What Slovak and Slavic People Contributed to the Mining Industry?

Newsletter of the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International
June 2005
Volume 17 Number 2
What Slovak and Slavic People Contributed to the
Mining Industry?
by David Kuchta
Here in Northeast Pennsylvania, is
the largest Anthracite Coal Fields
in the world. In the late 1800s and
early 1900s the industry got growing pains. They needed all kinds of
mine workers, along with people
who had experiences in mining and
crafts. But what they needed most
was mine laborers.
During these times, unionism began appearing at the various
mines. The mine operators liked get-
ting workers who knew little English or didn’t speak English. This
way, the early immigrant worker
wouldn’t get too involved with
unions. I will expand on this later.
In the early days the Coal Companies sent representatives to various European countries recruiting
workers to work in the mines. After
a few years, our government made
new rules forbidding recruitment of
workers. But, the new immigrants
coming to America were taught
ahead of time, to answer certain
The No. 9 mine in Lansford, PA. It was driven in 1855. The mine closed in 1972
and is now a tourist mine.
questions at Ellis Island or other
ports of entry. One of the questions,
if answered improperly would send
them back home. That question was,
“Are you promised a job or position at such and such a place.” They
learned to say no, but that their relation said that they would find them a
job. That was the answer the inspectors at Ellis Island wanted to hear.
Most of the early Slavic workers worked on family farms and
Continued on page 44
Theme Of This Issue:
Occupations and Employers of
Slovak Immigrants
41–What Slovak and Slavic People
Contributed to Mining Industry?
42–President’s Message
43–Finding Slovak Vital Records
43–FEEFHS Conference Update
47–Life of Subjects in Tekov County
in the 18th Century
54–Library Donations/Sponsors
55–Hat City Slovaks – The Hatting
Industry and the Slovak Commu-
nity of Danbury, CT
60–Passenger Arrival Project
61–Queries
62–Mayoral Visit from Rusyn Village
in Slovakia
64–Which Way E-J?
69–Surfing for Slovak Ancestors
74–New York’s Sokol Legacy from
1867
78–The Librarian’s Shelf
President’s Message
Naše rodina
Newsletter for the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International (CGSI) members
CGSI Board of Directors (at large)
Leo Baca
(Texas)
Ginger Simek
(Minnesota)
Robert Petrik
(Florida)
John Kracha
(California)
Dave Pavelka
(Minnesota)
Mike Prohaska
(Iowa)
Joe Vosoba
(Nebraska)
Jack Smith
(New Jersey)
Deborah Zeman
(Illinois)
CGSI Officers
President
1st Vice President
2nd Vice President
Treasurer
Recording Secretary
Corresponding Secretary
Eugene Aksamit
Patricia Reynolds
Al Kranz
Beth Baumeister
Suzette Steppe
Kathy Jorgenson
CGSI Committee Chairs
Education
Hospitality
Library and Archives
Membership
Newsletter
Product Sales
Publicity
Volunteer Coordinator
Internet (Webmaster)
Ken Meter
Doreen McKenney
Wayne Sisel
Joyce Fagerness
Paul Makousky
Jerry Parupsky
Chuck Romportl
Louise Wessinger
Bob Bina
Naše rodina promotes genealogy of the ethnic
groups that comprise Czechoslovakia as it was
formed in 1918. We accept articles of historical
and cultural information, but they must have
genealogical significance and all are subject to
editing. The deadlines for submitting articles to
Naše rodina are:
January 1
March issue
April 1
June issue
July 1
September issue
October 1
December issue
Naše rodina (Our Family) (ISSN 1045-8190) is
published quarterly by the Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International, P.O. Box 16225, St.
Paul, MN 55116-0225, a non-profit organization.
Copyright 2005 by Czechoslovak Genealogical
Society International. The publication is not
responsible for the return of lost or unsolicited
manuscripts, photographs or any other material
not submitted with a self-addressed, stamped
envelope. Advertisements, manuscripts, articles,
and photographs for the Naše rodina may be
submitted to Czechoslovak Genealogical Society
International, Attn: Paul Makousky, P.O. Box
16225, St. Paul, MN 55116-0225.
Permission to copy, without fee, all or part of the
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Page 42
by Gene Aksamit
I
n recent issues I have written about the policy of the Czech archives
as related to acceptance of written requests and other aspects of genealogical research. In this message I want to review options for Slovak
genealogical research as there are some significant differences from the
Czech situation. Also, you can find additional related information on the
opposite page.
First, as many of you know, the Slovaks have agreed to permit the
LDS Church to microfilm the vital records in their archives and to make
that microfilm available through the Family History Library (FHL). Of
course, this is good news for CGSI members of Slovak ancestry. The
microfilming process started in 1991 in the eastern part of Slovakia and
has been progressing westward. I spoke with Sylvie Pysnak, AG, Slavic
Reference Consultant, at the FHL in Salt Lake City recently to determine
the status and was informed that the microfilming is not yet complete
but is currently still going on at Bratislava, the last of the archives to be
done. And not all of the completed microfilm from other Slovak Archives
has yet been cataloged and placed in the FHL system; however, the FHL
catalog can be accessed online to determine if records for a specific parish are available. The website is at: www.familysearch.org. (see opposite
page for how to use this site)
For those of you not on the internet, a visit to a local Family History
Center can lead to the same result – but you must provide the name of
your parish town. Another alternative is to write directly to the Slovak
archives; directions are available on the CGSI website or you can contact
us. Finally, for those who do not want to deal with the language issue (the
records are in Slovak, Hungarian or Latin), professional researchers are
available. CGSI policy is not to recommend researchers but we do maintain a list of researchers (on our website) that have been used successfully
by various CGSI members.
And now more on doing your own genealogical research at one of
the Czech archives. In the March issue, I had suggested that anyone considering this option should contact Annette Gathright; her e-mail address
is: [email protected] . Most of the records of interest, e.g., vital records,
are found at the State Regional Archives, so you must first determine
which archive has the records for your town. Felix Gundacker, a researcher from Vienna, Austria, has published several books that provide
this information and we have them in the CGSI library. Two of the books
list the parishes in Bohemia and Moravia. Two more of the books provide a detailed listing of the type of records (matriky, land, etc) available
for each parish. If you can not visit the library, you can submit a research
request to search these particular sources as outlined in the Librarian’s
Shelf column in each issue of Naše rodina.
Preparations for the Back to the Homeland Conference to be held
this September continue on schedule. We have a real team effort addressing the challenging planning issues posed by this unique CGSI event.
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
President’s Message...continued
Dave Pavelka, Conference Chair, and his team (with
members in MN, NY, FL, Czech Republic and Slovak
Republic) continue to work hard and in a closely coordinated manner to ensure the success of the event.
o
Finding Slovak Vital
Records
By Gene Aksamit
The LDS Church has been microfilming Slovak archive
vital records since 1991. Although the microfilming is
not complete (Bratislava, the last archive, is currently
being filmed), some of the completed films are now
available through the Family History Library (FHL).
The website for the FHL is at: www.familysearch.
org . The following outlines a procedure for determining if a microfilm of vital records for your ancestral
village is available. After finding a microfilm of interest, you can visit the nearest Family History Center and
ask them to order a copy of the film (there is a $3.50
charge). The film will be held at the local center for
your viewing for 30 days.
The following example illustrates this process for
the parish at Bojná, Slovakia:
1. Go to www.familysearch.org
2. Click on “Library” tab, then “Family History
Library Catalog.”
3. Go to “Place Search” and enter Bojna (it is not
necessary to enter diacritical markings).
4. From the choices, select “Slovakia, Bojná.”
5. Click on “Slovakia, Bojná – Church Records.”
6. Click on “Cirkevná matrika, 1720? – 1892”;
read the English summary of film contents including language of the record.
7. Click on “View Film Notes” to obtain number
of microfilm that you wish to search.
8. Visit a local Family History Center to order
your microfilm.
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
FEEFHS Conference
Update
By Paul Makousky
A great multi-ethnic program containing over 90 presentations for beginner, intermediate, and advanced
genealogists will take place August 19-21 in St. Paul,
Minnesota. The Federation of East European Family
History Societies (FEEFHS) is a major international
genealogical federation consisting of many societies
and individuals interested in central and east European
Genealogy.
The Conference will be at the Four Points by Sheraton, 400 North Hamline Ave, St. Paul. Hotel Reservations at a special $75 room rate can be obtained by
calling (651) 603-5603 or 1-800-535-2339. Mention
FEEFHS to get the special convention rate.
The full day Conference fee is $120 per person
which includes Friday and Saturday lunch and a copy
of a 300 page syllabus. For those who can make only
one day, single day registration is available.
Dee Seemon, a CGSI member will present the
opening session called Dare to Discover – Extending
Research into the East European States on Friday morning August 19. On Friday evening the FEEFHS Banquet
will be held. Irmgard Hein Ellingson will speak about
Spillville, Iowa and the Relationship of Its Czechs with
other Central and East European immigrant groups. The
Saturday Evening Banquet will kickoff a celebration of
the Germanic Genealogy Society’s 25th Anniversary.
Other speakers include Lisa Alzo, Duncan Gardiner, Karen Hobbs, Gary Cohen, Matthew Bielawa, Frank
Soural, Andrea Dettloff, Paul Makousky, Wayne Sisel,
Karen Varian, Bob Paulson, and Linda Therkelson.
Optional tours are available on Saturday August 20
to the St. Paul Archdiocese Archives and to the Minnesota History Center, both within 4 miles of the Sheraton
Hotel.
For a complete program and registration form visit
the Conference website at:
http://www.rootsweb.com/~mnggs/FEEFHS.html
Questions may also be addressed to Paul Makousky
by e-mail: [email protected]
Naše rodina
Page 43
Mining Industry...cont’d from front cover
the wife and family that they left behind.
Many of the Slavic people who came from farming
families, set their minds on working hard, saving their
some worked on large farms and received very little
money and buying farms in America. There were also
pay. When they heard that they could be making anythose who saved their money and went back to
where between five and ten cents an hour working in
Slovakia, or Upper Hungary as it was referred to. Most
the mines, that was motivation to leave their families
of their friends and family never saw so much money,
and head to the Promised Land. Yes, some thought the
that they considered them to be rich. They bought themstreets were paved with gold, only to find out that they
selves farmlands, and settled down to a life of farming.
had to do the paving. Many were disillusioned and reA good friend of mine, told me the story of a relation
turned home after a year or so.
of his that worked hard and saved a lot of money. The
We do have to remember, that just saying good-bye
problem was, that he
to your family or loved
wrote a letter to his famones, and heading to a
ily telling him he would
country that they knew
be coming back on such
nothing about had to be
a date. He also told his
very stressful. Also, getfamily about all the monting to the ports in Gerey he was bringing back
many, to book passage
to Slovakia. The family
to America wasn’t the
being so proud of this aceasiest thing in the world.
complishment bragged to
They had very little
the wrong people. On his
money and they had to
way back to the native
be very frugal with what
village, he was way-laid
they had. Many walked
right outside of the villong distances to get to
lage and all his money
some train station. Then
Breaker boys at work in anthracite coal mine.
was stolen.
getting the right ship to
This author had
the right port had to be
quite a few relatives who
mind-boggling. When
bought farms, but never
they arrived at any of the
did give up working in
various ports they had
the mines. The money
to make connections to
they were getting paid
get to their destination.
was just too much to
Some remained in New
give up. So in all reality
York City, became acthey worked two jobs all
climated with living in
their lives.
America, and then went
When the new imon to the coalfields in
migrants started working
Northeast Pennsylvania.
in or around the mines,
Most men emigrated
they soon found out that
by themselves and when
there was a little resentthey made enough monment about them getting
ey, sent back home to
Cages (elevators) from No. 9 Mine in Lansford, PA.
the jobs. When mining
have the rest of the famfirst started in the Anily join them in America.
thracite regions, about 1820, it was the English, Welsh,
There were many that worked a couple of years, went
and Scots that had the money to invest in mining. Also
back to Slovakia for a while and then came back to
they had all the expertise because they were miners in
America. Some took their families and some were left
the United Kingdom. Right after them, the Germans
behind, once again. Some married men that went to
and Italians started working in the mines. Many of these
America, found themselves a new wife and abandoned
Page 44
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
were miners in Germany. When you were a miner in
The Slovaks and Slavic people had to start, as they
the old country, they started you out, as a miner. Good
say, at the bottom of the barrel. Because of their backexperienced miners were hard to come by. Many of the
grounds and living a very simple life in Slovakia, they
Germans, also had bought farmlands, and eventually
learned to save their money, buy homes and
many of these turned to farming. Then about 1840 to
become a part of the town. Many opened up small mom
1850, because of the Potato famine in Ireland, the Irish
and pop stores, which many of their own class of peostarted immigrating to America. They filled in all the
ple frequented.
labor, and low paying jobs. They were discriminated
When they started working, the inexperienced imagainst big time. Talk about ethnic bashing? Many were migrant who spoke no English, didn’t understand Engcalled Shanty Irish. It wasn’t too soon after; the Irish
lish, and had no mining or craft skills, usually started as
started plans to get unions into the mines. Their pay
a “breaker boy,” in the coal breakers. (Coal preparation
was low, conditions were poor and safety was an issue.
plants.)
That’s when the famous Molly McGuire’s became a
In 1850 these jobs paid five cents an hour and they
big factor in the mines. There were many problems and
worked 10-hour shifts. In the early years, they were a
some killings on each side. Welch mine officials ended
dry process. The dust was so thick; they said you could
up being shot, while some Irish died, some mystericut it with a knife. After about 1869, most coal processously. In time the Mollies were put down, with 29 hang- ing plants used water.
ings, but eventually unions did obtain some clout.
Being a “breaker boy,” wasn’t hard work, but it was
Between 1890 and 1910, Slovaks and other Slavic
boring. Also it was hard on the fingers. While gloves
workers were hired in large numbers. At first their preswere cheap, because of the sharp coal, they would only
ence was resented. They not only spoke a different lanlast an hour or so. You figured that in time, your finguage and dressed
gers would get caldifferently, but also
lused and toughen
smelled different.
up. Your job was
I guess it was from
to pick out slate,
the garlic that they
rock, lumber or any
loved in their foods.
other impurities
The Welsh and
that came down the
English had all the
chute. You had a
better paying jobs
foreman who stood
and lived in better
over you, all day
neighborhoods. My
long, and carried
grandmother rea cane. The cane
members, soon after
wasn’t for walking
her arrival in Amerpurposes, but if any
ica, walking down
of you breaker boys
the sidewalks of
allowed junk to go
Headframe of the No. 9 mine in Lansford, PA.
Lansford or Coalthrough your spot
dale, when some
in the chutes, you
English or Welsh
would receive a jab
women approached her on the sidewalk, she was forced
with the cane. Also being so boring, many of the workinto the muddy ditches. She said, “Some even spat upon ers would fall asleep, and the foreman would whack
her.” These women looked down upon the Slovaks and
them with his cane. If you complained, you were fired.
Slavic people who just immigrated to their town.
Although the pay was low, workers didn’t want to lose
In the early years, all the various ethnic people soon their job. Because, from there, breaker boys graduated
realized, that they weren’t welcomed to the social clubs
to working in the mines; from Door tender, laborer,
or even churches because of their backgrounds. They
mule driver, miner’s helper and then finally miner. This
soon began their own social clubs and building their
author wrote the book, “Once a man, twice a boy.” You
own churches. They were able to speak their own native started your career as a “breaker boy,” and when you
language and mingled with people of the same ethnic
got too old and couldn’t perform your job anymore, you
background.
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2 Naše rodina
Page 45
Mining Industry...cont’d from page 45
were put back in the breaker, once again, as a “breaker
boy.” Hence: Twice a boy!
The Irish, in the beginning resented the Slovaks or
Slavic workers coming into the mines and taking their
jobs. At the beginning all the Slovaks and Slavic workers received all the lousy paying jobs. But they appreciated the fact that they had, what they thought, were high
paying jobs. The Irish soon found out, that it was the
Slovaks and Slavic workers who supported them with
promoting unions in the mines. They soon found out
that they had an ally working toward the same cause.
There was one big problem in the beginning and
that was that the Slovaks and Slavic workers couldn’t
read signs. In some early Pennsylvania State Mine
Inspection books, there is a section where the mine
foreman was complaining that the Slovaks or Slavic
workers thought they were indispensable or supermen.
When they were ready to fire a charge, everyone would
hide behind a rock wall or out of the way place, but not
the Slovaks or Slavic workers. They would get peppered with coal and rock that went flying through the
air. In time, the company began using pictures with the
signs, showing the dangers. One sign with a picture was
a miner with an oil lamp, leaning over a keg of black
powder. The use of pictures worked. In time these immigrants learned the English language because they
knew if they wanted to get ahead at that company, English was very important.
In those early years, most of the Slavic children
only had fourth to sixth grade schooling. Also, most
Slovaks or other ethnic groups of Slavic people lived in
the same neighborhoods of the various towns throughout the coal regions. Many of the poorer ones lived near
the “Coal Breakers or Mines,” because they couldn’t
afford paying trolley car fees to go back and forth to
work. Most of these homes were cheaper coal company
homes. Wherever there were groups of these company
homes in any area they were called “Patch Towns.” By
living near the coal breakers they learned to live with a
lot of noise and dirt. The rent was low and that was as
good as an incentive to live there.
