Slovak American

Slovak Americans are Americans of Slovak descent. In the 1990 Census Slovak Americans made up the second-largest portion of Slavic ethnic groups. There are currently about 790,000 people of Slovak descent living in the United States. Isaac Ferdinand Sarosi was the first known immigrant from what is now Slovakia. Sarosi arrived in the religious colony of Germantown, Pennsylvania, founded by Mennonite preacher Francis Daniel Pastorius, to serve as a teacher and a preacher. Sarosi returned to Europe after two years. In 1754, Andrej Jelik fled Slovakia to escape military conscription. After much travel in Europe, he eventually reached American shores, via the West Indies, on a Dutch trading ship. After being proclaimed emperor in Madagascar, and bearing letters of recommendation from Benjamin Franklin and funds from a descendant of Ferdinand Magellan, Móric Beňovský came to America and fought with American troops in the War for Independence. He joined a cavalry corps led by General...