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Lnare-specific post
Oct. 28th, 2011 09:32 amI don't have anywhere else to put this, but I wanted to put something out there in case someone else is trying to make sense of the Lnare estate (spelled correctly, Lnáře) in the Czech Republic and is googling for information. So if you are not interested in Czech genealogy, feel free to skip this. :) Also, if you are looking for general (but excellent) background information on how the Czech Republic works in a genealogical sense, check out this blog. There's a great entry on handwriting, BTW.
The Czech nation during the Austria-Hungarian Empire was basically in the feudal system. The country was split up into a series of estates--kind of like American plantations in the South, only much bigger, because they covered many villages. Actually, more like mini kingdoms or perhaps fiefdoms. Most of the people who lived there were serfs (the feudal system did not end until 1848). There are seigniorial records that are like censuses for all of the people bound to that land, and the ones currently available on line from the Trebon State District Archives cover the years 1843 (for half the estate) and 1846 (for the other half). There are also records of specific land holdings, and most importantly, there are church records, called matriky. Nearly everyone was Catholic, especially following the 30 Years' War, which ended in 1648 with Austria winning and imposing their religion on the entire region. (I think most people were Catholic, anyway. But now it became the official state religion.) There were also some Jews living in the Lnare estate, as noted in the seigniorial records.
Marriages were arranged (partly to prevent people marrying close relatives, I would guess--if you have a small area where nobody moves much, you've got to keep things straight so you don't marry your cousin). Couples usually married in the village or parish of the bride, and her father's name is often listed. Sometimes the groom's name is listed, but not always. But usually if they were from different towns, they'd marry in the bride's town but make their home in the groom's.
From what I can tell, there are two main church hubs on the estate--Belcice (Belčice) and Kasejovice (which covers Lnare). Mostly, these two places record things separately, but there is a lot of crossover!! So if you can't find your people in one of them, definitely check the other. Ujezdec is a village that seems to show up equally frequently in both. Also, the Kasejovice records go further back (perhaps because they include the main castle, Schlusselburg/Lnare?)
What I wish I had was a map of the estate, so I could figure out what some of the place names are, and unentangle the spellings from the 17th century and now. Also, if anyone knows where the Czubrs disappeared to before 1717, let me know.
Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program. :)
The Czech nation during the Austria-Hungarian Empire was basically in the feudal system. The country was split up into a series of estates--kind of like American plantations in the South, only much bigger, because they covered many villages. Actually, more like mini kingdoms or perhaps fiefdoms. Most of the people who lived there were serfs (the feudal system did not end until 1848). There are seigniorial records that are like censuses for all of the people bound to that land, and the ones currently available on line from the Trebon State District Archives cover the years 1843 (for half the estate) and 1846 (for the other half). There are also records of specific land holdings, and most importantly, there are church records, called matriky. Nearly everyone was Catholic, especially following the 30 Years' War, which ended in 1648 with Austria winning and imposing their religion on the entire region. (I think most people were Catholic, anyway. But now it became the official state religion.) There were also some Jews living in the Lnare estate, as noted in the seigniorial records.
Marriages were arranged (partly to prevent people marrying close relatives, I would guess--if you have a small area where nobody moves much, you've got to keep things straight so you don't marry your cousin). Couples usually married in the village or parish of the bride, and her father's name is often listed. Sometimes the groom's name is listed, but not always. But usually if they were from different towns, they'd marry in the bride's town but make their home in the groom's.
From what I can tell, there are two main church hubs on the estate--Belcice (Belčice) and Kasejovice (which covers Lnare). Mostly, these two places record things separately, but there is a lot of crossover!! So if you can't find your people in one of them, definitely check the other. Ujezdec is a village that seems to show up equally frequently in both. Also, the Kasejovice records go further back (perhaps because they include the main castle, Schlusselburg/Lnare?)
What I wish I had was a map of the estate, so I could figure out what some of the place names are, and unentangle the spellings from the 17th century and now. Also, if anyone knows where the Czubrs disappeared to before 1717, let me know.
Okay, back to your regularly scheduled program. :)