But, when strikes occurred in the late 1890s to
1910, the poor immigrants were put to the test. The
unions were striking the mines. They didn’t want anybody to cross the picket line. Here the poor immigrant,
new to this country and with no money to live off,
would eventually cross the picket lines. The strikers
would threaten the miner’s family in various ways. One
Page 46
warning would be to place a few sticks of dynamite on
their front porch. They would harass the miner’s wife,
and there were times that they attacked the “so called
scab,” for working. Punishment ranged from a beating
to filling his boots with small stones and making him
walk for miles. There are countless stories about some
of the atrocities or brutalities that they did to their fellow workers.
The coal companies would also set up certain areas
around the mines for the safety of the “scab workers,”
to protect them. They would stay in these confines for
weeks at a time. One long strike in 1902 lasted for six
months. One miner who was a scab, died soon after
the strike was over. He supposedly got blown up with
a premature explosion in his chute. The other workers
called this, getting even. They were cruel times!
For those who lived in a company home, and refused to cross the picket line, they were soon thrown
out of their homes. Their meager furnishings were
thrown out on the sidewalk. Some neighbors took them
in but many lost their jobs for refusing to cross the
picket line.
Many of the early immigrants who refused to cross
the picket lines, but had no money to live in the company homes, left the area and went on to Pittsburgh and
Ohio to work in the steel mills and car manufacturing
plants. These probably were the smart ones. Too many
of the early miners died after a short lifetime because of
“Miner’s Asthma,” or silicosis. They now call it, “black
lung.”
Mines were known to be dark, damp, dangerous,
dusty and deep, but the miners made a good living,
raised families and did educate the next generation. The
main thing, it was good honest work.
About the Author
David Kuchta is the author of two books and numerous celebrated essays and articles. His works are a
stunning resource for educating younger generations in
relationship to the mine and mill regions of Pennsylvania. Having been employed by the Bethlehem Steel
Company in excess of 40 years, Mr. Kuchta turned to
writing after retiring. During this time his first hand
experiences, various stories and vast knowledge of the
Pennsylvania Steel and Coal Mines was brought forth.
Readers of his writings can now learn and honor the
memory of what the late 1800s and early 1900s offered
the common laborer.
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Life of Subjects in Tekov
County in the 18th
Century
By Vladimir Bohinc
A Historical – statistical Monography with the same
title, written by Anton Špiesz and Jozef Watzka, published in 1966 by the Slovak Archive administration
served as my source for the following article. Although
it is generally oriented to statistics, it contains a good
global overview of the social and economic aspects of
the life of subjects.
This will allow readers to put details which they
know from this period into a better perspective. I hope,
it will answer many questions :“Why?“.
1. Population
The population of Tekov County entered the 18th
century still influenced by the last invasions of the
Turks from the end of the 17th Century. At the beginning of the 18th Century the Rakoczy war also had a
negative impact on the demographic situation. And at
the same time the plague epidemic hit practically the
entire County. Then there was emigration. The first
known emigration of considerable size from the Slovak
territory after the Turks left, began already before 1720,
and peaked in the 1730s and 1740s.
Despite this fact, there remained a growth in population, which had a positive impact on both demographic and economical development in the next century.
Here are some numbers taken from the Censuses,
showing men and women over 15-16 years of age, who
were declared independent farmers:
1714 – 11034
1726 – 19207
1736 – 15970
1763 – 27333
An average village had about 35 farm houses and a
town had about 130 houses, where independent farmers
or craftsmen lived.
At the beginning of the 18th Century, there were
many villages totally empty due to wars and plague.
By 1726, practically all those villages already had their
new inhabitants, which came from other localities.
The only real town was Levice, which in 1770 already had 3364 inhabitants.
In 1786 Tekov County had 1494 Noble families,
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
which comes to about 7 to 8 thousand members of such
Noble families altogether. This represented about 9% of
the total population of Tekov County.
The lowest entity of the population was a house.
The average number of homes in the last quarter of
the 18th century was 9,000. Average number of people
living in one house was 6.75 (in 1786). In towns, the
average was 5.4. In the first half of the 18th Century,
within the entire territory of Hungary, we can see great
migrations Southward, to the territories deserted by the
Turks. During this time, people migrated to so called
Dolna Zem (Lower Land), or flat Hungary and even to
the territories of Yugoslavia. Many families from Tekov
County left their homes and went South, too. This colonization of deserted lands was also supported by the
government.
2. Social and property differentiation
The subjected population in the Slovak feudal rural
areas was never homogenous with regard to social status and property rights.
The primary means of production was land. A person’s relationship to the land was the main criteria for
distinction. The population was divided into three main
groups:
- Farmers
- Tenants
- Subtenants
Farmers were those who had a farm house and
owned or better say, were using the land and had horses
or oxen with wagons, which were necessary for farming. In some cases also wine growers were counted
among farmers.
Tenants were those, who had a home, but had very
few or no work animals like horses. They also had very
little land.
Farmers and Tenants represented the community of
the subjects. Every such community elected a Mayor
and councilmen, who under the monitoring of the Landlord took care of all community matters.
The last level of the population were Subtenants.
They had no home of their own and were living either
with Farmers or with Tenants, sometimes also with the
Landlord himself or the Priest. They had no land and if
they had any to work on for themselves, it was leased
to them by the Farmers or Landlord. In most cases, they
were day workers. Because they had no land, they were
not treated as members of the community. A Subtenant
could advance up to a Tenant or Farmer if he could obtain enough land and working animals. This was possi-
Naše rodina
Page 47
Subjects in Tekov County...cont’d from page 47
ble. Falling from Farmer level to a lower level was also
possible and not so uncommon, especially as a result of
inheritance, natural catastrophe or some action of the
Landlord.
For centuries the Farmers had a social hegemony
and property hegemony in feudal villages on the territory of Slovakia. They possessed over 90% of the land.
The real and absolute owner of the land was the Landlord, though. Social hegemony was demonstrated by
the fact, that they elected Mayors and representatives of
the community. Only sometimes was a Mayor a Tenant.
Rich Farmers were predominantly in the South of the
County.
3. Fields (plow or arable land)
Land is, together with climatic conditions, the most
important factor in agriculture. It is the basic means of
production for all forms of agriculture. According to
Feudal Law, the de Iure owner of all land was the landlord. According to its use, the land can be divided into
three groups:
- Urbarial land
- Extirpaturial land ( Kopanice)
- Dominical Land
Urbarial Land was the farming land cultivated by
farmers based on inheritance law, which although the
Landlord was the real owner, allowed them to use the
same land through generations. Land use was conditional on the farmer meeting his landlord’s duties. This
legal order took root in the 14th -15th century. First it
was applied by the German colonists, who came here
already in the 13th century, and was then slowly applied
also by the Slavic population. This form suited the local
population because it allowed rent to be paid in natural
goods, not all with money. In the 15th and 16th century,
Landlords in Central Europe began to run their own
farming on a larger scale and began to take the land
away from the farmers.
Characteristic of the Hungarian State was that the
Nobility paid no taxes, so the State encouraged farmers to keep their land so they could pay taxes. Thanks
to State intervention, farmers could occupy land for
the last 400 years of feudalism and after feudalism was
abolished, then became real owners of it.
Extirpaturial Land was land won by clearing the
woods and by cultivating other less desirable land. This
form of obtaining land began to appear in the 16th century where large inner migrations took place. It was
Page 48
especially strong in the Northwest part of the country,
spreading later over the entire territory of present day
Slovakia. Permission from the Landlord was necessary.
This form was so extensive, that by the 18th century the
Landlords began to limit it, in order to save the woods.
The holding and use of such land was legally much
looser than with the plow land. It usually was based
only on a verbal contract with the landlord, and was
continued only on so called “Custom Law”. Holders of
this land paid rent in the same manner as the holders
of urbarial land. All rights were inherited. The landlord
could retake the land from the holder by paying him
cultivation costs. Again, the State wished to see subjects
keep their land, since they paid the taxes like the urbarial land holders and were thus a very important segment
of the population, contributing to the state treasury.
After Feudalism was abolished in 1848, former
Landlords used the fact that the legal status of such land
was so loose and claimed it for themselves.
Dominical Land was owned and used by the Landlord. In many cases they were managing the farm on
their own. Sometimes they allowed their servants to use
it in exchange for their services or for rent.
4. Pastures / Meadows
Breeding and keeping of animals, especially draft
animals, required much food, mainly hay. Hay was the
most important food. Therefore, meadows were an important part of the land and their size and quality had a
large influence on a farm’s prosperity. A farmer had to
maintain the proper balance between the size of his cultivated field and the size of his meadow. For example,
the larger the field, the more draft animals were needed,
which in turn required more hay from the meadow. The
average size of a meadow to field was about 25 percent.
This varied from area to area. There were many farmers
without a meadow who had to buy hay from others.
Extirpaturial estates usually had a larger share of
their land as meadow. However, in many cases, meadow has eventually been converted to plow land, and
new meadows were created by cutting more wood. A
relatively large number of cattle and the absence of cultivation of other fodder required farmers to save the hay
as much as possible and put cattle to pasture from April
until the onset of winter. Therefore, pastures played a
very important role in the entire economy.
Besides scattered individual pastures, there also
existed community pastures, where the cattle of both
landlord, and his subjects’ was pastured. Tekov County
farmers had large problems in the 18th century due to
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
the lack of pastures.
5. Woods (Forests)
In the past, wood was even a more vital necessity in
the life of the entire population than today.
Some of the main uses for wood included;
- burning in ovens for cooking
- construction
- roof tiles
- wagons and many other tools and machines
- charcoal which was used in furnaces and by
blacksmiths
Dry leaves from the woods were used as litter (bedding material for animals). Acorns were used as food
for pigs. And, there were of course all sorts of wood
fruits and mushrooms, etc.
Because wood was so important, subjects had a
great desire to obtain the right to use the woods. In
Hungary, woods did not count to the estate of one Settlement (one complete Farm as a basic unit of the system). All rights belonged to the Landlord, so he defined
how much, what type of, for what purpose and where
and when a subject could use his wood. If there was
enough woods in the Estate, there was no problem. The
situation varied very much from place to place. In some
locations it was almost free, elsewhere almost impossible to use any wood. It was mainly wood for burning
and wood for construction that was needed by the population. Where wood was plentiful, crafts like roof tile
making or charcoal cooking flourished.
Acorn pasturing was free, where there were enough
oak trees. During the 18th century, the woods of Tekov
County were very much exploited, mainly due to high
needs for mining and mills and glassworks. On the
other side, the King’s Chamber took care of planting of
new trees and rational use of woods.
6. Gardens
A garden is a piece of land which belonged to each
home. Practically, there was no home without a garden
and this is so even today. Gardens were situated in the
urban territory of the village, which is called Intravilan,
as opposed to Extravilan, which is everything outside
the village territory. The following vegetables were
grown in gardens:
- cabbage
- onions
- garlic
- carrots
- peas
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
- lentil
- beans
Also flax and hemp were grown in gardens. Some
parts of the gardens were used to grow fruits like apples
and pears. The grass among the trees was used for hay.
Fruits were often sold to day workers of the Landlord.
An average number of trees in one garden was 80-100.
7. Agricultural production
Agricultural production was the basic segment of
economic activity. Its products were the sources of food
for people and animals, raw materials for manufacturing of other goods and also sources of revenue. The
main cereals cultivated included wheat, maslin, barley,
oat, millet, etc. In this century the growing of potatoes
was introduced. Towards the end of the century the
growing of plants for animal food was intensified and
less cereals were sewn. Almost half of all cereals were
used for bread making. Barley was used for producing
beer and as food for people and animals. Apart from
growing grain, there were also other plants grown, like
hop, flax, hemp, vetch, cabbage, tobacco and corn.
The Southern part of Tekov County was a supplier
of cereals for the mining and metallurgical areas of
Middle Slovakia and surrounding area. Many people
made their living by supplying them to the mine towns.
Barley was bought by the breweries in towns and the
largest customer for oat was the Army. Oat was transported as far as Brno in Moravia.
8. Wine growing Vineyards were possible only in the southern part
of the County, where the climate and land was good
enough for growing grapes. Vineyards were rather
small compared to those around Bratislava, and were
usually owned by the farmer, who also had other land
to work on. There were no wine growers who would
grow grapes exclusively. Although the quality of wine
was not as high as in the area of the Small Carpathians,
North of Bratislava, there were some locations, which
made wine of very high quality.
9. Livestock breeding
Owning horses or oxen for farm work was essential. Having land without draft animals was almost
worthless. Therefore these animals were bred extensively. Also performing duties for the landlord could
not be met without horses. Apart from the use of animals for work, their manure was also very important for
fertilization of fields. Livestock was a source of meat
Naše rodina
Page 49
Subjects in Tekov County...cont’d from page 49
(not horses) and milk, which was also used for making
cheese, cottage cheese and butter. In the period of 17361763 average number of horses per one farm was 2.9,
while the average number of cows was 2.2.
Sheep were bred in large numbers. Their number
rose for the entire County from 696 in the year 1714 to
39,779 in 1800. Sheep were ideal animals for subjects,
because they provided meat, wool and milk, while wool
and milk products were very good items for sale on the
markets and also for home use. Apart from sheep, there
were also goats, but their breeding was constantly hampered by diseases and restrictions. Goats namely were
causing damage in the woods by eating young plants.
Another important animal was the pig. Their number,
however, declined through the century from 50% of the
total small animals in 1714 to 19% in 1800. The reason
was lack of food for pigs, who were more demanding
on the quality of their food.
10. Beekeeping
Honey was practically the only means for sweet-
Above:
Punishment of a
subject
Right:
Traveling salesman
selling linen
Page 50
ening throughout the century, only to be gradually
replaced by reed and beet sugar in the 19th century.
Honey was also often used as a medicine and for honey
brandy. It was also a basic material for a special kind
of cakes, called Medovníky or Honey Cakes, that were
baked by special bakers. Another product of beekeeping was wax. At home it was used for lighting and as a
medicine. Candles were manufactured for the church
and the Landlords.
11. Industry and handcraft
Thus far the segments of the economy discussed
above have spoken mainly to the benefit of the Southern regions of the County. For the industrial segments
like crafts, mining and metallurgy, the center was in
the North. Industrial manufacturing for farmers from
Northern Tekov was actually more important than farming itself, which served only a complementary function.
Strong growth was documented in crafts. Most of the
craftsmen were located in towns. This was quite different than other places in Middle and Eastern Europe.
Village craftsmen could not compete with town craftsmen in quality and price and had a lesser customer base.
Here are some of the typical crafts: boot makers,
tailors, furriers, shoemakers, hat makers, locksmiths,
leash makers, weavers, button makers, joiners, glass
makers, goldsmiths, millers, stonemasons, rope makers, potters, brick layers, blacksmiths, butchers, barbers,
wheelwrights, bakers, tanners, coopers, pantyhose makers, tinsmiths, soap makers, saddlers, etc.
Tekov craftsmen mainly were working without any
journeymen. Only one in three masters had one. The
average number of craftsmen per village was about 2.5.
Village craftsmen were mainly from the ranks of Tenants. In towns, it was usually Farmers, who had the
majority in crafts.
Craftsmen were organized in Guilds. Only members of the Guild were allowed to work as craftsmen. In
the villages, there were many craftsmen, who lacked official qualifications and were not members of any Guild
nor selling their products in markets. In the censuses
they were described as “non ex professo”. A notable
role in craft manufacturing was also manufacturing of
items at home, except for farmers, who just inherited
the traditions from their ancestors. These products were
usually below the Guild standards, but were good for
home use.
Gild members, who were the only craftsmen protected by the Law, were in a position to destroy any
craftsman, who would try to compete with them. The
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
only exception was the manufacturing of home made
linen. Guild members could not manufacture enough
linen to meet the demand. Manufacturing of cloth was
also allowed.
Another area, where home manufacturing was very
strong was the wooden tile making. There were places,
where tiles were made almost exclusively. In Slovak, a
tile is called Šindla, thus the surname Šindliar.
Baskets were made for home use, but in larger
quantities for the mines and in metallurgical plants for
the transport of ore. A specialty was creating wooden
vessels of all shapes and sizes. There were also entire
villages, who cooked charcoal for metallurgical needs.
Most of the miners and smelters were located in villages around Kremnica, Vyhne, Kopernica, Žarnovica
and Horné Hamre. Lime was also needed, so there
were lime cookers in places like Kolačne, Pila and
Repište. In Hlinik nad Hronom they made mill stones.
It took four men and one day to make one stone. Mill
stone taxes were a significant source of revenue for the
landlord on the land where stone pits were located. Of
course, there were also saw mills and “Washboards”.
Both were driven by water wheels. On saw mills, wood
was cut into boards and slabs, while on washboards,
heavy hammers were working the cloth to become
tougher.
Next to mention were the breweries. They were
located only in the Northeastern part of the County.
Although they were located in several villages, this was
not typical for the County, because the breweries were
always the domain of the Landlords. Breweries were a
good source of revenue for the Landlords.
In Obyce, towards the end of the 18th century, there
was also a glass works. Their items were then sold by
local people as hawkers all over the County.
There was also a paper mill in Obyce, which delivered paper items to Trnava, Bratislava, Komarno and
Rába. Paper mills were also located in Jedlové Kostolany and Dolný Kamenec.
12. Flour Mills
Flour mills were the most typical manufacturing
facilities in our villages. They were the most known
mechanisms, powered by water wheel, before the steam
machine was invented. Flour milling was a privilege of
the Landlord. They owned the mills. Sometimes they
were given on lease to villages or millers. The rental
of mills was quite common in Tekov County. All of the
mills had to pay taxes. Millers, particularly in social
and economic terms, were above the subject class and
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2 many of them were even free. Many millers also held
the rights to do carpentry, because they often had to
make repairs on their mills by themselves. Three years
was the typical rental of mills. Wood for mill repair and
burning was free to the miller. He only had to cut it and
bring it home at his own expense.
