The above title lists 4 different spellings of my husband's paternal grandmother's maiden name, or the name of one of his paternal great grandfathers.
His grandmother Madelena's father was born in what is now the Czech Republic. (Back then, it was called "Bohemia.") His name was Tomas Jeseta and his birthdate is 10 Nov 1851. He met his wife, Antonia Mladinic, who was working in Bohemia as a cook, and they were married in Budva, Montenegro on 24 Nov 1874. They then moved to Brac, Croatia where Antonia and all her siblings were born. Until now, no one in the family has had any written information regarding the ancestors of Tomas Jeseta.
Two months ago, I hired a researcher in the Czech Republic who has just sent me his report. Most of the records come from Roman Catholic parishes, and included in dates of births, baptisms and marriages are the occupations or social status of some of those listed. The record is difficult to read as some of the words are in German and some in Czech, but my researcher provided a guide to interpretation.
And so, for the first time in over 100 years, my husband's family will now know that Tomas Jesta's parents (my husband's great great grandparents) were named Matej Jeseta and Alzbeta Pechkova (Elisabeth Bechek or Pechek in German) and his great great grandparents Martin Jeseta, Anna Hanusova, Kaspar Pechek and Barbora Berankova. The will also know that Matej was a charcoal burner by occupation and that Kaspar Pechek was a weaver. We already knew that Tomas was a shoemaker.
It seems that most of Tomas's ancestors were either farmers or middle class townspeople, living in one of several small villages or burghs, and whose addresses consisted of a number signifying a house, followed by the name of the town. (My researcher warned me that the numbers may have changed since the 1700's and 1800's when these records were written in the parish registers.)
There is much to pore over in these records, and I am anxious to put the names up on the family tree and share them with everyone.
It was definitely worth the expense.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Latest news from the Wrocklage - Esch Families
One of the most rewarding aspects of genealogy work is finding long lost (or previously unheard of) cousins. And even better is being on the receiving end of their generous sharing of family details you did not have. Recently a 4th cousin contacted me through a comment on this blog and has shared exciting information with me.
As I wrote in a previous post, I have been trying to figure out some details regarding my 3rd great grandfather Christian Mathias Wrocklage, whose given surname was Esch. I had earlier speculated that he might have been adoped as I could not understand why he had changed his name from Esch to Wrocklage. As it turns out, his wife's maiden name was Wrocklage and in order to keep the farm after her father died, it had to pass into someone's hands whose name was Wrocklage. Her older brother had already left the farm, married a woman and changed his name to hers so they could inherit her father's farm, so Christian changed his name to Wrocklage so that he, his wife and her younger siblings would not be kicked off the land. This was apparently the law in Germany - you had to keep property in the family name.
I have also learned that Christian had three wives. With his first wife, Anna Catharina Wrocklage, he had 4 children, one dying at birth. With his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Gerdeman, he had 7 children, 2 of whom died young. Then he married a third time and had another daughter. With his 3rd wife and youngest children he emigrated to America in about 1845, and settled near some of his older children who had already arrived. Unfortunately, he and his wife both died the following year.
Theodore Wrocklage, Christian's oldest son, was a founder of the city of Delphos, Ohio, along with a Catholic priest, Fr. John Otto Bredeick and his brother, Ferdinand Bredeick, and Bernard Esch, whom I assume to be related to Theodore (perhaps a cousin) as he has the same last name as Christian, before he legally changed it to Wrocklage.
Now I am going to start searching for the Esch family in Germany and see if I can learn who Bernard is.
As I wrote in a previous post, I have been trying to figure out some details regarding my 3rd great grandfather Christian Mathias Wrocklage, whose given surname was Esch. I had earlier speculated that he might have been adoped as I could not understand why he had changed his name from Esch to Wrocklage. As it turns out, his wife's maiden name was Wrocklage and in order to keep the farm after her father died, it had to pass into someone's hands whose name was Wrocklage. Her older brother had already left the farm, married a woman and changed his name to hers so they could inherit her father's farm, so Christian changed his name to Wrocklage so that he, his wife and her younger siblings would not be kicked off the land. This was apparently the law in Germany - you had to keep property in the family name.
