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I never knew my Great Grandfather Martin Lawrence Begus since he died in 1944. I also never knew very much about him. One of the family rumors was that he was an illegal immigrant who came in through Canada. Another thought floating around was that he had come in as crew on a boat. I found his immigration records though – he came as a passenger through Galveston Texas On June 10th 1907 on the boat Chenmitz from Bremen Germany. The records list his citizenship as Austrian. That is accurate because Slovenia was part of the Hungarian-Austrian Empire at the time. The records didn’t say his home city, so I don’t know where he came from in Slovenia. We know he spoke Slovenian at home. He also spoke German and English. |
| Before I started investigating my family I didn’t know that immigrants came in through Galveston Texas. It turns out that Galveston Texas had Pelican Island where immigrants were interred until they were determined to be free of infectious diseases and with enough means to not be a drain on the American economy. An estimated 200,000 immigrants came to the US through Galveston between 1865 and 1924. |
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Between 1907 and 1914 Jewish immigrants were sent to Galveston instead of NY in the Galveston Movement which was an effort to decrease the addition of Jews to the ghettos on the east coast. Galveston served ports in Germany and Jews were fleeing programs. Unfortunately antisemitism lead to limiting the number of Jews who could immigrate. Immigration officials would declare Jewish men unfit and communities would refuse to allow Jews to resettle. The antisemitism rose as more Jews tried to escape Eastern Europe on the eve of WWI and limited the success of the Galveston Movement. |
| Martin Begus was lucky that he immigrated when he did. He was not Jewish, but he was Catholic and Catholics were also highly suspect. He also was Germanic. The preparation for WWI fanned anti-German demonstrations across the US and Germans were widely suspect and discriminated against in the US throughout the Great War (more about that in my second book). Martin Begus did register for the draft for WWI, but he was 30 and married with children so he was not drafted. |
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Martin made his way to Kemmerer Wyoming where he met and married Mary Bertot. He was 26 and she was 19. They had 2 children, Stanley and Olga Marie. They moved around a bit. The 1930 census found them in Nebraska where Martin was the proprietor of a lunch counter.By 1940 they were in Milwaukee and Martin owned a bar. Both he and Stanley were listed as bar tenders and Olga Marie was a stenographer. I’ve heard vague rumors that Martin was a tough man and that he treated my Grandma like a princess, but wasn’t so nice to Stan. My mom said that Martin had been on his own since his early teens and had learned to be tough and support himself. |
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By 1940 they were in Milwaukee and Martin owned a bar. Both he and Stanley were listed as bar tenders and Olga Marie was a stenographer. I’ve heard vague rumors that Martin was a tough man and that he treated my Grandma like a princess, but wasn’t so nice to Stan. My mom said that Martin had been on his own since his early teens and had learned to be tough and support himself. |
| I’m not sure what I am looking for in looking for my family. I’m finding ordinary people who faced hardships and worked very hard. I think I can find a little of Martin in me. I too am big boned and I work very hard. I thank him for whatever he gave me |
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Martin Begus – Not an illegal immigrant, but also not through Ellis Island
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