Smejkal Genealogy

If you have information to share with us, please contact me.  (email at the bottom)

I have had great difficulty finding information on our Smejkal family. This is due primarily to the fact that the people who entered the name into early records apparently had no clue as to how to spell it!  I made up a list of possible spellings, according to how it sounds (pronounced Shmay-call or Smay-cull by local Czechs) and finally did manage to find information.  I am happy to report that with the help of other Smejkal researchers, a great deal of progress has been made.  Most recently I have been in contact with a long-time Smejkal researcher, Darlene Schuller, whose research in the Czech Republic and in the States has greatly enhanced this project. 

Surname misspellings:  As an aid to help other researchers having problems with the misspellings, below are various spellings we have found in records with the Smejkal name.  There are probably many more

Smakel, Smakal, Smachal, Smaykel, Smakyal, Smackle, Smykial,
Schmukal, Schmeykal, Schmachel, Schmical,

Locations in Iowa:  Monroe Township, Johnson, County is west of the town of Swisher, Iowa.  Jefferson Township is just to the east of Monroe Twp. encompassing both Swisher and Shueyville.  Big Grove Township is closer to Shueyville or Solon, Iowa, both to the east of Swisher.  These are the northern tier of townships in Johnson County, Iowa.  To the north is Linn County, Iowa, where many early Czech immigrants settled in Putnam Twp.(Ely, Iowa area), College Twp. (the town of Western or Western College),  Fairfax Township (Fairfax, Iowa).  All these townships are south of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and north of Iowa City, Iowa.  Rapids Township is now mostly contained within the city of Cedar Rapids in Linn County, which at one time, had about 25% of its population from Czech or Bohemian extraction.

There is a hill southwest of Swisher, Iowa that the local Czechs call "Smejkal's Hill".  It rises from what is now the back waters of the Iowa River (Coralville Reservoir) and is a huge steep hill.  Looking at early maps, this is about where our Smejkal family first settled.

Smejkal Descendant Tree - UPDATED December 2005

smejkal6gen_dec2005.pdf

***NOT ALL INFORMATION IS VERIFIED.
PLEASE do not copy and then post on the Internet at Rootsweb or Ancestry.com or another genealogy web site to be ENDLESSLY in error! 

THIS IS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS' information - NOT FOR PUBLICATION! 

The Internet is a wonderful way to share information and "find" relatives.  However, a lot of misinformation gets passed on needlessly by casual copying of genealogy information without verification.  Please respect the long and hard research that we have done on this family.  Add to it, and submit corrections instead of just taking it.  Only in this way can we verify some of the information.  Feel free to contact me.  Thank you!
 - Barb Horak

NOTES WHICH CLEAR UP SOME FORMER RESEARCH ERRORS

THE SMEJKAL IMMIGRANTS

Frank (Frantisek) Smejkal, 1821 to 21 Sep 1874
Lived at # 40 Kamenne Sedliste, Chrudim District, County of Litomysl in Bohemia, (78.7 miles ESE of Prague), according to their daughter Katerina's (Catherine's) baptismal certificate.  
First wife Anna Svihla or Svihelova,  born 10 Dec 1824 , came to a new country with her husband and children in 1864 and died only 5 years later.  She is buried at Castek Cemetery in Monroe Township with her daughter Elena (Helen).

Kamenne Sedliste - click on the link - then type or paste "Kamenne Sedliste" in the blank, choose Czech Republic from the drop down and it will show you a page with coordinates, where it is from Prague and you can click on a link to Mapquest to see where the town is.  It is 78.7 miles ESE of Prague, south east of the town of Lytomsl.
http://www.jewishgen.org/shtetlseeker/loctown.htm

Conflicts in Daughter Katerina Smejkal's Baptismal Record (found in a genealogy file on the Dubisar/Dubishar/Dubisher family; translated from the original document hand-written in the Czech language.)

