THOMAS AND ANTONIA [DIVIS] STOURAL, SR.
Thomas Stoural, Sr., was born in Stare Prachatice, Bohemia, on
December 9, 1857, to Albert and Madeline Baur Stoural. The Stoural
name was Stovall in Bohemia. In 1863 Madeline died and Albert
married Katherine Zahorka. To this union were born ten children:
Mary, (Mrs. Frank Marchan), Katherine, (Mrs. Vac Pavlik), Rosemarie
(Mrs. Joe Holan), Jenny (Mrs. Frank Jelinek), Frank, Albert, Jr.,
Anna (Mrs. John Forester), John, Barbara (Mrs. J. J. Schmidt), and
Felix.
[pg 409 photo Thomas and Antonia [Divis] Stoural]
When twelve years old, Thomas left his native land with his parents
for America. After landing in the United States in 1870, the family
settled at Chicago, where he stayed two years and worked out.
In 1873 Thomas came with his family to Knox County. When of age, he
took up a homestead and tree claim in Section 11 of Verdigre
Township, where he made his home. Mr. Stoural did his share of
developing the agricultural resources of this section of the county.
Through his work and good management, he built up valuable property
on the homestead which started with only a sod house that served for
five years until a good dwelling was built.
In the earliest days of Thomas’ residence here, he endured many
hardships and dangers. He suffered losses when the grasshoppers
destroyed all his crops during the first year on the homestead. The
Indians were a source of uneasiness to the settlers of the region in
those days, and they experienced many a scare from them, but the
Indians were not as hostile to the settlers in this locality as they
were in other portions of Knox County.
Thomas Stoural was united in marriage to Antonia Divis on May 25,
1884, and this couple holds the distinction of being the first to be
married in the newly organized parish church of St. Wenceslaus.
Antonia Divis was born on February 10, 1865, to Jan (John) Divis and
Antonia Hvezda Divis in Poresin, Bohemia. Antonia had two brothers,
Frank and Joe, and one sister, Anna (Mrs. Thomas Murphy).
According to the obituary of Antonia Hvezda Divis, Antonia came to
America with her parents and uncle, Joseph Divis. The obituary of
Joseph Divis states that on the voyage to America their steamship,
Columbus, was seized by a ship flying a German flag in the Atlantic
Ocean. Taken back to Hamburg, Germany, the passengers were interned
for 18 weeks. After this delay, they continued their journey to the
new world and landed in Baltimore, Maryland. From there they located
in Chicago, where they lived for five years and then moved to
Pocahontas, Iowa, where they farmed for seven years. They then moved
to Nebraska and took up a homestead.
After their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Stoural lived on the homestead u
until 1924, when they moved to Verdigre. They were the parents of
seven children: Minnie (Mrs. Ernest Sandoz), Clara (wife of Dr.
Frank Kucera), Martha (Mrs. Joe Drobny), Emmon, George, Frank, and
Thomas.
Mr. and Mrs. Stoural were highly esteemed and respected by all who
knew them. They took an active part in the parish church.
As a young lady, Mrs. Stoural worked on an Indian Reservation where
she learned to speak some Indian language. She used to entertain her
great-grandchildren by counting to them in Indian language for them.
Thomas Stoural, Sr., passed away on Friday, October 5, 1934, and
Mrs. Stoural passed away November 15, 1957. They are both buried in
the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Cemetery in Verdigre.
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