I have also learned that Christian had three wives. With his first wife, Anna Catharina Wrocklage, he had 4 children, one dying at birth. With his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Gerdeman, he had 7 children, 2 of whom died young. Then he married a third time and had another daughter. With his 3rd wife and youngest children he emigrated to America in about 1845, and settled near some of his older children who had already arrived. Unfortunately, he and his wife both died the following year.
Theodore Wrocklage, Christian's oldest son, was a founder of the city of Delphos, Ohio, along with a Catholic priest, Fr. John Otto Bredeick and his brother, Ferdinand Bredeick, and Bernard Esch, whom I assume to be related to Theodore (perhaps a cousin) as he has the same last name as Christian, before he legally changed it to Wrocklage.
Now I am going to start searching for the Esch family in Germany and see if I can learn who Bernard is.
Latest discovery in the Eterovic family
I have been puzzled for some time about a member of my husband's extended family - namely his grand uncle Nicolas (brother of his grandfather Anton) and Nicolas' wife or wives. My mother in law, who knew Nicolas for 15 years before he died in 1961, says Nicolas was married twice.
As I previously noted in my post Ellis Island, Nicolas was first married on the island of Brac in 1904 to a woman named Karlin Kacic. They had two daughters and then a son who died in infancy. In 1907, Nicolas came to this country and his wife and daughters remained in Croatia. Then, in February 1912, a woman named Dora Eterovic came to America and on the passenger manifest she listed herself as wife of Nicolas. With her were two girls, Antica and Maria, who were the correct ages for Nicolas's daughters. I was confused by the two names. Did Karlin go by "Dora?" Was my researcher wrong about the name "Karlin?" Were these two different women? If so, when did Karlin die and when might Nicolas have remarried?
The records are scarce. There is no death record I can check in Croatia for the early 1900s and there is no new marriage record in Croatia or California. In the 1920 census, which is the first census available after the mother and daughters arrive in 1912, Nicolas is listed as a widower with one daughter, Maria, and one son, Steven, born in December 1912. This must mean that Nicolas's wife and daughter Antica died sometime between 1912 and 1920. So I began looking for Steven's birth record to see if I could find any more about him.
It took me a while, but I finally found a birth record for a "Stefano Eterovich" and was both astonished and delighted to find the maiden name of Steven's mother. It was recorded as "Casich," which is an anglicized version of Kacic. Therefore, I have concluded that the woman who joined Nicolas in America in 1912 was his first wife, Karlin/Dora. The name Dora (which could be short for Dorothy) makes sense as Nicolas's daughter Maria named one of her own daughters Dorothy.
I would still like to find a death record for Nicolas's wife, to verify her name, but have so far been unsuccessful. And I have also been unsuccessful in finding a second marriage record for Nicolas.
This is the frustrating but exciting thing about genealogy - the search never ends.
As I previously noted in my post Ellis Island, Nicolas was first married on the island of Brac in 1904 to a woman named Karlin Kacic. They had two daughters and then a son who died in infancy. In 1907, Nicolas came to this country and his wife and daughters remained in Croatia. Then, in February 1912, a woman named Dora Eterovic came to America and on the passenger manifest she listed herself as wife of Nicolas. With her were two girls, Antica and Maria, who were the correct ages for Nicolas's daughters. I was confused by the two names. Did Karlin go by "Dora?" Was my researcher wrong about the name "Karlin?" Were these two different women? If so, when did Karlin die and when might Nicolas have remarried?
The records are scarce. There is no death record I can check in Croatia for the early 1900s and there is no new marriage record in Croatia or California. In the 1920 census, which is the first census available after the mother and daughters arrive in 1912, Nicolas is listed as a widower with one daughter, Maria, and one son, Steven, born in December 1912. This must mean that Nicolas's wife and daughter Antica died sometime between 1912 and 1920. So I began looking for Steven's birth record to see if I could find any more about him.
