Mike Cwach, born in Bohemia in 1851, was a prominent landowner in Yankton County, owning 1,160 acres. Emigrating to the U.S. at seventeen, he initially settled in Missouri before moving to Yankton County in 1872, where he began a successful career in agriculture and stock raising. In 1878, he married Josie Beachan, whose father, Joseph Beachan, led a Bohemian colony to South Dakota in 1869. Together, Mike and Josie had ten children, eight of whom survived into adulthood. Mike Cwach was known for his agricultural contributions and commitment to his Roman Catholic faith.
Mike Cwach is one of the most extensive landowners of Yankton County, his possessions aggregating eleven hundred and sixty acres. He is a self-made man and his life record should serve as a source of encouragement and inspiration to others, showing what may be accomplished through strong purpose and unfaltering diligence. He was born in Bohemia in 1851 and educated in the schools of that country. When a youth of seventeen years he came to the United States, locating in Missouri, where he remained for three years. In 1872 he arrived in Yankton County, where he entered land from the government and started upon what has been a very successful career as an agriculturist and stock raiser.
In 1878 Mr. Cwach married Miss Josie Beachan, a daughter of Joseph Beachan, one of the pioneer settlers of South Dakota. Her father was born in Bohemia in 1827 and came to this state in 1869, being at the head of a Bohemian colony which settled in Yankton County and whose descendants are now among the most prosperous and thrifty citizens of this portion of the state. Mr. Beachan entered one hundred and sixty acres of land from the government and prior to his death, which occurred in October, 1902, he had become the owner of more than seven hundred acres. He held membership in the Roman Catholic Church and was a man of strong character and upright principles. He wedded Miss Lydia Novak, who was born in Bohemia, in which country they were married. She proved to him a faithful companion and helpmate on the journey of life and was to her family a devoted wife and mother. She passed away October 21, 1899. There were seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Beachan, six of whom are yet living, namely: Frank, Mary, Josie (now Mrs. Cwach), Fannie, Tony and Anton, all of whom are well-to-do farming people of Yankton County. The marriage of the subject and his wife has been blessed with ten children, but one died only a few hours after birth and another was killed at the age of two years by falling under the wheels of a wagon. Those still living are John, Mary (the wife of Jim Ripple), Frank, Lydia (now Mrs. John Peterka), Victor, Joe, Emil, Emily, Helen and Georgiana, all of whom are still with their parents with the exception of the married daughters. That Mr. Cwach has had a most successful career is indicated by the fact that he is today the owner of eleven hundred and sixty acres of land, of which he rents four hundred and eighty acres, while to the cultivation of the remaining six hundred and eighty acres he gives his personal supervision. He is extensively engaged in the raising of stock and annually ships a large amount of stock, finding profit in that work. He is not allied with any political party, but casts his ballot in support of the men and measures whom he thinks best qualified for office. In religious faith he is a Roman Catholic and has reared his family in that church.
Source: Robinson, Doane, History of South Dakota: together with mention of Citizens of South Dakota, [Logansport? IN] : B. F. Bowen, 1904.