To America Volume II

The Souhrada Family Website

“TO AMERICA” Volume II (concerning the Souhrada surname)
Emigrations from Czech Villages Horni Záhorí and Vicinity

By Jiri Souhrada

Pisek, Czech Republic

Translation: by Karen Souhrada, Pittsford, NY

And Eva Truhlarova

I have several generations of relatives who were born in America, and it is because of them that I began to search the history of emigration in my home region - the present Czech Republic. It is in the area known in history as Bohemia, and for my ancestors, a home of many generations. It is also a place that has seen generations of families depart from, and in fact from 1850 – 1910, there are records of hundreds of emigrants who departed, largely for America. This publication cannot include all of the names and destinies of the people who decided to emigrate over the ocean, for in reality there were not many families not affected by the emigration. Almost every family had members or close neighbors that left, … all to seek a better life abroad.

My first impression of the SOUHRADA surname was that it was quite spread out, yet still contained within the geographic area sandwiched between the Otava and Vltava rivers. After doing more in depth research on the surname, I had to change this whole point of view. Today one can find occurrences of the surname all over the world, and as many people doing research on their own particular branch of the family.

The main roots of the SOUHRADA family seem to be rooted within a span of time from 1650 A.D. – 1850 A.D. The geographic location was in the area surrounding the town of Pisek; bounded largely by the region of Horni Záhorí, Pisek’s hills and Protivin. The people of this surname were largely peasants, millers, innkeepers, farmers, and even a few small business owners in the town of Pisek. The name SOUHRADA translated as, “The way between fences”. Perhaps the name came to also indicate that ways of our ancestor in the 19^th century led to not only between the fences of the home region, but to places all over the world! Another message is “People between Castles”; yes they lived between Castles Pisek and Zvikov.

In years 1650 A.D -1850 A.D. the families SOUHRADA lived in villages within the Horni Záhorí parish: Horni Záhorí, Dolni Záhorí, Jamny, Dolni Novosedly, Horni Novosedly, Tresen, Vlastec, Cerveny Ujezdec, Svatonice, Vojnikov, Kasna Hora and Temesvar. The Cervena parish was another SOUHRADA area, with such towns as: Cervena, Jetetice and Kucer. SOUHRADA families in the Chrestovice parish were located in: Chrestovice, Klouky, Brezi, Mlaka and Dobesice. The Protivin Parish held the towns of: Protivin, Krc, Zabori, Milenovice and Zdar. In the Bernartice parish we find family members living in: Srlin, Bernartice and Olesna. According to the old registry books, the SOUHRADA’S used to live in these villages during the 17^th to the 19^th century. The oldest farm owned by a SOUHRADA family, and recorded in a tax-book from 1660 A.D. – 1680 A.D. were located in Jamny, Krc and Protivin. A further record in the chronicle, states that previously during the span of 1540A.D.– 1555A.D. a SOUHRADA farmed in the village of Jamny. Millers ran their business largely at mills on rivers such as the Otava and Vltava in towns such as Protivin, Netolice, Srlin.

It appears that most of the SOUHRADA’s lived in a region around Záhorí, and that they built up continuously on their cottages in the surrounding villages.

In the 1931 translation of the chronicle record of the parish of Záhorí (by Pisek) it is written: “In 1690 A.D. Rehor KOVAR – SOUHRADA, later only known as SOUHRADA, was a farmer in Záhorí No.8, ”By The Rich”. It appears that they came from the place called, “By The Kovar” The early records in the land registry book also shows a mention of his son Jirik (George) SOUHRADA.

