John Krizenesky 

*1839 - †13 Apr 1887
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a) Came to US in 1864, settled in Chicago,n1868- moved to Manitowoc County, purchased 100 acres, still wild, in town of Rockland, with a small log cabin, and commenced to clear the land.nFrances died within six years, but John remained on the farm eight years longer.nJohn remarried and had more children with his second wife.n[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 11, Ed. 1, Tree #2276, Date of Import: May 9, 1998]nnTHE ORIGINAL FAMILYnnSometime in 1864, our Johan Krizenecky (25 year old son of Tomas and Lousa Krizenecky) and his first wife, Frances Vondracek, arrived in Civil War-torn America. Bohemia was struggling with the Czech National Revival and the subsequent repression by the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg rulers that followed the failed 1848 Revolution and 1849 uprising. We don't know their reasons for leaving (maybe they were lured by stories of a thriving wartime economy in America) and the place they came from is still a mystery as of December 19, 1996.nJohan and Frances first settled in Chicago, where their first son, Joseph, was born on October 16, 1867. His baptism and birth are recorded at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church (the oldest Bohemian church in Chicago), which until it was razed for highway construction in 1955, was at the corner of Dekoven and Desplaines. The secrets of their lives in Chicago are still hidden in the Newberry Library. Most likely they made at least a couple of trips up to Manitowoc County to visit or work with their friend from Bohemia, Joseph Simon and his wife, Anna, (Anna was actually a sister of Frances.) who had arrived in America a few years earlier. The Simons farmed in the Township of Rockland and were baptismal sponsors for most of the Krizenecky children.nSeptember 21, 1868 Johan and Frances purchased 100 acres of land for $400 from Adolph and Augusta Nehler in the Township of Rockland, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. (SE1/4 SE1/4 & S1/2 NW1/4 SE1/4 Sec 27, T 19 N of R 21 E and NE1/4 NE1/4, Sec 34 T 19 N R 21 E). The property included some high ground and lots of bottom land, since it encompassed the confluence of Mud Creek and the Manitowoc River. Although it was purchased and dammed in the 1950s by the Department of Natural Resources as part of the Collins Marsh waterfowl preserve, at the time it must've been ideal for farming. When Johan and Frances bought the land part of the river had a dense growth of wild rice beds that housed well-fed waterfowl. Maybe they bought the land simply because they couldn't stand turnips, the staple of most area settlers. Just two sections to the east was (and still is) located a heronry, a colony of great blue herons. These birds build nests the size of washtubs on the tall ash and elm trees and make a terrific screeching sound as they circle the treetops.nAlthough there was a small log cabin on the property the land itself was in a wild state and the serious job of clearing the land lay before them. During the winter months it's possible they made hand shaved cedar or pine shingles for sale or went up north to work the logging camps of northern Wisconsin and Michigan. A few miles east of their property in the town of Quarry was a new limestone quarry, a place some of their sons would eventually work. The bulk of their fellow Bohemian immigrants settled to the north of the Krizenecky property and most of the children were baptised at St. Mary's Catholic Church of Reedsville, a lively place 3 miles north on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad line with a number of taverns and hotels. Neighbors were mostly Germans, with a sprinkling of Irish and Norwegians.nOn October 4, 1870 son John was born, followed by Charles on September 10, 1872. In about 1874 Frances died, leaving Johan with 3 young sons and a daughter, whose existence has been mentioned by several current family members. Apparently at some point she ran away to Milwaukee or Chicago and was disowned, for in 1900 Johan's second wife reported that she was the mother of 8 children.nIn about 1875 Johan married Maria Vratna, a tall young woman 12 years his junior, who came to America in 1873 from Brana, Budejovice County, Bohemia. Over the next 12 years she bore him 5 sons: Franz (August 10, 1877), Wenzel (a/k/a James & Vaclav, July 19, 1879), Aloisus (a/k/a Louis, September 1, 1881), Thomas (February 6, 1884) and Adolph (April 2, 1886). In the spring of 1883 a big flood came to the area and on May 23, 1883 the Krizeneckys sold their farm for $1,275 to Paul Behnke. For the next two years they rented land near Reedsville and then bought 80 acres in the Town of Maple Grove, just east of Brillion on what is today Sunny Slope Rd.. The barn still stands.nIn April 1887 Johan made the front pages with his death. One of these accounts, dated April 19, 1887, reads: "On Tuesday last week a Bohemian named John Kricnetzky who resides 1-1/2 miles southeast of this village was killed by the east bound freight. It seemed that he had been at Reedsville during the day and filled up with liquor. Towards evening he started up the track for home when about a mile and a half from Reedsville he was met by the train and knocked off the track. He was picked up and taken to Reedsville from which place he was conveyed home and Dr. McComb of Brillion and Dr. Packard of Manitowoc