Map of Austria & Hungary - 1911 |
Monday, October 25, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
History: Renville County, Bird Island, Kingman, Sigel Twp, Brown County
Main Street Bird Island |
My Wife is a Mayflower Descendant
Governor William Bradford |
Mayflower |
MITCHELL - Ancestry Reports
The first link will take you to the Mitchell Ahnentafel PDF Report.
Mitchell Family - Simple Ahnentafel Report
The second link will take you to the Pierre Mitchell Register:
Register Report of Pierre Michel
PROKOSCH - Ancestry Reports
Church Register for Berg and Melmitz
Kirchenbuchverzeichnis des Pfarrbezirks / Church registers in the parish:
Berg (c. Hora Svatého Václava) mit Ortschaften: Berg, Hoslau, Natschetin, Schilligkau, Schiefernau, Trohatin
Band Film Matriken-Art Pfarrorte Jahrgänge von/bis
1 SM * oo Pfarrbezirk 1680-1718
3 SM *i Pfarrbezirk 1711-176l i/s
5 SM * Pfarrbezirk 1762-1784 i/s
33 ooi Pfarrbezirk 1719-1770
6 SM ooi Pfarrbezirk 1771-1784
2 SM + Pfarrbezirk 1719-1750
4 SM + Pfarrbezirk 1751-1784
7 *i Berg 1784-1806
22 *i Berg 1806-1862
28 *i Berg 1863-1885
3 *i Hoslau 1784-1807
23 *i Hoslau und Mühlen 1806-1862
9 *i Natschetin 1784-1805
24 *i Natschetin 1805-1857
10 *i Schilligkau 1784-1803
25 *i Schilligkau 1803-1847
11 *i Schiefernau 1784-1823
12 *i Trohatin 1784-1804
26 *i Trohatin 1804-1827
27 *i Trohatin 1828-1859
Villages - German/Czech Location and Translation (10 mile radius from Trohatin)
Villages – German / Czech Names
Basic Genealogical Vocabulary
Reference Section
Basic Genealogical Vocabulary
English German Czech
birth Geburt narození
born geboren, geb. narozený(á), rozený(á)
(il)legitimate (un)ehelich (ne)manželský(á)
baptism Taufe křest, křtiny
baptized getauft, get. pokřtěný(á)
marriage Heirat, Hochzeit, svatba, oddavky
Trauung,Vermählung
marry heiraten, trauen, vdát se, oddávat,
verheiraten, verh., byli oddáni
vermählen, verm.
death Tod umrti, smrt
died gestorben, gest. zemřel(a)
burial Beerdigung, Begräbnis pohřeb
buried beerdigt, begraben pohřbený(á)
cemetery Friedhof hřbitov
father, mother Vater, Mutter otec, matka
parents Eltern rodiče
husband Mann, Ehemann, Gatte manžel, muž
wife Frau, Ehefrau, Gattin manželka, žena
married couple Ehepaar manželé
son Sohn (Söhnlein) syn (synek, synáček)
daughter Tochter (Töchterlein) dcera (dcerka)
child Kind dítě
male, female männlich, weiblich mužský, ženský
sister, brother Schwester, Bruder sestra, bratr
siblings Geschwister sourozenci
Saturday, October 23, 2010
"American Notes" by Charles Dickens
"Imagine the wind howling, the sea roaring, the rain beating: all in furious array against [the ship]. Picture the sky both dark and wild, and the clouds, in fearful sympathy with the waves, making another ocean in the air. Add to all this, the clattering on deck and down below; the tread of hurried feet; the loud, hoarse shouts of seamen; the gurgling in and out of water through the scuppers; with, every now and then, the striking of a heavy sea upon the planks above, with the deep, dead, heavy sound of thunder heard within a vault; -- and there is the head-wind of that January morning.
"I say nothing of what may be called the domestic noises of the ship: such as the breaking of glass and crockery, the tumbling down of stewards, the gambols, overhead, of loose casks and truant dozens of bottled porter, and the very remarkable and far from exhilarating sounds raised in their various state-rooms by the seventy passengers who were too ill to get up for breakfast. I say nothing of them: for although I lay listening to this concert for three or four days, I don't think I heard it for more than a quarter of a minute, at the expiration of which term, I lay down again, excessively sea-sick."
SS OHIO
OHIO / AMAZZONE / RIO SANTA CRUZ 1868
The steamship OHIO was built by Caird & Co, (yard #148) Greenock in 1868 for (Norddeutscher Lloyd) North German Lloyd of Bremen, Baltimore service. This was a 2,394 gross ton ship, (92,05 x 12,02 meters) length 290ft x beam 39ft, clipper stem, one funnel, two masts (rigged for sails), iron construction, single screw, single-expansion engine, and a service speed of 10 knots. There was accommodation for 84-1st class and 717 in steerage (“Zwischendeck”); crew of 79, (Conflicting sources state only 600-3rd class passengers). Launched December 18, 1868, she sailed her maiden voyage from Bremen in March 8, 1869 on her maiden voyage to Southampton and Baltimore.
