How my Grandparents the Polasek’s Celebrated Christmas: Their Daughters Remember

Christmas card received from brother Rudolph and his wife Hattie Polasek.

January 1, 2014

Happy New Year to All!

May your 2014 be bright and filled with fun, food, love and great family relationships!

How my Grandparents the Polasek’s Celebrated Christmas in the Wild and Wooly Town of Dallas: Their Daughters Remember

My cousins gathered three of the four daughters born to Joe and Louise Polasek at their house back in 1986.  Their job:  to record for posterity what it is was like growing up in the Polasek household!   From all the conversations that flowed so freely, it was quite easy to surmise that my Mother and my aunts’ young lives had been filled with a lot of love but Christmas was by far the best and most memorable time of the year!  Since then I have been collecting recipes and stories from each family to fill in a few more blanks in the Polasek family past!

Grandma Louise and her sister Rose left Ennis to live and work at St. Paul’s Hospital after their father’s death in 1921.  Grandpa Joe and his brother Frank had moved from Corn Hill to Dallas, Texas by 1917 per his WWI draft card.  The two met in Dallas and got married in September 1926 with Mother being born in July the next year.  By 1930, they were living in a duplex along with brother Frank, wife Frances, and daughter Bettye at 704 Fletcher Street.

Joseph Polasek’s Employment

Through the use of online Dallas, Texas Directories, Grandpa’s places of employment given by his children have been confirmed. In the 1923 and 1927 Directories, the two brothers were employed as “meat cutters” and “sausage makers” at Samuel Engleberg’s establishment.  Grandpa also worked from 1928 – 1931 at the Dallas Steel and Iron Works with his Czech friend.  It was there he learned to create furniture and accessories made out of iron which included such items as a table, lamp, tea cart with large wheels, and glass topped breakfast room table.  During the years 1932 – 1934, he started working as a mechanic fixing automobiles with another friend Moody Bell who had a service station and garage on East Grand.  From 1938 – 1959, he owned and operated his own garage, known as Joe’s Garage, for many years in downtown Dallas. Aunt Pat recalled that these were very “good years” for the whole family.

The Enjoyment of the Fall Seasons

One greatly anticipated highlight of the year was the fall excursions to watch the leaves falling with their seasonal colors at White Rock Lake at Dallas, Texas.  This family event usually took place in the company of Uncle Frank and Frances Polasek with their children Bettye and Dorothy Jean.  Once a year without fail, the entire family went on their annual pecan hunting trip.  With everyone’s eager participation enough pecans would be gathered for the baking to be done all year but especially at Christmas.  The couple truly loved feeding family, friends and neighbors and enjoyed having a good time.

Food Was Always a Passion

Grandpa Polasek was very funny and would keep people well entertained with his stories.  He never raised his voice but he could just look at you in that certain way to relate quite plainly that you were in trouble.    He always appeared happy and content with his life.  When did he feel the happiest?  You guessed it … every year when putting up the three Christmas trees!  In fact, Grandpa Polasek was known to “whistle up a storm” repeatedly but especially when he trimmed the two big trees on the front lawn at his home at 601 Peak Street.

Both loved to cook and were known for their culinary talents amongst family, friends, and neighbors!  Grandma Louise loved making sweet things.  All the pies, cookies, kolaches, donuts, candies, strudels, and cakes came from her handiwork.  She even made “white lace” cookies (no recipe found yet!) which she would sell to her neighbors to make extra money.  She always used the pecans that the family had gathered in the fall to make her tasty pecan pies and dreamy nut-filled cakes and cookies as well.  In December many of these cookies and candies where employed as Christmas ornaments and garland for the tree and mantle.

                                                                                               

I know that all four daughters love “sweets” too as the dessert making continued in their own households even after marriage.  Starting in November my little Mother would start her own Christmas baking, making at least 10 to 15 different cookies recipes and 3 or more pies including rum, pumpkin, cherry cheese and her own version of pecan! (You can imagine all my siblings adore sweet Christmas treats too…..so the tradition continues!)

Grandpa Joe was the master of meat but especially for beef and pork BBQ!  And now I know that he got started back in the 1920’s while working as a meat cutter and sausage maker at Engelberg’s!  He built his own specialized cooker in his backyard where he would BBQ any type of food.  All year, but especially at Christmas time, many of his family and neighbors would bring him their roast beefs and /or other meats to happily grill to utter perfection.  Everyone always told him he should open up his own restaurant as everything he cooked were so amazing!  It really is too bad that he did not. 

