Serbian American Collection
Manuscripts
Dedijer, Stevan.Papers, 1912-1983. Ca. 1 linear in.
Papers of Dedijer consist of photocopied manuscripts of two autobiographical essays, "Heracleitos, Me and `A Damned Place Called Bastogne,'" and "Treasure Hunts in Alien Worlds." In English.Palandech, John R.
Papers, 1919-1963. Ca. 1 linear in.
Palandech was a prominent Serbian American publisher. He published the Ujedinjeno Srpstvo (United Serbian, the leading Serbian American newspaper) and had his own agency, the John R. Palandech Agency (Foreign Language Newspaper Representatives, Advertising and Publicity Service). Palandech's papers include correspondence and pamphlets. Includes English.Serb National Federation. Jedinstvo (Unity) (Cleveland, Ohio).
Records, 1923-1959. 1 microfilm reel.
Jedinstvo (Srpski Potporni Savez Jedinstvo) was founded in 1920 when two groups of lodges split from the group Sloga. Jedinstvo was formed by Srpsko Drustvo Jedinstvo (Chicago, IL), Srpsko Drustvo Sveti Sava (Cleveland, OH), and Srpsko Drustvo Jedinstvo (Los Angeles, CA), with headquarters in Cleveland. The other group organized as Srpski Savez Svesna Srbadija, with headquarters in New York City. Jedinstvo was a social, educational, and mutual benefit society. In 1963, it merged with the Serb National Federation.
Serb National Federation. National Office (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).Records consist of rules and bylaws. Includes English. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission from the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Records, 1925-1980. 10 microfilm reels.
The Serb National Federation was formed by the merger of various Serbian fraternal organizations, beginning in 1901 with the founding of the Serbian Orthodox Society. In 1929, the two largest associations, Srbobran-Sloga and Savez Sloboda, united to form the Federation. In 1960, the Federation merged with the independent society, Oblich. A final merger occurred in 1963 when the Serbian Beneficial Union (Jedinstvo) joined the Federation. The Federation is the largest Serbian American benevolent society; it has over 21,000 members in the United States and Canada. Its purpose is to provide insurance, promote and preserve Serbian culture, and provide sports and educational activities. Its official organ, American Srbobran is the oldest currently published Serbian newspaper in the United States. (It was published in Pittsburgh as Srbin beginning in 1901; the name was changed in 1905.)
Serb National Federation. Oblich (Chicago, Illinois).Records of the Federation include minute books of the Supreme Council, Executive Board, and Board of Directors (1929-1980); convention minutes (1931-1979); convention reports (1931-1979); calendars (from American Srbobran, 1925-1926, 1929, 1931-1967; from the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada, 1967-1981). Includes English. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission of the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Records, 1940. 1 microfilm reel.
A Serbian cultural and mutual benefit organization, Oblich was founded in Chicago in 1938. It merged with the Serb National Federation in 1960.
Return to top.Records consist of bylaws. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission from the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Serb National Federation. Sloboda (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
Records, 1917-1929. 1 microfilm reel.
A fraternal and beneficial society, Sloboda was founded in 1917 when a group of lodges broke from the Serbian American group Srbobran and formed the Srpski Savez Sloboda. In 1928, it merged with Srbadija to form Savez Sloboda. In 1929, that organization merged with Srbobran-Sloga to form the Serb National Federation.
Serb National Federation. Sloga (New York, New York).Records of Sloboda include rules and bylaws, charter, legal papers, minutes, convention minutes, convention reports, and calendars. Includes English. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission of the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Records, 1916-1920. 1 microfilm reel.
Sloga (Federation of United Serbs-Unity) was founded in Cleveland, OH, by Michael Pupin when representatives of Srpski Pravoslavni Savez Srbobran, Prvi Srpski Dobrotvorni Savez (Chicago, IL), and Prvi Crnogorski Savez (Chicago) met in 1909 to form Savez Sjedinjenih Srba-Sloga. Its home office was established in New York City. In 1920, a group of lodges split from Sloga and formed the organization Srbadija (New York) and the organization Jedinstvo (Cleveland). Sloga merged with Srbobran to form Srbobran-Sloga in 1921 (Pittsburgh, PA); in 1929, it became part of the Serb National Federation.
