Old timer genealogist, Crawford County, MO. Dr. John Zahorsky was born in Mereny Austria-Hungary in 1871 and came to America when he was 8 years old. Dr. Zahorsky died in 1963 but left behind one of the first genealogist reports of Crawford County, Missouri I have found. I have enjoyed his work over the years and thought I would pass it along to others. Hope someone else will enjoy this wonder piece of work. The Austrian Immigration of Crawford County By John Zahorsky, Jr. The immigration of the Austro Hungarian people into Crawford County during the two decades, 1876 to 1896, deserves an historical record. As is well-known, Crawford County was settled largely by emigrants from Kentucky and Tennessee, although a great number also arrived from Virginia, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas. One need only to scan the family names of the early settlers to grasp the truth that. these were descendants of the English Colonists;-for example: Russell, Gibbs, Scott, Bass, Webb, Powell, Halbert, Gibson: Metcalfe, Sanders, Coffe, Yeary, Ferguson Dunlap, Riggs, Jones and others. These names occur to me off hand as the leading citizens of Steelville and vicinity during my boyhood days (1880 to 1890). History states that the earliest settlers of the Ozark country along the eastern border were of French extraction, but these gradually disappeared when the hardy mountaineers from Kentucky arrived. Still a number of French names were scattered among the Ozark people. Around Steelville the name Perrigue is well known, and LaRue and Geralt are suggestive. The Courois River was named by a Frenchman. A considerable influx of Germans occurred in the latter part of the nineteenth century, chiefly thru the influence of the Meramec Iron Works and the Scotia Blast Furnace Co. The old residents will recall many of these Germans who became prominent citizens of Crawford County and whose descendants hold considerable prestige in political and business affairs. Among these I remember the names of Kreamalmeyer, Schwieder, Fuchs, Young, Krebiel, Peetz, Papst and others. They were dubbed "Dutchmen" by the local populace, but served admirably to introduce a larger group, the Austrians, who arrived later. These were also called "Dutchmen," never Huns, because they spoke the German language. These Austrians actually came from Hungary, which at that time formed an integral part of the Austrian empire. They were not Hungarians in the racial sense. They were dispersed Saxons who had intermarried considerably with the surrounding races - the Poles, the Czechs, the Slovaks and. the Hungarians. History records that an enormous number of Saxons emigrated after the thirty years war to escape the raiding armies devastating Central Europe. This emigration continued for another century. A large number settled in Northern Hungary and built towns on the plains south of the Carpathian Mountains. One of these towns, Wagendrussel (wagon tongue) was located about thirty miles South of the Tatra Mountains and within a few hours walk of the Carpathian terrain. After the unsuccessful attempt of Kassuth and his followers to free Hungary from the oppression of Austria, the name of the town was changed to Mereny, and the Steelville immigrants came from Mereny, Hungary (Inhabitants about 2000). After the revolution of 1848. the inhabitants heard a great deal of the freedom enjoyed by Americans through letters sent, by the followers of Kassuth, who had escaped to the United States, and the grapevine telegraph spread the news. This became the common gossip of the Inhabitants of Northern Hungary. The people lived in the town but the surrounding country was also owned by the town. Every day during the spring and summer the town-people would walk or ride to an acre or more of ground allotted or sold to each family. There they raised their food. This farm work was done in a great measure by the women and children. The young men were craftsmen, that is became a blacksmith, carpenter butcher, tailor, shoemaker, hat maker, charcoal burner, miner, etc. The young man chose his occupation and became an apprentice in the shop of a Maser-Craftsman for three or four years, All young men, of course, had to serve two or more years in the army and be trained in the exercises required of a soldier. At their teen-age the boys and girls during the summer helped to cultivate 'the acre or more outside of the town. No wonder, therefore, that our Austrian immigrants were infatuated with 'the soil. A farm of fifty acres or more owned and farmed by the man and family, was regarded as the acme of peace and prosperity. The hard physical labor that this mode of life,-cultivating land, serving as a soldier and the laborious apprenticeship, necessitated- in the end made strong men who could endure