Bjeletich Family History & Genealogy

Summary

The name Bjeletich is the Americanized version of Bjeletić. All Bjeletichs come from one big familly. They emmigrated from the mountain villages of Bileca and Trebjesa in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro before the breakup of Yugoslavia.The earliest known  Bjeletić was Petar  Bjeletić (1669), who started the  Bjeletići tribe from which all  Bjeletich people come. Bjeletch/Bjeletić  means "white one" in Montenegrin and is said to be given to the family because there is a tendency for family members to turn white at an early age.  There is much more about the family to learn below but there is more that can be added as well.  If you know more about the Bjeletich family, please help by adding your knowledge to this page.

History

Petar (1669) was the original person to have the  Bjeletić name and start the Bratstvo. He had 7 sons in the mountains, his Father was one of the Rovcani Tribe or pleme members so Bjeletich's are originally from the ancestral Rovcani Tribe and most recently the Oputne Rudine tribe.
The Bjeletic/hs, among other Montenegrin tribes, fought many wars in order to never be taken over by a foreign empire and remain free. They suceeded in defeating the Ottomans from taking over Montenegro during their rule of Europe in the 16th century. They also fought the Nazis and Ustaše in 1942 when they tried to take over. Sadly, many Bjeletic have died at the hands of the Nazis and Ustaše (and Ottomans as well as Partisans) as a result. There is a small memorial in the mountains of Bosnia and Herezogovinia and a poem about the Bjeletic's fight against the Ottoman soldiers to remember them. To this day the mountainous regions of Montenegro have never been occupied by another nation.
The Bjeletics, as well as many others from the region, practiced arranged marriages. Many couples met on their wedding day. Women married very young, typically 16-18 years old. When women married, it was customary for them to immediately move in with their husband's family - often a very large family in a one room house with no walls. In the first months of marriage it was also customary for the bride to share a bed with her sister in law, not her husband. The name Bjeletich is the Americanized version of Bjeletić. All Bjeletichs come from one big familly. They emmigrated from the mountain villages of Bileca and Trebjesa in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro before the breakup of Yugoslavia.The earliest known  Bjeletić was Petar  Bjeletić (1669), who started the  Bjeletići tribe from which all  Bjeletich people come. Bjeletch/Bjeletić  means "white one" in Montenegrin and is said to be given to the family because there is a tendency for family members to turn white at an early age.  There is much more about the family to learn below but there is more that can be added as well.  If you know more about the Bjeletich family, please help by adding your knowledge to this page.

Name Origin

Bjeletich means "white one" and "son of" in the ancient Montenegrin language because Bjeletich people develope gray hair very early on in age. Some Bjeletichs to this day get gray hair as early as 15 years old.

Spellings & Pronunciations

Bjeletich is the naturalized version of Bjeletić. When the first Bjeletich's moved to America (or elsewhere),  they added the "H" to make a "sh" sound in English which is a word more easily pronounced by English speakers. The name Bjeletich is fairly new and only appeared sometime in the 1920's, with some people having to transition from Bjeletić to Bjeletich.

Nationality & Ethnicity

It is said that Velje Duboko, Montenegro was the original location of the first Bjeletic. Not much is known about where they came before that. The ethnicity and nationality of Bjeletich is Serbian and Montenegrin. Most are Orthodox in religion.

Famous People named Bjeletich

Interesting people in the Bjeletich family:

Andja Bjeletich, who turned 100 years old in 2003 and died at 105. To read about her life, follow this link: 

Vladimir Bjeletic, pro Basketball player
Vidak Bjeletic, a minister of Montenegro

Early Bjeletiches

These are the earliest records we have of the Bjeletich family.