HESCH HISTORY: Johann and Maria Hesch, in Pierz

This branch of the Austrian Hesch family is descended from Johann Hesch and his wife Marya (Schlinz) Hesch, who came to America from Oberschlagles, Bohemia with three sons: Paul, Mathias, and Anton. +++Johann & Marya settled in Buffalo County, Wisconsin but moved to Pierz, Mn in about 1885. .+++Mathias settled in Waumandee, Wisconsin and moved to Pierz in 1911. +++Anton never married but farmed with his dad in Agram Township, where he died in 1911.+++And Paul, my great grandfather, settled five miles away, in Buckman, Minnesota. He died there in 1900.

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Saturday, January 31, 2009

Johann and Maria Hesch, in Pierz

Evidently, once you were in America, your parentage wasn't as important as it was in Bohemia, or maybe there was less of a sense of connection.

By the time John died in 1897, it might have been more PC to say he was from Austria, or possibly more people had an idea of where Austria was...in any case, Oberschlagles was/is less than 10 miles from the boarder with Austria.

By these records too, we see how names were sometimes spelled according to the way the priest heard it--or, he knew the tombstone said "HASH" and he was trying to connect Mary with John in an oblique way. Who knows?

Below are two opposite sides of the same monument: It says HASH on the bottom of the east face, JOHN HASH on the south face, and MARY HASH on the north face, but the dates are right. It has to be them.