The chronicle mentions other SOUHRADA entries of interest:

- 1690 Rehor Souhrada and his son Jirik Souhrada
- 1718 October 6th - Jan Souhrada son of Jirik Souhrada
- 1756 April 3rd - Rehor Souhrada
- 1787 July 19th - Martin Souhrada and wife Rosalie Horni Záhorí 8, was the biggest farm from a long past. Horni Záhorí 7, was improved by Karel SOUHRADA, and in its past used to be a pub known as “By The Rich”.
- 1830 May 5^th - the farmer Martin SOUHRADA died at Horni Záhorí 8.
- 1830 November - Matej SOUHRADA was an innkeeper and in the village of Horni Záhorí, Frantisek SOUHRADA sold to Matej SOUHRADA a baker and to tapsper Zahorsky “By The Kostal”

There was a property, one of the largest in the village that was in very olden times and to the present, called “Bohaty” after the landlords. This fact is verified by record book entries for the rectory of the parish of Záhorí, “Service, allotted to rectory, were from the families Sykora and Bohaty. Bohaty has a cottage on one acre, so he has a duty to do corvee [definition: unpaid labor/productive work] for the parish priest. This obligation entailed him to do 12 days of service work sometime during the summer. In addition, he was assessed to pay the interest from his cottage (on St. Havel) to the priest each year three score. Bohaty will not pay a tithe from the income of that one acre, but he must give another tithe: about 90 pounds of rye, and the same weight of oat. Since he works, he will need to pay this tithe and when he is not working, he must pay the tithe as everyone else.”

In the old register of landed property for the year 1700, there are no further entries for the surname “Bohaty”. In the year 1690 there was a farmer noted by the name of Rehor Kovar, also known as “Souhrada”. In the following register notes, there are no more references to “Kovar”, only the name Souhrada, and from this it is surmised that the Souhrada’s came from a place called “By Kovar”. The first German references in the register of landed property about this estate says, that in 1690 there was a Rehor Kovar or SOUHRADA, and then a reference to his son Jirik (Rehor (Gregorius)) Kovar or Souhrada. This latter person is recorded for an estate for the sum of 791 in Meissen money. A bit later in time, 1718 A.D., 6th October, this estate was again recorded with the same amount of money, but to Jan Souhrada, who was a son of the previous Jirik Souhrada.. A register entry for the 3rd of April 1756, reads, “Rehor Souhrada, son of the previous (Jan,), for the sum of 791 in Meissen money”. On this same date, Rehor Souhrada, son of Jan Souhrada, took over the estate for the sum of 500 in Meissen money. On July 19th, 178, the estate was then registered to the son Martin Souhrada and his wife Rosalie for the sum of 700 goldens. This Martin Souhrada was also required to buy out the other heirs, which included: his mother (300 goldens); siblings: Karel, Mariana (100 goldens), Katherina (100 goldens), Anna who married to Polansky (100 goldens), Marti, and Rosalie (100 goldens).

Martin Souhrada obtained a cottage noted as, No. 7, in the village of Dolni Záhorí, and he farmed the property noted as being No. 8 in the village. Martin Souhrada died in Prague on the 5th of May, 1812. His surviving family included his wife Anezka, two married daughters, Mariana Zakova living in Novosedlo, and Katerina Sejhar, married in the Honosovsky mill. There were another four minor children by the name of Frantisek, Anna, Martin and Josef. The senior Martin Souhrada wrote his last Will and Testament on the 3rd of May, 1812 in the city of Prague. In this testament he wrote about his wife Anezka: If she does not remarry by the time son Frantisek reaches his adult age, she will be in the position of landlady. When this son does come of age, he will be the heir of the estate. The other children will be paid out of the income of the farm. Frantisek did achieve his majority and his inheritance, when it is recorded on the 7th July 1814, that he was the registered owner of the farm. This farm property being described as follows, “57 jitro and 356 sah”; meadows and gardens, “7 jitro and 803 sah;” in pastures and woods, there were“11 jitro and 590 sah”. The total monetary evaluation was placed at 2504 goldens.

