ABOUT
CROATIA AND CROATIANS
By Adam S. Eterovich
In order to understand the history,
culture and people of Croatia, one must first be aware that Croatia was ruled,
administered, conquered, and federated with Yugoslavia, the Kingdom of
Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungary and the Protectorate of Hungary, Italy, Turkey,
the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik) for up to 900
years. Croatia was partitioned at the same time for up to 400 years between
Austria, Hungary, Venice and Turkey. On Croatian territory we have Catholics,
Moslems, Jews, Orthdox, Grko Catholics and some Protestants. Further, Croatia
has a Croatian ethnic majority, a Serbian minority (5%) that migrated to
Croatian territory, Hungarians and Italians.
An individual with a desire to study
the history, culture and people of Croatia would out of necessity have to read
portions of Austrian, Hungarian, Turkish and Italian history.
ABOUT CROATIAN IMMIGRATION
Croatian immigration would have the
same considerations as above. Croatians have migrated for over 300 years. Prior
to the discovery of America, Croatians migrated to (and were taken into
slavery) Turkey, Austria, Italy, Venice, Spain and to other parts of Western
Europe. Croatian Galleons were in
regular trade with Spain, Portugal, France, England, Italy and the Ottoman Turks prior to the discovery of
America. Croatian immigration to the New World started with their participation
in Spanish, Portuguese, and Venetian fleet and mercantile operations.
When Croatians migrated they left as
nationals or citizens of Austria, Venice, Hungary or Turkey. Ethnically they
were always Croatians, but in immigration Croatians were identified by America, Canada, South America, South
Africa, New Zealand and Australia as above or in recent times as Yugoslavs and
were recorded as such.
MISIDENTIFIED CROATIANS
Because of a lack of a Nation-State,
Croatians were in most cases identified by the country that ruled them and were
not accorded a place in history. Almost all Croatians that made a contribution
to any endeavor were misidentified. A few examples:
John Dominis-Gospodnetich--Italian,
Venetian--Prince Consort to last Queen of Hawaii, Queen Lilioukalani. Origins
were from Island of Brac, Croatia.
Joseph Haydn-Hajdin--famous Austrian
composer. Origins were Croatian.
Marco Polo-Pilich--Venetian explorer to
China. Origins were Sibenik, Croatia, born on Island of Korcula, Croatia.
Peter Tomich--Austrian. Medal of Honor winner, Pearl Harbor. Born
Croatian in Hercegovina.
Ferdinand Konscak-Gonzaga--Austrian. A
Priest, proved California was not an island. Origin was Varazdin, Croatia.
Bozo de Raguza..Hungarian. Voyage of
exploration in South America, 1520’s. Origin Croatia
CROATIAN
LANGUAGE
Serbo-Croatian was the term used in the
English speaking world for the Croatian language since the end of World War 1
(1918); prior to the formation of Yugoslavia and the end of WW I, Croatia and
Serbia had never been historically united, they were simply Slavic neighbors.
Croatians formalized their alphabet in approximately 1850 with the use of a
diacritical-accent mark system.
Croatians coming to America, based on
circumstance of where they came from in Croatia, had their names modified on
passports. A good example would be that in the Italian alphabet there is no
“K”, so those named Kristovic from Dalmatia or Istria would be registered as
Christovich on their passport. Some from Dalmatia or Istria would also use two
versions of their name for business reasons such as Mladinic-Mladineo, Marijanovic-Mariani.
An accent or diacritical mark was used by the
Croatian language. So, a persons name could have been modified to conform to
the Italian, Austrian or Hungarian alphabet or language. Then again changed by
American authorities to conform to English. Many Croatians also had Clan names
that were a legitimate part of their name, and some immigrants used their clan
name as it could be easily pronounced in America
COMING TO AMERICA
The first Croatian imigrants migrated
to Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Texas. This started approximately 200
years ago. They actually migrated to Spanish and French America which is now
part of America. In the South they were fishermen, oystermen, mariners, and
business men. They were in Biloxi, Mississippi, Mobile Bay, Alabama and in
Plaquemines Parish and New Orleans, Louisiana. In fact, four military companies
of Croatians were organized in the Confederate Army. A Croatian Society and
Cemetery was organized in 1873 in New Orleans.
With the discovery of gold in
California, many left the South for the goldfields of California. They arrived
in 1849. They were goldminers, mariners, fishermen, bartenders, saloon and
coffee saloon keepers, restaurant owners, fruit, liquor and fish suppliers. The
Croatians could be found in all goldmining areas of California and
silvermining areas of Nevada. With the
collapse of the mines, they purchased farmland and were pioneers in wineries,
vineyards, and orchards. The first Croatian Society and Cemetery was organized
in 1857 in San Francisco. Some of these Croatians settled in Nevada, Arizona,
Montana, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and on the west coast of Canada.
