The 17th biennial CGSI Conference was held in Lincoln, Nebraska last weekend. It was my first time presenting at a major genealogy conference, and I loved it. I presented on four topics: The Civil Code of Austria and Why it Matters for Czech Researchers, How to Use Czech Land Records for Genealogical Research, Czech Wikipedia,…
Category: Czech Land Records
A Hidden Index and a “Typo”
I decided to research my Pavliskovec line. I am related like this: my great grandma Betty Michna Bedřich Michna, the first generation immigrant Alžběta Wiesnerová Josef Fabian Wiesner Veronika Pavliskovec Josef Fabian Pavliskovec I wanted to find the parents of Josef Fabian Pavliskovec. By the way, I do not really know if the surname might…
The Case of Both Barbara’s Births
My Grandpa Vasicek said that his mother (Elizabeth “Betty” Michna) never got along with her mother in law, Agnes Steffek. “They tolerated each other and were civil, but argued nevertheless.” Betty’s parents, Anna Šumbera and Bedrich Michna, were not social equals. In fact, Bedrich was the hired hand on Anna’s father Ludvig Šumbera’s farm in…
Motivation Monday: Breaking Down Czech Land Records One Section at a Time
It can be easy to get intimidated by Czech land records. At first glance, they look like a giant wall of text. By breaking the text into smaller chunks one section at a time, they become much easier to read. “Land records” are not actually one uniform kind of record; in fact, they are a…
Dominikál vs. Rustikál
When you are reading Czech land records, you will inevitably encounter the terms dominikál and rustikál. What do these words mean? Why are they important for genealogists to understand? Dominikál comes from the same root as the word dominion. It refers to manorial/estate land owned by the nobility and tilled under their direction by the…
Franz Waschiczek Nro. 3 Vratimov: Hlavní Kniha (Ledger) record, first page
http://vademecum.archives.cz/vademecum/permalink?xid=78ea28f5d14a405d9330eca92a42ac57&scan=13 Here is a page I transcribed from the Hlavní Kniha pro obec Vratimov, taken from the Velkostatek Velké Kunčice č 27. Hlavní Kniha means Ledger. This is a page from the ledger for the town of Vratimov, which is in the Estate of Velké Kunčice. The inventory number for the Opava Archives is 27….
Wazlaw Folta of #8 Vítkovice
I started blogging about my ancestors in a different, new blog. Czech it out here:http://czechoutmyancestors.blogspot.com/ But…the transcription that follows is for my ancestor. So why did I put it here? Well…I know exactly what it feels like to be without resources to learn how to transcribe and translate Czech Land Records into English. I want…
First Pass on first few paragraphs Transcription of Purchase Contract of Anton Hruby
Tonight I didn’t work on my Krczmarsky problem, as my friend Lukas emailed me an extensive theory about why it might be possible that Michel is the father of my Joseph, and I haven’t yet been able to find enough time to respond yet to him. More on that interesting problem in forthcoming blog posts. So,…
Book Review: “Deciphering Handwriting in German Documents” by Roger P. Minert
This is an excellent book for anybody who is researching family who lived somewhere that was influenced by any iteration of German rule. So, basically almost all of Europe. The principles found in this book are really useful to anybody who studies archaic paleography of any kind. Minert takes the reader through a concise history…
George and Michel Krczmarsky
My friend Lukáš Svoboda wrote: “I would suggest only one major correction, so that you are not misled in your ancestors relations.The section starting with “Georgi termino” It vaguely transcribes as follows Termino Georgi 20 xrTermino Michaeli 20 xrJednu kurua trzi (=tři) wajzaa jednu stuku czenku przinesea naturalne roboti 139 dni do roku And the…