Written and translated by Lukáš Svoboda and Kate ChallisOriginal post in Czech found here.I want to build on a previous post about affinity in another branch of my family tree, in which the issue of consanguinity, which we see in parish register margin notes, is not only an interesting curiosity, but also a valuable and…
Travel Tuesday: Daylight Saving/Summer Time in the Czech Republic
It has been a little over a week since daylight saving time has ended in the US (except for weirdos AZ and HI). I have to write about one of the strangest observations I had while in the Czech Republic: the time on the clock absolutely did not correspond to my feeling of what time…
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…
Church Record Sunday: Frenštát 1781
I want to start a new series of interactive matriky record transcriptions. It will be a fun, motivating way for you to challenge yourself, and who knows, maybe we can both learn something in the process! The first record is found here. I hope you enjoy! If you have other matriky records you would like…
kominík : chimney sweep
Master chimney sweep and his apprentice boy in Italy, from Wikipedia. My colleagues and I transcribed a parish record for an Italian chimney sweep in Choceň which I thought was fun an interesting. I had not considered Italian chimney sweeps in 1740’s Bohemia as a possibility. But apparently Italian chimney sweeps in Bohemia were not…
Politics on the Eve of the 2016 Presidential Election
I just thought it was sad that people kept stealing his signs so he had to chain them, and sadder still he couldn’t spell Hillary. I voted last Thursday to avoid the long lines. As I cast my ballot (which was for neither major party candidate), I felt like my contribution was a tiny drop…
The Šnajberk Genealogy Saga: PART THREE
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…
“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…