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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 |
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 |
| Texas
Escapes, in its purpose to preserve historic, endangered and vanishing
Texas, asks that anyone wishing to share their local history, stories,
landmarks and recent or vintage photos, please contact
us. |
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