Serb National Federation. Srbadija (New York, New York).Records consist of constitution, bylaws, legal papers, minutes, convention minutes, and convention reports. Includes English. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission of the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Records, 1922. 1 microfilm reel.
Srbadija was a mutual benefit, educational, social, and religious organization. It was founded in 1920 when two groups of lodges split from the group Sloga to form Srpski Savez Svesna Srbadija and Srpski Potporni Savez Jedinstvo. In 1928, it united with Sloboda in Pittsburgh, PA, to form the Savez Sloboda. This organization merged with Srobran-Sloga to form the Serb National Federation.
Serb National Federation. Srbobran (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).Records of Srbadija consist of the constitution and bylaws. Includes English. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission from the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Records, 1901-1920. 1 microfilm reel.
Serbian Orthodox Society (Srbobran) was founded in Pittsburgh in 1901 by Sava Hajden. It was a religious, educational, social, and beneficial organization. It strove to spread the Christian Orthodox religion in America, help in the construction of Serbian Orthodox churches and schools, and provide aid to its members in cases of sickness and death. Its headquarters was on Pittsburgh's South Side. The official organ of the Society was Srbin, which began publication in 1901. In 1917, the Sloboda Serb Society seceded from Srbobran and formed its own group. Srbobran then merged with Federation of United Serbs (Sloga) of New York to form United Society Srbobran-Sloga (Srbobran-Sloga) in 1921. In 1929, that group merged with Sloboda to form the Serb National Federation.
Return to top.Records of Srbobran include the constitution; bylaws; combined minute book (executive board and convention); minutes, including those of the organizational meeting; reports of conventions and of the insurance examiner; and correspondence of the state insurance offices. Includes English. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission of the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Serb National Federation. Srbobran-Sloga (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
Records, 1901-1928. 23 microfilm reels.
A fraternal, beneficial, and cultural organization, Srbobran-Sloga was founded in 1921 from the merger of Srpski Pravoslavni Savez Srbobran (founded in 1901) and Savez Sjedinjenih Srba-Sloga (founded in 1909). Its official organ was American Srbobran, which was first published as Srbin in Pittsburgh in 1901. In 1929, Srbobran-Sloga merged with Savez Sloboda to form the Serb National Federation.
Serbian Orthodox Church (in America), New York Calendar of the Episcopal Correspondence.Records consist of rules and bylaws, convention and executive board minutes, convention reports, membership applications, death claims, death notices from lodges, family information, correspondence, and miscellany. Includes English. Inventory available. Not to be reproduced without written permission from the Serb National Federation. Originals held by Serb National Federation, Pittsburgh, PA.
Records, 1898-1925. 2 microfilm reels.
The Serbian Orthodox Church in America was under the jurisdiction of the Russian Archdiocese of North America and the Aleutian Islands. Records include materials on organization of the Serbian Church and its parishes, its background in Europe, Serbs in the United States, Serbian churches in New York City, and Serbian House in New York along with an index of priests and a chronological index of churches. In English. Inventory available. Originals held by St. Nicholas Cathedral, New York, NY.Vaskov, Milan (1894-1970).
Papers, 1935-1970. Ca. 1.5 linear ft.
Vaskov was a Serbian American photoengraver who lived in several cities before settling in Pittsburgh, PA. He was born in Santa Clarya, Romania, and came to the United States in 1912.
Return to top.His papers include personal and business correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, and advertisements. Correspondence consists mainly of letters of family and of the Serbian newspaper Slobodna Rec (Pittsburgh, PA). Correspondents included Milan's daughter Olga Romano, his son Simon Vaskov, and his sister Beatrice Petkoviv. Includes English. Inventory available.
Monographs
The collection contains a number of works chronicling the general history of the Serbian immigrant experience. Among them are B. Grahovac's Srbi u Ameritsi (Serbs in America, 1919), Milan Jevtic's Mala Srbija: Srpsko useljenistvo u Americi (Small Serbia: Serbian Immigration to America, 1916), Pero Slepcevic's Srbi u Americi (Serbians in America, 1917), and Bozidar Puric's Nasi iseljenici (Our Emigrants, 1929). These are complemented by a more recent thesis in English, Bozidar Dragicevich's American Serb (1973). In addition, an overview of Serbian life in America can be drawn from the index to the largest and oldest Serbian American newspaper, the American Srbobran, entitled American Srbobran; Selective Index, 1906-1976, prepared by Milan M. Radovich and Robert P. Gakovich (1980). Other key reference tools include Gakovich and Radovich's Serbs in the United States and Canada: A Comprehensive Bibliography (1976), and Mirko and Danica Blesich's The Serbian Who's Who: Biographic Directory of Americans and Canadians of Serbian Descent.
