Tomáš (Robes) Robesh (1874 - 1947)

Born 19 Dec 1874 in Bohemia, Austria-Hungary

Husband of Maria E (Schlichtinger) Robesh — married 1897 in Rovišće, Croatia, Austro-Hungary

Descendants

Died 4 Jul 1947 at age 72 in Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Tomáš was born on 19th December 1874 in Bohemia which was in Austria-Hungary at the time (now Czech Republic). He was the son of Jan Robes. His mother's name is unknown.

He married Maria Schlichtinger and they had 4 children born in Rovišće, near Zagreb, Croatia in the years between 1898 and 1903. The family spoke Croatian at home and he was known as Tomo, a Croatian version of his name. He and his wife also spoke Bohemian which is regular Czech.

He migrated to the United States from Bremen, Germany in 1905 arriving in New York on the SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse on 29th August 1905. ^[1] His name was recorded as Tomo Robes on the passenger list. Without a birth certificate it is not possible to ascertain whether his proper first name was Tomáš, the Czech version of Tomo, but it seems very likely, since his parents were Czech, he identified as Czech, was born in Bohemia not Croatia, and spoke 'Bohemian'/Czech. He changed his name to Thomas on arrival in the United States, and his family name to Robesh so that it was spelled phonetically in English. His wife and 4 children joined him in the United States after a few months, sailing from Antwerp, Belgium to New York on the SS Kroonland in January 1906.

The Robesh family initially lived at 20 Royal St, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania but moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin before the census of 1910. Thomas was naturalized in 1912 while living in Milwaukee. He is described as being 5 ft 8" tall, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. Thomas was a cabinet maker by trade and the census records reveal he worked in a carpentry workshop. The tip of his right thumb was missing, presumably due to occupational hazard.

The family returned to Pennsylvania before 1917, when Thomas was drafted into the United States military. He served from 1917 - 1918 in World War 1. In the census of 1920 Thomas and his wife, who became known as 'Mary' in the U.S., were living in Pittsburgh and they remained in Pittsburgh for the rest of their lives.

Thomas died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage (hemorrhagic stroke) in Pittsburgh in 1946, aged 71. He had 12 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

Sources

1. ↑ New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JFWZ-HJ4 : 30 January 2018), Tomo Robes, 1905.

• United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MPVN-SB6 : accessed 1 December 2016), Thomas Robesh, Milwaukee Ward 5, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 46, sheet 7A, family 2, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1724; FHL microfilm 1,375,737.
• United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFB4-T1D : accessed 17 November 2016), Leo Robesh in household of Thomas Robesh, Pittsburgh Ward 26, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 734, sheet 1B, line 66, family 14, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1992), roll 1526; FHL microfilm 1,821,526.
• United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6KL-94B : 12 December 2014), Thomas Robesh, 1917-1918; citing Pittsburgh City no 20, Pennsylvania, United States, NARA microfilm publication M1509 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration,
• United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQZ4-1D2 : accessed 17 November 2016), Thomas Robesh, Ward 26, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh City, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 69-758, sheet 4B, line 49, family 77, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3674.
• Info from living descendants
• The Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island, passenger ID 102444180489 Frame 742 Line 12.