I am entirely of Slovak descent.  This year, perhaps because my father is dying, I have been writing the history of my family.  Not my immediate family, but the history of our ancestors, as that piecemeal story is known to me.  So far, I have worked only on my father’s side, back through several generations to Slovakia, using files of notes that my father left with me, and other notes that I took back in the 1990s, when my paternal grandfather was still alive and reminiscing.

I had the idea of posting what I’m finding on my website, for relatives and anyone else who finds this material interesting.  I had hoped to wrap up the pieces of it tidily, but I’m discovering that’s not how it works with genealogy.  This way, I can continue to modify and add to anything that I put online.  Please read bearing in mind this is a work in progress.  For now, all I have ready to present is a page on maps and one on the Slovakian Census of 1869.

Maps

Because I’ve never been to Slovakia, maps are central to my inquiry.  My family emigrated to the US in the late nineteenth century, during which time Slovakia was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire.  I have pulled together several maps which help make sense of the geopolitical situation back then, which you can look at by clicking here.

The 1869 Census of Slovakia

I managed to locate some of my ancestors in the census that the Hungarian government conducted in 1869.  I have written some introductory notes about the census, which can be viewed by clicking here.

Something of the Radomsky Family in 1869

This page features a sample of the Slovakian census, which I draw on to describe the circumstances of my paternal ancestors in their native village.  Navigate to the page by clicking here.

Anna Radomsky Dorko

I became intrigued with this Anna Radomsky, who may have been my grandfather’s older first cousin, and who may have come to the US before the men.  Read her life story by clicking here.

Image: A present-day map of Slovakia with the villages of my ancestors that I’ll be writing about indicated.  The navy dot is Nizny Komarnik.  The maroon dot is Mergeska (also known as Nova Polianka).  The red dot is Mihalovce, and the lavender dot is Levoca.

30 July 2015

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