Re: Help! Searching Milkalowitsch (vitch) Surname

Hello Anne,

According to the way you have been spelling the surname it would be spelled MIKALIVIC' in Serbian, but I have to admitt that I have never heard of that surname in this region.Of course, that may just mean I have run into a new surname (we live and we learn, right?) but is there a chance it might be MILAKOVIC' (pronounced MEE-LAH-CO-VITCH, the H being silent)?This is a Serbian surname, not too common and can be found in Serbia, the Montenegrin coast and many other regions of former Yugoslavia.
As for the moving around, I doubt they were gipsies.All ethnicities in Serbia used to move around quite a lot and there were more than a couple of great migrations throughout history and yes, they were often running from something!Sometimes from opressors, sometimes war and sometimes just from shortage of jobs, etc.There have been several books written on the great migrations in this area.
Some of those that may interest you (and some that have been translated into english) are those by Serbian scientist Jovan Cvijic who dedicated the major portion of his life and career to this subject.Some of his books and essays are still regarded as somewhat of a "bible" on the Serbian people and their migrations.Then there's the famous book MIGRATIONS by Milos Crnjanski (usually spelled Milos Tsenrnianski in translations)which Crnjanski himself translated into English and gives a more literary aproach to the subject than Cvijic's scientific point of view.You can find used and collectible copies at Amazon.com and Yahoo.com!Enjoy!
I hope any of this helps!
Good luck-
Danica Radisic-Visnjic
The Serbian Genealogy Foundation
http://www.Serbia-Today.comhttp://www.Serbia-Today.com