Keeping Alive Family Christmas Traditions:

Christmas Trees and Village

Christmas Eve was always a big time of festivity and included many traditional celebrations taking place on December 24! In the Polasek household, a small village composed of paper houses and little miniature evergreen trees materialized upon the buffet, a custom still carried on by my parents and even now in my own household. I am the current “master builder” with half my attic full of houses, trees, lights, and literally over 1,000 little people and animals with which to populate it. (Building a village is one family custom I plan to continue in the future!) 

In my Grandparents house, three Christmas trees would have been purchased from the local neighborhood business selling trees: two for the front yard as previously mentioned and one for the inside!   Every year Grandpa Polasek picked the most enormous one he could find because its’ top always had to touch the dining room’s ceiling. The Christmas tree was certainly the main focal point of the Christmas decorations: always beautiful to behold and a treasure for family and friends to enjoy!

This evergreen giant would then be decked with both store bought items such as beautiful glass ornaments as well as with plenty of homemade decorations including yards and yards of edible garland.  Grandpa would always put on the stings of Christmas lights with little decorated class bulb covers first. (I still have two of these left!)   Next would be the garland which several weeks beforehand the entire family made by taking a needle and strong thread to string together all types of candies and fruits.  Some of the favorite foods to use were: popcorn, malted milk balls, gummy orange slices, gumdrops, blueberries, and blackberries.  After Christmas it was always fun to eat the decorations! 

Mass, Food, and Gifts

For Christmas Eve dinner there would be fried catfish and ambrosia salad.  I always wondered why catfish was served.  Now I know that this was just part of a centuries old Czech tradition to not eat meat on December 24 in observance of the Catholic holy day.   Other vegetables filled out the menu with a cornucopia of Grandma’s sweet deserts to finish the meal. 

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Louise both loved giving lots of Christmas gifts to their children.  No matter what their financial situation the rest of the year, presents flowed freely at Christmas!  All of them would be opened on Christmas Eve night after the meal and each token of affection would delight each recipient no matter how large or small.   All toys would be given on Christmas Eve to the children not any on Christmas Day itself.  And after all the presents received over many many years, my Mother’s best Christmas gift she ever was when she received a doll! 

After all the excitement of the presents, it was time to go celebrate the real reason for the season, Jesus’ birth.  The entire family would attend either Midnight Mass at St. Edwards Catholic Church or an early morning Mass on Christmas proper.  After Mass, everyone would return home and try to go to bed as quickly as possible in anticipation of the arrival of Saint Nicholas …Santa Claus!   If all the girls had been good the whole year, on Christmas Morning their stockings would be filled with fruits and nuts…no toys! 

Christmas Day would be spent having a meal with all their own family present and any neighbor or friend who needed a place to go.  The meal was basically a traditional one for Texas which included:  turkey, bread dressing, potatoes, other vegetables, kolaches, strudels, fruit, nuts, cookies, and pecan pie.   And so when the day finally ended, everyone felt very well loved and full of the Christmas spirit.  All the decorations would be stored away until next year…………………………..when it would all start again!

Conclusion

I hope that you have enjoyed this little trip back to the yesterday and to Christmas’ past!  It is important to chronicle people’s lives and stories to preserve our family history.

Best wishes and great success to you and yours in 2014.

Love and Kisses,

Sharon

Veselé Vánoce! Czech Texan Christmas Traditions

Christmas Greetings from the Polaseks home at 6146 Bryan Parkway, Dallas, TX.

Veselé Vánoce!

Merry Christmas!

More than likely these words would have rung out strongly in my Czech grandparents’ homes throughout the month of December years ago!  Although both were Texas born  all of their parents and older siblings had emigrated from the Czech Republic a few years beforehand.   I have often wondered for how long  after their arrival did members of the family converse in their native language?  My mother never learned to speak it although she was able to understand spoken Czech until much later in life.  Her sisters and she would recall that whenever their parents would gather together with their siblings, the conversations in Czech would flow fluently but once returning home, her parents spoke English for the most part.