From all the grain that the miller had milled, 1/15th
of it had to be placed into special, locked containers.
Every Thursday these containers were opened and 2/3
went to the Landlord and 1/3 to the miller. The largest
mill was in Žarnovica. It had five wheels, where one
was only for barley and rye for the local brewery.
13. Trade and Markets
In Trade and Markets Tekov County was special
compared to other Counties.
Tekov County had a strong mining and metallurgical industry which employed a large number of day
workers. This industry was located on non fertile areas
of the County and thus farmers from other locations
supplied food to the industrial centers. The price of
food was quite high which was the reason trade flourished. There were hundreds of middlemen, who bought
their goods in the South and then sold them in the mining towns. Trade developed so much, that not only flour
or grain was sold but also bread. People from Žarnovica
for example purchased grain in the South, ground it and
baked bread, then sold it in Banska Štiavnica twice a
week with good profits.
Gradually the sale of bread, which was also very
practical for the workers, developed greatly. There
were hundreds of bakers, baking bread. Also trade with
cereals flourished. Further there were specialized traders with steel, salt and mill stones, wood, linen, etc.
Hawkers carried their items on their back and traveled /
walked from home to home. Their income was relatively good. Later the number of hawkers declined, because
their earnings allowed them to open shops in their home
neighborhood. Most of them were situated in the North
of the County. In the Southwest, they traded mostly
with livestock and salt. In the South, trade did not develop as well. Only one fifth of the villages had a merchant or two. Tekov merchants primarily were recruited
from the ranks of the richest farmers, while hawkers
were also from the ranks of tenants. Traders with wood,
grain, livestock, etc. were from all social strata.
In the towns, the merchants were called shopkeepers. They were located in Levice and later in Oslany.
Another category were merchants, while from the
town, were traveling, buying goods and selling whole-
Naše rodina
Page 51
Subjects in Tekov County...cont’d from page 51
sale to other merchants, craftsmen, the state or other
middlemen.
Special attention must be given to merchants of
„Balkan and Turk origin“, who were mainly situated in
Levice. They were called Greks. They were very rapacious and entrepreneurial. They, among other things,
traded with linen from Eastern Slovakia where they
occupied strong positions. Their turnover was much
higher than that of the local tradesmen, more than double. They usually transferred their profits to their homelands.
Fairs and markets were very important economical
and social events. The fairs were usually held on a holiday. The main activity at fairs was trading of livestock
and handcrafted items. During the fair, local merchants
lost their monopoly and everybody was allowed to sell.
Fairs were divided into livestock fairs and display
fairs. Both types of fairs might be held simultaneously.
Towns held several fairs a year; Zlate Moravce had
7, Levice had 4, Žarnovica had 7, Vrable had 6, etc.
During the weekly markets, goods such as grain,
butter, cottage cheese, eggs, poultry, meat, cabbage,
fruits, honey and the like were sold. Livestock, except
for small animals like goats or lambs were not sold
during these markets. They were always held on the
same day of the week and were considerd more important than fairs. This was due to the fact that there were
only a few towns, which held such a market right. It is
believed, that there were not more than 40 to 50 towns
in all of Slovakia (17th-19th centuries), which held
weekly markets, while on the other hand, there were
more than 250 towns with fairs. The yearly turnover on
a weekly market was much higher than at any fair.
14. Farming by Landlords under their own management
Natural and monetary rent, which the Landlord
collected based on his land ownership did not cover all
his needs. To broaden their income sources they began
to farm under their own management. Besides farming, they also established breweries, distilleries, mills
and factories, etc. Some landlords began to exploit the
woods. Farming for them was cheap, since all the work
was performed by the subjects, who had to use their
own tools and wagons. The Landlord only had to provide the seeds and the granary. By the end of the 17th
century, the South of Tekov was in desolate state due
to the Rakoczy wars. Much of the land was deserted,
Page 52
without an owner, so the Landlords claimed it and began to organize their own farming. Sometimes a section
of the land was given to a farmer for farming. In exchange the farmer turned over a part of his yield. These
large farming estates, established by the Landlords were
called Majer. The big losers were Tenants, whose land,
although little, was often taken away to be incorporated
in a Majer. Land was also taken away from regular
farmers, or it was exchanged for land of lesser quality.
It is interesting, that the lesser Nobility, called Zemani,
were the main culprits among society who seized the
farmers‘ land.
Majers were not particularly prosperous and their
interest waned among significant Landlords. Most of
them were on lease to subjects. It is not entirely clear,
why the decline occurred, which was not typical for
Tekov County either. Only the lesser Nobility was
forced to manage their own farm land. Any other form
of usage would not cover their needs. This lesser Nobility was the only segment of the governing class, which
was systematically stealing land from farmers throughout the 18th century. Towards the end of the 18th century the Landlords began to intensify their own farming.
Land lease was terminated. Majers became settlements
of various sizes, where farm workers lived. Most of
them held a status of Subtenant.
15. Rights and duties of subjects
The Feudal social order was based on the hypothesis, that the non privileged class must satisfy the needs
of the privileged class. Position of subjects in Hungary
during late feudalism until the urbarial reform was very
much dependent upon the will of the particular Landlord. The current economic and political situation, pressure from the state, local conditions and customs and
also the financial status of the Landlord himself had
an impact on his behavior. He realized his economical goals to a large extent also depended on the economic status of his subjects. Therefore it was not in the
best interest of the Landlord to completely destroy his
subjects. They were, however, intent on extracting as
much from them as possible. The most important status indicator for the subjects was their relation to the
land. Holding the urbarial land was not an expression
of ownership but only the right to use it. This right was
inheritable, but it was never codified. It was customary,
or a Common Law.
Subjects, however, treated their land as their own.
The possibility to inherit or sell it was seen as proof
of their ownership. Towards the end of the century the
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Landlords limited free trade of land. Their consent was
required for any transaction. If the subject had met all
the demands of the Landlord, he could use the land permanently. If this was not the case, the Landlord could
take some land away from him and give it to someone
else. If the Tenant or Subtenant paid all dues and met
all the requirements of the Landlord, he was also free to
move to another location. This was mainly the case in
the second half of the century. Those who left took their
livestock and whatever they could with them. Before
leaving, they tried to sell the land. This practice was
then again prohibited and the Landlords retook the land
from the new owners without compensation.
It must be mentioned, that this limitation applied
only to the rightful heir, first son. Younger siblings
could leave. Royal rights were always the privilege of
the Landlords. These rights were, however, often given
in exchange for certain compensation, for usage by the
community or individuals. The most common rights
given to others were the right to use the mill or a saloon. Sale of wine and beer usually remained with the
Landlords, while the sale of brandy (slivovice) was left
to the communities. Some places had the right to sell
beer too, but had to purchase it from the brewery of the
Landlord. Other places had the right to sell wine only
during a limited time period. Brewing of beer was an
exclusive privilege of the Landlords.
The State, the Landlords and the Church participated in the collection of natural and monetary rent in
addition to statutory labor (Robota). These rents varied
greatly from one estate to another. As an example:
Natural rent: Each holder of ¼ farm turned over
each month one chicken, each year 2 geese and 10
farmers together one pig per year. In addition to this,
1/9 of the crop went to the Landlord.
Monetary rent: From each holder of ¼ farm and of
each Tenant 1 Golden coin per year.
Statutory labor: Each holder of ¼ farm had to work
with his horses and tools one day per week.
Those without horses had to work two days on foot.
In addition, every Farmer had to absolve two long
tours with horses each year. He could, however, buy
himself out of this duty with 30 Golden coins. If the
subjects worked overtime, in some instances, the Landlord paid them for the work.
Mines and metallurgical mills required many horses
to transport material. Therefore, the Landlords even
provided loans to those who lacked horses to acquire
them. The funds had to be repaid in five to six years.
The required working hours always began at sunrise
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
and ended at sundown. The above example is not typical for all estates. The Urbarial regulation of 1768 standardized all duties of the subjects on all estates.
Natural rent consisted of 1/9 of the crop and delivery of wood, hemp yarn, butter, capons, chicken and
eggs. This rent was not paid in all estates in the same
manner. Sometimes certain parts were paid in money.
The Robota on one farm was determined to be one day
a week, or 52 days a year with horses, or 104 days of
manual work, for the farmer who could not provide
horses.
A Tenant had to deliver 18 days, while the Subtenant was set to deliver 12 days of manual work per year.
Natural and monetary rent even following Urbarial
reform were unstable and varied from estate to estate,
depending upon the number of subjects and their economic potential. Often the subjects paid a certain sum
of money to be free from natural rent.
The Church had the right to 1/10 of the crop, wine,
sheep and bees. If the church dignitary was simultaneously a Landlord, he also collected all rents, which were
due to the Landlord.
State taxes, after the introduction of the permanent
army in 1715 were set for the Counties according to the
economic substance of the subjects. In Tekov County
more than 4/5 of the taxes fell on subjects. Besides this
financial burden, the population also had to feed and
accommodate the army and provide for their transportation needs.
About the Author
Vladimir Bohinc is a Professional Genealogist, whose
Company is known as KONEKTA s.r.o. Mr. Bohinc has
performed genealogy research for the past 6 years. He
lives in Nove Mesto nad Vahom, Slovakia. Mr. Bohinc
is of Slovene origin. His formal education is Mechanical Engineering. He received additional education in
Foreign Trade, Sales and Marketing. He spent almost
30 years in managerial positions in Foreign Trade from
West to Eastern Europe. He speaks English, German
and Slovak, (understands Czech), Polish, Russian, and
the languages of former Yugoslavia. He is somewhat
less fluent in Italian and also knows a bit of French
and Spanish. Mr. Bohinc can be reached at: konekta@
nm.psg.sk
Naše rodina
Page 53
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Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Hat City Slovaks – The
Hatting Industry and the
Slovak Community of
Danbury, Connecticut
In the binding room, women sewed cloth bindings on the
brims of derbies, sewed cloth linings inside the crown,
and applied silk hatbands, feathers and other trimmings.
Women made up 20 percent of the work force in the hat
shops. The trimmers had the largest membership of the
four hatters’ union locals. They worked in groups, an
arrangement that fostered conversation and camaraderie.
Courtesy of The Danbury Museum and Historical Society
By Diane C. Hassan
In 1910, the population of Danbury was 23,503.
Twenty-three percent of this number was foreign-born
and another 33 percent had foreign or mixed parents,
adding to a total of 56 percent. At this time, the greatest
number of foreign-born in the town came from Ireland,
followed by Italy, Germany, Hungary, England and
Austria. (Tricentennial Booklet)
According to an article in the February 16, 1916
edition of The Danbury News, Danbury, Connecticut
was the leading hat manufacturing city in the U.S. 19th
century manufacturing in Danbury revolved around
paper making, boots and shoes, oil mills, saw mills,
sewing machines, cut nails, comb making, machine
companies, silver plating, tooling, printing, architecture and railroading. Silk mills, paper and box factories,
tanneries, fur companies and machine works were supporting the hatting industry. There were seventy manufacturing establishments in the town at that time.
The town had two national and two savings banks,
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
eleven handsome churches, one of the best public libraries to be found anywhere, excellent graded schools,
theatres, a well-equipped public hospital, handsome
municipal buildings, and modern hotels. It was a county
seat with a fine courthouse, and had fifteen miles of
electric railway. Danbury owned its own water system,
was thoroughly sewered with a modern filtration plant,
and also had paid police and fire departments.
By the time my grandfather, Andrew Zaleta arrived
in Danbury in 1930 to join his elder brothers, there was
already a flourishing community of Eastern Europeans
who had settled in the region. Many of them found employment in the hat factories and many came from more
urban areas such as Yonkers, NY and Bridgeport, CT.
Slovaks in large numbers began settling in Danbury
just after the turn of the century, attracted by jobs in the
hatting industry and on local farms. The 1931 city directory for Danbury lists 77 active farms in town pre-
Naše rodina
Page 55
The Hat City Slovaks...cont’d from page 55
dominantly dairies, produce farms and orchards.
Most immigrants to Danbury were eager to work
and enthusiastic about their new country. The immigrant’s own churches, schools and fraternal associations
kept alive old ties of culture, language and kinship and
actively assisted in adjustment to the new country.
There are references to an Orthodox Christian community in Danbury dating back to the late 1890s. Mr.
Andrew Mishico donated property for a church in 1910.
The earliest church document is from October 1, 1910.
In this document, Mr. Mishico quit claimed about 2
acres of property and a small church building to the
Church. Part of the record reads as follows:
“….I sent to you the deeds, a warranty and Quit
Claim, to the land in Danbury, Conn. On which I have
erected a Church at an expense to me of $821.82/100,
and I also enclose a promissory note for that amount,
which I am told will be signed by you and to be paid to
me in the near future.”
Holy Trinity was founded in 1911 by people from
the Carpathian mountain region of Eastern Europe; the
parish served both the Orthodox and Byzantine worshippers of Danbury. Surnames of founders include:
Mishico, Danuszar, Chowanec, Plavka, Cedor, Prokopchak and Talarovich. The original church burned to the
ground on September 27, 1921 but was rebuilt in 1924
one block from St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church
on Roberts Avenue.
An organizational meeting of ten parishioners
started St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church in 1923
and their charter was approved in 1924. The church
served descendants of immigrants from Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Yugoslavia (and successor states) and
surnames of the founders include Curr, Zaleta, Mudry,
Kolinchak, Kundrat, Kraynyak, Vavrek, Evanko, Tita,
Dzendzel, Dzamko, and Radachowski. The ancestors of
a majority of the church family hailed from Šariš County and the villages of Ľutina, Olejnikov, Hanigovce and
Milpoš.
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, originally known as
the Slovak Evangelical Church was founded in 1901
to serve what was then a growing community of immigrants from the present day Slovak Republic. A historical sketch compiled for the 100th Anniversary of St.
Paul’s lists the founders’ surnames as: Jurecko, Placko,
Sagat, Gulla, Yuhasik, Driensky, Bernat and Halas.
Page 56
The parish originally shared space with the Immanuel
Lutheran Church in Danbury until 1927, when the congregation of twenty-six families acquired the resources
to build their own church on Spring Street. I had the
pleasure of speaking with Dr. Michael Skandera whose
family were early members of St. Paul’s and who had
come to the U.S. from Turá Lúka, Slovakia in the early
1900s.
In 1902, the city’s diverse Czech and Slovak groups
united in forming the Slovak Sokol Gymnastic Lodge
30 of Danbury. Founded in 1902, this gymnastic organization transmitted Czechoslovak culture and afforded
young members an opportunity to travel to regional and
national competitions.
Their building, originally located on River Street in
Danbury held a gymnasium, a stage for performances
with a balcony, and a hall and kitchen downstairs for
gatherings. My father recalls attending events at the Sokol Lodge as a youngster. It was undoubtedly a strong
social center for all of the Slovaks of Danbury. Unfortunately, the original building that housed the Sokol,
was damaged during the 1955 floods that devastated
the Danbury community. Dr. Skandera, at the age of 81,
is still an active member of the Sokol organization and
serves as the vice president of the Danbury chapter of
the group.
Early settlers established neighborhoods on Beaver
Street, off Lake Avenue and in the vicinity of Golden
Hill, all of which were central to the hat factories of
Danbury.
Because of the old custom of being “spoken for”
by someone already employed at a hat shop to work
there and the requirements of union membership, a
job at a hat shop could not be taken for granted. Immigrants often had to enter the trade in shops owned by
members of their own nationality. Once they were hatters, though, and were able to work at other shops, they
worked in teams which had to work together smoothly
in order for any of them to make any money, as they
were paid as a team for their work.
While reviewing 1920 and 1930 census records for
the founders and parishioners of St. Nicholas Byzantine
Catholic Church, the majority of those people were employed by the hat factories of Danbury and lived in the
same neighborhoods.
Andrew Curr – Hat factory – maker
Michael Kundrat – Hat factory – sizer
Alec Dzubak – Hat Shop – sizer
John Kundrat – Fur factory – blower
Mary Kovach – Fur factory – cutting room
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June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
The Mallory Hat Factory carroting room where rabbit furs were coated with a solution of nitric acid and mercury which
helped the fur fibers to felt together. Its routine application until the 1930s gave generations of hatters in the back shops the
‘hatter’s shakes’ – a palsy which resulted from prolonged exposure to the mercury in the carrot. During the 20th century the
hatting unions campaigned against the use of mercury, but insurance companies finally ended its use in the 1920s and 1930s.
Courtesy of The Danbury Museum and Historical Society.
Stephen Kovach – Hat factory – sizer
Stephen Vavrek – Hat factory – ironer
James Tita – Hat factory – finisher
Mike Hrivnak – Fur factory – blower
John Hrivnak – Hat maker
John Ondecko – Hatter
Between 1935 and 1941, the city directories for
Danbury show my own grandfather moving through the
ranks going from the positions of stomper, hatter and
machine operator while working at the Frank H. Lee
Company.
Leading hat manufacturers listed in the 1931 directory were The Mallory Hat Company on Rose Hill Avenue, The Frank H. Lee Company located on Leemac
Avenue, H. McLachlan & Co. situated on Rowan
Street, George McLachlan Hat Co. on Main Street, and
United States Hat Co. also on Leemac Avenue.
Tweedy Silk Mills made silk hat bands.