Because Frantisek Souhrada was hitherto under legal age, Karel Souhrada was nominated to be his guardian. His mother was to run the farm, because she had no wish to remarry. Once she turned over the farm to her son, she would receive the following annuity: 30 bushels of rye, eight bushels of wheat, three bushels of peas, three bushels of oats. In the koser garden eight beds from the koser boundary, in the upper garden six beds for vegetables or flax. To keep cattle, she will be provided with straw by one heap in the winter and one heap in the spring, and a half of a meadow in the village of Svatonice. Further provisions are for five cords of wood, two cows and a little room in an upper cottage; one store-room and a stable for the cattle; the garden for fruit and also for grass, from the grafted pear tree to the fence and also that corner with the new cottage. If the mother (Anezka) should die before she pays out the surviving children, the farm owner (son Frantisek) will take over the obligation.

On the 28th of December, 1829 there was made a contract between Frantisek Souhrada, a holder of the Srlin mill; together with his wife Alzbeta, nee Sejhar as the Keller, the first party and then with Matej Souhrada, a holder of a pub in Horni Záhorí, the other party; Extrapolation of Contract Reads:

Frantisek Souhrada sold his farm, #8 in Horni Záhorí with all its belongings, also that cottage #9, that belongs to the farm, which was the inheritance of the Keller from his father to Matej Souhrada, the licensed inn keeper and a baker in Záhorí, for the hereditary use for (2200) goldens. The buyer takes over the payment of a retirement pension for his mother Anezka, till her death as was provided. He will take over the farm the 1st of November, 1830.

Further legal records show that on the 29th of December, 1837 Matej Souhrada transferred this business to his wife by the following contract:

Matej Souhrada sold his farm #8 in Horni Záhorí and to it, belonged also the cottage #9, with all belongings for the sum of 1340 goldens, which he gave to his wife Josefa, nee Liskova. He decided to sell the property because:

a) She, through her good keeping of the farm, a faithful love and good work in the time of our marriage, my property was increased. By her good works, I was able to succeed in my business to its present order, so increased shared property must be written to her.

b) My wife must give up the pub located at #7 and its accompanying cottage #6, property that was in our possession by our marriage contract dated from January 24, 1827.

c) She gives up her wedding dowry for that pub and attached cottage in the amount of 800 goldens.

When Matej Souhrada died, his widow Josefa married Jan Kostal from Horni Záhorí. The farm was then written to him following her death, February 4, 1846

A Time of Awareness and Of Meeting

In the time of my youth my father mentioned that perhaps our relatives and friends left for a better living to all over the world especially to America. I never had a report of or evidence where and when it happened. In spite of this lack of evidence only the assumption that it was so perhaps influenced me since my childhood and caused a longing for tramping and traveling; the admiration of cowboy songs and western films although they were almost banned when I was young. America was the symbol of freedom; a beautiful nature; a prairie; but especially the songs here taken over in traveling groups or country groups. These songs became as folksongs at last. It looked like everything would stay on as an eternal dream. Eventually I found that in America, the descendants of my ancestors still live and they even till now keep the Czech traditions and many of them speak very well in Czech clubs. They hadn’t forgotten the native country of their ancestors – it was for me a new discovery of America.

There eventually appeared new documentation and books on how the beginnings of emigrations were hard, the separations from homes, close friends and the thorny way traveled by those as they left for the settlement of America. The ways of emigrants directed to Bremen and Hamburg, where thousands of people floated away over the ocean for a better life and living. After more than 120 years, descendants of these emigrants again come back to the places from where came their families originated.

EMIGRATION OF FAMILIES WITH SURNAMES FROM ZÁHORÍ AND VICINTY

SURNAMES OF INTEREST: Hesoun, Linhart, Lidinsky, Hasek, Hradek, Bartunek, Becka, Kerka, Hrubec, Jambura, Kolarik, Kalal, Tichy, Blazek, Jestrab, Novak, Cihlar, Lusk, Vosoba, Novotny, Zak, Zizka, Kukral, Kestranek, Panek, Vituj, Riha, Skala, Vlna, Valvoda, Souhrada, etc.

