My paternal family originated in Croatia, within the Croatian Military Frontier, which was considered the fringe area of the Austrian Empire. The frontier was founded as early as 1364, with the circumstances and population changing over time. The Ottoman Empire had set their sights on expanding into the Balkans and Eastern Europe. After the Ottomans took Bosnia and Serbia, the Bosnian and Serbian people fled north to Croatia and other countries. But frequent Ottoman raids into Croatia also caused Croats to flee their country, north into Carniola (Slovenia) and Carinthia (Austria), leaving Croatia more vulnerable to Ottoman takeover.
The Austrians encouraged Serbian settlement in the Croatian Military Frontier, alongside Croats, to keep it populated and to defend it. But the Serb refugees from Bosnia and Serbia were Orthodox Christians, not Roman Catholic Christians like Croatians. Freedom of religion and other rights were granted to those who would settle in this Croatian war region. It was the right incentive for Serbs to live and fight for the Roman Catholic country of Austria. By the time my grandfather was born in 1868, the two major ethnic groups of Croatia were Croats (50%) and Serbs (50%), Roman Catholic Christians and Orthodox Christians, respectively.
The Croatian Military Frontiers (krajinas) were eventually divided into regiments under military command. Every man of military age, between 16 and 60, was a soldier. They lived as peasants, but also in the Austrian emperor’s service with a regular position in the army. They were subject to active duty for a portion of every year, and likely to be called at any time. These Croatian regiments were not only used in local krajina warfare, but could be sent to the distant wars in which the Austrians had been constantly engaged.
The Austrian uniformed man to the right is Anton Ribich, who happens to be the grandfather of my cousin Barb's husband. He lived in Slovenia, just north of Croatia, which also was part of Austro-Hungary. I don't know his rank. His uniform would have been all wool. Note the hat on the table and the sword hanging on his belt. The sketched image of the border guard wears clothing more suitable to the everyday soldier. (See the photo and sketch at right from late the 1800s)
On the other side of the Croatian krajina, was Turkish Croatia, coined by Austrian military topographers who worked in the border areas after 1699. This side of the frontier was ruled by Ottomans and also experienced changes over centuries. Later, Turkish Croatia is changed to Bosanska Krajina, (Bosnian borderland) and this name first appears in maps about 1869.
The Ottoman's Bosnian krajina also had military regiments. This area was populated with three major ethnic groups under Ottoman rule - Serbians, Bosnians and Croatians. In most cases, it is their religions that differentiate them, as Orthodox Christians, Muslims, and Roman Catholics, respectively.
Into all this political drama and wavering borders, my grandfather was born on the Croatian krajina side, in Donji Kosinj. It was part of Austro-Hungary, but still under Austrian rule, not Hungarian rule. Austria announced in 1869 that it would do away with the military frontier, as the Ottoman threat had been declining since 1699. Croatia would then be governed by Hungary again.
THE CRNKOVICH FAMILY
Here’s the little that I know about Ivan Crnkovich’s family in Croatia. The names of his parents, Matt Crnkovic(h) and Lucille Ugovic, are known from his U.S. death certificate. Their Croatian names were probably Mate, for Matt or Matthew, and Luya for Lucille or Louise. My paternal great grandfather, Mate, would have been a soldier, based on the time and location of where they lived.
What was learned about the family came from a 1970s visit to Donji Kosinj by some of his children. There were four brothers and a lost fact that my grandfather had a twin brother! Had this not been known, or not remembered? The twins were Ivan (John) and Stipan (Steve).
It was Meyat’s descendant that our parents visited in 1978. Meyat’s daughter, Anna (Crnkovic) Klobuchar, and our parents were cousins. They learned about Ivan Crnkovic’s family from Anna Klobuchar. It’s wonderful that the notes from this trip, 43 years ago, were saved. Thank You cousin Barb!
TENSIONS OF THE TIMES
Despite the intention to abolish the military frontiers about the time my grandfather was born, it didn't happen for many years. It was still a volatile time, and Austria saw expansion opportunities south of the krajina - in Bosnia and Herzegovina. (This was still an age when countries like Austria, Russia, England, etc. were enlarging their empires.) And, from 1875 to 1878, there were uprisings led by orthodox (Serbian) Christians against the Ottomans in Turkish controlled areas. Uprisings spread across the Balkan provinces, leading to the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, with most of the war being fought in Romania. Austria agreed with Russia to remain neutral, in return for “spoils of war”. A resulting agreement, at The Congress of Berlin, allowed for a re-organization of many Balkan countries, with Bosnia and Herzegovina going to Austro-Hungary.
At first, the agreements were hailed for peacemaking and stabilizing the area, but many of the participants were unhappy with what they agreed to. While many wanted to diminish the influence of the Ottomans, brakes on Russian power was also being applied. Serbia was unhappy with Russia consenting to the secession of Bosnia to Austria. The Russian delegate consoling the Serb said, “the situation was only temporary because within 15 years, at the latest, we (Russia) shall be forced to fight Austria.” (At this time, in 1878, my grandfather was 10 years old.)
Austria was given the right to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally did in 1908. That occupation enraged Serbian nationalists and was a catalyst for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand by a Bosnian Serb, which sparked World War I, in 1914. (Thankfully, my grandfather and his immediate family had already left for America, or he would have been fighting for Austria.)
