Katherine (Barta) Michalek (1844 - 1907)

Born 20 Nov 1844 in Římovice, Čáslav, Bohemia

Descendants

Died 11 Jan 1907 at age 62 in Omaha, Nebraska

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Michael Tryon [send private message]

Biography

Katherine was born in 1848. She married Frantisek Michalek and they had three children. She died in 1907.

Obituary

Translated from Czech (as best I can but clearly lots of errors)

It is with deep sadness that we announce to all our relatives and friends the sad news that our beloved wife and mother, Katerina Michalkova, was taken from our family circle by an inexorable death on Friday, January 11, 1907 at 8 o'clock in the morning, and was buried on Sunday, January 13 at 2 o'clock in the afternoon under the auspices of friends and acquaintances at the National Cemetery.

The dear deceased was born on November 20, 1844 in Rimovicy u Habru, Caslavsky region in Bohemia, and 16 years ago she immigrated to America, directly to Omaha.

It is our duty to give our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped us in any way during this difficult time and tried to ease our great pain. Special sincere thanks to our host Mr. Josef Barta and more. Roza for self-sacrificing help in arranging the funeral and pi. Frank Holadova and pi. Mar. Svaeinova for all the companionship services dearly shown to us by the deceased. The same warm thanks goes out to all the donors of beautiful wreaths and bouquets, namely: To the dear families of Mr. J.F. Knezaek, Mr. Rud. Kirchner, pi. Marie Svacina, Mr. Vaclav Schneider and Mr. Joseph Barta, also Ms. Vincen Jelink's Ms. Anne Steigrove, Mr. Fr. Elias and the staff at the "Wire Chief Dep't" of the Nebraska Telephone Co. Finally, we warmly thank everyone who participated in the funeral of our dearly departed and accompanied her remains to her final resting place. Once again, thanks to everyone.

Frantisek Michalek, the grieving husband.

Joseph and Frank, sons; Matilda, daughter. Frank Mestecky, son-in-law. Ana Michalkova, daughter-in-law.

Omaha, Neb., Jan. 14, 1907

Research Notes

She was born in Římovice in the Čáslav Region of Bohemia which is now Římovice, Okres Havlíčkův Brod, Vysočina, Czechia.

On the marriage license of her son Joseph, her maiden name is Katie Kadbik or Kodbik. Daughter Matilda's marriage license says Katherina Karlik. Karlik is a common name in Bohemia at the time and may be her real maiden name. Barta is the name that was handed down to me (Mike Tryon, G-G-Grandson) by my parents. It is also a name of the host of her funeral, Josef Barta, who could be a brother. Unfortunately that is one of the most common names among the Bohemian community of Omaha at the time so it doesn't help us connect to relatives.

It looks like Frantisek came over in 1880, arriving at New York on the ship Donau from Bremen Germany; origin Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, on 22 May, then went back to Bohemia and got his family and brought them to America. He arrived 15 Sep 1890 and Catherine arrived from Hamburg Germany on board the ship Russia on 23 Dec 1890 with daughter Matilda 11 yrs and son Franz 11 mos.

Death cert says birth in 1845. There is no spouse or parents listed so they may not have had good information on her.

Name is Katherine, Katerina, Catherine in various documents.

Katherine Barta is a common name and she can be easily confused with others. For example there is a census record that looks much like her in Omaha in 1885 ^[1] but she was already married and with children with surname Michalek before that date.

Sources

1. ↑ Katherine Barta in the Nebraska, State Census, 1885, Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska, age 35 (ancestry.com)

• "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3Y5-VNP : 8 March 2022), Catherine Michalck, age 52, in entry for Frank Michalck, Omaha, Douglas, Nebraska, all from Bohemia.

• 1890; Arrival: New York, New York; Microfilm Serial: M237, 1820-1897; Microfilm Roll: Roll 560; Line: 16; List Number: 1875

• Death certificate in the possession of Michael Tryon as of Feb 2017 stating date of death.

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/157891429/katerina-michalek: accessed 19 November 2022), memorial page for Katerina Michalek (unknown–13 Jan 1907), Find a Grave Memorial ID 157891429, citing Bohemian Cemetery, Omaha, Douglas County, Nebraska, USA; Maintained by S. Wardell (contributor 47551395).