19th Century Kristufek Families Of Chicago

The start of my research into the history of the Kristufek family began with attempts to sort out the different Kristufek families in Chicago. When I started looking at existing family trees on Ancestry.com, I noticed a lot of confusion. So many families had similar names, it was easy to get it all confused. What I discovered was that there were six distinct lines in Chicago, four clearly related and two mysteries still to be determined. Here are the six family lines in Chicago:

Other US Kristufek Lines

While this site is primarily dedicated to the Kristufek/Krystufek lines of South Bohemia that came to Chicago, Illinois in the mid to late 19th Century, other Kristufek families arrived in the US, settling in other parts of the country. These Kristufek ancestors arrived mostly in the US later, between 1880 and the start of WWI in 1914 (which one notable exception).

So far, no direct links have been established between these families, but here is some of what information is known:

Close Cousins: Four In A Row!

As I mentioned in other posts, as I have dug through the Czech Digital Archives, I have begun to suspect that almost everyone from this area was related by blood or marriage by the end of the 19th century. To prove the point, I will take a single entry from one of the baptismal books from the area.

On October 28th (my birthday), Alzbeta Becvar was born to Jan Becvar and Marie Kerlik. Jan Becvar's sister Anna Becvar married her cousin Josef Becvar and their son, also named Josef Becvar married Terezie Kerlik (another distant cousin through Marie Kerlik) in 1921. Terezie's mother Anna Krystufek Kerlik is the daughter of Anton Krystufek on Smrkovice and the granddaughter of Tomas Krystufek and Anna Vlasky of Smrkovice.

On October 31, 1891, Tomas Matej Hala was born at #51, Putim, South Bohemia to Matej Hala and Katerina Smola. Matej Hala's mother, Magdalena Krystufek, was the daughter of Tomas Krystufek and Anna Vlasky of Smrkovice.

The next day, on November 1, 1891, Jan Nepomuk Felbab was born in nearby Hradiste, South Bohemia  at #27 to Frantisek Felbab and Marie Krystufek. Marie Krystufek Felbab was the daughter of Josef Krystufek and the granddaughter of Vaclav Krystufek, all of Smrkovice. Vaclav Krystufek was the older brother of Tomas Krystufek, who married Anna Vlasky.

Then on November 2, 1891, at #24 Hradiste, practically next door to the Felbab household, Barbara Kapar was born to Frantisek Kaspar and Barbora Krystufek. Barbora was also the daughter of Josef Krystufek and the granddaughter of Vaclav Krystufek.

All four were baptized by the same priest.

U.S. Coustins: The South Dakota Martinec Families

        Frank Joseph Martinec (1876-1954), wife Mary and daughters Hattie Martinec Blaha
and Agnes MarrinecCarda around 1906 in Bon Homme, South Dakota. 

The earliest Krystufek families to come to the US arrived in Chicago starting in 1854. However, they were not the only descendants of the South Bohemian Krystufek lines to come to the United States. Two grandsons of Anna Marie Krystufek of Smrkovice came to the US in 1893 and settled in South Dakota.

Jakub Kristufek (1826-1895)

Jakub Kristufek's 1895 Headstone at
the Bohemian National Cemetery

Jakub Kristufek was born August 15, 1826 at Talin 18, in Talin, South Bohemia to Matej Krystufek (1788) and Lidmilla Krejci (1794). On August 3, 1847, Jakub married Anna Slepicka of Chvaletice 3 in Chvaletice, South Bohemia, a town about a mile from Talin. Anna was born on June 18, 1827, the daughter of Jakub Slepicka and Lidmilla Budjin.  

On April 6, 1848, they had a son Mattias  in Talin, Bohemia. On April 7, 1852, Jakub and Anna had a daughter Mary Anna Krystufek at Talin 18. Around September 1854, Jakub, his wife Anna and son Mattias traveled from Bohemia to America and settled in Chicago's 7th Ward.

Mystery Solved: Mary Amelia Kristofek

On Aug 26, 2004, former Ancestry.com user Dianne Haselmann (1937-2007) posted in an Ancestry.com message board: 

"My great grand father is Francis Anton Krch. He was born June 3, 1841 at "Pacov in Eastern Czech Bohemia". His mother's last name was "Janove". He went to school at "Naceradec" until about September 1852 and at "Proavonin" about one year. He left Bohemia and came to America around 1860, joined the Union Army during the Civil War. Returned to Bohemia after the war and may have married at that time. 

