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| a Generation of Kansas Pioneers in Atchison, Brown & Doniphan Counties | ||
31 May 2012
Brox Research
Which Austrians in Atchison County, Kansas, were from the group of Bohemian villages north of Zwittau, Austria, and which of these were related to John Brox
In 1875, John Brox and his family emigrated directly to Shannon Township, Atchison County, Kansas, from the village of Altwaldek, Bohemia, Austria. They came from one of a small group of villages north of the small city of Zwittau. Upon their arrival, there were already several others in the neighborhood who had come from the same place. There were also others with their relatively uncommon surname who sometimes used the spellings Brox, Prox or the original Prax. The assumption is that they were also from the same area and somehow related to John and to each other. The original and still the ultimate goal is to find out if this is so, and if so, how. Over time, the search has spread to include determining who else in Atchison County also came from the same area of Austria. This has been interesting in itself, but it has also proven helpful to the original search.
Frank Prox
Possibly the most important of these individuals is Franz Prax, also known as Frank Prox (and sometimes spelled Brox) who is a potential brother of John Brox. According to his passenger record and census records, Frank was born c.1839 in Austria, immigrated in 1864, and lived in Missouri before coming to Kansas. However, his first confirmed location is in Shannon Township in Atchison County in 1875. In 1885, he was living in Lancaster Township with a wife, Victoria, who was born c.1843 also in Austria. They must have married between 1875-85, since Frank had no wife with him on his ship or in 1875. He has not been found on the 1880 census. Victoria died 9 Jun 1898 and was buried in Mt. Vernon Cemetery in Atchison, Kansas. The 1900 and 1905 censuses show Frank living on his own and working as a teamster. In 1910, now in his 70’s, he was still in the same area but now boarding with the Austrian/Bohemian family of John Prohaska.
Anton Brox
According to his death certificate, Anton (Anthony) Brox was born 10 Jun 1854 in Vienna, Austria, but it seems unlikely that he would have come from a major city. According to census records, he immigrated c.1866 and was naturalized before 1900. He is found in Shannon Township earlier than Frank in 1870. He was living and working as a farmhand at the age of 16 or 17 years old which suggests that perhaps his parents were deceased. About 1880, Anton married Harriet "Hattie" Martin and they were living in Wolf River Township, Doniphan County, Kansas. A man named Christopher C. Naylor had been working with Anton in 1870. Now his brother, John Naylor, was living with Anton and Hattie here. A third brother, James W. Naylor, was now only two farms away as well. These were all sons of Isaac Naylor. By 1885, Anton and Hattie had moved to Sumner County in southern Kansas where they were living next to the first brother, Christopher. These repeated associations with the Naylor family suggest that there may have been a familial relationship somewhere, perhaps with Hattie. From here it was a relatively short trip to Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, where they moved between 1890-92 and remained. Anton died here 14 Sep 1935 and Hattie died in 28 May 1944. They were both buried in the Hennessey-Calvary Cemetery. The names of their children are:
- Josie (1881).
- Arthur J. (1882-1938).
- Jessie V. (1888).
- Edna (1890).
- Ruth Grace (1892).
- Roy H. (1897).
- Joseph Irvin (1900-1964).
Teresa Brox
Teresa Brox was born 28 Nov 1854 in Austria and also lived in Missouri before coming to Kansas. One census says that she immigrated in 1855, but another says 1865. In 1870, she was living with the Austrian family of Wenzel Keeler in Shannon Township. By 1875, she was living with the family of John Drimmel. This is the same household and the same time in which Theresia Kessler Gergele and her infant son were staying there. This Theresia had just arrived in the country after travelling from the Zwittau area with her brother-in-law and sister, John and Anna Kessler Brox. This is very promising as it puts Teresa Brox in the same house as a member of the John Brox family. Teresa then married Raymond Kauer 7 Aug 1880 and died 13 Jul 1938 in Warrensburg, Johnson County, Missouri. Her death certificate shows her father's name as Antoine Prock and her mother as Teresa.
