A Slice of History

Introduction

Originally written in 1982 the following includes information passed down by Dieska family members. It is written from the perspective of the family historian Matilda Dieska Young and the original copy can be found HERE. Some minor editing was done (spelling, grammar, presentation format, date adjustments, informational web links) but the accounting remains the same. NOTE: References to the countries Kingdom of Hungaria, Austria-Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Slovakia should be considered synonymous as the region changed names as different governments controlled the area.

THE DIESKA FAMILY HISTORY By Matilda Dieska Young (born 1913)

In this history of my father's family, I will refer to the relatives as they are related to me. It is a story that I have heard from my father, Stephen Aloysis Dieska "Pop", from cousins Joseph L. Dieska "Joe"; Joe Kavcar, Stefan Chomistek, Emelia Dieska Naplavova "Milka"; Susie Desko (Dieska); my brother, Bernard Dieska "Ben"; and others.

I became interested in writing this history when in the late 1960's Cousin Joe Dieska told me the following story. He said that when he was about 13 years old and in the 3rd year of Gymnasium (Jr. High School), Paul Klimcik, our great uncle's son-in-law, gave him three documents which were found stuck in the rafters of his house, the Dieska family ancestral home in Dolná Lehota, Orava, Czechoslovakia. The documents consisted of:

1. A Deed, dated 1610 (or 1670). Joe said the number "1" could also have been a "7", he couldn't tell,

2. A Will dated 1822 and,

3. A Will dated 1840.

The Deed was written in Latin and the Wills in 18th Century Slovak. Paul Klimcik decided that Joe was the logical one to be given the documents since he could read Latin.

The Deed stated that the Dieskas came to Dolna Lehota from "Záskalie", which means from "behind the rocks", the rocks being the rocky hills on the other side of the Orava River. Certain lands around Dolna Lehota, in the territory around the Orava Castle, or ORAVSKY ZAMOK, were given to Stephen Dieska by Imperial Decree for loyal service to the Emperor of Austria, and was signed by Stephen TOKOLY (in Latin, PALATINUS) or (PALATENUS REGNI HUNGARIA), Viceroy to the King.

As to the Wills, the first one, dated 1822, signed by Stephen Dieska, gave certain property to three sons, Stephen, John and Joseph. Stephen and John were given "land" while Joseph, who was irresponsible, was given a sum of money and he went on his way, presumably to Transylvania (Romania).

The second Will dated 1840, Stephen Dieska gave land to his children. One of these children was my great grandfather, Stephen, who was born around 1830.

The name Dieska came from the word "diezka" which means a vat or bowl made from a log which stands on three legs. This bowl was used in the household for kneading bread, washing clothes, making cheese, and so forth. The name was also spelled "Djeska" but this was due to the Hungarian influence (letter "i" versus "j") having ruled and dominated the Slovak people for centuries. After World War I Czechoslovakia became an independent country, prior to that it was part of Austria-Hungary. Of the three spellings of our name, Dieska finally became the one most prominently used. Pop's youngest brother, my uncle Joseph, changed the spelling to "Desko" after he settled in the coal mining region around Uniontown, Pennsylvania.

Cousin Joe Dieska said that when he was studying comparative languages at the University of Bratislava, his professor speculated that the name of Dieska may have derived from the Greek god Dionysios. The Diezkas were used to process sheep's milk in making cheese and rituals were performed in honoring the god. The name was brought to the Slavic lands by Saints Cyril and Methodius who came to Slovakia in 833 A.D., from Macedonia (Salonica, Thessaloniki), to convert and educate the Slavic peoples.

The house in which my father was born still stands in the Village of Dolna Lehota. It was built in 1872 (possibly 1869) by my grandfather and great grandfather. It is considered to be the best built house in the village and even at the time of this writing in 1982, Cousin Emelia "Milka", lives in the house. She has been approached several times by government agents who would like to buy the house to be turned into a museum because of its historical value. The house has a cellar which gives it a unique character, and the cellar was used during War II by the Russians who used it as their communications headquarters. My uncle John, cousin Joe's father, was forced to serve as interpreter. He had spent 4 years as a prisoner of war in Russia during WW I and could speak Russian perfectly.

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Besides dealing in cattle, the land also had to be worked to raise hay and grain to feed the stock; wheat and oats for flour and straw; flax for making linen, and plenty of potatoes and cabbage to feed the family. Geese and ducks provided food and feathers for making pillows and feather beds (Perina); sheep were also raised to provide wool for clothing. Pop told of having to flail oats and wheat by hand and of going to the forest in the mountains to bring wood to keep the home fires burning. There was plenty of hard work to do for the entire family the whole year long. However, since the Dieska family was well off, men were hired to help with much of the heavy work.

When grandfather was 40 years old, he contracted Typhoid fever. Pop told the story of his father's death many times, He was only 6 at the time and was delegated to care for his sick father while grandmother was busy with other chores. Grandfather being a very sick man and dying, called Pop to his bedside and asked for "ovsa", or so Pop thought. Ovsa means "oats" in Slovak and Pop couldn't understand why his father wanted oats. So, he asked: You want oats? At this grandfather, with the last bit of strength he could muster, kicked Pop. It was only then that Pop realized his father was calling for "Otca" which means father. This incident left an indelible mark on Pop's mind. He told the story over and over. The year was 1887 when grandfather died.

Now grandmother was left with five little children to raise. Aunt Theresa was 8 years old; Uncle John was 7; Pop was 6; Uncle Joe was 5 and Aunt Katra was less than 1 year old. Great grandfather took a liking to John and took him under his wing to raise. John lived in the big house while grandmother and the other children moved to a smaller house on the property. Great grandfather showered John (Cousin Joe Dieska’s father) with attention and gifts much to the distress of his siblings. He was spoiled rotten.

