I had a nice long conversation with my Grandma today to try and get a little bit more information. When she was little, she said that the "gypsies" used to caravan around, sleeping in their horse drawn buggies and that they wore the most beautiful jewelry, played the most beautiful music, and had the most fascinating lives. She said that they used to lay on a hill up above their house and watch the gypsies dancing and carrying on. She said that someone had told her that her biological grandfather was one of these gypsies.
That sparked my interest.
What exactly is a gypsy? According to wikipedia, a gypsy is "any member of a wandering race." Really?! That doesn't help me at all! Alas, the mystery continues.
I decided to focus on the area in which Daisy lived there in Algona, Iowa. Turns out, my Grandma wasn't kidding.
I found out that in between 1880-1914, immigration by gypsies to America was quite common. There were several different groups, some called ludar, some called Rom, and then Romnichels.
Ludar emigrated from Romania, Romnichels from England, and the Rom from Serbia, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. My mind is intrigued! However, this isn't a movie. This is real life. Whatever Mr. Inlow was, I'm sure he has descendants. I would love to know tthem.
That's all for now.
I am Ludar. We call ourselves "Ludad". I live in Chicago area, most of us can trace our roots here in the US to Chicago or New York. There are some Ludar living in the Cedar Rapids area and in Southern Minnesota. My last name is George, which was changed from Yovanivich. Other common last names for Ludar are Jones, Georgovich, Stanley, Stevens, Lucas, and several others. What was your grandpas's last name?
ReplyDeleteHow about Clark from New York?
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Deletehow are ludar different from other groupslike roms or romanichal.
Deletehow are ludar different from other groupslike roms or romanichal.
DeleteHi there, I'm also Ludad and my last name is George and I'm related to the Stanley's. We live in Sacramento CA . I was just doing research on my herritage and came across you. We are probably related :)
DeleteHi I'm also Ludad and my last name is Marcus
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DeleteHeya I'm a George from the Chicago area.ludad family
Deletei am Michael. Ludad from iowa.
DeleteMusha and Baba was -Tootsi (Stanley) & George Jones. their Children: Linda (jones) Stevens of Michigan, lena Lisa Jones (my mother) of waterloo Iowa, Robert Jones of Dallas Georgia) and Buddy and Richard Jones also of Waterloo Iowa.
My name is Michael. I am Ludad from San Fransisco Bay Area. Last name is Petrovich. My grandmother was born in Chicago and traveled to California when she was still young. I think her maiden name is Estavanovich. She was the record keeper and kept all of our history through word of mouth passed away and I want to learn more about us. Any websites or tips to look into would help my search. Thank you ahead of time.
DeleteI'm a Ludad with the last name of George as well (I think "Supermom" who commented up there is my sister.) As Supermom said, we're related to the Stanleys and also the Stankos, who are also Ludad families. We also say "Ludad" far more often that Ludar, and my musha's cousin says we're also called "Rudari," but we always say "Ludad" in my family. Our family came here from Romania by way of Chicago, but most are all over California now.
DeleteMy grandmother is Ludad! Her family settled in New York, their last name is Stevens and married into Mort.
ReplyDeleteI am Jo Ann Mort, that is my family, who are you? I live in NY, long island tof be exact. My family is Romanian. Many settled in PA, MD & Chicago too.
DeleteLudad's here just for the record. We must be family! contact me at Mustlovedogz2195@hotmail.com
DeleteLudad's here just for the record. We must be family! contact me at Mustlovedogz2195@hotmail.com
DeleteI am Jo Ann Mort, that is my family, who are you? I live in NY, long island tof be exact. My family is Romanian. Many settled in PA, MD & Chicago too.
DeleteI am the grandaughter of Rose.. her father was Joe Mort and her mother's last name was Stephens.
DeleteMy Father was Joseph Mort (Emanuel/Manny) from Philly. I'm on Long Island. LUDAD. However do know Great Grandmother was born in Serbia. (ROM).
DeleteHello, I am a true blood Rom, my clan is Black. Our grandfather left Romania with four brothers, one went to Germany, one went to Canada and two came here in 1890's. So nice to see others! Much love, currently traveling USA....
DeleteMy last name is Stanley. .i know my great great grandfather was Levi Stanley from Dayton, Ohio.
