Skip to main content

Bohemia

      Bohemia is a region of modern day Czech Republic.  It is bordered by Bavaria to the West, Saxony to the North, Poland to the Northeast, and Austria to the South.  During the time of the Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia was it's own kingdom until 1526, when it came under Austrian rule by the Hapsburg Monarchy.  Prague was even capital of the Holy Roman Empire at one point!  Under Hapsburg rule, Bohemia became increasingly more German, with the German language being spoken predominantly.  In 1848, many Czech nationalists revolted and wanted to restore Bohemia as Czech and independent, apart from Austria.  The revolution failed and Bohemia did not become independent until after WWI, when it became know as Czechoslovakia. 

Pamphlet in German extolling the climate and soil of Wisconsin 

      
         My 4th great-grandfather Martin Woodruff came to the States in 1854, from Bohemia.  This would have been right after the revolution.  Perhaps he was a proud Czech nationalist and decided to join the waves of Czech immigrants heading to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Immigrants flooded into Wisconsin beginning in the 1840s.  According to the US Census of 1860, over 7,000 Czech settlers lived in Wisconsin, with Milwaukee being one of the earliest Czech settlements.  Wisconsin developed an active advertising campaign in order to attract settlers.  Wisconsin often advertised in foreign newspapers and sent out pamphlets.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Appleton

The territory where Appleton is today was traditionally occupied by the  Ho-Chunk  and the  Menominee . The Menominee Nation ceded the territory to the United States in the  Treaty of the Cedars  in 1836, with  Chief Oshkosh  representing the Menominee.  In the Menominee language, Appleton is known as  Ahkōnemeh , or "watches for them place".   Fur traders seeking to do business with Fox River Valley Indians were the first settlers in Appleton. Hippolyte Grignon built the White Heron in 1835 to house his family and serve as an inn and trading post. Germans, Dutch and Poles were some of the first immigrants to come to Appleton. Oneida Indians also live in the Oneida reservation just north of town.  Appleton shares its history with Lawrence University, for the two grew simultaneously.  With the financial backing of Amos Lawrence, the Lawrence Institute was chartered in 1847. Samuel Appleton donated $10,000...
Post a Comment
Read more

Burial of Centennarian

Green Bay Press Gazette, Sept 23, 1899 After posting my previous article " Following a lead on Martin Woodruff ", Newspapers.com uploaded more copies of the Green Bay Press Gazette for the years 1870-2019.  I searched Martin Woodruff and the first result was his obit from Sept. 23rd 1899!   Sure enough, it mentions that he was living with his daughter, Mrs. Gravy at 334 Maple av.  It feels good to have my previous research confirmed.  The more sources, the better able we are to form a picture of someone's life. See my article Martin Woodruff: The Elder for more about him.
Post a Comment
Read more