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History
in a Pecan Shell
A Mexican land grant in 1831 gave Elenor Living the land on which
Vsetin sits. An influx of Moravian and Bohemian immigrants in the
1870s matched the Germans who had come to Central
Texas a little earlier.
Small communities like Moravia,
Vsetin and Petersburg sprang
up as the former landowners broke up their large farms. Most of the
earliest settlers were born in Vsetin, Moravia and named this community
in remembrance.
Vsetin's bedrock was the Evangelical Unity of the Czech-Moravian Brethren
Church. |
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Vsetin has two
cemeteries. Cemetery One recorded it's first interment in 1888 and
the smaller one had it's first burial in 1895.
One holds the Trlica family plot. John Trlica was a semi-itinerant
photographer in central Texas noted for his small town portraits.
He operated from various studios from Granger
to Gonzales
from the 1920s to the 50s.
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Vsetin Cemetery
Marker
TE photo, 2001 |
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Historical
Marker
VSETIN
CEMETERY
About 1865, newly arrived Czechoslovakian immigrants settled in
this vicinity, named Sublime by earlier Irish immigrants.
The Czech settlers began calling the community "Vsetin" in remembrance
of the area in Austria from which they came. After working as sharecroppers
for several years, most earned enough money to purchase their own
farms. The settlers soon established a Czech Moravian Bretheren
Church congregation and constructed a school here.
The favorable reports the settlers sent back to Austria inspired
a group of their relatives to immigrate in 1880. The Vsetin Cemetery
was founded ten years later. It originated as a private cemetery
for the Mikush family, who had arrived with the second migration.
The first burial, that of six-week-old Valentine, the infant son
of Martin and Veronica (Stasny) Mikush, took place in 1890 when
this property was part of a farm owned by Martin and Katerina Sralla.
The graveyard later evolved into a community burial ground, and
in 1927 the Vsetin Cemetery Association was established to maintain
it. The Vsetin Cemetery continues to serve as a tangible reminder
of the area's early permanent settlers.
1991
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Vsetin Cemetery
TE photo, 2001 |
Trlica Tombstone
TE photo, 2001 |
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Texas
Escapes,
in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing Texas,
asks that anyone wishing to share their local history and vintage/historic
photos, please contact
us.
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