Showing posts with label Kristufek. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kristufek. Show all posts

Friday, October 5, 2018

Getting Started

Thanks for visiting my blog dedicated to the Kristufek surname and South Bohemian ancestry.

The Kristufek surname is a Czech variation of the name Christopher. As such, the surname is likely to have spontaneously come into use in different parts of Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary and therefore not everyone with the surname Kristufek is related.

This blog is primarily dedicated to the Kristufek surname and its origins in South Bohemia. In particular the towns of Talin, Smrkovice and Maletice. However, there were other locations where the surname Kristufek was common including Humpolec in Central Bohemia and Jablonica/Osuske in Western Slovakia.

If you are currently in the US and you have Kristufek in your family history, the part of the US you live in will help you in your genealogy search as different Kristufek families settled in different parts of the US.

If your Kristufek family can be traced to Illinois (especially Chicago), Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska, you are likely descended from Kristufeks of South Bohemia.

If your Kristufek family can be traced to New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, you are likely descended from Kristufeks of Western Slovakia, especially Jablonica and Osuske.

For more information, please join our Kristufek Genealogy Group on Facebook or email me and I will be happy to share whatever information I have. This blog also includes many pages with detailed information on many of the Kristufek family lines. Use the search box in the upper left hand corner to find additional information about your ancestors.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

South Bohemia Kristufek Surname Origins

The earliest known and confirmed direct ancestral line in South Bohemia of the surname Kristufek begins with the 1717 Protivin Census. In this digitized record, we see the arrival of Vit and Katarina Krystufek and their infant daughter Anna to the town of Talin, South Bohemia.

All subsequent Kristufek descendants documented through Talin and Smrkovice in South Bohemia as well as the Chicago Kristufeks who arrived in the US in the mid 1800s can trace their lineage directly back to Vit and Katarina Krystufek and their arrival in Talin, South Bohemia around 1717.

However, records indicate that the origin of the Kristufek/Krystufek line can be traced to the neighboring town of Selibov. In the 1687 Protivin Estate Record, the record lists children from "Haus dem Gottfried Christoff" or the "House of Bohumil Christoff. This is likely the earliest known Kristufek ancestor.

The 1687 Record lists Mattes and Eva Christoff and their daughter Veronika a few pages earlier and seem to indicate, based on how these estate records were laid out, that Mattes Christoff is the eldest son of Gottfried and Eva Christoff and the inheritor of his land. Later records indicate that Mattes was born around 1662 which would make him slightly older than the other children of Gottfried listed including Alzbeta (1663), Marianna (1668), Catharine (1671), Anna (1675) and Vit (1676).

The Selibov records for the Christoff family are consistent there from the 1693 record through the 1702 record and then don't recur in the next available record, the 1708 census when the Krystufeks appear for the first time in the Talin record. However, the Vit Krystufek, who arrives in Talin in 1717 and would have been a child during this time period, is not listed in the Selibov census records.

Beginning in 1708, a Mattes and Eva Krystufek and their daughters had been the only people with the Krystufek surname in Talin and the 1717 record shows Mattes and his family crossed out and replaced by Vit Krystufek and his family.

Records this old are often incomplete and occasionally inconsistent, and there is another example of someone (Jan Kristufek 1824-1913) from this family line who had birth and marriage records that clearly put them in the family line while never making an appearance in the census records as a child. However, the inability to make a direct connection in the record is troubling. So for the purposes of this work, the South Bohemian Kristufek line begins definitively with Vit and Katarina Krystufek though all indications are that Vit Krystufek is the son of Mattes Christoff/Krystufek and the grandon of Gottfried Christoff of Selibov.

The next earliest record before 1687 is 1652 and no Christoff or Krystufek names seem to appear. The Kristoff/Krystufek surname most likely had his origin in some locality not far from Selibov. Close by in the Strakonice area there are several Kristof families in Steken, Slanik and Rovna, all about 19 km away (roughly 12 miles). There are also other contemporary Kristoff families in the Podhradi area of Ceske Budejovice, about 41 km away (roughly 25 miles), which was a thriving central hub. However, subsequent marriages within the Krystufek family that involved neighboring towns tended to be in the area between Strakonice and Selibov in places like Putim, Kloub, Stetice and Skaly, which makes the area around Strakonice the most likely source of the family before 1700.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Kystufek Families of South Bohemia

Gottfried (Bohumil) Kristof and his wife Eva are the earliest known beginning to what we now know as the Kristufek surname of South Bohemia.