A Brief History of Hatting in Danbury
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Danbury lays claim to having had the first hat shop in
the country, and the first hat was made in Danbury. So
the story goes. Hats were being made in Pre-Revolutionary War days in Danbury, but the first recorded hat
maker in town was Zadoc Benedict. One story says that
Zadoc put rabbit fur inside his shoe to cover a hole.
After walking around all day, the rabbit fur mixed with
his sweat and made felt. Later he used water and rabbit fur to make felt and shaped the hats on his bedpost.
He started a new industry in Danbury. In 1780 he was
making hats in a shop on Main Street. He employed one
journeyman and two apprentices, producing three hats a
day. From that point on, it was, without a doubt, the hat
city of the world.
Danbury easily became the foremost hat manufacturing city in the country. Its hat factories, in addition
to manufacturing thousands of dozens of men’s and
women’s soft felt hats, turned out over 75% of all the
men’s stiff hats made in the country. Straw hats, felt
hats, soft hats, hard hats, Quaker hats and toppers. Over
seventy companies made the hats with the machinery
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The Hat City Slovaks...cont’d from page 57
used in the manufacture down to the finishing hatband
that ordained the straw or the feather that sticks out of
the band.
In the early days of hatting, women played important roles in the process. During the 18th century, hat
bodies were sent to village ladies who plucked stray
hairs out of the nap with tweezers. Later, many women
became trimmers in the shops and eventually they constituted 20 percent of the work force. Their union local
was numerically the largest in town and usually had
female officers.
Hatting had busy seasons in the spring for the fall
trade and in autumn for the spring trade, but workers
kept themselves busy the year around with gardening,
chicken-raising or similar home pursuits or doing odd
jobs.
Because they were paid by piecework, hatters felt
free to “call shop” after a few hours work on a hat day
and decide to take the rest of the day off. They thought
nothing of picking up their tools, usually rubber aprons
and boots, after a dispute with a foreman in one shop
and go seek work in another where they were sure they
had one or more journeymen friends ready to sponsor
them.
The Famous Danbury Hatters Case
(An account taken from We Crown Them All; William Devlin; Windsor Publications, 1984)
In 1901, the United Hatters of North America was
engaged in a campaign to force a number of open shops
to recognize the union, sign a contract and gain the
right to use the union label. In March of that year, union
leaders served notice on the D. E. Loewe Company that
they intended to organize his shop.
Dietrich E. Loewe, a German immigrant had established a successful business in 1879. His 250 workers
including both union and non-union men never filed
a grievance against him with the union. And in 1901
Loewe was one of only three Danbury manufacturers
running an open shop.
In July of 1902, the union called its members who
worked for Loewe to a meeting and told them they were
on strike to force Loewe to reach an agreement with the
union. If he did not agree, the union said it would engage in a boycott of Loewe-made hats.
On July 25, 1902, a strike was called and most
of Loewe’s employees, union and non-union walked
Page 58
out. Eyewitnesses recalled that Loewe, with tears in
his eyes, begged his men not to go. A skeleton crew
struggled to train inexperienced foreign workers Loewe
hired to replace the strikers.
On August 23, 1902, Loewe published a notice in
the Danbury Evening News, informing all union members that if they supported the boycott, they would be
held personally responsible. Loewe then went to the
U.S. District Court for Connecticut, charging the union
had violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act.
This was the beginning of the famous Danbury Hatters Case, sometimes better known as Loewe vs. Lawler. Martin Lawler, the secretary of the national union,
was a popular figure among hatters in Danbury where
he had first become involved in union affairs.
Loewe filed pre-trial attachments against the homes
and bank accounts of 240 members of the Hatters
Union in Danbury, Bethel and Norwalk. Only three
of the 240 defendants had worked for Loewe and had
gone out on strike. The union response was to pay its
members the face value of their accounts and take title
to them for the duration of the litigation. But the cloud
over the hatters’ homes was to remain for the next 15
years.
On Labor Day, 1903 the District Court judge dismissed the case on the ground that the Supreme Court
had not yet ruled that unions could be held liable under
the Sherman Act. It was not until February, 1908 that
the Supreme Court handed down its ruling that an action could be maintained against the individual union
members.
A new district court trial began in August, 1912. In
October, the jury found for Loewe, with the damages
set $252,130. The Circuit Court affirmed on appeal and
on Jan. 5, 1915 the Supreme Court upheld Loewe.
Weeks of uncertainty followed over what would
happen to the homes of the 240 hatters. The United
Hatters was all but broke because of the heavy legal
expenses. Some thought Loewe might be persuaded
through negotiations to accept a settlement of approximately $80,000. He would not budge.
Pleas by the United Hatters to the American Federation of Labor for help were answered with the establishment of a hatter’s relief fund. Each union worker
throughout the country was asked to donate to the fund
the equivalent of an hour’s pay. On July 1, 1917, AFL
leaders turned over to the United Hatters the sum of
$215,000. By that date, Loewe had run legal advertisements for the auction sale of the hatters’ homes.
On July 14, 1917, Martin Lawlor came to Dan-
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June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
The label of the
United Hatters of
North America is
shown on the front
page of the union’s
journal. The absence of the label,
which was sewn
into the linings of
union-made hats,
allowed non-union
products to be identified and boycotted.
The use of the union
label was a factor
in the Dietrich
Loewe case. Courtesy of The Danbury
Museum and Historical Society
bury to deliver to Loewe the final check for $175,000;
$80,000 had been paid earlier. He handed it over with
the comment, “Here’s your blood money.”
Neither the union nor Loewe ever fully recovered
from the struggle. Loewe declared bankruptcy in the
mid-1920s. The union suffered a severe setback in 1917
when after a long strike several of the largest plants in
town, resumed operations as open shops.
These days, little is left of Danbury’s hatting past.
When the downtown was rebuilt after the floods in the
1950s, many fur shops were gone. Fire claimed other
factories, like the Lee-MacLachlan and John Green
buildings. Most of the factories were built of wood
and burned easily. One by one, all the big hat factories
closed down. Most were closed by 1960, but the last hat
factory closed its doors in 1987.
The Slovak community in Danbury, however, is
still a very active part of the city’s landscape. St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church erected a new parish in
1997, just in time for their 75th anniversary celebrations
and is the spiritual home of 130 families. Holy Trinity
Orthodox Church is in the process of building a new
traditional wooden Carpatho-Russian wooden church
for their diverse congregation. The Sokol Lodge #30
has moved its headquarters to Candlewood Lake Road
and are still a thriving organization having celebrated
their 100th anniversary in 2001.
You can still find the churches holding annual Slo-
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
vak festivals; Easter and Christmas bake sales and bazaars. The pierogi, kolbasi, and halupki dinners and the
smell of fresh baked pascha and kolachi have not yet
left the city limits.
A Timeline of Danbury’s Hatting History
1780 – Zadoc Benedict starts hat shop on Main St.
1836 – 134,000 hats manufactured yearly
1853 – James S. Taylor invents a machine for felting
or sizing wool hats. 300 machines sent all over the
U.S.
1860 – 1-1/2 million hats manufactured yearly in Danbury.
1880 - 4-1/2 million hats manufactured yearly in Danbury. Danbury unionized long before the rest of the
country.
1882 - Hatters’ strike
1890 – 5 million hats manufactured yearly; Lock-out
inaugurated, hat factories closed to the Trimmers
Union
1895 – 33 hat manufacturers exist in Danbury
1902 – Beginning of Hatters Union strike against D. E.
Loewe Co.
1904 – Danbury responsible for almost 24% of the total
value of hats produced in the U.S.
1906 – Lee Hat Co. Established
1919 – The directors of United Hatters adopt a minimum wage scale of one dollar an hour for a forty
hour work week
1923 – 6 hat factories left in Danbury
1965 – Only 1 hat factory left in Danbury - Danbury
Rough Hat Co.
1968 – Lee Hat Factory Fire
1987 – Last hat factory closes
Sources
We Crown Them All; An Illustrated History of Danbury; William Devlin; Windsor Publications, 1984
Two centuries of hat making; Stephen A. Collins; Danbury Tricentennial Committee and Stephen A. Collins, 1985
The Hatters, Their Communities, The People; Barry R.
Nelson, 1982
The Danbury News; February 16, 1916
Thanks to Robert Young of the Danbury Museum
and Historical Society, John O’Donnell of Danbury
Public Library and Meg Moughan of the Ruth Haas Library, Special Collections and Archives of Western CT
Naše rodina
Page 59
The Hat City Slovaks...cont’d from page 59
State University and to Fr. Luke Mihaly of Holy Trinity
Church as well as Dr. Michael Skandera for their input.
About the Author
Diane Hassan resides in Danbury, CT. She is a proud
wife and mother of two young boys, and is currently
raising them in the home built by her Slovak paternal
grandparents, Andrew and Anna Zaleta. A graduate of
the University of Hartford, her professional career has
led her to positions in the fields of production, marketing and creative services in the music and publishing
industry.
ANNOUNCEMENT!
Wanted: Volunteers to Extract
Passenger Data
Submitted by Judy Nelson
All researchers of Czech lineage are aware of
Czech Immigration Passenger Lists compiled and published by Leo Baca of
Richardson, Texas. Nine volumes of Czech surnames with ship names, arrival dates, etc. gleaned from hundreds of microfilms of passenger lists are an
invaluable source for many genealogists. Mr. Baca’s time and expertise has
been a wonderful gift to us.
Now we have a chance to “give back” to Mr. Baca and help the cause of
Czech research at the same time. He is no longer able to borrow/rent microfilm to read in his home office. He would have to read them at LDS Family
History Centers which have limited hours (he is employed full time), and with
no space to spread his forms for extraction. Volume X (ten), intended to cover Baltimore arrivals 1900-1914, is “on hold”. So let’s help Mr. Baca!
If you are willing to order microfilm from your LDS Family History Center and work carefully in extracting, Mr. Baca will assign you a specific film
number/s. You may e-mail him directly at [email protected] Perhaps he
will plan Volume XI (after X) if enough of us help. Together we can make it
happen!
Editor’s Note: Ms. Judy Nelson of Largo, Florida is the first of the volunteers to follow the lead of Leo Baca in the extraction project. She has ordered
two (2) rolls of microfilm from the LDS which charges $3.50 per roll which
can be viewed over a 30 day rental period.
Page 60
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Queries
Abbreviations Used in Queries
aft
aka
anc
arr
bap
bef
btwn
bro
bur
cem
ca
ch
Co
corres
after
also known as
ancestor(s)
arrived
baptized
before
between
brother
buried
cemetery
circa
child/children
County
correspond
d
dau
desc
div
d/o
emigr
exch
fa
fam
g
gg
ggg
immigr
info
died, death
daughter
descendant(s)
divorced
daughter of
emigrate from
exchange
father
family
grand
great/grand
great/great/gd
immigrate to
information
Contact: Kathy Wolleson, 2563 Camino del Plata, Corona,
CA 92882, phone (951) 340-2554 or e-mail at: ekwolleson@
earthlink.net
m
m1
m2
mo
par
poss
prob
res
set
sis
s/o
twp
unk
married
married 1
married 2
mother
parents
possibly
probably
resided
settled
sister(s)
son of
township
unknown
BADŽO
I am seeking contact with the families Badžoliving in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Of particular interest are
those from around Michalovce, Košice, and Ruská Nová Ves
(Prešovsky okres). My objective is to check for any connection to my own family that comes from near Mukachevo,
Zakarpatska oblast, Ukraine.
Contact: Bohdana Badzio, Apt. 402, 1604 - 31 Street,
Vernon, BC, Canada. E-mail: [email protected]
DŽBÁNOV (a village in East Bohemia)
Seeking any and all surnames which originate from the village of Džbánov, located 4 kilometers south of Vysoké Mýto,
East Bohemia. Info to be used in a growing data base and for
sharing.
Contact: Judy Nelson, 10265 Ulmerton Rd #123, Largo, FL
33771 or [email protected] or visit: http://geocities.com/oxfordjct_suchdol
ADAM(S), ZUZANEK, KOUBEK, CHMELAR
Seek to share info on family of Maria (widow of Martin)
Adam who immigrated to Stevens Point, WI from Neustupov, Bohemia, c. 1880. Dau Frances m Frank Zuzanek
of Kewaunee Co., WI. Also to share info on fam of Albert
(Vojtech) Koubek, who immigr to Chicago, IL from Choustnik, Bohemia, c. 1880. Albert m Anna Chmelar 5/3/1890 in
Chicago.
Contact: John H. Adams, 2004 Highpoint Dr, Opelika, AL
36801-2006
NEMECEK, KRIZ
Looking for other possible family members or info on my
family. Ggfa, Karel (Charles) Nemecek arrived from Kolin,
Bohemia and immigr to Omaha, NE in 1904. The rest of the
family, my ggma Josefa (Krizova) Nemecek, and great aunts,
gfa, Anna, Marianna and Bohumil (William) also immigr
from Kolin, and arrived in Baltimore, MD in 1905 then on
to Omaha. I believe my ggfa’s sister, Marie Nemeckova also
arrived in 1905 with the rest of the family, but have not verified it.
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
FAYMAN, FAYMON, FAJMON, VŠETECKA
Seek info on European siblings and ancestors of Joseph
Fayman/Faymon/Fajmon (1875-1946), Bohemian, who m
Ludmilla/Lillian Všetecka (1883-1971) in Brunn am Gebirge,
near Vienna, Austria, on 28 Oct 1900.  Joseph Fayman born
14 Jul 1875 in Hennersdorf, Austria, s/o Franz and Anna (nee
Makausky) Fajmon.  Franz Fajmon from Martinitz (prob
Martinice near Proseč, Czech Republic). Anna Makausky
from Ullersdorf (prob Oldriš) near Chrudim. Joseph Fayman,
wife, two sons (Paul 4, Josef 2), and mother-in-law, Catharina Všetecka, immigr in 1905 to join Ludmilla’s bro, John
Všetecka (1881-1918), in Chicago.
Contact: Daniel Dzurek, 3601 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016, or e-mail: [email protected]
RIEDL
Looking for Sigmund Riedl born ca. 1855 in Šumvald, Moravia. Arrived in Port of Baltimore ca. 1874. Thought to have
went to Minnesota, but last seen in Portland, OR ca. 1890
when he used the name Sigmund Riddle, instead of Riedl.
Any info would be appreciated.
Contact: James A. Marples, PO Box 1542, Longview, TX
75606
STOLAŘÍK, TJENOS, FORMÁNEK
Seek info on families of Jan, (1880), Regina (1891), Anna,
and Josefa (1893) who left Bzova (150 KM from Brno),
Moravia for the U.S. before WWI. Contact with aunt Regina
Tjenos of San Fernando, CA ended with her death in 1971.
Looking to reconnect with families in the U.S.
Contact: Alena Stolaříková Málková, Bezděkov 1835/79,
594 01 Velké Meziříčí, Czech Republic.
HEBZ, KATZUM, WASKA, KORBA
Who is Jacob Hebz listed as “grandfather 1880 census for
Chicago in the home of Frank Katzum, wife Annie and ch
Annie, Francis, Frank, Josie and Barbary? In same home is
Mathew Korba, wife Mary and dau Mary Waska with her ch
Emily, Frank and Charles. Could Annie Katzum and Mary
Waska be dau of Mathias and Mary Korba? Mathias and
Mary Korba are listed in Chicago city directory in early to
mid 1870s. Then in 1880s they are in Adams County, Wisconsin. Mathias is my gggfa. By 1900 census Mary with son
John W. Korba is living in Vaughn Twp, Iron County, WI.
Mathias Korba is buried in a large cemetery plot in Friendship, Adams County, WI. We need connections. Were Mary
and son John W. Korba brought back to Adams County for
burial? Seek obituaries for Katzum and/or Waska.
Contact: Ellen Nelson, 413 Glacier Ave, Fairbanks, AK
99701-3722
Naše rodina
Page 61
Mayoral
Visit from
Rusyn Village in
Slovakia
By Paul M. Makousky
Lubica Dzuganová, mayor
of Tichý Potok (formerly
Štelbach), a community of 394 inhabitants in northeastern Slovakia was a guest speaker at the Immigration
History Research Center (IHRC) on Thursday March 3
and at St. Mary’s Orthodox Cathedral in Northeast Minneapolis on Saturday March 5. Arrangements for the
visit were made by Larry Goga, Past President of the
Minnesota Rusin Association. Mayor Dzuganová is not
fluent in English, so Professor John Biros, of Marshall
University in Huntington, West Virginia was invited to
Minneapolis to serve as interpretor.
The picturesque village of Tichý Potok, lies at an
elevation of 520 meters in the foothills of eastern Slovakia’s Levoča Mountains on the upper portion of the Torysa River. The village is believed to have been founded
in the first half of the 14th century by German nobility
living in the nearby town of Brezovica, who named
the riverside settlement Stielbach, “Silent Brook”. The
name was subsequently Slavicized into Štelbach. In the
15th century, shepherds settled in the village, although
by the 16th century most inhabitants worked as farmers who supplemented their livelihood with resources
from the surrounding forests. In 1948 the village was
renamed Tichý Potok.
Lubica Dzuganová was the youngest mayor in Slovakia and one of its few female political leaders when
first elected. Since her election in 1994, at the age of 25,
she supported a proposal to stop a dam from destroying
the village, promoted the sustainable use of resources,
and started a program to train 400 villagers to produce
traditional Rusin handicrafts. In 1998 under her leadership the community reopened their elementary school
which had been closed for 18 years. In 2002 she helped
create a computer room at the school, which presently
has six PC’s all with internet connection. During the
school day the children use the PC’s, while in the eve-
Page 62
ning adults are allowed to communicate with relatives
in the U.S. Last year (2004) the village opened a water
treatment plant, with funding from the Heinz Foundation in Pittsburgh.
