Written Family History: Long, Kratochvil and Franz

Great great grandfather Balzar Franz (1836-1913) came to America from Bavaria, Germany in 1846, at the age of 10. He and his parents settled in Lake County, Indiana upon their arrival. He worked with his parents on their farm until he began a job driving cattle to the Chicago markets. Eventually he earned enough money to purchase his own land in 1860 at the age of 24. His holdings included a prosperous dairy farm on some 500 acres. The Franz homestead was an eight room farmhouse - large enough to house Balzar, his wife, Anna Schillo Franz (1857- 1941) and nine children as well as hired help. The farmhouse is still standing at 6825 Taft Street, Merrillville, Indiana. This farmhouse was heated by a potbellied stove and was wired for electricity in 1925.

Anna Johanna Schillo Franz (1857- 1941) was born in the US to German immigrants from Trier, Germany. They came to America (via Ellis Island), purchased a covered wagon and other items and traveled across the country to Lake County, Indiana. Anna also worked on her father's farm as a child. Her family lived in a log cabin on 163 acres.

Balzar and Anna eventually had nine children including our great grandmother Elizabeth Barbara Franz (1884-1958). At the time of Elizabeth's birth, Anna was 27 years old and her husband Balzar was 48.

Elizabeth Franz eventually married another (!) Balser, Balser Long (1883-1965). Balser was one of four children of German immigrants, the senior Balser (Balthazar?) Long (1848-1899) and Magdeline Ankner Long (1851-1936). After the sale of the Franz homestead to the eldest Franz son, the seven remaining children, including Elizabeth, received money to buy a home. Elizabeth and Balser purchased a home in Lottaville, Indiana, located near current day Merrillville and lived in this house their entire lives. Balser worked for the Gary Railways Bus Company and Elizabeth worked in the home and raised their eight children. Their home was located near the Grand Trunk Railroad station which Elizabeth attended to daily (cleaning and taking care of the mail). All eight of their children attended St. Peter and Paul grade school in Turkey Creek, Indiana and also attended high school in Merrillville. Two of their sons served in World War II. Another son died at 28 of a heart attack. Their oldest son, Lester Francis Long, was our grandfather and husband to Dorothy Theresa Kratochvil Long. Elizabeth Franz Long died on November 6, 1958 and her husband Balser Long died on August 12, 1965 - both in Merrillville, IN.

Kratochvil - Long Family History

Our great great grandfather John Klubertanz was German-born as was his wife, Anna Brux (who hailed from Bavaria). Anna's father the Burgermeister* (see info below) of a German town. Their daughter, Anna Klubertanz (1889-1939) was our great grandmother. Anna Klubertanz eventfully married Elmer Kratochvil. Little is known about Elmer's vital statistics. He abandoned his wife Anna after the birth of their first son, Oscar. Elmer later resurfaced and fathered another child, our grandmother Dorothy Kratochvil in 1911. Elmer once again abandoned the family leaving Anna Klubertanz Kratochvil to raise her two children alone. Anna supported herself by cleaning houses, many times bringing her children with her. Eventually Anna remarried a man named Frank Trulley. Frank was apparently some sort of a tenant farmer/sharecropper who farmed other peoples land and had a tendency to move the family around every few years looking for new land to farm. The family went from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to the Indiana towns of Hobart, Hebron, Fair Oaks and Rensselaer. Frank and Anna had three more children. The only surviving child of Anna and Frank lives in Valparaiso, Indiana. Anna's first son, Oscar Kratochvil, died on April 15, 1995 in Brookfield, Wisconsin. Our grandmother, Dorothy Kratochvil Long is alive and well, living in Midlothian, Illinois.

Dorothy Kratochvil (1911- ) eventually met her husband Lester Francis Long, at St. Peter and Paul Church in Turkey Creek, Indiana where Lester was an usher. Dorothy's mother Anna urged her to meet the good looking man who would eventually become her husband. Lester and Dorothy eventually married in August of 1931.

Lester Francis Long (1910-1945) was born in Griffith, Indiana. He worked with a section crew for the Grand Trunk Railroad where he repaired rails, railroad ties and crossing gates and later became a brakeman. Later in life as a resident of Midlothian, Illinois, Lester was also worked as a volunteer fireman. Lester and Dorothy had four children: Barbara, Janet, James and Marilyn. The family lived in an apartment until they moved into the farmhouse of Anna Schillo Franz, Lester's grandmother, at 6825 Taft Street, Merrillville, Indiana. They lived with Anna until her death in 1941. They then moved to Posen, Illinois to be near Lester's railroad job in Blue Island, Illinois. This was an old home, with overgrown grass. The family even kept chickens in their basement and attic. They lived in Posen for one year before moving to a home on the 14700 block of South Kildare in Midlothian (the chickens moved too and had a coop of their own in the back yard). In 1945, tragedy struck the Long family. Lester Long was killed while working for the railroad. Working as a brakeman, he signaled the engineer and then slipped and fell under the train and died instantly. He was 35 years old.