Jan Wondra Marries Rozalie Bares

Jan married Rozalie Bares in 1895.  Some of the census 1900 and 1910 show different references to years married and the number of children. 

Name:	Jan Wondra
Gender:	Male
Marriage Type:	Marriage
Marriage Date:	26 Jan 1895
Marriage Place:	Cook County, Illinois
Spouse Name:	Rozalia Bares
Spouse Gender:	Female
FHL Film Number:	1030248

Ancestry.com. Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Index, 1871-1920 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011

1900 Census - 

Name:	John Vondra
Age:	55
Birth Date:	Feb 1845
Birthplace:	Bohemia
Home in 1900:	Chicago Ward 10, Cook, Illinois
Ward of City:	10th
Street:	South Washtenaw Ave
House Number:	1015
Sheet Number:	11A
Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation:	83
Family Number:	172
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Immigration Year:	1876
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Rose Vondra
Marriage Year:	1872
Years Married:	28   Not correct they married 1895
Father's Birthplace:	Bohemia
Mother's Birthplace:	Bohemia
Years in US:	24
Naturalization:	Na
Occupation:	Blacksmith
Can Read:	Yes
Can Write:	Yes
Can Speak English:	Yes
House Owned or Rented:	O
Home Free or Mortgaged:	M
Farm or House:	H
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age John Vondra 55 Rose Vondra 42 John Vondra 22 James Vondra 20 Mary Vondra 5 Emillia Vondra 4 Milos Vondra 2

Year: 1900; Census Place: Chicago Ward 10, Cook, Illinois; Roll: 256; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 0278; FHL microfilm: 1240256

Name:	John Vondra
Age in 1910:	65
Birth Year:	abt 1845
Birthplace:	Austria
Home in 1910:	Chicago Ward 12, Cook, Illinois
Street:	Washtenaw Ave
House Number:	2142
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Immigration Year:	1874
Relation to Head of House:	Head
Marital Status:	Married
Spouse's Name:	Rose Vondra
Father's Birthplace:	Austria
Mother's Birthplace:	Austria
Native Tongue:	English
Home Owned or Rented:	Own
Home Free or Mortgaged:	Free
Farm or House:	House
Naturalization Status:	Naturalized
Able to Read:	Yes
Able to Write:	Yes
Years Married:	16
Neighbors:	View others on page
Household Members:	Name Age John Vondra 65 Rose Vondra 53 Millie Vondra 14 Milos Vondra 12

Year: 1910; Census Place: Chicago Ward 12, Cook, Illinois; Roll: T624_253; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 0590; FHL microfilm: 1374266

How did Marie Svoboda journey to America?

The records that I have found tell me she came with 3 of her children.  They traveled in the Steerage level of the ship.

"Even in steam ships, the immigrant's voyage was no luxury cruise. If they could not afford a cabin, they had to travel steerage. This was in a large space, rather like a dormitory, called steerage because it was in the stern of the ship, near the steering gear. Conditions were cramped, food was poor and the atmosphere often bad, especially during rough weather when access to the upper deck was restricted. The only consolation was that steam ships were faster and safer than sailing ships. There was less time spent feeling seasick, and much less chance of a shipwreck."
http://www.plimsoll.org/SeaPeople/StartingNewLife/
howtheytravelled/steerageandcabinclass.asp

I encourage you to read further about the harsh conditions of Steerage.  Visit this Archive web site:
http://www.gjenvick.com/Steerage/index.html#axzz4w4fLTJce (cut and paste the link into your browser).  Many did not make the voyage.  

This is a picture of 1905 Europe as people with a ticket in steerage wait on the docks to be called last after all other passengers have boarded.  Many have no baggage.  Once the ship sets sail the immigrants are only allowed on the ship's main deck at certain times.  The travel conditions were almost impossible.

Here is the ship's log for Marie Svoboda Wondra and 3 of her children. Traveling in Steerage.

