During the period of the Hapsburg Empire in 1831, our ancestor Joseph Chada was born to Simon and Vorsila Chada. Though we have no notion as to where their ancestors came from, it is surmised that they were of Slavic origin.
A family researcher said most of the Bohemian emigrants came from three areas, including Budweis. A big factor was probably advertising, which people from small villages saw when they went to the regional centers once or twice a year. The ads were put in local papers or on posters, by the U.S. railroads, among others. Laborers were needed to work on the trans-continental railroad and Bohemian miners, along with the Chinese and Irish, had useful
skills. As of now we have no knowledge of any miners in the family, but our immigrants probably saw the ads and heard stories about the early emigrants. They must have also had some contact with the early emigrants because later settlers knew where to go.
Horni Chrastany (written with Czech accents: Horn'i Chr'a^s^tany) was the village that Simon and Vorsila came from. An old atlas states: Horni Chrastany, (German: Ober-Groschum, village, district Prachatice (Gr. Prachatitz), judicial district Netolitce (Gr. Netolitz); together with Unter-Groschum 325 inhabitants, including 125 Germans. Postoffice and next railroad station is Netolice.
In 1857, Jacob and Rosalia Chada came to the U.S. from Hrdlarez with Anna [it is believed], Mathias, and Lorentz. They settled on a farm near Bolt, Kewaunee Co, WI, near what became named the Keidman and Chada Lakes.
They are listed in the 1860 census in Francis Creek, Wisconsin. Mathias's descendents are found in Ogallala, Nebraska and Lorentz's in Guthrie and Stillwater, Oklahoma. We have not yet documented how the ancestors Jacob and Joseph Chada were related.Lhenice: west of Ceske Budejovice. This was the home of Wincell E. Chada and Theresa until they emigrated to Wisconsin with Wincell R. and Mary in 1867.
It is known from the immigration documents of his son, Vaclav (Wincell E.), that Joseph was poor and on "welfare." It is possible that he had been a soldier, was wounded, and retired from service with a pension. Soldiers were brought into the Hapsburg army from all the provinces and kingdoms of the Empire. Wincell E. served eight years in the Hapsburg army.
The yellow house is the family home in Vodice of Barbara Chada, nee Suchomelova. She lived here with her husband Joseph and their children Janan, Ignes, Katerina, and Wincell E. The house is actually a circle of buildings. Across the front and down the left side are family rooms. The right front corner was a workshop with sleeping quarters above. The right side housed animals and a huge supply of kindling wood. A large gate in the front permitted the entry of vehicles and a larger gate in the rear opened onto the fields.
The house where Wincell E. lived with his wife Theresa and family before coming to the United States in 1867 is in Elhenice [or Lhenice in Czech]. There, in the parish church of king St. Vaclav (Wincell or Wenceslaus), Wincell and Theresa were married. There they worshiped with and probably baptized their first two children Wincell R. and Mary.
Wincell E. Chady and Theresa (Krcmer) Chady were married on September 29, 1860.
Chady's Corners, near Waupaca, Wisconsin, was named after the family store of Ignes Chady.
Later, a store would be operated in town by Wincell C. and his second wife, Mary Elizabeth. The local historical society noted:
" The first telephone here was installed in 1889 in Mrs. M. E. Chady's grocery store on E. Union Street. For years Mrs. Chady owned the only telephone in Waupaca and folks would line up amidst the barrels of crackers, jars of pickles, sacks of stone-ground flour and mounds of tempting penny-candy to place long distance calls to surrounding communities.
It didn't talk long for that grocery store to become one of the most popular spots in town, as Waupaca residents began to realize the telephone was more than just an interesting toy without social or commercial value.
As the city grew, the demand for local telephone service increased. In 1897 the Fox River Valley Telephone Co. enlisted 88 subscribers to a local telephone exchange here. A small switchboard was set up at Mrs. Chady's store, and she served as the first manager and telephone operator of the fledgling exchange."
Wincell Richard Chady and Christena F. (Frank) Chady were married on July 1, 1891. Wincell died in 1909 leaving Christena to raise their four teenaged children.
It is interesting to read the 19th century history of Bohemia, during the lifetime of Vaclav (Wenceslaus in German, Wincell in English) and the events that were taking place at the time Wincell E. left with his family.See a brief Czech historical background.