Ancestry Magazine

It was a hot June day in Iowa. I was driving toward eastern Nebraska, anticipating that I would arrive at my parents’ home shortly after lunch. I circled around the north part of Omaha on I-680 and became stalled in gridlock. Seeing a break in the traffic near an exit sign, I eased off the interstate and was eventually on my way west out of the Omaha city limits. Within a short period of time, I spotted a sign indicating the exit to David City. I took the exit. The break from the drive would allow me to investigate records in the Butler County courthouse. I knew that my grandson’s Zima ancestors had resided in Butler County, and I began calculating what I would research that afternoon.

With no notes and only my memory of names and dates, I began searching the probate files. I learned that my grandson’s fourth great-grandfather, Frank Zima, died 25 April 1885 intestate. His son, Frank Zima, Jr., was named administrator of the estate. The elder Zima and his wife, Mary Bina, had three children, Anna, Mary, and Frank Jr. With that information, I glanced at my watch, knowing that my research time had come to an end as I was expected soon at my parents’ home.

A few days later I was back home in Iowa, and my research began in earnest. I wanted to learn what I could about the Zima family. I would need an obituary for Frank Zima, Sr. and most likely this would be in the David City newspaper. But I learned that the David City newspapers for that particular month and year are not extant, so I checked the census records.

In 1885, a state census was taken in Nebraska. Appended to the end of each township and county is a mortality schedule. When the enumerator arrived at the Zima home on 17 June 1885 in Linwood Township, Butler County, he listed the deceased, Frank Zima, as head of household. Frank was shown as age fifty-five, no marital status, and no occupation. Others in the house hold were the widow, Mary, age fifty-one; Frank Zima, Jr., age twenty-four; and his wife, Caroline, age eighteen, married within the census year. The mortality schedule listed Frank Zima, died April 1885, killed by men, died at home. Naturally my interest piqued with information that the elder Zima had been killed. But events in my life required me to put the research aside, and it was three years before I picked up the Zima family research once again.

Once I was back on the research track, I began searching for background information of the Zima family. Nebraska Czech records indicate that Frank Zima was born in the town of Vodnany, Pizek, Bohemia and was from the village of Zdar. On 2 December 1868, the Frank Zima family arrived at New York harbor onboard the Smidt.

The 1870 U.S. Census shows the Zimas in Jackson Township of Winneshiek County, Iowa. The census indicates that Zima had real estate valued at $2,000 and personal property valued at $900–rather significant for an Old World immigrant.

Somewhere between 1870 and the summer of 1873, the Zimas left northeast Iowa for Butler County, Nebraska. They decided to settle in the fertile land of the Skull Creek Valley area.

On 12 February 1878, Anna, Frank Sr.’s daughter, married John Shorney (Shorni) in a ceremony at the SS Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Butler County. And on 1 July 1879, her sister Mary married J.F. Valenta at the Catholic Church at Abie. Both daughters were married by the priest, Josef Hovorka.

According to Frank Zima’s estate file, he had eighty acres of land, horses, cattle, hogs, family utensils, grain, and household and kitchen furniture. His land was described in the probate file and noted as being under contract from the Union Pacific Railroad. Daughter Anna Zima Shorney had loaned her father the money to buy the land, but after his death she wanted the land back. The widow, Mary, unable to speak or write English, dictated and signed a document with her mark i ndicating that her son Frank had sold everything and that she was destitute. She received only nineteen dollars from the estate.

I decided to return to Butler County. My ultimate goal was to learn more about Frank Zima, Sr. and the reasons behind his death.

History of Czechs in America by Jan Habenicht indicates that Frantisek Zima of the Appleton colony (Butler County) was one of the first settlers, arriving in 1873. According to the obituary of Anna Zima Shorney, the Zimas came to Nebraska four years after arriving in America. Most likely they settled in Butler County in the spring or summer of 1873.

The 1885 Nebraska State Census indicates that Frank Zima, Jr. and his wife Caroline were married within the census year. On 6 April 1885 a marriage license was issued to Frank Zima, age twenty-five and Cary Kisner, age eighteen, both of Butler County. They were married on 14 April 1885 at the Catholic Church by Father Joseph Hovorka. He wrote her name as Caroline Kastner on the certificate.

