Friday, May 23, 2014

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.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

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.