DeleteMy grandmother married a Romnichel and her last name changed to Wells.
ReplyDeletewhy do you change your surnames
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DeleteLudad are different because we still keep our traditions, we still roast pigs for Christmas, we still bless our tables, we still make pumana's for the dead. We still speak a dialect of Romanian, we cook our own food and dislike General American foods like spam or Mac and cheese, we are very clean people nobody is allowed to wash their hands in my kitchen sink or wear shoes in my house, some of us use different washcloths for different parts of the body. As Ludad we don't hustle the people anymore with fake fortune telling, most of us live an honest lifestyle but keep to ourselves because we skeeve other people I guess.
ReplyDeleteWow, same with our clan. Ours is Yule pig! We still wipe our feet with towels before we slip into bed covers. Kitchen rules and Shoes at door as well. So nice to hear my grandmother raised us correctly. We have elders that speak Roma but it is not as practices any more. I miss it.
DeleteMy Maiden name was Uglean, completely Romanian. My grandfather, one of two brothers with our name, emigrated from Satu Mare in 1910. Only my immediate family in the US and my cousins in Romania and now further in Europe have our name. We've all connected through Facebook! My first cousin, Georghe Uglean, was President of the Romanian Supreme Court after the fall of Ceaușescu, and he became the Romanian Ambassador to Cuba when he retired from the Supreme Court. We are a proud Romanian family, who originated from gypsies long ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm ludod I live in northern ca my last name is jones I know 80% of the ludod in the world in Perris ca is the biggest ludod population in the world in the winter time there's more then 150 Familys it's awesome
ReplyDeleteI have Ludad family in Perris, Califonria and Atwater, California as well.
DeleteIve learn a lot about the Ludod transitions. for example: one is pig roasting My boyfriend is Ludod, his last name is Mort -He also has family of the last name Stanley, Davis, and Jones to. Seem like everyone is related in someway
ReplyDeleteKaizer Nuncio
ReplyDeleteGeorges are in my family too,I also have lots of family in perris California
ReplyDeleteCusta and Stanley and leen are also ludod in my family
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm a Stanley, I've learned I'm Ludad, my Grandfather's name was Joe, and Great Grandfather's name was Gustav (Gus) Stanley. Not to be too bold, but I've heard tale Gus Stanley was a King of Ludad/Ludar's that came over to New York/Long Island. I would love to discover more about all this, yet as many have noted above, it's tough to learn traveler history...
ReplyDeleteWhere do you live? I am a Ludod
ReplyDeleteJake, not sure to whom your question was directed; however, thought I would reply so others might. I live in Southern California, in the San Gabriel Valley. Where are you?
DeleteAre you ludar if so who is your family
DeleteMORT...Ludad, Philly, NY, DE & MD., that name is not original, it was only shortened to MORT
ReplyDeleteI know, I am Jo Ann Mort, 1st daughter of Joseph (Manny) Mort. Philly & NY... Ludad
DeleteLubab
DeleteI am also Ludad and from the Stanley family. We are in Ohio. I believe my mother is the last of us here that knows the language fluently, although she speaks it seldomly.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have correspondence with your mother. Does she email? I have a list of old words passed down from my grandmother however she passed away with Dementia. I would love to be able to add to my list 🙏
DeleteHi I'm also George. My father was anthony(passed away a few years ago) and grandfather is gus George. We are from Chicago with more family in gibsonton fl
ReplyDeleteI'm a Ludad with the last name "George" in California. How cool to see a distant relative talking about our people on here.
DeleteAlso Ludad here, Lucas family of northern California. Also related to Mort (my maternal grandfather), Wasso, Stanley and George families. I know we have quite a bit of family in New York, and yeah the trailer parks in Perris, CA are a massive population of my extended family haha
ReplyDeleteMort family from Chicago - - Frank Mort - Ludad - family traveled with a performing bear
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ReplyDeleteMy name is Deborah and I am Ludad. My family's name is Morgan and we settled in western NJ in the 1960's. We have always been a small family and our name ends with my brother, Michael, who is 62 and has no children. The only other male Morgan, Willy, born to Pete Morgan, is also childless as far as I know. After knowing the strife my family has endured just to survive it is sad to know that we will no longer exist after this final generation. I am 65 now, the first and only one in my family to finish high school and have an international certification as a professional secretary. We are related to the following families: Dinky, George, Stevens, Stanley, George, Jones.
