Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Resources on Croatian Immigration/Ancestry

The following works are on my bookshelf regarding research on Croatian History, Immigration, Culture, and Ancestry. I do not profess to have read these works in their entirety, but I have found bits and pieces very meaningful in trying to understand my Ethnic heritage and the context of the times of my Ancestors.

Balch Greene, Emily. (1910). Our Slavic Fellow Citizens. New York: Charities Publication Committee. General Books. http://www.general-books.net/ (Balch Greene details stories behind immigration of the Slavs, of which the Croats were one, at the turn of the last century. Many include 1st person accounts. Balch Greene later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946.)
Capps, Freedom Kline. (1974). The Immigrants and the Novinger Community. 1900-1920.  Thesis.  Kirksville, Missouri: Northeast Missouri State University.  (I have not read this yet, but it is rising to the top of my "must seek out and read list". )

Hawkesworth, Celia. Colloquial Croatian and Serbian: The Complete Course for Beginners. New York: Routledge. (Includes book/tapes for those interested in learning to communicate in Croatian and Serbian everyday language.)

(1987). Langenscheidt's Universal Dictionary: English-Croatian, Croatian-English. New York: Langenscheidt Publisher's Inc. (Dictionary for translation)

Miller, Sally M. (Editor). (1987) Chapter 4: The Croatian Press in the United States.  In, The Ethnic Press in the United States: A Historical Analysis and Handbook. New York: Greenwood Press. (My Grandmother would stop in her tracks whenever she received her Croatian newspaper.  Her family had careful instructions to let her be too.)

Novinger Planned Progress. (1989) Ethnic Cookbook, Novinger MO. Novinger, MO: Novinger Planned Progress. (Includes recipes from ethnic families who settled in Novinger Missouri.  Many Croatian recipes are given.  Names of contributors are familiar in my family history; they likely trace to those who immigrated at the same time as my grandparents in 1908.  I know that some were also from the same villages as my grandparents. My grandparents Kazimir and Dragica Blaskovic lived in Novinger for a short time at the time of the birth of their daughter Marija in 1910. My grandfather worked in the coal mines there throughout his life. His name is noted on Billy Creek Coal Mine roles. This cookbook is a treasure especially of women's crafts and lore.)

Oliver, Jeanne. (1999). Lonely Planet: Croatia. Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publications. (Travel guide)

Prpic, George J. (1971). The Croatian Immigrants in America.  New York:  Philosophical Library. (Excellent and seemingly thorough reference).

Shapiro, E.  (1989). The Peoples of North America: The Croatian Americans.  New York: Chelsea House Publishers. (Middle school, high school text)

Tanner, Marcus.  (1997). Croatia: A Nation Forged in War. 2nd Edition.  New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.

(2001) Insight Pocket Guide: Croatia. Maspeth, NY: Langenscheidt Publishers, Inc. (Travel guide)

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Slavic Women: I was especially drawn to the following as a means of seeking out and understanding stories of Croatian women.  This is no small task as what I know of Croatian history and family life is that it centers on the life of men.  As a result the stories of women and their lives become invisible. It is true that these works are more broadly focused on "Slavic Women", of which Croatian Women would be a part. There are certainly similarities between the cultures. 

Alzo, Lisa A. (2008). Baba's Kitchen: Slovak & Rusyn Family Recipes & Traditions. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press.

Alzo, Lisa A. (2008). Three Slovak Women. Baltimore, Maryland: Gateway Press.

Association for Women in Slavic Studies (AWSS). http://www.awsshome.org/ (Professional association sponsoring research and teaching for scholars of women's studies and questions of gender analysis in Central/Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union)

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