Hello I am looking for info on my family. I recently found out they were from and area of Autria that sounds like Treas (tree as) I can not find the area on any maps. The American spelling of the names I seek are Belicic and Hrestak. I also know originally when they migrated to the USA they settled in the Cleveland Ohio area before spreading out. The settled permanently in Steelton Pa, this is a suburb of Harrisburg Pa. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you
Diana

Hello Diana,

There is nor was there anyplace called Treas in the Austria. There was a place called Trieste, which is now in Italy. Is this the place you are looking for? Trieste was a predominately Slovenian city prior to the end of WW I, when it became part of Italy.


HRESTAK is a Croatian name. There are HRESTAKS here in Cleveland. Also there are only about 6 HRESTAKs listed at Ellis Island web page.

Also BELACIC, sounds like belachich, is a Croatian name. The listings at Ellis show people coming from Croatia.

Certainly living in Steelton you must be aware of your Croatian heritage. There is or was a Croatian church in Steelton, until the Bishop combined several churches and had the Croatian things in the church covered! Also there is a Croatian hall there, Sveti Lovro (Saint Lawerence).

Useful links for Croatian genealogy, inc. Bosnia, Lika, etc Updated 5-28-01

Links to info about Croatia including history and tourism

Zeljko Lupic’s Dalmatia net Genealogy Links

http://www.dalmatia.net/croatia/genealogy/

Appleby in Rijeka, Croatia has a good genealogy page:

http://www.appleby.net/genealogy.html

Links to organizations Associated with FEEFHS from 14 Countries, inc. Croatia:

http://feefhs.org/ethnic.html

Croatians Books, Croatian Immigration, Croatian Coats of Arms, Croatian Genealogy, Croatian Heraldry, Ragusan Press Books, CGHS- By Adam S. Eterovich. Croatian Genealogical and Heraldic Society, research available

http://www.croatians.com/index.html

A Croatian genealogy newsletter:

http://www.durham.net/facts/crogen/newsltr.html

Croatia History links, plus lots more

http://www.dalmatia.net/croatia/history/links.htm

The Province of Burgenland, Austria, was formed from parts of the Hungarian counties (Megye) of Vas, Sopron and Moson following WWI. While it is Austria's youngest province, it can claim to be one of the oldest. It has a fascinating history worthy of being studied in detail. The population comprises people of mainly Germanic, Croatian and Hungarian descent.

http://www.spacestar.com/users/hapander/burgen.html

The next two links are to sites about White Croatia, in ancient times white signified north and red south thus the red and white checkered Croatian Coat of Arms. This area is in present day Poland, including Krakow, and was populated by White Croatians as early as the 1st century AD. At one time this was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and was called Galicia.

http://www.freenet.kiev.ua:8080/ciesin/Ukraine/ivfr-hist.htm...

http://www.kresy.co.uk/galicja.html

This link has history of Zumberak and Uskoci in Croatia

http://www.sandsmachine.com/hist_001.htm

A good site to learn about tourism and all the beautiful and historic places in Croatia, there is also a section on the language.

http://www.htz.hr/home.php


Another site about the language with many links not only about language but Croatian history

http://www.dalmatia.net/croatia/language/index.htm

Genealogy message boards/forums

Croatia genforum message board:

http://genforum.genealogy.com/croatia/

Rootsweb genealogy message board:

http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/Croatia/General

Croatia based HR message board

http://www.hr/webbbs/genealogy/

Family History message board of Ancestry.com

http://www.familyhistory.com/messages/Messages.asp?msgindex=...

Usenet Slavic genealogy newsgroup (must be setup to receive newsgroups)

soc.genealogy.slavic

MAPS, PLACENAME LOCATORS, ETC.

Place name locator for the world, inc. Croatia:

http://www.multimap.com/index/HR1.htm

Croatia and Bosnia maps:

http://www.kakarigi.net/maps/

Croatia town and city locator. Due to the lack of being able to view Croatian letters with diacritical markings the names may appear a bit unusual but just use common sense and you will find the place you are seeking.

http://www.calle.com/world/croatia/index.html

1910 Hungarian County Maps, inc. areas of Croatia and Slavonia (site is in Hungarian but maps are useful)
Click on LINKS and then click on 1910 Hungarian County Maps, Croatian areas will be included in Lika-Kravaba, Modrus-Fiume, Zagrab, Varasd, Belovar, Baranya, Veroce, Szerem and Pozsega.

http://www.familytree.hu/

ShtelSeeker a good place name locator for all Eastern Europe

http://www.jewishgen.org/ShtetlSeeker/loctown.htm

Having trouble finding a place? Perhaps this is due to a change in the name of the town or village. This link has Croatian Place Names Alternate spellings (Austria, Hungary and Italy) and FHL Microfilm Summary

http://feefhs.org/cro/crotowns.html

SURNAME SEARCH

A general article about the history of surnames

http://www.rootscomputing.com/howto/names/names.htm

Ancestry com, here you can look up US Social Security Death records and US phone listings

http://www.ancestry.com/?sourceid=00325405801503816180

LDS on line genealogy name search. . Many church records in Croatia have been microfilmed by the LDS. You can search this site by village/town name to see if your ancestors church has been microfilmed, which can be ordered at a local Family History Center, refer to next link for list of FHC near you!

http://www.familysearch.com/

Search for a Family History Centers near you

http://www.familysearch.com/Eng/Library/FHC/frameset_fhc.asp

Stories abound about US Immigration officials changing our forbearer’s names. But are these stories true? Here is a link which delves into what may be just a “family legend” without basis!

http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/aboutins/history/articles/...