The earliest found record in the area is a death record for an Anna Kristofkova on Jan 20, 1672 in the town of Selibov, South Bohemia. Her relationship to Gottfried and Eva Kristof is unknown as the earliest census record for Selibov which records members of this family is in 1687. That 1687 census record lists members of the "House of Gottfried Kristof" which include wife Eva, daughters Alzbeta (24), Marianna (19), Catharina (16), Anna (12) and son Vit (11). It also lists earlier in the same census a likely son for Gottfried and Eva Kristof: Mattes Kristof, his wife Eva and their daughter Veronika (7). 

The Kristof family members continue to appear in the Selibov census records through the 1702 record. Then, in the 1708 record, Mattes and Eva Kristof appear as Mattes and Eva Krystufek in the 1708 Census in Talin and in the 1713 Census, Mattes' brother Vit appears as Vit Krystufek with his wife Katarina Kahovec in her hometown of Maletice, where he had been listed as working in previous Selibov census entries.

Maletice Krystufek Surname
There is some surname confusion for the first forty years of the Krystufek family in Maletice. However this seems to have started with the arrival of Vit Krystufek in the 1713 Protivin Census, Vit on the occasion of his marriage to Catherine/Katarina Kahovec of Maletice. This Vit Krystufek would seem to Vit Christoff, born around 1676 to Gottfried and Eva Christoff in Selibov.

Vit Krystufek and Katarina Kahovec and their offspring are listed as Kahovec in subsequent census records for decades even though the birth index of the period record Krystufek births, starting with a Tomas Krystufek as early as 1714, which corresponds with their marriage. Then in the 1752 Protivin Census, the last name is crossed out and replaced with Krystufek, and it remains that way through the end of the Protivin Census in the 1828-1830 Census. In earlier records, the address is listed as the "House of Kahovec" which may be why they continued to be listed as Kahovec during this period until house numbering became common in the mid to late 1700s.

Talin Krystufek Surname
The appearance of Mattes and Eva Krystufek in 1708 is the first appearance of the surname in Talin, however, the arrival of Vit and Katarina Krystufek in 1717 is the true beginning of the Krystufek surname in Talin. That a different Vit and Katarina Krystufek was living in Maletice just three miles away is a bit confusing. It is most likely that the Vit Krystufek of Maletice is the younger brother of Mattes Krystufek and Vit Krystufek of Talin is Mattes' son.

Vit Krystufek of Talin was born around 1685 and had five children with his wife Katarina: Marianna (1718-1772), Vojtech (1725), Pavel (1728-1763), Georg (1729-1776) and Veronika (1732-1839). His son Vojtech continued the family line in Talin Bohemia. Vojtech's son Tomas Krystufek (1751-1809) wed Veronika Koza and had six children including Matej Krystufek in 1788 who is the father of four sons (Matej, Jan, Jakub and Frank) who came to Chicago in the mid 1800s. After Matej Krystufek Sr.'s death in 1837, and the remarriage of his second wife, Talin 18 became the primary residence of the descendants of Matej's sister Anna Krystufek Koza (1785).

For more details on the Krystufek family in Talin, see Earliest Krystufek Records: Talin 1708-1755.

Smrkovice Krystufek Family
Vit Krystufek of Talin's younger son Jiri/Georg Krystufek (1729-1776) moved to nearby Smrkovice at the time of his marriage to Dorota Keczlikova of Smrkovice. It was there that Georg spawned generations of Krystufek and Kristufek descendants through his son Jan Krystufek (1767-1833). His daughter Jana Krystufek also married Jacob Kadlecz there in a double wedding with her brother Jan on January 28, 1787.

