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Frank Matulka Sr. (00001) Notes

General

Frank and Katerine Prochaska Matulka immigrated to the U.S.A. in 1877 from Hungary. They state this on the 1880 federal census of Saunders County, Nebraska. At this time the Eastern part of Czechoslovakia was part of Hungary. I a not sure where the dividing line was but I suspect it was close to the line used in 1993 as the line dividing present day Czechoslovakia. Frank and Katherine had basically lived their lives in Hungary before they came to the U.S.A. in 1877. Frank was 52 years old and Katherine was 47 years old when they came to this country.

In 1880 Frank was 55, Katy was 50, Frank Jr. was 19, Mary was 16, John was 15, Rosa was 10, June was 8, and Jacob was 6, and all born in Hungary. In 1883 at the age of 58 and 53, Frank and Katherine moved with their family to Hayes County, Nebraska and began life anew on a homestead on the South Quarter of Section 30, in Township 8, of Range 35, West of the 6th Principal Meridian in Nebraska, containing 160 acres. The homestead papers were issued on May 9, 1891. There is also listed other land owned by Frank Matulka Sr. as 160 acres in Section 5, Township 7, of range 35 in Hayes County, Nebraska. This is shown on Patent #7809 in Federal land records at Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Between 1883 and 1891 Frank and his sons had to build living quarters for the family and make crops for their livelihood and money for family necessities. In Hayes Country Frank Jr. had 160 acres that he rented. That looks like 3 parcels of 160 acres of land in Hayes County. So John at age 18 and Frank Jr. at age 22, and Frank Sr. at age 58 were the providers. Jacob would have been 9 years old at the time. Frank Jr. was married before 1882 and Rosa M. was married in December 1889 to Adam Miller. Mary had been married in 1883 to Charles J. Dolezal in Saunders County, Nebraska so this left June age 11 and Jacob age 9 and John age 18 for the family. June was 8 years old on the 1880 census and if, as we have heard, she was married at age 16 then she was married in 1888. Frank would have been 63 years old at this time.

In the 1900 census Katy at age 87 was living with son John in Butler County, Richardson Township, Nebraska. Frank's tombstone says he died in 1898.

Frank and John Matulka and Charles J. Dolezal declared their intention to become citizens in 1884 in Saunders County, Nebraska and then filed for homesteads in Hayes County, Nebraska in 1885. Rosa M. also filed for a homestead in 1885 as did her future husband Adam Miller. Frank Jr. on his naturalization records (held by the clerk of the District Court in Butler Country) states that he arrived in New York, New York on June 20, 1877 from Bremen, Germany. I have been unable to locate the ship list where this would be recorded at this time.

Mrs. Arleen Niemann wrote me that she had been to the Dwight Cemetery and copied the material from the tombstone that Katerina Matulka died in 1917 at the age of 92 years. Frantisek Matulka died in 1898 at the age of 88 years. These figures do not correspond with other information available on this couple. Arleen also said that they were told that Frantisek Matulka gave money to purchase ground or helped make the fence and other work for the cemetery and was given a plot for his help.

I have not determined when the homestead land in Hayes County was sold but it was between 1891 and 1898 and I will get to Hayes County to find the dates.

There are six children by this marriage:

Reference: The Matulka Family History From 1877 - 1993 Compiled by Charles Eldridge