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Great Uncle "Chuck," the Four Horsemen, and the Rest of the Story

  Charlie "Chuck" Baker, in an image from The Cleveland Press, November 1927. 1   Mention the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to me and football is not what immediately pops into my mind. But in my family history, mentioning the Four Horsemen brings up the name Charles "Charlie" Baker (1908-1955), my grandmother's brother. I've heard the phrase, "Charlie was one of the Four Horsemen," more than once over time, from my dad, cousins, maybe even an aunt or uncle. Not being raised in a football-centric household, however, the significance of the phrase was lost on me. But curious about Charlie's connection to the fabled football heroes who played under Knute Rockne at Notre Dame in the 1920s, I went in search of the story. And I found a great story—one with a surprising Texas twist that grabbed my attention, as I live here. Much of what I learned was from an account of this greatest of Cathedral Latin football stories, written by Robert Kelley, a...
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FRANJO NOVOSELEC KOZLINA


Present day church of Sveti Martin pod Okićem, where Franjo Novoselec Kozlina was baptized and married.1


31 Days of Writing Family History Challenge

January 30, 2022:  Maternal Great, Great Grandfather #1 - Franjo Novoselec Kozlina (1855--??)


by Nancy Gilbride Casey

For the final time in this challenge, we shift back to maternal ancestors: today's focus is on my second great grandfather, Franjo Novoselec Kozlina—Grandpa Kozlina's grandfather. 

Many Croatian church records are available online, and so some details about his life are known through those records—though some details will remain a mystery to be unearthed in future research.

Franjo had a unique feature in his name. One might think that "Novoselec" is his middle name, but it is rather a type of nickname known in Croatia as a "nadimak." These names were given to families to distinguish one from the other in a town when there numerous unrelated families with the same surname. Over time, these names may have disappeared from use, though at the time, they were a legitimate part of the person's name.2

Detail of Franjo Novoselec Kozlina's baptismal record from 1855.3
 

Franjo Novoselec Kozlina was born to Franjo Orgular Kozlina and Bara Soić on 11 April 1855 in Drežnik Podokićki , Samobor, in Zagreb county, Croatia. The couple had him baptized at the Church of Sv. Martin pod Okićem, about 4 miles from their home.4

Modern map of Croatia. Drežnik Podokićki lies west of Zagreb.

Franjo married Mara Stunja on 24 November 1880. Mara was from the town of Petkov Breg, not far away from Drežnik. The couple's marriage record notes that at the time, Franjo was age 26, but Mara was age 37. According to these ages, and Mara's age at the time of her children's births, she would have been about 51 when her last child was born in 1894. While not impossible for this to be true, it is also possible that Mara was either younger than the marriage record states, or she could have been a widow and her marriage to Franjo was her second marriage. Future research will hopefully sort out these details.5

Drežnik Podokićk was the birthplace of Franjo Novaselec Kozlina, while his wife Mara Stunja was born in nearby Petkov Breg. Sveti Martin pod Okićem was the location of the church where they were baptized and married. 
 

Franjo and Mara had at least six known children, two sons—Franjo (Frank - our great grandfather), and Tomo (Thomas)—and four daughters—Bara (Barbara), Jaga (Agnes), Paulina and Anna. Of their children, at least four emigrated to the United States and settled in Pennsylvania: Franjo, Tomo, Barbara, and Anna. 

At present Franjo's occupation is unknown, as is his death and burial information. Still, it is fascinating to learn even a few life details of such a long-ago ancestor who lived in such a faraway land.


NOTES

1 Milan Kušnjačić, "Crkva sv. Martin, kapela sv. Nikole, groblje, Sveti Martin pod Okićem" 4 July 2017; image, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/crkvaSv.martin_kapela_sv.nikola_Sv.martinPodOkicem7.4.2017/058crkva_sv.martin-sv.martin_pod_okicem7.4.2017.JPG : accessed 30 January 2022). Licensed under Creative Commons license Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0.

2 Robert Jerin. "Searching for Your Croatian Roots: A Handbook." (Self Published : Shaker Heights, 2018), p. 52-53.

3 Roman Catholic Church of Sv. Martin pod Okićem, Births (Rođeni) 1790-1857, p. 66, Franjo Kozlina, 11 April 1855; database and images "Croatia, Church Books, 1516-1994," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99C-59NQ-V : accessed 30 January 2022); FHL film 5482630, image 534; citing Arhiva Hrvatske u Zagrebu (Croatia State Archives), Zagreb. Note that Franjo's father too had a nadimak "Orgular."

4 Ibid.

5 Roman Catholic Church of Sv. Martin pod Okićem, Marriages (Vjenčani) 1858-1904 Deaths (Umrli) 1877-1894, p. 9, #42, Franjo Kozlina and Mara Stunja, 24 November 1880; database with images, "Croatia, Church Books, 1516-1994," FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L99X-6J8G : 30 January 2022); FHL film 005693949, image 146; citing Arhiva Hrvatske u Zagrebu (Croatia State Archives), Zagreb.

 


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