Serbian immigrants tended to settle in the East and in Midwestern mining and factory cities as well as on the West Coast, mainly California. The collection includes several regional studies, such as Adam Eterovich's The First Serbian Pioneers in America and Their Activities in California and the South (1977), Serbian Americans and Their Communities of Cleveland, by Dragoslav Georgevich, et al. (1977); Vladimir N. Vucinich's From the Adriatic to the Pacific: Serbs in the San Francisco Bay Area (1983); and Luka M. Pejovic's two early publications Srbi na srednjem zapadu (Serbs in the Midwest, 1936); and Zivot i rad americkih Srba (Life and Work of American Serbians, 1934), on Serbs in Michigan and St. Louis, MO, respectively.
The collection includes a number of volumes dealing with Serbian-Croatian relations. Among these are Lazo M. Kostic's Obmane i izvrtanja kao podloga narodnosti: Srpsko-hrvatski odnosi poslednjih godina (Illusions and Distortions as Basis of Nationality: Serbo-Croatian Relations in Recent Years, 1959), Laza M. Kostic's Sporni predeli Srba i Hrvata (Conflicting Areas of Serbs and Croats, 1957), and J. Z. Milosavljevic's Srpsko-hrvatski spor i Neimari Jugoslavije (Serbo-Croatian Conflict and the Builders of Yugoslavia, 1945).
Monographs reflecting Serbian and Serbian American affairs during and after World War II include both primary publications and secondary studies. Examples of these are Ruth Mitchell, Chetnik, Tells the Facts about the Fighting Serbs, Mihailovich and "Yugoslavia" (1943); Mihailo P. Minic's Rasute kosti (1941-1945) (Scattered Bones, 1965); Vaso Trivanovitch's The Case of Drazha Mikhailovich; Highlight of the Evidence against the Chetnik Leader (1946); and Spomenica palih Srba vazduhoplovaca, 1941-1945 (Memorial to Fallen Serbian Pilots), edited by Milos K. Achin (1975).
The Serbian Orthodox Church has played an important part in the religious, social, and political life of the Serbian American community. During World War II, the church publicized its persecution and the victimization of Serbs in the homeland. Among the monographs dealing with this subject are Martyrdom of the Serbs: Persecutions of the Serbian Orthodox Church and Massacre of the Serbian People (1943), and Dionisije Milivojevich's The Persecution of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Yugoslavia (1945). In 1963 a schism occurred within the Serbian Orthodox Church in America. A sociological study of this schism is found in two brief works by Djuro J. and Frank J. Fahley: Changes and Socio-Religious Conflict in an Ethnic Minority Group: The Serbian Orthodox Church in America (1975), and Structural Sources of Ethnic Factionalism (reprinted from Social Science, 44:1, January 1969). In addition there are several substantial church anniversary books containing histories of individual parishes.
Serbian American literature first appeared primarily in the many newspapers and journals founded by fraternal mutual aid societies. Among the earliest poets was Proka Jovkic, whose volume about the land he left behind, Poezija neba i zemlje (Poetry of Sky and Earth, 1910), the IHRC holds. Another early poet, writer, and inventor was Michael Pupin. His autobiography, From Immigrant to Inventor (1926), won him the Pulitzer Prize. Among the post-World War II poetry and writings included in the Serbian American monograph collection are Jovan Ducic's Staza pored puta/Moji saputnici/Jutra sa Leutara: Reci o coveku (The Path Beside the Road/My Cotravelers/Morning on the Leutara: Words About Man, 1951); Dragoslav Dragutinovic's Noc duza od snova; pripovetke (Night Longer than Dreams; Stories, 1976) and Pesnikova mladost i ljubav; roman (Poet's Youth and Love; Novel, 1978); and Jovan Kontic's Kroz oganj i suze; pripovetke (Through Fire and Tears; Stories, 1946).