They traveled by wagon or wooden ship to Prague, then later by train across Prague or Vienna to the ports of Bremen and Hamburg, in Germany or to Antwerp, Belgium. It was a long way across the ocean to the final ports of Baltimore, New York or St. Louis. From New York or other ports, the families then traveled by ox wagon or train to places such as Cleveland in Ohio and Chicago in Illinois. Many of these first settlers from the Záhorí area, began to build farms in Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, and Nebraska. Later Czech settlements were found located in all the states of America.

The Directory of Czech in United States of America

It is estimated by Czech University of Prague professor, Dr. L. Niederle, that of 136 million Slavs in Europe, there are about 9,800,000 Czech and Slovaks. Czechs, without counting Hungarian Slovaks [the term Slovak here encompasses Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Polish, etc.] , total more than 7,000,000. During the taking of the official census in the United States of North America in 1910, they summarized 539,392 of Czech origin, but the number is probably higher in fact. The writer Dr. Jaroslav Salaba-Vojan, in his Czech - American Epistles estimates this number to be 713,660. The appraisal of Dr. Vojan for the settlement of Czechs by states is as follows.

A Brief Survey

The expression "settlement" is used in this directory to mean an indication of Czech people living in a certain place or city, whether or not the "settlement" was originally established by Czechs. A notation that a place is a "Czech settlement” does not mean that only Czechs inhabited the place.

ILLINOIS (IL)

The largest city in this state is Chicago, which was the third largest Czech settlement in the world. Here there are a lot of Czech halls, schools, gyms, dancing halls, and council meeting places that were built at great expense. In this city flourish a great industry of all sorts, especially clothing and building. Other industries include timberwork, ironwork, rope making, and a world-renown meat industry with the greatest yards for cattle in the world. There are three big Czech breweries, and a lot of large Czech factories etc. There are four Czech daily newspapers and many weekly papers, as well as several every two weeks newspaper. The city has many bookstores which feature Czech printings; Czech schools and Czech private schools of music, a Czech theatre of the Ludvík Company. There is a Czech shelter and orphanage, and the most beautiful Czech cemetery whose property amounts to a value of a million dollars. For further information, write to the Czech-American National Council, 1817 Millard Ave, Chicago, IL, or to the Bohemian American Press Bureau. The secretary of this office, to whom you can send letters, is R. J. Pšenka, 541 W. 12^th Street, Chicago IL.

In this state there were spread many other Czech settlements, the largest of them is East St. Louis. In this place was located a large slaughterhouse, an excellent ironworks, a magnificent factory for railway cars and tramway carriages, etc. For further information, contact F.J.Woyta, 920 Walter Ave., East St. Louis IL.

Edwardsville, IL is a large Czech settlement with coalmines. Here there are also many Czech shops and pubs, and several Czech clubs for men and women. Industry and shops flourish, with many farms in the surrounding areas. Further information can be obtained from: Jan Žak, Edwardsville, IL.

Collinsville, IL - a settlement like Edwardsville, it is rich in fertile farm surroundings. Contact Mr. Josef Tauber, 317 Johnson St., Collinsville, IL for more information on this area.

Braidwood, IL - a large Czech mining settlement with a Czech hall and with an order of C.S.P.S. which is a men’s and women’s social club. A contact there for more information is Mr. Josef Blecha.

Wilmington, IL - a small Czech settlement with a Czech order known as the C.S.P.S.; contact Mr. Jan Vokurka.

Coal City - Another mining settlement, in which the coal mines employ many of our countrymen. Here too is on order of C.S.P.S. and further information can be obtained by contacting Mr. Frantisek Vosika.

Other Czech settlements in the state are Oak Park, Algonquin, Sary, and Strestor.

IOWA (IA)

A large, rich farm state with a developed cattle industry. It has received a great deal of attention for such areas as pedigreed bovine lines and cattle rearing practices. Besides cattle, there is a large poultry farming business here as well. Iowa is one of the most important of the western states for the production of corn, and coincidentally there are many Czech settlements with wealthy farmers and merchants. Land here is very expensive, but rich and fertile.

