Guest post by Lukáš SvobodaTranslated by Kate Challis and Lukáš SvobodaOriginal post found hereIt was like the genealogical version of Cimrman’s externism. Information about the Šnajberks is where we believe it is not, and is not where we believe it is. All through 2015 I did not want to face the facts, but now that…
Author: Kate Challis
“The Metamorphosis” by Franz Kafka
I can’t bring myself to fully discuss the ending of this book. It’s wayyyyyyyyy too big of a spoiler; it would ruin everything. So, no huge spoilers today. My sister Dot loves Kafka but I always associated him with long boring English classes where we spent hours and hours discussing characters and plots forced upon…
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…
My Ántonia by Willa Cather
My Ántonia by Willa Cather WARNING: THIS POST HAS SPOILERS My Ántonia is a book that is often read in American High School English classes, but fortunately not mine; they allowed me to discover one of the best books when I can actually appreciate it. I listened to this book on Librivox while working on…
German “Gothic”/Current handwriting strategy: practice writing it
sprostý prostý voják – was the soldier indecent, common, or both?
Here’s a contribution I made on a Czech genealogy forum that made me laugh. https://digi.ceskearchivy.cz/DA?menu=3&id=5647&page=124&lang=cs Adalbert Ssanda [Šanda) sprostý vojak zahradky od K.K. E H? C: Rainer ++ Linirr Infanterie Regimentu, 8 Compagniesyn Vacslava ssandy [šandy] chalupnika ze zahradký panství Vožickeho matky Marie dcery Vaclava Bednaře sedlaka z Bzový N 8 panství Vožick It turns…
“The Swell Season: A Text on the Most Important Things in Life” by Josef Škvorecký
I love my ancestors, and have always wished that I could go back in time, observe their world, and really know them. The second best thing to a time machine is a good novel. Actually, in some ways, the novel is better; you can usually get inside the head of the characters and really understand…
The Šnajberk Genealogy Saga: PART TWO
Guest Post by Lukáš SvobodaTranslated by Kate Challis and Lukáš SvobodaOriginal Post found here Actually, I’m not sure exactly what I was hoping to find in SOA Prague when I went there to look up Martin’s marriage record; of course there was not going to be anything that wouldn’t be in any ordinary marriage record, which…
A walk through Tichá
When my husband and I went to the Czech Republic last July, we stayed at the most awesome Airbnb in Tichá where we met some really lovely people who were basically a Czech version of us. I had not missed my children until I saw hers, and then of course, I missed mine like crazy….
The Doxology was Controversial
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,…