John Chudek (Johann Czudek) was the son of Jan Czudek and Zuzanna Szmekova. He was an immigrant from the Austro-Hungarian Empire who came to the United States aboard the SS Trave. He arrived at Ellis Island on 8-Apr-1907 with $38 US in his pocket and an unknown destination.
After his arrival, John made his way west, halfway across America to the north woods of Minnesota. The 1910 US Census records show that he was working as a woodsman in the Rilden Logging Camp, operated by the Murphy Brothers Company. The cutting site was located a few miles NW of Virginia, MN.
The job of a lumberjack was physically demanding, working with primitive hand tools throughout the daylight hours. This job paid $20 per month and included meals and lodging.
By the summer of 1911, John had made his way south several hundred miles and was working in Minneapolis, MN. The following year he married Jadwiga "Hattie" Sophie Zmuda. His occupation was listed in the 1913 Minneapolis City Directory as a barber.
By early 1917 John had changed occupations and was working for the Pillsbury Milling Company as a "spouter." He worked at the famous Pillsbury "Mill A" located on the Mississippi River where the machinery got its power from the waters of Saint Anthony Falls.
Soon thereafter John and Hattie purchased a two-room house in Columbia Heights, MN. This was an early "planned community" that was created for settlement a few miles north of Minneapolis. There they raised three sons; John (1912), Joseph (1916), and Adam (1919).
During my family research, I found the inconsistent spelling of John's surname on documents between 1907 and 1915. It would sometimes appear as Czudek and other times Chudek. Changes in the family surname as immigrants started a new life in America was not unusual during that time period. John signed his Letter of Intention to become a US citizen in 1917 and was legally naturalized in 1922. At that time, a spouse was automatically naturalized with the primary applicant's processing.
During his working life, John would walk to the streetcar line located 2 blocks south of his home, ride to work and return each evening. My mother recalls he was always smartly dressed in a suit and hat, a tradition during those times. The Chudek family never owned an automobile.
John retired from the Pillsbury Company as a millwright (the top mill person who knows and can work every aspect of the milling operation) in 1950. During his career, he saw all three of his sons participate and survive World War II.
His wife, Hattie, preceded him in death (11-Nov-1958) and is also interred at this gravesite. His three sons have also been laid to rest within the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery although in different areas. This burial location was the wish of grandmother Hattie who had admired this hilltop setting, overlooking the Minneapolis skyline to the southwest.
In 1996 I began our family history research and located Johann Czudek's birthplace. It was the village of Milikov, above the Olza River on the eastern border of the Czech Republic. I corresponded with two cousins who knew family stories about John leaving the family farm and going to America. They had his portrait picture, a smaller version, of the one I had at home, and were thrilled that I had located them. They had lost communication with him many decades prior to my first visit.
In the spring of 2000 and again in 2001 my wife and I traveled to reunite the Czudek families after the 93-year void. We visited the farmstead where he was born. It was located on a hillside about a mile outside the village and currently owned by the Karl Czudek family.
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SOURCE: Personal bio written by grandson Robert John Chudek, son of Adam.
Place of Birth: Milikov, Silesia, Austria
NOT Milikov, Okres Žďár nad Sázavou, Vysočina, Czech Republic !
Mother Maiden Name: Zuzanna SZMEKOVA
MN Death Index record:
CHUDEK, JOHN
Date of Birth: 06 Sep 1884
Place of Birth: OUT OF STATE
Mother Maiden Name: UNKNOWN
certid# 1964-MN-000209
Date of Death: 10 Mar 1964
County of Death: ANOKA
SSDI record: 472-03-9768
Married: 8-JULY-1912
Holy Cross Catholic Church
Minneapolis, MN
After his arrival, John made his way west, halfway across America to the north woods of Minnesota. The 1910 US Census records show that he was working as a woodsman in the Rilden Logging Camp, operated by the Murphy Brothers Company. The cutting site was located a few miles NW of Virginia, MN.
The job of a lumberjack was physically demanding, working with primitive hand tools throughout the daylight hours. This job paid $20 per month and included meals and lodging.
By the summer of 1911, John had made his way south several hundred miles and was working in Minneapolis, MN. The following year he married Jadwiga "Hattie" Sophie Zmuda. His occupation was listed in the 1913 Minneapolis City Directory as a barber.
By early 1917 John had changed occupations and was working for the Pillsbury Milling Company as a "spouter." He worked at the famous Pillsbury "Mill A" located on the Mississippi River where the machinery got its power from the waters of Saint Anthony Falls.
Soon thereafter John and Hattie purchased a two-room house in Columbia Heights, MN. This was an early "planned community" that was created for settlement a few miles north of Minneapolis. There they raised three sons; John (1912), Joseph (1916), and Adam (1919).