The majority of the above Croatians
came from Dalmatia and Istria with a strong Venetian-Italian influence. The
Venetians called them Schiavoni or “Slavonians” rather than Croati-Croatians so
that they would not rebel and join their inland Croatian brothers. In many
cases “Slavonian” was used in the
West and South....this became an Americanism and had no relationship to Slavonia
in Croatia.
Croatians immigrating to the East and
Midwest came during the Industrial Revolution
of the 1870’s and settled in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and West Virginia. The majority were employed in
steel mills, coalmining, mining, packing houses and other types of heavy
industry. They came with a strong sense and feeling of their Croatian heritage.
They formed societies, clubs, social clubs and singing and tamburitza
instrument groups. The first Croatian
Society was formed in 1894 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Croatians seeking work later moved into
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico and Utah. They worked in open or
strip mining enterprises.
In all communities where they settled
they formed benevolent societies and cultural societies.
THE FIRST CROATIAN PIONEERS IN AMERICA
1685-1860
There is continuing documentary
evidence that Croatians appeared in America from the 1600's to the 1860's. Individuals yes, but a steady stream never
stopping.
The first individual and group movement
appeared in the South and Mexico, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and
Texas became the first landing places of many.
From 1600-1860 they could have been
recorded in America as Venetian, Austrian, Italian, Turkish or Hungarian. As they spread thru the South and Gulf Coast,
certain events changed their course somewhat.
The great gold discovery in California in 1848 plus Maximillian's, the
Austrian, move into Mexico at the outbreak of our Civil War in 1860, caused
many Dalmatians to venture their capital and ships into Mexican affairs, and
others before them left the South to try their luck in the gold fields of
California.
Upon arriving in America from 1600-1860 they
actually were in French Louisiana, English America, Spanish Florida and perhaps
Mexican Texas. This state of affairs
plus their own unfortunate Croatian nationality problems caused their identity
to be very difficult to determine.
This story does not include the valiant deeds
and service of numerous Croatian priests who also ventured into the New World.
This aspect has been adequately covered in books and articles.
A "French"
Croatian in 1685
In the "Le Conseil De LaVie Francaise D' Amerique" papers in
Quebec, Canada, an interesting entry appeared among the French Acadians who had
settled in Louisiana:
Georges Mathieu "Croatian", Sergeant of a company of
Marines born around 1685. Married
around 1708 to
Marguerite Etheque and a child, Marguerite, in 1709.
Every other entry listed in the birth place
and I believe "Croatian" is unmistakable in this case. This would be the earliest Croatian in
America.
Matulich the Croatian Selling Whiskey,
Guns and Horses to the Indians in
1770
In Herbert Eugene Bolton's book "Athanse De Mezieres and the
Louisiana-Texas Frontier, 1768-1780 - Spain in the West":
A report was sent to the Governor by De Mezieres:
"Likewise I am informed by
courier that the persons
named Jeronimo Matulich and Juan Hamilton continue to
make journeys to the mouth of the Trinity, buying horses
and mules off the Indians who live there and who have
joined recently thirty families of Coxos and Carancaoueys,
Apostates and fugitives from our missions, attracted by
the opportunity to barter; and now they get a small
amount of money, I do not know whether stolen or found
in some shipwreck. These traders
go in by land as far
as the Bidais Nation, and try to arouse the interior
tribes."
De Mezieres further reports:
"That a man named Matulich had
gone to the mouth of
the Neches River with a boat manned by ten men and there
he was selling liquor to the Indians and maligning the
governor."
On August 8, 1774 the Governor ordered
the arrest of Jeronimo Matulich but no further mention is made if he was
actually caught and jailed.
Matulich was an inhabitant of Mobile and took
the Oath of Allegiance and Fidelity to his Brittanic Majesty King George III in
1764. Matulich appeared in many court
cases in New Orleans in the 1760's and 1770's dealing with piracy, indebtedness
and other sundry matters.
Other Early Croatians
The Calendar of Louisiana Colonial Documents
by Winston De Ville mentions many Croatians such as Marco Illich in the 1790's
on matters dealing with the selling of slaves and other property. Bondinich and
others are listed as witnesses at a wedding.
Peter Dragon, a "Venetian", is
listed with a family in the Plaquemines Parish Census of Louisiana. It is not unusual to find Dalmatians listed
as Venetian prior to 1800.
The ship passenger lists for Southern ports
lists many Croatians arriving in the early 1800's such as Dinavich, Reindich,
"John", Pandich, Gavenich, Galmich, Radovich, Savich, Masich ,
Covacevich, Vidovich, Petrovich and so on.
Business directories of the 1840's and 1850's
have many Croatian names well established as businessmen in New Orleans, as an
example:
U. S. Census of Population Schedules were an
important source for identification of Croatians that they at least stated
country of origin as "Austria."