hardships. The times were out of joint, the work hard and future prospects very uncertain. At any time a man might be drafted into the army and wars seem to occur regularly in Europe two or three times in each generation. After their deplorable defeat by the Austrians and the Russians the peuple of Hungary began to emigrate into the United States in hordes. Hungary has been considered the melting pot of races in Europe. Here the Germans. Magyars, Poles, Creeks, Slovaks, Ruthenians and others intermingled wore or less with the Germans and a hybrid race was born. This intermixture occurred despite of the strong social efforts of the Germans to remain isolated from the Slavic races, whom they considered inferior in culture, refinement, and education. In fact, the Slavic groups were designated as peasants only fit to serve the large estates as gardeners, and laborers. Curiously, the Germans tenaciously retained their language and their religion, and the Slavic parent graciously yielded, especially since the Austrian government encouraged the teaching of German in the schools. Actually, this intermarriage caused social disturbances, the daughter-in-law or the son-In law of Slavic origin was not received into the social and business affairs without considerable objections. These families of the hybrids became restless and thereby arose the desire for emigration. Their allegiance to the Austrian government was not manifested in any patriotic fervor, They owed nothing to the Hungarians, who looked down upon the Slavs and Germans with contempt. There were no affectionate family ties that kept them at home. America was the goal which promised freedom and prosperity. During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the United States imposed no restrictions as to the number of aliens entering the States through Ellis Island. Of course, cripples, diseased people and vagabonds were excluded, but the Austrians passed the examinations without any trouble. Many went to Pittsburgh where they soon obtained work in the great manufacturing industries. Cleveland also was a favorite resident site for a multitude of Czechs, Slovaks and Hungarians. The immigrants who traveled to the Ozark country came largely from Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Several, who had saved some money while working in these cities, came to the Ozarks when they heard that farms were cheap here. Unlike the Germans in St. Louis arid Milwaukee, these Austrians did not establish isolated and restricted communities where their foreign language, schooling and social customs were perpetuated. Our Austrian immigrants from Hungary mingled freely with the Americans and had their children attend the American schools and churches. They held a deep sentiment to conform to American methods and educate the children to become true American citizens unhampered by the Old World traditions, The earliest European immigrants to the United States were generally farmers; energetic and educated folk chiefly from the British Isles, Scandinavia and Germany. This "old immigration" was unmixed with Latin, Slavic or Oriental races. Its primary object was to take up free land in the United States. By them the Central and Western States were rapidly populated. Peasants came to till the soil and build their homes in a free county. With the rapid increase in the industries, a great demand for industrial laborers became dominant and rapidly the foreigners took advantage of this opportunity. They had no money, little education but hardened muscles to undertake laborious tasks. They came in droves by the thousands, Italians, Slovaks, Poles. Czechs, Bulgarians; Hungarian and Russians. For exple in the year 1914, from Austria-Hungary 275,000 emigrants arrived in the United States; from Italy 280,000 and from Russia 250,000. The American government became alarmed at this enormous influx of aliens, and passed laws restricting immigration. The immigration act of 1924 established a quota which amounted to two per cent of the number or foreign-born individuals of each nationality resident in the United States as determined by the Census of 1890. This practically excluded Immigration from the Slavic countries including Austro-Hungary. After World War II, the city of Mereny was incorporated into the State of Slovakia, according to the conclusions of some of our local historians. It is very uncertain to what nationality it belongs at present; Hungary, Czechoslovakia, or Russia. The third generation of Austrians have lost all traces of their grandparents birth-place, but do not worry about it. Their Americanization is complete, and they are just as loyal as the descendants of soldiers who fought in the Revolution or the Civil War, for they never had any pride in their home country. One