Blas Emer was born 7 Feb 1874 in Trogir, Austria, (Yugoslavia), to Pavo Emer and Giovanna Yurich. He married Marija Bilic in Trogir in 1906 and started a family. Their firstborn, a girl died in infancy, but two more children followed with Winifred in 1909 and Pave in 1910.
After his son Pave was born on 7 Jul 1910, Blas immigrated to the United States that September as part of the 2nd and largest wave of Yugoslav immigration, (1890-1914) and would not see his family again, until 1921. He was part of the great "labor migration", of mostly illiterate working-age males whose meager wages in the homeland, made it impossible for them to afford travel expenses to America for their entire families. Blas, like the majority of other migrants, was forced to leave his family behind until he could save enough money working in America, to pay for their transit. He reached New York on 1 Sep 1910 aboard the Cunard R.M.S. Pannonia from Trieste crossed the country to Roseville, California, but not before meeting his sister Antonija Tornatela, who immigrated the year before in 1909 and settled in Kane, Pennsylvania with her husband. In California, his older brother Vincenzo, "Vicko" Emer was already living in Roseville, having immigrated in 1907. But with his living expenses and earning laborers' wages here in the States, saving money to bring his wife and two children to America was a hardship. This was a principal reason so many immigrants never reunited with their families in the US at all or made the decision to return to their families in the homeland as his brother Vicko would eventually do. To make matters worse, with the advent of World War I, immigration came to a halt and delayed his family's travel to the US until 1921. But once reunited after their 11-year separation, Blas and Marija added three more children to their family, Katie, Annie, and Mary.
Blas like his brother Vicko were attracted to the United States for primarily economic reasons, seeking the "American dream" and a better life. California was attractive because of the booming railroad industry and employment opportunities with Southern Pacific Railroad's new expansion into Roseville. Referred to as the "St. Louis of the West", Roseville became a clearinghouse for California commerce, designed to relieve congestion at their Sacramento facility 18 miles away. Wheatfields in the valley gave way to Southern Pacific's expansion into Roseville with construction beginning in 1906 and by the time Blas immigrated to the U.S. in late 1910, this newly completed facility already employed in excess of 2,000 railroaders. He worked many years with the Pacific Fruit Express (P.F.C.) in their icing plant, which employed over 100 men who iced and loaded up 20 refrigeration cars at a time, at a rate of 2 per minute with 300 lb. blocks of ice, transporting fresh fruits and vegetables to destinations across the country. Water for the ice used in their refrigeration cars was supplied by a 350,000-gallon tank at the facility, fed from a 7-million-gallon reservoir in the hills above Rocklin which in turn, was supplied by the Bear River at Towle. Blas was in an accident at work, when a large block of ice fell on his leg which never healed properly. He passed away from cancer on 25 May 1950 at his home surrounded by family.
Other Family Connections in the US:
Brother: Vincenzo Emer, b. 1868, Trogir, Austria and died in Yugoslavia, date unknown.
Nieces: Giovanna "Jovana" Maria Gruich/EMER, 1894-1966, #158331204.
Anka "Annie" Buble/EMER, 1896-1993, #130646236.
Sister: Antonija Tornatela/EMER, (1878-1936), #102407214.
Scott Adell
April 2015
Sources:
Yugoslav Migrations to America, by Gene Culakovic, 1973.
Expediting Overland Freight, by Rufus Steele, Sunday Editor The San Francisco Call, 1908.
From Trails to Rails, by Leonard Davis, 1964.
Immigration records; Census Reports; Vital Records; Family Oral Histories.
After his son Pave was born on 7 Jul 1910, Blas immigrated to the United States that September as part of the 2nd and largest wave of Yugoslav immigration, (1890-1914) and would not see his family again, until 1921. He was part of the great "labor migration", of mostly illiterate working-age males whose meager wages in the homeland, made it impossible for them to afford travel expenses to America for their entire families. Blas, like the majority of other migrants, was forced to leave his family behind until he could save enough money working in America, to pay for their transit. He reached New York on 1 Sep 1910 aboard the Cunard R.M.S. Pannonia from Trieste crossed the country to Roseville, California, but not before meeting his sister Antonija Tornatela, who immigrated the year before in 1909 and settled in Kane, Pennsylvania with her husband. In California, his older brother Vincenzo, "Vicko" Emer was already living in Roseville, having immigrated in 1907. But with his living expenses and earning laborers' wages here in the States, saving money to bring his wife and two children to America was a hardship. This was a principal reason so many immigrants never reunited with their families in the US at all or made the decision to return to their families in the homeland as his brother Vicko would eventually do. To make matters worse, with the advent of World War I, immigration came to a halt and delayed his family's travel to the US until 1921. But once reunited after their 11-year separation, Blas and Marija added three more children to their family, Katie, Annie, and Mary.