In addition there are a number of anniversary books and monographs containing the constitution or bylaws of the Serb National Federation, the largest Serbian fraternal organization in America.
Researchers interested in this ethnic group are encouraged to consult also the small collection of books (ca. eighty volumes) shelved and classified as "Yugoslav." Included here are works dealing with more than one of the South Slavic nationality groups. Predominant among these are secondary studies (many of them key publications) such as Americans from Yugoslavia, by Gerald G. Govorchin; South Slavic Immigration in America, by George Prpic; Yugoslav Migrations to America, by Branko Colakovic; The Yugoslavs in America: 1880-1918, by L. Blaisdell; and several studies by Adam Eterovich and others on Yugoslavs in particular states or regions. Also included in this section are books and pamphlets concerning the formation of the Yugoslav nation, primarily written from the perspective of Yugoslav immigrants, and published in many cases by the United Committee of South Slavic Americans.
Newspapers
American Srbobran (American Serb Defender), Pittsburgh, PA. Tri-weekly: 1942-1943, 1965-date. (Microfilm: 1906-1912, 1918-1940). Includes English.Diocesan Observer, Libertyville, IL. Weekly: 1965-date. Includes English.
Glas Kanadskih Srba (Voice of Canadian Serbs), Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Weekly: 1971-date. Includes English.
Jugoslovenski Americki Glasnik (Yugoslav-American Herald), Monterey Park, CA. Monthly: 1961-1970. Includes English.
Kanadski Srbobran (The Canadian Srbobran [Serb Defender]), Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Weekly: 1963-date.
Path of Orthodoxy (official organ of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States and Canada), Leetsdale, PA. Monthly: 1977-date. Includes English.
Sloboda (Liberty), Chicago, IL. Weekly: 1965-1982.
Slobodna Rec (Free Expression), Pittsburgh, PA. Weekly. (Microfilm: 1934-1948).
Srbadija (Serbia), New York, NY. Monthly (bi-monthly, weekly, bi-weekly). (Microfilm: 1921-1927).
Srpska Borba (The Serbian Struggle; format changes to a serial, 1982), Chicago, IL. Weekly: 1953-1981. Includes English.
Yugoslav
Jugoslavenski Glasnik (Yugoslav Herald), Chicago, IL/Calumet, MI/New York, NY. Weekly: 1938-1945. Serbian and/or Croatian.
Jugoslovenski Obzor (Yugoslav Observer), Milwaukee, WI. Semi-monthly: 1933-1945. Slovenian.
Serials
The American Serb, Chicago, IL. Monthly: 1944-1946. English.American-Serb Life, Pittsburgh, PA. Monthly: 1948.
Amerikanski Srbobran; Srpski Pravoslavni Kalendar (American Serb Defender; Serbian Orthodox Calendar), Pittsburgh, PA. Annual: 1922-1923, 1926, 1941, 1943, 1962-1965. Includes English.
The Beacon, Alhambra, CA. Quarterly: 1965. English.
Bratstvo (Fraternity, Serbian Monthly Review), Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Monthly: 1965.
Cheshal' (The Comb), Cheswick, PA. Monthly: 1947. Includes English.
Danas; Mesecni Casopis (Today; Monthly Journal), Chicago, IL. Monthly: 1963-1964.
Eparhiski Glasnik (The Diocesan Herald), Libertyville, IL. Annual: 1964-1966. Includes English.
Jugoslaven (The Yugoslav), San Pedro, CA. Monthly: 1928. Slovenian.
Jugoslovenski Forum (The Yugoslav Forum), New York, NY. Monthly: 1926. Includes Slovenian.
Karadorde Srpski Narodni Kalendar (Karadorde Serbian National Calendar), Pittsburgh, PA. Annual: 1928.
Nasa Omladina (Our Youth; special Christmas issue of the American Srbobran), Pittsburgh, PA. Frequency varies: 1931. English.
Pravoslavlje; Glasnik Srpske Pravoslavne Dzrkve (Orthodoxy; Herald of the Serbian Orthodox Church), Libertyville, IL. Quarterly: 1960, 1964.
Ravna Gora (Flat Mountain), Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Monthly (?): 1949. Includes English.
Serb World, Milwaukee, WI. Quarterly: 1979-1983. English.