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DeleteWow! I'm sitting here reading these comments and I am related to a lot of you. I am also Ludad, well my Dad was Medican, so I am half. My Mother's family is Davis (some changed back to Nedich). They are mostly in Indiana, Illinois, and I have an Uncle in California. My Baba Linka died when my mom and her brothers were kids. Linka had 2 sisters; Minnie, and Rose (everyone called her Babe though) and a brother named Freddie. Lots of family with last names of Davis, Stanley, Yovanivich, George,Jones and Watson. My Mom's name is Diana, my Uncles are Pauly, Larry, and David.
ReplyDeleteI can say that I am very proud of my lineage. And my family members are good, hard working, and very successful people.
So cool! My family are Ludad in California. I'm a George, and was told our ancestral last name was Georgeovich. I'm from Sacramento, but my family are in Atwater, Perris, and other parts of California as well. I am 1/4 Ludad by genetics, but was raised with my Ludad family, making the traditional Christmas, and keeping the old ways. It's so amazing to see people commenting from all over who have similar experiences and memories. My Musha was Gilbert, and his dad was Pete George. The Ludad I grew up with are George, Stanley and Stanko by last name, though I think the Lees and the Gusters with whom I grew up might also be Ludad, unless they married into my family (it's not always clear.) We grew up picking fruit as a whole community, with us kids climbing the trees to throw down the fruit for older kids or adults to gather. My dad drove hop picking trucks with the other Ludad men every late Summer as well, and it was always a fun experience going with him to the hop ranch. Our Christmas is January 5th, when we do the pig roast, and is a fasting day (limited things we eat.) On January 6th, we have a feast with the pigs, and keep the traditions of the feast (for us it means served on a white sheet on the floor, not on tables, though some younger Ludad have started using tables and counters.) Many of my family make wooden furniture and sell it from their properties and/or door to door. Some were junk collectors when I was a kid, but I don't know if anyone still does that these days. Some do asphalt work, roofing, and other manual labor jobs. We're proud of our heritage, even though a lot of it has been lost over the century or so we've been in the United States. I only know a few words in the Ludad language, and mostly grew up speaking English, though many of my family still use a lot of the Ludad language. The other comments are more than a year old, so I don't know if anyone else who replied will see my comment, but thank you for giving me this further connection with my family's culture. I know my family came by way of Chicago, but I have only met Ludad from Sacramento, Atwater, and Perris, all related to me.
ReplyDeleteLudad...... Nichols family
ReplyDeleteMy mother is lisa her sister connie and brother johnny. I never met my musha he killed himself. His name was john stevens. My baba was Duna.... Dianne Dittenberg. She passed this year. I feel like i was robbed of my traditions and my life and family is a mystery.there is 4 boys 1 girl in my fam
ReplyDeleteMy Grandmother Rose Mort (maiden name) father Joseph (Joe) Mort mother Dorothea (Durania) Stevens. My grandmothers family lived in Romania for hundreds of years and it was told their family had a small circus with a dancing bear.
ReplyDeleteMy name is Lorraine Mendoza (Raina) my madian name is Stanley. I am 1/2:Ludards & Spanish/American Indian. What A mix huh. My father said we're hinse 57. Lol. My Mother is Spanish/American Indian but she was more Ludards then my father for she is the one that made the foods and the table at Christmas time. Once she learned about it from here mother-in-law and the other Ludards women she had it down packed. Then my Father and mother separated. I lived in 32 States before I was 10yrs old. My father did ashfault paving also made patio furniture. We had a truck with a trailer and my fathers acupitment. Dumptruck, roller, and spreader box. & Tanker for silcoat.there we're just us there girl I'm my father and mother had. And us girls learned it all. My fathers name was Richard Stanley ,they called him Richard Dingler. Cause he was dingy. His mOther and father was Bessie Todorvitch and Steve Stanley. I live in Stockton California,yesterday Jan. 6th I made 3 Colocks to give my youngest son and 2 of my grandbabies.
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