Jan Mazac

My paternal 1st. great Moravian grandfather. Son of Jiriho/Jiri "Georg" Mazac & Annie Marie (Skybarove) Mazac of Moravia. Husband of Annie Marie "Mary" (Dudik) Mazac. Emigrated in August 1891 from Vsetin, Moravia to Ellis Island, New York, New York on 10 October 1891, then by ship to Galveston, Galveston, Texas, and overland by wagon to Williamson county, Texas, USA. COPY OF IMMIGRATION PAPERS FROM VSETINE, MORAVIA: SHOW: MAZAC, JAN, DELNIK NA VSETINE, SYN JIRIHO MAZACE, DOMKARE V ROKYTNICI A JEHO MANZELKY ANNY SKYVAROVE. 1 ZARI 1891 IS THE DATE FILED TO LEAVE MORAVIA AND ENTER THE U.S.A.] [LISTED IN BOOK SEVEN OF LEO BACA'S BOOKS ON CZECH IMMIGRATION: JAN MAZAC, AGE 29, ARRIVED IN NEW YORK ON BOARD THE SHIP ELBE FROM BOHEMIA ON OCTOBER 10, 1891. CAME BY SHIP TO GALVESTON, TEXAS.] MOVED TO GRANGER,TEXAS ABOUT 1893; LATER MOVED TO CORN HILL, TEXAS ABOUT 1899, AND THEN RETURNED TO GRANGER,TEXAS. Jan & Marie Mazac had six of their sons die, before they emigrated from Moravia. They settled in Granger, Corn Hill, and Taylor areas, in Williamson County, Texas. Father of twenty (20) children. Hard working, honorable, Czech-Moravian, poor tenant farmer. John helped build the St. Cyril & Methodius Catholic Church in Granger, Williamson County, Texas. Member of the SPJST. [source: 1995 Mazac Family Reunion Book, held by past reunion president, Sally Frederick Tudor, Houston, Harris County, Texas, 1998-2014] Headstone in the Granger Cemetery reads: JAN MAZAC, NAR, DUBEN 28, 1863, which is Czech for Born on April 28, 1863, and ZEM, KVTNU 3, 1931, which is Moravian for Died on May 3, 1931. 1900 CENSUS SHOWS JAN AND MARIE MAZAC WITH CHILDREN: ROZALIE AGE 19, MARIE AGE 6, ALBERT AGE 16, ROBERT AGE 10, JOSEF AGE 9, BESSIE AGE 5, EMMA AGE 4, EFFIE AGE 2, JOHN AGE 1, AND BERTHA MAZAC.

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GEDCOM Note

JAN AND MARIE MAZAC IMMIGRATED TO ELLIS ISLAND, NEW YORK IN AUGUST 1892 FROM VSETINE, MORAVIA. THEY HAD FIVE SONS DIE IN CHILDHOOD BEFORE THEY EMIGRATED FROM MORAVA IN AUGUST 1892. IN 1893 THEY SETTLED IN GRANGER, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS. THEY LEFT THROUGH THE PORT OF BREMEN, GERMANY. JOHN AND MARIE LEFT VSETINE, MORAVIA IN JUNE 1892. IT WAS A LONG, ARDUOUS THIRTEEN WEEK TRIP ON A SHIP. THE MAZAC'S CAME TO THE U.S.A. IN AUGUST 1892, AND THEN SETTLED IN GRANGER, TEXAS IN 1893, AND LATER MOVED TO CORN HILL, TEXAS ABOUT 1899. JOHN AND MARY WERE POOR TENANT FARM LABORERS. THEY LABORED FROM SUNUP UNTIL SUNDOWN. JOHN AND MARY MAZAC BROUGHT THEIR CHILDREN, ROSALIE AGE 11, ALBERT AGE 8, ROBERT AGE 2, AND JOSEPH AGE 1. JOHN AND MARY MAZAC HAD TWENTY ONE CHILDREN ALTOGETHER. JOHN HELPED BUILD THE SS. CYRIL & METHODIUS CATHOLIC CHURCH IN GRANGER, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, TEXAS IN 1893. HE IS LISTED AS ONE OF THE FOUNDERS IN THE BOOK ABOUT GRANGER, WILLIAMSON CO, TEXAS.

<b>Granger, Williamson Co. </b>Location: Granger is on State Highway 95 twelve miles north of Taylor in northeastern Williamson County.
History: It originated in 1882 when the Houston and San Antonio branches of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad intersected at the site. Czechs were attracted to the cheap, fertile land, and by the early twentieth century Czech culture, both Catholic and Protestant, had become strong and influential in the community. A Czech Protestant church was first organized in Granger in 1880. A Brethren congregation, the most important Czech Protestant church in Texas, was established in 1892. In 1903 a convention of Brethren congregations in Texas was held in Granger and successfully unified all the congregations into the Evangelical Unity of Bohemian and Moravian Brethren. A Brethren teacher-training summer school, called Hus Memorial School, was established in Granger in 1914. It was later moved to Temple. The Granger National Bank, opened in 1937, advertised in Czech newspapers as "your Czech bank." Nasinec, a Czech-language Catholic weekly newspaper for Texas, began in 1914 and was still being published in 1989.
<b>Saints Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church</b> (Corner of North Brazos and West Davilla Streets)
The Czechs/Moravians who settled here in the early 1880s initially worshiped in each other’s homes or traveled 12 miles to Taylor, site of the nearest Catholic Church.  As their informal congregation grew so did the community of Granger.  In 1891 they erected a wood frame sanctuary here on land donated by Austinite W. H. Walton, and named their church after the Czech patron saints, Cyril and Methodius. During the Rev. Frantisek Machan’s brief tenure as pastor the church formed several fraternal organizations and established a school.  His successor, the Rev. Frantisek Pridal, helped the congregation build a new school building/parish hall in 1912 and replace the original church building with a brick structure in 1916.  Following the death of the beloved Father Pridal in 1927, the Rev. John Vanicek became pastor.  He helped many young parishioners enter the priesthood and sisterhood, and guided several parishioners into leadership roles in stateside Catholic fraternal organizations. In 1948 this church became a part of the newly formed Austin Diocese.  A two-story brick school building was added in 1947, a recreation center in 1959, and a brick convent in 1960.  The church continues to play an integral role in church and community affairs.  (1993)
http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/Granger_Texas/Granger.htm