German Moravian Heinrich Family

From the early Middle Ages until 1918 Moravia and Bohemia were both Central European kingdoms. Moravia was settled in the 4th century by Germans and Celts and in the 6th and 7th century by Avars. The Slavs, ancestors of the present occupants, arrived in the late 8th century. The Slavs had settled in Bohemia by the 6th century. By the mid-9th century the Moravians had formed a kingdom, which eventually grew into Great Moravia and included part of Poland, all of Bohemia, and part of Hungary. Magyars destroyed this small empire in 906. The decline of Moravia led to the strengthening of Bohemia. The kingdom of Bohemia, in the 10th century, included Moravia and part of Poland. The kingdom's greatest size was in the 13th century, when it added sections of Hungary and Austria. After the 14th century the Moravians and Bohemians were caught between more powerful neighbors and torn by religious controversies. Both regions came under the control of the Hapsburg monarchy of Austria in 1526. A Czech revolt against Austria was harshly put down in 1620, and the two kingdoms became provinces within the empire of Austria-Hungary. Czech nationalism revived in the 19th century, inspired by such popular rebellions as the Revolution of 1848. The Czech language was put on the same footing as the more prevalent German. Bohemia, Moravia, and neighboring Slovakia drew closer together as they sought to throw off the yoke of Austria-Hungary. This goal was achieved in 1918, with the formation of Czechoslovakia and the end of Austria-Hungary. Bohemia and Moravia remained part of Czechoslovakia until January 1, 1993 when the nation of Czechoslovakia split peacefully into two countries. The western provinces of Bohemia and Moravia became the Czech Republic, while the eastern section became Slovakia.

The area of Moravia was approximately 8,000 square miles and consisted of a large basin surrounded by mountains on the north and east and a low range of hills on the west extending northward. The soil was generally fertile and crops of flax and fruit were raised in abundance. Fruit was so abundant that many parts of the country had the appearance of one great orchard. Sheep and horses of excellent quality were raised. Other items manufactured were iron, leather, lace, cotton, silk, paper, glass, tobacco, and beet root sugar.

The part of Moravia that our ancestors came from is a part of present day Czech Republic. The spelling of many of the places have been changed from German to Czech.

Why would a family pack up all their belongings and leave their home in beautiful Moravia? They faced a long trip across the stormy Atlantic Ocean in a sailing ship and their destination being a strange and sparsely settled area in Fayette County, Texas. History tells us that there were constant struggles in Moravia for religious and political freedom. Mongols, Huns, Poles, Slavs, Germans, Tartars and many others had overrun Moravia. The invaders would usually try to impose their own religious and political views on the people in the area. The unity of the people during these times had been cultural rather than national. There was insufficient employment, high taxes, and compulsory military duty. Service in the Austrian army frequently lasted eight years. People living under these conditions started looking for more freedom and greater opportunities.

In 1826 Karl Anton Postl, a native of Moravia and educated for the priesthood, fled Austria for America and Mexico. In 1841 after returning to Switzerland, he published several articles and a book Das Kujutenbuch, (The Cabin Book) which presented an idealized account of life on the Texas frontier. The book ran 14 editions in German and English and probably had more influence on European migration than all of the other colonization schemes combined.

In 1850 Ernst Bergman, a native of Bohemia, landed in Galveston and settled at Cat Spring, Texas, in Austin County. He was highly enthusiastic about the opportunities to be found in Texas, and wrote open letters to his countrymen urging them to follow. These letters appeared in Moravske Noviny, a Moravian newspaper, and are credited with bringing many Germans and Czechs to Texas.

According to the High Hill Centennial History, 1860 to 1960, Father Gottfred Monzel came to Texas in 1849 from Fredek, Moravia, Austria. He later returned and encouraged the people living in this area to move to Texas. In Germany, the Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas was formed. Thousands of Germans came to Texas and settled in the south and southwestern part of the state. It is estimated that in 1850 one fifth of the white population in Texas were Germans. According to census records about one third of Fayette County's population was German by 1857. The 1870 census shows 23,985 Germans in Texas.

Several families from Neudek and Bolten decided to undertake the long perilous journey to Texas. The families were Joseph and Anna Heinrich, Franz and Anna Wick, Anton and Anna Bednarz, Andreas and Anna Billimek, Joseph and Anna Hollas, Franz and Johanna Adamek, John and Ann Schilhab, and Franz Besetzny who was single. They packed all their belongings and left their homes. They traveled to Bremen, Germany located in the northern part of Germany approximately 450 miles from the Neudek and Bolten area of Austria. How they got to Bremen is not known.

On September 15, 1860, the group boarded the sailing ship JEVERLIN at Bremen, Germany for a sixty-five day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Gulf of Mexico to dock at Galveston, Texas, on November 19, 1860. One can hardly imagine how difficult it must have been to travel on an overcrowded sailing ship. The ships were usually heavily loaded with household items, farming tools, seed, and plants. This brings many questions to mind - - was the ocean stormy, how did they get their meals, what were the sleeping accommodations and what about sanitary conditions?

It is not known how long they stayed at Galveston or how long it took them to make their way by ox-cart to Fayette County. This mode of travel was extremely slow. Some of the ox-carts are described as a two-wheeled affair. Their frames were of skeleton construction covered with rawhide and pulled by two, or more oxen. The wheels were slabs cut from large diameter trees with boards fastened across to keep them from falling apart.

