Well, it’s official: we are taking 1 or 2 days to go to Poland and try to find the records in the Archdiocesan Archives in Wroclaw. I called the LDS missionaries and arranged for them to be translators for us. I hope that works out, and that we find something! If not, we will have…
Will I find answers to my Czech question in Poland?
Danny and I will go to the Czech Republic for the first time ever in a little less than a month. I’m very excited, and of course I’m trying to plan my trip in a way that lets me also do genealogical research! Although, I’m starting to think that I might need to return to…
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…
An Example of an Imperfect Land Record Transcription: Part Two, analysis
Here is my transcription, along google translate’s translation in red and my interpretation of the meaning in blue. http://vademecum.archives.cz/vademecum/permalink?xid=0ed65be129cb4b4bb357f82ca6645f32&scan=73 Der 2th December Roku 1792 odprodal Jan Krczmarzik stramu sinovi Michalově Kuntzcizek polozeny zahradnicie grund pod numbero 73 za smluvnem kupni cenu pr šedesat reiskich. The 2th December 1792 Roku odprodal January Karczmarzyk streamu synovi Michalově…
An Example of an Imperfect Land Record Transcription: Part One
When I started this blog, one of the principles I tried to follow was the acknowledgement of my imperfect knowledge. I want to be an expert in Czech Genealogy. While I have researched for years, amassing thousands and thousands of hours of painstaking transcription of old documents, I am the first to admit that I…
Adam and Eve
This parish register had a real gem: twins named Adam and Eve. Ha!
Mianna: or, don’t just scan the page for a given name!
My ancestor Anna Šperka was the second wife of Mathias Brosch. His first wife was also named Anna. They were married in the Místek parish on 16 January 1725. Her father was the late Joannes Gach from upper Hodonovice. She died 2 June 1737 at age 36. This gives her an approximate birthdate of 1701….
Ancilla
I found this record where my ancestor is described as “honesta ancilla.” I had not ever seen that before, so I thought I’d blog about it. Here’s my transcription: 4 Augustus [1744]hujus copulatus honestus Georgius Jurassek adolescens colonus ex Ribarzeritz et honesta ancilla Elisabetha Francisci Sperka propria filia ex Starzitz testes Mathias Wesselka ex Chlebowitz…
Theory on the Origin of the #
The Wikipedia article about the # sign has its own shaky theories about the origin of the symbol, but I’m finding that there’s a striking resemblance between the shape of a German Current capital “N” and the #, a scribble that has evolved to mean “Number.” Tell me with a straight face that you don’t…