname is STANOVIĆ which was not too common and easier to locate in sources,  could any of these place-names  be  what the manifest says?