The Serbian Democratic Forum, Chicago, IL. Frequency varies: 1973, 1975. English.
Serbian Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada Calendar, Pittsburgh, PA. Annual: 1966, 1974. Includes English.
Serbian Orthodox Church of the United States of America and Canada Glasnik (Herald), Chicago, IL. Monthly: 1965. Includes English.
Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States of America and Canada Official News Digest, South Holland, IL. Semi-monthly: 1965-1982. Includes English.
The Serbian Orthodox Herald, Libertyville, IL. Quarterly: 1945. English.
Srpska Borba (The Serbian Struggle; previously published as a newspaper), Flushing, NY. Monthly: 1982-date.
Srpsko Istorijsko-Kulturno Drustvo "Njegos" u Americi Glasnik (Herald of the Serbian Historical and Cultural Association "Njegos"), Chicago, IL. Semi-annual: 1974.
Srpska Tsrkva (The Serbian Church), Chicago, IL. Monthly: 1923.
Srpski Misionar; Duhovni Casopis (Serbian Missionary), Jordanville, NY. Frequency varies: 1962-1964. Includes some English.
Srpski Narodni Kalendar Amerika (Serbian People's Calendar America), Chicago, IL. Annual: 1959-1964.
Srpski Pravoslavni Kalendar Sveti Sava (Serbian Orthodox Calendar Saint Sava), Villa Lake, IL. Annual: 1971. Includes English.
The Tesla Journal, Lackawanna, NY. Annual: 1981-1983, 1986-1987. English.
World Magazine; Naucno-Zabavni Ilustrovani Mesecni Magazin (Illustrated Monthly Magazine in Serbian Language for Science, Culture, and World Affairs), Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Monthly: 1961.
Zavicaj (Homeland), Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Monthly: 1969, 1974-date.
Zavicaj Kalendar (Homeland Calendar), Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Annual: 1977.
Yugoslav
Balkan and Eastern European American Genealogical and Historical Society, San Francisco, CA. Frequency varies: 1964-1966. English.
The Florida State University Center for Yugoslav-American Studies Proceedings and Reports (previously titled The Florida State University Slavic Papers), Tallahassee, FL. Annual: 1972-1977. English.
The Florida State University Joint Yugoslav-American Advisory Council Proceedings and Reports, Tallahassee, FL. Annual: 1978-1979. English.
Jugoslav Review, New York. Monthly. (Microfilm: 1923). Serbian and/or Croatian, Slovenian.
Jugoslaven (The Yugoslav), Västerås, Sweden. Quarterly: 1979. Croatian and English.
Jugoslavia Kalendar (Yugoslavia Calendar), Chicago, IL. Annual: 1939. Slovenian and English.
Kolo, New York, NY. Monthly: 1924. Slovenian.
Medunardoni Problemi (International Problems), Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Quarterly: 1982. Serbian and/or Croatian.
Nas Kalendar (Our Calendar), Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Annual: 1958. Slovenian.
Sokolski Vesnik (Sokol Herald), Milwaukee, WI. Quarterly: 1967-1975, 1980-1984. Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian.
T & T (formerly Today and Tomorrow), Milford, NJ. Bi-monthly: 1945-1948, 1950. English.
The Tamburitzan, Pittsburgh, PA. Bi-monthly: 1959-1961, 1976. English.
That's Yugoslavia (supplement to Hrvatska Domovina), Hamburg, West Germany. Monthly: 1982. English.
United Committee of South-Slavic Americans Bulletin, New York, NY. Frequency varies: 1943-1946. English.
United Yugoslav Relief Fund of America News Bulletin (previously titled Yugoslav News Bulletin), New York, NY. Frequency varies: 1941-1945. English.
Yugoslav-American Academic Association of the Pacific Bulletin, Palo Alto, CA. Quarterly: 1977. English.
Yugoslav-American Society Newsletter, Minneapolis, MN. Bi-monthly: 1987-date. English.
Yugoslav Facts and Views, New York, NY. Monthly: 1975-1981. English.
Yugoslavia Ministarstvo Socijalne Politike Iseljenicki Odsek Iseljenicka Sluzba: Izvestaj Narodnoj Skupstini (Yugoslav Ministry of Social Policy Emigration Department Emigration Service: Report to National Assembly), Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Bi-annual: 1925-1927. Serbian and/or Croatian.
