Margaret “Mishee” Misko Marinovich Guich was a seafood worker of Slavonian descent who made her life in Biloxi Mississippi in the early 1900s. She was born on February 17, 1886 in Brac Yugoslavia to Anthony Misko and Lucretia Cerenich, both natives of Yugoslavia. Margaret arrived in the United States in January of 1907 just before her twenty-first birthday. She arrived aboard the vessel KOLN in Baltimore, Maryland and migrated to Biloxi, Mississippi shortly thereafter. The early twentieth century saw the height of Biloxi’s seafood production, as many factories began to upgrade their facilities to house many of the new technologies now available to the industry. To this end, Margaret found work cleaning shrimp and oysters in the seafood factories.
On November 24, 1910, she married Mateo “Mike” Marinovich, a boat worker from Trieste, Austria. The two were married in St. Michael’s Church and remained active members of the parish. They were also dedicated to their community, as Mike was one of the founding members of the Slavonian Lodge in Biloxi. Margaret was involved in St. Michael’s as both a member of the Altar Society and the Purgatory Society and would later contribute linens and furniture to the Holy Angels Nursery which opened in 1942.
Tragedy struck the family in 1929 when Mike passed away. Despite this, Margaret continued working in the seafood industry to provide for her four children. Against all odds, she managed to work early in the day, return home to keep the house, and provide for her children. On July 13, 1931, she remarried to Anton “Toney” Guich. Throughout her lifetime, Margaret resided along the Sommerville Subdivision where both Mike and Toney had owned property, she made her home at 1312 First Street for over forty years.
Margaret Misko Marinovich Guich passed away in 1943 at the age of 53, leaving behind her son Steve and her daughters Mary and Rita. From her native home of Yugoslavia to Baltimore Maryland, and finally settling in Biloxi, Margaret’s journey is one rich with trial and tribulation. Despite all of this, Margaret defied the odds and managed to both provide for and take care of her children in an era where both men and women struggled to maintain their careers. Margaret is remembered for both the love she had for her children and the driving force behind both of her husbands. From immigrant worker to Biloxi legacy, Margaret’s memory lives on as part of the rich history of the Gulf Coast.