Cedar Rapids – a versatile city with an important Czech settlement called Czech Athens. The headquarters of Western Union is here, located at: 1001 -1007 South 3rd. St., and a large Social Hall with a gym and a stage is located at 417 South 2nd St.

Iowa City - an old Czech settlement with a state university located in farm surrounding. Nearby are Czech pubs and shops. The City is connected by a street railway system to the town of Cedar Rapids. Many wealthy Czech lives here, and Professor Simek has an honorable position at the state university. In the surrounding area there are located many Czech farms and some other smaller Czech settlements.

Oxford Junction- another old Czech settlement that has many Czech shops and pubs amid rich farm surroundings. Located here is club and hall of Western Union. Residents of this town descend from people from the Suchdol and Záhorí areas near Pisek.

Spillville - a large Czech settlement with a rich farm surrounding. A Western Union club represents social life, several Catholic clubs with a big church and school area also located here, along with various Czech shops and well-do-do Czech farmers.

Protivin - is a Czech settlement with a rich Czech surrounding and a club Western Union.

Fort Dodge - is a larger city with a small local Czech settlement, but with many Czech settlers in surrounding areas. It features a Czech Club Western Union, whose members are both men and women.

Traer - a small Czech settlement with a few Czech shops, and in surrounding areas there are many of Czech descent. As with most of the settlements in this state, Traer prohibits the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Clutier – here there is located a small Czech settlement featuring a few Czech stores.

Belle Plaine - a much large Czech settlement with a good representation of Czech shops, many settlers of Czech descent, and also a Club Western Union.

Solon - a large Czech farming settlement, with many Czech shops in the town center. This area was settled by peoples from an area near Záhorí by the town of Pisek in the Czech homeland.

Marshalltown - a smaller Czech settlement with many Czech families located in the surrounding farmlands. The town has a Czech club C.S.P.S. Western Union and a few Czech stores.

Chelsea and Vinning – are two other small Czech communities of note.

Many more Czech settlements exist in the state, and a few more named here are: Seevers, Saratoga, McGregor, Tipton, Elberon, Irving, Center, Point, Lime Spring, and so on.

SOUTH DAKOTA (SD)

A farm and cattle state, known for its wheat crop, the main agricultural product produced here. There is a large Indian reservation that is open for settlers. Our countrymen in this state attained a good measure of wealth. There are the following Czech settlements located in the state:

Yankton – a big district town with a smaller Czech settlement, featuring a Czech club, Czech hall, Czech shops and pubs. Here a Czech colony began and spread to the southwest to the town of Tyndall and then to the Missouri River and on into the frontier area of Nebraska.

Tabor - one of the largest Czech settlements, it has its social club hall with a stage, a big church and catholic school. The settlement is quite Czech in flavor, with its many Czech shops, a bank, pubs, clubs and rich farm surroundings.

Utica –

Tyndall - a sizeable Czech settlement, with a large mill, in wealthy Czech surroundings. There are Czech clubs, both for men and women, and a nice countryside where wealthy settlers reside. There is also a Czech bank located here, and many more Czech establishments and pubs.

Wagner - an old Czech settlement founded by Czech settlers of the same surname; situated on what was hitherto an Indian reservation. It is possible here to lease or to purchase a lot of Indian land. There are a few Czech shops and a Czech club Western Union.

Besides those settlements above named, there are smaller ones located in towns by name: Herrick, Witten, Dixon, Geddes, Andes, Fairfax, Lesterville, Gregory, Scotland, and Kimbal.

MINNESOTA (MN)

A large state located in the northwest, with many large and deep forests populated with a plenty of animals and fish.

St. Paul - a large city, the governmental center of the state, with a new and most beautiful Capitol building. Located along the Mississippi River, and here many Czechs chose to settle. In the city there is to be found Czech shops, pharmacy, pubs etc., as well as a large club hall, with many other ethnic clubs such as CSPS, ZCBJ, a women’s club, Sokol, and amateur theatrical companies.