Not too long after grandfather died grandmother married the hired man, Joe Kuhajda, who was younger than she, and she added two more children to her brood, two daughters named Suzie and Hanna. Perhaps the reason grandmother had to move out of the big house was because she remarried so soon after grandfather's death. His death at such an early age, grandmother's remarriage to a younger man, who was also a heavy drinker, and great grandfather's attention to John, caused much turmoil and confusion in the family. Grandmother became disgruntled. Her young husband would become abusive when under the influence of whiskey (palenka), one time when he abused grandmother, Pop stepped in to restrain him and all he got for his heroic act was a curse from his mother for attacking his "father". Having his mother turn on him like that hurt Pop very deeply as he loved his mother very much and never expected her to treat him so badly. When Pop was sixteen years old, he began planning his escape to America in search of a better life.

When great grandfather was 70 years old, he married a woman from the village by the name of Caplanka. Because she was such a character, she was nick-named "Psocha" which means dog. In a letter I received from Cousin Milka in 1979, she said she asked Aunt Hanna Kuhjda Teliga about this "Psocha". Aunt Hanna said that "Psocha" was an alcoholic and did not take care of great grandfather very well in her duties as a housekeeper, therefore he decided to "marry off" his favorite grandson, John, who was only eighteen years old, to a girl from Dlhá whose name was Christina Kroton. The year was 1900. Christina was a beautiful girl, John was crazy about her, and she was liked by everyone else as well. She took over the housekeeping duties and took care of great grandfather until he died in 1907 at the age of 77 years, in the house he had built. John naturally was given all the property which subsequently caused more trouble in the family which I will tell about later.

As for Great uncle John "Murgocy", he married a girl whose name was Theresa Kecera. The Kecera family was also wealthy. Murgocy and Theresa had two daughters, Suzanna and Mary. The family lived in the older house on the Dieska property which I called the ancestral home and in which was found the three old documents I mentioned in the beginning of this story. Great grandfather's property and Murgocy's property shared the same boundary line in the village. However, Murgocy needed at little more land so that he could more easily get to the back to his barnyard and he asked his father many times to give him this piece of land but great grandfather stubbornly refused. But when great grandfather was dying Murgocy went to his bedside and pleaded: "Father, father, at least give me that little piece of land". His father, according to Murgocy, shook his head affirmatively. A court suit followed great grandfather's death as Murgocy claimed he now owned the land but having no legal proof, he lost the case. Uncle John "Murgocy" Dieska died in Dolna Lehota in the old house at the age of 75 years, in 1924.

Murgocy's older daughter Mary, married John Trncula and they had two sons, Stephen and Joseph. His younger daughter, Suzie married Paul Klimcik and they had six children: Mary, Susie, Theresa, Hanna, Joseph and John. It appears that Susie and Paul Klimcik took over where her father left off and were considered to be one of the prominent families in the Village.

An interesting story related to me by Cousin Joe Dieska regarding the Klimciks son John, amused me even though it was sad. It appears that Susie and Paul went looking from village to village for a suitable wife for their son. They were looking for a girl from a well-to-do family like their own. However, time went by and John got tired of waiting for a bride. He got involved with a girl in the village whose maiden name was Mary Polcin and she was going to have his baby. John wanted to marry her but his parents objected very strongly because they didn't think she was good enough for him. John felt he had enough of his parents running his life and so he went to live with the girl and her parents and the wedding took place. After that, the Klimciks would have nothing to do with him, let alone his wife and child. The child turned out to be a little girl and when she was about four years old, her father came down with the dreaded Typhoid fever. He was taken to a hospital in another town where he died. When his parents heard of his death, they became hysterical. The wife and her parents had his body brought back to Dolna Lehota for burial. When the truck bearing John's body in a casket arrived, the Klimciks converged upon it and there was a tug-of-war, one family pulling one way and the other pulling the other. John's parents finally won and the funeral took place in the Klimcik home. May poor John rest in peace.

Since Great Uncle John "Murgocy" Dieska had no sons, the name Dieska" of his branch died out too.

As to the first child of grandfather by "Bola" whose name was Mary, she married a distant relative by the name of George Dieska. George Dieska came from another village and Cousin Joe Dieska and I speculated that his branch may have come from the John Dieska named in the 1840 will. George and Mary had three children: Theresa, Mary and John (Jan). John was born in 1912, and he turned out to be quite a rebel. He was a leader and an adventurer. He always had a group of boys around him, including Joe, with whom he plotted misadventures. They secretly read Wild Bill Hickok and other American Western Cowboy stories to which their parents objected saying that the stories were turning their children into a bunch of juvenile delinquents. One time John brought his gang together and he had each one bring food or other items, such as matches, blankets, for a trip he had all mapped out. They were to go to Africa to become missionaries. Needless to say, after they had raided a chicken coop in a nearby village to add to their food supply, they were caught and taken to the homes to their parents, the trip lasted less than a day. This experience did not deter John from desiring to leave the village. He eventually entered a monastery and became a Jesuit priest. After the Communist takeover of Czechoslovakia in 1948, John was arrested, sent to prison and upon his release years later, was stripped of all his priestly functions. The last that was heard of him, he was working as a janitor in a high school in Bratislava. He refused to escape as many others did, preferring to stay and suffer with his flock. Even though John's father, George, was from another village he lived in Dolna Lehota which was Mary's (his mother's) residence and he became Mayor of the village in the period before WWI being the last Mayor under the Austria-Hungary government.