The 1850 Census of New Orleans has a great many Croatians listed, such
as:
Pavelich, Henry 44 coffee house Austria
Pavelich, Ann 23 wife Ireland
Lucich, John 44 clerk Austria
Gobovich, Lucas 45 marketman
Italy
Borich, Nicholas 34 sailor Austria
Raicevich, Tripo 8 fruits Italy
Medin, F. 28 waiter Austria
Marovich, Antonia30
fruits Italy
Bojanovich, Andr 40 fisherman Austria
Petrovich, Paolo 35 fruits Italy
The above are just a few names to
indicate the difficulty of nationality and identification of Croatians in
America. This is why many think none
were here in the 1700's and 1800's.
Nationality and identification is not a new problem for Croatians. A most interesting census entry for Louisiana
in 1850 was Vincent Crenotich--Austrian--artist in jail for forgery!
Mobile, Alabama in the 1850 census also
had many Croatians. A few:
Simintovich, F. 21 merchant
Austria
Luzanich, Andre 40 confectioner Austria
Dedich, Frank 24 barkeeper Austria
Carmelich, M. 40 merchant Austria
Bitherich, M. 40 bayman Italy
Elich, John 24 shopkeeper
Italy
Biloxi, Mississippi, a fishing port,
already had strong Croatian representation and the 1850 U. S. Census shows:
Foretich, John 35
shipbuilder Italy
Foretich, Elvina 24 wife Miss.
Foretich, John 1
son
Miss.
Jivich, Nicholas 28
ship carpenter Spain
Porich, C. 35 caulker Spain
Pascagoula, another port town in
Mississippi, also had a good colony:
Jorich, Dominic 32 fisherman Italy
Makinich, Peter 26 clerk Italy
Radich, Frank 26 fisherman Italy
Damianich, Peter 33 fisherman Prussia
Farnlich, Thomas 26 fisherman Austria
Sisal, Natale 17 fisherman Austria
Marinovich, A. 30 cooper Dalmatia
Stiglich, Matthew 45 carpenter Austria
Stiglich, Antonia 45 wife Austria
Stiglich, Mathew 18 son Austria
Stiglich, Johanna 12 daughter Austria
Jacob Baptist (Batistich?) from
Dalmatia was in Pascagoula with eight children, having arrived prior to
1840. He had a recorded worth of $55,000
and was a Cooper. John Radovich, listed
as from Spain with six children, was also there prior to 1840. Nicola Vojvodich
was a master carpenter, listed as from Spain with four children in Biloxi and
Stephen Vojvodich also listed as Spanish with a family. A most interesting listing was F. Barovich,
age 58, born on the Island of Santo Domingo.
The above names are a small portion of
what was uncovered. We Croatians in
America were recorded as Prussians, Germans, Hungarians, Greeks, Italians,
Slavonians, Danes, Venetians and "unknown". This is the major problem of our ethnic
identity in America -- yes we do have roots that are prior to the American Revolution
in America and these facts and individuals should be brought out and made part
of our participation of the making of America.
Croatians were found in voting
registors, cemetery records, birth, death and marriage church records, state
archives and many other source records.
I would like to list a few more interesting entries found to indicate
their presence, in numbers in Early America:
Baltunich 1822 Died Mobile, Ala.
Barrich, M. 1839 voted Mobile Alabama
Bassich, John 1844 married New Orleans
Benjanovich 1835 voted Mobile
Bezerich, Nicolo 1811 Died Mobile
Brinich, B. 1832 " New
Orleans
Calabich 1832 " New
Orleans
Calich, Lorenzo 1790 Lawsuit New Orleans
Caminich, Juan 1782 " New
Orleans
Carmelich, Ludovic 1844 born Mobile
Carmelich, Marco 1836 voted Mobile
Cvitkovich, Alex 1860 priest New
Orleans
Dragon, Dimitry 1802 born New
Orleans
Elich, Marco 1797 lawsuit New Orleans
Guarich, Jose 1829 died New Orleans
Ladevich, M. 1772 died New
Orleans
Larich, J. 1780 Louisiana
Lubjavich, J. 1811 marriage Baton Rouge
Marcec, Juan 1815 funeral Louisiana
Marinovich, Andrea 1833 " New
Orleans
Morich, Lucas 1786 died Louisiana
Nichovich, P. 1860 ship
capt New Orleans
Petrovich, George 1819 planter Louisiana
Rosmanirich, Marc 1835 voted Mobile
Tlesich, Marco 1844 married New Orleans
Tripcovich, G. 1840 died "
Vidich, J. 1843 died “
Our Dalmatian sailors and captains were
citizens of the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Ragusa, both seafaring
nations. They sailed the seven seas and
were in daily contact with individuals who were in the New World from its
beginning. In every early part of
America you will find the Croatian as businessmen, shipbuilders, mineowners and
many other responsible occupations.
In Dalmatia a cigarette is still called
a "Spanulet", tobacco came from Spanish America and Croatians brought
it to Dalmatia.