There is a line of Georg Krystufek descendants in the US through Georg Krystufek's granddaughter Anna Krystufek (b. Aug 24, 1800) and the town of Hradiste, South Bohemia. Anna Krystufek and Josef Martinec of Hradiste, South Bohemia were married on January 11, 1825. Their grandsons through their son Tomas Martinec, Frank Joseph Martinec (Apr 1, 1876-1954) and John Joseph Martinec (1873-1945) settled in Charles Mix South Dakota in the late 1800s.

A second Hradiste Krystufek connection is with Josef Krystufek's 1845 marriage to Anna Martinec and the five children they had there. Josef Krystufek of Smrkovice is the son of Vaclav Krystufek and a great grandson of Georg Krytufek of Smrkovice. Anna Martinec is the niece of Josef Martinec, the husband of Anna Krystufek and Josef Krystufek is Anna Krystufek's nephew.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Earliest Krystufek Records: Talin 1708 - 1755

The earliest Chicago Kristufek family lines and the South Dakota Martinec family lines both trace their roots to the early 18th Century in a small town in Pisek district of South Bohemia called Talin. According to Wikipedia, Talin had a population of 165 in 2011 although in 1869, the population was as high as 349, with a modern peak of 366 in 1900.

An Area Near Talin in the Pisek District of South Bohemia
The village of Talin was part of the Protivin Estate in the 18th century, which conducted an annual census. It is through these records, currently available in the Czech Digital Archives, that we find the earliest mention of this Krystufek family tree. Address numbers were not listed routinely in records until later in the 18th century, but it seems likely they were consistently living at Talin 18, the stated address the family occupied for decades there.

Before 1708, there are no mentions of the surname Krystufek in Talin or any of the other towns in the immediate area. Another Krystufek family line has a nearly simultaneous beginning in Maletice, a town about three miles away. This would seem to indicate that they might be related and also that they came from some other location, yet to be determined. The closest other contemporary Krystufek surname appearance is in Humpolec, south of Prague about 70 miles away. That is close by modern standards, but a lifetime away in the early 1700s, and outside the Protivin estates. And while numerous birth and marriage records have been found in Humpolec, none is a match for early Krystufek settlers in Talin.

1708 - Mattes Krystufek and family
This is the first record in Talin of a Krystufek family. Mattes, wife Eva and teenaged daughters Lidmilla (19) and Katarina (14) are listed as living together, while a Veronika Krystufek is also listed as living in Talin, although she is on a separate page ("Sirren") of the record. It is possible that The Krystufek family came to Talin specifically because they had a pregnant, unmarried daughter, but without more information, it is difficult to say.

1710 - Veronika Krystufek has a son, Jakub
In this annual census, Veronika is listed as having a son Jakub (3), no doubt out of wedlock, since no husband is listed at any point. Although she may be a widowed daughter-in-law who gave birth posthumously, it is more likely given the numerous other out of wedlock births in this family line that this is not the case. Mattes Krystufek is listed again separately with wife Eva and daughters Lidmilla and Katarina.

1717 - Vit Krystufek with wife Katarina and infant daughter Anna
Mattes Krystufek and his family are listed in other census records in between including the 1713 Census, the 1715 Census, and the 1716 Census. However in 1717, Mattes Krystufek and his family are crossed out and Vit Krystufek and his family are listed immediately below. This would seem to indicate Vit has taken over the farm. Age-wise, Vit would seem to be the son of Mattes Krystufek, but as yet no direct connection has been made and he hasn't been seen in other census data of the period before 1717. One assumes the Krystufeks came from somewhere else in Bohemia before this point, but as of now, there is no way to figure out the details. Vit Krystufek is the father of Vojtech Krystufek (the direct ancestor of the Chicago Kristufeks) and Georg/Jiri Krystufek (the direct ancestor of the South Dakota Martinecs) and this census record is the earliest known record directly linking to modern desendants.

1726 - Veronika's son Jakub dies at 19
Vit Krystufek (41) and his wife Katarina (35) are listed along with their growing family: Maryanna (8) and son Vojtech 1 1/12 who made his first appearance in the 1725 Census are still listed in Talin, along with Mattes Krystufek (64) who is further down on the next page. Veronika Krystufek's son, who, in the 1725 record is listed with a note about the neighboring town Zdar where he might have been working, is listed as dead at the age of 19.

