The Smiljanic Family Web Page
(Including Smiljanic, Smiljanich, Smilanic, Smilanich and Smilanick)
The purpose of this page:
This page was constructed as an easy means of distributing up to date information regarding the research being done on the Smiljanic family.
Background on my research:
My name is Steve Smilanick (originally Smiljanic) and I, with the help of several family members and others, am in the process of researching my family history. I am including all of the variations of the Smiljanic name such as Smiljanich, Smilanic, Smilanich and Smilanick in this research because it was common for the spelling to be changed slightly during the immigration process. I have second cousins that go by Smilanich, Smilanick and Smiljanic. I will use the Smiljainc spelling when referring to all Smiljanics since it's the original spelling.
I decided to do this research as a result of an e-mail I received from a Smilanich in November '98 asking if I was interested in my background. Since then, I have compiled a database of the descendants of my great grandfather, Dane, with 6 generations and over 100 direct descendents including over 20 second cousins and some relatives in Croatia that I didn't know I had. I have also identified 2 other Smiljanic families in the small village of Doljani and a third very close to that area. This project is growing. I would someday like to identify all of my great grandfather's children and their descendents. I would also like to know more about my great grandfather, his siblings and ancestors. As one e-mail response from a Smiljanic in Yugoslavia said "First, all Smiljanics are related". I don't know how accurate that statement is but I'm interested in doing the research to find out. I look forward to learning more about my heritage and I'm sure the effort will be worthwhile. I will appreciate and be thankful for any input or help you can give me.
This is what I know about my family:
My grandfather's name is Peter Paul (Smiljanic) Smilanick. He was born in Doljani, Zumberak, Croatia (formerly the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Yugoslavia) in May 1874. The village of Doljane was in Slovenia until WW2. After the war, the borders shifted slightly and now it's in Croatia but very close to Slovenia.
Peter's father's name was Dane Smiljanic and his mother's name was Yela Keserich. Peter's last name was changed to Smilanick when he immigrated to the USA. Peter died in 1918, during a flu epidemic and, unfortunately, almost all contact was lost with the Smiljanic family.
Smiljanic Family Trees
(Click on a name to view their descendants)
Smiljanics that I'm sure I am related to:
- Dane Smiljanic, my great grandfather, is believed to have had at least 8 children.
Their names are:
- Peter, my grandfather, went by Smilanick. He first lived in Chicago IL but he soon moved to Leadville CO and married my grandmother, Angela Predovich.
- George, went by Smilanich and lived in Colorado.
- Markus, went by Smilanick. I believe he lived in Nevada or Utah.
- Franjo Smiljanic stayed in Doljani. He had a son named Franjo II who had 3 children, Milan, Zlata and Marta.
- Ilija (Eli or Elijah) Smiljanic stayed in Doljani. He may have married Martha Rakovich.
- Pava (Pavica) Smiljanic stayed in Doljani.
- Unknown name, male. It is believed that he moved from Doljani, possibly to Canada or ?.
- Unknown name, female. It is believed that she moved from Doljani, possibly to Canada or ?.
Additional Smiljanic families: I may be related to these Smiljanic families since they are either from Doljani or the Zumberak area although I haven't been able to verify a ralationship yet.
- Petar Smiljanic and his wife (name unknown)
Petar Smiljanic's family is from Doljani and most of the photos on this web site are of them. They are related to my family although it isn't clear exactly how. Gabro III has been in contact with me almost daily by e-mail since the start of this project and much of my progress is due to his help.
- Peter and Toniku Smiljanic Peter was born in1867 in Doljani. I susspect that they are related to my family since they are from the same small village as my great grandfather. Milan Smiljanic, the son of Peter was born 1903. He and his wife, Anu, lived in Chicago, IL, USA and they had a dauaghter named Mara. Milan was written about in the 1966 Zumberaki Kalendar published in Zagreb. In that article it was mentionded that he:
- was born in Zumberak
- was a delegate to a convention, Hrvatske Bratske Zajednice.
- was the president of Jugoslavenske Marodne Federacije, Marodnog Odbora.
- was a treasurer at St. Peter and Paul Church (Zumberacke) in Chicago
- worked as a manager for Metropolitan Insurance company in Chicago.
- Do you know of Milan or his family?
- Marko and Tonka Smiljanic This family is from Radatovici and is not known to be related to the Smiljanics of Doljani. Their daughter, Marta, married Pero Smiljanic, son of Gabre and Ana Smiljanic
- Mara Smiljanic Mara is the daughter of Marko and Tonka Smiljanic. Her descendants are also shown in her parents tree. I added this to show her husbands parents and siblings so it might help someone make a connection to Mara.
Maps of the area
Click to view a map (file size is large on some maps to preserve detail)
- Balkan Countries (file size 101K) This map shows the position of Slovenia and Croatia relative to the other Balkan countries.
- Slovenia and Croatia, (file size 126K) Shows an outline of the detail map.
- Zumberak Region (file size 71K) All of the villages of the area.
- Detail Map, (file size 91K) Shows the roads in the area around Doljani. Doljani is near the center of the red circle.
- Topographical Map of Doljani, Small (file size 100K) This map shows the relationship of Doljani to Suhor and Radovica (Rado) which are also shown on the previous detail map.
- Topographical Map of Doljani, Large (file size 387 K) This is a larger version of the previous map.
Photo Gallery
Smiljanics of Zumberak
The Smiljanics in these photos are from the Zumberak area but I haven't confirmed most of them as my relatives. Do you know any of these people? Let me know if you do. If you have photos of Smiljanics, please send me a scanned image or whatever you have and I may post it here.
Would you like to participate in this research?
Why should you contribute?
- I will be constructing a family tree, as linked to below but with more detail, for each Smiljanic family that sends me their information. It is my hope that I will be able to piece together the small trees into a larger tree. Even if I can't make a connection between your family and mine, I'm sure other connections will be made. I am receiveing information from Smiljanics all over the world so the results should be good. If you are interested in contributing information to this research project or if you are interested in the results, please let me know.
How to include your family:
- To include your family in this project, view this form them print it out. Enter the data for each person in your family on a separate form. The form makes it easy to collect and organize your data. It also makes it easy for me to enter the data into the computer. I use a family history program (database) to keep track of all of the names and dates. Things like place of birth, death and marriage are important. Dates are also important. Please be accurate. If you can't find the exact information, use your best estimate then mark the data EST or ? so I won't take it as fact. It's also important to fill out a form for every person, even if it's a child. There is no provision to add place of birth, death and death date on the parents form. When entering data for a child on a new form, a male child is entered as husband and a female child is entered as wife, even if they aren't married. I know it seems a little strange at first but that's the way the computer program is organized and once you get used to it, this method works great. Getting started is the hardest part.
Do you have something of interest to the Smiljanic family?
- If you do, please send it to me and I will try to include it on this page.
General Histroy
Zumberak and it's history 
2-6-99
Send e-mail to Steve Smilanick: steve@sandsmachine.com
