Kadlecovi ... Kadlecs ... Weavers
Welcome to Kadlecovi.com! My new book, "Silver Lake: A History in Pictures" is now available:
Comprising 230 pages, this book includes rare historical photos and historical accounts of the the City of Silver Lake, Minnesota.
To order the book, please click here.
Chances are that you have an interest in your genealogy and finding ways to fill in the gaps of your family history. It is human nature to try to seek the answers to such unanswerable quesions and to weave this knowledge into the story of your family.
“A family, like any group, passes through time and change collecting, modifying, discarding, and forgetting stories. In the process of doing this it knits itself into one, recasts itself, comes unraveled and unless written, is finally entirely forgotten.”
(Joseph Amato, Jacob’s Well, P. 128)
How are you passing your time? Are you recording any of the family stories that were told to you by your parents or grandparents? Have you ever thought about writing the story of your family but are not sure where to start? Hopefully this site will help inspire you to take the first step towards writing your family story.
Why Kadlecovi.com?
Why Kadlecovi.com? My Czech surname ‘Kadlec’ is a fairly common one in the Czech Republic; it is derived from the ancient form of the family name, ‘Tkadlec’, which translates as ‘weaver’ in Czech, as in the occupation of weaving to create fabric. It was the busy work my ancestors did to supplement their income when they weren't working in the fields. The word ‘tkat’ is the term for ‘weave’ in Czech and the Slavic words for weaver are ‘tkač’ or ‘tkalac’; in Serbo-Croatian ‘tkati’ means ‘to weave’; in Russian ‘tkat' means ‘weave’; and in Slovak ‘tkáč’ is the term for ‘weaver’. And so in a sense, we are all 'weavers' of these stories and since 'Kadlecovi' is plural for 'Kadlec', you get the picture.
"They Chose This Place" or "This Place Choose Them"?
It is a romantic American notion that our ancestors traveled until they found a place that reminded them of their home country, then they unpacked and plunked down their roots to start a new life, to enjoy their religious freedom. In many cases, they simply settled in the place where their wagon broke down, but in the case of my ancestors, they found a place where they could grab a foothold in the new economy with their old language and culture. My paternal ancestors were all Czech immigrants who eventually settled in the thriving Czech community of Silver Lake, in McLeod County, Minnesota, USA. The history of the Czech community of Silver Lake in the 19th and early 20th centuries is a bygone era that I will try to document here for future generations to rediscover.
Copyright 2009-2012Anthony J. Kadlec All Rights Reserved.
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