ZAKRAJŠEKResearch desk

Public-source audit · September 2026

What the internet
can prove so far.

This is the evidence layer behind the story: what is supported, what is only indexed, what still needs an original record, and what remains completely unknown.

SupportedIndexed leadStill open
Supported

The surname is connected to place.

The Dictionary of American Family Names, reproduced by FamilySearch, defines Zakrajšek as an old Slovenian habitational name for someone from Zakraj in Inner Carniola, or a topographic name derived from zakraj, “farthest part of a place or village.” A scholarly Slovenian onomastics review also gives the derivation “Zakrajšek < Zakraj.”

This explains a surname’s likely formation. It does not identify Frank’s village or parents.

Indexed lead

Zakrajšek records appear around Bloke by 1658.

The Slovenian Genealogical Society’s public name index includes Gregor Zakrajšek dated March 5, 1658 at Strmca, Bloke, plus later entries at Strmca, Zakraj, Nova Vas and elsewhere in the region. Its marriage index also contains many Bloke-area Zakrajšek entries in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Matricula, operated with the Archdiocesan Archive of Ljubljana, confirms that Bloke baptism register 00090 covers 1666–1680. Those digitized parish volumes are the right primary-source collection for checking index entries.

The 1658 item is currently an index entry, not a completed page-level transcription from the original register. It supports “nearly 370 years in the record trail,” but not “370+ years” yet.

Partly supported

Frank and Matilda’s American dates are visible; Frank’s origin is not.

A Sacred Heart Cemetery transcription lists Frank Zakrajshek (1893–1959) and Matilda Zakrajshek (1901–1997). A memorial-derived profile gives Frank’s full dates as October 27, 1893–May 23, 1959 and Matilda’s as February 25, 1901–January 31, 1997, and describes both as born in Yugoslavia. Those full dates still deserve confirmation through civil, church, obituary or Social Security records.

The same profile leaves Frank’s father and mother explicitly unknown. No reliable public source located in this audit identifies them or gives a specific Slovenian birthplace.

Keep Frank’s parents, parish, village and house number unresolved. “Yugoslavia” is a historical-era place label from secondary records, not yet a precise birthplace.

Supported

Tony’s work and public service are visible in Sartell’s record.

A profile transcribing and citing Anthony “Tony” Zakrajshek’s October 31, 1987 St. Cloud Daily Times obituary states that he was born October 10, 1919 in Eveleth to Frank Sr. and Matilda (Triller) Zakrajshek, and died October 30, 1987. It records his Army Air Corps service and a 45-year career as an electrician for St. Regis Corporation—the Sartell paper mill.

Sartell Historical Society’s city history independently lists Tony as mayor from 1974 through 1978 and identifies him in a city-council photograph. The obituary adds his council service, volunteer firefighting and tenure as Sartell fire chief. Anna’s 2016 obituary identifies Anthony as her late husband and supports the later-generation family link.

The verified office is mayor of Sartell, Minnesota—not Sauk Rapids. For a gold-standard archive, obtain Tony’s original obituary, employment record and a rights-cleared copy of the identified council photograph.

Supported context

Slovenian immigration is part of the documented Iron Range story.

The Minnesota Historical Society reports that Slovenes were among the Iron Range’s earliest immigrant groups and that Slovenes and Croats together formed more than 20 percent of the foreign-born population after settlement stabilized. Its collection includes a public-domain photograph of a Slovene wedding in Eveleth in 1908.

The Society’s page for the Slovenian-language newspaper Narodni Vestnik says Slovenes began arriving in Minnesota in the 1860s, first settling in Stearns County, with another wave drawn to northeastern Minnesota’s iron mining beginning in the mid-1880s.

This is regional context, not proof that Frank mined or immigrated directly to Eveleth. His occupation and route still need personal records.

Supported

Joseph’s service and loss are publicly documented.

The Sartell Historical Society identifies Joseph Zakrajshek as a son of Frank Sr. and Matilda (Triller), born March 16, 1918. It records that he served as a technician fifth grade and was killed on Luzon in the Philippines on March 8, 1945 at age twenty-six. The 1st Cavalry Division Association’s honor roll independently lists “T-5 Zakrajshek, Joseph,” killed in action on the same date with the 8th Engineer Squadron. The Sacred Heart Cemetery transcription matches his birth date, death date, rank and unit.

This is direct evidence for Joseph’s place in Frank and Matilda’s household and military history. It does not resolve Frank’s Slovenian origin.

Supported—with privacy limits

The surname remains present in the Bloke area.

The Municipality of Bloke’s public village-board page includes current Zakrajšek surname holders serving boards in Velike Bloke, Ravnik and Sveti Duh—the board that includes Strmca and Zakraj. This supports geographic continuity of the surname in the broader region.

It does not establish that any living person is related to William. The archive should not publish private contact information or call anyone a cousin without proof and consent.

Identity-checked image ledger

Confirmed people,
not lookalikes.

Located · rights check needed

Anthony “Tony” Zakrajshek

Sartell Historical Society explicitly identifies Mayor Tony Zakrajshek in the center of a city-council photograph. A second circa-1975 photograph also names him. The archive links to those originals but will not copy them until reuse permission is clear.