Country of Cechy (Czechoslovakia)
Chrudym District (Chrudim)
# 78 Register Book
County Litomysl

Name of Baptized: Katarina Smejkal (or Smeykal)
Religion: Catholic
Birth Status: Marriage (perhaps meaning the parents are married)
Day, Month and Year of Birth and Baptism: February 1, 1849, year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred forty nine  (note:  I think this is the date of baptism.  It says nothing about a birth date, unless she was born and baptized the same day) 
Place of Birth: Kamene Sedliste, Number 40, Chrudym , Cechy (houses were usually numbered in villages)

Father: Frantisek Smejkal, Catholic, son of [looks like Andreje with an accent over the r] Smejkal, a cotter (farmer) (note:  Research which Darlene Schuller had done in the Czech Republic shows that Frantisek was the illegitimate son of Anna Smejkelova, daughter of Ondrej Smejkal and Anna Jilkova, so the "Andreje" is actually his grandfather.)

Mother: Anna, Catholic, the daughter of John Svihla, a cotter (farmer) in Kamenych Sedliste; her mother Anna, Daughter of Anton Latava, a farm helper (note:  The "Dubisar file" typed translation of this birth certificate states that Anna Svihla's parents are Anna Latava and John Svihla. However, Darlene Schuller's research shows Frantisek Smejkal married to Anna Svihelova, whose parents are Jan Svihel and Anna Patovova.  The "Dubisar file" birth certificate has what appear to be ink blots that partially cover some of the information, and the translation could be faulty.)

Sponsors: Anna Vacek, John Jilek, Vaclav Setkar
Recorded in Baptismal Record: Recorded 1856 in Kamene Sedliste, Page 42
Baptized Catholic by Waclav Novak, parish Priest
I hereby certify and attest this was in the parish of Hladocepe, this 18 June 1864
(Signed) Waclav Novak, parish Priest

The Smejkal family arrived 31 October 1864 on the Bark "Industrie" from Bremen, Germany, to Baltimore, Maryland. The family is listed by German names as it was a German ship. 
Franz age 43 (Frantisek or Frank)
Anna age 38 (wife)
Anna age 20
Wenzel age 18 (Vaclav, Waclav, Wencil, Wesley)
Catherine age 13 (Kathrina, Katherine- this could be misread and is actually 15)
Helene age 14 (this is "Elena" on the grave marker below, twin to Sophia) 
Sylvia age 14 (Sophia)
Maria age 10 (Marie/Mary)
Johann age 6 (John)

Frank and Anna's younger son, Joseph, was born on 16 Mar 1863, so was an infant, and perhaps not listed on the ship's list.  Records state he was born in Bohemia. 

Frantisek's first wife's grave
Castek Cemetery - Monroe Twp., Johnson County, Iowa 
(Painted on a board) 
Anna Manzelka Frantiska Smejkala 
z rosena 1824 dne 10 Prosinec 
zemrela dne 1869 a jen dce.... Elena z... dne 10 Listopada 18 ds a pyr ......nad  ......16 ma 
Dej jim Buh lehke odpociva ni a slavne  .....mrtrych
 (blank spaces are were unreadable when the record was entered)

IF ANYONE CAN HELP TRANSLATE THE ABOVE, PLEASE CONTACT ME!         
As near as I can translate the above, it is 
Anna, wife of Frank Smejkal
born 1824 on 10th December
died in 1869......daughter..Elena .... 10 November .. (perhaps age 16?)
Give them God's easy rest?

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Frank's Second wife, Anna Stritesky Pohorsky.  Anna Pohorsky, maiden name, Stritesky, was born 26 July 1830 in Bohemia to Frank Stritesky; her mother's name is unknown. She married Josef Pohorsky and they had two known children, (Katherine or Anna?) and Joseph Pohorsky, Jr. They came to the United States in the 1860's perhaps with the Vaclav Pohorsky (b. 1842) family. Joseph Pohorsky died before November 1869. Anna then married Frank Smejkal, (also recently widowed), on 1 Nov 1869 in Johnson County. They appear together on the 1870 Census with Anna's son, Joseph, living with them and Frank's children. Together, Frank and the second Anna had a son, Frank, about 1871.

Probate

Frank died ten years after his arrival in Iowa, on 21 Sep 1874.  In his Probate, his living children are listed as
Anna Horack, age 30, College township, Linn Co.
Catherine Dubisha, age 26, Monroe Tp. (Dubisar or Dubishar)
Wesly Smakal, age 28, Monroe Tp.
Sophia Krisel, 24 Cedar Rapids, Linn Co.  (Sophia Christl or Christle)
John Smakal, age 17, Monroe Twp.
Mary Smakal, age 22, Cedar Rapids
Joseph Smakal, 11, Monroe Tp.
Barbara Smakal, age 9, Monroe Tp.
Frank Smakal, age 5, Monroe Tp.

