One of my ancestors who died in 1835 came from the Kingdom Austria to Puerto Rico in early 1800s. Various documents list him as being from either Venice or Dalmatia, both of which were part of the Austrian Empire around that time. His surname survives as Ursulich, although this might be a variation of the original spelling of the surname. His first name was Antonio.

In addition, there are other similar-ending surnames, listed above, in my community, which came around the same time.

I will appreciate any information on Antonio Ursulich, and from where this surname likely came from (Venice or Dalmatia), and any other information that might be useful.

Documents or books on migration from these regions to the New World/Caribbean/Puerto Rico in the early 1800s might be useful. Also, any suggestion on the correct spelling will be appreciated.

Also, information on what these surnames mean, if anything, will be appreciated (for example, does "ich" mean "son of", etc.)

This is an old post so I hope you're still out there. I have been researching the name Viscovich from Dalmatia. My ancestor arrived in the US 1850-1856 and ended up in Alabama. An earlier migration to Puerto Rico would be possible. Do you have any info on this name, either in PR or abroad?

Lynnette

Forgot to tell you, my information is that Wescovich/Viscovich means Bishop's Son, so I guess that says that "ich" is "the son of".

Lynnette

How is the surname VISCOVIC related to Bishop? Bishop is biskup and perhaps Vladka. Where are you getting your information?

IC has a diacritical mark over the C / which gives it the sound of CH. It is a diminutive meaning little one generally acepted as meaning the son of.

Robert Jerin

Hello Robert, the connection is in the Italian language (spoken in coastal areas) where vescovo is bishop. The problem however is with ic and the son of or be it the daughter of. We are talking about RCatholic countries and RCatholic bishops not just son of carpenter who I guess would be TESARIC, but son of bishop? Greetings Tatjana

On further thought it could be a favorite nephew who would be known as Biskupic or Veskovic in Venice ruled region, but then of course the whole theory of ic being Croatian for "the son of" would collapse. T.

Son/daughter of a Bishop in Croatia? Perhaps...

POPOVIC son of a Priest in Croatia? Perhaps-

"The Church was a thousand years old before it definitively took a stand in favor of celibacy in the twelfth century at the Second Lateran Council held in 1139, when a rule was approved forbidding priests to marry. In 1563, the Council of Trent reaffirmed the tradition of celibacy."

Christianity was definately accepted by Croatians prior to the Council of Trent.

Robert

Maybe celibacy is not that old, but the use of last name is even more recent. And to my knowledge the higher clergy in Eastern Christian church are not married. I may be wrong there howerver.

The information I have is that several "ich" ending surnames appear in my hometown of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico in the late 1700s-early 1800s. There were Ursulich (my direct ancestors), Wiscovich, Petrovich (both related to me by marriage later on), and maybe others. Our research indicates that they came from Dalmatia/Croatia, part of the Austro-Hungarian Kingdom. They were merchants and sailors. At least some came from Ragusea, and apparently via Venice (also part of the same kingdom at the time). They were Catholics (either born or converted, as the Spanish Empire, of which Puerto Rico was at the time, was Catholic). Part of this history is documented in a will left by my Ursulich ancestor. It is possible that your Wiscovich relative came from Puerto Rico, although I believe the mass migration from P.R. to USA began much later, in the early 1900s.

There are still Wiscovichs in Cabo Rojo.

Armando,

Thanks for the information. This is a long shot at best, so every lead might be the "magic" one. My only info is that my ancestor came to the US "about 1850" and his children state on census records that he came from Dalmatia. I have no parental names or anything to work from and he would have only been about 10 at the time of his arrival. It's like looking for a needle in a haystack, for sure.

I'll investigate this line of info and see where it leads.

Lynnette