Tag: Joseph Koss

Going in Circles for European Military Records

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Earlier this year I wrote about my visit to Croatia and my experience with researching at the Croatia State Archives. I had hoped to locate my maternal great grandfather, Josip Kos’s military records to discover if they contained any medical information.

The family story recalls that Josip was an officer in the Austrian cavalry and while his horse was being re-shoed, he was kicked in the chest or the head which resulted in him getting asthma or epilepsy. His poor health made him leave the service and subsequently, he emigrated to the U.S.

Josip became Joseph Koss in the U.S. and died in 1919 after the flu he contracted during that epidemic became pneumonia. He was only 42 when he passed away.

While at the archives I was told to contact the Austrian archives as they supposedly had the military records. As soon as I got home I sent off an email to Austria but received a response that all of their records were available on FamilySearch.org. I was unable to find the ones I needed there. I had asked in person in March when I was at the Family Search Library about the records and was told that they had no schedule of when new records would be placed online so if they had them and they weren’t showing in their card catalog, they couldn’t give me a time frame. Sigh.

The email from the Austrian archives stated that all records for areas that aren’t now in Austria were returned to the original location. So, I was going in circles!

This gave me two options – wait indefinitely or try something new. I know that genealogy is a study of patience but I am not a patient person so I went with the latter option.

In June, I attended the International German Genealogy Program that was held in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The conference used Whova, a type of social media App. I began to post everywhere on that site a request for help in finding these military records. I also attended every lecture that revolved around military records.

Fortunately, a wonderful genealogist, Christina Kaul, responded to my queries. She provided me a personal example of her great grandfather who had been killed in WW1; he had records in two locations. Since my great-grandfather left the service before WW1, Austria would not have any of his records as they only maintained a record for those who were wounded, killed, missing in action, or decorated during WW1.

Christina further explained that military records were kept by the regiment and not location so identifying where and when recruitment occurred was important. I believed that the regiment was a local one as old family stories told of every male serving locally for generations. I was even able to see the castle where they supposedly trained.

Although I could not find Josip and his wife, Jana’s marriage certificate, I did find the names in the baptismal records of several of their children who had died between 1895-1900. I was certain Josip was in the military at the time my grandmother was born in 1900 and served for most of her childhood. Since I knew the location of their home, I knew the village was Dubranec.

Christina verified what I thought by reviewing the church books. It was there, though, that she noticed something interesting; 50% of the men in the Dubranec book were noted to be a pl – plemeniti ljudi (people of valuable origin).

My grandmother was always proud of that pl status and had said it was a title given by nobility long ago for service fighting against the Turks. The family was permitted to hunt in the King’s forest and were the leaders of the small community.

Christina, though, was able to provide me with more information about pl’s. That title was never awarded by the Austrians but was used instead by ethnic Hungarians and the reference to “valuable origin” meant they were old members of the Magyar tribe.

I had to laugh at what Christina wrote, “For the Austrian empire these were difficult guys and potential trouble-makers as they were fiercely independent and not easy to assimilate into existing social structures.” Yes, that sums up my mother’s side exactly!

Interestingly, she guessed that the village could go back as far as the 12th century and she would be correct as I did find land records from that time period.

This also sheds light on something I never really thought about – both my great aunt and great uncle and one of my aunts married Hungarians. No one married an Austrian. Sometimes clues are right in front of us but we miss them!

Thanks to Christina, I followed her suggestion to write to the Croatian State Archives again and add an email to the Hungarian National Archives to see if they have the military files I seek. Again, the Croatian State Archives did not and directed me to Hungary. I haven’t received a response from Hungary.

I would also like to highly recommend connecting with Familia-Austria, an Austrian Genealogical Society where Christina volunteers. If you are interested in researching that area, they are a wonderful group to contact. Their website, found here, is in English or can be translated into 14 other languages. Christina can be emailed at kaul@anholt.eu.

Happy Hunting!

A Genealogical Homecoming Part 2

Mary Kos’ Birthplace, Dubranec, Croatia. Photo courtesy of Google.

Last week I provided recommendations on best practices for using archives in other countries. This week I’m focusing on making the most when visiting your ancestor’s hometowns.

I always wanted to walk in the village my maternal grandmother had told me about when I was young. She had described the neighborhood church with its cemetery, a family garden, and her maternal side living in the next village.