(Barbara must have been born to Frank and Anna Svihel Smejkal in this country.  Frank, the youngest child, is Anna Pohorsky and Frank Smejkal's child.)

Description of his Real Estate is
W 1/2 NE 1/4 NW 1/4 Sec 22 Twp 81 Rg 8, 20 acres 
SE 1/4 NW 1/4 Sec 22 Twp 81 Rg 8, 40 acres

Monroe Twp. 1875
Click picture for enlargement
Red X shows approx. land location

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My husband's connection to the Smejkal family is the eldest daughter, Anna Smejkal, born Apr 1844 in Bohemia and married to Joseph Horak..  Her Immigration date is 1864 according to the 1900 Census

On 4 Oct 1866 in Linn County, Iowa, she married Joseph Horak (22 Aug 1842 to 4 Nov 1921) 
Linn County Marriages to 1869, p. 40 Joseph Horack, 24, to Amy Smicikal, 22, Oct 4, 1866

See the Horak pages for information on this family

Anna Smejkal Horak died 6 Jul 1906 - the below is from her death record in Linn County, Iowa
Cedar Rapids
Horak, Anne
Age 62 years, married, born in Bohemia
Name of father: Frank Smejkal Birthplace of father: Bohemia
Name of mother: Anna Smejkal
Occupation: farmer
Informant: Mrs. Jos. Chadima, Cedar Rapids
Date of death: July 6, 1906
Cause of death: Pneumonia
Attending physician: Wesley Netolicky
Interred: July 8, 1906 at Anderson Cemetery (East of Swisher, Iowa)

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THE DUBISAR FILE
Some information was found in a genealogy file on the Dubisar/Dubishar/Dubisher family, compiled in 1981 by Mrs. Harold Joseph of Williamsburg, Iowa, and loaned to me by Mr. & Mrs. Winston Dubisher of Cedar Rapids. I understand that the file is at the Iowa County Genealogy Society or Library.  The Research Center is located in the lower level of the Marengo, Iowa Public Library on the corner of Marengo Avenue and Hilton Street.  Some of the research in this file is in conflict with the research that Darlene Shuller had done in the Czech Republic. (See below)

Iowa Marriages, 1851-1900
DUBESHAW, JOSEPH  (Dubishar)
Spouse: SMAKEL, KATHARINE Marriage Date: 11 Jan 1869 (Katherine Smejkal)
County: Johnson State: IA

Double Marriage:  (Notes: Mikulas (Nicolaus) and Katerina Dubisar are Joseph Dubisar's parents. They came over in 1862 with Joseph and their daughter Mary. Joseph and his sister married Smejkal siblings, Catherine and Wesley, children of Frank Smejkal and Anna Svihla/Svihel.  The families lived next to each other in Monroe Township, Johnson County, Iowa.  Both families came from near Litomysl.)

From Dubisar Genealogy File - conflict in birth date and parents of Nicolaus:
Nicolaus Dubisar, son of Frank and Anna Sadechy Dubisar, was born July 22, 1820 CZE or Bohemia. His parents were farmers. He died in Monroe Twp, Johnson Co., IA on June 17, 1910 according to his death certificate. He came to America in the 1860's thought to be 1862. He farmed. [Note: Darlene Schuller's research states that Nicolaus Dubisar was born 23 July 1820 in Nemcice, Litomysl parish, and that his parents are Jan Dubisar and Katerina Sadecky, NOT Frank Dubisar and Anna Sadechy.]

He married Katerina [Kate] Muchulsky, daughter of Wencel and Anna Sakolona (could this be Sakolova?) Muchulsky. She was born Sept 28, 1819, Bohemia and died April 11, 1905. Burial at DuPont Cemetery, Johnson Co., IA. 

They had two children, Joseph and Mary Ann Dubisar. [Dubisar was changed to Dubishar or Dubisher in America]. Joseph Dubishar was born Jan 29, 1845. He died September 23, 1913. His sister Mary Ann Dubishar was born June 15, 1846. She died May 22, 1932.