Mayor Dzuganová has been involved in politics in
her community since the fall of communism. She held
the position of assistant to the mayor from 1990-1993.
At that time one of her jobs involved working with the
Romani (more commonly known as gypsies) in their
community. Her role was to ensure the Roma children
all attended school, and that they were accepted into
the community. She established a relationship of trust
among the Romani and commented that the only town
in Slovakia without a Romani problem is her own,
Tichý Potok.
She was first elected to a four year term as mayor
of Tichý Potok from 1994-1997, then reelected from
1998-2001 and again for 2002 through the end of this
year. When asked whether she has any interest in a further political career in National elections, she replied
no. Mayor Dzuganová is studying for a higher education degree at a seminarian college in Prešov.
The village of Tichý Potok has the following employees: 1 Mayor (Starosta) – full time, 5 Council
Members (Poslanci), 1 School Director (Directorka),
1 Teacher (Ucitelka), 1 Electrician (Elektrikar) – part
time. The 2005 budget for the village is 1.8 million SK
or about $60,000.
When asked what her greatest accomplishment
in office has been, Mayor Dzuganová stated, “getting
the people of the village off their couches; away from
watching television and becoming involved in cultural
activities, namely making of kroje and folk art in the
community center.”
Mayor Dzuganová was asked how the role of women has changed in Slovakia in recent years. She commented that the role of wife and mother still come first,
but women want to work outside the home and provide
for their family just like the men.
One of the current projects of the mayor is to establish a home for the aged in Tichý Potok. The village
population consists mainly of elderly or the very young.
The reason is that no new construction of homes was allowed from 1957 onward because the communist government had placed a building moratorium while they
waited to construct a dam for the Torysa River just upriver from their village. No houses could be placed in
the flood plain. Young married couples could not have a
home of their own so they often left for another village
or town.
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
There is an active agricultural industry going on
in this area of Slovakia. Under communism the farmers worked together in cooperatives. Today families
are again farming on their own, although the European
Union (EU) is offering funding for families who go
together to form small cooperatives. It may not be economically feasible for individual families to make it on
their own farming.
Mayor Dzuganová was asked how the Slovak
economy is doing today and how the dollar is against
the Slovak koruna. She answered that the economy
will be almost like it is in the U.S. very soon. There is
a high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Slovakia due
to foreign investment, particularly in auto plants located
between Bratislava and Žilina in Western Slovakia. The
Slovak koruna at this time is worth 25 to the US dollar,
whereas just a few years ago it was at 50 to the dollar.
A few questions were raised about Slovak citizens
obtaining visas to visit the U.S. Mayor Dzuganová
commented that people must apply for a visa today
via the internet. The U.S. government calls individuals in for an interview who they think qualify. The
U.S. has been very strict in who they will issue a visa
as many Slovaks, particularly the younger generation
would rather stay permanently in the U.S. Individuals of means are usually granted a visa because the US
Embassy feels if they have assets or a business they will
return to Slovakia. Student visas are not as difficult to
obtain.
The village is optimistic about their future. New
homes are being built, the Church has a new iconostatis, the Church school reopened and the Rusin language
is being taught in the schools. Plans for new contruction include an annex in the school to lodge 20 students
for summer camps, a new kitchen for city hall to cook
meals for the village’s elderly who can no longer cook
for themselves or afford healthy meals, a pension or
retirement home to serve both as a daytime site for seniors to interact and a permanent home for some, and
finally a Rusin Restaurant.
Mayor Dzuganová is aggressive in applying for
grants available through the Slovak government, the
European Union, and the United States to promote
Rusin language and culture, as well as to help expand
her village.
Lubica Dzuganová visited a number of sites during her brief stay in Minneapolis. On Saturday March
5 she attended and spoke at the Minnesota Rusin Association’s 19th Annual Duchnovich Day Fundraiser. Her
presentation was called Rusin Village Life – Yesterday
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
and Today. The Fundraiser was held at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church School building in Northeast Minneapolis.
Possible Family Connection
Mayor Dzuganová’s visit sparked a personal interest from one of CGSI’s members. Ken Dzugan, former
CGSI Board Chair was notified of the Mayor’s visit and
attended both the IHRC meeting and the Rusin Association’s Fundraiser. When we sat around the large board
table at the IHRC Ken found himself seated right next
to Mayor Dzuganová. All of the people were asked to
introduce themselves, and the introductions went clockwise with Ken being the last to introduce himself. He
used his best Slovak language to introduce himself.
There was quite a stir in the audience and a very surprised reaction from the Mayor.
Ken Dzugan’s family comes from the village of
Žbince near Michalovce in eastern Slovakia which is a
fair distance from Mayor Dzuganová’s village of Tichý
Potok. The mayor’s family according to Professor Biros had lived in or near Tichý Potok for many generations. Ken does not have his family tree traced back
far enough to know whether his Dzugan’s may have
relocated from the Mayor’s area. Both Ken and Mayor
Dzuganová agree that the Dzugan family name is not
very common in Slovakia.
Ken has always thought of his family as being Slovak. However, Ken’s Dzugan line were Greek Catholic,
which is one of the common traits of Rusins. The Slovaks were generally Roman Catholic rather than Greek
Catholic. Ken has no knowledge that his family spoke
the Rusin language, however, some ancestors may have
spoken Slovak while others were Rusin.
Notes of interest
The people of Tichý Potok hand crafted 50,000
wooden shingles out of white pine that were shipped to
the United States. They adorn the roof of St. Cyril and
Methodius Carpatho-Rusin Orthodox church at Camp
Nazareth in Mercer, PA.
In Hermitage, Pennsylvania there reside about 125
people with roots from Tichý Potok.
Editor’s Note: The terms Rusyn and Rusin represent
the same ethnic group. Some of the immigrant groups
prefer the former, while others prefer the latter.
Naše rodina
Page 63
Which Way E-J? 
The Shoemaking Company That Gave
Immigrants A Break!
By Helene Baine Cincebeaux
Many Czech, Slovak and Rusyn immigrants to America
labored in mills, mines, farms and factories with abominable working conditions, forever in debt to the company store. A very different scenario took place in the
Triple Cities of upstate New York. Here workers banded
together, not to strike, but to raise arches to honor their
employer, George F. Johnson, a man far ahead of his
time.
George F., as he was affectionately known, sought
a partnership with his workers, rewarded their efforts
and aimed to improve their lives. He gave to all and this
led to better lives for future generations, just as he had
dreamed. The arches, still standing today, proclaim the
Triple Cities (Binghamton, Johnson City and Endicott)
as the “Home of the Square Deal.”
“Which Way E-J?” was a frequent question asked
by immigrants upon landing at Ellis Island in New
York. The E-J way was a total lifestyle combining
work, health, civic involvement, family life and productive leisure time. (“E-J” referred to the Endicott
Johnson Shoe Company led by benevolent George F.
Johnson; in 1922 it was the largest company of its type
in the world; in 1935 E-J produced 184 million pairs of
shoes a year.)
Where did the labor force come from? A large number were immigrants, from Eastern Europe who flooded
into Broome County looking for steady jobs, regular
wages, good working conditions and the chance to own
their own homes.
It was a sentimental journey for me going back to
the Triple Cities one sunny Fall day to take the photos that illustrate this article. Living there as a child, I
was enchanted by the dramatic arches that marked the
gateways to the “Square Deal” towns of Binghamton,
Johnson City and  Endicott; they remain one of my earliest childhood memories. I knew I was an “E-J Baby”
and was always fascinated by my mother’s description
of the hospital bill for my birth in 1938 which arrived
stamped “paid”, E-J took care of it. A generation earlier each new birth was greeted with a five dollar gold
piece, a blanket and a pair of baby shoes.
Page 64
A view of the “Square Deal” arch erected by E-J workers.
It stands on the line between Binghamton and Johnson City.
Photo courtesy Helene Cincebeaux.
My family, like so many others, received free medical and dental care, including eye exams and glasses,
along with pre-natal and post-natal care, free pablum
and cod liver oil.  George F. Johnson was exceedingly
generous with benefits that were non-existant in his day.
At Christmas time each child received a gift certificate for a free pair of shoes regardless of whether or
not a parent worked for the company. My mother recalls how the school provided a horse and sleigh to take
the children to the E-J Shoe Store on company night, a
Thursday, so they could pick out a pair of shoes no matter how frivolous they might be. She fondly recalls her
choice of black patent, lace-up “Russian booties”, her
heart’s desire and ones which her frugal father would
never have allowed her to buy. 
Our family lives were entwined with E-J. My mother received a high school graduation award from Mrs.
George F. Johnson. Both my immigrant grandfather and
grandmother worked at E-Js. I am a third-generation
working woman. My great aunt, her family, my two
uncles, two aunts and my father too, worked there. 
What was this “Square Deal” that inspired workers to build arched monuments? The Square Deal was a
corporate venture between labor and management, far
ahead of its time. It was called George F. Johnson’s Industrial Democracy, a union of capitalists and laborers.
His belief was “a fair day’s work for a fair day’s
wage.” In 1919 he stated, “The hope of the world lies
in progress and constant improvement. We look with
confidence into that future - rapidly approaching - when
all may have a more equal share in the good things of
life, when the rights of humans are more sacred than
the rights of dollars, when ill will be the same vice and
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
the same crime whether committed in broadcloth or in
It is located on C. F. J. (named after you know who)
rags.”
Boulevard where in 1927, E-J built the largest aboveThanks to George F.’s leadership, E-J was the first
ground pool in the world. It was a great place to swim!
in the shoe industry to adopt a forty-hour, five-day
A lasting legacy of George F. Johnson are the six
work week; profit sharing; free medical and dental care
carousels, or “merry-go-rounds,” which he and his famand legal aid.  Several hospitals were built to handle
ily donated to the children of the “Square Deal Towns”
employee medical care; E-J paid all costs. George
between 1919 and 1934. There was only one stipulaF. helped construct churches, libraries, theaters, golf
tion for the carousels, that they remain “forever free”
courses and parks. On Memorial Day there were elaboto children of all ages. George F. never forgot that, as
rate parades and fireworks, as much in honor of George
a boy, he longed to “ride the horses” but didn’t have a
F. as they were in honor of veterans. This rare company
nickel to pay for the ride.
and its altruistic leader left lasting legacies and landGeorge F. especially requested that all of the horses
marks. The breadth of the benefits and the way in which go up and down (not just the ones on the outside row
this “shoemaker” aided thousands of immigrant famias was typical then) so all children, even the smallest
lies, also enriched the lives of their descendants.
and weakest, could have an equal chance at a thrilling
In July 1913 Harry L. Johnson, George F.’s
brother and E-J partner, instituted a housing
program. New homes were sold to workers at
cost and mortgage payments were taken out of
their weekly paychecks. The average home cost
$2,000. This was one of the first direct-pay mortgage payment programs in history. When
the depression struck, employees were required
to pay only the interest on their homes to hold
them. Work hours were lowered to prevent major
layoffs. My father’s pay fell so low the company
gave us the munificent sum of $50 a week, an
amazing amount of money in those days when
bread and milk cost a nickel.
In the 1950’s my aunt and uncle bought a
beautiful new E-J home in a pretty suburban section. George F.’s son sat at their dining room table
to assure them, should anything happen to my
uncle, the mortgage would be forgiven and my
aunt would own the home free and clear.
In a park adjacent to the library stands a dominant statue of Harry L. who died in 1922, which
bears this inscription from the Bible, “Be not
weary in well doing,” and also states, “erected by
Endicott-Johnson workers and citizens of Johnson
City.”
My favorite place as a child was “Your Home
Library”, the library and community center that
George F. erected on Main Street in Johnson City.
This was my second home, a cherished place
where I honed my love for books. I read my way
around this library which still functions and displays E-J memorabilia and history as well.
The C. Fred Johnson Park in Johnson City is
Immigrant churches were erected by E-J workers throughout the
named after another one of George F.’s brothers.
Triple Cities. Photo courtesy of Helene Cincebeaux
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Naše rodina
Page 65
Which Way E-J?...cont’d from page 65
ride. The day the carousels opened 1,200 young
children beating pans and rattling stones came to
thank their kindly benefactor.
All of the E-J carousels have hand-carved
wooden figures made by the Herschell Carousel
Factory in North Tonawanda, NY. The largest Herschell carousel still exists at CFJ Park in a pagodashaped pavilion with 18 sides. One of the fondest
memories of my childhood is riding on this magical carousel, climbing high up on one of the dramatic outside horses, caressing the flowing mane
and jeweled reins, gazing at the ornate scenic panels in a total surround of calliope music.
Between 1880 and 1930, the golden age of
carousels, over 10,000 were built. Only 170 carousels are left in the US and 250 world wide; 6 are
in the Triple Cities! Nationwide only 13 carousels
remain at the site where they were originally built,
5 of these are in Broome County, now dubbed “the
Flying Horses of Broome County.” All are listed
on the National Historic Register.
The company created an athletic association,
built a variety of athletic fields and supported
numerous sports teams. The beautiful George F.
Johnson Pavilion built in 1923 is fondly remembered. Erected by George F., the Pavilion boasted
a 3500-square foot dance floor. Name bands from
the “Big Band” era such as Glen Miller and Tommy Dorsey, and legendary performers, including
Frank Sinatra, appeared there on Friday nights; ad- Statue of Harry L. Johnson, George F.’s brother and partner who died
young in 1922. Photo courtesy of Helene Cincebeaux
mission was one dollar. My mother and her sisters
couldn’t afford that so they went to the Saturday
night dances when local bands played and admisknown today as the Czechoslovak Moravan Club. It ofsion was only a quarter.
fers language lessons, various folkcrafts, instruction,
Another fond memory is the baseball games at
annual celebrations and folk dance groups, including a
Triplet Field, Johnson Park. I recall getting Whitey
children’s group.
Ford’s autograph in my early teens when he played for
Among other benefits of working at E-J were amthe “Trips”; wish I had it today.
bulance service, Americanization classes, low-cost
In my research I learned about a darker side. In the
restaurants, low-cost housing with low-interest loans fi1930s the Ku Klux Klan made Binghamton a center of
nanced by the company, annual bonuses, the Good Will
operations. The KKK attempted to intimidate recentlyTheater, a profit sharing plan that at times was 50% of
arrived immigrants with cross-burnings. This was in
a worker’s annual wage, and a public market where
stark contrast to the encouragement that George F. profarmers came to sell produce and customers got a better
vided.
deal, no middleman.
The E-J company was family oriented; workers orGeorge F. had a vibrant belief in his responsibility
ganized churches, social groups, clubs and mutual benfor
his
workers’ total well-being, as well as that of the
efit societies. Many still exist to this day, among them
entire
community.
Stories abound of Johnson’s ChristKlub Moravan which my grandfather helped found,
mas-time visits to the jail, the orphan’s asylum and the
Page 66
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
old folks home carrying a bag of gold pieces, liberally
given.
This worker-oriented leader wasn’t sequestered
somewhere in a plush office; his office was located
in the center of the tannery floor, a glass-walled room
right out in the open. One story related the day some
men from the felting division came in their wet boots,
knocked on the door and barged into an important
meeting to ask if George F. was coming to their clambake that weekend. He confirmed he was coming; they
beamed and quietly left. Reading about this brings to
mind the Jimmy Stewart picture, “It’s a Good Life.”
One day George F. drove by St. Joseph’s Slovak
Church in Endicott. He stopped to chat with the parishioners toiling to build their new church. He drove by
the next morning and was so impressed with their hard
work and the amount of money they had raised that he
matched this amount and then donated an organ!
Who was this man who cared so much for his
workers and the community? A newspaper headline in
a display in Johnson City cites George F. as “the most
amazing man you never heard of!”
His father served in the Civil War and then got into
boot treeing. George F. was born in 1857 in an industrial section of Milford, Massachusetts. As a young
boy he was one day offered the chance to whitewash a
fence for ten cents. He rounded up 4 boys and several
buckets of paint and they got to work. He paid each boy
one cent as agreed and with the pennies he had left he
bought candy and shared it with his workers; his first
experience in leadership. This happened long before
Mark Twain wrote Tom Sawyer.
Being from a poor family, George F. was forced to
leave school at age 13 to go to work. His first job was
in the basement of an old building reclaiming leather,
a dusty, agonizing job cutting up old, moldy boots. He
worked 10 hours a day, 6 days a week.
George F. was a hard worker and moved from one
boot-making establishment to another. At 21 he was the
boss of 35 men, but was subsequently fired for “talking with his workers.” At age 24 he took a position as
a boss in a “treeing room” in a shoe factory in a New
York State town called Lestershire. Subsequently, the
factory owner, Harry Lester fell on hard times. Harry
Endicott of Boston was a creditor who promoted Johnson to a management position. George F. brought in a
“breath of fresh air” and by 1899 was named partner
and took over as company manager.
Johnson broached the revolutionary idea of offering
workers an incentive, a reward for effort, “piece work.”
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
But it wasn’t a “crack-the- whip” kind of piece work;
workers could even converse on the job. A worker not
doing well at his or her task was kindly invited to try
another job.
“Cut out the frills and lower costs,” Johnson said,
“I’ll show you how we can make better shoes for less
money.” He fired two salespeople and did the sales himself; sales soared.
