I could use help with some old photos sent from the Picha family relations in the Czech Republic
to the Pelisek family in the United States.  Please CLICK HERE for scans.  Thank you!

PELISEK FAMILY STORY

Joseph Pelisek, son of John and Mary Jokes (pronounced "yo-kesh") Pelisek, grandson of Joseph Pelisek and (unknown) Pecka, was born on 17 Oct 1884, in Roučkovice, near Pacov, which is about about 77 kilometers, or 49 miles south-southeast from Prague, and east and a bit north from Tabor. His father died about 1890, when he was 6 years old, and his mother eventually remarried. Joseph had one full-blood sister . (Joseph's son, George Pelisek, stated that his father had a sister Mary; step-sisters were Josephine, Frances, Anatasia, and a step-brother, Frank. Their last name was Picha, since his mother married a Picha after his dad died.)

Joseph grew up and was interested in trading horses as a young man. At about the age of 25, he decided to emigrate to the United States. He arrived in New York City, with a friend, on June 02, 1909 from Bremen, Germany, on the ship, Kronprinz Wilhelm. On the ship's manifest his residence was listed as Rouchowice, Bohemia (now known as Roučkovice), which is about 2 miles east of Pacov.



Ship Manifest - Kronprins Wilhelm, which sailed from Bremen on May 25th, 1909 and arrived in the port of New York City on June 2nd, 1909:

Pelisek, Josef, age 25, single, farm laborer, reads & writes, citizen of Bohemia, town of Rouchowice, mother Marie Picha of Rouchowice, Bohemia, final destination - Chicago, Illinois, paid own passage, has $5.00, going to a cousin, Frank Zika, 905 W. 48th Ave in Chicago, Illinois, height 5 foot 10 inches, place of birth is unreadable.

(Joseph was traveling with:)
Hola, Antonin, age 23, single, farm laborer, reads & writes, citizen of Bohemia, town of Lesna, mother Joseph. Jokes of Lesna, Bohemia, final destination, Chicago, Illinois, paid own passage, has $3.00, going to a cousin, Frank Zika, 905 W. 48th Ave in Chicago, Illinois, height 5 foot 6 inches, place of birth is Praha.

(Note: Antonin's mother is listed as Joseph. Jokes (probably Josephina Jokes). Joseph Pelisek's mother's maiden name was Jokes. The two men were probably related.)
 

Joe and Antonin went to South Dakota to homestead, but after a time, Joe left this situation. According to family stories, Joe had a relative, a Mrs. Cecek (spelling could be wrong), who lived on a farm near the town of Clutier in Tama County, Iowa. It is perhaps because of her that Joe went to the Clutier area. The 1910 Census shows him living with a Frank and Mary Husak and their sons in Carroll Township, near Clutier, as follows:

Pelisek, Joseph, hired man, male, white, age 25, single, immigrated from Austria Bohemia in 1909, alien, speaks Bohemian, occupation, farm laborer, working out

(On the next farm in the 1910 Census, Carroll Twp. are John and Anna Chizek, age 57 and 49, and children Joseph, Anna, Charles, Julia, Lizzie and William. Could this be the "Cecek" cousin mentioned above? Further down the same page are Fred and Celia Chezek, ages 27 and 23, perhaps a son of John and Anna.)
 

Joe worked with a Mr. Snyder doing custom threshing around the Clutier area, helping drive the steam engines, and feeding the boiler. He later found employment in a Clutier meat market.

One night while attending the dance at the local dance hall, the "Dupanda" (which means "stomping your feet" in Czech, and was located near Holy Trinity Church south of Clutier), he met a young woman named Fannie Kubalek. Fannie was from a large family who had emigrated from Velka Ves, near Lukavec, Bohemia in 1905. Her parents were Vaclav Kubalek, also known as James in this country, and Mary Kout (pronounced "coat") Kubalek. After arriving in this country the family spent a few years in Chicago near James' sister, Mary Kubalek Kos and her husband Joseph, and then moved on to Tama County near Clutier where they farmed. Later on, Fannie worked at her Uncle John Kubalek's general store in Clutier. Fannie was younger than Joe by 12 years but the age difference didn't keep them apart. A family story is told about how Joe was looking at a watch in the store one day and Fannie was waiting on him. She was apparently very admiring of the watch, saying how nice it was. Joe bought it - and then gave it to Fannie.

Joseph Pelisek and Frances Kubalek were married by Joseph J. Hajek on May 3, 1916. Antonin Hola (with whom he had immigrated) and Fannie's sister, Barbara, were attendants. Their marriage certificate states that Joe would be age 32 and Fannie would be 20 on their next birthdays. Their residence is listed as Clutier for Joe, and Dike for Fannie. At the time of the marriage Joe had been in the United States about 7 years and Fannie for around 10 years.