Person:Motiejus Leita (1)

    Mykolis (Mike) LEITA/LAITAS married Ludovia/Lucy MISIUNAS/MISUNAS ca. 1914.  Mykolis was a coal miner with the U.S. Fuel Co..  In an interview with his son, Mike LAITAS, he said that the little house on Adams St., Westville, was owned by the coal company and had been dragged by a team of horses from another mining town, 14 miles away.  "It took years to straighten the doors and windows!"     Mike remembers being sent to Holy Cross Lithuanian Church for religion classes and to learn to read and write Lithuanian.  He related, with a twinkle in his eyes, that he signed the attendance book, then sneaked out the back door to the swimming hole at mine no. 3. He said his mother would ask "Did you learn to read and write Lithuanian yet?" and she must have thought he was awfully dumb when he said "No, mama."     The family had little to live on; Mykolas sometimes worked only 2 or 3 days in the mines and brought home $3.00 for the week.  They grew most of their food in a small garden and kept cows, chickens and goats in the crowded backyard.  They ate soup every day, sometimes sauerkraut and sometimes beets in sour cream.  They made their own cheese (it turned out triangular shaped) and their own beer.  Cabbage, a mainstay, was sliced, fried or boiled.     Many of the coal miners and families became heavy drinkers, resulting in brawls and alcoholism.  There were 36 taverns in the very small town of Westville.  Miners took their coal buckets (which cost $.54) and filled them with beer on their way home.     Mike said that they looked forward to holidays, filled with Lithuanian food and rituals.  The family enjoyed the pagentry in the church.     Mike's mother, Ludovia, could not read or write; she did not speak English.  His dad read a Lithuanian newspaper from Chicago but spoke very little English.     There is no sure evidence showing when the Leita name was changed to Laitas.  It was LEITA in the Lithuanian Archives, LAITAS  in the 1920 U.S.  Census and LEITA in the Probate records in 1934.  It remains LEITA in Lithuania today.

Motiejus Leita, the son of the peasants Jurgis and Ursule Lasyte Leita's, was born in 05.01.1880 in Varguliai village. The priest Zitkevicius baptized him in 10.01.1880 in Balninkai Roman catholic church. The godparents were Antanas Lasys and Terese Grybaite.

   F669 Ap19 B55 l 20 &5It is believed that this Motiejus is the same person as Mykolas, since the birthdates are very close. Also, there is another Motiejus in the same family; it could have been written incorrectly by the Priest.

1. ↑ Mykosas LEITA entry, 1920 U.S. Census, P. 904, SD 10, ED 180, Line 120, Westville, Vermilion Co., IL, Microfilm Publication T625, roll 411.
2. ↑ Interview with Mike Laitas, 217 N. Jefferson, Westville, IL, by Jeanne Leita Stump, 14 June, 1998. Transcript held by Stump (6226 Popp Rd., Fort Wayne, IN 46845).
3. ↑ Correspondence with Andrius and Vlada LEITA, October 1999, Ukmerge, Lithuania, in possession of Jeanne Leita Stump..
4. ↑ Grave Marker, Mike Laitas, 1929, Lithuanian National Cemetery, Westville, Vermilion Co., IL, photographed by Jeanne Leita Stump.
5. ↑ Mike Lates, Standard Certificate of Death, no. 619, 1929, Department of Public Health, Springfield, IL.
6. ↑ Leita Family History.FTW.