The Prestis Family Genealogy
What I know of the Prestis family history is really only what my Aunt Mary gave to me, a few stories I remember as a kid from my grandfather and a couple from my father.
Researching this family is a challenge because my grandparents were first generation born citizens so most of the research has to be done over-seas. Obviously, I haven't gone there, nor could I afford to do so just for family history.
The family name came to American as Pristas. Family lore has several spellings, but this is the only one I have found documented. Occasionally someone will write Prisztas but not often enough to document. It could have just been the accent and pronunciation that the census takers heard when filling in the forms.
Researching this family is a challenge because my grandparents were first generation born citizens so most of the research has to be done over-seas. Obviously, I haven't gone there, nor could I afford to do so just for family history.
The family name came to American as Pristas. Family lore has several spellings, but this is the only one I have found documented. Occasionally someone will write Prisztas but not often enough to document. It could have just been the accent and pronunciation that the census takers heard when filling in the forms.
Emil George Prestis Sr.
My Grandfather. He was one of the first family members to use the current spelling. One of Eleven children born of John Pristas and Julianna Budzak. Emil was born in Clifton, Passaic County, New Jersey 28th of January 1911.
He joined the U.S. Navy in November of 1928 and served until November of 1929. I do not know much about his military service. I have assumed that his exit from the military had something to do with the loss of his arm although I do not know exactly when that happened. He had gotten a Tattoo in the service and at some point received a cut around the area. The tattoo became infected to the extent that he ended up having his arm removed just below the shoulder. My grandmother used to say that she caught him looking at another girl and she cut his arm off. She was a funny woman. He met and married Alice DeGroot 30th of December 1933. I do not remember how they met. They stayed in the Patterson area for quite some time and had three children. Sons Ronald born in 1934, William born in 1939 and Emil Jr born in 1944. Emil, having no arm, worked as part of the WPA (Works Progress Administration). When the Great Depression hit in 1929 just as Emil was exiting the military and with a fresh disability, times were tough. In 1933 President Roosevelt introduced what he called "The New Deal" programs designed to get the country back on it's feet. Typical pay was between $15-90 a month. One of the areas in which it provided funding for was the Federal Arts Project. The FAP was designed to supplement artists income and fund patriotic art projects to rally dispirited American Citizens. For Artists to be considered, they first had to apply for Home Relief to confirm they were impoverished and then submit samples of their work to demonstrate that they were indeed active. Once approved, the artist's stipend was $24 a week. More than 1100 artists worked for the WPA, many in a Mural Division which included names like Jackson Pollock. In 1939 they began laying off artists under a new rule stating they had to be let go for at least one month after 18 months of service and could be re-hired. Thousands of paintings were auctioned off in a warehouse in Queens by the pound. More than 200,000 artworks were created under the FAP in the 8 years of it's existence, most having been lost, destroyed or auctioned off. In 1937, Emil was listed in a directory as "Artist- WPA. By 1939, he was a clerk -WPA. Then in 1940, a Clerk/Book Titler, Book Binding. The WPA ended in 1943. |
His memory lives on....
After working for the WPA Arts Project, he continued his love of the arts for friends and family until his death. Those paintings remain in homes of family across the country. While none of them specifically of much monetary value, to generations of us who sat and watched him, or had the privilege of being taught by him, they remain priceless.
If you have images of the paintings that you own, please send a digital copy to my inbox. If you do not know it, use the contact page here on this website to let me know how to contact you to request it. Thank you.
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