A transcription of pages 195-469,
Family Histories from the Verdigre Centennial Book
Thanks to the Verdigre Library and its volunteers for making this available.
 
The index below only includes the husband and wife for each family.
The maiden name for the wife is used if listed.
For other names, use the search on the Home Page.

Index's A-I, J-P, & Q-Z

THE FRANZ RUNTSCH FAMILY

The first known recording of the Runtsch family name was in 1276 A.D. In that year the great Bohemian King Premysl-Ottakar requested that a man whose name was Runtsch be summoned to serve as a judge in his monarchy.

Before World War I, a town which was named Runtschen was located in the Austria-Hungarian Empire. After the establishment of the country of Yugoslavia, the town was located there, and the name was changed to Runec, which is in the Slovenian language. Three members of the Runtsch family, Lawrence, wife Margaret, and Clarence visited there in 1984. The town is in a wine-producing area, located on the ridge of a hill with vineyards on the slopes. The age of the town is not known but dates from antiquity.

The family of Franz Runtsch came to America from Europe in 1874 and settled in Nebraska. Franz Runtsch (1835-1909) was born in Michelsdorf, in the province of Bohemia, Austria.

[pg 378 PHOTO Franz Runtsch with his third wife Anna and granddaughter Anna Belka Kopetjka]

His first wife was born in Europe and had died there; further information regarding her life is not known. His second wife, Clara Hartmann Runtsch (1840-1881) was born in Opocna, Bohemia. In addition to his second wife, the other members of the Franz Runtsch family who emigrated with him were his four children: Anna (Stoll), (birth and death dates unknown), who was the daughter of his first wife; Franz, Jr., (birth date unknown, died before 1900); Mary (Belka (1869-1938); and Albert (1874-1935). A fifth child, Ferdinant Joseph (1876-1886) was born in Nebraska. After the death of his second wife, Franz Runtsch married Anna W. Mueller Gregor (1836-1916)

The Franz Runtsch family first settled near the Niobrara River ;on a farm in the Dukeville area. In 1878 the Brule Sioux Chief, Spotted Tail, and his band of about 6,000 Indians held their annual Sun Dance in that immediate vicinity, probably within sight of the Runtsch homestead. The family later moved to the Walnut community.

Anna Runtsch Stoll left the Verdigre area when she married and moved with her husband to Oregon in the vicinity of Portland where she lived the remainder of her life.

Franz Runtsch, Jr., left the family home as a young man to work in South Dakota, returning periodically to visit. Before 1900, during the winter, he returned to Nebraska to spend time with his relatives. After he left on his trip back to South Dakota, he was never heard from again. It was thought that he was killed by Indians or bandits, or he might have drowned while crossing the Missouri River. He never married.

When she was a young woman, Mary Runtsch married Carl Belka. She spent most of her life with her husband and children on a farm near her father’s home in the Walnut community. She is remembered as a kind and considerate lady by all who knew her.

Albert grew to manhood in the Dukeville area. After traveling extensively through the West and working as a cowboy at an early age, he settled on a farm in the Walnut community. He was an outdoorsman who loved hunting and fishing, and greatly enjoyed baseball, both as a spectator and as a pitcher during his young years. Albert married Anna Marie Czekay in 1911. Four children were born to the couple. Albert worked his family farm until his death in 1935.

Ferdinant, the third son of Franz, died when he was a child of ten in the Walnut or Dukeville area.

-Compiled by Clarence F. Runtsch with concurrence from
Leona M. (Runtsch) Seater and Lawrence F. Runtsch

Pages 377, 378