Greetings!
I'm a Canadian of Croatian origin seeking any information on my last name and ancestry. We come from areas outside of Zagreb, Velika Gorica, Turopolje (Cvetkovic Brdo (Hill)
and perhaps, Karlovac. I have spoken to a pro geneologist in the USA. He says we have several coats of arms. I was in beutiful Burgenland in the summer of '94. I believe it was at Schloss Mesternich (is this in Burgenland or close?)
There was a staircase leading to the second level. On the right side was a wall with many shields. One caught my eye: Swetkowicz Kathar 1535. Colors: black, gold, white. I was told by 2 knowledgable individuals that this is my Germanized surname. Has anyone heard of this person? I have a videotape of this (broken now), but when repaired, can send a shot of it. I think you have a great website.
Regards, Robert Cvetkovic.

Yes, there are several families Cvetkovics (and similar spellings) that had nobility in old Hungary/Croatia. I'll send you a private e-mail with more detail, including where you can search further.

I know this is an old thread, but I hope that you are still active and might have some helpful information.

I am searching for our family's roots in Austria/Croatia. I found a census for a Nick Swetkovich who was born in Agram (Zagreb), but he is not connected to my tree. The the modern spelling we use is "Swetkovich"; however, U.S. Censuses usually transcribe us as "Suetkovich." Common first names are John, Peter, and Catherine. I have dates of immigration (late 1800's) but not ports of entry. The first known residence in N.America was Wisconsin. Can you recommend some resources? Thank you.

Have you found any helpful information? I, too, am searching for info on Swetkovich. Jo

In regards to Nick .... searching US immigration records finds that he may not have come from "Agram" proper, rather he may have come from Slatina, south of Velika Gorica (= big hill). Zagreb and Agram are/were not only a city but a county... and it was quite common to list the largest nearby city or in the case of so many immigrants the county of Agram... after all people don't want to be known and country farmers :)

The root of the name is Cvijet which translated to English is flower... KO is a diminutive meaning "little one" and IC or OVIC means "son of".

The only spelling with SUETKOVICH I find is in the 1920 California census

Name Age
Tressy Suetkovich 42
John Suetkovich 22
George Suetkovich 21
James Wall 44

In Croatian John would be Ivan, Ivo, Janko
Catherine would be Kata, Katica or Katarina
Peter would be Petar, Pero or Perica

I find Peter Swetkovich and Katherine living at Iron Wisconsin 1910 census. Is this the family?

And 1900 census Iron Wisc the census claims they are Polish
Name Age
John Swetkovic 60
Katie Swetkovic 46
Peter Swetkovic 12

Perhaps this is your Catherine's arrival at the Port of NY?
Name: Katha Cvitkovic
Arrival Date: 3 May 1890
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1868
Age: 22
Gender: Female
Port of Departure: Bremen, Germany and Southampton, England
Destination: United States of America
Place of Origin: Austria
Nationality: Austrian
Ship Name: Lahn

There are several CVITKOVIC arrivals around 1890... and some Polish immigration project claims them to be Polish... but they are most likely NOT... the given names would tell me they are Croatian.

Robert Jerin
Croatian Heritage Museum
Cleveland Ohio

www.croatia-in-english.com

Jo

SWETKOWICZ would be Polish spelling :
http://www.moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/swetkowicz.html If your ancestor was from present Croatia than spelling is CVETKOVIC^. Different pronounciation.
Take a listen http://say.expressivo.com
www.croatia-in-english.com
96 CVETKOVICs arrived to America thru EI www.ellisislandrecords.org

Jo

It seems that in Croatia's phone book CVITKOVIĆ and CVETKOVIĆ. You do need a precise location for the research.

Mr. Jerin,
Thank you so much for your time and research. I especially enjoyed the etymology of our name.
Yes, this is my family (GGma Tressy, Gpa John, GAunt Kate, et al.) I have the censuses (found on Ancestry.com), but I am wondering if you could provide me with a link to the immigration documentation; I haven't seen this information before, and I am thrilled to add it to my files! Thanks, again!
Jo

Dear Fritz,
I, too, am interested in Czvetkovic history. Could you please forward to me the information that you sent to the other gentleman by private e-mail? Thank you!
Jo