A new beginning

2005-11-30T10:44:00.000-06:00

My blog "only from a bohemian" is started anew. It takes on an ancestoral view. Yes, I'm actual a "Bohemian". My family emigrated from Bohemia in 1873. Actually the words on the Mistek District emigration log are "fled to America 1873". I've always heard that they left Bohemia abruptly and went to the Alsace Lorraine Mountain Range in France. Were they political refugees or worse yet criminals?

I don't know much about my ancestory as my grandfather died when I was 9 years old. He lived in Texas and I only saw him a maximum of 15 times in my life. But I learned from him a bit of the Bohemian language, a very little bit. I would love to learn more as it has probably all but died out. My favorite foods have always been Kolaches and Poppyseed bread which I only had when I was in Schulenberg, Texas. That is my father's hometown which is a very small dot on the map, best known for "Frank's Place". Frank's is an oasis on Highway 10, halfway between San Antonio and Houston. They have the Schulenburger, a huge hamburger that seemed, as a child, to be as big as my head.

The only other things I know about my ancestoral family is that they were not very fond of Catholics. My grandfather despised them and any other organized religion. We are very much alike in that sense, as I don't have a strong sense of need for any organized religion. Is that something that had to do with his upbringing? Could our family have fled for America for religious freedom? It's probably not something that dramatic, but you never know.

Someday, I'd like to find out where my ancestors lived in Bohemia-Moravia-Czechoslovakia and visit. It would be nice to look over a pasture, mountain range or old village and know that once my ancestors looked over that same area too.

The surnames I'm looking for are Foitik and Fojtik. The first names are Josef, A.J. and Anton.

Only from a Bohemian

A new beginning