Established on November 19, 1870 the second Roman Catholic parish in Washington County, Texas, St. Mary's in Brenham, has evolved over the last century and a quarter into a congregation of over 1,000 families. A projected growth of an additional 500 families is expected by the turn of the century.

The parish was founded and supported by Irish, German and Polish Families who were engaged in a variety of business in the early days of Brenham's history. By the early 1870s, a number of farmers, themselves Polish immigrants, began settling in the vicinity of Brenham and began attending St. Mary's.

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History of St. Mary Catholic Church – Brenham, TexasRead More »

Roots: There is a Polish, melancholic song which describes the reason and origin of the emigration from Poland to the United States:

Goralu, czy ci nie zal odchodzic od sron ojczystych;
Swierkowych lasow i hal i tych potokow srebrzystych.
Goralu, czy nie zal…Goralu, wracaj do hal.

A goral no gory spoziera, i lzy rekawen ociera;
dla chleba, panie, dla chleba, i gor porzucic trzeba.

Loosely translated, it means:

Mountaineer, aren't you sad to leave your homeland; its spruce forest, mountain pastures and silver brooks?

Mountaineer gazes at the mountains and wipes the tears away with his sleeve; knowing that for "bread" (livelihood) he must leave his mountains.

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History of St. Stanislaus Catholic Church, Chappell Hill, TexasRead More »

This time line lists some of the important events in Polish, Texan and American history that had an influence on the Polish Texans. This timeline can also be viewed as it relates to a specific person or persons in our genealogy database by clicking on the timeline button on the persons main page. An example of this can be seen here.

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Polish Texan History TimelineRead More »