John and
Catherine (Pirko) Chaloupka immigrated to the United States from
northeastern Bohemia with their 7 children around 1855. (Together,
the couple had 11 children, 7 born in Bohemia, 2 born in Iowa and 2
sons that died in infancy, birthplace unknown.) More
specifically, they came from the village of Castolovice near Hradec
Kralove (Konnigratz in German). It's possible that Catherine's
family was from Pardubice a small town near Castolovice.
The green flag below is the town of Hradec Kralove. The
red flag is the town of Castolovice. If you look south from
Hradec Kralove on the road marked "37", you will see the
town of Pardubice. Hradec Kralove is also the name the region
containing the cities of Hradec Kralove and Castolovice.
Pardubice, likewise, is the name of the region containing the cities
of Pardubice and Chrudim.
Within this 25-30 mile radius, I can place many individuals with
the surnames Chaloupka and Pirko in the early to mid 1800s. I
haven't yet made a direct connection with John or Catherine.
According to a written account, they traveled by steamer to Quebec
where they took smaller ships down the St. Lawrence River through the
Great Lakes eventually to Chicago. From Chicago, they made their
way toward Iowa. The first known place of settlement is Jackson
County where they appear in the 1860 federal census. According to
census records, John and Catherine's two youngest children were born in
Iowa.
By 1870 they had made their way west to Jones County.
Several of the boys had married by this time and were settled in other
cities such as Dubuque, IA, Wilber, NE, and Yale, IA with their own
families in progress.
I hope that you will find the information on this site useful to
your research. If you have something to add about any of the
family groups contained herein, please let me know.
I can be contacted at research@kenjuragenealogy.com.
Good luck and happy hunting!
Nicole Kenjura
research@kenjuragenealogy.com
http://www.kenjuragenealogy.com