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Research from Darlene Schuller:

Nicolaus Dubishar and his family emigrated to the United States on the St. Bernhard in 1862. He was listed as a mason and was traveling to Iowa. Place of residence given was Nemschutz, Austria/Czechoslovakia. Nemschutz is located in Litomysl County. Population of Nemschutz in 1904 was 1,032.
[Note: other records show the name of the village as Nemcice, which is located just to the north east of Litomysl.  The above spelling is no doubt the German spelling.]

St. Bernhard - from Bremen, arrived in NY 2 Oct 1862 -
Dubisar, N - 42 M - MSN (Mason?) - Gr (Germany) going to to Iowa
Dubisar, C - 42 - F - NN
Dubisar, J - 16 - M - NN
Dubisar, M - 11 - F - NN

Nicolaus and Kate Dubisar lived in Sec. 22, Range 8, Township 81, NW1/4, SW 1/4, as a farmer and housekeeper.

They appear in household 174 in 1870 Monroe Twp Census living next to the Smejkal family.
1870 Census, Monroe Twp., August 1870
Dubashaw, Michlish age 55, works on farm born Bohemia
Katie, age 57, keeping house, born Bohemia

In Dupont Cemetery, Monroe Twp.
Mikulas Dubisar, 22 July 1820 to 17 June 1910
Katerina Dubisar, 28 Sept 1819 to 11 April 1905

 

The conflict of Nicolaus Dubisar's parents

Iowa City Courthouse
Death record:
Nicolaus Dubishar - b July 22, 1820; age at death 89 years, 10 months, 25 days. Born Bohemia; father - Frank Dubisar; b. Bohemia; mother-Anna Sadesky; Occupation-farmer; d. June 17, 1910; Carcinoma Ventriculi; Undertaker- F.J. Floerchinger, Oxford, IA

(Note: The below conflicts with the Death Record above which states Mikulas/Nicholas' parents as Frank Dubisar and Anna Sadesky.  The "informant" of the death certificate may not have known Nicolaus' parents names for sure.  Research in the Czech Republic state that Jan Dubisar and Katerina Sadecky are his parents.)

Nicolaus (Mikulas) Dubisar, b. 23 July 1820, in Nemcice

Jan Dubisar was born on 16 October 1772 in Nemcice. He had a twin sister, Ludmilla
Father: Jan Dubisar, farmer
Mother: Ludmila, b. Litmoysl County, Bohemia

Katerina Sadecky was born 12 October 1772 in Nemcice
Father: Josef Sadecky, cottager and tailor
Mother: Polexina, b. Litomysl

Jan Dubisar and Katerina Sadecky married on 30 June 1812 in Nemcice
Bridegroom: Jan Dubisar, private soldier of Baron Vincenz 4 Chev. Lager. Regiment, born in Nemcice
Bride: Katerina, daughter of Josef Sadecky, cottager from Nemcice (near Litomysl)

These are not from our family, but are posted for other researchers looking for their families.

Czech Immigration Passenger Lists NY, 1847-1869 Vol IV, by Leo Baca 

Schmukal, Catharine, age 20, Bohemia, aboard the Meta, landed 19 Dec 1854 
Schmeykal  Joseph  age 35,  Maria age 32, Bohemia aboard the Geestemunde, landed 18 July 1867, destination Milwaukee 
Schmachel, Franceska 27, Franz l/12, Bohemia, aboard the Baltic, landed 2 Oct 1867 
Schmical, Michel age 21, Bohemia, aboard the Senator Ikon, landed 22 June 1867

Czech Immigration Passenger Lists, Vol. VI 
Smejkal, Anna, age 22, Bohemia, aboard the Elbe, landed 19 June 1882

This possible Smejkal family in Big Grove Twp. has not been identified.  Can you help?

1870 Census, Big Grove Twp., Johnson Co., Iowa, PO Solon, 13 August 1870, Page 1, line 28
SMAKYEL, Frank, age 38, farmer, b. Bohemia
                     Katie, age 45, keeping house, b. Bohemia
                     John, age 19, b. Bohemia
Vrostick?, Westley, age 60, works on farm, b. Bohemia

Horak page