1728 - Final Record of Mattes Krystufek
Mattes Krystufek (66) makes his final appearance in the 1728 Census. Presumably he died around this time period. Vit Krystufek (43) and his wife Katarina (37) are listed with their children: Marianna (10), Vojtech (3 1/2), and Pavel (1 1/2)

1730 Jiri/Georg Krystufek makes first appearance
In a 1729 Index Record, Jiri Krystufek's birth is noted and he makes his first census record appearance in the 1730 Protivin Census along with the rest of his family. Georg Krystufek married Dorota Keclik of Smrkovice on Oct 23, 1763 and lived there in Smrkovice until his death in 1776. Descendants of Georg and Dorota Krystufek later came to America as the South Dakota Martinec families.

1732 Veronika Krystufkova Begins Her Long Life
Vit and Katarina's daughter Veronika is born in 1732 according to an Index Record of her birth. Veronika never married and apparently lived an astonishing 107 years, with consistent appearances over the years in the annual census records and a record of her death on Mar 11, 1839 that lists her age then as 100.

1740 Daughter Marianna Krystufek is married
In the 1740 Protivin Census, daughter Marianna is listed as married to Ondrej Soucek. They are listed for many years in the census but never have any children.

May 29, 1747: Birth of Vojtech's son Vit Krystufek
While other births are noted in Index records, the earliest full records of births, deaths and marriages in Talin that are available online is a book covering the Protivin area from 1745-1757. The first record of a Krystufek ancestor there is the birth of Vit Krystufek to Vojtech Krystufek and his wife Alzbeta. The godparents are Vit Mar(?) of Selibov and Catharina Blaha of Talin. The Blaha family seems to be the primary farm family of the village, residing at Talin 1 during the same time period of the Krystufek family. Blaha family members are frequently listed as godparents (and vice versa) and at least one Krystufek was born at Talin 1 in the 1800s, all indicating that there is a long (but yet to be established) relationship between these two families.

1750 Vojtech Krystufek has taken over Talin 18
In the 1750 Protivin Census, Vojtech Krystufek (29) and his wife Alzbeta (32) are living with their three children: Vaclav (6), Vit (3), and Matej (1). Also listed in the census that year, Ondrej Soucek (39) and wife Marianna Krystufek Soucek (31) and near the end of the record, Vit and Katarina's other children: Pavel (22), Jiri/Georg (19) and Veronlika (17).

1751 Tomas Krystufek is born
Tomas Krystufek is born to Vojtech and Alzbeta Krystufek on Dec 10, 1751 in Talin. Tomas would eventually take over the family farm at Talin 18 and live there the rest of his life. His son Matej Krystufek, born in 1788, took over after his death in 1809 and four of Matej's sons emigrated to Chicago in the mid-1800s as the earliest Kristufek settlers there.

1755: Krystufek Death and Remarriage
On Feb 1, 1755, Vojtech Krystufek's wife Alzbeta died. Several months later, he remarried on May 11, 1755 to Anna Lesskovcz of Budějovická.


Thursday, July 30, 2015

Tomas Krystufek (1751-1809)

Tomas Krystufek was a farmer who lived at #18 in the village of Talin in the Pisek District of South Bohemia from the mid 18th century to the early 19th centuiry. Born on Dec 10,1751, he was one of five sons of Vojtcech Krystufek and his first wife Alzbeta.

Tomas is significant to Talin 18 because his descendants, first through his son Matej and later through his older daughter Anna, lived at this house for most of the 19th Century. And he is the grandfather of at least four of the original Kristufek settlers in Chicago in the mid 1800s.

Tomas was married to Veronica Koza of Milenovice, South Bohemia (born 31 Dec 1758) and had at least six children of his own. Tomas Krystufek died on June 9, 1809. His known children were:

Alzbeta Krystufek (born about 1781 - 19 Mar 1843). Lived and died in Talin, never married. Had one known son Frantisek Krystufek (born 9 Oct 1813) with unknown man.

