Unreadable City, Mass
Nov 11 1908 9 AM

Miss Mary Filipek
3001 Emerald Ave.
Chicago Ill

Dear Cousin Mary,
I got your letter the other day. I was glad to hear from you. I have been sick a bed for 3 weeks am just getting around. I don't feel very good. I am surprize(d) about Lizzie. She wants to come back her(e). But I don't want her. Say Mary try and get me Mary's address from Maggie. But don't let on that I want it. But tell her you want it for your self. I lost it and can't find it and I have wrote to Maggie for it. But she don't answer my letters so don't know why I wrote her two letters but got no answer.

Your cousin,
Katie

People mentioned in this postcard are:

• Miss Mary Filipek, the daughter of James and Katherine Filipek born in 1889.
• Katie, who we believe is Katherine Jana born in 1879 to Frank and Katerina Jana. It is not known if she was married in 1908.
• Mary, who we believe is Marie (Mary) Jana born about 1885 to Frank and Katerina Jana.
• Lizzie, who we believe is Elizabeth (Lizzie) Jana born in 1889 to Frank and Katerina Jana.
• Maggie, who we believe may be Frank Jana's second wife or another daughter of his second marriage. Generally Maggie is short for Margaret so there is some confusion on this matter. Barbara, how about if we leave it this way until you learn more about the children of the 2nd marriage?

Katie Jana and Mary Filipek were first cousins as Antonin and Katerina Filipek were their common grandparent. Katie was about 10 years older than Mary. At the time of this postcard Mary was almost 19 and Katie almost 29. The postcard shows a picture of Frost Bridge, Sudsbury Center, Framingham, Massachusetts. The most likely explanation for the location is that Katie lived there, possibly she married and moved there or she went to school in the east and stayed.

Katherine (Katie), Marie (Mary) and Elizabeth (Lizzie) were sisters. However, there is some possibility that the Mary referred to is the daughter of Frank and his second wife, Marie. This daughter was also named Marie and in Bohemian Marie and Mary are used interchangeable. If so, then this Mary would be a half sister to Katie and Elizabeth. However, this daughter was born around 1900 so would only be about 10 years old so it is unlikely that she is the one referred to.

Barbara noted that the 1910 census refers to Elizabeth as Lizzie in the enumeration of names. Thus our confidence is high that Elizabeth and Lizzie are the same person.

The note implies that Maggie lived in Chicago in 1908 but that Mary may or may not have lived in Chicago at that time.

This postcard was discovered in Rose Filipek's home in Sarasota, Florida in the year 2002. Terry Nelson a g-granddaughter of Vaclav and Katerina Filipek has the original. If you would like to add information about this picture, please contact Dave Jordan, a g-grandson of Vaclav and Katerina Filipek. The Letter Reference Number is TNN27.