Notizen zu dieser Person
BIOGRAPHIE: Wenzel Helget was born on September 1, 1843, in Natschetin,Bohemia, house #17, the son of George Helget and Margaretha Heinl. TheHelgets were a large, poor tenant farm family. Wenzel was the fifth often children several who died in infancy. In the Spring of 1870, at theage of 27, Wenzel Helget left Bohemia for America. He arrived at thePort of New York aboard the Main on the eight of April 1870. He came tothe New Ulm, Minnesota area and found employment as a laborer on theFrank Christ farm.
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On November 21,1871, he married Barbara Kiefner, who was born inhouse #30 of the neighboring village of Trohatin. Wenzel and Barbarahad attended the same church in Berg and the same school in Trohatin. Achild, Maria, was born to Wenzel and Barbara on Sept. 22, 1872 and shewas baptized on Feb 2, 1873. The child died unexpectedly shortlythereafter. In 1873 the Helgets bought a home on Front St. at Sixth St.South, in the "Goosetown" section of New Ulm. while Wenzel was workingas a laborer at the mill. Barbara gave birth to twins, Joseph and Mariaon Dec. 8, 1874. The children were baptized on 16 May, 1875, sponsorswere Margaretha and Joseph Tauer, Barbara's cousin and her husband. OnFeb. 7, 1877 both children, Joseph and Maria, died of the "croup". Theywere only a little over two years old.. No record of their burial has beenfound.Wenzel''s father George, a sixty-year-old widower,his sisterMagdalena "Lena" her two-year old daughter, Margaret joined theHelgets in New Ulm. On 17 July 1876 "Lena" married Joseph Tauer,who's first wife, Margaretha Kiefner had just died in childbirth on 20Feb. 1876. Although this seems to be hasty remarriage, especiallyconsidering the fact that Magdalena had only arrived in America earlierthat year, these two families were already well acquainted and in factwere probably related through Joseph's first marriage (Margaretha'scousin, Barbara, was married to Magdalena's brother Wenzel). JosephTauer and Margaretha Kiefner also named their second daughterBarbara.It is also evident that these two families shared a close bond,as Wenzel and Barbara were sponsors at the baptisms of at least thethree oldest of Joseph's children born in this country, and either Josephand either Margaretha or Magdalena were sponsors for all four of Wenzeland Barbara's children. .
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On February 10, 1878, just a year after the twins Joseph and Mariadied, a son, Joseph Helget was born to Wenzel and Barbara, the onlychild that lived to adulthood. He was baptized on Feb. 26, 1878. Wenzel'ssister Magdalena and her husband Joseph D(T)auer were sponsors.Wenzel was granted citizenship in 1880. In 1881 he sold the New Ulmhome and bought an eighty-acre farm in section 20 of Cottonwoodtownship for $1,900. In 1882 the tax records show that the farm had 40acres under cultivation and the other 40 were unimproved. The Helgetshad two horses, four cows, a wagon, a watch, furniture worth tendollars, and farm equipment worth sixty dollars.In 1887 they added a ten-acre wood lot along the Cottonwood river insection 5 in what is now Flandreau State Park, and another forty acres insection 17 for a total of one hundred thirty acres.
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Or October 24, 1893, George Helget died at the age of 80 and wasburied in the New Ulm Catholic cemetery. A nephew, John Pleniger, the33-year-old son of Wenzel's eldest sister Anna and her husband JohnPleniger of Hoslau #19, joined the family in America; He worked as ahired hand on the Helget farm to pay Wenzel for his passage to theAmerica. He later married Mary Schnobrick and was joined in America byhis sister Barbara Pleniger who married a George Ries. John Plenigerdied on June 28, 1949.Wenzel and Barbara continued farming inCottonwood township and soon added another quarter section in section19, bringing the total acreage farmed to 400 acres.Joseph Helget, Wenzel and Barbara's son, began courting a beautifulyoung lady from Sigel township. Mathilda Rewitzer. She was thedaughter of George and Franziska Rewitzer, also immigrants fromBohemia.Joseph Helget and Mathilda Rewitzer were married in New Ulm's HolyTrinity church on May 31, 1898. Joseph was 20 years old, "Tillie" was21. For the next 10 years the two families lived together in the smallfarm house in Cottonwood. Five children were born to Joseph and Tilliethree of whom lived to adulthood: Wilhelmine "Minnie", born in 1900;Josephine, born in 1902, and Rosa, born in 1907.
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In May of 1908, Joseph Helget bought 120 acres of land in Sigel fromhis father-in-law George Rewitzer, bringing the Helget farm's' totalarea to 520 acres that summer. During these years of farming, theHelgets raised the usual cash crops of wheat, oats and corn, tended milkcows, raised hogs for slaughter, and raised chickens and geese. Theyalso had a large vegetable garden. In the winter time, Joseph would huntalong the river bottoms for fresh game. He also cut wood from the woodlot to sell for fuel to residents of New Ulm.In the spring of 1909, Joseph fell victim to typhoid fever. After a veryshort illness, he died on March 8, leaving three young daughters and hiselderly parents to be cared for by his widow, Tillie. His death certificatelists the official cause of death as Pneumonia.Tillie soon decided to move to New Ulm. She rented out the farm, andauctioned the livestock and farm equipment. She bought a house at 327North Washington Street. It washer desire to be near the Catholic church and school.It was there that Barbara Helget, age 78, died of asthma on a very hotand sultry 30th of June in 1916. A heart-broken Wenzel had a strokeshortly thereafter and was hospitalized. He died after a long stay in thehospital on June 19, 1917, at the age of 73, less than a year after hisbeloved wife.