THE EARLY HISTORY OF PANNA MARIA, TEXAS ... - Repositories

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Father Moczygemba cut it into long narrow strips fronting 24 on the water. These narrow fields stretching toward the town from the San Antonio and the Cibolo are even now clearly evident to casual observers. Anywhere in Texas other than Panna Maria, for example, the Felix Mika farm would be considered unusual. 55 SIX hundred feet wide. It is a mile long but only Knowledge of the crops grown at Panna Maria in its first years of settlement is at best sketchy. The secondary sources barely touch upon the subject while the manuscript of the Census of Agriculture for 1860 includes only eleven people who can be definitely identified as Poles. These sources, limited though they are, indicate that corn was the primary crop raised by the Karnes County Poles in the 1850's. John Moczygemba's letter of May 1855 sheds 55 Nesterowicz, p. 201; Robert H. Thonhoff, "A History of Karnes County" (unpublished M.A. thesis. Southwest Texas State College, San Marcos, Texas, 1963), p. 113. Dworaczyk, The First Polish Colonies, p. 7; Nesterowicz, p. 201; U. S., Census of 1860, Texas, Manuscript Agriculture Schedules, Karnes County. The 1860 Census of Agriculture indicates only corn as being grown by the eleven Poles it includes. This limited amount of information may have been caused by the difficulty of the American enumerator to communicate with the Polish-speaking peasants. The eleven persons definitely identified as Poles who were enumerated in the 1860 Census of Agriculture are the following (parenthetical information added by the author): John Gabalik (Gawlik), M. Urbangik (Urbanczyk), J. Mosakimber (Moczygemba), J. Duck (Dziuk), A. Duge (Dluge or Dugi), Jno. Moskimber (Moczygemba), A. Labas (Labus), F. Bela (Biela), Simin (Simon) Yanta, and J. Rabstein.
25 further light on early agriculture at Panna Maria: I now inform you that there is no grain like ours, but there is Turkish wheat. . . . Potatoes are of two kinds: ones like ours and others that are sweet which are called "patets." Some people took some of all kinds of grain, and it grows beautifully, . . . And when you come, take all vegetables with you, and particularly beans, so much so you could give some to me. . . . You can plant cotton, which is very expensive, and Johan Moczigemba plans to grow it.^^ At the beginning of their colonization, the clothing of the Silesians set them apart from the general American population of Karnes County. The best description of their dress at this early date comes from L. B. 5 8 Russell, who moved to Helena as a young boy in 1853. Russell, later in life, recalled the Silesians as wearing: . . . the costumes of the old country, many of the women having what at that time were regarded as very short skirts, showing their limbs two or three inches above the ankles. Some had on wooden shoes, and almost without exception they had broadbrimmed, low-crowned black felt hats, . . . They also wore blue jackets of heavy woolen cloth, falling just below the waist, and gathered into ^.Q folds at the back with a band of the same material. The unusually short skirts of the women evidently caused some excitement among the Americans because in June 1855 Father Leopold wrote home advising, "Don't take any 57 Johann Moczigemba to Friends and Relatives, May 13, 1855, Regency of Opole Collection. 5 8 L. B. Russell, Granddad's Autobiography (Comanche, Tex.: The Comanche Publishing Co., [1930]), p. 4. 59 Dallas Morning News, January 24, 1932, Sec. IV, D. 1.
Page 1 and 2: THE EARLY HISTORY OF PANNA MARIA, T
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS I. THE FOUNDING O
Page 5 and 6: 3 the oldest Polish school in Ameri
Page 7 and 8: Maria, however, was not a part of t
Page 9 and 10: European markets. With the subseque
Page 11 and 12: 8 summer and autumn of 1852 and the
Page 13 and 14: 10 friars who accepted his mission
Page 15 and 16: elieved in every respect in that th
Page 17 and 18: 14 forced changes in his plans. The
Page 19 and 20: 16 traveling to America. However, u
Page 21 and 22: CHAPTER II PANNA MARIA 1855-1861 Th
Page 23 and 24: everywhere, so that if anyone took
Page 25 and 26: 21 the Silesians was for shelter. T
Page 27: 23 next forty years give additional
Page 31 and 32: 27 r-3 like Stanis/aw Kio^^bassa, t
Page 33 and 34: 29 year. On the night of July 15, 1
Page 35 and 36: 31 origin of the three thousand dol
Page 37 and 38: 33 the country and leaving the land
Page 39 and 40: 35 Upper Silesia a large Christ fig
Page 41 and 42: Due to the hardships wrought by the
Page 43 and 44: ack. "2 39 Although a few individua
Page 45 and 46: 41 1891, Father Moczygemba died in
Page 47 and 48: 43 Arriving in Panna Maria at least
Page 49 and 50: 45 The Civil War caused additional
Page 51 and 52: 47 years. The disastrous results of
Page 53 and 54: 49 were ever listed as members of t
Page 55 and 56: 51 at the Arkansas Post, Wilke's 24
Page 57 and 58: 13 3 Knoxville, and Nashville. 53 T
Page 59 and 60: A vignette of Civil War history is
Page 61 and 62: CHAPTER IV PANNA MARIA 1866-1870 Th
Page 63 and 64: 59 in Texas. With the authorization
Page 65 and 66: 61 enough for Paris." Thus the supe
Page 67 and 68: The vast majority of the white Texa
Page 69 and 70: December 186 8, stated that althoug
Page 71 and 72: Sometimes the forays of the America
Page 73 and 74: 69 for battle into a single mounted
Page 75 and 76: 71 the protection of federal troops
Page 77 and 78: 73 month after they came to the cou
Page 79 and 80:
75 Bakanowski's words, "we saw what
Page 81 and 82:
77 until his death. •'"^^ In addi
Page 83 and 84:
79 their children. For this reason,
Page 85 and 86:
81 the young priest, dressed in the
Page 87 and 88:
83 from the Society around them. Af
Page 89 and 90:
through Berlin in September 1854, a
Page 91 and 92:
20 8 to be classed . . . with those
Page 93 and 94:
CHAPTER VI PANNA MARIA AS THE MOTHE
Page 95 and 96:
91 to San Antonio. Since San Antoni
Page 97 and 98:
Czestochowa, only five miles north
Page 99 and 100:
95 which draw large numbers of visi
Page 101 and 102:
97 from one region of one Prussian
Page 103 and 104:
Brozek, Andrzej, and Borek, Henryk.
Page 105 and 106:
Haiman, Miecislaus. Polish Past in
Page 107 and 108:
Lyssy, Albert. Military Service Rec
Page 109 and 110:
105 Randel, Jo Stewart, and Carson
Page 111 and 112:
107 Records of the United States of
Page 113 and 114:
KV/ 109 Wytrwal, Joseph A. America'
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