were summoned. He was hit by the engine in the side, rupturing his spleen from which he died on the following Thursday. [April 13]. At the inquest the jury rendered a verdict that "Kricnetzky came to his death by external violence received while walking on the railroad track."nMaria was left with 8 sons to care for, ages 1 to 19. The inventory of Johan's estate, probated 11 years later in 1898, was the following: Real Estate, 80 acres worth $3,500, 2 horses worth $125, 1 cow worth $20, 1 milk wagon, worth $5, 1 reaper worth $10, 1 lumber wagon worth $10, 1 seeder worth $5, 1 farming mill woth $2, 2 beds worth $1, 1 table worth $.50 and 1 looking glass worth $.50. Only the boys, not the daughter, were listed as heirs.nJoseph, then 19, headed to the northern woods of Wisconsin to work in lumber camps for 4 years, where he lost all the fingers on his right hand at a sawmill. For a year was engaged in business in Antigo, where he and Theresa Augustine, a Bohemian woman from Kewaunee, married in 1892. When they returned to Reedsville he ran a first class buffet for a year. They subsequently bought an acre of land outside of town on which they established a hotel and buffet at the NW corner of what is now Highway 10 and Oakwood Road. In 1900 they bought the adjacent 75 acres of land and farmed and ran the hotel, buffet and dance hall on the property. Initially it was called Krizenesky's Corners but a couple of years after his death in 1923 the family sold it. The new owners called it Hi-Wa-10. Just last year the tavern and dance hall were knocked down. Theresa bore 10 children, 7 of which survived into adulthood and settled within a 40-mile radius of the farm. Despite his handicap Joseph served as clerk of the town board for many years and was very involved with church and community affairs.nJohn and Charles as young men also headed north to the lumber camps. John was married in Reedsville to Alvina Koch on November 30, 1897, bought a house in Brillion in 1901and took employment with the Union Lime Company. His long battle with inflamatory rheumatism ended on December 12, 1905. He left his widow, Alvina with one child. They moved to Marshfield.nCharles, meanwhile, married Anna Burich on January 30, 1894 in Reedsville. Their first son was born there the same year but they headed to the northwest part of Wisconsin, bought a dairy farm near Cumberland, Barron County, raising 5 children, all of whom graduated from high school. Their oldest son, John and his wife, Julia moved to Idaho in the 1930's, where they spawned the West Coast branch of the Krizeneskys. The other children remained in northwestern Wisconsin.nBack on the farm in the Town of Maple Grove, Mary struggled with her young sons. In the winter the older of them would go to Chicago to find work (and probably play). 1896 Franz took employment at an enameling factory, in Chicago, where he eventually became a foreman. On May 19, 1900 he married Anastasia (a/k/a Daisy) Hubka in Chicago. They had 2 children and in 1905 established a business, called "Krizenesky's Coffee & Tea" with a storefront at 2922 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago.nJames (a/k/a Wenzel & Vaclav) also headed for Chicago as a young man, where he worked for Pilsen Brewery delivering beer, both by horse-driven wagon, and later, truck. Because of injury he later tended the horses in the stable. He and Josefina Sladek married about 1900 and had two sons. In 1906 Josefina fell victim to turberculosis and died, leaving him with 2 young sons. In about 1907 James married Anna Jankovsky, who bore him 6 children, including 2 sets of twins. Only 3 children survived past infancy.nBy the turn of the century, Louis was also in Chicago, where he eventually opened a tavern at 2501 Walton St.. He married Marie Chada, and she died on March 19, 1905, probably giving birth to a little Marie, who died 6 months later. In about 1906 Louis married Albina Kozeny, from Elcovice, Bohemia. together they had 3 children. He died at their large summer home in Antioch, Illinois.nIn 1900 Maria was still struggling on the farm with her two youngest sons, Thomas and Adolph. They had a 56 year old Bohemian man living with them. In the fall of 1908 the house and stable burned, leaving only the barn. Maria sold the farm at an auction for $7,450, testifying in court that the boys had not plowed for the next year's crop because of the fire. After the sale, Maria moved to Chicago to live with Louis and his family.nThe following fall Thomas married Caroline Turensky in September 1909, with whom he had 3 children. He worked at the Brillion Iron Works and was a fireman. He met his death because of a throat infection caused by an iron spark. The foundry closed for the entire day of his funeral.nAdolph, the youngest, worked as a lumberjack, at the foundry in Brillion, at the Union Lime quarry and in his later years as a cheesemaker. Although he never had children, he married a widow named Anna Schmelter on August 12, 1926. Anna died in 1929 and Adolph never remarried. His last residence was out very near the farm on which he was born.

b) Frances Vondrachek is mother of: Joseph Krizenesky (*1867), John Krizenesky (*1870), Charles Krizenesky (*1872) and Mary Krizenesky (*1874)

c) Maria Vratna is mother of: Frank Krizenecky (*1877), James Krizenecky (*1879), Louis Krizenecky (*1881), Thomas J Krizenesky (*1884) and Adolph Krizenesky (*1886)

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