THOMAS AND CHRISTINA [SEDIVY] [PAVLIK] BELSKY
Thomas Belsky, a merchant, was the only member of his family to come
to America from Czechoslovakia. He spent some time in Virginia and
Chicago before heading west to Council Bluffs. He witnessed the
Chicago fire in 1871.
He looked at land around Pocahontas and Council Bluffs and decided
the region was too hilly as a farming area, so he purchased a wagon
and loaded it with various items of merchandise and headed for the
Verdigre country along the Niobrara River. Thomas had been informed
of the possibility of new channels of trade with the Indians and
soon he won a government contract to supply beef to their agency.
Thomas handled about every staple in his newly-established store -
groceries, dry goods, and machinery. The Indians were wards of the
government and sometimes it was difficult to collect their bills, so
he lost much on their credit.
A wedding application was issued December 21, 1880, to Thomas Belsky
and a young widow, Christina Sedivy Pavlik, who had a small son,
Frank Pavlik II. He, with his new family, operated a general store
35 miles northeast of O’Neill in southern Bohemia Township.
Armstrong was the post Office where mail was received, 1 ˝ miles
away. A rural route served part of the countryside, stopping at post
offices long since discontinued. Following the establishment of the
Belsky Store, others sprang up at Pischelville and Knoxville.
Freight was hauled by horses from Running Water, Dakota Territory,
and during the winter they crossed the Niobrara River on the ice. It
was a 25-mile trip.
Farmers who owed on store accounts often would offer cattle and hogs
as payment. Thomas knew the mercantile business well and continued a
flourishing volume of trade. He began adding land through failed
accounts and accumulated several farms. By 1895 he had established a
Shorthorn breeding herd.
[pg203 PHOTO Thomas and Christina [Pavlik] Belsky with sons, from
left: Guy [June 15, 1901], Joe [December 16, 1894], and Ilo
[December 17, 1898].
Some records reveal that Thomas Belsky sold the store no later than
1902, others show 1907. It was purchased by the Jelens, and with his
wife and three youngest sons, Thomas moved to Laurenceburg,
Tennessee, and tried farming until 1910. Then they moved to north
Carmi, Illinois, where they owned and operated the “Staley Flour
Mill.” They sold the mill in 1913 and were preparing to return to
Nebraska when Christina contracted pneumonia and passed away. She
was brought back to Verdigre and is buried in the family plot along
with her husband Thomas and young son Thomas Belsky, Jr., in the
Hillcrest Cemetery.
Belsky, Sr., and his three youngest sons returned to Nebraska and
made their home on a place south of Eli on the Niobrara River near
his eldest son, Edwin Belsky. Thomas stayed here until 1918 when he
went to Omaha to live with his son Alex. He remained there until his
death on January 18, 1921. (Thomas’ birth date was December 21,
1837.)
Christina, daughter of Joseph Sedivy and Maria Roza, came to America
in 1865. She was born April 4, 1855, and died May 6, 1913.
Besides the step-son, Frank II, Thomas and Christina raised eight
children: Ida, Edwin, Alex, Emma, Thomas, Jr., Joe, Ilo, and Guy.
Frank Pavlik II was born July 1, 1879, and died July 19, 1908. He
married Emma Mudra in 1899 and they had two sons, Edwin D. (Slim)
and Frank James.
Ida, born September 19, 1881, married Vince Moticka. She died
January 25, 1963.
Edwin, who was born March 28, 1883, died April 14, 1974. He married
Ella Michael and they owned and operated the Pioneer Hereford Ranch
six miles west of Merriman, Nebraska. Edwin devoted his life to the
breeding of purebred cattle which carried recognized improvements to
the great registered and commercial herds of America. In 1954 he was
elected to membership in the Nebraska Hall of Agriculture
Achievement, one of the state’s highest honors.
Alex, born November 22, 1885, died March 17, 1977. He married Rosie
Mudra, daughter of Emil and Mary Holecek Mudra, and lived in Omaha.
They had five children. They divorced and later Alex married his
widowed sister-in-law, Emma Mudra Block (August). Emma had two
children: Julia and Mathilda Block.
Emma, born August 9, 1889, died November 23, 1974, and lived with
her Dad several years on the farm at Eli. Then she moved to
Louisiana and married Louis Letamendi and lived in New Orleans.
Thomas Belsky, Jr., born July 10, 1892, remained single, and died
August 19, 1911, of injuries sustained in a hunting accident.
Joe married Jenny Starr in 1928 and they have four children and live
in Gordon, Nebraska. Joe was Superintendent of Maintenance for the
State Department of Roads.
Ilo was born December 17, 1898, and lives in Eli on the farm on the
Niobrara River. He never married.
Guy was born June 15, 1901, and left the farm in 1925 to work for
the State Department of Roads from Merriman, west. He married Wilma
Young in 1926 and they have three children. Divorced in 1951, Guy
married Laverle Steel O’Neil in 1953 and operated a general store
and Fourth Class Post Office in Eli until 1967 when they retired and
moved to Gordon, Nebraska. Laverle has two children.
-Submitted by Leatrice (Pavlik) Vakoc
Pages
202, 203