Later, some members of the Brox and Kessler families married into the Keeler family. In 1894, John Joseph Brox, a son of John Brox, married Elizabeth Keeler, a daughter of Wenzel. Then in 1898, Mollie Kessler married Robert P. Keeler, one of Wenzel's sons. In 1933, a grandson of John Brox married a granddaughter of Wenzel Keeler as well.
The Henry Myers Farm
The family of Henry Myers who was born in Hannover, Germany, not in Austria, provides a loose connection to each of the previous individuals. First, he had lived in Rush Township, Buchanan County, Missouri, at the same time as others in this query. Then in 1870, a teenage Anton Brox was a laborer on his farm in Shannon Township while Teresa Brox was living nearby. Five years later, Frank Prox was living as a farmhand on the same farm and was working with both Christopher and John Naylor who, as previously discussed, are associated with Anton Brox. Teresa had moved in with a different family by then, but she was still close.
Two children in the Brox and Kessler families who were both born in the Zwittau area later married into the Myers family as well. In 1888, Mary Anna Brox, a daughter of John Brox, married John Myers, a son of Henry Myers. Then in 1893, Theresa Kessler married another Myers son, Henry B. Myers. Theresa was a daughter of John Kessler and a first cousin of Mary Anna Brox.
Anna Prax
The fourth and final known individual in the area with the Brox/Prox/Prax surname is also the earliest. Anna Prax and her new husband, Joseph Zalfler, were issued marriage license No. 1 in Atchison County, Kansas, on 4 Mar 1867. No other records found in the area contain the name Zalfler or any reasonable spelling variations that would be pronounced the same. The closest name appears to be Zölfel (which became Zelfel and/or Zalphel). The young men found with this name just happen to have potential connections to Zwittau as well. For Anna and Joseph to marry without parental consent, she had to be born before 1849 and he before 1846.
Ship Passenger Lists
One pitfall to be avoided is assuming that all Austrians who associated with each other were from the same place. Since they spoke the same language and dialects and had the same culture, they would have tended to associate anyway. Researching the passenger lists of immigrant ships arriving in the United States has been very helpful in this regard. They have allowed me to see who traveled together, and therefore can be safely assumed to have come from the same locations. This is most helpful when someone on the list has already been proven to be from the Zwittau area. In other cases, it at least shows me who had already known each other before immigrating. From this research, it appears that perhaps a majority of the Austrians in Shannon Township, Atchison County, Kansas, were originally connected to the Zwittau area. A few of the most important lists are included here.
The Bark "Norma"
The earliest list of interest is from the Bark "Norma" which landed in Baltimore on 12 Sep 1864, over ten years before the arrival of John Brox. The clerk in charge of this list did not seem to do a very good job of reading the original German documents that the passengers must have been carrying. For instance, all passengers were listed as being from Germany which is obviously not the case. It contains at least fifteen individuals who were traveling together. Each relevant person is listed here followed by the earliest date they have been found in Atchison County.
The Anton Kössler family first lived in Buchanan County, Missouri, where several others connected to this search had lived at the same time. They then moved to Atchison County along with the others before later venturing off to Doniphan County. The Franz Braz listed here is very likely to be the long sought after Frank Prox discussed previously. Anton and Anna Zölfel were probably not a married couple. They were more likely to be brother and sister since Anton would have been very young to have been married already. Anton was found on the 1870 census in Atchison County without Anna. She probably married soon after arriving, and a good candidate is an Anna Dosser who seems to fit all the requirements on subsequent census records. She is the correct age, married her husband c.1866, and in 1875 lived next to a household full of people known to be from Zwittau. The particular Demel family shown here (it has been spelled many different ways) has not been located in Kansas, but they were also in Buchanan County with the others. It is a surname that is closely associated with the group in Kansas.
Immigrant Ships Passenger Arrival Lists, NARA.
