Frank Cerny

  General Notes:

History of Boyd County-
Frank Cerny (born December 3, 1865 at Domamil, Moravia) came to America from Czechoslovakia in 1891 to Baltimore, Maryland by boat, the trip taking 11 days. It was a three day journey by train to Atkinson, NE and from there he rode in a freight wagon to Boyd County where he homesteaded on the place on which he still resides-three miles east of Naper. His first home which was of sod housed his family for about 5 years. Then they had a part sod and part frame house and lastly the present home was built.


From obituary out of Spencer and Butte Gazette:(Sept 1962)
Frank Cerny
Born Dec 3, 1865 - Domamil, Moravia
Died September 14, 1962 - his home in Spencer
Burial SS. Peter & Paul Cemetery - Butte, NE.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Anastasia in 1917. He and his wife immigrated to America in 1891, homesteading three miles east of Naper where all ten of his children were born. This was his home until 1952 when he moved to Spencer. He enjoyed good health up until last year.


Information given by Frank Benedict and Rose Gertrude (Sister Mary Wilfrid) on July 12, 1970 to Eugene and Julia Sukup Cerny.
In 1890 or thereabouts in old Bohemia, Frank married Anastasia Nezveda. When the Austrians took over Bohemia, Frank was serving in the army. He sneaked out and he and Anastasia came to the new country. He was a button-maker by trade. Their first son born in Bohemia had died. They got off the boat at New York and got on a train to Atkinson, NE where they used a covered-type wagon to travel to their home.
Frank homesteaded in Nebraska-three miles east of Naper. There were 160 acres and had to pay $5.00 to have the deed registered. He had to work the farm five years, make improvements and would then have complete ownership. The homestead lies one and one-half miles northswest of the "Twin Buttes".
The homestead's first houses were of sod. Rose remembers four different ones that were built. When they started leaking, they would build another one. Frank used a "break plow" to dig up the sod to make the house. There were usually two rooms. One kitchen and living room area and one bedroom. There was always dirt floors.
The first constructed home was built out of 12X6X6 blocks. A Mr. Holomgren came with the form to make the blocks. The mixture was mud and straw. The exterior had wood siding and the interior was plastered.
In 1909, carpenters came in and built a regular frame house with basement, first floor, second floor and attic. The home is where the Frank Cerny family lived.
Frank Cerny wrote to his family in Bohemia and hoped they could get enough money to bring them to America.
Frank's younger brother Joseph came to America around 1897 and lived with Frank and his family.
Rose continues that a Mrs. Brums was mid-wife to all of Frank and Anastasia's children except the two younger ones. Mrs. Brums lived across the road on a farm. Rose and Frank Benedict talked of going to the pasture and gathering dry "cow pies" for burning in the stove for heat. Rose mentioned that the thinnest were the best and burned like paper. The neighbor children were always wondering what they were doing in the pasture and of course the Cerny children said, "picking flowers".
The Cerny children had to wash their feet and stomp saurkraut made in 50 gallon barrells after cutting it on a large kraut cutter.
Rose tells of when their brother Edward started school and couldn't talk English. The teacher asked him to "spell cat" and Edward said "spell cat" as he didn't understand what she meant. The teacher slapped him and that ended his schooling until later.
There was a Basin school that was with a store that the Cerny children attended. Afterward, Sunnyside School was built and the children attended that school, including Edward. There were no grades in school- - -one progressed by the "reader" book they were reading.
Listening to Frank Benedict tell stories about his young manhood days is very interesting. He told of some incidents that happened with the first cars they had. In 1925 or 1926, they owned a Model T Ford - four cylinder engine. They hit another car driven my a man named Stoltenberg-head on. Ed cut his forehead, Grandpa, Frank and Clem were in the back seat. He joked about the Cerny's inventing the 8-cylinder engine!
Another incident happened in the Model T Ford. The boys rolled the car, broke a window, and tore a new suit. They drove to Spencer and had it fixed and Grandpa never knew that it happened.
In a 1928 Chevy, owned by Father Flynn, Frank Benedict was just riding along in the car to Raeville, NE with Father Flynn. Ther tire blew-out and the car rolled-over near Meadow Grove. No injuries
Still another, a 1929 Chevrolet Sedan-6 cylinder-Model T. Twas 2:00 a.m. after a dance. Frank Benedict met a car at the top of the hill, pulled over quickly, hit loose gravel and turned the car upside down. Just a broken window.
One Saturday evening, the Cerny's were going to town. Since they all couldn't get in the car at once, they had to make two trips. Clem was driving- - - as they got close to town on their second trip, they met a buggy with horses leaving town. The people in the buggy was Cecil Thiabault, his sister Hazel Thiabault and Harold Bennett.
When they got to town they find out that a man by the name of Katzer had been run over and killed. He was walking on the side of the road. For some unknown reason, they had taken the body of Katzer to the butcher shop. Probably because it was one of the closest businesses to the edge of town.
There was a court trial, the Cerny's (Clem) were accused of the crime. Grandpa and Clem testified at the trial that they saw nothing on their trips to town except the buggy they had met. No one was convicted at that trial.

2003......little story about Grandpa Frank Cerny by his youngest daughter Janet Cerny Sattler.
Grandpa Frank Cerny was an avid reader and did receive a subscription to the Saturday Evening Post magazine. He read this magazine very faithfully. On the cover of one of the Post magazines was a picture of the church where he was confirmed as a youngster. He showed the picture to family members and there are some great grandchildren that have visited this church in Austria.

The "Munchen" ship was built in 1889 by the Fairfield Co Ltd. for North German Lloyd of Bremen. She was a 4,536 gross ton ship, lenth 390.5 ft x beam 46.7 ft, one funnel, two masts, single screw and a speed of 13 knots. There was accommodation for 38-1st, 20-2nd and 1,763-3rd class passengers. She launched her maiden voyage in 1889. Her first Bremen - Baltimore voyage was May 6, 1889. On May 23, 1900 she started a single round voyage from Bremen to the Suez Canal and Australia and on March 2, 1902 went aground on Nap Caroline Island, was refloated and was sold to Russia who renamed her "Gregory Morch". She made two round voyages from Odessa to Piraeus and New York starting Oct 27, 1906 and Jan 18, 1907. She was scrapped in 1910.

Frank and Anastasia Cerny are listed on the "List of Manifest" on page 15 of the passenger lists and they are entries 858 and 859. 858 is Franz Cerny, 26 years old, male, laborer, from Bohemia and destination Nebraska. Anastasia Cerny is 23 years old, female, none for occupation, from Bohemia and destination Nebraska. There were 1080 adults, 281 children and 92 infants on the ship. It landed in Baltimore, MD on May 20, 1891.

Observation from author Julie Cerny....Anastasia was a little over one month pregnant when they were on the ship to America....Edward Cerny was born Jan 30, 1892

Frank married Anastasia Nezveda Cerny, daughter of Vaclav (James) Nezveda and Frantiska Plisek Nezveda, on 18 Nov 1889 in Blany, Austria. (Anastasia Nezveda Cerny was born on 9 Apr 1868 in Blany, Austria and died on 2 Oct 1917 in Butte, NE..)