1856: First Polish church in America consecrated
On this day in 1856, Father Leopold Moczygemba consecrated the first Polish Catholic church in the United States at Panna Maria, Texas. Father Moczygemba, a native of Silesia born in 1824, came to Texas in 1852 and began urging his fellow countrymen to leave the harsh economic conditions of their homeland and settle in Texas. In 1854 Polish immigrants had journeyed to Karnes County in South Texas and celebrated Christmas Mass with Moczygemba under a live oak tree at the future church site. They founded the community of Panna Maria, Polish for “Virgin Mary.” In addition to the church, pioneers also established St. Joseph’s School, the first Polish school in America, and new waves of immigration after 1865 led to the settlement of other Polish communities in the area such as Cestohowa, Kosciusko, and Falls City. Panna Maria remained a rural hamlet in the twentieth century but enjoyed the distinction of being the oldest permanent Polish settlement in the United States.
1867 Texas exile dies in Brazil
On this day in 1867, Francis McMullan, the leader of a group of Texans who moved to Brazil rather than remain under a Reconstruction government, died at Iguape, Brazil. McMullan was active in politics in Hill County before the Civil War and served as a delegate to the Texas Democratic convention in Galveston in 1860. After serving the Confederacy in Mexico during the Civil War, he joined William Bowen in a plan to take advantage of liberal Brazilian immigration terms and move a colony of 154 from north central Texas to South America. McMullan and Bowen left for Brazil in late 1865 to locate lands and decided on fifty square leagues on the headwaters of the São Lourenço River south of São Paulo. McMullan returned to Texas in June 1866. After a series of delays and misadventures, he guided the emigrants to colony lands before becoming terminally ill with tuberculosis. His colony is credited with introducing the moldboard plow and modern agriculture to Brazil. In addition, colony members established a Baptist church there and made major contributions to Brazil’s educational system.
Other things:
1864 – Milton Holland earned the Medal of Honor. He was a member of the Fifth United States Colored Troops at Chaffin’s Farm and New Market Heights, Virginia. Holland was born in Texas in 1844.
1865 – In Panna Maria, TX, Father Leopold Moczygemba consecrated the first Polish Catholic church in the United States.
1907 – Gene Autry was born near Tioga, Texas.
1996 – In Houston, TX, Alanis Morissette finished her first U.S. tour.
1998 – In Austin, TX, nine carnival ride executives were indicted by a grand jury for the death of teenage girl who had been killed when thrown from a ride.
After a few clicks I was able to locate Continue Reading and clicked that only to see no more than the first sentence or two that told me nothing mor than the headline. The last few nights, this has happened and something is off for sure. What gives ?
Let me check and see what’s going on…
It should be fixed now. Maybe I clicked off it too fast when I added the post. But I’ve added the details, and a few other things. Let me know of any others doing this… Sorry about that!