Family tradition tells us that this group stopped at a small settlement known as Dubina. There they met other families from Austria who had arrived several years earlier in 1856. Among these were Valentine Haidusek, Valentin Holub, Joseph Kahlich and others who welcomed the visitors with open arms and insisted that they stay and rest a few days before proceeding. Dubina, on the east bank of the Navidad Creek about five miles northeast of Schulenburg, was originally called Navidad. Valentin Haidusek renamed the place Dubina, which in the Czech language means Oak Grove. After a few days of visiting and resting they traveled a few miles further west to High Hill.

High Hill was settled in about 1846 and was known as Blum Hill until 1858 when the post office was established. Originally it was a three-part village consisting of Blum Hill, the southern part, named for Robert Blum of Austria and Germany. The middle part known as Wursten is said to have gotten it's name from the good sausage made by the Anders Meat Market. Wursten is related to the German word wurst that means sausage. The northern part was Oldenburg because some of the settlers were from Oldenburg, Germany. Today another village about thirty miles north bears this name. In 1858 the post office was established and all three parts became known as High Hill. It is located about three miles north of Schulenburg in Fayette County, Texas, on a small hill just west of Forester's Creek that flows into the West Navidad River.

There were no streets in High Hill, only two roads that crossed there. The road running east and west was the main road from San Antonio to Houston. Stagecoaches carried passengers, mail and freight between San Antonio and Houston. This road was part of the famous "Old Spanish Trail". The north south road was the stage road from Victoria to LaGrange and points north.

It is not known where these families lived immediately after arriving in this area except that they camped for some time under a cluster of large trees some distance east of High Hill. From what information is available it is believed that the newcomers settled as follows: John Schilhab and Joseph Heinrich located toward the northeastern area, while directly east Frank Adamek took up residence, and further east on a hill Anton Bednarz established his farm. Just south Franz Besetzny acquired a small place, while Joseph Hollas settled south of Mr. Besetzny next to the borderline of the village of Wursten. East of these Franz Wick acquired land for his farm and home. Andreas Billimek acquired a piece of property between the Adamek and Schilhab farms.

The whole area was still unimproved, mostly wild prairie, with timber starting a short distance toward the west. Wild game was plentiful and the local creeks and streams supplied fish. The new settlers were immediately confronted with building living quarters for their families, clearing the land for farming and building rail fences to keep the cattle from roaming over the cropland, once it was in cultivation.

The life of the early immigrant farmer was hard, grueling and monotonous. The whole family, including children, worked from sunup to sundown just to survive. All necessities were grown or made right on the farm. The family raised one cash crop, usually cotton or corn. The proceeds of its sale were spent on necessities that could not be grown or manufactured at home. It was a life of constant struggles against the elements. After the crop was planted the farmer had to contend with insects, which could bring ruin overnight. A drought could defeat a year's labor; a hailstorm could flatten a field of cotton or corn in minutes. And ever after the crop was harvested, the chances of selling it for an adequate price were usually quite poor.

Times were hard and difficult. It is difficult to imagine a young couple moving to a strange unsettled land, thousands of miles from their native land and relatives, not knowing what the future would be for them. Very few people today, if any, would undertake such a task. These families did just that.

The majority of the group of recent arrivals were Catholic. They were disappointed that they would not be able to celebrate their first Christmas in the usual manner. They heard of the Catholic settlement of Frelsburg about 25 miles to the northeast and some of the men decided to walk over there and talk to the pastor, Father Victor Gury. They arrived in time for Christmas Mass. They arranged for Father Gury to come to High Hill for an occasional Mass. The first such Mass was celebrated in 1861 in the Andreas Billimek home. Later the Franz Wick cabin was used for regular services until the first church was built.

When the Civil War broke out in 1861 it was difficult for the new settlers to understand the reasons for the war and each had his own opinion of the situation. Most of the German people were against secession from the union but they were also against slavery. Very few of the people of German ancestry owned slaves. Some of the men joined the Confederate Army, others escaped into Mexico to hide while some went to New Orleans and joined the Union Army. Still others hid in the woods among the moss-covered trees when Confederate soldiers appeared in the neighborhood to conscript additional men for the army. Some men dressed in women's clothing and continued their farming chores under the noses of the soldiers.

Between 1860 and 1870 about thirty-six Catholic families settled in the High Hill area. The early settlers decided they needed a proper place of worship so they got together and hauled lumber by ox-cart from Columbus and sawed it at the Hillje sawmill. Christian Baumgarten was the builder and John P Blaschke laid the foundation. All the settlers worked diligently to erect the church that was blessed on September 8, 1870. This church was named "Nativity of Mary, Blessed Virgin" but is now mostly called St. Mary's. In 1875 a larger church was constructed and the smaller one became St. Mary's School.

After 1878 High Hill began to decline when numerous families and businesses moved to the new town of Schulenburg located jut a few miles to the southeast. The birth of Schulenburg and its rapid growth was attributed to the building of the railroad through the area. There were several theories or assumptions as to why the railroad did not come through High Hill. Whatever the reason, the new railroad was the first in Fayette County and it is not surprising that many enterprising businessmen for miles around were eager to move closer to the tracks.

Heinrich Family History