Bernard Kootsillas - Original Lithuanian surname spelling needed for ancestral research

@ Bernard Kootsillas.There is no evidence at all that Bernard Cucules sp? ever left Lithuania and so it is illogical that his surname up to his death would have the Americanized spelling "Kootsillas" addopted by son Thomas Cucules and carried to his American children, changed to Kootsillas sometime after 1886 when he likely arrived.. Thomas "Cucules" was the spelling by his own hand in his Intent to Naturalize document which is stored in his record on FamilySearch. Person ID: L1BV2-H3G. He was a coal miner whose grasp of English likely too some years to develop.

In fact, the Family accepted date of Thomas Kootsillas birth is 1855, based on 2nd hand Census and other documents claimed without written documentary evidence. So His father Bernard Cucules/Cusules/Cuculas DOB must be well before 1840. We also have no indication that Bernard was father of only one child. His name only appears once in a second hand document related to Thomas in the United States. We can't even be assured the document was filled out by him personally. Our challenge is to find this family through shipping maifests or information from Lithuania by those connected to Lithuanian genealogy there is one second hand report the couple's port of entry was either Philadelphia or Baltimore's fresh water ports as opposed to Castle Gardens. As of 2023 when we have renewed our interest in this line's family tree, family is still working with descendants who may have heretofore undiscovered family papers from Thomas Kootsillas d 1923 or widow Magdalen(a) Navickas d 1939 Detroit. --by bj