It is without a doubt that various members of my family came to Texas between 1892 to 1904 and then remained here forever!  (And for that I am heartily thankful!)  They followed a long line of fellow Czechs who started arriving here back in the 1820s when Texas was a Republic!   Why did they come?  Well freedom from their Austrian Hungarian rulers was certainly one of the major reasons.  But the biggest drawing card by far was LAND!  Texas with it large expanses of beautiful fertile soil certainly acted like a huge magnet to all the land-starved Europeans throughout the entire century of the 1800’s but especially after 1850.   They came from Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia transporting their Catholic and Protestant beliefs and centuries old cultural traditions including Christmas with them!

Visits From Saint Nick!

As a whole for many centuries, Christmas in most European countries including, Ireland and England, was celebrated for a whole month beginning on December 6 with “Saint Nicholas Day”, (Svaty Mikuláš Day in Czech,) and ending on January 6 with the observance of “Twelfth Night” also known as “the Day of the Three Kings.”   Back in the day, it was on December 5, the eve of his feast day, when the great Saint Nicholas would make his appearance and bring gifts, not on December 25! [i]

The kindly bishop Saint Nicholas did not make his visits alone (and no, he does not bring reindeers!)  In fact he comes in the company of two very spectacular visitors:  a Devil known as Cert who knows who’s been naughty and an Angel in white known as Ardle who knows who has been nice and can plead on the children’s behalf!   Czech children are told that Angels lower Saint Nicholas, or Svaty Mikuláš,, down to the earth from his heavenly realm via a golden cord (not a sleigh!)  The original Saint Nicholas in Czech folklore was a 3^rd century bishop known for his defense and advancement of Christianity, as a protector of sailors and fishermen in trouble, ensuring food during famines and a defender for those in trouble. During his visit, Saint Nicholas can question the children on their prayer books, the Bible, but mostly about their behavior during the prior year.   The white Angel makes a notation about each child in his book while the devil rattles his chains noisily to scare them of their possible fate.  In the meantime,  the children entertain Saint Nicholas with a poem or verse.[ii] (For more information on how the holiday is celebrated today in the Czech Republic check out http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/st-nicholass-angels-and-devils-visit-czech-children. )

The Saint then decides who has been naughty and who has been nice.  The good children’s stockings or shoes are loaded with yummy things such as “tangerines, nuts, chocolates, and small gifts.”   The stockings or shoes of the bad children are filled with very unpleasant gifts of “old potatoes or coal.”   The gift giving does not stop there as the parents must then give a gift to Saint Nicholas in return and after which everyone (but the children) shares a “toast” as a final goodwill gesture. [iii] (For more information check out the St. Nicholas Center at: From the website for the St. Nicholas Center online at  http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/czech-republic/.)

You must agree that this is a very interesting trio of visitors indeed.  Certainly one guaranteed to make all the children try to tread the straight and narrow for the entire year not just at Christmas!  (Even me!)  In Texas households, the visit from Saint Nick could occur anytime from December 6 until December 25.   Sometimes a local man would dress up like the saintly bishop come calling at the door ask questions, and then deliver all the gifts.

 

In some Czech families a second day to  celebrate and receive more gifts was on December 8, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a holy day in the Catholic Church.  The Blessed Mother, Maticka (in Czech,) would place fruit and nuts in the shoes of good children.  Now visits from Maticka and Saint Nicholas have changed all take place on December 25 from our own beloved Santa Claus.[iv]

Other Ways to Celebrate the Christmas Season

Groups of carolers go door to door serenading their neighbors with songs of great joy.  Now these singers make special visits to the sick and old to spread the spirit of  Christmas throughout their communities.   One of their most favorite hymn is the English carol "Good King Wenceslas" about the martyred prince-duke of Bohemia in the tenth century.”  Other Czech Carols include: “We are Going to the Stable.” “Come Hear the Wonderful Tidings,” “Born Was Christ the Lord,” and “The Rocking Cradle.” Today the world renown carol “Silent Night” is another favorite sung both in Czech or English.[v]

Preparations for food to be consumed during this special time begins weeks in advance in Czech homes with the making of the Christmas bread known as Vanocka, candies, cookies, cake, strudels, and best of all kolaches (my favorite!)  Another food of great importance during Christmas time is gingerbread!  During the time span of the Middle Ages, large specially shaped cookies were made and used as decorations for the upper classes.   Bakers developed their own special recipes and in 1419, at least 18 gingerbread makers resided in the city of Prague.  As time passed, Gingerbread could be enjoyed all the classes and even by immigrants in the frontier towns of Texas.[vi]

