Ethnic Ukrainian immigrants have been arriving in New Jersey in substantial numbers starting in the final decades of the 19th century, in several waves during the 20th century, and continue to arrive today. They formed communities with churches, fraternal benefit societies, and a myriad of other social, civic, and political organizations. Learn about this rich history in this online presentation by Michael Andrec and Michael Buryk.
A large group of youth and adults standing in front of a large American flag and a smaller Ukrainian one.
Nashi Predky Genealogy
Online
Wednesday, November 5, 2025 - 7:00pm to 8:00pm

Surprisingly, there has been a remarkable lack of secondary sources devoted specifically to the history of Ukrainian immigrants in New Jersey. The “Ukrainians in New Jersey” project by the Ukrainian History and Education Center’s archivist Michael Andrec and external researcher and writer Michael Buryk is an ongoing effort to help remedy this. It consists of an online resource that will eventually have a historical overview, histories of communities and individual Ukrainian New Jerseyans, and a collection of primary and secondary source materials that can be searched, or browsed by date or geography.

This is free online talk, but registration is required.

Michael Buryk is a researcher of Ukrainian history and a well-known figure of Ukrainian descent in the United States. He is a writer, podcaster and public speaker. He specializes in Ukrainian genealogy, and produces his own original podcast‎‎ about Ukraine, which is
sponsored by The Ukrainian Weekly newspaper and is available on its web site. He is a resident contributor to Vilni Media, which provides in Ukrainian and English up-to-date information, news and analysis for local Ukrainian communities in the United States written by Ukrainian Americans. Mike retired in 2016 from a 40-year career in advertising and publishing. He holds a Master’s Degree (1975) in Russian/Soviet area studies from Hunter College, the City University of New York.

Michael Andrec has been the archivist at the Ukrainian History and Education Center since 2010, where he has been responsible for preserving and making accessible hundreds of collections, as well as exhibition curation, digitization of audio and paper-based archives, outreach, and reference services. In 2022, Michael and the UHEC received the Innovative Archives Award from the New Jersey Caucus of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Archives Conference for his rapid shift from archival duties to education and advocacy after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.