Apr15

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In May, 1907 my grandfather Josef Vanac, all of 15 years old began his emigration from Zamlyni in what is now the Czech Republic to New York.

Josef Vanac Kares & Stocky Ticket

He traveled alone and was to meet his sister Marie, who was already here for about a year. He took the ship SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse via the Kares & Stocky company in Bremen. The cost was 236 Kroner – about $50 I think.

When I think of myself at 15 years old and the enormous trip that must have been for someone from a small farming village in Bohemia in 1907, I am unceasingly amazed at the strength of my ancestors.

We have quite a few documents from my Czech grandparents’ immigration, but one the letter that goes along with this particular trip is quite interesting.

Kares & Stocky Letter BackKares & Stocky Letter Front

I am unsure what this completely filled, 2 sided document says – but it is signed with the name of the company “Kares & Stocky” at the end, not a person.

I found a message on an old CZECH-L mailing list, where someone asked for a translation of a document from the company. It did not contain an image of the original, but the small amount of translation had to do with travel options and trains.

Did they write a long hand-written travel document for everyone? If so, amazing! Now, I need to try and translate… See you in a few months.

1 Comment

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    Comment by John — February 17, 2014 @ 3:11 pm

    Closing comments on this post since sp#mmers have apparently both like it very much and have found a way to sneak them through the Akismet spam filters…

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