For church goers. Christmas Eve had been a day of fasting and meat abstinence in the past.  So this explains why fish was the center of the supper meal and why in the Czech Republic, carp starred as the main dish.  On the Texas frontier, people ate whatever the local variety of fish was including: catfish, oysters and shrimp.  It was served with “lentils, peas, potatoes, barley soup with mushrooms, and apple strudel.”  Other traditions had to be modified while living in Texas as well.  The Christmas tree would be made of cedar and decorated with natural objects, candies, stringed popcorn, fruits, nuts, and other homemade foods.   Christmas Eve ended by attending  Catholic Midnight Mass in churches decorated with manger scenes and resounding with the singing of carols and hymns.[vii] 

Christmas Day was a day to spend with family and eat!  Menus on the a Texas Czech family table might include: “soup, chicken, or turkey, dumplings, kolaches, fruit, and nuts” as well as prune dumplings or butterhorns, roast goose or duck, sauerkraut dressing, but now turkey replaces the goose. [viii]   And so the day would be spent eating, drinking and visiting with loved ones. … all in the spirit of Christmas.

Conclusion

As you can surmise, this is just a small taste of how the Czechs and especially the Texas Czech have celebrated the Christmas season for centuries.

Next week I will continue with the Christmas celebrations of my Grandparents Joe and Louise Kubin Polasek through the recollections of their daughters.

Until then…..Merry Christmas!

---

[i] Silverthorne, Elizabeth, Christmas in Texas, number 3 in the Clayton Wheat Williams Texas Life Series, Texas A&M Press, College Station, TX,  1990, p. 94.

[ii] Barette, Kate,  “St. Nicholas's, angels and devils visit Czech children,” online at Radio Praha at http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/st-nicholass-angels-and-devils-visit-czech-children,dated 6 December 2004, 24 December 2013.                                 

[iii] From the website for the St. Nicholas Center online at  http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/czech-republic/, 24 December 2013.

[iv]Ibid. p. 94.

[v] Silverthorne, Elizabeth, pp. 94-95.

[vi] Ibid, pp. 95-97.

[vii] Ibid, pp. 100-101.

[viii] Ibid., pp. 101

A Remembrance to our World War 1 Veterans on Veterans Day 2013

Veterans Day Remembrance the Polasek Family who served in World War II in Pictures: 

To our Polasek Family who served in World War I

Joseph Frank Polasek

Frank Joseph Polasek

Thank you and rest in peace!

My Grandfather Joseph Frank Polasek (right) with friend, WWI, Meuse-Argonne Campaign, France, 1918.

My uncle Frank Joseph Polasek (right) with two friends, Meuse-Argonne Campaign, France, WWI 1918.

Joseph Polasek is on the right holding the gun taken during the Meuse-Argonne Campaign, WWI, 1918

A Rememberance to Our World War II Veterans on this Veterans Day 2013

     Veterans Day Remembrance the O'Rourke Family who served in World War II in Pictures: 

To all our O'Rourkes who served in World War II

Joseph Leo O'Rourke Jr.

George Paul O'Rourke Sr.

George Paul O'Rourke Jr.

Thank you and rest in peace!

My father Joseph Leo O'Rourke Jr, Navy, WWII, 1944

Joseph Leo O'Rourke Jr in Uniform, WWII, 1944.

Joe and his dad Joseph Leo O'Rourke Sr. on right, WWII, Dallas, Texas, 1944.

Joseph O'Rourke Jr in the middle row, 7th from the left.  Corpus Christi, Texas, WWII 1945.

Cousin George Paul O'Rourke Jr, WWII, Dallas, Texas 1944.

Uncle George Paul O'Rourke Sr, WWII, Dallas, TX 1944.

On my way to a Halloween party with the Irish American Society.

Happy Halloween to you and yours! 

The 31^st day of October has always been a special day for me.  A time of fun, parties, and eating lots of candy!  What about for you?  No matter what your age, can you envision happy memories of Halloweens past?  I sincerely hope so. 

Halloween:  An Irish Invention

Wondering from whence the festival of Halloween originated?  The Irish, of course!  Superstitions and customs abound in the hearts and minds of the people even to this day.  Halloween, also known as “All Hallow’s Eve” and in the Irish, “ Samhain”, (pronounced as “sow-rain”), has its beginnings dating back to pre-Christian times.

