Estates V - When it all ended?

The beginning of the estates dates back to the medieval ages as you could have read in the previous blog post. But when - and how - it all ended? 

Orlík castle on a painting by Vilém Ströminger, 19th century.

Immigrants from Žeraviny, Moravia

South-eastern Moravia was left by quite a large number of people heading to the U.S. They were looking for a better life, better living conditions as well as land to own. Some of them succeeded, some of them not that much. Anyway, some of these people were from Žeraviny, small town not far away from Hroznová Lhota or Kněždub (links go to the blog posts about immigration from these two towns).

Žeraviny on map from 3rd Military Survey. Source: Laboratory of geoinformatics.

People in the parish books: Midwives

I wrote a post about priests - but those are not the only people mentioned in the parish books. Another "unimportant" name you can find there is a midwife's name.

Midwives started to be mentioned in parish books after 1780 and later they were distinguished as certified and non-certified. Certified midwives had to complete a university course and have certain qualities - but it doesn't necessarily mean they were preferred by families or that uncertified midwives provided much worse care.

Serfs register 1651: A map of the regions

I was asked about a map of the regional division for the serfs registers, which was created in 1651. I already wrote a blog post about the administrative system of Czech regions and districts in 2015, but I haven't mentioned the serfs register there.

Estates II - How it all happened?

I explained what's an estate, in the previous blog post. But we have to start much deeper in the history to understand this system.

Hluboká castle and town on a map from the first half of 18th century.
Source: State Regional Archive in Třeboň.

All the land in the historical Czech lands was originally owned by the King. The King then gave the authority to administer the estate to his tenants - it could have been a nobleman (prince, count, knight), the church or a royal town (such as Prague, Písek, Hradec Králové; there will be another blog post about royal towns too).

30 years of freedom

The Czech republic celebrates 30 years of freedom today. It's 30 years from the beginning of the Velvet revolution. 30 years from the events of the Nov 17, 1989. 

Police agains students. Národní třída on Nov 17, 1989.

People in the parish books: Priests

There is quite a lot of data that can be found in parish books and are often ignored and/or might confuse the researcher - most common is a situation when the word after mother's first name is thought to be her surname but it is not, because surnames of mothers were not that important and the record simply proceeds to further information.

Michaela made a list of those data and also suggested how to use them, if possible. Here is the first blog post about priests.

Estates I - What's an estate?

I have mentioned the estates number of times in the past. But I think I never explained what they are. I know it's not easy to understand estate system in the Czech past, so I decided to write several blog posts concerning this issue. 

Úsov estate map from about 1700. Source: Land Archives Opava.

Recipe: Fruit dumplings

Last week I had a tour with Jolene whose ancestors were from Písařov, Šumperk district. She mentioned one of her favorite meals were fruit dumplings and I promised her to publish a recipe for these dumplings. So this is how I make them. :)

Immigrants from Nový Hrozenkov, 1881-1885

I already published a post about people from Nový Hrozenkov born between 1875 and 1880 who have a note by their birth record about immigration to the U.S. As the Nový Hrozenkov birth book contains similar information for the following years, I have decided to publish another post. :)

Nový Hrozenkov on a map from 3rd Military Survey.

Wilber Czech Cemetery

The last place we visited in Wilber, Nebraska, was the Czech Cemetery. It's located about 1.5 mile to the west from the town centre. 

One of the surprises for me was the fact that you drive into the cemetery. :) In the Czech Republic, cemeteries are small and usually surrounded by a wall, so it's impossible to drive in. Another surprise was that there is a list of all people buried in the cemetery available.

Wilber Czech Museum

As visiting Wilber, NE, we had a chance to visit the Wilber Czech Museum - Karen who took us to Wilber, was able to setup a meeting with one of the administrators of the Museum so they opened it for us.

Serfs register according to their faith from 1651 (updated)

One of the oldest sources which covers most of Bohemia is the Serfs register according to their faith (soupis poddaných podle víry) which was created in 1651. It covers just Bohemia, not Moravia or Silesia. If your ancestors were from Bohemia, it is a wonderful source of information.

Wilber, NE - the Czech Capital of the USA

Thanks to the fact I was in Lincoln, NE, I also had a chance to visit Wilber, NE, with my friends. Wilber is the official "Czech Capital of the USA" - place where up to 90 percent of all inhabitants have Czech roots. And they are very proud about these roots.

CGSI Conference 2019

I just returned back home to the Czech Republic from the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International Conference 2019, which took place in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was a wonderful place for anyone interested in the Czech and Slovak genealogy. Lectures, workshops, networking sessions, kroj parade, koláče, tours, research sessions, vendors...All you can imagine when you say "a genealogical conference". 

Czech Old Maps Online

I promised to publish here a list of links I had in my presentation  in Lincoln, Nebraska, about old Czech maps. And as "sharing is caring" (motto of the Czech Pirate Party I'm member of), here is not only the list of links, but a bit more.

CGSI's Conference 2019 researcher sessions

Yay! Another CGSI's Conference is coming! It will be held between 17th and 19th October 2019 and I'll be there as one of the speakers. I have already bought a plane ticket and I'll fly in on Monday Oct 14. 

I was already asked about a possibility of consultations and record reading sessions. I'm willing to do up to 10 one-hour sessions during my stay in Lincoln - from Tuesday Oct 15 to Sunday Oct 20. You'll get my time and expertise on any problem or any brickwall you have in your Czech (Bohemian, Moravian or Silesian) research. 

We can meet in Lincoln downtown (Tuesday and Wednesday, Sunday) or in the Marriott Cornhuster Hotel (Wednesday evening to Sunday morning).

If you are interested in the research session, send me an e-mail to blanka.lednicka@nase-koreny.cz.

See you in Lincoln!

Czechia or Czech Republic?

I had two encounters with this word lately and I think this topic also belongs here... :)

Knackers and knackeries

There is a number of trades that don't exist anymore in our modern world of Europe or Northern America. One of those trades is being a knacker - in Czech pohodný, ras, drnomistr or antoušek, in German Abdecker, Wasenmeister or Kaffiler, in Latin excoriator or canicida. There were many families in Bohemia and Moravia in the past which were in this trade...

"A Dead Horse on a Knacker's Cart", drawing by Thomas Rowlandson (1756–1827).