Page Four
Kinship terminology is varied. Relatives and acquaintances are labeled not only as ‘father/mother’ but also as ‘parents, sisters, twins, little daughter, little angel, our beloved father and old mom, little baby, triplets, Mrs.’ and ‘bachelor’ (stařičci/rodiče, sestri, blyženci, dcerka, andělíček, náš mily otec a stařenka, nemluvňátko, trojčátka, Pani and Mladenec).
The kinship reference can be quite simple and to the point,
Here rest H.Č. and her daughter…’ (Zde odpočivaji Hedvika Čundova a její dcera Johana Svrčula)
or rather detailed,
wife of J.M. Jozefa daughter of J.H.’ (manželka Jana Mořkovskeho Jozefa cera Jana Huňky)
Here rests in the Lord deceased baby daughter of Joe and Fr.Š.’ (Zde odpočiva v Panu zesnule nemluvňatko dcera Joe a Františky Šimara)
‘Our dear brother, husband, father and grandfather F.C.’ (Náš milý bratr, manžel, otec a dědeček František Chaloupka 1927).
Kinship terms may be used at the exclusion of names (‘Here rest our dear father and grandmother’ Zde odpočivá náš mily otec a stařenka). When no kinship is given, the name may be introduced by the generic term Mr./Mrs. (Pan/Pani Kutač) which reflects how adults were addressed in the community. On children’s graves first names often appear in diminutive forms such as Mařenka, Adolfek.
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