To the ancient people of Ireland known as the Celts, October 31 represented the end of the growing season and the period when the family was once again reunited after the long separation at “booleying.”  “Booleying: included taking the sheep and cattle to higher ground during the summer, after the crops had been sown, by the younger members.  Sometimes the entire family would migrate to the pastoral area and live there for several months.  On All Hallows, everyone returned home, bringing their livestock with them.  The day became associated with  family reunions and a time to celebrate the old year ending  while heralding in the new year beginning.[i] 

The ancient Druid festival known as Samhain or "November's Eve," commemorated the coming of winter and an occasion to remember and honor one one's dead ancestors.  After the coming of Christianity during the 8^th century, it became an important church observation  as the “eve” before All Saints Day on November 1.    By day, families gathered together to make merry, while by night, the spirits of their ancestors were believed to return to their earthly homes and warm themselves before the start of a long, cold dreary winter.  In welcome, houses’ doors were left open, extra chairs placed close to the blazing fire, and dishes of porridge left out just in case the spirits got hungry. 

Bonfires were lit on the hillsides to light their way home while the living gathered around it performing such traditional favorites like the Bonfire Dance.  The Bonfire Dance is a round or circle dance performed with any number of couples and still widely performed today.   At this same time, fairies roamed the countryside freely heading back to their winter home, always on the look out to make mischief for unsuspecting humans.  People donned costumes to “confuse” these spirits and protect themselves from being carried away.

Festive Foods

Traditions run strongly centering on the various types of food to be served, eaten and enjoyed during the celebration of this holiday.   October 31 was designated as a “day of abstinence” (no meat allowed) by the Catholic Church.  Therefore families, both rich and poor alike, would gather together and feast on a special meatless dinner which might include such wonderful dishes as: Boxty (potato pancakes;) Stampy (a cake;) Colcannon, a dish including potatoes, onions, and kale or cabbage (see recipe below;) and Barm Brack (a fruited bread.)    

When preparing the barm brack, coins and charms would get rolled up in waxed paper and then hidden in its’ mushy depths.  The charms have special meanings and when found in your brack, it foretold future:  a ring meant marriage, a thimble designated spinsterhood, a matchstick predestined your husband would beat you, a pea fated poverty, a bean signified wealth, a religious metal determined you might enter religious orders, and the button fated bachelorhood.[ii]   Today this tradition continues with the trinkets also being added into the Colcannon as well.

Halloween:  A Night of Games and Making Jack-o-lanterns

During Victorian times, a multitude of games to be played abounded on this special eve.  Dunking or bobbing for apples and coins out of a tub always proved a crowd pleaser for the younger children, while fortune-telling games entertained the older groups.  One such game used burning nutshells in the hearth to forecast the future romantic prospects for both boys and girls.  Another favorite pastime employed beans for the same reason. The beans jumped when heated and their direction and speed would “divine” their future.  

The tradition of the jack-o-lantern originates from Ireland too, only turnips were used instead of pumpkins.  (The carving of “pumpkins” started in America because they happened to be a lot more plentiful than turnips here.)  Per Irish lore, the original “Jack O’Lantern” had lived back in the day and was an extremely evil blacksmith.  So evil in fact that the devil banned him from hell, dooming his spirit to walk the earth for eternity.   But he did allow Jack to carry around a hollowed out turnip with a burning coal ember placed in its interior.[iii]   Just like today, a face or other shape is carved into its flesh and a lit candle placed inside.  The jack-o-lantern would be placed on a window sill of the house, on the gate outside, or hung from a rope and carried from place to place as people walked.         

Wearing a Costume is Steeped in Tradition

Costume wearing dates back to the days of the Druids, who believed that on Samhain, the realms between the living and the dead were at their closest!  The evil spirits would attempt to collect as many souls as they could so precaution was needed by the living to protect themselves.  People dressed up like witches, goblins, fairies, and other creatures hoping to confuse the evil ones from noticing them.  As the years passes, children (and adults too!) continued to don costumes and go from house to house chanting, “Help the Halloween Party!” to all who answered their door to gather gifts of food or money.   (Now “trick or treat” is also used as well.) [iv]

Halloween, when my brothers and sisters and I grew up, was a time of great anticipation and fun.  Of course, each year there was some sort of costume for us to wear.  I had a wide variety of different ones over the years but the one I can still remember most was of “Cinderella.” It sported a shiny blue dress with gold stars and a plastic mask for the face.  (Oh my, how uncomfortable those masks were to wear….I would only put it on after I rang the doorbell at each new house.)  My own chants of “Trick or Treat” continue to resound in my mind and I can still happily envision those piles and piles of candy gathered spread out my dining table the next day.    