He advised the bosses to build in an open area so
workers’ homes could be near the factories. He wanted
his workers to have fresh air, nice gardens, a place to
raise their children away from crowded cities.
He promoted good wages and benefits to hold the
workers. In 1916 Johnson lowered the work day from
10 to 8 hours, noting that if the workers were less tired
and had more time with their families, they would work
better. He was right; productivity increased. Workers
held a huge parade to thank the company, and an area
of new homes took on the name Johnson City after the
kind-hearted shoemaker. 
Who were these workers? A large number were
immigrants from Europe; Slovaks, Moravians, Rusyns,
Poles, Ukrainians, Lithuanians and others. They were
treated with respect and their well-being and that of
their families was paramount.
In 1919 E-J workers collected nickels and dimes
to erect the arches that marked the boundaries between
Binghamton, Johnson City and Endicott. Completed in
1920, they symbolized the policies of fairness and generosity, and the long memories of the citizens who benefited from the golden opportunity to pursue the
American dream.
E-J employees, some 20,000 men and women
earned a wage 20 to 30% higher than in any other shoe
factory. The owners lived right in town and fueled the
passion for civic progress. A memorial to George F. was
built in 1923 in Binghamton’s Recreation Park with the
inscription, “erected by an appreciative community to
the nobility of his character and his great benefaction to
the people.”
E-J employees were working partners expected
to be highly productive and they were; eventually E-J
workers produced 175,000 pairs of shoes a day! A
swath of 29 factories in 5 communities stretched for 25
miles. The valley of the Susquehanna River was unhampered by strikes or labor troubles. It was called the
Valley of Opportunity. Johnson’s policies may have
influenced Thomas Watson, the founder of IBM, where
many of the children and grandchildren of E-J workers found an even richer life. The company weathered
Naše rodina
Page 67
Which Way E-J?...cont’d from page 67
a strike in 1937 as the depression hit the area with full
force; but the Johnson philosophy prevailed. No union
was voted in.
Speculation is that George F.’s Square Deal tag may
have been inspired by remarks of Teddy Roosevelt. The
Square Deal later infuriated another president, FDR.
Photographed riding in a car with George F. Johnson,
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is glowering, He
was angry that Johnson had created such a successful
system that socialism could only purport to do on paper.
In revenge FDR came up with the government-funded
New Deal, mocking the privately-funded Square Deal!
The Endicott-Johnson legacy expanded through
the 30s as a national leader in making boots and shoes.
During WWII E-J made boots for the troops but a decline began after WWII.
In 1950 E-J and IBM joined together to form Triple
Cities College. The Endicott-Johnson Company donated the land and the College eventually became Harpur,
and later SUNY-Binghamton, a State University of NY.
George F. Johnson died in 1948 at the age of 91;
20,000 residents gathered to mourn him. He was a man
ahead of his time. He cared about his workers, their
families and the entire community. Many of the children, grandchildren and great grand-children of the E-J
immigrant workers owe a debt to the shoemaker who
gave immigrants a break!
Special thanks to my mother, 87-year old Helen Zemek Baine, who was able to supply so many fascinating
first-hand details for this article.
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Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Surfing for Slovak Ancestors
by Lisa A. Alzo, M.F.A.
There has never been a better time to research your Slo- databases. The Family History Library catalog can be
vak ancestors. With the current popularity of genealogy
searched online for free and the desired films then or(experts say that in the U.S. genealogy is the second
dered from your local Family History Center (FHC).
most popular hobby in the U.S. behind gardening). It is
2. Ancestry.com <ancestry.com> and Genealogy.
believed that more than 80 million Americans are curcom <www.genealogy.com>. These two subscriptionrently actively searching for more information on their
based sites run by MyFamily.com, Inc. have greatly
ancestors. In accordance with this trend, the number
shaped the concept of “pajama genealogy,” providing
of people seeking their Slovak roots has also dramatipay-for access 24/7 from your own computer to a large
cally increased over the past several years. This fact,
collection of U.S. records ( Census, Immigration Social
coupled with the relative explosion in the number of
Security Death Index), and other interesting databases
family history related sites on the Internet have turned
such. In addition Ancestry.com’s Historical Newspapers
the once daunting task of
collection offers access to
researching ancestors in
a large number of digitized
Eastern Europe into an activnewspapers. Subscription
ity that is not only feasible,
plans and prices vary. See
but also enjoyable. Online
the Web sites for further
databases, search engines,
information. Also under the
and Web pages dedicated to
MyFamily.com umbrella
ethnic-based genealogy (oris RootsWeb9. RootsWeb
ganizations, message boards
<www.rootsweb.com> “The
and mailing lists) have all
oldest and largest free genehelped to greatly streamline
alogy Web site,” RootsWeb
the process.
serves to connect people so
This article will discuss
that they can help each other
20 key Internet sites to surf
and share genealogical refor Slovak ancestors.
search. The EastEuro Gen1. The Family History
Web of the WorldGenWeb
Library <www.familysearch.
project will be of particular
org>. Because of its exteninterest to those with Slosive efforts in microfilming
vak Roots. All three of these
civil and church records in
sites also sponsor messages
many areas of Slovakia, The
boards for Slovakia, where
Family History Library has
researchers can post queries
for years been an excellent
and network with other famresource for researchers.
ily history enthusiasts.
In addition, the FHL also
3. Ellis Island Database
has a large collection of at<www.ellisisland.org>. This
lases, gazetteers, and maps
database, first launched in
Mihaly Fenscak brother of Elizabeth Fenscak in his
essential for research in
April 2001, contains imarmy uniform.
many Eastern Europe (esmigration records of some
pecially pre-World War 1),
22 million immigrants who
an extensive “Research Helps” section with word lists
came to the U.S. through the port of New York from
for translating foreign language documents and letter
1892-1924. A significant number of Slovak immigrants
writing guides that can assist you in writing letters to
passed through Ellis Island on their way to a new life in
the Slovak Archives, and other useful indexes and free
America. You can search the site for free, but you must
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Naše rodina
Page 69
register with a user name and password. As a result of
tions (including this newsletter), researchers will find a
some major upgrades, the latest version of the site ofuseful introduction to genealogical research, travel refers user many expanded search capabilities.
sources, research in the Czech and Slovak Archives and
4. One-Step Web Pages by Stephen P. Morse
a listing of professional researchers available for hire in
<www.stevemorse.org>. A collection of online forms
the Czech and Slovak Republics.
used to search certain genealogical databases in “One7. The Carpatho-Rusyn Society <www.carpathoStep.” The most notable is the frequently-accessed
rusynsociety.org>. This non-profit organization dedicat“Searching the Ellis Island Database in One Step,”
ed to manifesting Carpatho-Rusyn culture in the United
which enables researchers to mine data from the Ellis
States and supporting Rusyn culture in the homeland in
Island Database (#3 above). Users can choose “sounds
East Central Europe. If your ancestry is Lemko, Boyko,
like” search criteria for first and last name, as well as
Hutsul, or sub-carpathian Rusyn, you will find a wealth
town name, and define a number of other more speof information on this site about genealogy, customs,
cific parameters. This is especially
traditions, books and publications
helpful for locating the often misand other useful links, including
spelled Eastern European surnames
one to the The Carpatho-Rusyn
and towns/villages. In addition,
Knowledge Base <www.carpathoa visit to Morse’s site will ofrusyn.org> which contains numerfer researchers the opportunity to
ous links to articles, organizations,
discover his other one-step forms
and other references related to
pertaining to some U.S. Census
Carpatho-Rusyn culture.
Records, the Social Security Death
8. Czechoslovak Society of
Index (SSDI), obtaining birthdays,
Arts & Sciences (SVU) <www.
and the Jewish calendar, and othsvu2000.org>. The SVU is a noners.
profit, nonpolitical, cultural or5. Federation of Eastern Euganization, started in 1958, and
ropean Family History Societies
dedicated to the pursuit of knowl(FEEFHS) <www.feefhs.org>.
edge, the free dissemination of
FEEFHS was organized in 1992
ideas, and the fostering of contacts
as an umbrella organization that
among people. It brings together
promotes family research in eastscholars, scientists, artists, writers,
ern and central Europe without any
students, lawyers, businessmen,
ethnic, religious, or social distincand others throughout the world
tions. The FEEFHS web site prowho have a professional, family
vides an extensive online “map
or other interest in the Czech Reroom,” an Ethnic, Religious and
public and Slovakia, their history,
National Index of Home Pages and
peoples, or their cultural and intelElizabeth Fenscak Alzo (the author’s
Resource Guide Listings of Orgalectual contributions. The SVU
grandmother) standing with her sister,
nizations Associated with FEEFHS
Web site has links to many projects
Anna Fenscak Bavolar (c. 1911).
(from 14 Countries), and collection
and genealogical information that
of unique surname databases. This
will be of great interest to anyone
site should be the first stop for any researcher with East- with Slovak Roots.
ern European roots!
9. Jewishgen.org <www.jewishgen.org>. Often,
6. The Czechoslovak Genealogical Society Interpeople of Eastern European descent will discover they
national (CGSI) <www.cgsi.org>. The society serves to
have Jewish roots. JewishGen®, Inc. is the primary
promote Czechoslovak genealogical research and interinternet source connecting researchers of Jewish geneest among people with ancestry in the Czechoslovak
alogy worldwide. Its most popular components are the
region as it was in 1918, including families of Czech,
JewishGen Discussion Group, the JewishGen Family
Bohemian, Moravian, Slovak, German, Hungarian,
Finder (a database of 350,000 surnames and towns), the
Jewish, Rusyn, and Silesian origin. In addition to inforcomprehensive directory of InfoFiles, ShtetLinks for
mation about the society and its activities and publicaover 200 communities, and a variety of databases. In
Page 70
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
beaux’s list of more than
23,000 Slovak surnames
and villages. New additions to the database are
always accepted. Also,
check out Helene’s
“Tours of Slovakia” for
upcoming trips back to
the homeland.
12. Slovak Links
<www.slovaklinks.com/
index.htm>. Contains a
large collection of Web
links to sites about/or
pertaining to Slovaks
both in the U.S. and
abroad. A great “onestop” site for finding
information related to
your Slovak genealogical research.
13. Church Record
Translations (John Jaso)
<www.bmi.net/jjaso/
index.html>. Reading
By using the internet, you will be amazed at what clues you will discover to lead you to your
and interpreting church
Slovak ancestors.
records written in old
world languages is often
a big obstacle for readdition, the site includes ShtetlSeeker (which enables
searchers. This site is an excellent resource for anyone
you to search for towns in Central and Eastern Europe,
who must translate birth, marriage, and death records
using exact spelling or the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex
from Hungarian, Latin, or Slovak languages. Images of
system. This search will display latitude and longitude
sample records are shown, and an interpretation of infor each location, the distance/direction from the counformation typically found in these records is provided
try’s capital city, and a link to a MapQuest™ map).
in columnar format, as well as tips for searching records
JewishGen’s online Family Tree of the Jewish People
at the LDS Family History Library.
contains data on nearly three million people. Even if
14. Eastern Slovakia Genealogy Research Strateyou are not among those with Jewish ancestors, this
gies
<www.iabsi.com/gen/public>. A very informative
Web site is worth a look!
set of Web pages that aid English-speaking researchers
10. It’s All Relative <www.iarelative.com>. The
of immigrants from Eastern Slovakia and surround“It’s All Relative” Genealogical Research Pages offer
ing areas. This Web site includes genealogical research
tools, resources, and information to help you search
strategies, methods and unique resources for people
your Czech, Bohemian, Moravian, Slovak, Lemko, or
with roots in Eastern Slovakia (Slovak Republic) / forCarpatho-Rusyn family history and ancestry. You will
merly Czechoslovakia / formerly Upper Hungary. Prialso find links to a wealth of information on the area
mary research areas include those of the Carpathian
formerly Czechoslovakia and now known as Slovakia
Mountains, and borderlands of Southern Poland (Galiand Czech Republic, and related areas. One of the most
cia) and Western Ukraine (Carpatho-Rus). 
interesting features of this site is the section on Czech,
15. Slovak Telephone Directory (Telefonny ZozSlovak, and Rusyn traditions.
nam Slovenskej Republiky) <www.zoznamst.sk/eng>.
11. Our Slovakia (Slovak Pride Database) <www.
This site is a current online Slovak telephone directory.
our-slovakia.com>. This site includes Helene CinceJune 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Naše rodina
Page 71
The information on the screen should be in English, but
in the event that you access the page in Slovak, simply
look at the far upper left corner of the page and click
“English Version.” Your screen will show three button
choices: Residential Directory, Directory of Businesses,
and “All Subscribers.” In the “Residential” section,
simply type in a surname and the name of the town or
village, and click “Search.” For example, typing in my
grandmother’s surname “Straka,” and the village name,
“Milpos,” I received five results (names, house numbers, and phone numbers). You can then search a wider
geographical area using a particular area code to find
additional surnames. Simply type in the surname and
then type in only the area code in the “Area Telephone
Code” box. What now appears on the screen are the
names of all individuals with the surname who reside
in any village within the geographical confines on that
area code (the village of residence is noted for each individual). This is a great tool for finding out if you still
have any living relatives in a particular town or village,
especially if you are planning a trip to Slovakia and
want to write a letter of introduction prior to your visit.
16. LinkToYourRoots <http://www.linktoyourroots.
hamburg.de/>. Many Slovak immigrants Europe departed from Hamburg, Germany. For a long time, the index to these records (1850-1934) has been available on
microfilm through the Family History Library (FHL).
The online database, “Link to Your Roots” database,
was launched several years ago by the Hamburg State
Archives for searching the Hamburg emigration lists.
Currently, the database covers only the years 18901906. 1890 was selected as a starting point because
of the surge in emigration from that time until WWI.
The database will continue to grow, until the data of all
emigrants are available, initially of the years 1890 to
1914, and finally of all years between 1850 and 1934.
If your ancestors traveled from Hamburg sometime in
the sixteen-year period already covered, this Web site
may be a valuable search tool. The initial search can
be performed for free. However, the results show only
minimal details (Surname, First Name, State of Origin,
Marital Status, Date of Birth, and Destination). For a
fee (payable by credit card) you can see other details,
such as the name of ship and date of arrival. Prices vary
depending on whether you are requesting one or more
records. The details are provided only in text format,
not digitized images.
17. Bremen Passenger Lists 1920 – 1939 <http://
db.genealogy.net/maus/gate/index_en.html>. Bremen
was another frequent port of departure for Slovak immi-
Page 72 grants. Unfortunately, from 1875 - 1908, the staff of the
‘Nachweisungsbureau’, because of insufficient office
space, decided to destroy all lists older than three years.
With the exception of 2,953 passenger lists for the years
1920 – 1939 all other lists were lost in World War II.
You can search the database free of charge, and obtain
such details as Family Name, First name(s), Sex, Age,
Place of Residence, Nationality, Profession, and Destination. Even if you don’t turn up your ancestor, perhaps
a relative or neighbor will appear.
18. Radix – Genealogical Research in Hungary
<www.bogardi.com/gen/index.shtml>. This website is
dedicated to genealogy research in Hungary and it aims
at helping family historians in finding out more about
their Hungarian ancestry. Key available resources include: Industry and trade directory of Hungary in 1891,
a searchable 1913 gazetteer of Hungary, and a listing of
most frequent Hungarian surnames (find spelling alternatives of 6,000 surnames in Hungary in the 1890s).
Also available is a forum of Hungarian surnames being researched where you can add the names you are
searching and a link to a new Hungarian genealogy
Weblog (BLOG) called Radixlog with news about Hungarian family history research.
19. Immigrant History Research Center (University
of Minnesota) <www.ihrc.umn.edu>. This is a great online reference site for the American immigrant experience. The Center’s collection is particularly strong in its
documentation of eastern, central, and southern European ethnic groups, and includes: Newspapers & Serials,
Fraternal Society Material, Church Records, and Publications, Manuscript Collections, and Oral Histories.
Users can browse the collection online by ethnic group.
The IHRC is open to all qualified researchers. Materials
do not circulate; but researchers may be able to obtain
photocopies or photographic reproductions for a fee
and either purchase or borrow via interlibrary loan microfilm for which the IHRC holds the master negative.
Center staff conducts actual research for users only in
extraordinary circumstances, at a charge of $20.00 per
hour.
20. The Slovak Institute <www.slovakinstitute.
com>. The Slovak Institute in North America is located
in Cleveland, Ohio. The institute was first dedicated
in 1952 to be a source for knowledge about Slovakia
with material in the Slovak language. Books in Slovak
and other major languages are found on the shelves
of the Slovak Institute, written to explore the growth
of the Slovak people both in Slovakia and around the
world. In addition, the Slovak Institute’s Web site con-
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
tains a link to the Surname Location Reference Project
(SLRP)—a database of immigrants from Slovakia and
where their descendents can be located today in North
America. The idea is that individuals doing genealogical work on a particular surname or location in Slovakia
can be put in touch with others working on the same
surnames or locations.
Whether you have been tracing your family tree for
two months or twenty years, there has never been a better time to be a Slovak genealogist. With so many sites
to explore, the Internet can open a gateway back to your
ancestral homeland. So what are you waiting for? Pull
up a chair, fire up your computer and start surfing. The
information you seek about your Slovak ancestors may
only be a few mouse clicks away!
*Genealogical Research in Czech
& Slovak Republic *
* New Research *
About the Author
Lisa Alzo is the author of Three Slovak Women,
and the newly released Baba’s Kitchen: Slovak &
Rusyn Family Recipes and Traditions (Gateway Press),
as well as numerous articles for genealogy magazines.