great industry that attracted this foreign element to Steelville understandably, was the Midland Blast Furnace Company. The majority of the Immigrants wanted to buy a farm; they longed for the free country life-but lacked the money to buy such a farm. The furnace company, located at Midland, about two miles from Steelville, needed strong young men who could perform the hard physical labor necessary in the process of melting the iron ore. At that. time, the smelting plant was controlled by Mr. W. . H. Lee, a very fine gentleman, Whose ancestry went back to the Lee families Virginia. In fact, he was the son of Fitzhue Lee, a cousin of Robert F, Lee, the famous General. Mr. Lee had an unmistakable aristocratic bearing, but who manifested a sincere sympathy toward the men who did not hesitate to work hard and long in order to advance their social condition. The majority of these immigrants accepted this opportunity and many saved enough money from their wages to buy a farm later. Some of the men worked only one year, others ten years. A few took other positions for which they were fitted - carpenter, butcher, wood chopper, coal burner, miner and other trades. Many returned to other cities, but spread the news about the opportunities offered by Crawford County. Altogether with a number of children born soon after their arrival at Steelville, the Austrians numbered nearly 100 individuals, about 70 of whom became permanent residents of Steelville and its environment. The old settlers of Crawford Co. received them without any prejudice. They regarded the immigrants as hard-working settlers who were needed to subdue the wilderness around Steelville. The immigrants have always been grateful that the Ozarkians manifested no unjust discrimination against them, They were accepted as Germans- a stock which the early settlers considered to be equal to their own ancestry. The foreigners were gradually scattered throughout the wild country and they soon acquired the reputation of being industrious, frugal and they "always paid their debts." A great many of the second generation married Americans, and thus the race was blended in the melting pot. The Old World influence, except the examples of labor, frugality, and sobriety is entirely extinct. The third generation can not speak or write German. So many sons served in the World Wars and all are thankful that -. their grandparents had the courage to emigrate from the Hungarian plains to the Ozark highlands. Andrew Slowensky and family should he given the honor of acting as the scouts for the bewildered crowd of emigrants from Mereny, who settled in Crawford Co. He had lived in Cleveland, Ohio, for several years, and supported his family by engaging in several different kinds of work. He had a roving disposition and traveled around not only in Hungary, but also around Cleveland, always searching for some other occupation, In some way he learned that the Midland Blast Furnace Co., near Steelville, were in need of a charcoal burner. This craft, charcoal burner, was his chief occupation during his youth, and he was well qualified to burn charcoal from oak wood. Eagerly, he moved his whole family to Steelville, after persuading his rather-in-law, Mathias Gura, to invest his money in the Ozark woodland forest. They bought about 400 acres of woodland about 2 miles south of Steelville. There was a house and about thirty acres of cleared land on this tract. His two boys, Charles and Will, directed by their mother cultivated some of the cleared acreage and raised some chickens, hogs and cows to provide meat, milk and eggs. There were four children, two boys and two girls (One little girl had died in Cleveland). A third son was born here. At first Mr. Gura tried to help his son-in-law in sawing wood and hauling it to the place selected for the coal pit. (It should have been called a mound.) The treas were cut down, and sawed in four feet lengths. Heavy logs were split. This hard work became exhausting to Mr. Gura and he had to retire. Mr. Slowensky trained his teen-age sons to assist. For many years they were engaged in this hard work of burning charcoal and selling it to the Midland Blast Furnace Co. During these years - 1878 to 1890 much coal was sold to the furnace company, but owing to the financial depression the price received was very low (6 cent- a bushel), which yielded no more than a subsistence income for the large family. About 1890 he discontinued his craft and purchased a farm on the Huzzah, and with his boys made a living for the family. He had a hard time learning to farm, since he had not been trained in this during youth. He died of typhoid fever before his expected old age. In the spring of 1878, the Zahorsky family arrived from Cloveland, John Zahorsky. Sr., the father, Amalia Zahorsky