Jan Wondra was first married to Marie (Mary) Svoboda.  Together they had five children.  In the 1880's birth records included how many children the woman had delivered.  Ludmila was born March 10th 1883.  Father John Vondra, occupation blacksmith, mother Mary Vondra maiden name Mary Svoboda.  This is who I believe to be my grandmother Mildred (Vondra) Cervenka

Jeroslav Jerry was the 4th child born January 27th, 1881,  I have located his graduation from Hammond Elementary school in 1895.  This is the year Jan married Rozalie.  Marie Wondra died August 9, 1893

The census of 1880 finds the Wondra family as Wondrach.  This variation of spelling is often found depending on the accent of the speaker and the listening ear of the census taker.  

Josephine the 3rd child married Louis (Alois) Hruska born March 12, 1873 and died December 12, 1965 in Chicago, IL.  Her son George Hruska 1892-1970 was an artist and did drawing work for the Army.  He made a sketch of Jan Vondra. On the back is a note to Mildred that this is her father and his grandfather.

Marie Wondra Korinek 2nd oldest married Joseph Korinek.  She was born in Czechoslovakia Sep 7, 1867 and died Jan 29, 1953 in Chicago. The death was reported by her sister Josephine Hruska. 

The oldest of the children was Joseph Wondra.  He was born in Czechoslovakia about 1864 and died in Chicago March 18, 1884.  In the census of 1880 you remember that it was documented he was in the hospital.  Joseph was single and died at the age of 19.  Further documents need to be ordered to determine cause of death.

Back Online And Ready to Post - You are welcome to share

I have finished my teaching career and now with great energy I am able to take a real look into our Cervenka and Vondra/Wondra Family History.  I must thank at the start the contributions of my Vondra research partner Rita Sporrer.  Together we have found the family link from Nebraska to Chicago and the Wondra / Vondra family.  We are family through the Jan Wondra family line.  I will begin to post research pieces that together Rita and I feel create a solid family history tie.  

What I ask of the reader is to remain open minded about the information that is being shared.  Try not being judgmental or critical of the past but rather stepping back and seeing the conditions that impacted the people of the time and the choices that they made.

I ask you to find the courage within our family ancestors for the journey they took to come to America and survive here.  It was their sacrifices and determination that is the reason we are here in this great county.  Times were hard and hard choices needed to be made in order to survive.  

History notes "Born in the 1880s, the life expectancy of these individuals at birth was 41.7 years for white males and 43.5 years for white females; for black males, life expectancy was 30 years, and for black females it was 34 years."  The Irish Times reports, "If you lived in the time of the 1916 Easter Rising, your name was far more likely to be John or Mary and if you managed to avoid the prospect of death in childhood, you would probably succumb by the age of 53 with a good chance of bronchitis or tuberculosis being the cause. It was a world in which children as young as three were sent to industrial schools while families squeezed into almost 24,000 one-room tenements in Dublin alone."  According to the social security index "Between 1954 and 2004, Czech life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1954, and highest in 2001. The average life expectancy for Czech in 1954 was 39, and 80 in 2004."  

The Wondra/Vondra family came to America in 1864, first to Nebraska and then some moving to Chicago, IL.  Information available from Ancestry Research tells us "In 1880 there were 20 Czech families living in Illinois. This was about 51% of all the recorded Czech's in the USA. Illinois had the highest population of Czech families in 1880." Also "In 1880, a less common occupation for the Czech family was: Works At Lumber Yard.  Farmer, Miller and Retired Glover were the top 3 reported jobs worked by Czech. The most common Czech occupation in the USA was Farmer. 29% of Czech's were Farmers."  Many of our ancestors were farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths and bakers.  In Chicago many men later went into real estate and politics. 

Education was always a centerpiece of the Czech culture. “ Higher education forms the highest level of the Czech education system. Czech higher education dates back six hundred years.  In 1348 Emperor Charles IV founded a university in Prague, which is the oldest academic institution in Central Europe.  It is now called the Charles University.“ Read more at: http://www.studyin.cz/higher-education-system/.   Proudly in the Wondra/Vondra family the women were supported to attend school and graduate.  Today this continues as many women hold advanced postgraduate degrees and professional careers.