Anna Krystufek (22 Jul 1785 - 4 Jan 1847) Born in Talin. Married Matej Koza of Talin (Abt 1788 - 17 Feb 1847) on Feb 14, 1820. Anna and Matej had two known children Alzbeta Koza (22 Jul 1824) and Matej Koza. (21 Feb 1827). They lived at Talin 1 after marriage and both died there in the winter of 1847.

Matej Krystufek (20 Jan 1788 - 15 Dec 1837) Eldest son of Tomas and Veronica. Took over Talin 18 after death of father in 1809. Married Lidmilla Krjeci (16 Sep 1794 - 27 May 1829) of Chvaletice, South Bohemia on Feb 16, 1813, after the birth of their first child Jiri Krystufek (1812-1813). They had at least seven childrem, including Matej, Jakub and Jan, who came to Chicago. After Lidmilla's death in 1929 soon after the birth of their last child Alzbeta (6 May 1829- 13 Jun 1829), Matej remarried to Katarina Zofkova (14 Nov 1797 - Death date unknown) of Smrkovice on Jul 26, 1829. Matej and Katarina had at least two other children together: Rozina Krystufkova (1831-1872) who lived her whole life in Talin and Frantisek Krystyufek (17 May 1835 - 14 Feb 1915), who joined his half-brothers in Chicago.

Magdalena Krystufek (19 Jun 1790 - before 1843) never married but had two daughters with unknown men: Maria Krystufkova (19 Jan 1813) who married Vojtech Rines of Radcice on Feb 6, 1837 and Dorota Krystufkova (about 1818) who married Jan Hornik of Paseky on Sep 12, 1843 and had three children: Vaclav, Jan and Alzbeta. Hornik, all born in Paseky.

Ondrej Krystufek died on the day he was born at Talin 18: Nov 30, 1792.

Eva Krystyfek was born around 1796 and died, unmarried, at the age of 30 at Talin 18 on 2 Mar 1826.

Son Matej Krystufek became the primary resident of Talin 18 after the death of Tomas in 1809. After the death of Matej in 1837 and the subsequent remarriage of Matej's second wife, Tomas' daughter Anna Krystufek Koza's family and their Salek descendants, through daughter Alzbeta Koza Tsalek/Salek) became the primary residents of Talin 18 for at least the next two decades.






Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Catherine "Katie" Kristufek (1857-1929)


Catherine "Katie" Kristufek was born in Chicago, Illinois on Nov 24, 1857, the fifth of seven known children of Jan Kristufek and Anna Jelinek. Katie grew up at 171 Dekoven, near the corner of Desplaines, where her father owned a grocery store and later a saloon. On the night of the Great Fire in 1871, she told her descendants that she had buried her jewelry in the yard before her family fled into the night.

The house was undamaged by the fire which started on their street at 137 Dekoven but burned north and away from their address. But by 1875, she was living at 487 S. Canal Street a few blocks away in an apartment house her father had built in 1868 and had been the home of Vaclav and Catherine Donat, the in-laws of her older sister Anna Kristufek (1855-1931). An 1875 City Directory lists her at that address and working as a milliner. On October 26, 1875, she married a butcher six years her senior named Frank Gross, who had been born in Hodina, Bohemia on Nov 28, 1851.

Frank and Katie Gross 1875 Wedding Portrait
By the 1880 Census, Katie and her husband Frank were living at 487 S. Canal Street, along with her married brother John Kristufek Jr. and his family and their parents and youngest brother Joseph (1863-1932). Sometime around 1884, Katie and Frank, along with her brother Joseph joined their sister Antoinette "Jennie" Kristufek (1861-1939) and Jennie's husband Frank Lepsa and brother-in-law Thomas Lepsa who had relocated to Wahoo, Nebraska and engaged in a brewery scheme.

The brewery business, for whatever reason, did not last long. Joseph Kristufek went quickly back to Chicago, married and moved with his new wife to New York City. Frank Lepsa turned to local politics and banking, while his brother continued on in the area as a boilermaker and amateur boxer.

