History, Department of

 

Date of this Version

1958

Document Type

Article

Comments

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College in the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Arts, Department of History, Under the Supervision of J. L. Sellers. Lincoln, Nebraska: July, 1958.

Abstract

The Czechs and their descendents make up one of the large groups that settled and developed the State of Nebraska. While every county of Nebraska may have a few Czechs within its confines, the largest numbers are found in Douglas, Saline, Colfax, Saunders, and Butler Counties.

It is the purpose of this thesis to deal with the Czechs of Butler County. A racial group, Slavic in origination and since the first World War, properly called the "Czechs." The term "Czech" is to be applied, not only to those whose ancestry goes back to Bohemia, but also to those who originally came to Nebraska from Moravia. Separation of the two, though they have some racial differences, would be impossible.

The Moravians are akin to the Czechs, and have their own characteristics. This group is made up of Czechs, Horaks, Hanaks and Slovaks. Whether any of the Horaks, Hanaks, and Slovaks constituted any part of this Czech group in Butler County has not been determined, but this seems likely to be true. The Moravians are said to be less progressive, and more tenacious of their ancient customs. Horaks as a rule are tall and slender, temperate and hard working. The Hanaks again are thrifty and industrious, generally of medium stature, with strong vigorous stature.

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