Bio: Janezich, Anton & Mary

Transcriber: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Janezich, Pugel, Hegler, Cesnik, Krismas, Kaltinger, Hribar, Brence, Hemersbach, Geiger, Helmick, Peskator

----Source: Family Scrapbook

Anton Janezich was born in Slovenia Jugoslavia on December 27, 1878 in the village of Dolenjske Toplice. The village was near the city of Novo Mesto which was at that time part of the Austria-Hungary Empire. He had one brother and one sister. His mother’s maiden name was Pugel. She was born Aug. 5, 1888 and she died when he was six years old. Very little is known about his childhood; however the loss of his mother was a great sadness in itself. He often spoke of the poverty and hardship they endured after her death.

At age fourteen he began working as a farm hand. His wages amounted to $12.00 a year and two pair of shoes. Like many others, he had thoughts of leaving the "old country" and immigrating to America which was believed to be the land of great opportunity. Unlike most immigrants who were invited to America by relatives who had previously settled here, he had no relation in this country and we can only assume his invitation came from friends.

It took him three years to save enough money for passage and he arrived at Ellis Island, New York shortly after the turn of the century. The exact date of his arrival is not known. From New York he departed by train to Pueblo, Colorado where he knew friends who had previously emigrated. His first employment was as a smelter.

It was during this time that he met Mary Hegler who after a few years was to become his wife. She was born in Struge, Slovenia near the village of Grosuplje. Mary Hegler had one brother and three sisters. Like Anton her mother also died when she was very young. Her father remarried and to this union were born three more children. At age sixteen an uncle living in Pueblo, Colorado who was a saloon keeper by occupation, sponsored her trip to America.

Anton Janezich and Mary Hegler were married on November 22, 1905 at St. Mary's Church in Pueblo, Colorado. The marriage was performed by Father Cyril Zupan of the Order of St. Benedict. Mary and Gabriella, the first of twelve children were born in Pueblo.

After laboring as a smelter for approximately six years, Anton developed respiratory problems and decided to change his employment. In a Slovenian Newspaper he read of the land sales in Wisconsin being promoted by a land agent named Ignac Cesnik. In the anticipation of a better life, Anton, his wife Mary and the two children moved from Pueblo, Colorado to Wisconsin in the spring of 1910.

Upon arrival they purchased forty acres of land located four miles south-west of Willard. The tracks of the Foster and Northeastern Railroad separated several acres from the initial forty acre parcel. The title to the land indicated that a party named Krismas had prior ownership.

Located on the acreage was a house and small barn. The soil was sandy loam that proved to be excellent for the raising of crops. Fifteen years later forty additional acres were purchased and during the depression, an eighty acre parcel was purchased for the price of $80.00 in delinquent taxes. In a short time the surrounding acreage was purchased by friends who were acquaintances in Slovenia and in Pueblo, Colorado. A strong bond of unity existed between these people who depended upon one another in time of need.

Not all the people who made the long journey to Willard stayed however. A brother, Louis Janezich, who had followed Anton to America, to Pueblo and then to Wisconsin left in disgust. Louis, his wife and one child arrived in 1911 and purchased the land directly across the railroad tracks from his brother Anton's farm. Within a period of three years they returned to Pueblo where the climate was more livable and earning a living was less demanding. In 1914 the John Kaltinger family arrived in Willard from Utah and purchased the acreage. Louis Janezich died in Pueblo in 1918.

A short distance from the house and small barn stood a train depot at a stop called Gorman. For many years the train provided transportation and the shipping of goods which was the alternative to horse and spring wagon.

In the early summer of 1918 a tornado destroyed the house. Our family suffered no injuries, but our neighbors the Kaltingers were not as fortunate. In addition to the damage to our house and the neighbors, the train depot was also destroyed. Until other shelter could be provided we stayed with our good friends the Hribars, who willingly shared their home with us.

Eventually the railroad depot was replaced by a small building resembling a shack which provided a shelter for freight. This shelter later became a frequent gathering place for the young folk of the neighborhood and left many of us with fond delightful memories of our growing years.

For our parents these years taught patience and hopeful expectations for a life that was more than a basic existence. They experienced years of toil and hardship together with a great economic depression. In addition to the economic hard times there came a severe drought that lasted for nearly three years. They knew times when there was hardly enough food to feed the family.

The late thirties and the war years that followed brought an era of better times. Like most of the Slovenian people who settled the community of Willard, Mary Janezich was representative of them. She was a hardworking woman who experienced few of life's luxuries, Most of her time was spent in the domestic chores and household duties that keep a family together. It seemed to us that she spent endless hours by lamp light sewing to clothe the family.

Her favorite time was spring. The beginning of a garden and the raising of flowers renewed her spirit. She took great pride in this yearly task. Even during the long months of terminal illness that preceded her death, she talked anxiously of spring and how it's warmth would return her health. She died on March 11, 1957. Deeply crushed by his wife's death and with a failing heart, Anton died on August 4, 1958 a year and several months later.

They now rest in the soil that sustained them together with their friends and neighbors of old, buried at Holy Family Cemetery in Willard.

Their children include; Mary Koschak, Waukegan, Illinois; Gavriella Brence, deceased; Anton Jr. Chicago; Hedwig Hemersbach, Greenwood; Rozalia Geiger, Seattle, Washington; Alvina Helmick, Waukegan, Illinois; Michella died in infancy; Stanley, Waukegan, Illinois; Valeria Peskator, deceased; Dorothy Creamer, Liberal, Missouri; Robert, North Chicago; and Henry who resides with his family on the home farm at Willard.

Submitted by: Hedwig Janezich Hemersbach