THE END OF THE KRAJINAS
Austria abolished the krajinas’ military structure by 1882, just a couple years before my grandfather would have reached the Austrian military age to serve. After they were dissolved, what type of livelihood was available in a small village, located in an economically underdeveloped area? Would my grandfather have voluntarily entered the military as a means of providing for himself, as young men often do? He might have been in the cavalry, as I once heard. He had a horse in America named, “Jim”, whom he loved. Did his love for horses come from time in the Austrian cavalry? His occupation in Croatia was not required on citizenship documents, so we will never have more information about his work life in Croatia.
Because of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Donji Kosinj would be part of Croatia-Slavonia after the krajinas were abolished, and subject to Hungarian rule. And, the bad news for Croatians now was that Hungary wanted Croatia to be absorbed into Hungarian (Magyar) culture. The language to be used in Croatian government and schools was to be Magyar – not easily acceptable to the subjugated Croatians. There was political discrimination against ethnic and national groups across Eastern Europe and the Balkans, and one of the reasons for many emigrating to America. The map shows Croatia as part of Hungary.
IVAN CRNKOVIC MARRIED TWICE
There is something else that we know little about - the first wife of my grandfather. She was rumored to have died in childbirth. Last year I learned of her name from her granddaughter, Marilyn. Manda Mudrovich was John's first wife. Marilyn’s mother, Lucille, was born in 1901 and it may have been Lucille’s birth that caused her mother Manda's death due to childbirth. Lucille never knew her mother Manda, only her name.
Ivan’s second wife was my Grandma Ann, who cared for Manda’s three children along with her own. He might have married his first wife in his mid or late twenties, based on the childrens’ ages. According to U.S. citizenship documents, Ivan (John) Crnkovich married his second wife, Anna Vukelic, in 1903, in Croatia. It noted her birth year as August 1881 – she would have been 22 years old, and he would have been 35 years old. Her name is recorded as “Annie”. The children from his previous marriage would have been about 2, 5 and 6 years old when Ivan and Annie married. Ivan and Anna had one child in Croatia, Andrew, born in 1906. They would later have another eight children in America.
My grandmother, Anna, is of seven children of Yandre Vukelic and his wife, Anna or Marie. There are different wife names noted in notes and death notices. Anna was the wife mentioned to those relatives visiting their Croatian cousins in the 1970s. A death notice for one of the sons notes that his mother was Maria. So, it could be that there is an error of memory, or perhaps a second wife in the Vukelich family too. The other six children were Anton (Anthony), Martin, Mate (Matthew), Luya (Louise), Manda (short for Magdalena), Yeka (Helen?), and Anna. There was a Manda in the Vukelic family, as it was a popular name at the time. In America, Vukelic became Vukelich, as Crnkovic became Crnkovich, to help with the pronunciation of the “ic,” as “itch”.
In 1978, the American cousins also visited one of the Vukelic’s descendants, Mary Vukelic, born in 1924 - her father was Mate Vukelich. Both the Crnkovics and Vukelics lived in Donji Kosinj. There is more to tell about the visit to Croatia in the 1970s, but I’ll do that in context of the family timeline – none of the people in the 1970s visits were yet born. The photo below is of the surviving descendants visited in Croatia, in 1973 - Mary Vukelich, John Klobuchar, Anna (Crnkovic) Klobuchar.
Supposedly, none of my grandfather’s siblings, Stipan, Franc, or Meyat came to America. One of my Grandma Ann’s brothers, Anton, did come to live in America. I continually look for the ship manifest of my grandfather’s voyage to America, hoping I’d find who he might have come here with, his U.S. destination, and who he left behind. This information is frequently recorded on ship manifests. The ship manifest has not shown up anywhere online for Ivan Crnkovich or his wife Ann Crnkovic, even though we know the name of Ivan’s ship and it’s date of arrival. I have found many Crnkovics and Vukelics that came to America – many from the Kosinj area on such ship logs, but not Ivan and Ann.
What caused Ivan Crnkovic to temporarily leave his wife and four children to go to America ? Most likely, he went to make a better living, since he came from such a poor area in Croatia, with limited opportunities. And, the continual ethnic strife and threat of war may also have contributed to his decision to leave his homeland.
The journey to America, on a steam ship took about two weeks, so 101 years ago, in November, he was on his way to America….
Other Trivia:
· Maternal death rates were about 1 in 100 in the early 1900s, whereas today, it is about 14 in 100,000 in Croatia.
· Ivan is the Latin name for Johannes, and, John, in English. Ivan is still the most common name in Croatia, as well as in Bulgaria.
· Stipan, Stefan, Stevan, or Stjepan are Croatian names for Stephen, of Greek origin, from “Stephanos”.
· Franjo or Franc is Francis, or in Croatian means,“from france”. Franjo became popular due to a Catholic deacon that established an order of Friars, known as Franciscans, with monastaries throughout Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina during the Middle Ages.
· I cannot find an English or Croatian translation for Meyat. The name appears amongst ship manifests of immigrants coming to America about the same time that my grandfather came here. The men named “Meyat” in the manifests, were of Croatian, Serbian, and Hungarian heritage. The name, “Meyat” appears to be of Arabic origin and may have become popular in the Balkan region because it was occupied by the Turks on and off for centuries.
· Yandre - no such name is found, so the pronunciation may have been mistakenly heard as “Yandre” but may have been, Andrej or Andre. These are Croatian names, a variant of the Greek name of Andrew.
· Anton is also Antun or Antonijo in Croatian, a form of Antonius or Anthony.
