MARY MLADY
Mary Mlady (maiden name unknown) was born in 1820 in Bohemia. She
emigrated to the United States as a widow in the year of 1875 and
came to Verdigre to make her home with a relative, Joseph Mlady, and
family. Joseph’s claim of land was where the village of Verdigre now
stands. After Mary’s son, Frank, and family moved to Verdigre, she
lived with them.
Mary homesteaded 160 acres consisting of 40 acres in the northeast
corner and 80 acres in the West Half of the Northeast Quarter of
Section 17 in Verdigre Township. The 40 acres in the southeast
corner completed the homestead. Mary, however, continued to live
with her son and family.
As an early pioneer of the Verdigre area, Mary faced many hardships
and danger. One in particular was a near brush with death. During
the mid-to-late 1800s, Texas cowboys drove cattle up north to
stockyards and forts for townspeople and settlers traveling
westward. At time, these cattle drives would pass through Verdigre
territory and they were of great interest to the Bohemian settlers.
On one such occasion, the Mlady family was watching a cattle drive
through the territory when apparently the cattle became excited and
started to run. Mary barely escaped being trampled by the herd of
Texas longhorns as she crawled under a nearby wagon to safety.
On December 22, 1903, Mary passed away due to old age. She was laid
to rest beside her granddaughter, Helen, at the St. Wenceslaus
Catholic Cemetery west of Verdigre. Mary was a highly-respected
pioneer and had one of the kindest dispositions.
-Submitted by Brian Mlady
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