It took me a while, but I finally found a birth record for a "Stefano Eterovich" and was both astonished and delighted to find the maiden name of Steven's mother. It was recorded as "Casich," which is an anglicized version of Kacic. Therefore, I have concluded that the woman who joined Nicolas in America in 1912 was his first wife, Karlin/Dora. The name Dora (which could be short for Dorothy) makes sense as Nicolas's daughter Maria named one of her own daughters Dorothy.
I would still like to find a death record for Nicolas's wife, to verify her name, but have so far been unsuccessful. And I have also been unsuccessful in finding a second marriage record for Nicolas.
This is the frustrating but exciting thing about genealogy - the search never ends.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Eterovic Family
I have just received the final installment of research into the Eterovic (Terich) family from my researcher in Croatia. I haven't had time to digest it all, but there are a few things that strike me right away. First, the names. Most Croatian names, unlike Irish, English, German, and other European names end in "ich" or "ic." Among the most recent set of names are those of Calilich, Mengic, Lucrich, Vrandecic, Faraunich, Fortunich, and Craiglievich - names my husband has never heard of.
All of these new family members were born in the 1700s and 1800s. I always like to look at birthdates, marriage dates, or immigration dates from European ancestors and then think of what was happening in the United States at that time - it puts things in a better historical perspective and makes them seem more alive to me. My husband's 2nd great grandfather, Hyeronymum (his baptismal name in Latin) Martinic, was born in December 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence. Others were born around the time of the Civil War. I wonder if, isolated as they were on a small island off the Dalmatian coast, they even knew at that time what was happening thousands of miles away on another continent. Probably not.
This brings me to another interesting point. My husband's grandparents emigrated to America in 1904 and 1905. Prior to that time, every ancestor of my husband's on his grandfather's side of the family lived on the small island of Brac (pronounced "Bratch.") Today, Brac has only 13,000 residents which makes it less populous than many American towns. But even more interesting was the fact that every one of these ancestors was born, married and died in the same town: Pucisca. We're talking of one large family, living hundreds of years in one small town, on one small island in the Adriatic sea. Then, one day things must have gotten too crowded, jobs were scarce, and the promise of America was calling. From there, the story is much the same as every other immigrant family, be they Irish, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish or Croatian.
This is one of the reasons why genealogy in America is so fascinating. Most people are not just researching the story of one group of people, but the stories of many, from diverse lands. It makes the genealogy quest endless.
All of these new family members were born in the 1700s and 1800s. I always like to look at birthdates, marriage dates, or immigration dates from European ancestors and then think of what was happening in the United States at that time - it puts things in a better historical perspective and makes them seem more alive to me. My husband's 2nd great grandfather, Hyeronymum (his baptismal name in Latin) Martinic, was born in December 1776, the year of the Declaration of Independence. Others were born around the time of the Civil War. I wonder if, isolated as they were on a small island off the Dalmatian coast, they even knew at that time what was happening thousands of miles away on another continent. Probably not.
This brings me to another interesting point. My husband's grandparents emigrated to America in 1904 and 1905. Prior to that time, every ancestor of my husband's on his grandfather's side of the family lived on the small island of Brac (pronounced "Bratch.") Today, Brac has only 13,000 residents which makes it less populous than many American towns. But even more interesting was the fact that every one of these ancestors was born, married and died in the same town: Pucisca. We're talking of one large family, living hundreds of years in one small town, on one small island in the Adriatic sea. Then, one day things must have gotten too crowded, jobs were scarce, and the promise of America was calling. From there, the story is much the same as every other immigrant family, be they Irish, German, Italian, Russian, Spanish or Croatian.
This is one of the reasons why genealogy in America is so fascinating. Most people are not just researching the story of one group of people, but the stories of many, from diverse lands. It makes the genealogy quest endless.
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