Frank Gross went back to being a butcher, opening a successful meat market in Wahoo, which remained his occupation until he retired in 1904 and a business he passed down to his oldest son, John Frank Gross (1878-1967) who had joined him in it in 1896.

Frank and Katie Gross with three of their children: Sylvia, John Frank and Georgiana
Katie remained very close to her sister Jennie for the rest of her life. Contemporary newspaper reports of the time include several visits between the two while Jennie was living in Denver, Colorado and Katie and Frank spent summers in Manitou enjoying the mineral springs there. The Aug 13, 1911 edition of the Denver Post reports that Katie's son John Frank Gross was married to Elizabeth Woodward at her sister Jennie's house in Denver the previous Monday.

In addition to John Frank Gross who married Elizabeth Woodward on Aug 7, 1911 in Denver, Katie and Frank also had a daughter Sylvia Gross (1876-1938) who married Albert Oscar Zerrenner, two sons who died as infants Frankie (1883-1886) and Eddie (1885-1888) and a daughter Georgiana Gross (1892-1943) who never married.

John Frank Gross, wife Elizabeth Woodward, and their three children around 1922
John Frank Gross and his wife Elizabeth had three children Pictured above): Jack Edward Gross (1913-1999) who married Hilvie Mae Olson, Frank Gross Jr. (1914-1998) who married Hazel Fraley and Marjorie Elizabeth Gross (1917-1995) who married Thor Pearson.

Frank and Katie Gross later in life.
Katie Kristufek Gross died of pneumonia on Apr 17, 1929. Frank Gross Sr. died on March 16, 1937.


Wednesday, December 24, 2014

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:

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

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:

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

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.


Sunday, August 24, 2014

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.

Saturday, June 7, 2014

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.




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.

Sunday, April 20, 2014

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....

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Anna Kristufek Donat (1855-1931)


Anna Kristufek Donat, circa 1884
Anna Kristufek Donat is one of four daughters of Jan Kristufek and Anna Jelinek, born Dec 31, 1855 in Chicago, Illinois. Anna was the first of her siblings born in the US after her parents came from South Bohemia in the fall of 1854.

Monday, December 30, 2013

Matej Kristufek (1816-1891)

Matej Kristufek is the oldest son of Matej Kristufek Sr. (1788) and Lidmilla Krejci (1794) to survive to adulthood. Matej was born on Dec 30, 1816 at Talin 18 in Talin, South Bohemia, after his parents' first two children died as infants. Matej didn't marry until he was almost 40 years old, wedding Anna Kolar of nearby Smrkovice on Jan 29, 1856.

Anna Kolar was born on Jul 24, 1831 to Vincenc Kolar and Alzbeta Smola. Anna Kolar had two children before her marriage to Matej, which may have been his, although no father is listed on the local birth records. Josef Kolar (1850-1852) and Maria Kolar (1854-1854) both died before the marriage however. 

The following year after their marriage, their son Matej Kristufek was born on Aug 14, 1857. Anna Kolar Kristufek had three other children in Bohemia who died as children: Frantisek (1859), Anna (1863) and Alzbeta (1865). Soon after the death of their two year old daughter Alzbeta in 1867, Matej, Anna and their surviving son Matej  traveled from South Bohemia to Chicago. Upon arrival, Matej stayed with his younger brother Jakub Kristufek (1826) before settling with his family at 759 Allport.

Once settled in the US, Anna Kolar Kristufek gave birth to a son George on June 16, 1870 and another daughter named Anna in July of 1874. Matej and his son spent this period working as laborers, most likely in lumber yards.

Son George Kristufek (1870-1944) in undated photo.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Dorothea Zamecnik Jelinek (1764 - 1843)

Dorothea Zamecnik Jelinek

Kristufek Connection:   Dorothea Zamecnik Jelinek, wife of Simon Jelinek, is the maternal grandmother (through Barbara Jelinek) of Anna Jelinek Kristufek (1823-1881), the wife of Jan Kristufek (1824-1913)

Friday, November 29, 2013

Humpolec Kristufek Genealogy

Not all Kristufek families of South Bohemia came from the Pisek District. There were quite a few Kristufek families in Humpolec, South Bohemia in the 19th Century. The search in the area began with Frantisek Xaver Kristufek, a notable theology professor in Prague, born in Humpolec in 1842.



