Vaclav Bouzek (nickname James) was born in Lukawetz, Bohemia on 12 May 1878. This area was part of the Austrian Empire until early 1900's. Today the town is called Lukavec and it is a small town (mestys) in Pelhrimov District in the Vysocina Region of the Czech Republic. The US census records of 1900-1940 show that he immigrated to the US between 1885-1889. Each record lists a different year. He become a naturalized citizen in 1889 and married his wife Apolena Horejs on 9 Jun 1900 in Cook County, Chicago, Illinois. They had two children, Frank and Charles. James was first employed as a boiler maker and worked many years in a steel factory operating a punch press.