During my family research, I found the inconsistent spelling of John's surname on documents between 1907 and 1915. It would sometimes appear as Czudek and other times Chudek. Changes in the family surname as immigrants started a new life in America was not unusual during that time period. John signed his Letter of Intention to become a US citizen in 1917 and was legally naturalized in 1922. At that time, a spouse was automatically naturalized with the primary applicant's processing.
During his working life, John would walk to the streetcar line located 2 blocks south of his home, ride to work and return each evening. My mother recalls he was always smartly dressed in a suit and hat, a tradition during those times. The Chudek family never owned an automobile.
John retired from the Pillsbury Company as a millwright (the top mill person who knows and can work every aspect of the milling operation) in 1950. During his career, he saw all three of his sons participate and survive World War II.
His wife, Hattie, preceded him in death (11-Nov-1958) and is also interred at this gravesite. His three sons have also been laid to rest within the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery although in different areas. This burial location was the wish of grandmother Hattie who had admired this hilltop setting, overlooking the Minneapolis skyline to the southwest.
In 1996 I began our family history research and located Johann Czudek's birthplace. It was the village of Milikov, above the Olza River on the eastern border of the Czech Republic. I corresponded with two cousins who knew family stories about John leaving the family farm and going to America. They had his portrait picture, a smaller version, of the one I had at home, and were thrilled that I had located them. They had lost communication with him many decades prior to my first visit.
In the spring of 2000 and again in 2001 my wife and I traveled to reunite the Czudek families after the 93-year void. We visited the farmstead where he was born. It was located on a hillside about a mile outside the village and currently owned by the Karl Czudek family.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SOURCE: Personal bio written by grandson Robert John Chudek, son of Adam.
Place of Birth: Milikov, Silesia, Austria
NOT Milikov, Okres Žďár nad Sázavou, Vysočina, Czech Republic !
Mother Maiden Name: Zuzanna SZMEKOVA
MN Death Index record:
CHUDEK, JOHN
Date of Birth: 06 Sep 1884
Place of Birth: OUT OF STATE
Mother Maiden Name: UNKNOWN
certid# 1964-MN-000209
Date of Death: 10 Mar 1964
County of Death: ANOKA
SSDI record: 472-03-9768
Married: 8-JULY-1912
Holy Cross Catholic Church
Minneapolis, MN
John Chudek (Johann Czudek) was the son of Jan Czudek and Zuzanna Szmekova. He was an immigrant from the Austro-Hungarian Empire who came to the United States aboard the SS Trave. He arrived at Ellis Island on 8-Apr-1907 with $38 US in his pocket and an unknown destination.
After his arrival, John made his way west, halfway across America to the north woods of Minnesota. The 1910 US Census records show that he was working as a woodsman in the Rilden Logging Camp, operated by the Murphy Brothers Company. The cutting site was located a few miles NW of Virginia, MN.
The job of a lumberjack was physically demanding, working with primitive hand tools throughout the daylight hours. This job paid $20 per month and included meals and lodging.
By the summer of 1911, John had made his way south several hundred miles and was working in Minneapolis, MN. The following year he married Jadwiga "Hattie" Sophie Zmuda. His occupation was listed in the 1913 Minneapolis City Directory as a barber.
By early 1917 John had changed occupations and was working for the Pillsbury Milling Company as a "spouter." He worked at the famous Pillsbury "Mill A" located on the Mississippi River where the machinery got its power from the waters of Saint Anthony Falls.
Soon thereafter John and Hattie purchased a two-room house in Columbia Heights, MN. This was an early "planned community" that was created for settlement a few miles north of Minneapolis. There they raised three sons; John (1912), Joseph (1916), and Adam (1919).
During my family research, I found the inconsistent spelling of John's surname on documents between 1907 and 1915. It would sometimes appear as Czudek and other times Chudek. Changes in the family surname as immigrants started a new life in America was not unusual during that time period. John signed his Letter of Intention to become a US citizen in 1917 and was legally naturalized in 1922. At that time, a spouse was automatically naturalized with the primary applicant's processing.
During his working life, John would walk to the streetcar line located 2 blocks south of his home, ride to work and return each evening. My mother recalls he was always smartly dressed in a suit and hat, a tradition during those times. The Chudek family never owned an automobile.
John retired from the Pillsbury Company as a millwright (the top mill person who knows and can work every aspect of the milling operation) in 1950. During his career, he saw all three of his sons participate and survive World War II.
His wife, Hattie, preceded him in death (11-Nov-1958) and is also interred at this gravesite. His three sons have also been laid to rest within the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery although in different areas. This burial location was the wish of grandmother Hattie who had admired this hilltop setting, overlooking the Minneapolis skyline to the southwest.
