| European Family |
 |
 |
 |
| Written by Russell Hannush |
|
The Hannusch Family in the Old Country
A FAMILY OF TAILORS IN SKALITZ, BOHEMIA During the era, beginning in about the 14th Century and reaching into mid 19th Century, the tailor was rarely found to be working in an individual business. Most of these craftsmen were assembled, in crew, in various size shops. These shops were commonly made up of a single or a group of tables, each table being big enough to accommodate between ten to twenty craftsmen and or apprentices. The master tailor sat in his chair, in the center of each table, and from this vantage point he directed and supervised the cutting and sewing that took place below him. Where our Hannusch family line, then living in the town of Skalitz, Bohemia, fit into this scheme of things the written record has not answered. All it tells us is that they were a family of tailors. Cutting and sewing by hand, the ready made product unheard of in that period, the tailor made both men and women's clothing. The prospective customer came into the shop (on occasion solicited in their own homes), looked over the latest selection of fabrics from the local looms, made their selection from what was available, and then were measured for the proper fit. It was the task of the shop tailors to make the desired dress or suit of clothing. Once completed, the customer tried on the finished product and the tailor made alterations to fit the garment to perfection. These men took great pride in their labors. This had been the procedure followed for centuries, but by the middle of the 18th Century the first inventions, which eventually led to the sewing machine, began to surface. The development of the early sewing machine, by the opening of the 19th Century, slowly displaced the hand tailor. Some shops expanded. Their competitors went under. Many of the craftsmen found themselves out on the street. Eventually the factory, with a still deeper toll on the working craftsman, began to develop ready-made products. These once proud artisans were now facing a slow but steady decline in their craft. The unemployed, as in today's uncertain labor markets, tried to make it on their own or went into the streets in search of local work. Frustrated, many had to turn to the nearby towns. Others went beyond their regional boundary. It was not long before a great many of these men turned to America, where industrial progress was still in its infant stages. Following the American Civil War, practical uses for the sewing machine found its way into the American Industrial Revolution. The factory, as they had developed earlier in Europe, was replacing shops in America. Today the tailor craftsman has been limited to a few owner-operated businesses in some of our larger cities, or, into the major department stores where they are usually relegated to altering the ready made product. In America, the "Industrial Revolution," not far behind the immigrating craftsmen, turned many an immigrant craftsman into a farmer, farm laborer, or forced them to pick up new trades along the way. Farming became a way of life in Pennsylvania and Canada, ranching was in in Texas, lead mining drew the German immigrant to the upper Mississippi River, and the balance of these people became a part of the many other services which provided for the new communities. Most of the Austria-Bohemia records, including those for the town of Skalitz (now Ceska Skalice), continue to be held in the local archives of the Czech Republic. The American researcher has only two choices in which to secure a full knowledge of his family information. 1) A personal visit to the proper archives, that is, provided you are quad-lingual in English, Czech, German and Latin. 2) The alternative is to hire a Czech researcher through the Czech Republic Embassy in Washington DC or Ottawa (the Nation's Capital). Though I had the opportunity to see the Czech Archive, at Zamrsk, where the records for Skalitz, Bohemia are stored (in the back room of a near abandon castle), I had little choice but to turn to a Czech Archivist to help me in this research. The use of an archivist does not always allow for the research one would do themselves. Dates and basic facts can be reported, but often the intimate details and cross searching have to be abandon due to cost, language, and location of that material. One day these church and other records, in the Czech Republic, may be copied on film and be available to the public for more in-depth personal research. Today there are a few Bohemian town records on film, in particular those that drew the attention of the Nazi authority during World War II, these once being held in the German Archives at Leipzig, Germany. The town of Skalitz, other than the military deaths from the "Seven Weeks War," of 1866, is not represented in these records. Working through the efforts of Ph.D. Tomás Simek, and his research staff, in the Czech Archives at Zamrsk, the included research has been provided from the Skalitz Roman Catholic Church Books (reportedly only going back to the early 19th Century), and the Tailor's Craft Guild Books (reportedly going back a few years further). In his latest communication, Dr. Simek stated: "it would appear to me that Joseph and Elisabeth Hanus came to the Village of Skalitz shortly after their marriage." He reports four tailors, in three towns, in Bohemia, by the name of Joseph, with a wife Elisabeth. He states, "he is unable to find any connection between them and our Joseph and Elisabeth Hanus, of Skalitz, Bohemia. Through the Ceske Skalice (Skalitz) town archivist, contact with the surviving Hanus family was made, but they, nor the archivist, could add anything new to the search. The ancient Hanus-Hannus-Hanusch-Hannusch family lines most likely will remain lost in the ruins of the early Germanic tribes. Boii, Marcomanni, Quadi, Chatti and Saxon are among the obvious conclusions; "The Pied Piper of Hameln," will remain an enthralling tradition; while, the influx of Germans into l2th Century Bohemia cannot be ruled out. With the advent of the surname, in the 14th Century, the identification of the family line was made much easier. Still, outside of the Royal Families and some Nobel families, the records remained scarce for another 200 years. By the order of the "Council of Trent," in 1545, the keeping of church records was required. Time, war, nature and other events have taken some toll on these records. Many of the church books, land records, craft guild records, etc. have survived, many leading the researcher to family's back to 1545 and even before. I have had that success in searching the Straus-Kaiser families in Spechbach, Baden, Germany and the Gies Family to Neustadt, Kurhessen, Germany.
