JOSEPH AND BARBARA [MLADY] PAVLIK
Joseph Pavlik was born October 16, 1847, in Bozetice Milivsko,
Tabor, Bohemia, where he spent his early boyhood and took the
carpenter trade. At the age of twenty, he was obliged to choose
between taking up arms for the Austrian government or to emigrate to
the “land of the free and the home of the brave.” In 1867, without a
dollar in his pocket, he decided to go to Iowa to help in the
harvest fields. He remained there until the spring of 1869 when he
returned to the city and worked at his trade. In 1870 he learned
that in Nebraska homesteads could be obtained free. On August 30th ,
1870, in company with Frank Maly, the two started for Knox County
traveling by rail as far as Sioux City, Iowa, and from this point
the balance of the journey was accomplished on foot. On reaching
Niobrara, Mr. Pavlik acquired a homestead near the present village
of Verdigre, which, still in the hands of the family, is now owned
by his grandson, Joseph T. Pavlik.
[pg 365 PHOTO Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pavlik, Sr.]
It is needless to say that these early and hardy pioneers shared
many trials and tribulations that are unknown or thought of today.
Man is willing that they should be shared by others and accordingly
in the year of 1871 Joseph Pavlik was married to Barbara Mlady, a
daughter of a well-known homesteader in the Verdigre valley. As the
nearest justice of the peace was twelve miles distant and the
journey had to be made on foot, Albert Tichy and Marie Maly (the
latter a half-sister of Mrs. Pavlik) accompanied the party and
walked to Niobrara where a double-ring ceremony was performed by Vac
Randa, the postmaster in 1921.
In describing the home to which Mr. Pavlik escorted his bride, he
said “the building of a home was the least difficult problem I had
to contend with. I merely scooped a hole in the ground, covered it
with limbs and leaves and our home was complete. In rainy weather we
often moved from our cover to another seeking a dry spot.” This
homestead was east of Verdigre where the Riverside Cemetery is now.
This is where Mrs. Pavlik was home alone with their first baby when
in walked two Indians. She couldn’t talk to them and she had heard
they liked to take the babies; she was so frightened she didn’t know
what to do. She had just baked bread, so she gave it to them and
they left. In a few days they were back, and to her surprise, they
brought her blankets for the baby.
During the first two years, crops were destroyed by grasshoppers and
the third year hail destroyed the grasshoppers as well as the crops,
the less sturdy homesteader prepared to move to a more prosperous
district. These two couples remained, however, and again battled
with the elements and secured the following year their first crop
for which there was no market. There being no railroad here,
everything was hauled to Yankton, South Dakota, to be milled. Slow,
plodding oxen were used to make the trip which consumed several
days. These conditions existed until the railroad made its
appearance and crops and livestock could be transported to market.
The country and its inhabitants then began to prosper and the trying
days of the pioneer became a little easier.
Joseph Pavlik was the industrious type and saw the future needs; he
went to work with Anton Dusatko and Alois Velna to build a flour
mill. He built a dam across the Verdigre Creek to power the mill and
it held until about 1915 when a flood took the dam. Joseph and his
brother operated the mill for many years. Their mill was known far
and wide for the good Red and White Lily flour and all the
by-products. Later on Joseph sold his share of the mill to his
brother John’s sons, Frank and Leon; and when the flood took the
dam, they powered it with a gasoline engine until 1927 when the mill
burned down.
Joseph Pavlik also farmed. During the 1888 blizzard, they were
living where Joseph T. Pavlik now lives and the schoolhouse was
about halfway between the Riverside Cemetery and the home. John,
their oldest son (father of Edward S. Pavlik), walked to the
schoolhouse taking along food for the pupils. He stayed at the
school to keep fire for the pupils who were in school. The next
morning it was clear, but 42 degrees below zero. Many people lost
their livestock in the storm and many couldn’t find their way to the
barn and back.
Following the mill venture, which Joseph was a part of for 24 years,
they returned to Verdigre to retire from active life and live among
their children, 28 grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.
Their children were: John L., Edward, Ladd O., Joseph M., Kristina,
Carolina, Barbara, and Lillian.
John L. Pavlik married Albina Mlady and they had three children:
Sylvia, Edward S., and
Leonard E..
Edward married Mary Hanzlik and had one daughter, Albina, and one
son, Edward L.
Ladd O. married Mary Hanzlik and their four children were John E.,
Marie who died at one year of age, Margie, and Irene.
Joseph M. married Carrie Tikalsky and they had one son, Joseph T.
and one daughter, Carrie Ann (Mrs. Leo Vesely).
Kristina married Vincent Cihlar and their ten children were Vincent,
Joseph, Otto, Paul, Rudolph, Edward, Mary, Hilda, Anna, and Viola.
Carolina married Stephan Somer and they had two daughters, Emma and
Lillian.
Barbara married Joseph Hanzlik and they had four children, Margie,
Wendelin, Ivan, and Alvin.
Lillian Pavlik married Emon H. Stoural and their children were
Raymond, who died at the age of 14, and one daughter, Leona (Mrs.
George Harrsch).
Pages
365, 366
