Fred Machacek, the London banker, died at St. Olaf Hospital, Thursday morning, May 2, 1907 of ulceration of the stomach. He had been in the hospital for about a month. His death is a source of great sorrow to a large circle of friends. He was 40 years old.

He was born in St. Ansgar, Iowa, on Tuesday, April 16, 1867. Fred's parents were Frank & Katherine Machacek, who came to this country from Kutna Hora, Bohemia, bringing with them their children. In the years before their departure from Bohemia, the family lost two children due to Dropsy, Josephine (1855) & Emanuel (1859). Both were buried in a church yard in Kutna Hora.

In 1864, Frank & Katherine Machacek and their 10 children somehow reached Bremen, Germany, where they boarded a steamship fittingly named the America. All of the family were berthed in the Steerage section of the boat as it made its way through the rough waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Then, on Wednesday, September 7, 1864, the youngest child, 15-month-old Anton, died and the family gathered around as the parents buried him in the cold waters. Six days later, the SS America weighed anchor in New York Harbor and the family stepped ashore at Castle Clinton in present-day Battery Park in lower Manhattan. Once through Immigration, the family (parents and 9 surviving children) immediately boarded a small barge to the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, where they found passage to Iowa in a railway box car.

The family traveled to St. Ansgar, Iowa where Katherine had a brother, Jan Vyborny, and they purchased 80 acres of Iowa farm land northeast of town. It was here that Fred was born. He was the couple's last child and the only child born in America.

At age 9, Fred moved with his family to near London, Minnesota to settle on a new farm in 1876. He joined the other children in attending a one-room school. He started out in life to win his way honestly by hard work and upright dealing, and he succeeded in winning and holding the confidence of all who knew him.

In April 1903, four years prior to his death, Fred started the Bank of London, of which he was the president and cashier. He was treasurer of the London Creamery and of the Township of London. He was a member of the Woodman lodge, being a charter member of the London camp. He was also a member of the Order of the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization whose members are dedicated to the cause of universal peace.

In his contributions to the farmers, Fred purchased a steam-driven threshing machine that could be moved about to neighboring farms to make the fall harvest an easier job.

Fred never married. He leaves five brother and three sisters to mourn the loss of a most faithful and considerate brother. Funeral services were held in the school house at London village Sunday afternoon at 1 o'clock, Rev. C. D. Belden of Austin officiating.

There was an immense congregation present, including friends from Austin, Lyle, Otranto, and other points. The Deer Creek cornet band performed several appropriate pieces and led the procession to the school house and also assisted at the cemetery. After the service, a long procession of mourners extending over half a mile in length repaired to Woodbury cemetery for interment. The burial service was in the charge of the Woodmen, who used their ritual. The floral tributes were elaborate and beautiful.

With his burial in the beautiful Woodbury Cemetery in Lyle Township of Mower County, Minnesota, Fred joined his parents, many of his brothers and sisters and other relatives who passed before him.

A portion of the information on this memorial was adapted from the Mower County Transcript, 8 May 1907, page 2, column 1 under heading Deaths.