František Mlejnek of Ratíškovice, Moravia

František Mlejnek was known to have been living in Ratíškovice, Moravia by about 1880 according to Czech Census Records and local history.  It was once believed that František Mlejnek was a soldier in the Austrian army; however, no military records have thus far been located in the Austrian War Archives in Vienna or Prague.    Expert analysis of the uniform he is wearing in family pictures indicates that it is not Austrian issue and probably was worn by members of a local militia or other organization.

František's wife's name was Anežka Čejkovská, but her vital records apparently were either falsified or incorrectly recorded before or during the Nazi occupation. No records on her parents' family have been located. It has been speculated that her family is from Northeastern Bohemia, but after exhaustive searching, no records have been found.  It is most likely that her family is from Moravia, but extensive research has not identified the location.

Current folklore is that František and Anežka had 16 children, but only 14 have been accounted for.   The family lived in Moravia where their oldest son, Josef, was born in 1871.  František's occupation was a guard in a sugar factory in Rohatec.

Anežka died on 05 May 1907 and František on 25 December 1908.   Anežka's date of death is approximately two months prior to her son's, Bedřich, arrival in NY.   František and Anežka are buried in Ratíškovice, Moravia.

Family Photos

Bedřich (Fred) Mlejnek of Ratíškovice, Moravia

Bedřich Mlejnek was born in Ratíškovice on 01 March 1883.  He was the 8th known child of František Mlejnek and Anežka Čejkovská.   He trained as a carpenter in Strašnice, Moravia.   His wife, Katherine was the daughter of Martin Sagánek of Hrubá Vrbka, Moravia.

According to Bedřich's "Declaration of Intention" dated 07 September 1922, he arrived in NY on 28 June 1907 on the vessel named Bremen from Bremen, Germany.   Katherine joined her husband later after arriving in New York, NY on 07 August 1907 on the ship named the Barbarossa.  Katherine and Bedřich (Fred) lived in Chicago, Cook, IL; Elmira, Charlevoix, MI;and rural Nebraska before making Omaha, NE their permanent home.   They had a total of ten children.

Fred Mlejnek died 29 December 1935 in a hunting accident.   Katherine died 02 September 1958 of natural causes.   Of their ten children, seven reached adulthood, married, and most of them had children.   Fred is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery and Katherine in the Bohemian National Cemetery in Omaha, NE.

Family Photos

Viktor Mlejnek of Ratíškovice, Moravia

Viktor Mlejnek, older brother of Bedřich, was born in Ratíškovice on 06 December 1880.   He was the 7th known child of František Mlejnek and Anežka Čejkovská.   He attended college in Strašnice, Moravia and then trained as a priest in Brno, Moravia.    He then immigrated to the United States in 1908 to further his studies at the Sulpician Seminary in Baltimore, MD.   He was ordained by Cardinal Gibbons in 1910 and then moved to Nebraska where he established many Czech parishes.  

In 1932 was made Monsignor and lived most of his life in David City, Butler, NE.   Monsignor Mlejnek died 07 July 1969 and is buried in Calvary Cemetery, Lincoln, NE.

Photos

The Three Sisters

As of June 2008, not very much is known about three of the daughters of František Mlejnek and Anežka Cejkovská of Ratiškovice, Moravia.   Indeed, it is not even known with any certainty exactly how many daughters there were in the family.   The best estimates are that there were probably four of which at least three reached adulthood.

Růzena Mlejnková

The youngest daughter, Růzena Mlejnková, was born August 16, 1889 in Ratiškovice, Moravia.   According to official US documents, she arrived at Ellis Island, NY on about October 31, 1915 on the S.S. Rotterdam from Rotterdam.  She was registered on the manifest as Rosa Swoboda, age 28 and married from [Rahschkowitz], Austria.   Arriving with her was Agnes Swoboda, age 6; Marie Swoboda, age 4; and Franz Swoboda, age 2.   All of these data are consistent with actual names and birth dates of the first three known children of Růzena Mlejnková in 1915.

According to the 1920 US Census, Mike Svoboda, age 36, was living at 534 Front Street in Allentown, Lehigh, PA on January 12, 1920.  Living at the same residence was his wife, Rosa, age 31; daughter Agnes, age 10; daughter Mary, age 7; son Frank, age 6 and son Mike age 3 7/12.  Also living in this same household were 6 boarders.

In the 1920 US Census, Mike Svoboda Sr. indicates that he arrived in 1912. Rosa and her first three children are listed as arriving in 1915 consistent with the manifest listed above.  The youngest son Mike Jr, was the only person listed as being born in the US in Pennsylvania.  Everyone else was born in Moravia.

Adding additional documentation to this family's history is a manifest for a Michael Svoboda, age 30, who arrived on the S.S. Vekar from Breman on or about March 15, 1913.  He is listed as a machinist from Rohatec, Moravia and that his nearest relative was his wife, Rosa Svoboda of Rohatec.

According to family lore, Růzena was supposed to have entered the US in 1909. Her objective was to locate her husband, Michael Svoboda.   Michael was purported to have been a conscript in the Austrian Army, but left Moravia without telling anyone.  However, official US documents place a great deal of doubt on that story.

Štěpánka Mlejnková

Much less is known about Štěpánka Mlejnkova than her sister, Růzena Mlejnková. The first US record that was located for Štěpánka is the ship's manifest for the The S.S. Vaderland from Antwerp, Belgium and arriving at Ellis Island on or before Dec 16, 1913.  On that manifest is listed a 41 year old Johann Dvorak and his 36 year old wife, Stefania Dvorak   Accompanying them are their two children, Johann, age 6 and Maria, age 3 years and 6 months. Their last declared address was Wien X at Buchsbaumgasse 51 Tür 4 which is the street, house number and door number for Eduard Mlejnek in Vienna, Austria  Eduard is Stepanka's older brother.  Johann Dvorak's profession is listed as a day laborer.

According to the ship's manifest, Johann, Stefania, and family are going to Allenstown, PA to meet her sister and brother-in-law, Michael Svoboda. Their address was listed as 25 Tilghman Street in Allentown.

The next official record located in the US is the 1920 US Census for Allentown, Lehigh, PA.  John and Stephanie Dvorak were living 15 Allen Street in Allentown, Lehigh, PA on January 29, 1920. John was listed at 41 years old and working as an "Iceman" and Stephanie as 36 making their birthyears as 1879 and 1884 respectively. John's arrival in the US was listed as 1914 and Stepanie's as 1913.  Living with them was a son, John, age 16 and daughter, Mary, age 12. John and Mary were both listed as being born in Vienna Austria.

Marie Mlejnková