Welcome! The simplicity of small town life will be repeated in the simplicity of this site. Three activities, each with a growing data base to help our research and satisfy our curiosities. Join us!

GENEALOGISTS: Family tree researchers of Oxford Junction, Iowa lineage, from two generation to multi-generation record-keepers, as long as the family/surname were residents of or near, or were otherwise associated with Oxford Jct. Whether motivated by emotions or intellectual stimulation, many have accumulated much family data and most are willing to share it.

Wregie Memorial Library, Oxford Jct. has genealogical aids including Mayflower Cemetery index and Oxford Mirror (newspaper) personal name index and submitted genealogies. The sites Hodgden's Corner and The Delbert Hodgden Family of Iowa, include lineage of Oxford Jct. families. Ancestry.com members can view Richard McClure's data here. The Oxford Junction Heritage Museum displays some genealogically-significant material, and their website lists many orderable obituaries. Iowa websites: Jones county pages of the IAGenWeb Project, Iowa Genealogical Society, and State Historical Society of Iowa.

To add your name and surnames researched, send us an e-mail. To view existing information, go to GENEALOGISTS Data. Sorry, no on-line sorting is possible yet.

Catholic church in Dvory nad Luznici - built in 1788 in the late Baroque style.	Dvory nad Luznici in May, 1997	The pond in Hrdlorezy.	Hrdlorezy Depot

Hrdlorezy Chapel	Hrdlorezy 16, was Koranda & Sazma	Hrdlorezy postcard with Cada's pub	Hrdlorezy 2, ca. 1920

ASSOCIATION: an association of researchers of ancestry and/or history of the area surrounding Suchdol nad Luznici in Jindrichuv Hradec County (south of Trebon), Czech Republic. Whether your ancestors remained in Bohemia or emigrated to the USA or to another country, you are invited to join. The purpose of the association is to share Suchdol area information, genealogical data, photographs, resource addresses, etc. and to help each other with research problems specific to the Suchdol area. The future of the association and its activities will depend on the members’ needs and wants. An organized pilgrimage (trip) is a possibility. 

Luznici River	Bor in 1997.	Chapel in Bor. The bell is rung at noon.	Chapel at Tust

To join the association, send us an e-mail. Member names will be available here at a later time. See candy FELLOW TRACERS below.

This website is dedicated to all the immigrants who by their hard work and perseverance provided a better life for their descendants.

OXFORD TOWNSHIP IN THE DAYS OF PRAIRIE GRASS AND EARLY SETTLEMENT

Candy for researchers of Czech lineage:

Candy specific to South Bohemia and Oxford Jct.:

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Heritage Days in late May, 2006 in Oxford Jct. was a great success, with over 50 attending on genealogy/research day.  Out-of-towners were impressed with O.J.'s hospitality and genealogical collection. No genealogy/research day is scheduled for 2008.

The book A New Land, A New Life – Pioneers of Oxford Township, Jones County, Iowa, 1880 and Earlier, compiled by the Oxford Jct. Genealogy Club, debuted at Heritage Days.  Researched for over two years, it contains a wealth of genealogical information.  Various references to the pioneers' struggles and "how it was back then" are found throughout the book.  I highly recommend this important book.  The price is $25 plus $5 postage for one book and $6 for two if mailed (packed in padded envelopes). To order, e-mail Rita Balichek at rjb2749@hotmail.com  or contact Nadine Ruley, Phone 563 826-2362, 101 Prospect St., Oxford Jct. IA 52323. The second printing is underway and will include these additional pioneers:  John Beranek, Frank Koranda, Joseph Koranda, Vaclav Marecek/Marechek, & Joseph Pavlista.  If your book was purchased prior to December '06 and you want the 5 additions (at no cost), e-mail me or Rita, or contact Nadine.  I can also send you an index of the book and/or a list of corrections and clarifications.  I suggest that you first read the Tallgrass Prairie essay, above under the dedication photo, for a feel of how the township was before the pioneers arrived. 