Passage to a New World (1879)
In this time period, unprecedented masses of people were leaving their native homes in the German & Austrian Empires to come to America. But this tidal wave of emigration had been building for over 40 years. One by one, encouraged by letters from friends, relatives, and neighbors who had emigrated before them, and spurred on by the promise of a better life and future for themselves and their children, they would each, individually and for their own reasons, come to make the momentous decision to leave their familiar world and loved ones behind and migrate toward the unknown.
During the three large waves of emigration from the area today known as Germany & Austria in the period 1845 to 1893, an estimated 4.5 million people left. Most of the emigrants at that time came from the areas then known as Prussia, Bohemia, Bavaria, Württemberg, Hessen, and Baden (map). They made their way across their own country, often leaving their own villages or valleys for the first time in their lives, to travel by river, train, horse, wagon, or by foot to one of the great German emigration ports such as Hamburg or Bremen/Bremerhaven (nicknamed “Der Vorort New-Yorks”—“the suburb of New York”). Most of those bound for America aimed for the ports of New York and Baltimore.
In the 1870’s steamships replaced sailing ships on the trans-Atlantic migration routes. What had in earlier decades been a terrible passage of many months entailing risk of disease, starvation, and death, now became a voyage of two weeks. By the 1880’s there were regularly scheduled steamship departures from Bremen to New York, Baltimore, New Orleans, Galveston, and other ports in the United States. Seasickness, poor food, crowded conditions, illness, and mishaps at sea during the voyage still threatened, but by 1883 the trip from the Old Country to the New World clearly held more advantages than risks.
A Short Immigration Story
While we do not have any diaries, journals or first hand information documenting the Franz & Barbara Prokosch trip, I have included an interesting story of another family that made the trip, likely under similar conditions just a few months prior to the Prokosch trip....
Preparing to Leave
At last, we kids shouted, "Hooray, we are going to America!" We had no idea what lay ahead of us on the long journey. In the spring of 1878, we found a buyer who paid us 1600 Thaller for our house and land in Barkhausen, but left us the crop. We began our trip to America in August 1878. The last things we sold were the family dog and cat. The kitty brought 24 Groschen, or 48 cents.
At that point we said, "I sadly cry, 'Old house, good-bye!' In fact, tears flowed freely. The farewell from the church made the family especially heavy-hearted. By the way, we didn't go alone. Two other families from Barkhausen left with us, do we were together with good friends. Our [1878 traveling] family consisted of ten people.
Starting off to Bremerhaven
We began the trip to Bremerhaven with our chests and boxes in a big hay wagon. We were joined by other farm families, including some young guys who were a lot of fun. However, the children had to spend some very uncomfortable days sitting on the chests and in among the baggage, and we wished we were in Bremen where the beautiful ship waited for us. At least that is what they told us kids.
Arrival in Baltimore
After a voyage where you were seasick much of the time due to rough weather, you finally arrive in the
Luckily, you were warned before the voyage by a knowledgeable fellow traveler not to bathe in seawater which causes red eyes which many inspectors mistake to indicate trachoma (Brugger 1988). The ship berths at the B&O immigrant pier at Locust Point, and you are allowed to enter the terminal. Over the next several hours you are interviewed and issued papers by immigration inspectors, your baggage is poked and prodded, and you are finally able to leave.
Sources: Forgotten Doors: The Other Ports of Entry to the United States, ed. M. Mark Stolarik (Philadelphia: Balch Institute Press, 1988); Immigrating to the Port of Baltimore,
http://www.clis2.umd.edu/~mddlmddl/791/communities/html/pob.html; "Immigration Era, Part I: Port of Pleasant Landings," Baltimore historical Society,
http://www.historicbaltimore.org/program/immigration.htm; William Connery, Point of Entry: Baltimore, the Other Ellis Island,
http://www.baltimoremd.com/charm/pointofentry.html.
The Trip
Goodbye Bremen… Hello Baltimore!
The influx of immigrants to American shores between 1831-1930 can be arranged into 3 great waves with peaks occurring in the 1850's, the 1880's, and the decade before World War I. (Jones 1976) High school students at the Academy for the Advancement of Science and Technology in New Jersey have posted a chart illustrating these peaks and waves of immigration. Nearly 5 million persons emigrated to the U.S. during the first wave, while more than 32 ½ million came in the waves that followed.
The port of Baltimore figured prominently in the latter 2 waves, 1861 to 1930. Most of the 2 million immigrants who came to Baltimore between 1820-1989 came during this 70 year period.(McWilliams 1989) Why Baltimore?
