Photographs from a 2017, visit my husband made to beautiful St. Wenceslaus Church in Hora Svateho Vaclava, Czech Republic. His maternal family came from this area in the late 19th century. St. Wenceslaus was their home parish. Some recognizable surnames, but no connections made yet. As appears to be the case in the St. Wenceslaus Cemetery as with many in Europe, cemeteries were not a permanent resting place. A family would rent the grave. When rent was no longer being paid, a person’s remains were exhumed, cremated and placed with those that had gone before. Many times the headstones had the previous occupants name cut away and a shiny, black marble plaque was put in its place. As can be seen in some of these photos, headstones were sometimes tossed aside, perhaps waiting for future use. Click below to read the history of the church.
Finding Progenitors 