Hopkins - a sizeable Czech settlement with a lot of Czech shops and pubs, big sugar refineries, Czech men’s and women’s clubs and an active business community. The settlement is situated very close to Minneapolis and it is connected with this city by a street train.

New Prague - a large sized Czech settlement, almost completely Czech in character, features large mills, a big Czech Hotel, many men’s and women’s social clubs, Czech shops and pubs. Surrounding the town is a large farming community. As in most of the surrounding farm settlements in this area, the primary crop raised with great success, is the sugar beet.

There are smaller Czech settlements found in: Thief River Falls, Jackson, Owatonna, Montgomery, Hutchinson, Austin, Pine City, Beroun, Tabor, Alexandria, Myrtle, Monticello, Virginia and Lonsdale.

NEBRASKA (NE)

Nebraska is a rich, farm state, with many wealthy Czechs. Quite a few of them belong to the oldest Czech settlers of the American West. The capitol city of Omaha is "a gate", which connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean by the Union Pacific railway. Located in Omaha are many associations for social gatherings, such as a women’s club known as a "Sisters Union", Union of Czech Ladies. There are special interest clubs, one for members of the Western Czech Brothers Unity, a large Social hall with a nice stage and gym, two private halls in the heart of the Czech district, and a big Czech church and school, where nuns teach a liberal school curriculum. Within the state, there are magazines issued from there by the names of, "Progress of The West", established in the beginning of the 1860’s; "Osvěta"(Enlightenment), and the "Hospodář" (Farmer). There is also a large printing works by the name of "National Printing", and established by the deceased Jan Rosický. Czechs have a large Czech district situated in the city of Omaha, and in their hands are managed many business in the nature of shops and pubs. The most of the settlers are from the "Chodsko" (Western Bohemia) region. Large industry here features the works of the Union Pacific, and the largest smelter works for gold and silver in the world. Many of our countrymen have worked in these factories for long years. Omaha neighbors with the town of South Omaha, where are located large slaughterhouses and a large cattle market, and many of our countrymen are employed here as well. The P.T. Union Social works are located here, as well as many women and men’s clubs. Czech peoples are represented frequently and honorably in public administration. Located in South Omaha is a magazine called the "Nová Doba" (New Time), which began to be published by the editor Mr. Fr. Kuták. Quite a lot of Czechs moved here from the old country.

Wilber - is the most eminent Czech settlement in Nebraska. It is situated in the Saline district, and this district is more than half Czech in composition. Wilber is a district seat and has more than three-fourths of the total population indicated as Czech inhabitants, out of a population of 1200 people in number. There is a large mill “Zvoneček + Aksamit” on the romantic river Blue, a Czech brewery, the most beautiful Czech cemetery after Chicago's. There is a Social hall, a hall of the Svojan order Č.S.P.S., and two beautiful theaters and entertainment halls of “Janouch and Richtařík”. Shops are represented and acknowledged in the district, city and state administration frequently and honorably. Land has a high price, as farming and cattle raising is a profitable business. There are two Czech banks located here for the people.

Crete - an active Social unity with a nice gym, a club for Czech women, an amateur theatre, many Czech shops, a Czech library, pharmacies etc. In the surrounding area there are many wealthy Czech farmers.

Milligan – is in the district of Fillmore, and is an entire Czech settlement with a Czech church, Social club, dramatic ensemble, women’s clubs, a club hall, and also a Czech bank is located here.

Verdigree and Niobara - are two of the oldest Czech settlements in the state

Niobara - is perhaps the first Czech settlement by the rivers of the Missouri and Niobara. This is where many Czech peoples settled, among the native redskin peoples in the wild, hilly, woody country they found there. Established here were two settlements by the names of - Niobara and Pishelville. In Niabara there lived about 1000 people. Located here are a Czech mill, Czech brickworks, shops, pubs, and banks. The main business here is for the needs of an entire farm, and living among these countrymen there are tribes of Ponca and Sioux.