My grandmother, Mary, emigrated with her mother, Anna, and younger brother, Joseph, in July 1913 when she was 12 years old. She would become a teen a week after arriving in the U.S. My great-grandfather had come 3 years earlier and settled in Chicago after crisscrossing the country working for the Pullman Company.

I had photos of the apartment where they lived in Chicago and the houses they rented and bought in Gary, Indiana, but I had no visual of the home she resided in as a child. Grandma had returned to visit Croatia in the summer of 1960 with her singing group, Preradovic. I have a picture of her with two village women, unnamed, who she said were cousins. Truthfully, Grandma called everyone cousins and she was probably correct as the village in which she was born had only 349 people in 2011. Her mother’s ancestral village, Jerebic, only had 41 people in 2011. If they weren’t cousins, they were called kum or kuma (godfather or godmother). Definitely supports the importance of Elizabeth Shown Mills’ FAN Club! With such small numbers, everyone was connected.

There were 99 houses in town, which one was Grandma’s? For that, I turned to a genealogical report written by Sanja Frigan for my second cousin in 2008. Sanja had gone to the local church and spoke with the priest who shared records. I was able to identify the location as house number 40. This was confirmed through the only FamilySearch.org Dubranec record for my grandmother – her baptism record shows the family living in house number 40. Through the Association of Professional Genealogists, I contacted fellow genealogist Lidija Sambunjak to discover if house numbers were altered since the church record was made in 1900. I highly recommend contacting a local genealogist, historian, or archaeologist as they know details of communities that aren’t available online. Lidija was able to find the new house number. She also found a record that showed the home had been built by 1861 when a census had been taken. Lidija also discovered the home was now a tavern so there was a strong possibility I could go inside and even eat in the location my grandmother had taken her first bites of food!

Getting to Dubranec was an issue; it was outside the city limits of Zagreb so no bus was available. I could Uber/taxi but I didn’t want to just get dropped off. I needed a driver who could take me to all the places I wanted to see, wait while I explored for a bit, and answer questions that might arise from what I was seeing. I was not comfortable with renting a car as I was unfamiliar with the area and there were avalanche and flash flood warnings – not something I wanted to tackle on my own. Plus, I don’t speak Croatian well and a translator would be helpful.

Lidija recommended a colleague, Nikolina Antonić, who was a historian and archaeologist. We agreed on a price for the day and in our email exchanges, she shared with me her dissertation which just happened to be in the area my family resided. Finding a knowledgeable professional might take some time so start looking as soon as you book your trip.

I shared with Nikolina my family stories regarding defending a castle, building a church, going on a pilgrimage, and being titled a nobleman. Her dissertation was about the land records for the area beginning in the 1200s so she was an expert with location and history.

Nikolina met us at our hotel at 9 AM sharp. After reading her dissertation I had questions about how my family fit into the culture of those times. Her answers helped me put the records I had found the day before into perspective. Our first stop was a recreated home that would have been typical of a noble family. Although we couldn’t go inside, we were able to walk the grounds, peer in the windows and my husband found pottery shards in the freshly turned garden. Nikolina identified them as the late 1800s. A few days later we toured a castle in Bled and in the museum was an identical pottery piece labeled the late 1800s. It helped me imagine that my two times great-grandparents likely used a similar jug.

Our next stop was a recreated castle where my family tale says we fought off Turkish invaders. I’ll be writing more about this next week.

As we climbed the mountain through a forest I could visualize my ancestors hunting in the woods. It was breathtakingly beautiful – spring green leaves budding on the trees, a deep blue sky with puffy white clouds – a picture postcard.

The village Dubranec was larger than I expected. From the land records discovered the previous day I knew where some of my family’s property began and ended. The lots have been subdivided over the years and now, many more buildings were housed on what was once farmland. I was disappointed to find the home where my grandmother was born that had been turned into a tavern closed. A man walking down the street informed us that the owner had recently died. The picture at the top was from Google; the building has changed somewhat and for privacy, I am not displaying the photo I took.

Next, we went to the village Jerebeic where my great-grandmother’s family was from. It was about a 5-minute drive further up the mountain. The village was exactly what I had envisioned – all old wooden buildings. The well, unused now, was still there, roosters still roamed the yard, and hay was stored in the barn. I was surprised to learn that my family had been known for their vineyards and some very old plants still produced grapes. Which great grandfather had planted them I don’t know but I still have the recipes. We spoke to the farm’s present owner who knew it had once been owned by the Grdenic family. He kindly let me take photos.

