SOA Třebon seems to be the pioneer in online Czech archives. I was extremely pleased to find a new helpful feature – new to me, at least. I am calling it the “index tab.” It turns out that it is also new for some people on the Czech Genealogy Facebook group, too, so here is…
Category: tutorial
Beyond Matriky Records
Parish registers (matriky) are incredibly rich and detailed, but did you ever wish for more records to flesh out the details of the lives and events of your ancestors? Well, they exist. And we should use them, even if it means hiring a researcher to photograph them. Here is a tutorial about how to find…
Willabald Wrba
Willibald Wrba. Now there’s a name you don’t stumble across every day. I found Willibald because he married Julie Marie Spacek, who was the oldest sister of Albina Spacek (1890-1918). Albina was the first wife of Louis Klecka (1897-1934), who then married Stella Vasicek (1901-1967), who was the second youngest daughter of Joseph John Vasicek…
The Anna Perašek Village of Origin Problem: Mary Golka/Golík
I really feel for anybody who is struggling to trace their Moravian Czech ancestors to a village of origin. I especially feel for anybody who has dealt with what I call the “Anna Perašek” problem, after a woman who has eluded me for years. To qualify for the “Anna Perašek” problem, your ancestor must do…
Scan for the Person
Here’s a handy tip that you might have known already, but I thought it was worth sharing. It can be really tempting to just scan the pages for the house number, especially when the clerk had extremely scribbly handwriting. I find that this is more common in the 1830’s-1880’s. Surprisingly, the further back you go…
Look at the Historical Map, Duh!
Hindsight is always 20-20. Czech people married in the bride’s parish of origin, and frequently began their married life in the groom’s parish of origin. I knew where the groom was from. Mniší. I knew the bride’s first name, but not her surname (her maiden name). After they married, they went back to Mniší to…
You should translate the notes!
Yesterday, Blanka Lednícka wrote an excellent blog post about marriage notes in Czech Parish registers. She proved to me that the notes that sometimes are included in marriage registers should not be overlooked. They may contain valuable information about marriage banns, birth certificates, or church dispensations. I admit, I am guilty of frequently overlooking this…
Step by step transcription of interchangeable letters.
When analyzing old Czech records, expect certain letters to be interchangeable. For example, there wasn’t a distinction between v and w. I have heard Texas Czechs from my grandpa’s generation say, “Vesele Walentine’s day.” Here is an example of a text that uses j, ý, y, i, and í almost interchangeably. This is from a…
Why You Should Index!
I’m going to step on my soapbox and give a plug for Familysearch Indexing. If you have a computer and can read, you can index. Indexing is the process of typing the information from records into a massive database so they become searchable. Every record you index is important. It can be the key for somebody…
Two Options: Find them, or have them find you
Whether your goal is to connect with living descendants of a common ancestor, or simply to continue to trace your heritage back further generations in time, you have two basic options. Find the people yourself, or have the people (or their relatives) find you. The first option, finding the people yourself, is the most traditional….