View Tony’s identified photographs at the source ↗

A public webpage is not automatically a reusable image license. Confirmed identity and confirmed permission are tracked separately so the archive stays both accurate and respectful.

What still matters most

Records to find next.

  1. Frank’s 1893 baptism or civil birth recordThe only record likely to establish parents, exact village, parish and house number directly.
  2. Frank and Matilda’s 1916 marriage recordMay identify parents, birthplaces, witnesses and church affiliation.
  3. Passenger list and naturalization fileCould reveal last residence, birthplace, arrival, sponsor and original spelling.
  4. 1920, 1930, 1940 and 1950 census entriesNeeded to establish residences, household structure, immigration year, citizenship and occupation.
  5. Original obituaries and cemetery imagesNeeded to replace memorial summaries with direct evidence.

Verified family-photo leads

People we can name.

2 identified photographs

Anthony “Tony” Zakrajshek

Sartell Historical Society identifies Tony in a city-council photograph and in a second photograph from about 1975. We link to the originals while reuse permission is checked.

View Tony at the Sartell Historical Society ↗
1 identified portrait

Anna Marie Zakrajshek

Anna’s published obituary contains a named portrait. The obituary’s claimed connection to William’s generation is being rechecked after William’s family correction.

View Anna’s obituary portrait ↗
Still searching

Frank, Matilda & Joseph

No public image found so far has enough evidence to identify any of them with confidence. Unrelated lookalikes will not be used.

Connected family files

Service, family and contradictions.

Supported account

After the telegram: Vera’s service.

The Newsleaders’ history of Sartell’s restored veterans’ plaques identifies Vera Perry Zakrajshek as Joseph’s wife. It reports that after learning Joseph had been killed, Vera joined the military as a member of the Women’s Reserve, commonly called the WAVES. Vera P. Zakrajshek is also named on Sartell’s WWII memorial roster.

The public account supports Vera’s relationship and WAVES service, but does not establish her rank, unit or service dates. Those details remain open.

Unresolved conflict

Was Thomas alive in March 1945?

Source A · Cemetery transcription

Thomas E. Zakrajshek is listed as 1929-1944.

Source B · Joseph biography

Joseph’s March 1945 death account names Thomas among the surviving brothers.

Status: unresolved

The two claims cannot both describe the same timeline without additional explanation. We are searching for Thomas’s original death record, obituary, church burial register or a clear gravestone photograph.

No cause of death is published here. Thomas is not described as a WWII serviceman. Uncertainty remains visible until original evidence resolves it.

Relationship supported

Frank and Matilda raised a generation.

The Sartell Historical Society’s Joseph biography names his parents, Frank Sr. and Matilda (Triller), and reports brothers Frank Jr., Tony, Edward and Thomas and sisters Mathilda, Maryanne, Margaret and Helen. Together with Joseph, that is a documented sibling group of nine.

JosephFrank Jr.Anthony “Tony”EdwardThomasMathildaMaryanneMargaretHelen

The source supports names and sibling relationships. Separate birth, marriage and death records are still needed before publishing full profiles for each person.

Published obituary

Anna made the history human.

Anna Marie Rajkowski Zakrajshek, Anthony’s wife, worked as a postal clerk at the Sartell, St. Cloud and Rice post offices for more than thirty years and also worked at Anna’s Cafe in Rice. Her obituary records her membership at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church and Sartell American Legion Post 277 Auxiliary and says she was known locally as the “first lady of Sartell.”

It remembers her quilting, sewing, gardening, canning, apple pies and potica. Its relationship claims involving Joseph and William are retained as source notes but are no longer presented as the verified line to William.

William’s first-hand correction identifies Anamae and Ed as Joseph’s parents. Anna and Anthony’s exact relationship to William therefore requires renewed verification.

Family correction

Joseph is Anamae’s son; Carrie is Joseph’s wife.

William Zakrajshek directly confirms the family order: Anamae and Ed Lauermann → their son Joseph → Joseph and his wife Carrie → their children William and Aly. Carrie’s maiden name is not Zakrajshek and is not published here; Zakrajshek is her married surname.

Family account · authoritative

Joseph is Anamae’s son. Joseph married Carrie. William and Aly are their children.

Published obituary · conflicting wording

The obituary calls Carrie a daughter and places Joseph’s name in parentheses.

Display order corrected from first-hand family knowledge

The archive preserves the source discrepancy instead of silently repeating its relationship order. Living-person details remain deliberately limited.

Open research priorities

  1. Find Thomas’s original Minnesota death record or obituary.
  2. Resolve Thomas’s death date and cause.
  3. Locate an identity-confirmed portrait of Joseph.
  4. Find Joseph’s wartime death notice and full casualty file.
  5. Locate Vera’s military service records.
  6. Confirm Tony’s WWII branch, rank, unit and dates.
  7. Verify Tony’s reported forty-five years at the Sartell paper mill.
  8. Find Frank’s 1893 baptism and identify his parents.