Memories of 1856 Written by F. Marák Originally Published in Czech 7 October 1951 in Věstník Translated December 2018 by Kate Challis Editor’s note: – In the previous Věstník there was an announcement that the organizer wanted to receive the biographies and experiences of our old settlers that were published in various magazines and calendars thirty, Read more about Memories of 1856, written by František Marák : PART ONE[…]
Last month I posted the death certificate of Anton Smihal, which said, “Can Not Remember” when listing the name of his mother. I was very happy to be able to connect the living descendant of this family to their Czechs in the old country a few days later, and of course I started writing a Read more about We CAN Remember![…]
The Lord’s Prayer is also called the Pater Noster (“Our Father”). The purpose of the prayer is to teach people to not pray ostentatiously, or for public show, but instead to submit yourself to God’s will. Our cFather which art in heaven, dHallowed be thy ename. 10 Thy akingdom come. Thy bwill be done cin earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily abread. 12 And forgive us our adebts, Read more about The Doxology was Controversial[…]
Here are two poems from Josef Al. Svoboda’s 1893 book: Svoboda, Josef Al, Víra, Naděja, a Láska. Modlitební kniha pro vzdělané dívky katolické. [Faith, Hope, and Charity. Prayer Book for the Education of Catholic Girls.] (Královske Vinohrady: A. J. Cellerina a syna, 1893). Věnování. Zde svatá >víra<! Jež jste obtíženi, a jimž tak těžko v klamech světa Read more about Víra, Naděja, a Láska – Faith, Hope, and Charity[…]
Guest Post by Lukáš Svoboda, author of Kulanův rodopisný blogIf you have Czechs among your ancestors, the probability that they were not all Catholics but Protestants is quite high, especially when they were living in Bohemia. Of course we are talking about times before Bílá Hora, that turning point which changed the course of not Read more about Our Czechs were NOT all Catholic[…]
I have done a great deal of thinking about my Czech ancestors. I often wish I could just ask them the many questions I have about their lives, not just questions of identity (Veronika Lidiak, can you please tell me who is the father of my illegitimate third great grandmother?), but questions of their personalities, Read more about But…my Czechs were Catholic![…]
I knew that 19th-mid 20th century Catholic cemeteries (and perhaps some modern ones too?) had stringent rules about who was allowed to be buried there. My friend from West, Texas (a predominately Czech community) pointed out something to me that was really interesting. In her own words: As I have traversed through many cemeteries over Read more about What does the Grave’s Location in a Catholic Cemetery Mean?[…]
I found a really interesting parish record the other day for Czech town of Vítkovice. Here is a direct link. Here is an image of the whole record. And here is a close up of what I found so interesting: It is a stamp that says: “Defecit a fide,manet sine confessione.Regimen distr.deto [date?] ___________________” This Read more about Church Record Sunday: “Defecit a fide” Stamp[…]
Jan Hus started what later became the Moravian Church (another name for it: the Unity of the Brethren Church) when he rejected practices of the Roman Catholic Church in the late 1300’s. He was burned at the stake in 1415 by order of the Council of Constance. After that, other Hussites rebelled, there was a Read more about Moravians vs. Moravians[…]
If someone is born out of wedlock, they are illegitimate. But what does this mean? What is the process of legitimizing the child? And why would it be important to do so? What I have learned mostly comes from the New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia on their pages about legitimation and illegitimacy. Basically, if a child is born out Read more about Illegitimacy in Catholic Czech Records: Different Types[…]