Potatoes! Potatoes! Everywhere:  A Recipe for Colcannon

Is maith na fataí nuair bhíos an bláth bán orthu. (Irish Proverb)

(When the blossom grows white, the potatoes are good.)

The Irish and their love of the potato manifest itself throughout this recipe.  I have found that the Czechs love their potatoes about as much as the infamous Irish. So being part Irish, part Moravian; how could I not LOVE potatoes myself!  The humble potato appears in all types of recipes but one of my favorite Irish versions is colcannon, a basic mashed potato recipe made with kale or cabbage.  (Traditionally made with kale but now cabbage is widely used.)  The colcannon once served at the old Tipperary Inn in Dallas, Texas was the best I ever tasted and memories of its superb flavor fueled my hunt for the best recipe.    To find the right one took some research and the one following is the one that suits me best.   All the recipes use the same ingredients; however, the ratio between the cabbages to the potato varies greatly. 

                                                                                                        

Colcannon   (cál ceannann)

1 lb. kale or cabbage

2 lbs. potatoes

Salt & pepper to taste

4 tbsp. butter

½ cup warm milk

3-6 scallion, chopped

Boil peeled potatoes in salted water until tender.  Drain well.  Mash thoroughly; add the salt & pepper.  Add the butter and enough of the milk to make it creamy.  In another pan, boil the cabbage or kale in salted water for about 7-8 min. until tender.  Drain in colander to get out excess water.  Cut up or blend the cabbage to very small chunks.  Mix the mashed potatoes and the kale/cabbage together well.  Add the scallions and stir again.

If you wish to add charms or coins at Halloween, make sure to wrap them securely in waxed paper before hiding them in the mixture. (Remember to let everyone who eats it know about the added extras before consuming.) Serve the colcannon by spooning into bowls or onto the plate.  Make an indentation in the middle of the mound and add a small touch of butter.  This makes just the right finishing touch and gives it just a little more flavor. 

Now Go Have Fun

 

I hope you enjoyed this brief snippet about how the Irish “invented” Halloween.  Believe me there is so much more and I had to pick and choose what information to include. 

For now, go eat some Colcannon, play some games, or just eat a piece of two of candy or fruit.   And the next time you hear those words

 “Trick or Treat” or “Help the Halloween Party”

Remember it was all started by the Irish.

Happy Halloween.

Sharon

---

[i] Sharkie, Brendan, “How the Irish invented Halloween,” online at http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com, Ireland, October 31, 2013.

[ii] Haggerty, Bridget, “An Irish Halloween – Part 1, online at http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com, October 31, 2013.

[iii] Sharkie, Brendan, “How the Irish invented Halloween,” online at http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com. October 31, 2013.

[iv] Haggerty, Bridget, “An Irish Halloween – Part 1, online at http://www.irishcultureandcustoms.com, October 31, 2013.

Would You Believe It? The Polasek Family Came through Ellis Island!

Polasek Men and Friends: back row lt to rt: Rudolph  P., John P., Frank P., Joseph Straka, Joseph  P.(Grandpa), sitting:  John Straka, John Lewis P., and Jan Polasek Jr. (Great-Grandfather.)

Would You Believe It?  The Polasek Family Came through Ellis Island!

My Polasek family hailed from a little village called Jedli, Moravia, Czech Republic. Over the course of several decades, various members of the family pulled up their generational roots to head to the great and bold state of Texas, USA.   As history reveals its secrets, their immigration story is proving to be vastly different than those for all the rest of my family.  And here it is…….

They arrived through Ellis Island!  How exciting right? You bet!  For countless years, I knew that all the Irish and English side of the family had made their transatlantic trip before the year 1860.  A few did come through the Port of New York but decades before Ellis Island opened on 1 January 1893.  We all have heard the story of Annie Moore the 15 year old from County Cork, the first official immigrant to walk through its door.  I admit that her story has always captured my attention.  What would it have been like sailing on any ship into New York Harbor and catching that first glance of Lady Liberty and her torch lighting the way?  Talk about amazing!  I dared not hope that any of my direct family would enter through that same immigrants’ door….but would you believe? They did!  (Go to www.ellisisland.org  to find out more information on Ellis Island, its story and timeline including pictures of the ships, passenger lists, etc.)