Bark Norma, From Bremen to Baltimore, Arrived 12 Sep 1864.
p.5-6
| Anton Kösgjer [Kössler], age 44, male, farmer, origin Germany, destination United States. | |
| Anna Kösgjer, age 41, female, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870,KS 1875] |
| Therese Kösgjer, age 19, female, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870,KS 1875] |
| Rosalie Kösgjer, age 16, female, Germany, United States. | [KS 1880] |
| Veronika Kösgjer, age 6, female, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870,KS 1875] |
| Maria Kösgjer, age 3, female, Germany, United States. | |
| Anton Zölfel, age 18, male, baker, Germany, United States. | [KS 1870] |
| Anna Zölfel, age 24, female, Germany, United States. | |
| Franz Braz [Prax], age 25, male, miller, Germany, United States. | [MO ?,KS 1875] |
| Johann Damel, age 46, male, farmer, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870] |
| Marie Damel, age [obliterated], female, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870] |
| Johann Damel, age [obliterated], male, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870] |
| Joseph Damel, age 11, male, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870] |
| Wenzel Damel, age 7, male, Germany, United States. | [MO 1870] |
| Marie Damel, age 1, female, Germany, United States. |
The S.S. "America"
The next passenger list is particularly intriguing. The S.S. America landed in New York on 3 Jul 1865 with nineteen individuals aboard who were traveling together from Bohemia (Austria). More than half have been located in and around the city of Atchison, and most of the surnames appear on the passport of John Brox.
Of this list, all of the Philipp and Antel family members have been found in Atchison County. Neither Zeit has been found, but others of this name were in Atchison County. Theresia could have died before the next census, and Victoria could have married. Otherwise the Anton Prax family is a big question. Anton, in fact, is another potential brother of John Brox. His wife and two older children could also be the Anna, Anton, and Teresa Prax/Brox discussed above. However, the ages of the children do not quite match up. If it is assumed that their ages on the manifest are incorrect (which is fairly uncommon), it is not difficult to fit everything else together. Anton could have died soon after arriving, leaving Anna to remarry to Joseph "Zalfler" in 1867. She could have then died as well. This would have left Anton Jr. and Teresa to fend for themselves, which could explain why they were living with other families while in their late teens. This argument is supported by the death certificate of the Teresa Brox discussed above which shows her father's name as Anton.
Immigrant Ships Passenger Arrival Lists, NARA.
Steamer S.S. America, From Bremen to New York, Arrived 03 Jul 1865.
p.13
| Franz Philipp, age 31, male, farmer, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1875] |
| Maria Philipp, age 20, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1875] |
| Theresia Zeit, age 67, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | |
| Victoria Zeit, age 29, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | |
| Joseph Philipp, age 29, male, farmer, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1880] |
| Anne Philipp, age 28, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1880] |
| Alois Philipp, age 5, male, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1880] |
| Franz Antel, age 30, male, farmer, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1870] |
| Rosa Antel, age 26, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1870] |
| Aloisa Antel, age 3, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1870] |
| Marie Antel, age 6 mos, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [KS 1870] |
| Anton Prax, age 35, male, farmer, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | |
| Anna Prax, age 29, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | |
| Anton Prax, age 7, male, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | |
| Theresia Prax, age 6, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | |
| Franz Prax, age 5, male, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | |
| Veit Antel, age 56, male, farmer, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [1880, possibly 1870] |
| Theresia Antel, age 56, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [1880, possibly 1870] |
| Theresia Antel, age 7, female, origin Bohemia, destination USA. | [probably 1870, but wrong age listed] |
The Bark "Gutenberg"
Another important list is from the bark "Gutenberg" which landed in Baltimore on 11 Aug 1865. Instead of listing only the country of origin for each of its passengers, it named their village. Therefore everyone listed here is definitely known to be from the correct area without any guesswork involved. They also traveled 2nd class instead of the usual "between decks" of most immigrants.
