Anna Kressa Karges
(1871-1957)
Born March 14, 1871
Hradec/Markersdorf, Czechia
"Anna Krehsa (Kressy or Kresser) was born on March 14, 1871 to Theodor and Cecilia (Perikovske) of Hracci, in House number 33 and her birth was assisted by Sister Barbara. She was baptized in the parish at Markersdorf according to St. Laurentium, the Martyr, in the Archdiocese of Olmutz and the deanery, M.. Neustat. After she completed her schooling at 15 years of age --as prescribed by law, she found work as a domestic helper with neighboring families. She saved her money for the trip to America."
"On August 31st, 1888, Anna, her sister Amelia and her brother Adolf went on board the S.S. Wieland in the seaport of Hamburg, Germany and sailed for the Land of Freedom--America."
"To receive her passport, she had to have a job waiting for her in America. It was with the Anton Bitt family in Columbus, Nebraska. As the ship crossed the Atlantic ocean, it passed through a big storm and everyone on board was very seasick. When the immigrants arrived at Castle Gardens, New York and fulfilled the 2 weeks of quarantine, they boarded the train for Columbus, Nebraska, where her brother Theodore lived and worked."
"While Anna worked for the Anton Bitt family, she was "treated like a slave" and was very unhappy with them."
Complicated Relationships:
Anna met her husband to be, Martin Karges, Sr., when he came to visit one of his sisters, who was a neighbor of the Bitts. Martin Sr. was born in Hornau Germany on July 4, 1844 and was a member of the Dukedom of Nassau. He arrived in Columbus in October of 1869 accompanied by his parents John Karges and Catherine Bender, his sister, Eva Karges and Martin Karges, Jr., aged 5. Just who is Martin, Jr.'s father is, is not determined, but Martin Sr.'s sister Eva was Martin Jr.'s mother.
Martin Sr. married Anna Sohm in 1872, but they had no children. They were a homesteader pioneer Nebraska family, but Anna (Sohm) died in 1888. Martin was a 48-year-old widower when he met the 19-year-old Anna a year later. Martin Sr. and Anna were married April 15, 1890 at St. Bonaventure's Catholic Church in Columbus, NE. Best man was her brother Adolf and the bridesmaid was Eva Scholz, who married Martin, Jr. not long after that. [This Eva Scholz's daughter, Eva Frances Karges (born 1892), 29 years later would marry Adolf Kresha.]
Anna and Martin Karges had 8 children:
1. Martin William. Karges, born Feb 20, 1891 near Silver Creek, NE. He never married and died Dec 1979 in Silver Creek, NE at age 88.
2. John Adam Karges, born Mar 15, 1893 near Silver Creek. He married Alice White in 1924 and died Aug 1975, Silver Creek, NE at age 82.
3. Joseph Adam Karges, born Mar 21, 1895 near Silver Creek. He married Clara Rose Meyer and died Sep 16, 1984, Columbus, NE, at age 89.
4. Frank Theodore Karges, born, Dec. 1, 1897. He never married and died in 1954 at age 57.
5. Ann Rose Karges, born Feb 8, 1900 near Silver Creek. She married Leonard Serio in 1928 and died Mar 18, 1994 in Milwaukee, WI at age 94. She was buried in Milwaukee's Holy Cemetery.
6. Margaret Karges, born 1903, but died in infancy.
7. George Leo Karges, born Aug 7, 1905 near Silver Creek. He married Catharine Sellar in 1935; after divorcing Catharine, he married Maxine Brewer in 1946. George died Jun 1972 in Columbus, NE at age 66.
8. Marie Theresa Karges, born Dec 27, 1911 near Silver Creek. She married Clarence S Geiger in Milwaukee in 1942. She later married Everett Baars in 1979, also in Milwaukee; she died Oct 1, 1983 in Milwaukee at age 70. Her cremains are in a mausoleum at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Milwaukee.
Anna died on December 20, 1957 in Shelby, NE at age 86 and was buried in the St. Peter's Catholic Cemetery [next to Calvary Cemetery] near Clarks, NE beside her husband, Martin Karges, Sr.
Karges monuments at Saint Peter's / Calvary Cemetery
Clarks, Nebraska
