German Bohemians Wisconsin

German Bohemians
Calumet County, Wisconsin

Tepla Monastery was founded over 800 years ago. The Premonstratensian monks continue to act as priests in the surrounding parishes. Today, Tepla Monastery is being restored through money from the European Union and other philanthrophic groups. One such group is "Friends of Tepla Monastery."

WELCOME!!

Welcome to the NEW German Bohemians To Wisconsin Home Page!

When I started to research my Steiner Family who originated from villages in the Tepla Monastery area, I began to see patterns of familiar surnames on christening, marriage, and death records. Soon, I was making surname connections between Tepla Monastery villages in Bohemia and my hometown area in Calumet County, Town of Brothertown, village of Charlesburg. Since then, I have come to realize that between 1850-1890 a large wave of immigrants arrived at the doorstep of a new state. Once you have a username and password, you can click on the "Reports" tab on the left to view the Immigration Report. Other reports are there as well. Now, I am learning how our German Bohemian ancestors played a major role in turning a wilderness territory into a proud and productive state. To read more about how you can access this sight, please continue reading on the right hand side of this page.

Finding Bohemia by Way of England (click for article)

My family always told me that I was German and my Steiner family was from Germany. You can imagine my disbelief when I found out that my Steiner family originated from Bohemia which is in today's Czech Republic! The complete story was first published by the German Bohemian Heritage Society.

The following article first published by the German Bohemian Heritage Society describes the research process used to uncover at the time of this writing over 380 emigrants from Tepl Monastery villages who traveled to Wisconsin:

High Tide of High Hopes and Unlimited Opportunities: The Wave of Immigration from Tepl Monastery VIllages in Western Bohemia to Calumet County, Wisconsin, from 1850-1890 (click for article)

List of Tepla Area Surnames in Calumet County, Wisconsin, USA

Denk
Fischbach
Fischer
Gintner
Groeschl
Hammer
Leitner
Lenz
Lodes
Muller
Nadler
Neubauer
Pimpl
Pop[p]
Reinl
Rott
Rummer
Schott
Schusser
Steiner
Utschig
Weber
Wettstein
Zucker
more to be added

Feature Articles

A German Bohemian Immigration:
The Population Shift from Western Bohemia to Calumet County, Wisconsin

by Joan Naomi Steiner PhD

Book release date July 2022, now available on Amazon.com

And in Europe available on Amazon.de

- Coming Soon: German and Czech translated versions -

A simple family history research project evolved into a detailed examination of a significant German Bohemian immigration to Calumet County in eastern Wisconsin for author Joan Naomi Steiner, PhD. Highlighted by scores of family names that populate northeastern Wisconsin to this day, A German Bohemian Immigration provides context to a wealth of information compiled from sources in Germany and the Czech Republic.

The area of western Bohemia, located in today’s Czech Republic, in which these families resided saw an end to feudalism at roughly the same time as Wisconsin earned statehood in 1848. These changes brought about high hopes for a better life on both sides of the Atlantic, leading to a steady stream of German Bohemian emigrants that lasted for several decades.

Purpose of Site

The purpose of this site is twofold:
(1) to offer resources to people who are descendants of Wisconsin's early settlers from Western Bohemia [today's Czech Republic], especially the Tepla Monastery area and
(2) to connect with living descendants in order to collectively build a common understanding of who our ancestors were, how our ancestors lived both in Bohemia and in Wisconsin, and what contributions our ancestors made to Calumet County, Wisconsin, and the United States.

Looking Forward

I will continue to share resources at this site as they are located. My goal eventually is to have these resources in three languages: English, German, and Czech. At first, they will appear in their original language. As each is translated, it will be posted.

How You Can Participate

Just email me at info@germanbohemianwisconsin.com to request permission to use the site. Include your interest in the site and any questions that you may have. I also would appreciate any feedback that you may have. As this work continues, I especially welcome all Calumet County German Bohemians descendants interested in helping to uncover the newly discovered settlement in Wisconsin. Not only will Wisconsin, USA descendants be direct beneficiaries of this work, but also, Sudetenland Germans and their descendants and today's Czech residents and their descendants will all directly benefit from knowing about their rich German Bohemian roots and heritage.

Updated February 23, 2023

Contact Us

email image If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.