Blas like his brother Vicko were attracted to the United States for primarily economic reasons, seeking the "American dream" and a better life. California was attractive because of the booming railroad industry and employment opportunities with Southern Pacific Railroad's new expansion into Roseville. Referred to as the "St. Louis of the West", Roseville became a clearinghouse for California commerce, designed to relieve congestion at their Sacramento facility 18 miles away. Wheatfields in the valley gave way to Southern Pacific's expansion into Roseville with construction beginning in 1906 and by the time Blas immigrated to the U.S. in late 1910, this newly completed facility already employed in excess of 2,000 railroaders. He worked many years with the Pacific Fruit Express (P.F.C.) in their icing plant, which employed over 100 men who iced and loaded up 20 refrigeration cars at a time, at a rate of 2 per minute with 300 lb. blocks of ice, transporting fresh fruits and vegetables to destinations across the country. Water for the ice used in their refrigeration cars was supplied by a 350,000-gallon tank at the facility, fed from a 7-million-gallon reservoir in the hills above Rocklin which in turn, was supplied by the Bear River at Towle. Blas was in an accident at work, when a large block of ice fell on his leg which never healed properly. He passed away from cancer on 25 May 1950 at his home surrounded by family.
Other Family Connections in the US:
Brother: Vincenzo Emer, b. 1868, Trogir, Austria and died in Yugoslavia, date unknown.
Nieces: Giovanna "Jovana" Maria Gruich/EMER, 1894-1966, #158331204.
Anka "Annie" Buble/EMER, 1896-1993, #130646236.
Sister: Antonija Tornatela/EMER, (1878-1936), #102407214.
Scott Adell
April 2015
Sources:
Yugoslav Migrations to America, by Gene Culakovic, 1973.
Expediting Overland Freight, by Rufus Steele, Sunday Editor The San Francisco Call, 1908.
From Trails to Rails, by Leonard Davis, 1964.
Immigration records; Census Reports; Vital Records; Family Oral Histories.
Blas Emer was born 7 Feb 1874 in Trogir, Austria, (Yugoslavia), to Pavo Emer and Giovanna Yurich. He married Marija Bilic in Trogir in 1906 and started a family. Their firstborn, a girl died in infancy, but two more children followed with Winifred in 1909 and Pave in 1910.
After his son Pave was born on 7 Jul 1910, Blas immigrated to the United States that September as part of the 2nd and largest wave of Yugoslav immigration, (1890-1914) and would not see his family again, until 1921. He was part of the great "labor migration", of mostly illiterate working-age males whose meager wages in the homeland, made it impossible for them to afford travel expenses to America for their entire families. Blas, like the majority of other migrants, was forced to leave his family behind until he could save enough money working in America, to pay for their transit. He reached New York on 1 Sep 1910 aboard the Cunard R.M.S. Pannonia from Trieste crossed the country to Roseville, California, but not before meeting his sister Antonija Tornatela, who immigrated the year before in 1909 and settled in Kane, Pennsylvania with her husband. In California, his older brother Vincenzo, "Vicko" Emer was already living in Roseville, having immigrated in 1907. But with his living expenses and earning laborers' wages here in the States, saving money to bring his wife and two children to America was a hardship. This was a principal reason so many immigrants never reunited with their families in the US at all or made the decision to return to their families in the homeland as his brother Vicko would eventually do. To make matters worse, with the advent of World War I, immigration came to a halt and delayed his family's travel to the US until 1921. But once reunited after their 11-year separation, Blas and Marija added three more children to their family, Katie, Annie, and Mary.
Blas like his brother Vicko were attracted to the United States for primarily economic reasons, seeking the "American dream" and a better life. California was attractive because of the booming railroad industry and employment opportunities with Southern Pacific Railroad's new expansion into Roseville. Referred to as the "St. Louis of the West", Roseville became a clearinghouse for California commerce, designed to relieve congestion at their Sacramento facility 18 miles away. Wheatfields in the valley gave way to Southern Pacific's expansion into Roseville with construction beginning in 1906 and by the time Blas immigrated to the U.S. in late 1910, this newly completed facility already employed in excess of 2,000 railroaders. He worked many years with the Pacific Fruit Express (P.F.C.) in their icing plant, which employed over 100 men who iced and loaded up 20 refrigeration cars at a time, at a rate of 2 per minute with 300 lb. blocks of ice, transporting fresh fruits and vegetables to destinations across the country. Water for the ice used in their refrigeration cars was supplied by a 350,000-gallon tank at the facility, fed from a 7-million-gallon reservoir in the hills above Rocklin which in turn, was supplied by the Bear River at Towle. Blas was in an accident at work, when a large block of ice fell on his leg which never healed properly. He passed away from cancer on 25 May 1950 at his home surrounded by family.