It seems obvious, from the definition, that the first member of our family line to take on a surname apparently transformed his father's given name to our family name for posterity. Hanus is a name prevalent in Silesia, Bohemia and Eastern Germany but, because of the common usage of the name "Hans" in the German culture, connection between each of these families should be kept in question until proven.
FIRST KNOWN GENERATION JOSEF HANUS Josef Hanus was born in about 1740 (age 66 in 1806), likely in the Austrian State of Bohemia. His place of origin remains in question. Josef Hanus exchanged the vows of marriage with Elizabeth (her family name not found to date), in about 1775. Their Children:1)*Franciscus Albertus Hanus, b. April 1776; 2)*Jana Hanus, b. April 1776; 3) Ignac Hanus, b. January 1, 1780; 4) Antonin Hanus, b. February 22, 1781 (m. Katherine daughter of Leonard Fredricka from Vidne Jime); 5) *Son b. February 22, 1781. [NOTE: Children listed with an asterisk before their name: "this information comes from sources posted some time after the fact." The Czech researcher suggests caution be taken in accepting these facts.] We know that Josef and Elisabeth Hanus were the parents of at least two sons that survived to maturity: Ignace and Antonin Hanus. The birth records or identification of their daughters, not clear to the researcher, thus they were not included in the research and cannot be entered here. Josef Hanus was a tailor by trade. The couple apparently moved to Skalitz, Bohemia shortly after their marriage, the baptism of Ignac Hanus recorded in the Skalitz Roman Catholic Church Records. The archivist is confused for Josef Hanus, and his family, do not appear in the Skalitz Craft Guild Books until about 1792. Though no dates have been given, there is no doubt that Josef and Elisabeth Hanus died in Skalitz, Bohemia.
SECOND KNOWN GENERATION IGNAC HANUS: (Josef) Ignac Hanus was born on January 1, 1780, and baptized in Skalitz, Bohemia at Frantiscus Roman Catholic Church. His Godfather Frantisek Diffter, his Godmother Veronika Mervarta. May 31, 1808, Ignac Hanus, tailor, exchanged the vows of marriage with Teodore Fendrych, the daughter of Josef and Katharina Fendrych, of Hörick, Bohemia. The witnesses were Tomas Almesberg and Antonin Vara. Their children: 1) Johanna Hanus, b. September 12, 1809; 2) Marie Hanus, b. May 17, 1811; 3) Unnamed boy, b. February 6, 1813, d. same day; 4) Victor Hanus, b. December 22, 1813; 5) *Twin boy, b. December 22, 1813, born dead; 6) Wilhelmina Hanus, b. January 17, 1815; 7) Anna Hanus, b. October 28, 1816; 8) *Zemrela Hanus, b. January 2, 1817; 9) Pauline Hanus, b. April 7, 1819; 10) *Ferdinand Hanus, b. April 29, 1821; 11) Johannes Hanus, b. May 17, 1823. [NOTE: Children listed with an asterisk before their name: "this information comes from sources posted some time after the fact." The Czech researcher suggests caution be taken in accepting these facts.] Whether they lived to see the bloody "Battle of Skalitz," in 1866, is not known, but we do know that Ignac Hanus remained in Skalitz, Bohemia, worked there as a tailor, and apparently died in that village.
© 1985-2002 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