Sports were an extend part of the family education as family sport clubs were part of the community life.  The Sokol is the gathering for competition.  My father translated its meaning "to fly" as gymnastics were the foundation performances.  “Sokol” is the Czech word for falcon: a symbol of strength, beauty, harmony and freedom.

"The Sokol movement (Czech: [ˈsokol], falcon) is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of "a strong mind in a sound body". The Sokol, through lectures, discussions, and group outings provided what Tyrš viewed as physical, moral, and intellectual training for the nation. This training extended to men of all ages and classes, and eventually to women."  For more information (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sokol). 

Our Vondra family name was initially Wondra.  The change in spelling for the Jan Wondra family of Chicago began about 1895 when Jan married Rozălie Bares.  Their marriage documentation is Jan Wondra and so is Jan's death certificate.  But their son Miles (Milos) is Vondra.  He later moved to Colorado.

Last Will and Testament for Jan Wondra

Thank you other researchers I have some pictures of Marie Bares the sister of Rosalie (Bares) Wondra/Vondra.  Marie married a man named Leopold Svikhart.  She had a daughter Anna that was so close to my grandmother Mildred (Vondra) Cervenka.  Anna was born in 1897.  The 5th child of Marie Svoboda Wondra was born in 1883.

 This would be my grandmother's aunt, either full or step depending on who was her real mother Marie (Svoboda) Wondra or Rozalie (Bares) Wondra/Vndra.  

When Anna Barres was older her daughter Marie and her husband Leopold Svikhart.came to live wih her.

Paulina Swoboda or Svoboda: This was Marie (Svoboda) Wondra's sister. They lived close in the Chicago area for a number of years.  Some of her family is buried in the same cemetery as Jan Wondra, Chicago, IL By the age of 66 she was a widow. She was renting a small place April 15, 1930 491 15th Ave., Newark, Jew Jersey.  10 people were living in that home. She was a renter. Her daughter Edna (age 27) and her husband Aaron Henderson (age 26) lived with her.  Edna was born in New Jersey.

Paulina came to America in 1885.  Her daughter works in the area of clerical and is working for a bakery. Aaron works as a laborer on electrical appliances. In the 1910 census she states she came to America in 1880.  She states she is from Austria Bohemia. People were hesitant to call them self Bohemian. They were living at: 1606 South Homan Ave., Chicago City, IL.  They were living with their daughter Adelaide age 20.

1893 Paulina's sister Marie (Savboda) Wondra died.

For Jan Wondra in 1880 he is living with his wife and 4 children. the youngest 2 yrs old was born in Illinois the others Bohemia. one boy Joseph age 16 was in the hospital when the census was taken.  If this give us some indication that they arrived before 1878 so the last baby would be born in Illinois.

In 1880 the last name was taken wrong: Woundrach.  So you can see how hearing a name and writing it down can create a different name.  John identifies himself as a blacksmith. His daughter Mary age 13 works in a tailor shop. Josephine is 7 and at school.  they lived at 171 Wright Street.  no specific as to north or south

When the 1900 census was taken the age for Mary (Wondra) was transcribed wrong.  The census does say 27 years old but the transcriber has her at 5.  Then in 1910 we have a record of her marriage Korinek and age 38. Remember the age is to be given at the time the census was taken.  She had a 3 yr old  Jarmila. living at 223 California Ave., Chicago,  Census taken in May 1910.  We see Mary/Marie states she came here in 1874.  Mary indicates she has had 2 children but only 1 living.  They have been married 6 years. They married 1904.

California Avenue, Chicago, IL

Hope this information has given you something to think about.  You don't really know where you are going until you know where you came from.

1916 Last Will and Testament for Rosalie (Bares) Vondra/Wondra

I found the recorded document that so many family members have spoken about but until yesterday I have never seen.  Oh by the way notice the County Clerk John A. Cervenka - Yes we are related to him.  He is the brother of our Great Grandfather Frank Cervenka.

