Schimek Family Tree

Are you still looking? My 2nd great grandmother was Anna Šimek, born in house #5, Popovice, South Bohemia, July 26, 1823. She died on Feb 11 1897, Town of Rockland, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. Her father was Jozef, possibly from Vilice. Jozef had 7 children. He is mu 3rd great grandfather. Could there be a link? Please us e-mail, deeklischek@new.rr.com, if you see this and find it helpful. I rarely look at this site, but I am thinking I should get familiar.

Hey, Renny, Sorry…didn’t see your response! You definitely have an uphill battle! I don’t find your associated names in my database, so no direct help. Checking the naturalization records is a start. Have you looked at tombstones — many times the earlier stones will list the village of birth. Probably the most important thing you can do is build out the full family tree and start contacting people. If someone in the family still has the original house where they lived, make sure they check the attic or the “back closet”. Someone may have a picture with something written on the back, a letter, a copy of a birth record, or something else. Be sure to find every obituary for all relatives. Someone may have a village name listed. Did the county or a town where they lived publish accounts of early settlers in a centennial book? Was there a ZBCJ lodge in the county that they may have belonged to? If so, they may have purchased insurance and that would potentially list the native village. Or the notes from meetings may indicate a village from when they joined or announcing their death. You best link may very well be from a 3rd or 4th cousin who has something and you may not even be aware at present that you are related. The clue is out there waiting to be discovered. You just have to be tenacious enough to find it! If I can be of any help if you find a clue, give me a shout! Good luck!

Thanks for the note. My Great Grandparents, my grandmother, and great uncle came over from Bohemia in late 1883 or early 1884. James Christ, Mary (Chaka?? I have multiple spellings of this name Chaka, Chesak, Juka, Jeske my grandmother spelled it Chaka) Josephine and Frank. My grandmother spoke no English according to the Census. My father remembers her speaking to him in Bohemian but never English. Have been looking for the ship/ immigration records along with their Naturalization papers in numeous place without luck. They settled in Marathon County, Wisconsin, Hull township and Holton Township. I find them in the 1900 and 1910 Census but no sooner. I found that many of these records were in a fire federally but will keep searching. I can’t link any other relatives to that area as of yet, prior to those dates as to the reason they ended up here. I am trying to find the birth place of the next sibling in hopes I can find the area they settled in before Marathon County but only find that she was born in Wisconsin in 1888 per the census. I did get a phone number from a nearby town Stevens Point where the university has all Marathon county Naturalization records. I only know that we were told that they came over when my grandmother was 3 months old from Bohemia, no area was listed. Any ideas would be helpful. Renny

Thanks for the note. My Great Grandparents, my grandmother, and great uncle came over from Bohemia in late 1883 or early 1884. James Christ, Mary (Chaka?? I have multiple spellings of this name Chaka, Chesak, Juka, Jeske my grandmother spelled it Chaka) Josephine and Frank. My grandmother spoke no English according to the Census. My father remembers her speaking to him in Bohemian but never English. Have been looking for the ship/ immigration records along with their Naturalization papers in numeous place without luck. They settled in Marathon County, Wisconsin, Hull township and Holton Township. I find them in the 1900 and 1910 Census but no sooner. I found that many of these records were in a fire federally but will keep searching. I can’t link any other relatives to that area as of yet, prior to those dates as to the reason they ended up here. I am trying to find the birth place of the next sibling in hopes I can find the area they settled in before Marathon County but only find that she was born in Wisconsin in 1888 per the census. I did get a phone number from a nearby town Stevens Point where the university has all Marathon county Naturalization records. I only know that we were told that they came over when my grandmother was 3 months old from Bohemia, no area was listed. Any ideas would be helpful. Renny

Hi, Renny, I have a number of different Simek/Schimek families in my ancestry. Unfortunately, it is a common name, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find where they were from with some diligent work. What else can you tell me about the family? Where did they settle in the US? Any idea where they were from in Bohemia? Any other relative surnames that you know of related to the Schimek family? What port did they enter through? Hope to hear from you!
Jerry