The problem arises when two groups of descendants from two different groups of emigrees discuss what they are. I never heard a reference to Czech in my home in family context. It referred to a country in Europe. I did always hear that I was Bohemian, that my father's parents came from Bohemia (and like almost everyone else from that time period, the classic place seemed to be from "near Prague"). Finally in research, I obtained the death certificates of my grandparents, my father was the informer on the certificates, he said that his parents were born in Czechoslovakia (they died in 1922 and 1935). Of course, they had not. They both had been born in the Empire and came with their parents leaving behind status as subjects of the Emperor. Those, however, who came later appear to have had a different sense of definition about who they were. They think in terms of Czech. The earlier group thinks in terms of Bohemia. Dreaming? I dream in Wisconsin and Minnesota, never in Virginia. I grew up with snow and bluffs and huge evergreen trees and rivers and lakes. Why on earth would I dream in Virginia? Fifty years in the Virginia heat has not changed that for me. What do I talk? I suspect I still talk Wisconsinite. What has been my most treasured find in research? A small book "Bohemian Flats" about the settlers in the 1860s along the water in Minneapolis. http://www1.umn.edu/urelate/kiosk/0703kiosk/mississippi.html My grandparents owned a home, not at Bohemian Flats, but I hold that place near and dear. "Pobuda said, I started to research my own Bohemian heritage. At the [University of Minnesota], I learned of the Bohemian Flats. I began to realize how many Czechs and Slovaks and Bohemians were connected to this area. As an artist, I created work about the Flats and immigration. Even though the borders change and youre an American, youre still part of where you came from. She said she hopes that next year, more nationalities will participate." http://www.readthebridge.info/node/23 Elaine TV is chewing gum for the eyes. --Frank Lloyd Wright Hello john On Sunday, April 9, 2006, you wrote > Another for instance. It has been stated by > both my dad's immediate > family in Indiana and his uncle in Wisconsin's children, that their > grandmother spoke only Bohemian. Never said > Czech, so is Bohemian just > another dialect of the Czech language? Boy am I > confusing the issue even > MORE or WHAT? HA HA. sorry folks... > Ron and Betty Mlejnek wrote: >> Everything would be correct when using geographical points of >> reference. However, I do not think that Czechs from Bohemia >> considered themselves identical to Germans from Bohemia. Ethnically >> and linguistically they are different because the had "dreams" in >> different languages. A person from Armenia might call himself an >> Armenian even if he lived in Prague. :-D >>
This link leads to an 1894 book: http://books.google.com/books?ie=UTF-8&hl=en&id=Jf3a9G90uvgC&num=100&dq=bohemia+date:1400-1900&prev=http://books.google.com/books%3Flr%3D%26num%3D100%26q%3Dbohemia%2Bdate:1400-1900&lpg=PA14&pg=PA3& Henry Kuska [email protected] http://home.neo.rr.com/kuska/