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Candy for any genealogist:

Scene in the village Cep St. Nicholas, Suchdol nad Luz. Gothic, blt 1363 St. Nicholas Catholic, interior Suchdol cemetery Click on Rozmberk Society below for photos of Kojakovice. Contact me for more pix from villages south of Trebon. JN The Czech Rozmberk Society and its US arm Friends of the Rozmberk Society (FORS) have several ongoing and worthwhile projects on preserving the shared Czech-US heritage and on regional development in rural areas. Their important work is adding to the historic and genealogical material available to researchers around the world. The Society’s founders have contributed many hours of work for these good causes. Now it is time for us to contribute (money) to help keep the projects going. FORS is a registered charity with 501 c 3 status. This means that donations given to FORS are tax-deductible. You can donate by sending a check payable to Friends of the Rozmberk Society Inc.(or FORS), c/o Marlene Flory, President, 6105 Fox Rd., Oxford Jct. IA 52323. You can also donate online on the FORS donation page http://www.czechfriends.org/donate or find more information there. In any case, you will receive a receipt acknowledging your donation, which can be used with your tax return. Drs. Dulfer’s essay on historic migration is worth reading. It explains how historic migration was used in a large EU school project to help explain today’s migration. He also explains project EMILE, which collects letters to and from 19th century emigrants. If you have such a letter, regardless of its ethnicity and language, please share it by scanning and e-mailing or mailing a photocopy to the Rozmberk Society or to me. I will forward the letter, if necessary after translating if it is in old German script and return a free translation to you. The EMILE website offers more detail on this project. Ms. Cerna’s informative essay is on emigration and the database of "permission to leave" records that she is preparing that will become available online. More information on the Rozmberk Society can be found on their website. More information on genealogical research by its founders can be found at the Czech Ancestry website. JN

Czech sites: Rozmberk Society - "The goals of the Society are the conservation of natural and cultural heritage in the South Bohemia, Czech Republic, and in particular in the former Rozmberk dominions." National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, IA  includes links to many Czech related sites.     Trebone includes many photos, especially under History. Jindrichuv Hradec District, the county of Trebon, Suchdol, and many villages. www.mapy.atlas.cz for maps and good aerial pix.  Zakladni = map.  Letecka = aerial image.  Google Maps has satellite images -- dark but useful. Global Gazetteer then choose Czech Republic and then Su. Family Lines has great tools for Czech research. Select Utilities. Czech Heritage includes English-Czech translations & Cz. dictionary. Czechoslovak Genealogical Society International publishes Nase Rodina, an excellent newsletter. Czech & Slovak American Genealogy Society of Illinois publishes Koreny, a fine newsletter. Oxford Jct. has ties to Czechs in Chicago. Germans to America Passenger Lists from German ports which includes many Czechs, sometimes with Germanized surnames. Click on Emigration. Leo Baca's website - the Czech Immigration Passenger Lists and much more. Czech DNA project - the modern way to trace your roots."  Czech Center in New York has good information and explains VAT tax. Tourist Guide to South Bohemia -- you’ll love it. Czech Info Center for miscellaneous info including exchange rates. Czechland, a Czech Culture-Heritage website. Czech Republic for facts & figures, much more. Penfield Press, publishers of fun, inexpensive books on Czechs and other ethnicities. Genealogy Research in the Czech Republic has record sources and will allow you to order online, Czech census (1857,69,80,90,1900,10,20/21). The Research Library of South Bohemia in Ceske Budejovice. David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. Takes time, but there are many good maps, some rare. Austrian Genealogy Pages of rootsweb. Czechs lands were under Austrian rule for a long time. Click on History, Geography & Maps, and links. Portals to the World. Links to electronic resources selected by the Library of Congress subject experts. SVU-Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences - an unbelievable collection of information. After you see where this takes you, go to the SVU homepage. Czech & Slovak Cultural Center of MN - Czech culture, good links, & Univ. of MN library catalogue which includes a Czech collection. hledej = seek Czech Telephone Book - See if your surname is still in your origin town/area. Select osoby. Seznam = list. Select to remove the diacritical marks. The phone districts: Cela CR = all Czech Republic Praha = Prague Jihocesky = South Bohemia (includes Trebon) Jihomoravsky = South Moravia, east of Jindr.Hradec Karlovarsky = around Karlovy Vary, west Bohemia Kralovehradecky = around Hradec Kralove, n.e. Boh. Liberecky = north Bohemia, n.e. of Prague Moravskoslezsky = extreme east Cz Rep (Moravia) Olomoucky = around Olomouc in east Cz.R. (Moravia) Pardubicky = geographical center of Cz. Rep., includes Vysoke Myto, so. of Hradec Kralove Plzensky = around Plzen, s.e. of Prague Stredocesky = next ea.of Prague, incl Kutna Hora Ustecky = n.w. Boh., n.w. of Prague Vysocina = around Jihlava, n.e. of Trebon Zlinsky = extreme s.e. Cz Rep (Moravia) Embassy of Cz.Rep. - Research advice, etc.