Adolf Franz Kresha
(1873-1950)
Adolf Franz Kresha was born April 4, 1873 at what is now Nova Hradecna, CZ. He and his siblings lived in House #33 (now 163). He was baptized the next day at the local church. He also attended the local public school in Hradec, according to the law, until he was 15. In 1884, the family left Hradec and moved to Jirikov/Girsig, CZ.
Then his mother made plans for him to come to America, because she didn't want her son to be killed in the wars. Conscription was the law and every boy had to enter the Army at age 15. His mother began working in the factory everyday to earn money to send him to America.
One incident Adolf related to his daughter, Lillian, (main author of "Kresha Family in America"):
"When he was 12, there was a bad strain of flu which was killing all the children who had it - especially if they ate very much food.
He was sick in bed for a week and his Mama cooked a chicken and made a big kettle of soup. She gave Adolf a small bowl full before going to work, then she put the kettle of soup high on top of the kitchen cabinet, out of his reach. He became hungry again, put a chair by the cabinet, and then one on top of the cabinet. He crawled up, carefully lifted down the big kettle of soup and ate some of it. Then he went back to bed as his Mama had ordered him to. Several times he came to the table to eat more soup, so that at the end of the day, the soup was all gone.
When his Mama returned from work (silk factory, brewery, or crafts) she sat by the table with the pile of chicken bones and cried "Adolf, Adolf, you are surely going to die!"
But Adolf assured her that he was feeling good now. "See, I'm still living," he said. "You were starving me."
Adolf arrived with his older sisters, Amelia and Anna, in New York City on September 8, 1888. The three had to go through a physical exam and two-week quarantine at Castle Gardens, now in Battery Park, NYC. They passed the newly constructed Statue of Liberty.
They all took the train from New York westward bound. Amelia got off the train in Schuyler to take a job. Her fiancé was not with her and did not join her until six months later, in May of 1889.
Adolf and Anna continued to nearby Columbus, where big brother Theodore, Jr. had jobs waiting for them. He had arrived three years earlier.
Anna married Martin Karges, Sr, a farmer whose first wife died in 1888. Martin was 27 years her senior; she was 19.
Adolf started working for John Schram in Platte County, but soon went to Polk County to work for another farmer, John Scholz, near the one-room school house known as School District #39, Valley Precinct. [Adolf would one day marry Eva Karges, John Scholz' granddaughter] After work and chores, he would walk to the school to learn to read and write in English as well as take citizenship lessons.
Adolf Kresha and his first wife, Sophia Kropatsch in 1894
Adolf met his future wife at the District 39 school. After school Adolf would 'court' Sophie and at age 20, he married Sophie Kropatsch, 19, at the nearby St. Andrew's Catholic Church on January 14, 1894. Sophie's parents, John and Anna (Kral) Kropatsch were also originally from Lacze, a nearby village to Hradec; they were Czech but also spoke German.
Adolf and Sophie's first child, Frank, was born nearly a year later on April 26, 1895. Frank was sickly and had an apparent heart condition and died 10 days later on May 6th, 1895. The young couple was heart-broken. Adolf told his daughter, Lillian, later,
This was a difficult time for farming, with severe droughts in 1894 and again in 1897. At this time, the young couple had to move in with Sophie's brother Frank Kropatsch. The Kresha's then bought 160 acres of land nearby and had a house built on it. (NW Quarter of Section 11, Township 15, Range 2, Polk County, NE). Sophia Cecilia Kresha was born to them on June 13, 1897.
On baby Sophia Cecilia's birthday, Adolf went across the road to tell his brother-in-law Oswald Kropatsch of the good news, saying
Adolf and Sophie's first child, Frank, was born nearly a year later on April 26, 1895. Frank was sickly and had an apparent heart condition and died 10 days later on May 6th, 1895. The young couple was heart-broken. Adolf told his daughter, Lillian, later,
There were 20 more children to come."When Frank died, I went out to the middle of the yard, knelt down, and looked up into the heavens and asked God why He gave us such a beautiful son, only to take him away in such a short time. Right then, I promised God I'd have as many babies as He saw fit to send us."
This was a difficult time for farming, with severe droughts in 1894 and again in 1897. At this time, the young couple had to move in with Sophie's brother Frank Kropatsch. The Kresha's then bought 160 acres of land nearby and had a house built on it. (NW Quarter of Section 11, Township 15, Range 2, Polk County, NE). Sophia Cecilia Kresha was born to them on June 13, 1897.
On baby Sophia Cecilia's birthday, Adolf went across the road to tell his brother-in-law Oswald Kropatsch of the good news, saying
The two girls, Sophia Kresha and Eva Kropatsch, always called themselves the "twin cousins.""We have a baby girl and we named her Sophia Cecilia". Oswald smiled, saying "We had a baby girl, too. and we named her Eva."
Adolf Kresha and Sophia Kropatsch had ten children:
1. Frank Kresha, born April 26, 1895; died May 6, 1895, buried in Polk County, Nebraska.
2. Sophia Cecilia Kresha, born June 13, 1897; died Feb 24,1992, at age 94 in Scottsbluff, NE. Sophie never married.
3. Leo Kresha was born April 11, 1899. Leo married Pauline Liss Nov 22, 1922 and died August 23, 1984 at age 85, St. Andrews, Polk Co. NE.