Back down the mountain, our next stop was Our Lady of the Snows Roman Catholic Church. The earthquake had damaged the structure so we could not go inside. I was shocked to see the cemetery intact and with just a few older stones. I learned that rental needs to be paid annually and when it is not received, after a time, the body is dug up, the bones collected, and placed in a group grave. Nikolina was not sure what happened to the old tombstones. The beautiful day had turned rainy and with thunder and lightning overhead, we did not stay long among the graves. I plan on writing to the current priest to obtain more information.

We then drove miles to visit Marija Bistrica, a pilgrimage site. On our way, we saw a group of pilgrims with walking sticks making their way to the church high on a mountaintop. I’ll write more about my great-grandmother’s reason for the pilgrimage next week. I was amazed to see how far she walked over such difficult terrain. I know I come from a strong line of females but this discovery really surprised me.

It was time to return to our hotel as our Gate1 tour was meeting that evening. I will never forget this emotional experience and I believe I would not have gained such insight into my family’s background had it not been for Nikolina’s expertise.

If you are planning an excursion to your ancestor’s home turf, do your research first, then check out transportation options, and hire a guide who is familiar with the area’s history. Although most people in Europe speak English, if you are going to a rural area it is best if you have someone who can translate for you. Don’t forget your camera or phone charger!

Next week I’ll be giving you some tech tips for your ancestral experience.

Eerie Happenings Occur When Researching Ancestors

Partial Clip from U.S., Army, Register of Enlistments, 1798-1914, Thomas Thompson, digital image; Ancesry.com:  accessed 17 July 2021, image 402 of 440; citing NARA M233.

One of the things I love about genealogy is the weird occurrences that happen.  I had planned to write about a local mystery but two strange events happened to me this week that I think you’ll find interesting.

Last week, I blogged about The Forgotten Ones project for the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War.  While researching Thomas Charles Thompson I came across a document that may or may not be his father, Thomas Coke Thompson. 

These folks are my husband’s relatives and whenever I work on that line strange things happen.  The pattern continues…

The document I found is shown above.  Thomas Coke was known to be in the Albany, New York area at the time the document was made.  He married first, Elizabeth and had several children.  Only Thomas Charles lived to adulthood but died before Thomas Coke.  Census and death records state that Thomas Coke was born in New York City but I’ve never found a record for him or his parents.  The document above caught my eye because the same location, name used in other records (he never used Coke) and age.  What stood out to me was that he was a musician born in Great Britain. The Thomas Coke in our family tree was a ship’s carpenter when he moved to Chicago.

I forwarded the document to my husband’s cousins who I have met over the years through online research.  One stated she wasn’t interested.  Another thanked me immensely.  The third replied that she wished her mom was alive to see and ponder it – her mom’s birthday would be 2 days after I made the find.  I replied to the 3rd cousin that I had thought of her mom the prior week when I wrote to a colleague who wanted information for an upcoming book he was writing on cemetery re-internments.  In reviewing my notes I found an email from a cemetery that mentioned the 3rd cousin’s mother who had written to correct a mistake in the cemetery record. 

A few days after I emailed the 3rd cousin, she replied she wasn’t feeling that the document was for Thomas Coke.  After all, Thomas Thompson is a common name.  Although that is true, in the Albany 1830 US Federal census there are only 5 Thomas Thompsons in that area; 3 are Black, 1 is old and 1 is of the age of the man who enlisted.  What doesn’t fit is the name of the next of kin on the form (clip above not showing it).  No record of this individual anywhere and none of the cousins have heard of her.  Certainly more research is needed but for now it’s on hold until I’m able to revisit NARA next spring. 

The 3rd cousin decided to look through her records and found several photos from the 1860’s that she didn’t recall sharing with me.  One was of Elizabeth Williams, sister of Drusilla who had married 2nd Thomas Coke. 

At the same time 3rd cousin was emailing me the picture, I received another email that I had a message on MyHeritage.  I assumed it was a response for WW2 pictures as I had contacted a number of tree owners looking for photos for the Fields of Honors project in the Netherlands. 

I don’t know why but something told me to respond to the 3rd cousin after reviewing all my emails.  I logged onto MyHeritage and was astounded to discover a message from a 3 times great granddaughter of Elizabeth Williams.  She was thanking me for putting info on the tree. 