the mother, and two little boys, six and 4 years old, John and Jacob. Amalia was the sister of Suzzanna Slowensky (Mrs. Andrew Slowensky) and it was through this sister soliciture that the Zahorsky family traveled to the Ozarks; Amalia was determined to raise her boys on a farm for the feared the degrading influence of city life on her children. Neither she nor her husband were farmers - she was a city girl from Mereny and he was an apprenticed blacksmith. However. they were confident that they could learn the art of farming. Having saved some money in Cleveland, two weeks after their arrival, they bought the Powell farm two miles west of Steelville. It was a beautiful valley and they were charmed by this retreat into the wilderness. The first year they lived in the small home with the renter,- Jessie Riggs, an Ozark pioneer, who taught them the crude rudiments of farming practiced at that time. They also received considerable help from Andrew Marsh and Harrison Webb - successful farmers in the same valley. As farm products brought such low prices- a cow $10, wheat 60 cents a bushel, pigs 5 cants a pound, eggs six cents a dozen-an immediate prosperity was impossible. However, by continual labor and a frugal subsistence, they manifested to improve the buildings, erect a black-smith shop, and gradually bought improved farm machinery. They did raise their boys on the farm and all of them were educated. One became a doctor, another a teacher and the third son (born on the farm) an electrical engineer. Mrs. Slowensky and Mrs. Zahorsky were pleased here with their mode of life. Each had friends in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and some kinfolks in Mereny with whom they kept up a regular correspondence. These two women started the visiting throng of Austrians but not all remained home permanently; many after an examination decided to go back to their work in Pittsburgh, Cleveland and other cities. The Zahorsky home became a temporary shelter far so many visitors for ten years. As the influx grew larger, the "Old Homestead" became the center of picnics, dances even a wedding. The immigrants were delighted with the Zahorsky farm and all became ardent lovers of the country-life. Each wanted to be a landowner, a privilege only held by the aristocracy of Hungary. Here is a good place to note the linguistic peculiarity of the names -Slowensky and Zahorsky - names which were strange and discordant to the ears of the English and German people. Curiously, the first two Austrian families possessed those Slavonic names - all others who arrived later had German names: as Larch, Kiefer, Schmidt, Miller, Salser, Stark, Jonas, Heins, Solder, and others. Consequently a joke originated years ago: "One needed some Bohemian blood to make the Germans travel." The etymology of the two Slavic names - Slowensky and Zahorsky, has been the subject of considerable discussion among the descendants. The most rational is the following. The ending "ski" or "sky" in the Bohemian and Polish language signifies - family. The syllables preceding indicate the. family origin, race or occupation. Slowensky is also spelled Slovensky. Rationally It means the family of the Slovens or Slovaks. The name Zahorsky has been traced to the Polish word, Zagorza, which signifies "from the hills." Zahorsky means, therefore, the family from the hills. Their Bohemian ancestors had numerous descendants in Prague and the surrounding country. The name is very common there. Here may be .mentioned John Slowensky, a younger brother of Andrew Slowensky, who came to Steelville as a young man, married Milme Stack and after working at Midland f or a few years became a farmer. They raised four children. He and John Liptock are the only living members of the "Old Guard," now 87 and 84 years of age. The Larch family moved to Steelville in the early eighties. Their name was anglisized ta Lark, for it is almost impossible for an American to pronounce the final "ch* in the German name. Soon afterward Mrs. Lark*s brothers, John Salzer and Stephan Salzer arrived one was a carpenter the other a butcher. Mr. Lark worked at the Midland Company for many years, and raised four boys and two girls. The boys never became farmers, but took the place of business men in the City of Steelville and St Louis. John Jr. became a clerk at Scott*s store but after several years established his own mercantile business. Herman became a business man and politician. During World War I he was one of a large group of Soldiers who enlisted from Crawford County. Later he was elected State Commander of the American Legion. Mr. Lark, the father, also bought a farm when Midland Furnace Co. closed down permanently (1895). He became owner of the Henry Ferguson farm in Pleasant Valley. The Kiefer family should