Arrival, Trek, Mass Under the Great Oak
In October 1854, approximately 150 emigrants from the region of Upper Silesia arrived at the German port of Bremen, where they embarked on a long ocean voyage to Texas. They spent most of their nine-week, storm- tossed voyage in the dark, wet, airless, zone between decks.
This first group of immigrants reached Galveston, Texas on December 3, 1854. They disembarked wearing their traditional costumes, the men in old fashioned waist coats, wool pants, wide brimmed hats and high boots and the women in regional dresses that fell above the ankle, scandalously short for local sensibilities. They managed to arrange passage by coastal schooner to the surf port of Indianola and, from there, on foot and with Mexican ox carts hired to carry their belongings, they made the overland journey 150 miles to San Antonio, arriving on December 21, 1854. There, they met Father Moczygemba who led them back 55 miles along the same route they had just traveled the site that would become Panna Maria, the first permanent Polish settlement in America
Illustration, Wood, Ronsaville, Harlin, Inc., Annapolis MD
According to tradition, the immigrants reached the site on Christmas Eve 1854, and Father Moczygemba gathered them under the largest tree in a group of live oaks to celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving. Today, the tree still stands beside the parish church.
Illustration, Wood, Ronsaville, Harlin, Inc., Annapolis MD