Before answering, I decided to check my personal email to read the 3rd cousins’ information.  That’s when I discovered the picture of Elizabeth.  I emailed both of my husband’s cousins to connect them and uploaded the picture to Ancestry, which is where my Main Tree is located.  That’s the tree I keep updated.

So, if that wasn’t enough of the eebee jeebees for you, two days later the following happened…

Summer is my family’s lean time as we don’t receive a paycheck.  Unfortunately for us, we’ve had some major expenses.  We had budgeted for the ones we knew about (replacing a deck, renovating the side yard) but not for others (reconstructing a coop, a plumbing issue we didn’t even know was a problem).  After shelling out a couple of hundred dollars to a pest control company to get rid of the varmints that had eaten the deck and coop and infested an appliance, a remembrance of my grandmother, Mary Koss, came to me.

When I was dating my husband in high school I was adamant I was never going to get married.  I had never seen a happy couple.  I’m serious – most of my older relatives were divorced or in miserable marriages.  One day after my then boyfriend left, my grandmother said to me, “You’d be a fool not to marry him.  You’ll never find anyone better.”  I know I though she was nuts at the time but you didn’t argue with Grandma so I didn’t respond.  She has proven to be right.

Grandma loved to be right and was not shy about making sure everyone knew she had predicted what was going to occur.  My thoughts of that day came about because my dear husband never ever has complained to me about spending money, even when it’s tight. 

This jogged my brain into calling our power company as I wanted to change our automatic payment method.  I tried to do this online but I was directed to call the company.  While waiting for a human, I decided to clean out my emails and I saw that Ancestry had sent me one with their latest record updates.  It happened to be for Ellis Island/Castle Gardens.

Since I had thought about my grandmother I decided to enter in her information which I’ve seen before. I just wanted to check if there was something new.  Coincidentally, the date my grandmother had arrived on Ellis Island just happened to be the day I was checking the record.

OHHH – weird – her birthday was coming up in 2 days and I hadn’t noticed before that she had made herself older on the form – claimed to be a teenager of 13 when she was still 12 for two more days.  That made me laugh.

But the weirdness doesn’t end there…The customer service rep came on the line and asked my name.  When I told her she responded by spelling my first name correctly.  No one does that as there is several ways to spell Lori.  I didn’t think much of that but as we got into the call she had to speak to my husband as she couldn’t find that I had access to the account.  This always annoys me but I put my husband on who told her he has given my information on several occasions and to please correct it for the future.  The customer service rep said, “There is someone else on the account, do you know who that could be?”  My husband asked me and then it hit me – it was probably my birth certificate name that I never use.  I gave the woman that name and she said, “Yes, that’s it.  I didn’t think you were the same person as my mother is named (with your birth certificate name) and my aunt with the name you go by.”  So, this explained how she could spell Lori correctly.  I told her that I always asked my mom why they named me as they had when they called me something else.  My mom’s reply was that she didn’t know, I was supposed to be named Patty Ann after her friend but when she looked at me after my birth the other name just popped into her head. She never met anyone with my birth certificate name and can’t explain why she thought of it.

After years of doing genealogy, I was shocked to learn that my father’s family was from a European province that is the same as my real name.  I doubted my mom would know that as she had always told me my father was Germany, English, Scotts-Irish and Welsh.  The province is not located in any of those areas.  I know he never knew of the province as he always told me his ancestry was German and British.

I  thought maybe my mom had heard the name and it was somewhere in her head where the euphoria of childbirth brought it forth. Now, because of what next occurred, I’m thinking that is a real possibility.

After using the Ancestry.com search for my grandmother, grandfather, great grandmother and great uncle I decided to try to find my great grandfather who had emigrated before his wife and two children.  I had a little trouble in that I was entering Croatia as his birth place.  I should have left that blank.  It finally dawned on me he would have said Austria as that was the country at the time.  My grandmother, a vocal almost teen ager and being for Croatia separation from Austria-Hungary, had stated she was from Croatia so I just didn’t think initially to change it.  It made sense he would have provided different information as he had been in the Austrian Calvary.  (HINT TO SELF-When searching, try to think like the individual that provided the record information and not what you know of the individual). His information  tells me he didn’t think of himself as Croatian first; he had allegiance to the governing country probably due to his military service..

When I found my great grandfather Josip Kos’ record I was astounded to see that the ship he sailed to America on was my birth certificate name.  Wow!

I had seen the document before but it never clicked. My great grandfather died during the previous pandemic and I had just thought about him when I got my pneumonia vaccine last week.  He got the flu but died of pneumonia.  Although my mom was a baby when he died, perhaps she had heard this ship’s name and recalled it for who knows what reason when I was born. 

