My grandmother's mother's name was Josey Jirousek (sp?), born 10/27/1879. She died in Minnesota, USA. Her dad's name was Wencl (sp?) Jirousek. My grandmother's grandmother is Mary Wandra, born 8/5/1849, reportedly from "Bohemia, Austria.' Wandra is Mary's maiden name. She married Mr. Wencl Jirousek. It appears another last name in the books over here in the USA is "Bulwa." The family with the last name Wandra also had the name Bulwa. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thank you.
The name "Wencl" is likely a Germanification of the Czech name "Vaclav," so you might consider that in your search. "Josey" might be an Americanized diminutive of "Josefa." "Wandra" and "Bulwa" may be Austrian surnames. I have not heard these in Czech. "Jirousek" is a fairly common Czech surname. I would first try searching U.S. census and/or Ellis Island records for more info regarding the town of origin in Bohemia.
Wandra could be also name Vondra at German transcription and even more with small mistake or shift "o" to "a". In this case it is Czech name also. Bulwa is the same, the word bulva in Czech means bulb, eyeball or root (especially beetroot). Regards. Karel