Who were these blessed people who made the journey?   One was Great-great-grandfather Jan Polasek Sr. born 9 December 1833 in Jedli, Moravia in house #144 to Jan and Barbara Kroboth Polasek.  On 5 May 1857, he married his first wife, Theresia Rizner, born 6 April 1839.  They had 5 children: Mariana, Jan Jr. (Great-grandfather,) Josefa, Frantiska, and Frantisek.  Their last child Frantisek (Frank) had made his arrival into this world in September 1866.  Only two months later, Theresia died on 16 November 1866 perhaps due to a weakened state of health from the birth of her son.  Sad to report but baby Frantisek had also died before 1869 as well.

Grandfather Jan Sr. found himself all alone with five very small children in his care.  So he married Anna Havelka on 22 January 1867 to help him take care of his motherless family.  They had four children:  Anna, Frantisek, Terezie and Emil.

Brother-in-law Fabian A. Havelka was First Polasek Immigrant

Anna’s brother, Fabian A. Havelka, and his wife Katerina were the first family members to immigrate circa 1877.   Per the 1880 US Census they lived on a farm in Williamson County, Texas. Why they picked Williamson County I have not yet determined, however, the soil proved to be very fruitful and superb for farming.  Letters exchanged claimed life was good in America and land was certainly plentiful in Texas. 

By 1890, Jan Polasek Sr. and most of his immediate family made the hard decision to leave all they had known and finally immigrate to the US.  His son (my great-grandfather) Jan Jr. had married Mary Mares (my great-grandmother) about 1885 in Jedli producing four children:  Mary, Jan (who had died as a baby,) Theresa, and John Frank.   Jan Jr. traveled alone to Texas landing at Galveston, Galveston, Texas on 7 July 1892.  His job was to locate a decent place for the family to live and to gather provisions for their arrival in the up and coming year.  Upon his arrival back home, the final packing began. 

Two Groups To America

The family traveled in two separate groups that next year.  The first group included Jan Jr., his wife Mary (Mares,) daughters Theresa and Mary, son John Frank Polasek, and Jan Polasek Sr. himself.  They traveled to Bremen, Germany and boarded the ship H. H. Meier, at the end of April 1893 bound for New York.  They arrived at Ellis Island on 12 May 1893.  Can’t you just imagine their tears of joy at that moment of disembarkation, safe and sound on American soil?  Their ultimate destination, of course, Williamson County, Texas but I do not know by which made of travel they finished their journey….Train? Horse and wagon?  Or did they just sail on another ship for Galveston? 

The second wave included: Jan Sr.’s wife Annie (Havelka); their daughter Theresa; Theresa’s son John Polasek; and Rudolph, the son of daughter Josefa Polasek.  They too sailed from Bremen but on the ship Karlsruhe which landed at Ellis Island on 26 December 1893.  What a Christmas present!  America!  By January 1894, the family was more all together safe and sound in their new home in Williamson County.  Amazing!

The Great-grandparents Jan and Mary Polasek Jr.  lived on farm near a little town named Corn Hill in Williamson County.  They had an addition five children over the next twelve years:  Frank Joseph, Joseph Frank (Grandfather), Frances Mildred, Rudolph Frank, and Louise Annie Polasek.  

May They Rest in Peace

Both Great-great-grandparents Jan and Annie Havelka Polasek Sr. died in 1911 of old age.  Great-grandmother Mary Mares Polasek died on 30 April 1917 probably from pneumonia (death certificate not located yet.)  Great-grandfather Jan Polasek Jr. lived for many, many more years being the last to die on 22 February 1940 at the hospital in Temple, Bell, Texas of heart failure.  All four are buried at Holy Trinity Cemetery located behind the Catholic church at Corn Hill, Williamson, Texas.

May our Ellis Island immigrants rest in peace!