Link to Ellis Island records, including immigrant information, place of origin, ship name and much more. Be sure to view the original ship manifest, the one that was handwritten. Don’t rely on the typed info which contains errors. The original manifest will also contain more personal info.

http://www.ellisislandrecords.org/

Web page for The Vivodina Society, northern Croatia

http://homestead.juno.com/dberkley/files/home.htm

Family Tree Software

Here is a link to FREE downloadable family tree software from the LDS (Mormon) church, I know several people who use it and like it

http://www.familysearch.com/

Searching for family records in Croatia and the US, inc. parish records and US Immigration records

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service Website contains information about the INS Historical Reference Library collection and services

http://www.ins.usdoj.gov/graphics/aboutins/history/index.htm

Naturalization Resources general and by US state

http://www.rootsweb.com/~fianna/oc/usa/naturl.html

Locating family records in Croatia

http://www.durham.net/facts/crogen/croatia.html

Not all Croatians are ethnic Croats, here are links to some of ethnic groups in Croatia

Finding Jewish Family Records in Croatia

http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/Croatia.htm

A link to information about Germans, Donauschwabians, in Croatia (Slavonia):

http://www.genealogy.net/gene/reg/ESE/dsslawon.html

History of German Settlements in Southern Hungary (inc. Croatia)

http://www.genealogy.net/gene/reg/ESE/dshist.txt

The Vlachs in Bosnia (and Croatia)

http://www.farsarotul.org/nl16_1.htm

Istro-Romanians in Croatia

http://www.istroromanian.net/

History of the Arbanasi in Croatia

http://www.hwcn.org/~ae987/Curkovic/Arbanasi.html

ON LINE PHONE BOOKS

Croatia on line phone books. NOTE: to use the on line phone books first select area code (zupanija which means county), then type in the name you are searching for next to Subscriber, then check the circle next to csz (this will allow use of English style keyboards), select 100 results and then click on query. You will see the list of names. The listings include phone number and mailing addresses and will also give you the correct Croatian spelling, with diacritical marks over csz. Be sure not to use the Anglicized or Americanized version I. E. ch or sh when searching. The page will also display as list of towns by county if you click on that bar. Information includes phone number, name, address and city.

http://imenik.hinet.hr/imenik-asp/index.asp?lang=us

Worldwide Phone Directory index of online phone books, with over 400 links to Yellow Pages, White Pages, Business Directories, Email Addresses and Fax Listings from over 170 countries all around the world.

http://www.teldir.com/eng/

Bosnia on line phone directory The Bosnia phone book is available on line. Just type in the surname next to preizime select Kanton which is the region and then click on Trazi (search)

http://www.imenik.ptt.ba/osoba1.html

Religions in Croatia

http://www.dalmatia.net/croatia/religion/

Eastern Rite Church in Croatia

http://www.geocities.com/mysticrose.geo/eastlink.html

First Croatian Church in US

http://saintnicholas.webprovider.com/index.htm

Catholic Church in Croatia

http://www.hbk.hr/

Professional genealogical research services for Croatia
Zeljko “Fritz” Frigan’s Croatia Roots
www.croatianroots.com
Adam Eterovich CROATIAN HERITAGE
http://www.croatians.com/
Genealogical research for about 3000 family names originating from Dubrovnik city, Konavle, Zupa dubrovacka, Rijeka dubrovacka, Dubrovacko primorje, Peljesac, Kolocep, Lopud, Sipan and Lastovo
http://www.geocities.com/paris/cathedral/7835/index.html

MISC.

A good search engine, just type in surname followed by genealogy may find others who have information you are seeking

http://www.google.com/

Good Luck! Let me know how it goes or if you have any other questions.

Robert Jerin
Croatian Heritage Museum
Cleveland, Ohio, USA

Thank you for responding so quickly. I see I have quite a bit of research to do ! Actually my mother was raised in Steelton and many (if not all ) of the Hrestaks in Cleveland are our relatives. As for Croation lodge we have attended several and used the lodge for many parties and celebrations. The main reason for my inquires are a gentleman named Ed Link has contacted a cousin and requested info , he is related by being my great grandfathers brother. He said the changed their name to link and I believe originally were in Ohio. I found a LONG list of links and felt I needed to go another route. This info you have sent will give me a good basis to start and maybe learn more of my grand parents heritage. I do think the town you found may be correct. This may be why my croation grandmother could understand my Italian grandmother when the spoke in native language. THANK YOU so much, I must say you have peeked my interest.
Diana

Hello,

My grandmother was a Hrestak and she was from the Vivodina Croatia. Croatia was once under the Austrian-Hungarian empire I think around the tuen of the last century, thus explaining why you thought they came from Austria. Who knows, we maybe distant cousins.

Hello,

I came across this website when i was looking for information on my ancestors. My surname is Hrestak and i live in Australia. My father is Croatian and his family came from Zagreb/Slovonia in Croatia.

My uncle told me a few years ago he received a letter about our ancestors and apparent links to Austria through Archduke Franz Ferdinand. It also said we had lots of family that moved to the U.S.

To my knowledge, my family were the only Hrestaks that came to Australia. Who knows, we could be related :)

Chances are good that your HRESTAKs came from Vivodina region of Croatia. What sort of tie do HRESTAKs have to The Habsburg royal family? FYI Croatia recognized the Habsburg king as King of Croatia in the 1700s. So in effect all of Croatia had ties to Austria.

Robert Jerin
Croatian Heritage Museum
Cleveland Ohio

My family was from the same area and we are Hrestak's who came to America around the same time.

Belicic should originally be Biličić. Most of them came from the Karlovac region, Croatia (Galović Selo, Barilović etc.).