Or, just maybe, he whispered it into her ear and she wrote it on my birth certificate. 

Who knows?!  All I can tell you for sure is that I just really enjoy these creepy coincidences.  Christmas in July? Nope, with my family I’ve got Halloween early!

Using Your Senses in Genealogy

First, an important message to those who follow my blog posted on Blogger….In July, you will no longer be receiving my blog directly to your email.  I’m so sorry!  Google has decided to cancel the email subscriber feature.  I’ll continue blogging and you can find me through Blogger or at my GenealogyAtHeart.com website where I also post.  

The photo above, which I discovered accidentally this week, haunts me.  It connects my past to the present in a special way.

Since the pandemic began, my husband and I have sat next to each other almost daily working separately but together from our home office.  When I began my career in the education field 44 years ago, if someone had told me this was how it would end I wouldn’t have believed them.  

I have been fortunate throughout this difficult time when so many have suffered untold losses.  Last Friday, as I was wrapping up the work week, I came across the picture above.  Before reading the caption, I was overcome with a vague memory.  I somehow recognized the building.  I dismissed that thought quickly.  The JSTOR Daily article title, Libraries and Pandemics:  Past and Present could be a photo from any Carnegie library in 1918 since most used the same architectural plans.  Except it wasn’t just any old library building.

The caption identifies the librarians sitting on the steps as protecting themselves from the influenze pandemic in October 1918 in Gary, Indiana.  As a child, I climbed those steps many times with my mother, who would have been 6 months old when the photo was taken.  Her father and maternal grandfather would bring the influenza home to the rest of the family three months later. Joseph Kos[s], who I’ve blogged about previously, would succumb to the disease.  

The last time I visited that library was about 55 years ago.  It has long been closed, not because of age or lack of use, but due to mismanagement of city finances.  Six years ago I was told that most of the holdings were still inside, waiting for the day that funds became available to reopen.  I don’t know if that’s still the case though it appears that it re-opened after a renovation in January 2018 but has been shuttered again.  

I wonder what the librarians pictured above, who worked hard to preserve the library’s contents even during a pandemic, would think about the state of the library today.  No doubt, like me, they would have found it difficult to fathom what the future held.

I also wonder about the condition of the contents remaining in an environment that is unheated in winter or cooled in summer.  As a child, I well remember the annual heat wave in July where temperatures would sore to 100 degrees.  We managed with the windows open and portable fans to catch the breeze blowing off Lake Michigan.  The winters could be brutal with snow falling as early as October and as late as April.  

But this blog isn’t about record loss; my thoughts today turn to sensory memory. After all these years, I still recall those steps that were so hard to climb when I was small.  The angle the photo had been taken no doubt helped me recall the building.  Being short in those days, the view I visualized and stored in my mind would have been from looking up at the entrance.  

Using our senses can help recall those distant genealogy memories we carry.  Smelling and tasting one of my grandmother’s recipe takes me to another time.  For my husband, remembrances of holidays past are easily recalled when we share food around the table held in his maternal grandmother’s china.  Hearing my departed relatives voices recorded on our old movies gives me that goose bump sensation as if they are still here. The sound of those voices helps me remember other events to which I associate them.  

Partaking in a former activity can also help recall long forgotten memories.  Early last year, my husband salvaged a bike that was placed for trash pickup.  We have two bikes which we never ride and he couldn’t explain why he brought it home with its rear flat tire.  I was drawn to the bike, too.  Watching my husband tinkering with the bike recalled memories of my grandfather who had once been in the same position as my husband was, fixing the chain.  After the repairs were complete I decided to take it for a spin.  It was a cool spring morning and I felt like I was 8 years old again.  The only thing missing was my apple red wind breaker my mom had purchased from Montgomery Wards on sale. I can’t explain why that one block bike ride made me remember that long forgotten jacket. Most likely it was due to my sense of macro reception, balance and movement on the bike, that enabled me to think of the past. 

There is also that 6th sense, intuition, that is yet unexplainable.  Somehow, we just know where to find that tombstone or missing document.  Perhaps this sense is a compilation of the others mentioned when we relax and let the thoughts enter.  

Using your senses in genealogy is another asset for your toolbox, however, caution is needed.  Memory alone does not suffice; examination of records and the input of others who may have shared that memory are necessary.