receive a short notice. He was a carpenter for many years for the Frisco Railroad Company who operated a repair shop near Steelville. His mother-in-law, Mrs. Heins and her son Charles, lived with them for some time. Charles married Pauline Kiefer. and became the father of several boys and girls, who are now residents of St. Louis. The Jonas family settled in Steelville rather late 1894. Carl Jonas was a carpenter. Mr. Jonas bought and operated a farm about four miles from town. Some of his children were almost young men when they arrived. He raised a large family - eight children. His eldest son. Louis Jonas, became a very prominent and well-to-do citizen of Steelville. He was a tailor by trade, but also conducted a haberdashery. Later he studied embalming the dead, and took up undertaking as his chief occupation, His reputation as a skilled funeral director spread throughout the state, and he was elected president of the Missouri Undertakers Association. The old cemetery in Steelville was enlarged, shrubs planted, roads built and made a beauty spot chiefly through his own management. His brother Rudi became the pioneer in grape culture and after discouraging years, became successful in raising grapes. He married Rosie Lark and had a large family. The Mike Miller family - the wife was a sister of Andrew Slowensky -arrived during the eighties. He was a Veteran of the Hungarian army and participated in the "Seven Weeks War" (Austria-German War) which abruptly came to an end at Koniggratz (also called Sadowa). He told some, interesting stories of his experiences as a soldier. After working at Midland for a few years, he purchased a small hill farm. Later he became owner of a valley farm adjoining the Zahorsky homestead. His living descendants were one boy only. Another boy died of heart disease in childhood, The Zolder family immigrated early and Mr. Zolder. was a valuable worker for the Midland Company. Two disasters in his family were really heart-breaking. His boy was killed by an elevator descending the shaft of the furnace. His pretty little girl was burned to death as she was playing around some burning leaves. Mr. Zolder bought a farm in Dent County. One family deserves credit for its fecundety. "Little" John Slovensky ("Cinder John") who married one of the Hines girls, worked at Midland for many years; then bought a farm in the eastern part of Crawford County. He was a small man, but strong and active. This couple became the ancestors of eight children, a score of grandchildren and many great-grandchildren-all strong Americans, who have infiltrated the country and the large cities, This is one family who will not become extinct for several generations. The mother, who in her youth was a beautiful woman, did more for the perpetuation of the Austrian race in Crawford County than any other woman. The host of children dispersed throughout the state, as teachers, preachers, business mer and farmers. She, like Cornelia, could point with pride to her Jewels. The Liptock brothers reached Steelville as young, unmarried men. Both married daughters of the Austrian group. Both became farmers after working at Midland for a few years. John Liptock was a dashing young man, who could ride a horse like a cowboy or a Confederate general. He was popular with the early group as well as the Ozark young people. He married one of the Zolder girls, and they raised four girls. He is especially distinguished as one of the surviving members of the Austrian pioneers. Louis Liptock married one of the Austrian immigrants-a very fine young woman-and became the father of two girls. He and his wife were highly respected farmers, near the Metcalfe Spring. John Salzer had managed to buy a saw mill In Cuba, Mo. Later he sold this plant to Charles Slowensky, He and his family-he married a daughter of the Young family-finally moved to Monett, Mo. There were many more of there early immigrants, but the above short biographies is about all I can remember. The anthropologists could find some valuable material In the stu dy of the Austrian immigrants and their progeny in Crawford County. Did this amalgamation of the German, Slavic and American elements produce a strain of superior individuals? Did this rapid commingling of races increase the fecundity of the families? Both questions must be answered in the negative. The names Zahorsky and Slowensky seem at the verge of extinction. The Lerch family four healthy boys, is now represented by no male progeny. The Miller family had only one living boy. The Slowensky family-four strong boys, is now represented in the third generation by two boys only. The Liptock name will soon be unknown here-two strong fathers had six girls as their lineal descendants. - The Solder family is represented one boy in the third generation. The