I decided to look up his birth record to see if I might be able to establish a connection to the other South Bohemian Kristufek lines and what I discovered in 1842 was a baby boom of Kristufeks. I also discovered that Frantisek Xaver appears to have been born on Nov 29, 1842, not Oct 28 as his wikipedia page says.

Here are some of the other Kristufek births that year in Humpolec. If you are a Kristufek from Humpolec, these may be your ancestors, or at least you have a good place to start your search:

Karel Kristufek, 25 Jan 1842
Parents: Jan Kristufek and Petronilla Matek

Maria Julia Kristufek, 9 Feb 1842
Parents: Augustin Kristufek and Maria Plata

Vojtech Kristufek, born 23 Apr 1842
Parents: Jan Kristufek and Josefa Kaspar

Johanna Kristufek, born 17 May 1842
Parents: Franz Kristufek and Katarina Stradal

Dominik Fiala, born 15 Jun 1842
Parents: Dominik Fiala and Frantiska Kristufek

Moneka Augustina Kristufek, born 4 Aug 1842
Parents: Arnost Kristufek and Karolina Babier

Marie Kristufek, born 8 Aug 1842
Parents: Mynek Kristufek and Anna Kristufek

Anastazie Kristufek, born 22 Aug 1842
Parents: Alexander Kristufek and Marie Slegla

Marie Kristufek, born 1 Sep 1842
Parents: Jozef Kristufek and Anna Hajek

Ferdinand Kristufek. born 23 Oct 1842
Parents: Ferdinand Kristufek and Karolina Kominka

Frantisek Carel Kristufek, born 29 Oct 1842
Parents: Jan Nepomuk Kristufek and Barbora Komrs

Catharina Kristufek, born 26 Nov 1842
Parents: Frantisek Kristufek and Josefa Komrs

Frantisek Xaver Kristufek, born 29 Nov 1842
Parents: Vaclav Kristufek and Marie Ambroz

Since Krystufek families seemed to spontaneously arrive in Talin and Maletice (3 miles apart) around the early 1700s, it starts to reason that they came from somewhere. Humplec is quite a distance away and it is more likely since both of those towns are within the Protivin Estates that it stands to reach they came from some other location within the same distruct. However, there are Krystufek people in Humpolec at least as early as 1675, when a Jan Krystufek was born there to Jiri and Suzana Krystufek on May 29, 1675. That is the earliest known record of anyone named Krystufek in the South Bohemian region.






Monday, January 8, 2007

Arthur N. Kristufek (1929 - 2007)

Arthur N. Kristufek
July 19, 1929 - January 8, 2007

Arthur N. Kristufek, beloved husband of Donna, nee Grubb; loving father of Arthur Lance Kristufek; stepfather of Don Petrone; dear brother of the late Robert Kristufek; Superintendant of the Illinois Police Reserves. Funeral service Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007 at 11 a.m. at Matz Funeral Home,410 E. Rand Rd., Mt. Prospect. Entombment All Saints Mausoleum. Visitation Wednesday, 3 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials to Misericordia appreciated.

Arthur N. Kristufek was born on July 19, 1929 in Cook County, Illinois to Arthur W. Kristufek and Nellie Brzostowski.His brother Robert Kristufek was born February 3, 1938 and predeceased Arthur on December 18, 1994. His grandfather, Edward Kristufek Sr. was born in Chicago on December 29, 1871 to John Kristufek Jr. and Mary Bedlan.

John Kristufek Jr. had nine children and was born on November 17, 1848 in Vodnany, South Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic. He came to the US with his parents John Kristufek Sr. and Anna Jelinek and sister Mary Amelia Kristufek Krch in 1854., settling in Chicago, Illinois 


His parents originally lived at 171 Dekoven, where John Kristufek Jr. worked as a cigar maker, before moving in the mid 1870s to 487 Canal Street to a building John Kristufek Sr. owned and had a saloon business in. John Kristufek Jr. took over the saloon business and ran it until his death on April 10, 1913.