In 1996 I began our family history research and located Johann Czudek's birthplace. It was the village of Milikov, above the Olza River on the eastern border of the Czech Republic. I corresponded with two cousins who knew family stories about John leaving the family farm and going to America. They had his portrait picture, a smaller version, of the one I had at home, and were thrilled that I had located them. They had lost communication with him many decades prior to my first visit.
In the spring of 2000 and again in 2001 my wife and I traveled to reunite the Czudek families after the 93-year void. We visited the farmstead where he was born. It was located on a hillside about a mile outside the village and currently owned by the Karl Czudek family.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SOURCE: Personal bio written by grandson Robert John Chudek, son of Adam.
Place of Birth: Milikov, Silesia, Austria
NOT Milikov, Okres Žďár nad Sázavou, Vysočina, Czech Republic !
Mother Maiden Name: Zuzanna SZMEKOVA
MN Death Index record:
CHUDEK, JOHN
Date of Birth: 06 Sep 1884
Place of Birth: OUT OF STATE
Mother Maiden Name: UNKNOWN
certid# 1964-MN-000209
Date of Death: 10 Mar 1964
County of Death: ANOKA
SSDI record: 472-03-9768
Married: 8-JULY-1912
Holy Cross Catholic Church
Minneapolis, MN
After his arrival, John made his way west, halfway across America to the north woods of Minnesota. The 1910 US Census records show that he was working as a woodsman in the Rilden Logging Camp, operated by the Murphy Brothers Company. The cutting site was located a few miles NW of Virginia, MN.
The job of a lumberjack was physically demanding, working with primitive hand tools throughout the daylight hours. This job paid $20 per month and included meals and lodging.
By the summer of 1911, John had made his way south several hundred miles and was working in Minneapolis, MN. The following year he married Jadwiga "Hattie" Sophie Zmuda. His occupation was listed in the 1913 Minneapolis City Directory as a barber.
By early 1917 John had changed occupations and was working for the Pillsbury Milling Company as a "spouter." He worked at the famous Pillsbury "Mill A" located on the Mississippi River where the machinery got its power from the waters of Saint Anthony Falls.
Soon thereafter John and Hattie purchased a two-room house in Columbia Heights, MN. This was an early "planned community" that was created for settlement a few miles north of Minneapolis. There they raised three sons; John (1912), Joseph (1916), and Adam (1919).
During my family research, I found the inconsistent spelling of John's surname on documents between 1907 and 1915. It would sometimes appear as Czudek and other times Chudek. Changes in the family surname as immigrants started a new life in America was not unusual during that time period. John signed his Letter of Intention to become a US citizen in 1917 and was legally naturalized in 1922. At that time, a spouse was automatically naturalized with the primary applicant's processing.
During his working life, John would walk to the streetcar line located 2 blocks south of his home, ride to work and return each evening. My mother recalls he was always smartly dressed in a suit and hat, a tradition during those times. The Chudek family never owned an automobile.
John retired from the Pillsbury Company as a millwright (the top mill person who knows and can work every aspect of the milling operation) in 1950. During his career, he saw all three of his sons participate and survive World War II.
His wife, Hattie, preceded him in death (11-Nov-1958) and is also interred at this gravesite. His three sons have also been laid to rest within the Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery although in different areas. This burial location was the wish of grandmother Hattie who had admired this hilltop setting, overlooking the Minneapolis skyline to the southwest.
In 1996 I began our family history research and located Johann Czudek's birthplace. It was the village of Milikov, above the Olza River on the eastern border of the Czech Republic. I corresponded with two cousins who knew family stories about John leaving the family farm and going to America. They had his portrait picture, a smaller version, of the one I had at home, and were thrilled that I had located them. They had lost communication with him many decades prior to my first visit.
In the spring of 2000 and again in 2001 my wife and I traveled to reunite the Czudek families after the 93-year void. We visited the farmstead where he was born. It was located on a hillside about a mile outside the village and currently owned by the Karl Czudek family.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SOURCE: Personal bio written by grandson Robert John Chudek, son of Adam.
Place of Birth: Milikov, Silesia, Austria
NOT Milikov, Okres Žďár nad Sázavou, Vysočina, Czech Republic !
Mother Maiden Name: Zuzanna SZMEKOVA
MN Death Index record:
CHUDEK, JOHN
Date of Birth: 06 Sep 1884
Place of Birth: OUT OF STATE
Mother Maiden Name: UNKNOWN
certid# 1964-MN-000209
Date of Death: 10 Mar 1964
County of Death: ANOKA
SSDI record: 472-03-9768
Married: 8-JULY-1912
Holy Cross Catholic Church
Minneapolis, MN
