The Second Wife: Marie “Mary” Palat-Elznerova
A Brief History
Marie “Mary” Palat (the spelling of her last name is uncertain) was born in Verterove, Moravia, Czechoslovakia in 1876 where she later met and married Frantisek Elzner in 1900. Their first two children, Stanley and Edward, were born on Czech soil.
According to Evelyn Elzner in her story “The Elzner’s (1864-1988),” on September 26, 1904 Frank (then 40) and Marie (then 28) boarded the German ship the SS Frankfurt for the United States with their five children: Frank (1893), Steve (1896), and Frances (1898) from the first marriage and Stanley (1901) and Edward (1903) from the second. It was on this voyage that their last name Elsner was changed to Elzner “to make the name sound more German.” It took them 23 days to reach port in Galveston, Texas.
Their first two months in America were spent at the home and care of Joe Vytopil in a Czech community near Bryan Texas. The Elzners then rented a house a couple of miles outside of Smetana, Texas, where they farmed for the next three years.
Between the years of 1906-1915 the couple saw the birth of their next children: Joseph “Joe” (1906), Peter “Pete”, and Anton “Tom”. The family moved around every few years to land around Smetana, Rye, and Fountain Switch, and Benchley in Brazos County. On June 25, 1910 he, Marie, and all 8 children became U.S. citizens. During these years, Steve left home to pick cotton and Frank left home to serve in World War I. Emil “Edward” was also born (1913).
In the fall of 1915 the Elzners settled in Wheelock, Texas where they farmed the next five years. They gave birth to their final child, Lottie (1916). They later moved to Kaufman where they would farm cotton until Mary Palat’s death on August 2, 1922. She died of cancer and remains buried in Kaufman Cemetery.
The SS Frankfurt was a German steamship that took frequent passages between Germany and the US. including many migrants. It was one of the first vessels to respond to the distress signals from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912.
“List or Manifest of Alien Passengers for the U.S. Immigration Officer at Port of Arrival (Galveston, 1904),
Palat-Elzner Family Tree
This is a family tree of 5 generations of Marie Palat’s descendants. For the complete generational tree, see/download the Detailed Report here.
Generation Report
This Generation Report was created by Family Tree Maker and gives a detailed and complete view of Marie Palat’s lineage. Feel free to download and print it for easy viewing.
The Second Generation
Stanley Elzner
(1901-1976)
Stanley moved to Houston in 1925 and worked for Keene Bottling Company with his brother Joe until 1927. He married Marie Reznicek in 1927 and together they had two children, Evelyn and Stanley Jr. Stanley worked for the Dr. Pepper Bottling Works - until he retired in 1967. He belonged to the S.P.J.S.T. in Houston actively participated in it including working behind the bar and on the entertainment committee. He loved to play poker and dominoes, work in his victory garden, and play practical jokes. At work, he had the nickname “Molly” (meaning “small” in Czech) and “Shorty”.
Edward Elzner
(1903-1949)
Joe Elzner
(1906-1990)
Joe married Ann Reznicek in 1929, sister of Stanley’s wife, Marie Reznicek. Both couples lived together until 1931, when Joe and Ann bought the house next door (they lived there until 1940). Joe worked for Houston Coca Cola Bottling Company for 43 year until retirement. Together they had one child, Joseph Elzner who died in an automobile accident in 1971 at age 36.
Pete Elzner
(1909-1981)
Pete attended school in Wheelock, St. Paul, and Sinton. He was 13 when his mother passed away. In 1931 Pete left home to farm on his own and soon after met Annie Malish at a dance in Corpus Christi. Pete and Annie got married in 1932 at S.S. Cyril and Methodius Catholic Church and lived and farmed in the Taft area for fifty more years. They had 4 children: Peggy, Anna Mae, Pete Jr., and Ruth. Pete loved to hunt and fish, play dominos, garden, and never knew a stranger. His grandchildren have fond memories of rabbit and deer hunting with him. He and Annie are buried in Taft Cemetery.
Tom Elzner
(1910-1989)
Tom was born in Rye, Texas in 1910. He remembers getting to school his first year by foot and mule (with brother Pete) five miles down the road. His after school chores included shucking and shelling corn to feed the livestock and chopping cotton and firewood. He remembers the family mostly living off the land, making homemade cheese and butter, raising cotton, corn, and potatoes, and slaughtering pigs and chicken. He met Mary Rozypal in the cotton patch when she brought him a lemonade and strawberry sandwich - he later married her in 1936. Tom farmed near his father’s land in Taft and eventually turned to raising cattle in the latter part of his life. Together he and Mary had 4 children: Robert (Bob), Elizabeth (Beth), Eileen, and John.
Emil Elzner
(1913-1977)
Emil was born in 1913. As brother, Tom, remembers, it was the year the Brazos river flooded badly and his brothers rescued many pigs and a few head of cattle. He was nicknamed “Dirty Face”.
Lottie Elzner
(1916-2000)
Lottie worked as a volunteer at Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi, went to business school in San Antonio, worked as a bookkeeper for Zarsky’s in Woodsborrow, worked in a cigar store and as a cashier in Houston, and later married Rob Roy Ramey and settled in Richmand, California. She later retired in Oakland and died in 2000.