Sure, we all know he’s Ben Teply’s dad. And that he was given to another family to raise. But do you know anything else about him?
Aunt Alice Teply, his granddaughter, remembered him as soft-spoken and artistic, and fluent in Bohemian, German, and English. Let’s see what else we can find.
Frantisek Josef Teplý was born June 25, 1865, in Oldřiš, Bohemia, to parents Josef and Josepha Teplý. Today Bohemia is part of the Czech Republic. See the original and translated birth register here.
He was baptized on the 28th of June at the evangelical protestant church in Borová, the adjacent village to Oldřiš and just a mile from home. It was customary to baptize newborns as soon as possible because of the high infant mortality rates.
Here’s the location of Frantisek’s birth, Oldřiš house number 140 and the adjacent garden. The house has been replaced, but the lady of the house says there’s still a cellar from the original house. Several Teply families lived nearby, at house numbers 118/192 and 115/191. See the location of the house and church here.
But Frantisek’s life was in for a dramatic change. About a year after his birth, his family left Bohemia for America.
But that’s another story.
Sources
- Frantisek Teply birth register – Zamrsk Archives, Czech Republic – s. R1-1 – p. XXXVII – i. 38 – r. 1
- Photos – Mark Jarvis – October 2019
- Alice Teply letter to Arthur Teply 2000, then to Nick Teply 2003
Family Nibbles 