Bohemians in Milwaukee
The following is from the "German-Bohemian Heritage Society Newsletter, The Heimatbrief, Vol XI No. 1 March 2000, page 8-10:
"The pattern of immigration of German-Bohemians into Milwaukee appears to emulate that of ethnic Germans in general; beginning primarily after 1848, with the bulk of them arriving toward the end of the 19th century. Germans from Bohemia tended to blend with the rest of Milwaukee’s German populace, making it nearly impossible to state that there was a distinct “German-Bohemian neighborhood.” The city directory data demonstrates what one Milwaukee historian described as “Milwaukee’s coordinate culture of Germans” wherein the German populated portions of the city developed, not so much as neighborhoods, but as communities of their own.
From the early days of immigration ca.1850s-1860s-- the German-Bohemians tended to settle near the central business district, in Wards 1, 2, and 6 (present-day “downtown” and “East town”), on either side of the Milwaukee River. Several rooming houses dotted these streets, providing temporary shelter for immigrants finding work in the nearby businesses. Soon, Wards 1, 2, 6, and 9 showed the most German settlement (1/2 and 3/4 German composition, respectively). However, there was significant settlement in Ward 7, primarily a “merchant center” in which were located a few known German-Bohemian shopkeepers.
Although St. John’s Cathedral had been erected between 1847-1853 to serve the Roman Catholic community of this area, it is more likely that German-Bohemians attended St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, only a few blocks from the Cathedral, a church built to serve the German speaking population of the city. There were Lutheran parishes in the area, however, the Heimatbuecher and anecdotal evidence show that the majority of Germans from Bohemia were Catholic.
Milwaukee grew rapidly between the 1860s to the turn of the century and the wards were continually further subdivided. For example, the borders of the 9th Ward, by 1896, had been redrawn to reflect new wards numbered 9, 10, 19 and 20. Therefore, for purposes of describing neighborhoods, I will resort to a bit of “Milwaukee-ese” and refer to these neighborhoods as “the Old 9th Ward” or the “Old 2nd Ward. Ward 9 of the city, on the west side of the river, included St. Joseph’s German-Catholic Church, located at 11th and Cherry Streets, established in 1856, Reverend Joseph Holzhauer, pastor.
It is in the parish registers of this church that German-Bohemian names appear often, beginning with the earliest church records. Known German-Bohemian immigrants of 1855 had recorded marriages in the church book beginning in 1856. Most of the G-B surnames appearing in the city directories are attached to residences within walking distance of the church; “Cherry” and “Galena” Streets are quite common; 16th Street was the western city limits at this time.
The increasing population moved westward from the 1860s, these street names continuing in that direction into the 1880s, when 27th Street became the westernmost border (today’s “near north” or “near west” sides of town). From addresses of “5th and Galena” in the 1850s to “24th and Cherry” by the turn of the century, the German-Bohemian population spread into the city’s 9th ward. This area would include St. Michael’s Catholic Church, established in 1883, located at 24th between Vliet and Cherry Streets. Later, the Catholic parishes of St. Leo’s and St. Anne’s had German-Bohemians in their membership. However, as these were after the turn of the 19th century, most of those were likely to be first generation Americans, or the offspring of the immigrant from Boehmen.
While the northern and western wards of the city received the majority of these immigrants, to some extent, the south side of the city was settled by some of them as well, predominantly in the 8th Ward, the western edge of the “South Side” of the 1880s.
As ethnic Czechs began to immigrate to the city, they appear to have settled on this side of town as well. Perhaps the language and customs mirrored more the predominant Polish population of this area than that of the “German” neighborhoods. It is interesting to note, however, that by the 1870s, some ethnic Czechs were settling in the “German Wards” on the north and west sides. However, city directory entries show that they had their own cultural institutions, appearing not to have melded in with the Deutsch-Boehmische of the area.
Four city blocks from St. Joseph’s German Catholic Church, the Bohemian American Hall stood on 12th Street. Its “officers” bore ethnically Czech surnames. In 1885, Reverend Leo J. Suchy served as pastor of both St. John of Nepomuk at 4th and Cherry St. (north side) and St. Venceslaus at 9th and Scott St. (southside). The city directory lists these parishes under “Bohemian Churches”.
At the same time, Milwaukee had 27 German language newspapers and a Bohemian one as well: “The Domacnost”. By 1941, a “Bohemian Savings and Loan” and the “Bohemian National Loan and Building Association” stood at 12th and Vine Streets. Clearly, the German-Bohemians aligned themselves with the ethnic German population. In records where a form of “Bohemia” was actually given as place of origin, it was more often written as “Boehmen” for one bearing a Germanic surname and “Bohemia” for a person bearing a Czech one.
Although I have not checked the parish records, the likely churches for southside German Catholics would have been Holy Trinity (erected 1849-1950), Reverend Joseph Sadler as Pastor (a “confirmed” Deutsch-Boehmische name) or, later, St. Antonious at 4th and Mitchell Streets. Following is a small list of churches that German-Bohemians living in the 1st, 2nd, 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th Wards likely attended. However, Milwaukee had numerous Catholic churches within blocks of each other, so other churches should also be considered for genealogical research purposes. Most of these churches are described as German churches (or Bohemian) by the archdiocese. LDS Family History Center does have the Milwaukee Archdiocese church books on microfilm to the year 1920."