Biography
Vasil Gornovsky was born 1895 in Grodno region, Russia (present-day Belarus). Worked as a laborer. Immigrated to the United States in 1913.
Emigrated to the United States in 1913, following his brother Ivan. Became a member of both the Union of Russian Workers and the Industrial Workers of the World. Arrested in Seattle in November 1919 and deported to Russia on February 1, 1921.
Adapted from Kenyon Zimmer, Red Scare Deportees (kenyonzimmer.com), compiled from INS deportation case files.
The September 1920 One Big Union Monthly lists a detainee under the printed name "Vasili Hornofsky" among IWW members then held at Ellis Island, New York, awaiting deportation to Russia. The variant spelling and deportation context identify this as the same detainee. This supplies a contemporary Ellis Island custody location, without an exact admission date, completed deportation date or complete duration. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/one-big-union-monthly/v02n09-sep-1920_One%20Big%20Union.pdf#page=59