Genealogy
of the
Jan "John" & Anna
(Novotony) Smejkal Family
of Crete Nebraska
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Genealogy of the Jan "John" & Anna
(Novotony) Smejkal Family
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CONTENTS
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Jan "John" Smejkal Jan Smejkal was born in the village of Makov, in the district now identified as Jihočesky Kraj, just a few kilometers to the east of Tabor. His birthdate was 28 January 1851. From imperfect translations of documents, his father was Jakub Smejkala a farmer from Drahnetice, and mother was Rosalie Piskac, daughter of Mathew Piskac, farmer from Hurka (or Horky) area and district of Tabor and Rosalie's mother was Anny Raitir. His godparents were Jan Kedar (or Kadar) from Hurka and Katerina Raitir, farmwomen from Vlasenice. The seal on the document was from St Joannis in Drazic. The document itself appears to have sealed on 14 March 1884 and was obtained for the immigration process. The original document can be viewed at Jan Smejkal Birth Certificate. An approximate translation can be viewed at Jan Smejkal Baptismal.
The figure in the center of the red circle, made by my mother, Anna (Smejkal) Bals, is assumed to be Jan "John" Smejkal. It is the only known photograph to date. An overall image of the train wreck estimated to have occurred in 1899 appears below. Note the pipe. In an enlarged image, his pipe appears to be the most ornate and he is positioned in the center of the photo. The pipe style served as an indication of the status of the person within his group, by Czech tradition. Documents indicate that Jan "John" Smejkal's trade was a "Carpenter" when he immigrated to the United States. According to his wife Anna's obituary, they arrived in the United States on May 31, 1884 and came directly to Crete, Nebraska. Information from my mother was that he was a Section Foreman on the railroad line between Crete and Wilbur.
The picture above came from my Mother's files, Anna (Smejkal) Bals. As can be seen, she clearly identified this picture, in her handwriting, as her father's parents of Tabor. This would be Jakub Smejkala and his wife, previously identified as Rosalie Piskac, Jan Smejkal's mother. However, information found in the Trebon Digital Archives in October, 2010 show that Rosalie died October 15, 1858, and Jakub, with a family to raise, remarried shortly after to an Anna, last name not known at this time. Rosalie was only 35 when she died and the person in the picture appears to be older. Also the date of the photo would more likely be in the 1880's. The Trebon Archives also indicate that they lived at House #8 in Makov, in the Catholic Church district of Jistebnice, which is the district parish where the records were located. This is only a few kilometers from Tabor so it is correct that they would have been from the immediate area of Tabor. Their dress would suggest that this was a rural couple The back of the picture indicates it was made in the studio of R. Wendler in Budweis. Budweis being the German spelling for Ceské Budéjovice. There is no indication of the date this photo was made, but it likely was made around 1884, the time Jan and Anna immigrated. Another unidentified studio portrait can be seen on the page for Anna Novotony. This portrait was make at a studio in Tabor and is assumed to be of a Novotony family, possibly siblings of Jan's wife, Anna Novotny (Novotna). Jan Smejkal's Declaration of Intent to become a United States Citizen can be seen at Jan Smejkal Ideclaration of Intent.
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Web Page created by Gene Bals |