Other Family Connections in the US:
Brother: Vincenzo Emer, b. 1868, Trogir, Austria and died in Yugoslavia, date unknown.
Nieces: Giovanna "Jovana" Maria Gruich/EMER, 1894-1966, #158331204.
Anka "Annie" Buble/EMER, 1896-1993, #130646236.
Sister: Antonija Tornatela/EMER, (1878-1936), #102407214.
Scott Adell
April 2015
Sources:
Yugoslav Migrations to America, by Gene Culakovic, 1973.
Expediting Overland Freight, by Rufus Steele, Sunday Editor The San Francisco Call, 1908.
From Trails to Rails, by Leonard Davis, 1964.
Immigration records; Census Reports; Vital Records; Family Oral Histories.
After his son Pave was born on 7 Jul 1910, Blas immigrated to the United States that September as part of the 2nd and largest wave of Yugoslav immigration, (1890-1914) and would not see his family again, until 1921. He was part of the great "labor migration", of mostly illiterate working-age males whose meager wages in the homeland, made it impossible for them to afford travel expenses to America for their entire families. Blas, like the majority of other migrants, was forced to leave his family behind until he could save enough money working in America, to pay for their transit. He reached New York on 1 Sep 1910 aboard the Cunard R.M.S. Pannonia from Trieste crossed the country to Roseville, California, but not before meeting his sister Antonija Tornatela, who immigrated the year before in 1909 and settled in Kane, Pennsylvania with her husband. In California, his older brother Vincenzo, "Vicko" Emer was already living in Roseville, having immigrated in 1907. But with his living expenses and earning laborers' wages here in the States, saving money to bring his wife and two children to America was a hardship. This was a principal reason so many immigrants never reunited with their families in the US at all or made the decision to return to their families in the homeland as his brother Vicko would eventually do. To make matters worse, with the advent of World War I, immigration came to a halt and delayed his family's travel to the US until 1921. But once reunited after their 11-year separation, Blas and Marija added three more children to their family, Katie, Annie, and Mary.
Blas like his brother Vicko were attracted to the United States for primarily economic reasons, seeking the "American dream" and a better life. California was attractive because of the booming railroad industry and employment opportunities with Southern Pacific Railroad's new expansion into Roseville. Referred to as the "St. Louis of the West", Roseville became a clearinghouse for California commerce, designed to relieve congestion at their Sacramento facility 18 miles away. Wheatfields in the valley gave way to Southern Pacific's expansion into Roseville with construction beginning in 1906 and by the time Blas immigrated to the U.S. in late 1910, this newly completed facility already employed in excess of 2,000 railroaders. He worked many years with the Pacific Fruit Express (P.F.C.) in their icing plant, which employed over 100 men who iced and loaded up 20 refrigeration cars at a time, at a rate of 2 per minute with 300 lb. blocks of ice, transporting fresh fruits and vegetables to destinations across the country. Water for the ice used in their refrigeration cars was supplied by a 350,000-gallon tank at the facility, fed from a 7-million-gallon reservoir in the hills above Rocklin which in turn, was supplied by the Bear River at Towle. Blas was in an accident at work, when a large block of ice fell on his leg which never healed properly. He passed away from cancer on 25 May 1950 at his home surrounded by family.
Other Family Connections in the US:
Brother: Vincenzo Emer, b. 1868, Trogir, Austria and died in Yugoslavia, date unknown.
Nieces: Giovanna "Jovana" Maria Gruich/EMER, 1894-1966, #158331204.
Anka "Annie" Buble/EMER, 1896-1993, #130646236.
Sister: Antonija Tornatela/EMER, (1878-1936), #102407214.
Scott Adell
April 2015
Sources:
Yugoslav Migrations to America, by Gene Culakovic, 1973.
Expediting Overland Freight, by Rufus Steele, Sunday Editor The San Francisco Call, 1908.
From Trails to Rails, by Leonard Davis, 1964.
Immigration records; Census Reports; Vital Records; Family Oral Histories.