4. Cecilia Kresha, born March 16, 1902; married John J Smagacz Jan 19, 1926; died Jan. 9, 1970, at age 67, in Columbus, NE.
5. John Kresha, born May 11, 1904; married Caroline Stavas on Sept 8, 1930; died October 30, 1983, at age 79, Columbus, NE.
6. Adolph Matthew Kresha, born September 19, 1906; married Rose Marie Kielian Oct 23, 1935; died July 21, 1993, at age 86, Osceola, NE.
7. Ann Kresha, born July 12, 1908; married Norman Hensel Nov 28, 1950; died May 23, 2000, at age 91 in Reseda, CA.
8. George Kresha, born January 12, 1911; married Margaret Trausch on Nov 29, 1946; died Oct 13, 1992, at age 81, in Kern, CA.
9. Rose Angella Kresha, born September 21, 1912; married Bernard "Bud" Hilger on June 8, 1937; died April 6, 1989 at age 76, in David City, NE.
10. Gerhart "Mike" Kresha, born May 27, 1914; married Lavoda Bates on Sep 5, 1938; died Jan 4,1991, at age 76, in Bakersfield, CA.
In the summer of 1916, Adolf's wife Sophia died from "blood poisoning," probably sepsis, after stepping on a rusty nail. She was buried in the new St. Andrew's Catholic Church cemetery. Following her mother's death, the then 19-year-old daughter Sophia helped her father raise the other children until he remarried three years later. Adolf married Eva Frances Karges in 1919.
Adolf Kresha and his second wife, Eva Frances Karges, at their wedding in 1919.
Adolf Kresha and Eva Frances Karges had 11 children
While visiting his sister, Anna Karges, at her home near Silver Creek, Adolf, 44, met Eva Frances Karges, 26, and asked her to help him with his large family of nine children. The relationship was more practical than romantic at first, but was fruitful in terms of the 11 children that were born to them.
Eva and Adolf Kresha were married in St. Stanislaus Church in Duncan on June 24, 1919. Their wedding night was back in Polk County at his home with his 9 surviving children. There was no honeymoon.
Adolf and Eva Kresha had 11 children:
1. Amelia Cecila Kresha, born July 9, 1920; married Dale Lukassen Nov 26, 1946; died Dec, 1984, age 64 in Canon City, CO.
2. Martin Oswald Kresha, born April 9, 1922; married Elaine Kneifel June 14, 1960; died June 24, 2001, age 79, in Columbus, NE.
3. Lillian Veronica Kresha, born April 12, 1923; married Leo J. Kosch on Jan 4, 1944; married Harold W Witulski Dec 26, 1964; died Sep. 20, 2002 , age 79. in Beatrice, NE.
4. Walter Kresha, born April 1, 1925; died summer 1927, age 2. He was buried St. Andrews, Polk County, NE.
5. Arthur Joseph Kresha, born April 1, 1925; married Irene M Danielski Nov 4, 1947; died Aug 9, 1995 at age 70 in Columbus, NE.
6. Charles Raphael Kresha, born November 4, 1926; married Lucille Danielski May 14, 1951; died Apr 25, 2009 at age 82, at Columbus, NE.
7. Wilfred "Bill" Francis Kresha, born March 27, 1928; married Ursula Micek July 4, 1949; died Jun 30, 2011, at age 82, in Columbus, NE.
8. Patricia Louise Kresha, born August 31, 1929; married Hubert 'Gene' Thomas May 17, 1956; died Mar 17, 1977 at age 47 in Lakewood, CO.
9. Frances Mary Kresha, born September 24, 1930; married Howard Lukassen May 26, 1951; died August 19, 2020 at age 64, in Gering, Nebraska.
10. Adrian Frederick Kresha, born October 1, 1921; married Patricia A Hoffman May 25, 1963; died Feb. 1977 at age 45 in Brighton, CO.
11. Rita Agnes Kresha, born March 7, 1934; married Susan Steele Vanderburgh; died August 13, 2019 at age 85 in Oakland, CA.
Adolf Franz Kresha died in Polk County, in 1950 at age 77; His second wife, Eva Frances, was 48 at Adolf's death. She lived for another 42 years, dying April 14, 1992 at age 99. She would have been 100 on December 12, 1992.
Adolf and both of his wives are buried in the same plot in Saint Andrew's Cemetery in northern Polk County, Nebraska.
Eva outlived Adolf by around 42 years. In 1980, she recorded some reminiscences of her childhood and her life with Adolf, on a cassette recorder, while staying in Oakland, California with her youngest daughter, Rita Agnes. You can find those recordings and transcripts on the Media sharing page, should you want to listen or read her words. The recordings came into Raymond Kresha's possession in 2021, where they were processed and uploaded. He and cousin Gloria Thomas, daughter of Gene and Pat Thomas, prepared the transcripts in 2022.
Eva outlived Adolf by around 42 years. In 1980, she recorded some reminiscences of her childhood and her life with Adolf, on a cassette recorder, while staying in Oakland, California with her youngest daughter, Rita Agnes. You can find those recordings and transcripts on the Media sharing page, should you want to listen or read her words. The recordings came into Raymond Kresha's possession in 2021, where they were processed and uploaded. He and cousin Gloria Thomas, daughter of Gene and Pat Thomas, prepared the transcripts in 2022.
