Josef and Marie (Wolf) Marek's Children 1847-1872
Research note by Wesley Johnston
Last updated 11 Nov 2012
Conflicting Dates; Unknown Birthplaces
Josef and Marie (Wolf) Marek married 6 Nov 1845 in Lu~ce, okres Beroun, just southwest of Prague. They had at least 11 known children. Four children were born at Lu~ce #28, from 1847 to 1852. Another was born at Vysoký Újezd #11 in 1854. The birth and baptismal records for these five children have been found at the parish church in Tachlovice. However, none of the children born before or after 1854 appear in the Tachlovice church register. So the family had moved to some new place after 1854, but that place has not yet been found.
In addition, several of the dates of birth given in later records for the children for whom records have been found differ from their actual birth dates. In most cases, these are minor differences. But in the case of KateYina, the difference is 3 years and several months, so that it is possible that there were two KateYinas, with the first one having died but no birth record yet found for the second one.
This research note documents what is known and the conclusions that I have reached for representing dates for the children's births, since there is considerable conflict and uncertainty in those dates. I could very well be wrong. But at least, in the absence of records, the basis for my conclusions will be clear, so that if new records are eventually found, they can either corroborate or correct my conclusions.
The Children Born at Lu~ce #28 from 1847 to 1852
Four children were born at Lu~ce #28 and baptized at Svatý Jan pod Skalou:
The birth month and year given for Anna and František in the 1900 US Census match their birth records.
Marya had not been known before the 2012 research conducted by Miroslav Koudelka, commissioned by Wesley Johnston. It is possible that she died in Bohemian, since nothing is known of her in America.
KateYina: Were there two or just one? Evidence leans toward two
It is KateYina who presents the greatest surprise. Was this 1850 KateYina the same one who married Petr Koutecký in Chicago in 1884?
- The daughter KateYina, who married Petr was 28 on her marriage license, thus indicating birth about 1856 or 1855. The license shows her 3 years younger than Petr.
- Her death certificate gives an explicit birthdate of 25 Nov 1853, which is not only 3 years different from the 1850 KateYina but also differs by 3 months in the month and by 6 days in the date.
- The 1900 census has her at 43, with an explicit birth month and year Nov 1856, and 2 years younger than Petr.
- In 1910 she and Petr are both 57 [thus 1853].
- In 1920, he is 66 and she 65 [thus 1855].
- In 1930, he is 78 and she 76 [thus 1854].
So there is great variation in her age and thus in her computed birth year. But she is consistently shown as not being older than Petr and being born in November and being born 1853-1856.
It was quite common that when a child died, then the next child born of the same gender would be given the same name. So the question is whether the 1850 KateYina died and the KateYina who married Petr was a second KateYina -- or whether there really was just one KateYina born in 1850, so that all the later records pointing to 1853-1856 were not only inconsistent with each other but off by 3 to 6 years from the actual date?
The explicit birthdate given on her death record, 25 Nov 1853, is almost certainly wrong. We have the birth record of her brother Josef, born 15 Jul 1854, which points to conception about 18 Oct 1853 and is less than 8 months after 25 Nov 1853. So it is highly unlikely that a second child could have been conceived after a 25 Nov 1853 birth and born 15 Jul 1854 and have survived. We also have the 26 Jul 1852 birth of brother František, which would have meant no next birth likely until at least May 1853. So there is a window of May-Sep 1853 in which a child could have been born without conflicting with the known birth dates of František and Josef. But no such record has been found.
After Josef, the next child would not be normally possible until May 1855. So the 1855 and 1856 dates are still possible.
Weighing all this, and in the absence of the possibility of checking birth and death records in Bohemia, I am carrying the KateYina born 1850 as separate from the one who married Petr.
I suspect that Petr's KateYina was born 23 November 1855 or 1856. This is after the 1854 Vysoký Újezd birth of Josef, who we know was the only child in the Tachlovice records.
The Child Born at Vysoký Újezd #11 in 1854
The only child in the birth records of Tachlovice, the parish church of Vysoký Újezd, was Josef, born 15 Jul 1854 and baptized 17 Jul 1854. This differs from his death certificate, which showed his birthdate as 2 Jul 1854.
The Children Born after 1854
Since the birthdates of two of the documented children conflict with their later ages and birthdates, the information on the children born after 1854 must be regarded with uncertainty. The search of parishes near Vysoký Újezd to try to find where the family moved is frustrated by the fact that records for this period are the least complete for all parishes on the Actapublica.eu website. So the records have yet to be found for these children. The birthdates shown here are from later records. Note that Marie Wolf was 53 years old in Jan 1872, the date of the last child.
We really do need to find where the family moved after 1854.
Marie Wolf's Mother Veronika's Maiden Name
There is one other puzzle in the family records. In the births of the four children at Lu~ce #28, their mother Marie Wolf's mother Weronika's maiden name is given as Marešová. However, in the 1854 birth of Josef Marek at Vysoký Újezd #11, Veronika's maiden name is given as Fürst. The marriage record of Marie Wolf and Josef Marek also has Veronika's maiden name as Marešová. The 1854 baptismal record may have been in error because Veronika's mother Eva Zemanová was the foster child of Jan FiYt. I can find no other reason for this unique 1854 reference to Veronika's maiden name.