At that time, Father Hovorka was most likely serving at the Appleton Catholic Church as well as the SS Peter and Paul Church a few miles up the road. His record of the marriage is listed in the SS Peter and Paul Church records. Young Caroline is noted as the daughter of Tom Kisner and Barbara Bliha. Looking at the date of marriage and comparing it to the date of death for Frank Zima, I realized the proximity of time. What events took place in April of 1885 to bring about a marriage and a death?

At this point in my research, I had no details about the elder Zima’s death. I only knew that he was killed and had died on 25 April 1885. If there was a trial for the crime, it most likely took place in Butler County within a few months after his death. The State of Nebraska would be the plaintiff and some men, names as yet unknown, would be the defendants.

With nothing more to go on, I began checking district court indexes in the Butler County Courthouse, looking under “S” for State. I read entries that began in late April and finally discovered an entry, dated 3 June 1885, State vs Joseph Kasner, Charles Kasner, and James Kasner. The surname of the three men was very similar to that of Caroline Kastner.

The court minutes for that time period have been destroyed, but a court journal contains some pertinent information. I learned that the crime took place on 14 April 1885 and involved the three Kasner men and Frank Zima, Sr. Frank was assaulted with a beer glass and tin kettle and sustained a gash to the left side of his head plus bruises from being beaten. The mortal wound was two inches in length and one inch deep.

I realized that the crime occurred on the same day as the wedding, perhaps at the wedding celebration of Caroline and Frank Jr. Since it is customary to have drinking, singing, dancing, and eating at these celebrations, most likely the party got out of hand and resulted in an altercation between the Kasner (Kastner) men and the elder Zima. The missing Butler County newspapers and court minutes for the time period would have proven my theory.

In trying to reconstruct where Frank Zima, Sr. lived, where he attended church, and where he was buried, I learned more. His dwelling was situated about three miles north and a half mile east of the Catholic Church at Appleton. It was about three and a half miles west and a half mile south of the SS Peter and Paul Church at Abie. Thus, he may have attended church at either location.

Locating all the cemeteries in Butler County, particularly those in the area of his residence, I began searching for his grave. I searched the impressive SS Peter and Paul Cemetery on the hill north of Abie first, with no results, as well as other cemeteries between there and Appleton.

At the cemetery beside the Catholic Church at Appleton, I began methodically walking the rows, intently studying each stone upon which are carved Czech names and dates. I looked up to see an elderly woman walking two rows ahead of me. I called out to her, asking if she knew where any Zimas might be buried. She smiled and responded that she did and that I was almost there.

Between us were two oblique stones that mark the graves of Caroline Kastner Zima and her mother-in-law, Mary Zima. Both are topped with crosses. Beside Mary’s stone is an empty lot. I asked the woman if she knew anything about the Zimas. Her response was slow and discreet, but eventually she told me that Caroline was her mother’s aunt.

In our conversation, I asked if Frank Zima, Sr. was buried beside his wife and perhaps his grave was never marked. The woman was doubtful of this, stating that he was probably buried on his farm. (This is against the Catholic tradition of burying in consecrated ground. But after later checking the records of Father Hovorka at SS Peter and Paul Church at Abie, I learned that he had never recorded a funeral or mass for Frank Zima, Sr.)

I began questioning the woman about the death of Frank Zima. Did she know the Kasner (Kastner) men who had killed him? Indeed she did. They were brothers of Caroline, the bride. She remembered being told that the men were drinking and an argument took place at the wedding reception which resulted in the elder Zima being struck on the head. Her mother told her that the three men left the country and never returned. These were stories she had heard since her childhood, but they were significant to my research! Pressing for more information, I soon realized that the helpful woman in the cemetery was most likely aware of more than she was willing to tell me. My quest for answers would have to continue elsewhere.

Backtracking to the Zima property, I stood for a while where the family had lived in 1885. Perhaps I was hoping that answers would come from the fence posts, or the trees, or even the old pump standing in a grassy field. The laughing, singing, and drinking had taken a sad turn that day and the whereabouts of Frank Zima, Sr.’s body and the events that led to his death seemed lost forever.

