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193 APPENDIX I Cenči ´ ci Jerbi ´ cevi The earliest traces of the Cenčić clan were in the Čapljina area of Herzegovina , a place that fell victim to the hideous war crimes I investigated. The Cenčić surname is said to have derived from the Proto-Slavic sobriquet cene, likely meaning “dinner.” Other versions have the name originating from Latin and meaning “price” or “centurion.” In any event, the clan members originally were part of the Slavic tribes that migrated to the region in the sixth century from an area north of the rugged Carpathian Mountains and flanked by both the Black and Baltic Seas—a region that now is considered Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus. Eleven centuries later, these “South Slavs” turned around and went north again, this time to the Gorski Kotar region of what is now Croatia, near the Slovenian border, in order to avoid persecution by the Ottoman Turks. Like many other Christians, the Cenčić clan left Bosnia to escape the brutality of the Janissaries, who, operating under the Ottoman Empire , had two objectives: to convert Christians to Islam or to kill them. Their journey left only traces of memories behind. Many of the Cenčić family documents I have been able to uncover are written in Latin, which made my journey all the more adventurous. With a magnifying glass and oblique lighting, I first smiled and then felt a chill as I read the old baptismal records. They eloquently referred to the act of levantibus patrinis (being raised to be baptized by the godparents) and listed the names, addresses, parents, and godparents of some of my ancestors. Just one ledger in the dead language gave life to thousands of words in my mind. The records provided some fairly detailed information. In 1672, for example, Laurentius Cencich (Latin for Lovro Cenčić) moved to Čabar, 194 / APPENDIX I which is not far from the small Gorski Kotar community of Loque (Latin for Lokve), which in English means “puddle.” I learned that Lovro’s father had been a servant of Petar Zrinski, the Croatian ban who had been beheaded by the Habsburgs after plotting to remove foreign influence from Croatian territory. Lovro’s great-great-grandson, Antonius (Anton), was born in Lokve in 1758. Anton fathered Jacobus (Jakov) in 1770. Jakov’s son Michael (Mihovil) was born in 1806 and most likely was called just Miško. That was the year of the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. Miško was the nephew of a man who had worked as a sudski, or court administrator, under Maria Theresa, the Holy Roman empress. When Miško was twenty-one years old, he fell in love and married Ursula Jerbić. Her father owned a café in the center of Lokve, where the local school now stands. The townspeople still talk about the café owner’s legendary strength. Thus the Cenčići Jerbićevi clan—that is, the Cenčić family members who are the direct descendents of this union—came into existence. Miško and Ursula Cenčić’s first child was my great-grandfather Josip’s father, Lovro. Lovro grew up under serfdom. He was a farmer and a devout Catholic who eventually married Agnes Cenčić. Although also a Cenčić at birth, she was not a member of the Cenčići Jerbićevi clan. The couple had eight children: Vjenceslav, also called Vinko; Andrija; Božica; Pavle; Ivana; Margareta; Josip; and Marija. One thing is certain: Lovro was a man with a clear vision for his children’s future. I was able to discern from some of the records that when they didn’t complete a particular level of schooling, he brought his children back to start over again the next year. He never gave up on them. Josip Cenčić (Josephus Cencich as recorded at birth) was the couple’s second-to-last child, born on March 2, 1874. He grew up in Lokve, a village with chickens and pigs in the yards and horses trotting through the muddy streets. Roosters heralded the dawn. There was no electricity or running water, but the town was spotless. Every morning the women donned their aprons and cleaned the outside of their homes. It was a busy place with a sense of purpose. Through his childhood years, Josip enjoyed the many stories and legends that originated in and around Lokve and Gorski Kotar. The tales [3.133.144.197] Project MUSE (2024-04-25...

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