She is an instructor of Eastern European, Slovak and
Great Lakes Region genealogy classes for Myfamily.
com, and Slovak Genealogy classes for the National
Institute of Genealogical Studies, and a frequent speaker at national conferences, genealogical and historical
societies.
Jan Pilát
Školní 848/2
Horní Slavkov, 357 31
Czech Republic
[email protected]
www.newresearch.cz
Membership Form (New Rates)
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If your membership is due within the next three months, fill out the following form and return to CGSI.
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- Copy this form as necessary Page 73
New York’s Sokol Legacy from 1867
By Edward Chlanda
To step across the threshold of Sokol New York is
to cross an ocean of time. The massive gym, with its
skylights, and the adjoining rooms are the legacy of
the Czech and later Slovak immigrants to New York’s
Yorkville area. The building was erected in 1896 at 420
East 71st Street between 1st and York Avenues (formerly known as Avenue A). It cost $200 to excavate the site
and another $30,000 to erect the two story hall, with
financial pledges from the almost 500 members. They
each pledged $50, close to 10% of the average factory
worker’s income. This was 29 years after Sokol New
York was formed on October 13, 1867, on the Lower
East Side. The distance from East 5th Street to East 71st
Street is only three miles, but it was not an easy path.
The Czechs coming to New York, partly as a reaction to the oppressive events of 1848, settled where
others from Central Europe had earlier; the Lower East
Side. Social and fraternal organizations were established by the Czech immigrants and there was a good
relationship with the earlier immigrants. One of the
more youthful groups, “Vcela” (The Bee), voted in October, 1867 to become T.J. Sokol, inspired by the Sokol
Page 74 in Prague from five years earlier. The “Slovanska Lipa”
(Slavic Linden) was an organization with Pan-Slavic
ideals that merged with the Bee, now a Sokol unit, and
with a choral group: Hlahol (“Hum”). Shortly after, the
“Hum” group became dissatisfied in a dispute (mercifully lost to history), and left the merged group. They
were quickly replaced by a new choral group from the
Sokols, since music was an essential. A sickness benefits organization also joined, and became an issue (“neither for profit nor fame” was a Sokol creed that raised
some conflicting views).
The next crisis was the enormous debts of a failed
newspaper that the Slovanska Lipa invested in. This
was too much for the Sokol members, and in 1877 they
left the group, forming a completely independent Sokol
with 60 members. A share of the newspaper debts went
Naše rodina
Photo above: Exterior view of Sokol Hall located at 420-424 E. 71st St. in New York. Photo
courtesy of Bill Kerchof.
At left: Gymnasium inside Sokol Hall on E. 71st
St. in New York. Photo courtesy of Bill Kerchof.
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
with them. The members practiced at the National Hall
on East 5th Street and Avenue A, at homes, or in rooms
in the popular Czech pubs. The limited space at the National Hall was in demand from all the different Czech
groups. Discussions started on building a new hall uptown in the 1890s. Many of the immigrants now lived
in the uptown “Yorkville” area. They moved closer to
the jobs at cigar factories. It is estimated that in 1873
95% of the New York Czech immigrants earned their
livelihoods in the cigar factories, dropping to 15% by
1920. Men, women, and children all worked in the cigar
factories owned mostly by Greeks and Armenians.
Yorkville was then roughly defined as East 65th
Street, north to East 87th Street, between Second Avenue and the East River. It was serviced for a time by the
2nd Avenue El (demolished in the early 1930s), and a
ferry at 72nd Street to the end of Astoria Boulevard, until the 59th Street (Queensboro) bridge replaced its usefulness. The easy travel led many immigrants to move
to Astoria, still home today to Bohemian Hall with its
delightful beer garden.
These were the early years of what have been called
the “Golden Years of Czech American Immigrants”.
The years from the late 1860s to the 1930s were a peak
of Czech – American immigration and ethnic culture,
not to be confused with living standards, or work conditions. They were anything but golden.
The famous account of “The Bohemian- Tenement
Cigar Making” by Jacob A. Riis
is available online as Chapter 12
of “How the other Half Lives”
www. Yale.edu/amstud/inforev/
riis/chap12.html
In 1871 the Grand Duke
Alexis of Czarist Russia, visited
America. The Czech immigrants
sent a delegation to greet him.
The Czechs for centuries lived
under the oppressive rule of the
Austrian Emperor, with their
language and culture suppressed.
They saw the Grand Duke
through a prism of Pan-Slavism,
with thoughts of a better life
under a Slavic Russian emperor,
rather than an Austrian one. The
Poles were aghast, having lived
under the Russian Czar, and a
culture they regarded as inferior. The incident, unfortunately,
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
soured relations between the Czechs and their Lower
East Side neighbors, the prescient Poles.
As the plans for a new National Home on East
73rd Street progressed, the Sokols realized they needed
a dedicated space and went ahead with the plans for
their own hall, designed by Architect Julius Franke,
and built in 1896. He became noted for his later design of a warehouse building, converted to a factory
loft, and made infamous by the “Triangle Shirt Waist
Fire” of 1911. While these were the immigrants’ cultural “golden years”, a reading of one newspaper story
from the fire serves as a good introduction to the conditions of the average immigrant (the March 27, 1911
Cleveland Press tale is available on Google, a popular
internet search engine). Conditions in the United States
were harsh and up to a quarter of immigrants returned
to Europe. There were no child labor laws, no minimum
wage, no workers compensation, and unions were just
starting. There was no “social net” except for the fraternal organizations and family. Tomáš Čapek relates
an interview with an old timer that spent decades in the
cigar factories. He talked of everything except his work.
When pressed, he referred to the work as “a song without a melody” and left it at that. It was a damning comment from a Czech who loved music.
Sokol was fortunate to have as an early president
Alois Wocal in1877. He carried it forward to ever larger
membership, with a leading role in forming a nation-
Naše rodina
Page 75
Photo above: Josef A. Knedlhans, Sokol member and officer. Taken in 1917. Photo at right: A.
Wocal, Sokol member and early president, also
taken in 1917.
al organization, adding a women’s group with Anna
Veselý as president in 1872, and improving instructions.
In 1904 Sokol New York had 8 plays, several choral
recitals, two public gymnastics exhibits, lectures and
meetings, competitions in St. Louis, etc. Masaryk and
Dvořák, and author Tomáš Čapek, and other notables
visited Sokol over these years, as did others in more
recent years.
Anna Veselý was president of the separate women’s group for 50 years. After WWII the groups were
merged into one unit.
So the Czech and Slovak community grew in Yorkville. The National Hall was built later in 1896 on
East 73rd Street. Jan Hus Church is a short walk from
Sokol, as is the site of the now demolished Catholic
Church, Our Lady of Perpetual Help (the school has
been converted to apartments), and St. John Nepomucene Church on East 66th Street. The Webster Branch
of the New York Public Library is nearby and had a
good collection in Czech. As late as the 1950s Czech
and Slovak was widely heard on the streets of Yorkville.
As immigration restrictions grew in the 1920s, and as-
Page 76 similation took its toll, the community shrank. New
York Hospital took the land from York Avenue to the
East River, and the Second Avenue El was dismantled.
Cigarettes replaced cigars. WWI and WWII increased
the rate of assimilation and the membership shrank
some more. The other Sokols in Manhattan (Catholic
Sokol /Oriel, Slovak Sokol, and D.A. Sokol) are all
gone now, as is the Turnverein, but Sokol NY remains
as a legacy for all. Today children of these past Sokols
and Turnvereins are active in Sokol New York.
The Czechs and Slovaks shared the common economic and cultural struggles of other immigrant groups,
but with one added element. They came to realize a role
in creating Czechoslovakia. When America declared
war in WWI, 84 members of Sokol NY marched off
as a group to Fort Slocum to enlist. Many were well
beyond the enlistment age, but all passed the physical,
with their Sokol training. An officer of Sokol NY, Josef A. Knedlhans, added a blue triangle (said to be for
the blue skies of Slovakia) to the Czech flag and it was
flown at the Plaza Hotel during Masaryk’s stay in May,
1918 for the new nation of Czechoslovakia.
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
So when you cross the threshold of Sokol and enter the gym, look across the gym floor to the tablets
that flank the stage. On the left is the “The Great War”
(WWI) plaque honoring the 60 members that served
with the US forces. The list starts with Alois Adamovský and Miroslav Černý, and continues to 60, with
9 more names of members serving with the Czechoslovak Army (Czechoslovak Legions in France, Italy, and
Russia), from Alois B. Achec to Anton Vosyka.
On the right is the plaque of members that served
in WWII starting with John Bavlsik and ending at 62
names with George Zounek. Valdemar Fursa, Leo Linhart, and Fred. Splach died in service. The balcony
rings the gym, and has over 50 prints of Czechoslovakia
as it was seen in 1923. The second floor has a restored
“1896 Meeting Room”, a library and ballet room. The
library has over 3,000 books, including some translations from an early 1900s immigrant lending library
(“Hrabe Monte Kristo”, etc. - did you see the movie?)
hundreds of archives (not only Sokol NY, but some
from Sokol Morrisana, Bronx, NY, Sokol Fuegner, LIC,
NY and Sokol Casablanca, Morocco), and artifacts,
yellowing play bills, folk costumes (kroje) and Sokol
uniforms.
The championship banners of 1909 and 1910 from
the Amateur Athletic Competitions are displayed in an
upstairs hall. The competitions were won by Brothers
Jirasek, Gregor, Heisler and Jahoda in 1909 and Skokan
and Klar as new champions in 1910.
In the basement there is a Tae Kwon Do room, and
Tots gym (formerly a billiards room and bar). The first
floor bar looks like a Bohemian pub, with the ancient
emblems from the different kingdoms. The gym floor is
busy. Today there are close to 800 participants in ballet,
basketball, martial arts, tots programs, volley ball, folk
dancing, and yes, of course, gymnastics, all under the
leadership of Norma Zabka, President for the past 10
years.
The stage is quiet now, except for the display panel
from the 1939 World Fair’s Czechoslovak pavilion with
its Hussite motto: Truth Prevails!
Editor’s Note: For further information about
Czechs and Slovaks in New York, see Naše rodina, Volume 11 Number 3, September 1999. Articles in that
issue include: Gateway to America; “Bohemia”: A
Czech Settlement on Long Island, New York; New York,
New York: Oh Those Memories!!!; Slovak Immigration
to Upstate New York; Our Lady of Perpetual Help and
Other Czech and Slovak Churches in New York; and
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Recollections of Bohemia, New York.
About the Author
Edward Chlanda is Chairperson of Sokol New York
Library Committee of volunteers, since joining in 2001. 
He grew up on the streets of New York City, in Yorkville and later Astoria, in tenements now demolished,
and baptised in the demolished church. His parents
immigrated from Bohemia in 1932, and were members
of D.A. Sokol. In 1991 he sponsored the Czechoslovak
Army’s contingent to the parades in NYC and Washington, DC after the first Gulf War.  He is a graduate of
Baruch College (Economics).
Bohemian National Hall at 321 E. 73rd St. in New
York City was purchased by the Czech government for
$1 and they are presently renovating the interior. This
historical structure, built in 1897, in the area of NYC
that used to be the center of the local Czech-American
community, was a vibrant center of emigré life. The
Bohemian Benevolent Literary Association (BBLA)
will use the second floor of the hall. Courtesy of Wiliam
Kerchof.
Naše rodina
Page 77
m Frgn Cze (uncat) Wei Český ráj / Bohemian
The Librarian’s
Shelf
Paradise. By Siegfried Weiss. Published by Olympia,
Praha, 1987. The author and photographer spent seven
years creating this book. Along with picture captions,
locations of the scenes photographed are given in Russian and English. There is also a brief biography in
English. In Czech.
by Wayne Sisel
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Kno Jičín a jeho kraj
Theme of This Issue: Occupations and
Employers of Slovak Immigrants
CGSI and MGS collections include books such as the
following that describe or include references to occupations, employers, job and social conditions, and Slovak
immigrant life:
m US PA (uncatalogued)
Humble Beginnings. By
Anne Lucas Ryba. Published by Morris Publishing,
Kearney, NE, 2000.
/ Jičín and its Environs. By Jan Knob, and Otakar
Hrdlička. Published by Osveta, Martin, 1985. Jičín, a
town 100 kilometers northeast of Praha, is shown in
photographs of its architecture and scenes of nature.
The last 35 of 145 photographs were taken in obscure,
seldom visited parts of the Prachov nature preserve. Illustrations lists are in Czech, Russian, English, German
and French. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Pat Mizející krása
m US PA 031 Rob Anthracite Coal Communities.
By Peter Roberts. Published by Arno Press and the
New York Times, New York,1970.
domova / The Disappearing Beauty Of Home. By
Franta Patočka. Published by Severografia, Liberec, no
date. The author, an academic artist, has drawn rural
scenes with folk architecture which is disappearing
from the countryside. In Czech.
m US PA 032 Wal St. Clair. A Nineteenth-Century
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Vrb Krkonoše /
coal town’s experience with a disaster-prone industry. By Anthony F. C. Wallace. Published by Alfred A.
Knopf, New York, 1987.
m Frgn Cze 602 Bal Our Slavic Fellow Citizens. By
Emily Greene Balch. Published by Arno Press and the
New York Times, New York, 1969.
m Frgn Cze 870 Alz Three Slovak Women. By Lisa
A. Alzo. Published by Gateway Press, Balitmore, 2001.
m US NY 164 She Slovaks on the Hudson. By
Thomas J. Shelly. Published by The Catholic University
of America Press, Washington, D.C., 2002.
m A work in progress: Translation and indexing of
article titles and authors from issues of the periodical,
Hospodář (farmer) is being undertaken by Karleen
Chott Sheppard. Hospodář was published twice monthly by Jan Rosický in Omaha from 1891 to 1961, and
later in West, TX from 1961 to the present. Issues from
1906 to 1929 were previously translated and indexed
by Karleen (Frgn Cze 805 She). CGSI’s Hospodář collection contains issues into the 1980’s, although not all
years are complete. Researchers will be able to use the
index in the future to find a particular article author or
title.
Recent Additions
Page 78 Krkonoše Mountains. By Pavel Vrba. Published by
Pressfoto, Praha. The Krkonoše Mountains, which include the tallest peak in Czech Republic, are near the
Polish border. The 33 photographs in this folio include
a brief text in Czech, Russian, German, English and
French. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Pro Český ráj / Czech
Paradise. By Josef Prošek. Published By Pressfoto,
Praha, 1988. Photographs of art, architecture and nature are accompanied by a map of locations and blackand-white photographs with explanatory paragraphs in
Czech, Russian, German and English. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Kub Východočeský
kraj: Semilsko / Eastern Bohemian Region: Semily. By Miroslav Kubát. Published by Severografia,
Červený Kostelec, 1984. This book contains photographs of art, architecture and nature and also contemporary scenes of the town and its people. There are
photograph captions and a brief text in Russian, German and English. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Mzy Rohanská por-
trétni galérie / The Rohan Portrait Gallery. By Marie
Mžyková. Published by Administration of the State
Chateau Sychrov, Liberec, 1985. This is a catalog of the
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
largest central European collection of French portrait
paintings, which are located in the Sychrov state chateau, established by the Rohan family in the early 19th
century. There is a 35-page accompanying booklet in
English. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Kss Hrady a zámky
východních Čech / Castles and Fortresses in eastern
Bohemia. Author: KSSPPOP collective in Pardubice.
Published by Svoboda, Praha, 1978. Descriptions of
castles and fortresses in eastern Bohemia are accompanied by color photographs. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Český ráj / The Bohemian Paradise. By Stanislava Theissigová editor.
Published by Orbis, Praha. The 27 color plates of architecture and nature in this folio are accompanied by
their descriptions and maps in Czech, Russian, German,
English and French. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze (uncatalogued) Český ráj a Podkrkonosi. Turisticky pruvodce CSSR / Czech Paradise
and the Krkonose Mountain Area. A Tourist Guide to
CSSR. By Autorskýkolektiv. Published by Olympia,
Praha, 1982. The first section of this book gives historical and cultural character of the country. The second
section is a tourist guide through eleven main sections
of the country. There is also a place index and a section
on practical tourist information. In Czech.
CGSI recently received a donation that included a
very nice set of František Palacký’s history volumes
(our collection has older editions):
m Frgn Cze 744.1 V.1 Dějiny národu českého I. /
History of the Bohemian Nation vol I. By František
Palacký. Published by L Mazáč, Praha, 1939. This volume of Palacký’s classical work covers the history of
Bohemia and Moravia from the beginning to the year
1253. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze 744.1 V. 2 Dějiny národu českého II.
/ History of the Bohemian Nation vol II. By František
Palacký. Published by L Mazáč, Praha, 1939. This volume of Palacký’s classical work covers the history of
Bohemia and Moravia from 1253 to the year 1403. In
Czech.
m Frgn Cze 744.1 V. 3 Dějiny národu českého III. /
History of the Bohemian Nation vol III. By František
Palacký. Published by L Mazáč, Praha, 1939. This volume of Palacký’s classical work covers the history of
Bohemia and Moravia from 1403 to the year 1439. In
Czech.
m Frgn Cze 744.1 V.4 Dějiny národu českého IV. /
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
History of the Bohemian Nation vol IV. By František
Palacký. Published by L Mazáč, Praha, 1939.This
volume of Palacký’s classical work covers the history
of Bohemia and Moravia from 1439 to the year 1457
(from the era of Jiří of Poděbrad to the time of his
death). In Czech.
m Frgn Cze 744.1 V.5 Dějiny národu českého V. /
History of the Bohemian Nation vol V. By František
Palacký. Published by L Mazáč, Praha, 1939. This
volume of Palacký’s classical work covers the history
of Bohemia and Moravia from 1471 to the year 1526
(from the Jagellon era to the reign of Vladislav II and
Ludvik I). In Czech.
m Frgn 744.1 V.6 Dějiny národu českého VI. / History of the Bohemian Nation vol VI. By František
Palacký. Published by L Mazáč, Praha, 1939. This volume of Palacký’s classical work contains a biography of
the author, the legacy of František Palacký to the Czech
nation, and a name index to vols I through V. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze 744.1 V.6.1 Dějiny národu českého VI.
