Anton Mohelnitzky's Childhood
Anton Mohelnitzky was born March 24, 1848 in Seltschan / Sedlčany, Bohemia / Czech Republic.
The date of Anton's immigration from Bohemia to America is not known at this time, but it was before March 1858.
Anton was placed in an orphanage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
At about age 10, Anton was admitted to St. Aemilian's Orphan Asylum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in March 1858. This was a boy's orphanage and was established in 1850. Girls were placed at St. Rose Orphan Asylum which was founded in 1848.
On December 13, 2006, a file card was found for Anton "Mohanitzky" at this address:
St. Aemilian-Lakeside, Inc.
8901 West Capitol Drive
Milwaukee, WI 53222
From St. Aemilian-Lakeside's website http://www.st-al.org/contact.htm
Anton's two sisters, Julia and Mary, were also placed in orphanages in Milwaukee:
Julia married George Cline (or Klein) and had two children; her daughter, Kitty was married to an Otto.
Mary married a Schmidt.
Family Stories about Anton and his two sisters, Julia and Mary
This photo was identified as "Young Anton"
"St. Aemilian-Lakeside works with children, families, and adults to help them achieve stable and productive lives. From our origin as an orphanage for Milwaukee's earliest immigrants, St. Aemilian-Lakeside has evolved into a dynamic provider of education, therapy, support, and prevention services for all of Southeast Wisconsin and beyond. St. Aemilian-Lakeside, Inc. is non-profit and non-sectarian."
Information from Anton's file card:
Name: Mohanitzky Anton.
Born: 1847
Father deceased: yes
Mother deceased: yes
Admitted: Mar. 1858
Placed Out (Relatives, Strangers): 5/1/59
Register: St. A.O.A.
No. 138
An email from St. Aemilian-Lakeside:
"...I checked all of our orphan records and did find a file card with your Great-Great Grandfathers name on it and a number. When I went to look up the file number there was no file to be found. He was one of our first orphans in our orphanage because his number was number 133. The beginning numbers are so scarce so I'm not sure if they just didn't do records at the beginning for all of the boys or if it was lost before the files came to us. All the cards says is that he was born in 1848 and that his father and mother were both deceased. It doesn't even list their names. I looked for the other spellings just to make sure that maybe his file wasn't mis-filed but I came up with nothing...."
A second email from St. Aemilian-Lakeside:
"...I do not have a scanner but will make a copy of the card and mail it to you. I will also ask if anyone knows where the girls might have been. There is not much information on the card but it is still awesome to see the writing that is on there....We are asked if we have pictures and we do, however, we don't have names on any of them so we don't know who any of the boys are..."
Note: The "girls" referred to in the email are Anton's two sisters, Julia and Mary Mohelnitzky.
Another email from St. Aemilian-Lakeside:
"...I copied the card and put it in today's mail along with our history brochure and a few current brochures. The original name was St. Aemilian's Orphan Asylum located in St. Francis, Wisconsin. It looks like he was admitted in march of 1858. As far as the girls, we have no records of theirs but you might want to check with the Archodiocese of Wisconsin. They might have a listing of other orphanages in Wisconsin that housed girls...."
Anton Mohelnitzky's card on file at St. Aemilian-Lakeside:
Click the image to make it larger.
Observations and speculation:
The orphan card lists Anton's last name as "Mohanitzky." That would lead one to believe that at this time, the name was not pronounced as "mole-NIT-skee" or "mul-eh-NIT-skee" but as "muh-HAHN-es-kee."
The orphan card looks like it may have been filled out in later years, which is why it is lacking basic information, such as the name and nationality of Anton's parents. Did orphanages have typewritten forms in 1858? One could study the history of typewriters and forensic identification.
The orphan card says "(over)" at the bottom. It has been confirmed with St. Aemilian-Lakeside that nothing is written on the back side of the file card.
The card says Anton was "placed out" on May 1, 1859.
Was Anton placed out in 1859 when he went to work for Sebastian Wenker in Cazenovia?
Or could this be when Anton went to live at the seminary? Although he'd be a little young at age 11 or 12 in 1859 to be studying for the priesthood.
In 1854, the orphanage was moved to seminary grounds, according to St. Aemilian history.
When Anton was 17 (as one story goes) he went to Milwaukee when he considered becoming a priest.
From an 1860 census: Sebastian Wenker was living in Clyman, Dodge, County, Wisconsin.
From an 1870 census: Sebastian Wenker was living in Cazenovia, Westford Township, Richland County, Wisconsin.
More questions: Did Anton Mohelnitzky work for Sebastian Wenker in Clyman or Cazenovia? Anton's name has not yet been found on the 1860 or 1870 census records.