Newer Genealogy

This photo has always made me laugh--there we were, in Dad's garage, trying to build a musical instrument from a kit. It had to be 90 degrees cuz even today, I remember being really uncomfortable. Dad and I were trying to follow the instructions while debating what they meant by "the neck"--this was a simple lap dulcimer, and it really had no neck!

But that's not what makes me laugh--it's that Josh and Em, in the background, were allowed--encouraged!--to pound nails at dads' bench. They each had a chunk of scrap 2X4 and were busy filling it with precious nails, a verboten activity I would have LOVED as a kid...lol.

When J&E did it, dad was proud of how MANY nails they could fit on one scrap. Yeah, we built the dulcimer successfully--and to think, it's almost 30 years old already!

Translatin' for you

I have recently (like yesterday) figured out how to create a pdf file.

I know, I know....it's high on YOUR 'gotta learn' list too, but once again, Bird's ahead of the curve!

The scoffers and slackers among you might possibly be saying "Yah well, who needs pdf files anyway?" and "What are they good for?"

WELL! Lemme show you! THIS file should show you translated entries for all eleven Hesch kids we found in the church books in Bohemia.

NOTE: When you click the link, you'll get the pdf on a service called Scribd--but what you WANT is that pdf to open with Adobe Acrobat--so click the "download" button, and then click Adobe Acrobat pdf.

You'll need to use the "Counterclockwise" button once the Acrobat pdf opens--I can't do EVERYTHING!!

Patron Saint

In Schamers, Bohemia, in 1847, Anton and Anna Binder had another baby, whom they named Josef. This kid made it through childhood (a feat all by itself) and when he grew up, he became a priest, and eventually the "Metropolitan-Domkapitalur" of Prague (which is the MAIN Canon of the church).

That's nice, but it's not why we think he's cool.

Apparently, he was stationed for awhile in Schamers, or simply borrowed the oldest record books from the church there. He was writing a book on the history of Schamers, and perhaps he needed the books for that, but while he had them, he recopied the odd, often messy, handwritten records into very clear, legible records.

The new pages are simply between the old, so you can compare them...but the marvel is that Josef Binder realized he was among the last to be able to read those records fluently. Plus, he could write Suetterlin, and had unprecedented access to the books.

The church in Schamers is St Michael the Archangel RC, so that's why Larry put him on the portrait, and the other saint is Wenceslaus, Patron saint of Bohemia.

The halo just appeared--his first miracle!

A lot of the children listed in the record books have saint-dedications written there too, like "Johann (Nepo.)" or "Maria (Concept.)" so in that spirit, we decided Josef Binder should be cannonized AGAIN.

(Note to Pope--all it takes is putting ST. in front of his name, see?)

Thank you, Larry, and Thank YOU, St. Josef Binder!

IGNAZ

Remember how, when we were kids, a "funny" mans' name was "Ignatz"? Like when dad was teasing a kid, or we were naming a puppy--"What do YOU think we should call him, daddy?"--the answer was usually "Ignatz"...and we'd all groan...lol

Imagine my surprise, then to find not one, but TWO more Ignaz Heschs in Southern Bohemia in the 1800s. Larry found them in a village south of Oberschlagles and Schamers--Zinolten. The birth was recorded this way:

12 December 1854
Zinolten #4

IGNAZ HESCH

Catholic, Male, Legitimate

Father:"Ignaz Hesch, huber (farmer) son of Franz Hesch, esalngasnd (?) in Oberschlagles #11, and Agnes born Blaschko of Schamers #26"
Mother:"Franziska daughter of --- Ambrosch, (frn..?) in Zinolten #4 and Anna born Stiedl in Zinolten # 27"
Sponsors:
Albert Maihr (?) in Zinolten #28 and Franziska Schinka of Zinolten #1"

Midwife Franziska Neuba***
.....................
LOL!

My Bohemia

We FOUND the parents

of Paul Hesch!!

~~~~*~*~*~*~*~~~~

As an update, the part of the world you're looking at is Bohemia, which is now mostly Czech Republic. It's considered Eastern Europe. See Niedermuhl, there on the map?
OUR people came from that area, so far mostly the village just below it, Oberschlagles. We're talking about a mile between the two villages.
The parish was Horni Pena which included 7 villages, all within about 10 miles:

--Oberschlagles
--Niederbaumgarten
--Oberbaumgarten
--Deutsch Moliken
--Ruttenschlag
--Gatterschlag
--Schonborndorf

Looking for HESCH births in Horni Pena church record books in the years between 1839 and 1855, I kept a list of what families lived in which villages...so if you've googled your way here, and want to see if YOUR folks lived there, e-mail me.
Anyway, we found ten HESCH kids, four of whom were born to Johann Hesch and MARIA SCHLINZ. That's the couple buried in Pierz--our great great grandparents.

We found out that great-grandfather Paul had 3 brothers: Bartholomaus, Mathias and Anton. Bartholomaus was born in August 1843 and died in September 1845, of scarlet fever.

(Mathias and Anton immigrated too, and settled in Waumandee, Wisconsin. We also found Mathias' future wife in Horni Pena--Agnes Trachofsky. They all moved to the Pierz area eventually, and are buried in St Josephs Cemetery in Pierz).

Paul was born the following January (1846) and here's what the book says: _______________________________________

20 January 1846
PAUL HESCH
Catholic, Male, Legitimate
Father:"Johann Hesch, hansler (farmer/hourly laborer), son of Martin Hesch, hansler, of Oberschlagles #2 and Elizabeth born of Thomas Wolf in Diablinz #40"
Mother:"Maria, daughter of Laurenz Schlinz, citizen, and Elizabeth, born in Ratiborwitz"
_______________________________________


This is from an absolutely WONDERFUL site called the CESKY ARCHIVY . When you get there, click the "Littera" button to get to the page of parishes. Click H, and then HORNI PENA. You'll find Paul in book 8, image 164. (The Archivy just last week added English and German views to the site, so you'll have a much easier time than we did. However, the books themselves are still in German, Czech and Latin--lol--sorry!)

If you've read to this point, and you actually CARE, let me know, and I'll send you the list of ten kids, ok?

BTW, here's the succession going back from Dad:

Mike, (1913) whose father was Anton, born 1883

whose father was Paul, born 1846

whose father was Johann, born 1818

whose father was Martin, born about 1787

whose father was Paul, born about 1755

Pretty cool, huh?