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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Thursday, May 6, 2010

House #2, Oberschlagles, Bohemia

I think the BEST part of our world today is the connections we make that would almost never have been possible even 10 years ago--for instance, our friend in Austria, Heinz Binder, found the blog by googling "Binder".  He emailed, and WOW!  It's been a lively correspondence so far ☺!

You'll recall that Heinz lives about 20 miles from the Hesch ancestral village of Oberschlag, and he graciously offered to go take pictures of the houses they lived in.  It turns out that a few are no longer standing, but the one where Johann and Marya Hesch lived, before they emmigrated, is still there.

THIS is #2, in Oberschlagles.  The way farms were set-up back then means this was probably the house part of the building, and the broken wall would have been part of the perimeter around the yard.  It would have enclosed the barn and other buildings, and this part was what was near the road.  The land Johann farmed for the landowner was most likely off the backside of the yard.
It's hard to tell from this side, but the house next door looks like part of #2 when it's not.  I think #2 is being renovated, since the next photo shows a flat bed truck out front.  I hope those are building supplies!

Funny--seeing the stream outside the front door makes me happy.  The last house they lived in before leaving Bohemia was a fairly pleasant location, except possibly in the spring if the creek rose.  I hope Paul, as a little boy, would have had adventures here with his brothers, and a few fond memories of his childhood in this verdant place.   Click the pictures to biggify 
MANY THANKS, HEINZ! 

1 comment:

  1. that is so cool. I don't know but just expect nothing would be standing any more...

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