/ History of the Bohemian Nation vol VI. By František
Palacký, edited by Miloslav Žilina. Published by
Odeon, Praha, 1973. This reference volume to František
Palacký’s classical history of the Czech nation contains
annotations, elucidations, a dictionary, and a name
index to vols I through V of the history. In Czech and
Latin.
Several more volumes of Berní rula have been added
to the CGSI collection:
m Frgn Cze 1035 V2.1 Dos Berní rula 2.
Popis
Čech r 1654; Soubraný Index obcí k berní rule / Berní
rula 2. An account of Czechs in the year 1654; Collected index to berní rula. By Karel Doskočil. Published by Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, Praha,
1953. Reconstruction of lost portions of the rula. Main
changes in estates from 1779 to 1848. Lists of owners
of registered estates. Maps of regional thoroughfares
and Kladsko at the time of the rula. This volume covers regions of Praha, Bechyň, Boleslav, Čáslav, Hradec,
Chrudim, Kouřim, Litoměřice, Loket and Plzeň. The
column headings are similar to those in the original
berní rula. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze 1035 V3.10 Ben Berní rula 10, kraj
Čáslavský I / Berní rula 10, region of Čáslav I. By
František Beneš. Published by Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, Praha, 1953. Reconstruction of nobility and
clerical estates. (Lost portion of berní rula for region of
Čáslav, papers 1-59.) The column headings are number
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Page 79
of fields, whether planted in winter or spring, whether
replanted in summer, burnt down, abandoned, teams
(oxen or horses), cows, heifers, sheep, swine. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze 1035 V3.11 Ben Berní rula 11, kraj
Čáslavský II / Berní rula 11, region of Čáslav II. By
František Beneš. Published by Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, Praha, 1955. Contains pages 463-1066,
tables, map, index to parts I and II. Reconstruction of
nobility and clerical estates. (Lost portion of berní rula
for region of Čáslav, papers 1-59.) The column headings are number of fields, whether planted in winter or
spring, whether replanted in summer, burnt down, abandoned, teams (oxen or horses), cows, heifers, sheep,
swine. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze 1035 V3.26 Hra Berní rula 26.
Kraj
Podbrdský / Berní rula 26. Region of Podbrdsko. By
Emil Hradecký. Published by Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, Praha, 1962. Entire region of Podbrdsko is
thoroughly written up by a commission in 1653 which
was charged with visiting the localities. The column
headings are number of fields, whether planted in winter or spring, whether replanted in summer, burnt down,
abandoned, teams (oxen or horses), cows, heifers,
sheep, swine. The index includes personal names. In
Czech.
m Frgn Cze 1035 V3.27 Has Berní rula 27.
Kraj
Prácheňský I / Berní rula 27. Region of Prácheňsko I.
By Antonín Haas. Published by Státní pedagogické nakladatelství, Praha, 1954. This book contains supplemental information to berní rula for the Prácheňsko region.
The column headings are number of fields, whether
planted in winter or spring, whether replanted in summer, burnt down, abandoned, teams (oxen or horses),
cows, heifers, sheep, swine. In Czech.
Berní rula 28. Kraj
Prácheňský II / Berní rula 28. Region of Prácheňsko
II. By Antonín Haas. Published by Státní pedagogické
nakladatelství, Praha, 1954. Contains pages 449-939,
tables, map. This book contains supplemental information to berní rula for the Prácheňsko region. The column headings are number of fields, whether planted in
winter or spring, whether replanted in summer, burnt
down, abandoned, teams (oxen or horses), cows, heifers, sheep, swine. In Czech.
m Frgn Cze 1035 V3.28 Has
m US NE (uncatalogued) Immigration & Naturalization Papers (from Bohemia-Moravia) District
Court House, Gage County, Beatrice, Nebraska.
Transcribed by Gary Zabokrtsky, no date.
Page 80
Family Histories
m FH (uncatalogued) Three Scheinost Brothers,
Joe, Charles, and Frank Marry Three Zoubek Sisters,
Katie, Anna, and Josie. Researched, compiled and
printed by Phyllis M. Bunnelle, 2004, Santa Clara, CA.
m FH (uncatalogued) The Zoubek and the Kotab
Families. Researched, compiled and printed by Phyllis
M. Bunnelle, 2004, Santa Clara, CA.
m FH (uncatalogued) The Forman Family - Descendants of Jan Evangelista Forman and Terezie
Dubova. By Doreen E. Duba. Published by The
Anundsen Publishing Co., Decorah, Iowa, 2003. The
Forman family is traced from Opatov, Bohemia, to
Trego Co. KS, Grant Co. WI, Brule Co. SD, and Dixon
Co. NE.
m FH (uncatalogued) The Paternal Ancestors &
Descendants of Frank M. Kadrmas & Agnes (Pavlicek) Kadrmas 1649-2004. By Bern F. Pavlish. This
family history is about two Czech families who emigrated from eastern Bohemia, first to Russia, and then
to the Plains of North Dakota.
Recent Book Donors
Bunnelle, Phyllis M.
Duba, Doreen E.
Pavlish, Bern F.
Payer, Vera
Zabokrtsky, Gary
Periodicals
We have issues of various periodicals that have been
donated but are not on the shelves due to space limitations. These are stored in the CGSI office and if you
have an interest in examining them, please contact
Wayne Sisel. The periodicals include Hospodář, Ženské
Listy, Jednota, Hlás Národa, Česká Žena and Přítel.
Library Collection Research Policy
CGSI will do research on selected books and reference
material in our library collection. Mostly, these are
books with name indexes or are indexes themselves,
such as Leo Baca’s Czech Passenger Arrival Lists, the
ZČBJ (Fraternal Herald) Death Index, the Nebraska/
Kansas Czech Settlers book, and the telephone directories of the Czech and Slovak Republics. A complete
list of our library holdings as of April 15, 2000 is now
Naše rodina
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
available to members at the cost of $7.00 which includes copying and postage charges. The books that we
can research for you are identified by a special notation
in the listing. The library holdings are also listed on our
Home Page for those with access to the internet.
We cannot accept open-ended research requests
such as “tell me what you have on the Jan Dvořák family of Minnetonka, Minnesota”. When making a research request you must specify which book you want
researched and what family, castle, town, etc, for which
you want information.
The fees for various research are as follows: Telephone Directories of Czech and Slovak Republics $5.00 for each surname provided (per directory), plus
25 cents for each address we find and extract from the
book.
Other Sources/Books - $5.00 per half hour of research for members or $10.00 per half hour of research
for non-members. Expenses for photocopies and additional postage will be billed. The minimum charge of
$5.00/member or $10.00/non-member must accompany
the request for information.
Research is conducted by CGSI volunteers. They
will not be able to interpret any information for you that
is found in a foreign language.
nesota Genealogical Society (MGS) Library which is
located at 5768 Olson Memorial Highway in Golden
Valley, MN* (At the northwest corner of Highways 55
and 100). Take Hwy. 55 to Douglas Drive. Go north
one block and turn right onto north frontage road to the
Minnesota Genealogy Center Building.
MGS Library telephone number:
(763) 595-9347
MGS Library hours:
Wed, Thurs, Sat 9:00 A.M. – 3:00 P.M.
Tue, Thurs 6:30 P.M. – 9:30 P.M.
The second Thursday night of each month is Czech and
Slovak night. On these nights, the library is staffed by
CGSI volunteers who are there to assist you in locating
the resources you need in your research.
*Please do not send mail to this
address, instead continue to send it to
the P.O. Box.
Our Website can
be found at:
www.cgsi.org
CGSI Library
The CGSI Library holdings are housed within the Min-
Czech Republic Tourist Map Guide
The CGSI has a very large selection of Tourist Maps for sale. The guide below is for ordering
item #14 on the Sales Order Form found on page 82. These are on the Scale of 1:100000.
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Naše rodina
Page 81
Sales Order Form
(all items include Shipping costs)
1
Czech Dictionary and Phrasebook by M. Burilkova, 223 pages
$ 13.50
21
History of Czechs in America
by Jan Habenicht, 595 pgs
$ 48.50
2
Beginners Czech by Iva Cerna & Johann Machalek, 167 pgs
$ 11.50
22
Czech Republic in Pictures,
Lerner Publications, 64 pgs
$ 20.50
3
Czech/Eng & Eng/Czech Dictionary
by Nina Trnka, 594 pgs
$ 13.50
Czech/Eng & Eng/Czech Dictionary (Hardcover published by FIN, Olomouc, CR
1,100 pgs w/color illustrations
$ 29.75
To Reap a Bountiful Harvest (Czech Immigration Beyond the Mississippi, 1850
to 1900) by Stepanka Korytova-Magstadt
$ 11.50
4
23
Czech Phrase Book by Nina Trnka,
ideal for tourists, 149 pgs
$ 11.50
Czechoslovakia: A Short Chronicle of 27,094 Days by Miroslav Koudelka, 20 pgs
$ 4.00
5
24
25
Brief History of the Czech Lands
in English
$ 14.50
26
Tales of the Czechs – History and Legends of Czech people
$ 9.75
27
Gateway to a New World – Czech/Slovak community in St. Paul, Minnesota’s
West End district
$ 11.50
28
New Prague, Minnesota Cemetery inventory, over 200 pgs
$ 11.00
29
Pioneer Stories of Minnesota Czech Residents (1906-1930)
$ 23.00
30
Czech Heritage Coloring Book
by NE Czechs of Wilber
$ 5.75
31
History of Slovakia – A Struggle for Survival by Kirschbaum
$ 20.00
32
History of the Slovaks of Cleveland and Lakewood, OH, 301 pgs
$ 25.00
33
Slovakia in Pictures, Lerner Publications, 64 pgs
$ 20.50
34
Slovakia – The Heart of Europe, 55 pgs hardcover
$ 24.75
35
Visiting Slovakia – Tatras by Jan Lacika, 136 pgs
$ 13.50
36
Visiting Slovakia – Bratislava by Jan Lacika, 268 pgs
$ 20.75
37
Bohemian-American Cookbook by Marie Rosicky in 1906
$ 11.50
38
Cherished Czech Recipes by Pat Martin, 143 pgs
$ 7.25
39
Czech and Slovak Touches by Pat Martin
$ 14.50
40
Czech National Cookbook, published in Czech Republic, 96 pgs
$ 13.50
41
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 1, May 1989 (946 surnames)
$ 5.25
42
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 2 Feb 1990 (1250 surnames)
$ 5.25
43
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 3 June 1992 (1719 surnames)
$ 5.75
44
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 4 Feb 1993 (1700 surnames)
$ 5.75
45
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 5 May 1994 (1509 surnames)
$ 5.75
46
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 6 March 1995 (1745 surnames)
$ 5.75
47
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 7 Jan 1999 (1520 surnames)
$ 5.75
Czechoslovak Surname Index Vol 8 $ 5.75
Berlitz Czech cassette w/phrasebook
$ 21.50
7
Map of Czech Grammar, 8 pages showing
nouns, verbs, cases, etc
$ 4.75
8
Children’s Illustrated Czech Dictionary, 94 pages
$ 16.50
9
Beginners Slovak by Elena Letnanova, 207 pgs
$ 15.75
10
Slovak/Eng & Eng/Slovak Dictionary by Nina Trnka, 359 pgs
$ 13.50
11
Climbing Your Family Tree, Genealogy for
Children, by Ellis Island, 228 pgs
$ 11.50
12
Česká Republika Auto map,
1:500000 scale
$ 4.75
13
Czech Republic Hiking maps
(97 maps in series) 1:50000 scale
$ 4.75
14
Czech Republic Tourist maps
(46 maps in series) 1:100000 scale
$ 4.75
6
Czech Republic Auto Atlas, 1:100000 scale
$ 27.50
16
15
Czech/Slovakia: Land of Beauty and Change,
85 min
VHS $21.75
DVD $28.75
Album of Bohemian Songs
$ 6.50
18
Slovak Republic Hiking maps
(58 in series) 1:50000 scale
$ 4.75
19
Slovak Republic Tourist maps
(29 in series) 1:100000 scale
$ 4.75
20
Slovak Republic Auto Atlas, 1:100000 scale w/postal codes
$ 27.50
17
Item
No.
Qty
Each Price
Totals
Total Amount Paid
06/05
Name_________________________________________________________________
48
Address_______________________________________________________________
City__________________________ St _____________
Zip________________
Make check payable to CGSI, and mail to Czechoslovak Genealogical Society Int’l., P.O. Box
16225, St. Paul, MN 55116-0225. Prices subject to change without notice. Items may not always
be available on demand. Refunds will be made for items which are not available. Note: Depending on weight, postage outside of the U.S. will generally be higher. We will bill for any difference
in costs.
Page 82
Naše rodina
To see photos of these items and some
additional information please visit our
website: www.cgsi.org
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
Calendar of Events -Mark Yours
For further information on events, or to leave us a message, call the Czechoslovak Information
Hotline: (763) 595-7799 or check the website: www.cgsi.org
March 3 – September 25, 2005
Bohemian Garnets from the National Museum in
Prague
National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library is
proud to announce it will host the first U.S. Exhibit of
Bohemian Garnets, a collection of over 300 pieces.
Robert J. Petrik Exhibit Hall
NCSML, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Further info: www.ncsml.org/exhibits-special.htm
June 17-18, 2005 (Friday, Saturday)
57th Annual Czech Days
Tabor, South Dakota Chamber of Commerce
Further info: www.byelectric.com/~tabor/ or
Call (605) 463-2476
June 18-19, 2005 (Saturday, Sunday)
22nd Annual Phillips Czech-Slovak Festival
Phillips High School and Middle School
990 Flambeau Ave, Phillips, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Czech/Slovak Queen pageant
Further info: (715) 339-4100 or e-mail:
[email protected]
June 24-26, 2005 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Clarkson Czech Festival
Downtown Clarkson, Nebraska
Ethnic food, Miss Czech/Slovak pageant
Further info: Martin Kluthe (402) 892-3210 or
e-mail: [email protected]
July 10, 2004 (Sunday)
75rd Annual Slovak-American Day
Croatian Park – 9140 S 76th Street, Franklin, WI
Sponsored by Federated Slovak Societies,
Including the Wisconsin Slovak Historical Society
Further info: Ralph Hass @ [email protected]
July 17, 2005 (Sunday)
National Folk Dance Festival, Cedar Rapids
Sponsored by Western Fraternal Life Assn
National Czech and Slovak Museum & Library
30 – 16th Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids, IA
Info: (319) 362-8500 or [email protected]
June 2005 Vol. 17 No. 2
July 21-23, 2005 (Thursday, Friday, Saturday)
They Came – We Seek Conference
Texas Czech Genealogical Society
Visitor Center, Caldwell, TX
Further info: www.txczgs.org
July 21-24, 2005 (Thursday - Sunday)
71st Annual Kolacky Days Festival
Montgomery, Minnesota
Thurs. Arts and Heritage Display, Hilltop Hall
Fri. Czech Dinner and Queen’s Pageant
Sat/Sunday – Crafts and Ethnic products sold
Info: www.montgomerymn.org/kdaysche.html
July 23-24, 2005 (Saturday, Sunday)
Sokol Detroit Czech and Slovak Ethnic Festival
Cultural Center in Dearborn Heights, MI
Contact: James Mack (248) 539-5117
August 5-7, 2005 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
43rd Annual Wilber Czech Festival
Czech Capital of Nebraska and the USA
Miss Czech/Slovak USA Pageant
Historical Pageant (Tales of the Czechs)
Further info: 1-888-494-5237
August 7, 2005 (Sunday)
Czech and Slovak Harvest Festival
Bannister, Michigan
Contact: Tom Bradley (989) 862-5378
August 19-21, 2005 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday)
Federation of East European Family History
Societies (FEEFHS) Annual Convention
Four Points by Sheraton St. Paul Capitol, 400 North
Hamline Ave (Highway 94 at Hamline), St. Paul, MN.
About 90 presentations by highly acclaimed speakers.
See page 43 for more information.
More info: www.rootsweb.com/~mnggs/FEEFHS.html
September 17, 2005 (Saturday)
Dožinky, Czech Harvest Festival
Main Street, New Prague, Minnesota
Booths and Events open from 10 am to 5 pm
Further info: Chamber of Commerce (952) 758-4360
Naše rodina
Page 83
Coming In The September 2005 Issue 




Bagpiper Play! Violin Making in Egerland A History of the Trombone in the Czech Lands
The Cimbal or Dulcimer, A Moravian Folk Instrument
Anton Simek: The Czech Pioneer’s role in Owatonna’s early history
The Dulcimer or Cimbal
Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International
P.O. Box 16225
St. Paul, MN 55116-0225
Address Service Requested
ISSN 1045-8190
The trombone, a favorite instrument of Joel
Blahnik, musicologist and author.
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 7985
ST. PAUL, MN