Fraternal Herald-Bratrsky Vestnik Death Index – Not Just for Czechs!

by Delia Cothrun Bourne

Mutual aid societies, also known as benefit societies, have been around for centuries and were the precursors of the insurance industry of today. Often based on a shared occupation, religion, geographic location of origin or ethnic background, these societies provided educational benefits and aided members in time of illness, economic crisis or death. By making regular contributions, members ensured aid and protection for themselves and their families in time of need.

The Zapadni Ceska Bratrsky Jednota (Western Bohemian Fraternal Association) was one of the many mutual aid societies that sprang up throughout the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries. Organized in 1897, it originally accepted only men of Czech ancestry as members, but quickly changed to accept women, and later removed any ethnic requirement, becoming the Western Fraternal Life Association in 1957. Its monthly publication, “Bratrsky Vestnik,” initially was published in Czech, then in a mixture of Czech and English starting in the 1940s, and eventually all in English.

Each issue included a “Payment of Mortuary Claims” list enumerating each death benefit paid. The association kept a card index of these payments and the few obituaries that were published. This index was microfilmed by the Eastern Nebraska Genealogical Society in the early 1990s.

Each card on the microfilm notes the name of the deceased, date and place of death, lodge number and the year he or she had become a member. Some cards include additional information, such as occupation, age or cause of death. For example, Mary R. Juarez, who joined in 1981, died September 28, 1983, in Cushing, Oklahoma, at age 46. Frank Jesina, a 65-year old salesman and member since 1921, died of heart failure May 5, 1936, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A death claim was paid for him in June 1936. The microfilm also includes a list of the lodges by number, providing each lodge’s name, location, date organized and status in 1991 (active, disbanded or merged). Also provided are lists of the lodges arranged by state. The heaviest concentrations of lodges were in Nebraska (36), Wisconsin (35) and Minnesota (22), but there were five lodges in California, and even one in Fairhope, Alabama, that was still active in 1991.

The Genealogy Center owns this set of seven microfilms (cabinet 66-B-7), as well as a printed copy of the explanatory material and lodge lists titled “Name Index, July 1897-July 1991, Fraternal Herald Bratrsky Vestnik” (973.004 N15). Although this is a wonderful source for Czech relatives scattered across the continent, remember that all comers were accepted in later years.

Genealogy Gems[1]: News from the Fort Wayne Library
No. 68, October 31, 2009