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.

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."