John
Chloupek
From: Katherine
Kuckens
Date: Thu, 31 Jan 2002 18:53:11 -0800 (PST)
Subject: 49er John CHLOUPEK
How can I find signs of my great-great grandfather, John CHLOUPEK, age
about 32-35, wife Mary, and sons Anthony Henry and Vincent, somewhere near
Oroville, from 1854-1856? We know that his parents and siblings left Kutna
Hora, (Kuttenberg) Bohemia, on separate ships, from 1847-1852. His
parents, Josef and Marie, were born there in 1790 and 1800. They and
several of their sons settled in Francis Creek, Manitowoc County,
Wisconsin. I have various census data on them, and I have seen their
graves in a lovely country cemetery in Kossuth. Anyway, John was a
wanderer. Most documents indicate that he was born in 1820 and came over
in May, 1852, to New York, possibly with his wife, Mary. He filed for
citizenship in Wisconsin on September 27, 1856. Yet, he is known to have
gone to California in the gold rush, staking a claim in Oroville. So, was
he there between 1852 and 1856? More mysteries: a son, Anthony Henry, was
born in 1852 in Wisconsin, according to his obituary and census records.
Another son, Vincent, was born at sea in 1854, according to family legend.
I was able to prove this when I found Vincent's 1888 Oakland, California
voting registration, in which he gives his age as 33, and his nativity as
"high seas." But on his own marriage certificate, Vincent says
he is 29 years old in 1881 and a native of Austria! So -- was Vincent born
on the way to California? Sailing around the horn from New York or
Wisconsin? Poor Mary! It doesn't add up that Vincent was born on the way
over from Bohemia, does it? Vincent's retirement papers definitely confirm
his year of birth as 1854. Which would be after the 1852 Wisconsin birth
of his brother. Eventually, John went back to Wisconsin and died in
Cooperstown. Vincent turns up in California as early as 1877. He never
appears on a Wisconsin census. John appears in Cooperstown after 1900. But
John doesn't appear in any California census. Any suggestions on what to
do next would be greatly appreciated! Katherine
7/5/02 I DID find Vincent -- Winscenz -- on the 1860 Wisconsin census,
with his known parents, John and Mary, and known siblings, Anton, Amelia,
and Adolph. The trick was their name is spelled KLOUPECK! And all list
their birthplace as Bohemia. So I am now pretty sure that Vincent was born
on the ship coming over from Europe, not going to Cal. And that his father
John Chloupek/Chlapek/Kloupeck etc. must have taken the family to Oroville
AFTER 1860. They don't appear on WI census after 1860.
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