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Note: Very excellent article on why the Chechs came from Cermna http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~danecountyfamilies/czechs.html The Marek family emigrated to Texas by way of New Orleans. They left for US 2yrs prior to Franzeska who came by herself at age 23 and came on the ship Bremen which made port at Galveston on 10 May 1871. Shows 1872 on 1900 census BIRTH: now Cemna or Czernowa Woda, Czech Republic. It was Austria then. DEATH: buried in New Ulm Cemetery or 3-18-1940, says Oscar Findeisen MARRIAGE:or 12-26-1871 10 May 1871 - came to Texas at age 23 on the ship Bremen,very neat and clean, cared for her grandchildren, fixed school lunches, cooked great homemade bread, "We must thank God first", spoke no English children pray before bed, or she'd pray for them. Her mother died from sickness caught caring for someone after she was warned about the risk of caring for them. She often talked about the beautiful rolling hills of home. She was skilled in needle arts. She records that both her parents came from Bohemia. Franzeska Marek, Gloria Garrett's grandmother, was born in 1846 in what is now Cermna, Czech Republic. She called it Rothwasser, Bohemia (then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), or Czernowa Woda. The name means "red water" in all anguages. Her father was a buergermeister or town leader. Her mother died from sickness she caught caring for someone after she was warned that her kindness might cost her life. Franzeska often talked about the beautiful rolling hills of home. She came to Texas alone at age 23 on the ship "Bremen" on May 10, 1871, a six-week voyage. Her brother Joseph came first, perhaps sending money for her passage, and worked for many years with White's Funeral Home near Temple. Sometimes she would take the train with her granddaughter Gloria Ashorn Garrett to visit her brother or her daughter Ella in Temple TX. She lived to be 95 years old, spending 25 years as a widow. She was very short and stout, speaking German with no Czech accent. For almost 30 years, Franzeska lived with her daughter Emma Findeisen Ashorn's family. While Emma labored outside with her husband Edmund, Franzeska cared for her grandchildren, fixed school lunches and cooked meals. She could make tasty soup out of scraps and never used recipes. She would can pears, peaches and tomato puree for meat loaf. She was very neat and clean. When faced with stained clothes Edmund had worn on the haymower, she would instruct young Gloria, "Scrub this real good," but if Gloria didn't do it with enough speed or energy, Franzeska would take it right back and "scrub and scrub" in a flurry of hands with a bar of homemade soap. Only for tough stains did she use a washboard or soak the clothes. Franzeska was devout but open-minded. She used to say, "There is some good in every church." Lillian Ashorn Willhelm remembers how as a small child she could hardly wait to eat Franzeska's savory homemade bread." We must thank God first," her grandmother reminded her in German (She spoke no English).When she put the children to bed, she expected them to pray, "or she'd pray for them." Gloria Ashorn Garrett would read to her out of the German Bible, though Franzeska owned a Czech Bible. When sometimes Franzeska would try to talk to Gloria Ashorn Garrett in Czech, she would reply, "Grossmutter, ich kann nicht verstein!" (Grandmother, I cannot understand!). But Gloria can still speak a few phrases in Czech. When Franzeska was near death, Emma Findeisen called her dauther Adina in California to tell her that her grandmother was near death and then sent her black fabric to make her final dress. Adina Findeisen, granddauther of Franzeska cut out and sewed by hand the dress Franzeska was buried in. Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s about Franziska Marek Name: Franziska Marek Year: 1870
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