Our Ancestor's Emmigration
Our Ancestor's Immigration
The immigration to the United States dates back to mid to late 1800's, during the years of and following the general revolutionary movement in Europe. A great many of the early immigrants were well educated, patriotic men, who had either taken an active part in the movement or who, after its failure, no longer endure to live in that society. The bulk of the immigrants, following these pioneers in after years differed in this respect, that while the first came here to enjoy the blessings of freedom, the latter immigrated to improve their material prospects and to escape from agricultural and industrial depression.
There were few Czechs residing in America before the 19th century. The first known Czech in America was Augustine Herrman, a very successful merchant. While most of the immigrants that established colonies in the northern part of America were somewhat poor, with few laborers, mostly traders and working classmen from Bohemia, those who migrated south to Texas were mostly farmers from Moravia.
The revolutions occurring in 1848 encouraged Czechs to leave their homeland. At that time the Czechs were being politically and economically oppressed by the Austrian government and America seemed a harbor from their plight. The Czechs who reached the United States generally had an easier time learning to assimilate into the American culture than did other people of the Old Country, because of their more cosmopolitan nature, better education and higher rate of literacy. Immigration records show that about 20,000 Czechs came to America in the 1850's. By 1870, over 40,000 had landed on this continent.
Czechs settled farm communities in Midwestern states and Texas. The first Czech farming community settled in Winsconsin where the climate resembled that of the old home. There were communities settling in Milwaukee, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Czech ancestors may have left Europe via one of the German ports of Bremen or Hamburg. The passenger lists for the port of Bremen were destroyed during the bombing campaigns over Germany in WWII. However, the port of Hamburg records did survive. The local authorities in Hamburg prepared and maintained lists of foreigners emigrating via their port starting in 1850. Those lists included information such as surnames, ages, place of residence, occupation, their destination and ship transfer information, all of this a wealth of information for anyone researching their family origins and immigration to America.
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