Renko (or Renka)

Franc Renko, b. 1901 (my grandfather) was born as Franjo Renka in Stara Sušica near Ravna Gora in Croatia. Due to the nature of his work as a forester, he later moved to Bela krajina, specifically to the village Klošter near Gradac.

Interestingly, all ancestors discovered so far have their surname recorded in the form Renka. The transition to the Renko form was adopted or retained among descendants only by Franc Renko (my grandfather), Polona Renko (who lived with her grandfather's family in Bela krajina as a child) and Lieudeuit Renko, who moved to Canada and adapted the surname's spelling upon arrival. Such surname changes were not uncommon in the past, as they were often the result of migrations, different recording by officials, or adaptation to the local language.

Slovenian roots?

Among my ancestors in the Renko/Renka line, we find a surprisingly large number of typically Slovenian surnames, such as Troha, Kordiš, Sedej, Rotar, Bajt, and others. This indicates strong historical connections of this family with the Slovenian area. I have explored this topic and migrations in more detail in a separate article Ravna Gora and Slovenians.

Oldest known ancestor: Jakob Renka

My oldest ancestor discovered so far in the direct paternal line is Jakob Renka, b. 1764. For him, for now, there is only a record in the church census of souls (Status Animarum) for house number Ravna Gora 183. In this document, which priests used to record all members of a particular family in the parish, his wife Marija and their children are listed, but unfortunately, the exact information about his birth is missing.

The birth year 1764 is therefore merely an informative estimate by other genealogists, as I have not (yet) found the original baptismal certificate.

Despite this missing information, I have managed to research the descendants of this family in considerable detail.

Where did my ancestors live?

Through old vital records and censuses, we can trace the family's movements to different addresses:

• Ravna Gora 183 - here are recorded in the census of souls Jakob Renka (b. 1764) and his son Jakob Renka (b. 1801).
• Sušica 43 - the address of Franjo Renka (b. 1831) at his wedding in 1856.
• Sušica 63 - the address of the same Franjo Renka (b. 1831) at his death in 1909.
• Sušica 62 - the birth address of Anton Renka (b. 1874).
• Sušica 47 - the home of Anton Renka at his wedding in 1900. This is also the birthplace of his wife Johana Ivka Troha (b. 1876) and the birth address of my grandfather Franc Renko (b. 1901).

Prevalence of the surname Renko in Slovenia

With the help of the Slovenian Genealogical Index, I researched the historical presence of the surname Renko in Slovenia. It appears primarily in the following areas:

• Čepovan, Lokovec and Gorenja Trebuša in Trnovski gozd
• Smrje near Ilirska Bistrica
• Zabreznica in Gorenjska
• Kojščica, Polšnik and Vače in Zasavje

Meaning of the surname

From the book Leksikon priimkov (Janez Keber, 2021):

Plans for further research

The story of the Renko/Renka family is certainly not yet fully concluded. My future genealogical goals include:

• Verifying the connection with Čepovan: Very interesting is Jakob Renko, born on March 26, 1763, in Čepovan. Some other researchers already list him in their trees on the Geneanet portal (sources: Marjeta Manfreda and Smiljana Ivanc). Solid evidence will need to be collected to determine if he is the same person and if he was indeed married to Marija Štulc.
• Searching for relatives: I want to connect with living descendants of the Renka family who originate from Ravna Gora and Stara Sušica, with the aim of exchanging family stories and photos, and perhaps also confirming branches through genetic genealogy (DNA).