He married Mary Amelia Kristofek. She was born July 2, 1850 at "Vodanany eastern Czech", Bohemia. Her father was John Kristofek and her mother was Mary Paval. They had one son, John, born in Bohemia before emigrating to the U.S. There they lived in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota and raised a family.

The in information regarding their birthplace and school is in my grandfather's writing and the spelling may be wrong. I have put quotes around those words."

Marianna "Anna" Jelinek (1823-1881)

Marianna "Anna" Jelinek is the wife of Jan Kristufek (1824-1913) and daughter of Barbara Jelinek Pival (1800-1882). She was born in Kloub, South Bohemia on June 7, 1823 to an unwed mother, at the home of her grandparents: Simon Jelinek (1763-1832) and Dorothea Zamecnik (1764-1843). She had seven known children, three born in Bohemia and four born in Chicago after her immigration in 1854. She primarily resided at 171 DeKoven (near the corner of Desplaines) and later at 487 S. Canal Street, where her husband and, later her son, ran saloons. She died July 8, 1881 at the age of 58 and is buried at the Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago.

The Mystery Of James Kristufek

DNA matches on 23andMe.com and Ancestry DNA confirm that descendants of Matej Krystufek (1788-1837) of Talin, South Bohemia are related to the descendants of James Kristufek, however no direct record of the existence of James Kristufek can be found. Given how close the DNA connection is, James Kristufek is likely the son of a Matej Krystufek sibling, perhaps younger brother Vaclav Krystufek (born 1793).

According to the records that exist, it is indicated that James Kristufek Sr. married Anna Votana in Bohemia and had two children: Kate Kristufek (June 20, 1848) and James Kristufek Jr. (Sep 1851). Around the Great Bohemian Migration of 1868-70, they came to the US, settling eventually in the Chicago area. Manual searches of towns in South Bohemia around those birth dates haven't yielded any records and James Jr.'s death record indicated he was born in Prague. So it is more likely that they were born in or around Prague.

Charles Peter Kristufek (1890 - 1950)

Another US Kristufek family line started when Charles Peter Kristufek came to the US in 1911 from Prague. It is unclear if he was related to the other South Bohemian Kristufek families and unfortunately the records from the area he was born in are not yet available online. However, this is what is known about him and his family.

Charles was born May 7, 1890 in Horovice, Central Bohemia, just south of Prague. The birth date comes from his 1917 WWI Draft Record and his birth town comes from a 1923 Passenger List when he sailed with his wife and son on the SS Rotterdam. His wife's mother was also named Anna Vlkova and resided at Plzenkastr 19, Smichov, Prague. Anna is listed on the passenger list as having been born in Prague, so this is likely her family home.

Charles Kristufek arrived in New York on Feb 3, 1911 and is listed on the sailing record for the SS Floride as single. His original destination was Pennsylvania but he ended up in Kansas. He married Anna Vlkova and they had one son Carl on Aug 27, 1915 in Lucas, Kansas. Carl married Celeste Lowery and they had four children: Carl "Kris" Kristufek, Carol (Nesbitt), Connie (Fox), and Kay (Hazlett).

Anna died in 1948, while Charles Sr. died in 1950. Charles and Anna are both buried in the Larned Cemetery in Kansas. Carl died on Feb 26, 1988 in Yuma, Arizona.

The Kristufeks who came to Chicago in the mid-19th Century came from South Bohemia and lived in the towns of Vodnany, Smrkovice and as early as 1708, Talin, about 83 km/50 miles to the south of Horovice.

Jan Kristufek (1824-1913)

This is a fully sourced timeline for Jan Kristufek, son of Matej Krystufek and Lidmilla Krejci of Talin, South Bohemia, from the time of the birth of his wife in 1823 to the time of his death in 1913. I have included hyperlinks to sources where possible. If you are on Ancestry.com, you can see most of this information as well as other relevant material in the Jan Kristufek entry in my family tree. There is also a Jan Kristufek entry on FamilySearch.org.

Section M, Block 3, Lot 17. Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago

Click READ MORE to see the Jan Kristufek Timeline....