c. 1820 – Tomáš Klč
Tomáš Klč (č is pronounced “ch”) was born sometime around 1820 in House #425 in the town of Myjava which was in Nyitra kraj (the Nyitra region), in Uhorské kráľovstvo (the Kingdom of Hungary). We have no record of his birth, his parents, or any siblings.
c. 1820 – Zuzana Štefik
Zuzana Štefik was also born sometime around 1820 in Slovakia, Hungary. We also have no record of her birth, her parents, or any siblings. We do know that her father was a farmer.
Myjava
The Myjava River flows through the town of Myjava which is located in the Myjava Highlands at the foothills of the White Carpathian Mountains, not far from the range known as the Little Carpathians. It is situated just 10 kilometers away from the modern border with the Czech Republic.
Today, Myjava is the administrative center of the okres Myjava (Myjava district) which consists of 2 towns and 15 villages. The town and district are located in Trenčiansky kraj (the Trenčín region). The area is also part of a tourist region called Stredné Považie.
The town of Myjava was founded in 1586. The area had been settled centuries before in what has been called the Valach or Wallachian colonization wave. From the 10th to the 13th centuries, shepherds known as the Valaši, who lived in present-day Romania, began moving their flocks of Valašsko (Wallachia) sheep to new pastures high in the Carpathian Mountains. The Wallachian sheep were small, with rough wool, and were able to withstand the harsh conditions of living in the mountains yet could produce relatively high yields of milk.
The Valaši were looking for refuge from the destructive raids of various Eastern tribes and from the continuing threat of the Ottoman Empire. This gradual Wallachian colonization spread across the entire mountain area of Slovakia as well as the Carpathian regions of southern Poland. By the end of the 15th century it reached the end of its migration in the Moravian area now known as Valašsko (Wallachia).
Myjava was connected with the name of a Lutheran pastor named Daniel Krman (1663-1740) who was known for his scientific and literary activities. He established the original Protestant church in Myjava dating back to 1711. In 1785, a new evangelical church was constructed and in 1856 a tower was added. This building is the dominant landmark in Myjava.
Slovakia, Hungary
The region had been settled first by Celtic tribes around 400 BCE, then by Germanic tribes, and finally by Slavic tribes over the course of several centuries. The major political regions that emerged consisted of three historic lands: Bohemia and Moravia in the west (often called the Czech Lands) and Slovakia in the east.
Slovakia had been ruled by Hungary for almost 1,000 years and was known as “Upper Hungary” (Horné Uhorsko in Slovak). From 1526 to 1918, the Kingdom of Hungary came under the control of the Habsburg monarchy, which had ruled areas around Austria since 1276.
In the sixteenth century, Hungary served as a buffer between the Ottoman Empire of the Turks and the Holy Roman Empire to the west and the Kingdom of Poland to the north. As the Turks encroached on Hungarian soil, they captured the area that is today the modern nation of Hungary, while another Hungarian region, Transylvania, became a Turkish protectorate. Only Slovakia was left as the remaining independent piece of the Kingdom of Hungary. In 1536 it became known as “Royal Hungary” with Bratislava, as the capital. From 1526 to 1830, nineteen Habsburg sovereigns were crowned “Kings and Queens of Hungary” in the St. Martin’s Cathedral in Bratislava. At the time, Bratislava was known as Prešporok (in Slovak), Pressburg (in German), and Pozsony (in Hungarian). Bratislava remained the capital of Hungary until the Turks were finally ousted from Central Europe in 1786 and Buda became the capital city.
c. 1845 – marriage
Tomáš Klč married Zuzana Štefik in Slovakia, Hungary. We have no record of this event either. Most likely, it was in Myjava. After their wedding, they lived in the house where Tomas had been born, House #425.
Štefan Klč
Tomáš Klč and Zuzana Štefik gave birth to Štefan Klč on August 7, 1847 in House #425 in Myjava.
Štefan Klč married Anna Plašenka on May 12, 1872 in either Myjava or the village of Hrušove, Anna’s home town. Or perhaps they married in the Evangelical Church in nearby Lubina, about a mile and a half from Hrušové.
Anna Plašenka was born November 29, 1856 in House #39 in Hrušové. After the wedding, Štefan moved to Anna’s family home and became a miller. Anna’s father, Jiriho Plašenka, was a miller in Hrušové. Perhaps he taught Štefan that trade after the marriage. (See Štefan Klč and Anna Plašenka)
deaths
Tomáš and Zuzana (Štefik) Klč both died in Slovakia, Hungary, perhaps in Myjava. It is also possible that in their old age, they went to live with Štefan in Hrušové. We have no record of their deaths.