Life in Bohemia
One branch of the Nolan family is descended from Joseph Pichler, a handschumachermeister, or master glove maker, from the spa town of Karlsbad, Bohemia. Bohemia was part of the Austrian Empire until the end of the World War I, and Karlsbad was a summer retreat for many of the titled and wealthy of Europe during the imperial era.
Joseph Pichler’s great granddaughter Bertha Pickler described some of the Karlsbad visitors: “have seen most all Royal Blood at our home--like Bismarck and old King William, King of Sweden, Emperor William with all his sons and the late Empress, Franz Joseph, Emperor of Ostrieich and all the Russian Emperors which were killed and many others. . .”
Joseph lived in Karlsbad, perhaps from the late 1700s to the early 1800s. We can learn something of life in Karlsbad from a 1847 book “The Kingdom of Bohemia,” by J. G. Sommer, trans. Urs Geiser. He describes a city of “558 houses with 3395 inhabitants,” including “581 masters, some in guilds and some not, and other owners who together with 154 fellows and 281 apprentices and other aides operated the police, commercial, and free trades and commerce.” Among the commercial tradesmen of the time were nine glovemakers.
Joseph and his wife Joanna (Pecher) were the parents of a daughter Magdalena, who was an unmarried mother of a daughter Amalia, born Jan. 4, 1829 and a son Franz (Frank), born in 1824. Amalia was the unmarried mother of Bertha Laura Anna Pickler, born July 3, 1854. As scandalous as this might seem, a native of Karlsbad explained the relationship between the city families and their wealthy summer visitors. Some of the merchant families “had intimate contact with the nobility over many years due to their trade, and often these nobles added generously to their income by helping them establish B&Bs in patrician houses which were not necessarily theirs, but were leased with the help of the nobles because they wanted a house for themselves.” In some cases the relationship may have gone further:
“If a young man of royal blood became infatuated with a Burgher girl, the parents of the young man would come to an arrangement with the family of the girl. Either it was totally discouraged, and most of the time it was just that, but since these nobles were also investors and if a business enterprise connected between them and the girls family, . . .plush quarters, usually on the third floor, provided the Karlsbad family a permanent residence year round. . . The agreement was that the name of the noble was never mentioned to his progeny. “
Joining Family in Minnesota
(There may have been two Frank Picklers in the county. The 1865 Minnesota State Census for Montgomery township in LeSueur has a Frank Pickler in Montgomery Township of LeSueur County, with a family which includes Jane, Margaretta, Louis, Clara, and Frank. )
In 1870, Frank Pickler, 46, farmer, born in Austria, lived alone in St. James, Watonwan County, where his sister Amalia joined him around 1870. In 1872, he married a widow, Grace (Kreozing) Pattinger, who had a 2 year old daughter, and on May 1, 1873 he acquired a land patent for land in Watonwan County. On the 1875 Minnesota Census, he and Grace resided in Oshawa in Nicollet County. They then had two daughters, one unnamed age 6 and Sophia age 1. In 1880, the family lived in Jordan, Scott County. Later, the family moved to Chamberlain, South Dakota, where they resided for the remainder of their lives.
Amalia’s daughter Bertha described their family’s arrival in the US and move to Minnesota:
Move to St. Paul
In St. Paul, Amalia’s boarding house may have been on the same corner of 4th and St. Peter Streets for several years, until 19882-83, although the address seemed to be renumbered frequently. Amalia and her daughter Hattie were involved in social events in the German community in St. Paul. In September 1880, they are listed in the St. Paul Daily Globe among the guests at a large wedding at the Athenaeum, a building designed for German lectures and cultural events. In April 1882, Hattie Peyer performed a duet with another woman at the Athenaeum, as part of a concert by the Great Western Band.
John Theviot appears to have boarded at the home of his brother’s mother-in-law most of the time, even with various address changes. He was working at a clerk at J. Mainzer in 1875-76, and at John J. Penner, in 1879-1881. He became a travel agent at M. A. Schultz & Co., in 1882 through 1885. John Theviot’s naturalization record indicates he applied for citizenship on September 6, 1878 in LeSueur Co., and may have gone to stay with Franklin Pickler at that time. While living in the Peyer boarding house, John was in contact with his sister in law’s half sister, Hattie, and the two married on Feb 27, 1883.
Move to Brainerd
John Theviot died of consumption in Brainerd Feb. 3 1890, not long after his former mother-in-law. The Brainerd newspaper reported, “He had not been in good health for some time and an attack of the prevailing epidemic hastened his death. Knowing that he had but a short time to live he came to Brainerd from St. Paul some days before his death as he desired to be with his brother’s family during his last hours.”
Hattie Koehler applied to the Probate Court on Nov. 13, 1890 to be appointed guardian of her six year old daughter Amalia Theviot, noting that she was entitled to personal property valued at about $2000, most likely her father’s estate.
To be continued.