Section Six: Mapping Jan Zvolanek Through Europe



Through the Czech Genealogy Society, I made contact with the Reverend Jan Dus, who helped me trace my ancestry through the initial phase. After e-mailing him some digital scans of John Zvolanek's letters and documents, I received a very helpful response about my grandfather's ancestral roots that enabled me to identify a possible link to my ancestry on the map (below.)

Hello Denise,
Thank you for your e-mail. I have to admit that the story fascinated me.
First: I could not find the village of "Jakubec". If it still exists, it is too small. But I was able to locate the area very closely. The address says that it is in the Uman-Region and that the name of the post office town is Christinovka. You would find Uman about 140 miles south of Kijev (the capital of Ukraine). And 12 miles west of Uman is the village of Christinovka. (I found it on the map.) So the little village of "Jakubec" must be/have been several miles away from there. (I spent lots of time searching for more precise maps on internet. No success. Oh yes, there is one for sale - for $200. The scale is 1:200000 so it should be precise enough to have "Jakubec" there.)


Official letters and documents also link my grandfather to Chotebor and Stare Ransko near Prague. Reverend Jan was able to shed a little light on this area of the map, where my grandfather possibly had relatives.  Jan listed his birthplace as Jacubek, Russia... but his most recent permanent residence as as Stare Ransko on his Ellis Island passenger arrival document. 


Chotebor is a town (10-15 thousand people), while Stare Ransko is a little village not very far away from there. If he was born in one of these two, he was born in Stare Ransko. (It was quite typical that people who were born in a little village were using the name of a near-by town as their place of birth.)
By the way, some time ago, I did some research of some Zvolaneks in Krucemburk (a village just several miles away). I was surprised how many Zvolaneks lived there. It was hard to find the right one because of so many identical names. Zvolanek is quite a rare Czech name, but Chotebor/Stare Ransko is a typical Zvolanek area. - Would you want me to do it, I can go to the archives and research Zvolaneks in Stare Ransko for you.


At the other hand, if he was born in Stare Ransko, why would he write to his parents in the Russian language instead of in Czech? Unless they moved to Russia when he was a small child, so he has Russian schools. But still, I have made the experience several times before that the Czechs living in Ukraine or Russia stuck to their Czech language. It is just a puzzle!


Unfortunately, would you want to perform genealogical research in the Ukraine, the only way would be to travel there, find the village and start asking people around. At the other hand, I have friends who live not too far away from there. They would not be able to help us with genealogy, but would we choose to travel there one day, we can count on their hospitality and support. - But still, I would recommend performing as much research in the Czech Republic as possible before moving our focus to Ukraine.


Looking forward to reading your thoughts and wishes,
Rev. Jan

UPDATE 12/2010:
During my research, I've had several differing opinions about the path of my Grandfather's life. Each time I get a little more information and my opinion changes.


I can now confirm that he and his brother Waclav were indeed born in Jacubek Russia.  Thanks to information provided by the Ukranian Red Cross, I can also pinpoint that place on the map!  The Red Cross confirmed that the returned envelope was addressed to Jahubec, which is called in the Ukrainian language "Ягубець". It is really located in Ukraine, Cherkasskaya oblast, Christinowsky rajon.


This information is very similar to the map/information at the top of this page -- but more exact, down to longitude and latitude.  Google Earth allows me to see an image of the town and countryside.  It's quite amazing what current technology can allow us to do.



 

Finally!  After several years of research and quite a bit of assistance, I have pinpointed the birthplace of my Grandfather and Uncle Jim!  This is where they grew up with their family.  I believe that when he was old enough, My grandfather Jan Zvolanek left his home in Russia (now Ukraine) and traveled to the Nove/Stare Ransko area to become a machinist or machinist apprentice.  Jan left for America in 1911. Waclav (Jim) followed Jan to Nebraska 2 years later.


Both John and Jim Zvolanek worked as machinists and mechanics in America. My grandfather owned a garage - with a Cafe.  He also owned a hardware store in Rulo NE.   Uncle Jim served in the US Army.   He worked as a blacksmith and a farmer.

UPDATE 7/2011:
I received new information from Interinfo,the Ukrainian research group, inspiring me to make a new map of the Zvolanek family's journey.  Now I can add information about our Great-Grandfather and Great-Uncle Joseph who, unlike Grandfather John, were both born in the Czech Republic.  The three men's journeys can be compared by clicking on this map:


I will continue to look for information about Great-Uncle Joseph and the rest of Grandfather's family, in particular, what happened to the family after 1917.