Looking for my Grandparents - Where to begin?

[alanrvc]

Hey everyone.

I need some help. I'm trying to find out about my Grandparents on my father's side, but I really have no idea where to begin.

The only information I really have about my father is his name, Michael (Mikhail?) Blazekovic and that he was born in Austria (although we were always told he was yugoslav). My mother, Carol Clark, met him while she was living in Australia between 1968 and 1971, where they got married and had my sister. Shortly after she was born, they came back to England, to Stevenage, but by the May of 1972 my mother and father separated; I was born the following November.

I tried phoning the Austrian Embassy to see how I'd go about obtaining a copy of his birth certificate and they pointed me to their website, which sadly wasn't particularly forthcoming with the information I was looking for.

So, does anyone have any pointers on how I could go about getting a copy of my father's birth certificate? Having done a quick google search it seems that each town in Austria has it's own records place, but as I don't know where in Austria he was born this could prove quite a long and tiresome search if I have to go from town to town!

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Alan

 

[juliejtp]

Hi Alan,

Welcome to FHUK.

I dont know whether this is him on the Australian National Archives, se what you think.

Blazekovic Mirko born 30th July 1943 Nationalality Yugoslavian
Arrived per charterflight "MQAN 15/560 Ex Vienna Austria departed 8 Feb 1966 under Assisted Passenger Scheme.

Heres the link to the Australian National Archives.

http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/recordsearch/index.aspx

 

[alanrvc]

Hi Julie,

Thanks for that. Yes, that could very well be him indeed!! The date for him entering Australia seems to fit and we were always told that he was Yugoslavian (even though my birth certificate states he was born in Austria).

So where do I go from here? Who do I need to contact in Austria to get a copy of his birth certificate?

Well, that's one link in the chain eh?

 

[juliejtp]

Hi Alan,

Have a look at this link. It does say US Embassy Vienna but if you scroll down to Obtaining Records Issued by the Austrian Authorities.



http://vienna.usembassy.gov/en/embassy/cons/vital_records.htm

 

[alanrvc]

Julie,

Yeah, I found that link earlier, but unfortunately without knowing where in Austria my father was born, it'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack!

I have found a site for the Austrian National Archive and a couple of other resources which I need to check out properly, but I feel it's going to be a long hard slog!

 

[juliejtp]

Hi Alan,

You'll get there in the end and it will be worthwhile.

The marriage certificate may reveal something! not sure what the info is on the Australian marriage certificates.

Do you know where he went when they seperated as there is a similiar name in the phone directory for Edinburgh 1973.

 

[p.risboy]

Julie,

Yeah, I found that link earlier, but unfortunately without knowing where in Austria my father was born, it'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack!

I have found a site for the Austrian National Archive and a couple of other resources which I need to check out properly, but I feel it's going to be a long hard slog!

Hi Alan,

Hard slog it may be, but what a journey. I can't really help much, but I wish you good luck and happy hunting.
Believe me it will be worth it.

Steve.

 

[alanrvc]

Australian wedding certificate - yes, I hadn't thought about that. That could be a possibility.

I don't really have too much info at all as to where he went after he split from my mother, but I know the next time we heard from him, which might have been around '74 - '77 he was living in Hitchin, Herts.

My sister did get an invitation to another of his weddings back in the early nineties and she managed to get in touch with other ex-wives of his, but even they didn't really know too much about his past and where he came from. This wedding, as it happens, was actually to the sister of a guy I used to work with - small world eh?

As far as I know, unless he's died, he's still living in Hitchin. But, to be honest, it's not really him I'm looking for and I'd rather avoid having to track him down to find out about his parents. I met him on one occasion in '92 and the lasting impression I left with was "Wow! You're an arrogant p$%£k". He showed absolutely no interest in getting to know me, even though he hadn't seen me for 17 years or so.

