One in a collection by Allen Bachoroski,
Local Historical Writer,
Tales Along the
Highway of Legends
Note: This
is one in a series of historical stories about local families
in the Trinidad region.
Click here to find out more
about how these stories were collected.
I
have deep roots in Trinidad. Many of my ancestors lived,
worked, died and are buried in the area. The Reinoehl
branch of my family arrived in Starkville in May, 1886
where my maternal great-grandfather, Jonathan R. Reinoehl
and wife Catherine, owned and operated a general store.
Some time later he established a similar store in Sopris
which featured ranchers' and miners' supplies. In 1950,
it was owned by the Salvador family and sported a new
front. The Reionhl family emigrated from Tremont, Pennsylvania
and were of German-Swiss extraction. All spoke "Pennsylvania
Dutch" (German) as well as English. They were accustomed
to hard work, as were most in those days, and so made
a success of the business. J.R. was a well Known merchant,
member of several fraternal organizations and a veteran
of the Civil War. Born in November 1841, he lived to age
of 83 and is buried in the Civil War section of the Masonic
Cemetery in Trinidad. Catharine (aka Heffelfinger) is
buried in the Odd Fellows section. She was born in 1842
and died in 1918, aged 76.
My paternal grandfather, Bruno Zyskoski (aka Brown Ziskowski
and John Henry Brown), is believed to have arrived in
the area in the late 1880's with two of his brother, Frank,
(Franciszek) and Joseph (Jozek). They were Russian- Poles
and coal miners by trade. All three brothers worked in
the mines until October, 1910 when Frank was killed in
Starkville in a disastrous mine explosion in which many
miners met fate. He buried in a common grave beneath the
Z.N.P. (Polish National Alliance) monument in Trinidad
cemetery.
Bruno married my grandmother, Sarah Ann Reinoehl, June
of 1883 and set up housekeeping in Sopris. From this union
came my father, William Brown Zyskowski (Brown), in March
1900. Four sisters preceded his birth, three of whom died
in infancy and were interred in the Sopris cemetery. The
fourth sister, Catharine (Kate) lived to the age of 25+
and produced five daughters. A fifth and final sister
(Marie) was born in 1903 and was the last child of that
marriage. Marie has no living descendants. Her daughter
and infant son preceded her in death. Sarah lived to age
92 and is buried in Masonic cemetery in Trinidad. Bruno
reached age 81 and is buried West Frankfort, Illinois.
My father spent the bulk of his early years in and about
Sopris and Trinidad. He started working at age 15 as an
apprentice and later as a chauffeur. He worked for various
concerns including Harlan Motors, Mack Patterson and Earl
Riggs. He enlisted in the U.S. Army early in 1917 using
the name, William Henry Brown, and following basic Training
at Ft. Douglas, Arizona Territory, was sent to France
aboard the troop transport, SS Henry R. MALLORY. He was
among the first (perhaps the first) Las Animas County
man wounded in action during World War I. He served as
a Wagoner (Driver) in the first Infantry Division, 6th
Field Artillery Regiment, Company A, 1st. Ammunition Train
(Truck). Upon his return from France aboard the troopship
NOORDAM, he was honorably discharged at Ft. D.A. Russell,
Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1919. His decorations include the
Purple Heart and Silver Star.
Following the war, he trained as a dental technician and
eventually owned and operated his own business (Brownie's
Dental Laboratory) in Denver. His marriage to my mother,
a school teacher, (former Ruth Wacek of Algoma, Wisconsin)
in 1926, produced two sons and a daughter... myself, brother
Robert, and sister Barbara, respectively. The family moved
to Hawaii in 1936 and to California shortly after the
start of World War II (Feb. 1942). All are now scattered
over the country from California to the East coast. My
father lived to the age of seventy-eight and is buried
in Provo, Utah. Ruth, now a retired psychiatric nurse,
is still living a t age 84 in Reno, Nevada as of this
writing (1989). William and Ruth's descendants include
five grandchildren (four boys and one girl) and eight
great grandchildren (two boys and six girls).
(Note:
if you have Photos of this family or know of anyone that
does, please have them get in touch with us so that we
might share some photos of the family here)