The Surnames from “M to V” on my Polasek Family Tree

The following chart lists the second half of the Czech surnames from “M to V” on Joseph Frank Polasek’s family tree (and mine!) It lists: each surname as the family uses it now in English or Czech; the farthest ancestor traced back for that particular family at this time (GGPs stands for Great-grandparents) and marriage date if known; paternal line showing name, birth date, personal residence and occupation; maternal line showing name, birth date, personal residence; meaning of name if found;[i] and finally, the known residences of each particular family group in the Czech Republic. 

Polasek Surnames

Marek	10th GGPs	Benes Marku (b. 1536 – d. 1598)		“From a derivative of the personal names Marek or Martin.”	Cermna, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Mareš	7th GGPs	Jiri Mares (b. 1619 – d. 30 July 1688) Lived in Cermna.	Magdalena ?	“Originally the family was named Sovaty. -“From the personal name Marie.”	Bystrec,  Bohemia, Czech Republic
Orliczek	3rd GGPs	Paul Orlizcek (b. before 1750)  Lived in Zborov.			Zborov, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Paukert (German) and Kolár (Czech, Slovak)	7th GGPs	Martin Paukert (before 1650)	Katerina Kolar (before 1650)	Paukert: “Variant of German Peikert ‘drummer’.” “Kolár; Czech also Kolár):  occupational name from Czech kolár and South Slavic kolar ‘wheelwright’, ‘cartwright’, agent noun from kola ‘cart’.”	Libchavy, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Peskar	4th GGPs	Vaclav Jansa (b. 10 July 1694 d.  8 August 1765) In Cermna.	Katherine Peskar (b. abt. 1696) In Cermna.		Cermna, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Polášek (Czech Slovak)	2nd GGPS	Josef Polasek (b. abt. 1790) In Jedli, house #28.	Anna Deutsch (b 1781) in Děkanát Zábřeh, (d. 1 May 1846) In Jedlí.	“A diminutive of Polák (see Polak ‘Pole’).”	Jedlí, Mähren, Czech Republic
Rizner	2nd GGPs m. 17 Feb 1789	Tobias Rizner (b. 1759 – d. 20 August 1820) Lived in Zborov in house #2.	Barbara Orliczek (b. 1764 – d. 11 December 1842)		Zborov, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Rychter	8th GGPs	Jiri Rychter (b. abt. 1633 – d. abt. 1653) lived in Cermna			Cermna, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Sembera	1st GGPs	Josef Mares (b. 10 November 1813) Lived in Dolni Hermanice.	Terezie Sembera (b. abt. 1820) in Dolni Hermanice in house #54.		Dolni Hermanice, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Sovaty	10th GGPs	Jan Sovaty (b. 1540 – d. 1585) lived in Cermna.	Anna ? (b. 1545 d. 1595) In Cermna.		Cermna, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Vacek (Czech)	6th GGPs	David Vacek (b. abt. 1670)	Karina Hejl (b. abt. 1670)	“A pet form of the personal name Václav, Old Czech Veceslav, Composed of the Old Slavic elements “viece” ‘greater’ + “slav” ‘glory’. It was borne by a 10th-century duke of Bohemia who fought against a revival of paganism in his territory, and after his death became patron saint of Bohemia.”	Cermna, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Vejprachticky	7th GGPs	Jiri Heylek Hejl (b. 1610)	Marie Vejprachticky (b. 1665)		Cermna, Bohemia, Czech Republic
Vrba (Czech Slovak)	7th GGPs	Jakub Vrba (b. abt. 1635)		“From a habitational name for someone from a place named with vrba ‘willow tree’, or a topographic name for someone who lived near willow trees.”	Vtelno, North Bohemia, Czech Republic
Vypachticky	8th GGPs	Martin Vypachticky (b. abt. 1549  – d. after 1592) In Cermna.	Magdalena ? (b. abt. 1555)		Cermna,  Bohemia, Czech Republic

Conclusion of Surname Study

Now you know all the direct surnames for my family lines including: Polasek, Kubin, Bobal, Mares, Byrne, Gregory, Curran, O’Rourke, McKnight and Salmon that I have identified so far.  As I uncover more, believe me, you will be the first to know

This concludes our study on surnames. I hope it has been very enlightening…. a lot of people creating a lot of history. 

Next Blogs:  Halloween’s Irish Roots Exposed

What’s next?  Well, time to turn a cultural eye on Halloween and check out its’ very Irish roots.

Love as always,

Sharon

---

[i] All definitions were found on the  “Meaning of surname”  database from www.ancetry.com, Sept 2013.