One might reasonably expect to find that, as in the first wave, natural disaster and hardship, akin to that evidenced in the Irish potato famine, played a major role. While this is certainly true--Jews fled
Arranging immigration figures neatly into waves tells us little of the immigrant experience. The human masses so blithely considered as waves were, after all, composed of individuals. It has been said that so many emigrated from their homelands during the period 1861-1930 because it was easy. After the 1920's,
Immigration, The Trip to Port of Bremen
The collection of emigrants in
In order to safeguard its emigration business, Bremen passed a decree in 1832 which freed the city from giving financial assistance to emigrants, while making it obligatory for ship owners to certify the seaworthiness of their vessels, to keep passenger lists, and to keep provisions for 90 days on board. This meant that ship's agents had to deliver what they promised.
Farming in German Bohemia
Amplatz / Oplotec (Wiesner Ancestral Village)
Horoušany, Horauschen, Horou (birth place for Franz Prokosch)
Melnice / (Melmitz) - Franz & Barbara's Village
Melmitz (Parish for Franz & Barbara Prokosch, also Lilla – Wiesner families)
Melmitz/Melnice Parish Church |
Berg - The Family Parish for Generattions
Origin & Meaning of the Mitchell Surname?
The MITCHELL name has changed multiple times just in the last 150 years as it was Americanized from French Canada....
Prior to Mitchell it was: St Mitchell > St Michel > Michel... and that is just what my initial research has uncovered...
The MITCHELL name is:
• From the Middle English, old French personal name Michel, vernacular form of Michael
• Nickname for a “big man”, from Middle English Michel, Mechel, muchel, ‘big’
• Irish (County Connacht) - surname adopted as equivalent of Mulvihill
• A corruption of Michael, or from the Saxon Muchel, “Big”
Friday, October 22, 2010
Franz & Barbara Prokosch Photos
Passage to the New World
Gustave Meyer Before me David W. Elyaih.
Columns represent: passenger number, names, age, sex, occupation, last legal residence/country claiming allegiance, and destination.
Trohatin - The Prokosch Ancestral Village
Trohatin
The stately country village Trohatin rose barely 3 km northwest of Ronsperg between twp mountains: Steinhügel in the southeast which was 480 m high, and the Schmalzberg in the northwest which was 600 m in height. In 1945 it had 85 houses with 419 residents. Dr. Ernst Richter guessed that the name of the village can be derived of the person’s name “Drahota” and stated the first mentioning for the year 1635, while Johann Gröbner found evidence for the year 1268. It is likely that Trohatin was still much older, and in former times with Berg, Hoslau, and Natschetin formed a separate landed estate before it belonged to the owners of the castle Hirschstein and in 1539 became a part of the Herrschaft(1) Lobkowitz in Teinitz.
In 1587 in the Urbar(2) of the Herrschaft Lobkowitz Trohatin already was listed with 31 farms. Only slightly changed, the housenames which existed in Trohatin until 1946 and which at that time were quoted perhaps a bit shortened are: Klauzar = Kloza; Walenta = Walesch; ffolta = Honsfolta; ffenzl = Honsfenzl; Rychtarz = Richter. At that time the residents of Trohatin were obliged to mow and to take in the hay on the front meadow beneath the city of Teinitz, and the residents of Natschetin had to help them in this. Further, both villages were obliged to cut, bind, and bring together the ripe grain on three fields in the vicinity of the Teinitzer Hof. The judge of Trohatin, who supervised this, got 24 Groschen and 3 Strich(3) of grain. The former big fish ponds in the community of Trohatin, which after World War I passed into private hands, were still evidence of the long influence of the Herrschaft Trautmannsdorf in Teinitz.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
How many generations of PROKOSCH's are there?
That is a great question...
So far I have worked my way back to the 1680's... I am sure in time we will be able to go back even further... here is a snapshot of what we know...
Prokosch History:
1) Josepho Joannes & Kunegunde (Beckin) Prokosch-Trohatin #6 (abt 1680’s)
2) Andreas & Margaretha (P.) Prokosch -Trohatin #6 (1721 - 27 Nov 1803)
3) Jakob & Faustina (Schröpfer) Prokosch-Trohatin #6 (1768 - 13 Oct 1841)
4) Wenzel & Mariana (Köstner) Prokosch-Trohatin #6 (05 Apr 1800 - 21 Jan 1871 – Horauschen/Horousany #5)
5) Franz & Barbara (Wiesner-Lilla) Prokosch-Horauschen #5 (10 Oct 1842 – 11 Feb 1899) USA, Melmitz/Melnice #41 and Amplatz/Oplotec #35,
6) Joseph Peter & Margaret (Remiger) Prokosch - Melmitz/Melnice #41 (22 Sep 1867-15 Jan 1938) Bird Island, MN, USA
7) George Carl & Gertrude (Walter) Prokosch - Bird Island, MN (1894-1979)
8) Vernard George & Helen Marie (Mitchell) Prokosch - Bird Island, MN
9) Mark G & Elizabeth (Smith) Prokosch -Tampa, FL
I am still not sure how I am going to share more of the 250+ pages of my family tree research... I am already learning that a blog is not the proper tool for sharing graphical data or viewing/storing HTML/XML files...
More research to do...