Notice on the above document that I have underlined in green the names of the children that Rosalie acknowledges.  She does say that three were step children and two were full.  Grandma must have cared so much for Miles to connect with Rosalie and bond with her little brother Miles.

Yes this will was contested in court and the three half siblings lost.  Their attorney charged $100 per person to take the action to court.  Grandma would tell me this story with a smile on her face. 

Welcome Back New Findings Bares Family

 This is Mildred (Vondra) Cervenka's favorite cousin.  For so many years I could not find the DNA connection for Anna Mildred Svikhart to my grandmother Mildred Vondra.  Well last night the connection came to life.  First Rozălie (Bares) Wondra/Vondra's mother Anna Bares did not die on the voyage to America.  The 0-2 in the column under death and cause in the ship's log had nothing to do with her dying.

Come to fine out, after many years of investigation, that a number of ships at that time used the death column to count the passengers.  0-2 meant 0/men and 2/females for the group of people that were coming to America.  So that would be persons coming from Czechoslovakia on that ship. They traveled in the Steerage section of the ship.  Yes I know I am drifting off the point but stay with me.

Anna Bares, Rozălie's mother had another daughter that came to America.  Her name was Marie (Mary Bares) Svikhart.  She married a man named Leopold Svikhart.  Marie was born 6 Feb 1860 in Pisek, Europe.  She died 11 Jul 1932 Chicago, Cook Co,.IL.  She had a total of 12 children but only 6 were living by the census date I found.  She had a daughter Mildred Anna, son Miloslav (Miles) Leopold and daughter Anna Mildred (grandma's closest cousin).  This picture to the left looks like 8th grade graduation.  The one below is a close-up.  I have one that looks like she is in her late teens.  There is another daughter of Mary (Bares) Svikhart and her name is Ladimil born 1887.  The names I am finding for the Czech families are very similar.  Another child Bohumil.  I will be checking the address of where all the families lived and working on a location map.  My parents lived for a short time in Downer Grove.  Finding out some of the cousins were also living in that town.   

A note to remember when you see the last name written Baresova that means it is a girl from the Bares family.

Census records indicate that Rozălie claimed she was the mother of all 5 children that were living there on 1050 S. Washtenaw Ave.  that was not true.  Anna, Jan Wondra's/Vondra's second wife was the mother of 5 children.  The last was my grandmother.  Rozălie only had one child Milos (Miles) Vondra.  I found the Last Will and Testament for both John (Jan) and Rozălie.

Jan is clear the property that he is now giving to Rozălie. Now I found the Last Will and Testament that  Rozălie had recorded.  In this document we see that she states there are 3 step-children from Jan and she has 2 full children (Mildred my grandmother and Miles her brother and youngest of children that Jan fathered)

You will need to keep in mind the many spellings I have found for Jan and Rozălie. There a some documents that have different birthdays and death days.  Remember how the women often times did not tell their correct birthday.  Sometimes people even claimed different marital status when coming to America so as to allow them-self entry.

   Here is the detail from 1910 census.  You see how Rosie is operating a boarding house there on 1050 Washtenaw Ave.  Mildred was older than stated in this census.  Remember she really was the daughter of Marie (Savboda) Wondra.  I have done a number of searches of the Chicago and IL records and there is no girl born of Rosie, Rose etc. Vondra or Wondra during the years grandma says she was born.

Any comments, corrections, or  additions please send them in.   Also thank you to our cousin Rita who is working on the Denver, CO connection of Vondra and the Nebraska group.

Cousins..

Cousins got together for a great family photo. From left to right: Wayne and Jamie, Jeff and Tammy, Kerry and John, Kathy and Frank, Jana, and Jay.

Smiles tell it all. The fun, the food, the family, the friendships. Everyone was talking about how the family resemblances were clear. From our parents, to 1st cousins and then to the next generation of 2nd cousins.

The smiles on the faces represent the smiles of the hearts. Family days of summer have been memorable.