Johann and Veronica Woletz are the couple with whom the John Brox family lived upon their arrival in Kansas in 1875, so they are a very strong connection. The Joseph Zölfel shown here is from the same village in which John Brox was born. He is very likely to be the man whom Anna Prax married in 1867, making it more likely that she was also from there and connected to John. Others with his surname have been found in Atchison County, including on the "Norma", and the spelling was typically changed to Zelfel. The others on this list were definitely from the correct area, but they have not been located afterwards.
Immigrant Ships Passenger Arrival Lists, NARA.
Gutenberg, From Bremen to Baltimore, Arrived 11 Aug 1865.
p.1
| Joseph Zölfel, age 29, born Austria, last residence Neuwaldeck, destination Baltimore, occupation farmer. | |
| Johann Woletz, age 39, born Austria, last residence Ueberdörfs, destination [Iowa?], occupation farmer. | |
| Veronica Woletz, age 41, born Austria, last residence Ueberdörfs, destination [Iowa?], no occupation. | |
| Johann [partially obliterated], age [28?], born Austria, last residence Neuwaldeck, destination [Iowa?], occupation farmer. | |
| Wenzel Trod[er/en?], age 28, born Austria, last residence Kleinhermigsdorf, destination [Iowa?], occupation farmer. | |
| Barbara Philip, age 40, born Austria, last residence Körber, destination [Iowa?], no occupation. |
Summary
Finally, dozens of people have been investigated in the search to answer the original questions. It would be tempting to say they all had come from the villages around Zwittau, and eventually perhaps that will be possible. However they currently tend to fall into one of the three categories as listed below.
The first group includes those who are without a doubt from the Zwittau area, because documents have been found specifically connecting them to one of the villages:
| Johann Prax/Brox & Mary Anna Kessler | passport, obituaries of children, aboard "Braunschweig" |
| Johann Carl Kessler & Victoria Rutter | known to be brother of Mary Anna Kessler, obituary, aboard "Nurnberg" |
| Theresia Kessler Gergele | known to be sister of Mary Anna Kessler, aboard "Braunschweig" |
| John Drimmel & Mary Karn | Theresia Gergele lived with them immediately after arriving in 1875 |
| Joseph Zölfel | aboard "Gutenberg" |
| Johann & Veronica Woletz | aboard "Gutenberg", John Prax/Brox family lived with them immediately after arriving in 1875 |
The second group is that of people who are almost certainly from the Zwittau area due to their assocations with those who did or because of who else was on the ships on which they immigrated:
| Anton & Anna Kessler | aboard "Norma" |
| Anton Zölfel | aboard "Norma" |
| Franz Prax | aboard "Norma" |
| Theresia Brox | lived with John & Mary Drimmel and Wenzel Keeler |
| Franz & Rosa Antle | aboard "America", surname on passport of John Brox |
| Franz & Marie Schlinger | aboard "Nurnberg" |
| Joseph & Anna Philipp | aboard "America", surname on passport of John Brox |
The final list is that of Austrians who have had less direct interactions with those on the previous two lists. It could just be that they preferred the company of other Austrians:
| Anton Brox | worked on same farm as Franz Prax/Frank Prox |
| Johann & Anna Bittner | lived in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kansas |
| Frank Kramer | lived in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kansas |
| Joseph Watowa | lived in Missouri and Kansas |
| Johann & Anna Prohaska | Franz Prax/Frank Prox lived with him and his second wife |
| Wenzel & Anna Keeler | several family members married into families from Zwittau area |
| Joseph & Johanna Zeit | other Zeits were from the area |
| Mrs. Theresa Frodl | married Franz Antle, surnames Frodl and Antle both appear on passport of John Brox |
* * * * * * * * *
Links
- John Brox/Prax and Anna Kessler/Kössler
{fam group, lineage, fam hist, query?} - Henry Myers
{fam group, fam hist} - Frank Brox/Prox and Victoria
{fam group, query?} - Anton Brox
{fam group, query?} - Theresia Brox
{indiv1, indiv2, query?} - Theresia Kessler Gergele and her son John
{fam group, query?} - Wenzel Keeler
{fam group, query?}