Verdigree – situate not far from Niobara, there is a beautiful, new Czech hall with a stage, a Social Unity club, a dramatic ensemble, a large Czech mill, a Czech hotel, and many shops and pubs, etc.

Atkinson - is a larger and older Czech settlement. The town boasts such features as a Czech Club Atkinson, a Czech brewery and Czech shops.

Clarkson - a large Czech settlement with a lot of clubs, a Czech hall, Czech shops. There is a big Folda's bank, and shops which are owned and managed in Czech hands. Wealthy farms surround the town, and Clarkson even has its own Czech language magazine, titled "Domaci Noviny" (Home newspaper).

Praha – the name in fact translates as Prague - a large, entirely Czech settlement in the district of Saunders. Here are found Czech churches Catholic and Evangelic, a large Czech mill owned by the brothers Kaspar, and a Social hall of Western Union. In Praha there is a neighborhood settlement called “Plasy”, in which is located a large Catholic Church and rectory.

David City - hosts a Czech club and a Czech Hotel.

Lincoln – at the state university there is a club “KOMENSKY” with about 70 members. Another feature is a large business owned and operated by brothers and named “Hermans”, which boasts a collection of excellent goods.

Humboldt – hosts a Social club, shops, and a Western Union.

OHIO (OH)

The capital is Columbus, but it was Cleveland where the Czech settlement was already well established by the end of the 1850’s, and the beginning of the 1860’s. The settlement consisted mostly from people from the Beroun, Milevsko and Vodnany areas of Bohemia, as well as Bernatice and Zahori. The city also features an established local division of the Czech - American National Council. There is a splendid club hall with a beautiful stage, a few older halls, a large ironworks and a prosperous oil industry. Here is located the largest petroleum refinery in the world, a large fish and ship business, a large Czech brewery, lumber shops, and there are also countless Czech shops and industrial factories. The social life of the people reflects well from such things as beautiful parks by the side of Lake Erie, many Czech Catholic and Reform churches, clubs of amateur theatricals, singing clubs, hobby groups, a few of the Sokol Unions women’s clubs, Czech - America clubs, a Czech lodge of secrets orders etc.; in general a splendid seat of American millionaires. Other communities which have Czech populations are, Bellaire, Claiesville, Toledo, Dillonvalle, Bridgeport, Dayton, Lorrain and Newburg.

NORTH DAKOTA (ND)

North Dakota is entirely a farm state, and is know by the raising of winter wheat. There is plenty of land and it is possible to gain a homestead from the government. The cattle industry is also very extensive here, and there are large cattle ranches. Theses ranches also raise a lot of fodder for the animals. The Czech settlements in the state are usually smaller and their situation is much the same as the rest of the population.

Lingerwood – a small Czech settlement with a farm community, and a club Western Union.

Conway – located nearby is the town of Pisek. There we find people with roots from the area around the town of Pisek in the Czech home country.

Other communities in the state with Czech populations are: Wahpeton, Lankin, Mandan, Dickinson, Minot, Ross, Kensal, Lawton, Fairdale.

Chronicle of Krenovice, near Pisek

The strong stream of emigrants led to Vienna and especially to America, above all to the USA. Many Czechs moved consistently to Chicago, that wonderful city which during a century grew from a small place where Indians and trappers came by canoes and on horses to change their bags and furs for things necessary for life, to more than a million people in one city. Among the first Czechs who arrived there in the latter half of the 19^th century, was the teacher and musician Josef Jirasek from Drazic, and Frantisek Kalal from Krenovice. From Hamburg, Bremen and Antwerp, steamships regularly departed, and each week transported hundreds and hundreds of Czech people. Owners of western European firms which dealt with the different ports, ship dispatchers and general attorneys, sent to Bohemia well-paid agents who gained for their companies new clients. Ship companies and transport firms published more frequently in newspapers and magazines, with alluring advertisements in which they offered their services to these emigrants. An example of such is found in the American magazine, “The Progress of the West.”