original stock showed a high degree of fecundity; three to eight children were born to each family. The second generation, however, is represented by these numbers of the progeny: 0, 1, 2, 3 rarely four. The one exception, is the family of "Little" John Slovensky, whose descendants are numerous. All the freedom and contentment of the immigrants did not grant them an immunity to sorrow and calamities. There were no deaths incident to child birth, and with the exception of a baby daughter of Andrew Slowensky (who died of diphtheria in Cleveland) no deaths occurred during infancy. All these mothers nursed their babies; bottle feeding was unknown. Two dangerous diseases were common-malaria and dysentery. in those early days "Chills" as it was called, was the commonest severe disease, and chiefly afflicted the farmers along the many streams of Crawford County. The Huzzah and Courtois, with their innumerable stagnant lagoons formed the breeding spot of millions of the malaria-carrying mosquitos. As the houses were not screened an innumerable number of flies invaded every household. These carried dysentery, typhoid and some septic diseases. The pioneers suffered heavily from these diseases, most of which could have been prevented, if the modern methods of hygiene had been known. At least half a dozen of this Austrian group had typhoid fever and two died. Dysentery carried off some of the old folks and endangered the life of many children. Every family had a bottle of quinine, from which they dosed themselves when they felt a chill. Curiously, pneumonia was comparatively rare. Lamentable accidents also took away several lives. A Zolder boy was killed by a descending elevator at Midland One little girl was burned to death. A Miller boy died of an acute attack of heart disease, due to rheumatism. A young man of the Jonas family died of cerebrospinal fever during the World War I. a great-grandson of the Zahorsky family was killed hy being accidental knocked down on the brick pavement of the school yard in St. Louis. The Slowensky family suffered the greatest losses: the father died of typhoid fever; his youngest son, Joe, also died of the same disease. One child died in Cleveland from diphtheria. A grandson died of blood poisoning in a St. Louis hospital from a boil on his cheek. Now all the old people except John Slowensky and John Liptock have been drawn into the eternal adventure. Vexations from religious differences never arose among these settlers, since they were all Lutherans. For a while an itinerant preacher cf that faith held services here. Some of the children and grandchild have gradually become members of other churches, particularly the Presbyterian, Baptist and Methodist Churches. This transition for the second generation was easy and not opposed by the parents. Several families who later moved to the large cities still maintain the religious beliefs and rites of the Lutheran Church. In this connection let me give a personal impression. The original immigrants who remained as permanent citizens of Crawford County fared much better in happiness and prosperity than those who moved to the large cities. The third generation has drifted all over the United States, and have become assimilated by the community in which they found work. There are no Austro-Hungarians, recognizable as such found in Crawford County or the neighboring states. Some of the splendid characteristics of this group may be transmitted by the many daughters and appear as dominant and recessive traits in future generations. Destiny has played some mysterious-even inscrutable, pranks with these people. Perhaps, Goethe was right "Man supposes that he directs his life and governs his actions, when his existence is irretrievably under the control of destiny." We Christians interpret destiny as God's will. I met Louis Jonas, the Mortician, in his store the other day. He is well versed in the Austrian lore. "Louis, how many of the Austrian settlers were arrested and prosecuted for drunkenness, theft, burglary, arson or murder?" "None," be answered vigorously. "How many of this crowd were sent to an asylum for psychoneurosis, schizophrenia, dementia or just plain insanity?" He replied: "None." "How many divorces have been granted to these people?" His reply was, "Only one." "What is the rate of delinquency among the children?" He answered with a smile: "Zero." That is all. ****************************************************************** File compiled and contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Len Slovensky USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, MUST obtain the written consent of the contributor, OR the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ******************************************************************.