Josef Volcik was born 27 Jan 1830 in the small town of Vsetín, situated in the historical Moravian lands of the Austrian Empire, under the rule of Francis I, Emperor of Austria. While his headstone, one of the original clues to his birth and lineage, indicates a birth date of 1828, Parish Registers from the region have uncovered the family and Josef’s baptismal record which indicates that his birth coincided with his parents second marriage anniversary.1
Little is known of Josef’s life as he grew up through the latter Metternich years; however we know that he met his wife, Anna Cmerek of the neighboring town of Jablůnka, and the two were married in 1855.2 On the 25th of October, 1870, Josef embarked upon a journey to the United States aboard the bark Erna, sailing from Bremen, Austria.3 He was accompanied by his wife Anna, as well as his four (4) minor children:
- Johann (1859 – 1943)
- Stepan (b. 1860 – 1933)
- Anna (b. 1867) [Possibly Katherine Gerta Volcik, 1864 – 1955]
- Josef (b. 1870 – bef. 1880)
Settling in Fayette County, Texas, Josef was a farmer and worked the lands of the J.M. Burton League amounting to 109 1/3 acres.4 In an extract from Frank Lotto’s self-published works on Fayette County, Texas,5 we can identify the boundaries of the J.M. Burton League and the relative area in which the family lived and worked, between Ellinger and Fayetteville:
No. 6 — Ellinger shall be composed of the following leagues and surveys; The J. Petty, J. M. Burton, all of the W. O. Burnham and Lucy Kerr leagues lying southwest of the Biegel and Ellinger road, all of the S. A. Anderson lying southeast of Sarrazin’s Creek, and all of the Jos. Duty, W. T. Dunlavy and Jog. Ehlinger lying in Fayette County. All elections hereafter held in said Precinct shall be held at Ellinger.
No. 7 — Fayetteville is bounded as follows : Beginning at Colorado County line at Cummin’s Creek, to the mouth of Clear Creek ; thence up the said Clear Creek to the southeast line of N. Townsend league ; thence to the south corner of said league ; thence along the northeast lines of the Hensley league to its east corner; thence along the southeast lines of Hensley and Biegel leagues to the Biegel and Ellinger road ; thence with said road to the northwest line of the J. M. Burton league ; thence along the northwest line of said league to its north corner; thence along the northeast line of said league to the east corner of said league; thence with the Ehlinger league line to Colorado County line; thence with said county line to the place of beginning.
While in Fayette County, Josef and Anna had two more sons, Joseph (1875 – 1964) and Frank (1877 – 1960). Sometime after a deed of the land to Frank recorded in 1899, and a subsequent quitclaim to Joseph in 1904, Josef and his family moved 100 miles away (as the crow flies) to Harris County, settling in the small town of Crosby. By 1906, in Vol. 16 of the Obzor (a semi-monthly Czech language agricultural and horticultural newspaper published between 1891 and 1914), we find the startup charter of Řád Prapor Magnolie, číslo 65 (the Magnolia Battalion, number 65) of which Josef is a founding member, and elected as the order’s Secretary.6
In an excerpt from ‘A History of the Czech-Moravian Catholic Communities of Texas’, V.A. Svrcek wrote that when he came to Crosby, there was already an established Czech presence:7
Crosby, Texas Some 24 miles east of the city of Houston, in Harris County, is the small but prosperous town of Crosby, with some 20 Czech families. The Czech people began to move here around 1910. In 1912, I. P. Krenek moved here, and there were already the families of Josef Volčik, F. J. Moravek, Joseph Širočka, Karel Machala, Joseph Franta, John Kristinik, Stasny and Clawson.
Josef remained in Crosby throughout the rest of his life, living with his wife Anna at the home of his son Frank.8 While an exact date of death is unknown, Josef passed away between 1912 and 1920 (before the census). Josef was interred in White Cemetery in the neighboring town of Highlands. His headstone, written in Czech, reads:9
| Zde v Panu Odpociva | Here lies at rest |
| Josef Volčík manzel | Josef Volcik husband [of] |
| Anny Volčíkovi narozen | Anna Volcik born |
| dne 27 ledna roku 1828 | day 27 January year 1828 |
| ve Vstine Morave z rodicu | at Vsetin, Moravia to parents |
| Anny a Jiří Volčík | Anna and George Volcik |
Endnotes
- Provincial Archive in Opava, collection: “Collection of registries of the North Moravian Region“, NAD: 165, inventory number: 2375, signature of the archive: Vs I 9, type of register: catholic, originator: Vsetín, Římskokat. f. ú., volume content: N • 1792-1837 I-N • 1792-1837, time range: 1792 – 1837. place of storage: ZA v Opavě. In: Digital Archive of the Provincial Archive in Opava – Matriky [online database]. Provincial Archive in Opava, © 2020, last update: 2020-05-16.
- Provincial Archive in Opava, collection:: “Collection of registries of the North Moravian Region“, NAD: 165, inventory number: 2471, signature of the archive: Vs VII 9, type of register: catholic, originator: Pržno, Římskokat. f. ú., volume content: N • 1835-1876 Z • 1835-1876 O • 1835-1876 IN • 1835-1876 IZ • 1835-1876 IO • 1835-1876, time range: 1835 – 1876. place of storage: ZA in Opava. In: Digital Archive of the Provincial Archive in Opava – Matriky [online database]. Provincial Archive in Opava, © 2020, last update: 2020-05-16.
- “Copies of Lists of Passengers Arriving At Miscellaneous Ports on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and at Ports on the Great Lakes, 1820-1873”, U.S. Customs Service Records, 1820–ca. 1891, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration; citing Record Group 36, M575, Roll 3. Available from: Galveston Historical Foundation, “Galveston Immigration Database“, [online database].
- “ The La Grange Journal. (La Grange, Tex.), Vol. 20, No. 52, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 21, 1899“. 1899. B. F. Harigel 20 (52).
- Lotto, Frank. 1902. “Fayette County: Her History And Her People“. Schulenburg, Texas: Frank Lotto.
- Obzor. (Hallettsville, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 1, Ed. 1 Wednesday, August 1, 1906], newspaper, August 1, 1906; Hallettsville, Texas. The Portal to Texas History: ERC Record #394442, University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UT San Antonio Libraries Special Collections.
- Svrcek, V. A. “A History of the Czech-Moravian Catholic Communities of Texas”, A translation of “NASE DEJINY” a book published in 1939 in the Czech language by the “Nasinec Publishing Co.” in Granger, Texas. United States: Texian Press, 1974.
- “United States Census, 1910,” database online. Joe Volcik in household of Frank Volcik, Justice Precinct 3, Harris, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 112, sheet 5A, family 91, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1561; FHL microfilm 1,375,574.
- Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 12 August 2020), memorial page for Josef Volcik (27 Jan 1828–unknown), Find a Grave Memorial no. 91164779, citing Sterling White Chapel and Cemetery, Highlands, Harris County, Texas, USA ; Maintained by Cathy Hill (contributor 46900614) .
References
- “United States Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFNH-ZRJ : 15 July 2017), Joseph Volcik, 1880; citing enumeration district ED 56, sheet 47D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d), roll 1303; FHL microfilm 1,255,303.
- “United States Census, 1900,” database online. Joseph Volcik in household of Frank Volcik, Justice Precinct 2 Ellinger town, Fayette, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 33, sheet 2A, family 20, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,634.
- BACA, LEO. Czech Immigration Passenger Lists. Hallettsville, Tex.: Old Homestead Publishing Co. Vol. 1. 1983. 158p.