I began searching newspapers in counties and towns surrounding Butler County. With my grandson’s assistance, we discovered tidbits of information in the Schuyler, Colfax County newspaper, The Schuyler Sun. From issues in April, May, and June, there was a regular column pertaining to Butler County.

The issue of April 30th included information that a wedding had occurred at the residence of Frank Zima, about fifteen miles northeast of David City. It reads: “A number of kegs of beer had been procured at Schuyler, and in the general wind up of the affair, a row was started, and during the trouble someone struck the old gentleman upon the head with a heavy beer glass, mashing in the left parietal bone and a portion of the frontal bone.”

By June, the newspaper reported that two of the three men were indicted for murder in the second degree and the other for manslaughter. None of the newspaper articles reported that they were the brothers of the bride.

Frank and Caroline settled down to married life on the farm and had nine children. Caroline died at the age of forty-five on 21 Brezna (March) 1911. She was buried beside her mother-in-law, who died on 5 Rijna (October) 1907, in the cemetery beside the Appleton Catholic Church. Frank remarried in 1912 to Mary Kopacheck. He died in 1939 and is buried in the St. Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery in David City.

But what happened to Caroline’s brothers who were convicted of murdering Frank Zima, Sr.? On the 1885 Nebraska State Census, they are shown in jail at David City, 6 June 1885. Joseph Kasner was age thirty-four, single; James Kasner was age thirty-two, married; and Charles Kasner was age twenty-six, single.

Manuscripts and archived records at the Nebraska State Historical Society in Lincoln, Nebraska proved helpful in determining the outcome of their sentence. In lieu of the missing court records at David City, I was able to learn more from prison records. All three men were incarcerated in the Nebraska State Prison in Lincoln. Reading microfilm of faded and dim records, the archivist was able to reconstruct the missing information for Charles and James Kastner. The dim records probably contain similar information about Joseph Kastner.

“Charles Kastner, prisoner #1020. Incarcerated Dec. 28, 1885. Sentenced in Butler County District Court to three years for manslaughter. Sentence to expire Dec. 28, 1888, but released May 28, 1888. Age 27 yrs. Occupation: farmer and cooper. Hgt 5′ 10″, Complexion: light sallow. Hair: dark brown. Eyes: hazel. Born in Bohemia, lived in Nebraska 16 yrs…. Father is Tom Kastner from Linwood, Saunders County. Brothers Joe and Jim from Butler County, occupation farmers. Brothers Tom and Lew live in Nebraska City, occupation coopers. Sister is Mrs. Frank Zeamer from David City.”

“James Kastner, prisoner #1178. Incarcerated Jan. 14, 1887. Sentenced in Butler County District Court to 2 yrs. for manslaughter. Sentence to expire Jan. 12, 1889, but released Sept. 12, 1888. Age 34 yrs., Occupation: farmer. Hgt 5′ 7 1/2″, wt. 165 lbs, dark complexion, black hair, hazel eyes, black beard. Wife is Barbara in Abby, Neb., four children, father-in-law is Frank Duby. Father is Tom Kastner from Linwood, Saunders County. Brothers Joe and Jim from Butler County, occupation farmers. Brothers Tom and Lew live in Nebraska City, occupation coopers. Sister is Mrs. Frank Zeamer from David City … lived in Nebraska 13 1/2 yrs. Pleaded guilty.”

Because I knew that the woman in the cemetery was related to the Kastners, I began looking at the possibilities of her relationship. Her mother was the daughter of a brother or sister of Caroline’s. She told me in the cemetery that the three Kastner men who murdered Zima had left. In time, I came to learn more about the Kastner family.

It is true that some of the men involved in the crime left the area and did not return, but only two of them. I have yet to learn more.

My research has produced many answers, and while some questions still remain, perhaps they are never to be answered. For now, they rest in peace with the Zimas and Kastners in the Catholic cemetery in Appleton, and with the woman in the cemetery who has more answers than she is willing to give.

Ruby Coleman is a genealogical author, researcher, instructor, lecturer, and freelance writer. Her special interest is in genealogical computing and genealogical research of the Plains States. She has over thirty-four years of research experience, much of which has also been researching lineages of her family.