The reason for the interest in my grandparents is because I had a reading with a medium friend of mine a few months back, and the first person to come through was my grandad on my father's side, who's been watching over me from spirit for a long time - apparently I look very much like him! Sadly my friend couldn't get his name, but he (grandad) knew a lot about me and so it would be nice to put a name to the spirit, rather than just refer to him as Grandad Blazekovic.

It would also be good to see if my Dad had any brothers or sisters and thus try to contact any potential aunts and uncles.

 

[juliejtp]

Did you look at the link to the National Archives as there are others of this name coming in at different years. Although there is restricted access to the record you can apply for it, though it will be looked at for any possible senstitivties. You will need to read the info if you havnt already.

 

[alanrvc]

Steve: Thanks for the support!

Julie: I've just searched through the Australian National Archive and I think I've found him - I just need my sister to come round and check out his passport photo from back then. If it is, then I've found the people I'm looking for, as it has his mother and father's names on it too AND where he was born!! Awesome!

The strange thing is though, I can't find any details for my mother's entry into Australia, which is rather concerning!

 

[juliejtp]

Thats grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtD

Did you look under Clark (e)

 

[alanrvc]

That doesn't bring anything up either. Thinking back on what mum told us, she was originally travelling to Sydney, but when the boat docked in Perth, she decided to stay there instead. A few months later immigration officials from Sydney came looking for her as they wondered why she hadn't turned up! So that might explain it.

The sad thing is my mum died four years ago so I can't check anything with her.

My sister's going to pop round shortly, once she finishes work to id the photo for me. She's seen quite a few pics of our dad when he was younger so she might be able to confirm either way if it's him or not!

Gosh! This is all rather exciting eh?

 

[alanrvc]

Well, my sister popped in, took one look at the photo and said she was 99% certain it was him! She's going to dig out some old photos and drop them round for me later so that we can compare.

She was able to give me a bit more detail too. Apparently dad was orphaned either at birth or when he was really young and went to live with an Aunt in Yugoslavia. My sister is actually named after some of his friends, although I didn't know until now that one of them was a female solicitor who helped him defect from the Yugoslav army and emmigrate to Australia!

WOW! This morning all I had was my dad's name. Now I know when he was born, where he was born and the names of his mum and dad too! What a fantastic day!!

Thank you so much for your help Julie!

 

[juliejtp]

Oh Alan,

I'm so pleased for you, what a great feeling when things start to piece together. It sounds a really interesting story thats unfolding (skeltons in the cupboard) :biggrin:

 

[alanrvc]

Thank you Julie!

Yes it does! The info I've found so far just creates more questions. I think I'm going to have to swallow my pride and go see my dad; see if I can get him to talk about his past.

 

[juliejtp]

Fingersxxxxxxxxxxxx Alan.

 

[michaelmckean]

my name michael mckean(son of janko bladekovic Australia)
i have photo of mirko-michael blazekovic ,
i am searching for the family also
you are my cousin

janko died in car accident 1974, i never saw him. he has wife francesa here in my town.

EMAIL ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER WERE EDITED FOR SECURITY REASONS .. once you have posted 3 times your name will turn green in colour and you can then contact the member via the private message system and swap contact details then if you wish to do so.

 

[davelambert271]

Hi Michael

Alan has not been on line for some time, so I have sent him a private message to let him know about your post. Hopefully he will then come on line. If you make a couple more posts, you will then be able to make and receive private messages, and swop your email addresses.

dave

 

[michaelmckean]

from : MICHAEL MCKEAN(Blazekovic),
your moms wedding will be in the state records, ie
mirko was in tasmania , but franko was in Victoria and Janko was in Bowen Queensland. i never met them....
send a note and i will try to find more.....
cousin mike!

 

[michaelmckean]

greetings cousins.....alan and sally?,

i dont know how to use the uk whitepages phone book, there,

the net allways gets bogged down with ad links, i hope i can call you , i have just as many questions.........
i have skype or yahoo webchat.
ok hope you can contact me take care Michael Mckean(Blazekovic)