Josef Konecny - The Bohemian Virtuoso

As I have said a couple of times before, my great-grandmother Rosemary gave me the genealogy bug. She had this way of giving just enough details in a story to have you hooked but leaving so many details out that you had no choice but to try to investigate the rest of the story. This post is about one of those teaser stories she told me.

When I was in middle school, I started playing in the school band. I had been a rockstar on recorder in elementary school (as much a "rockstar" as anyone can be on recorder), and I wanted to continue my musical pursuits into sixth grade.

My first choice for an instrument was violin. I had been fascinated by it for as long as I could remember. The first music class I remember was in kindergarten, and we learned all of the instruments' names and sounds. Of course, being a "Disney" kid, I had already known most of them thanks to the movie "Fantasia," but that didn't matter. I had decided the violin was my favorite.

Well, we didn't have a strings program (yet) at my school, so violin wasn't an option. I went with my second favorite instead. I decided to learn flute.

My sixth grade school photo. We were supposed to bring something that was
important to us to have in our photo with us. I brought my flute, and I dressed in my concert band shirt.
Personal Collection of Brittany Jenkins

When I met my great-grandmother in 9th grade, I told her about my musical adventures. Since my parents were not musical, and I only knew my grandmother to play a little piano, I thought I was the first person in the family to really pick up any kind of instrument. My great-grandmother corrected me. She said we had other musical talents in the family. She said we had a "virtuoso" in the family.

That was it. That was all she said. She didn't say who. She didn't say what kind of music. She didn't say what instrument. Just "virtuoso." It was several years before I found out who he was.

A pamphlet or brochure about Josef
Found in the University of Iowa Digital Archives

Josef Konecny was born in Vienna, Austria on 5 March 1883 to Johann and Anna Konecny. He immigrated to America with his family in 1890 at the age of 7.

While I'm unsure when Josef first started playing the violin, it is clear that he studied with Bohemian instructors. Otakar Sevcik, who was a professor at the Vienna Imperial Conservatory, is the man most associated with being Josef's tutor. This leads me to believe he started learning violin before he immigrated to America.

Clipping from Perry NY Herald, issue dated 3 December 1913

I know very little about Josef's young life, but I do know that he enlisted for the United States Army for World War I as a touring musician overseas for the troops. This seemed to jumpstart his touring stateside. He seemed to tour actively until about 1920 (that's when he starts showing up in newspapers less).

Sometime before the 1930 census, he married his pianist, Mary A. Tris. They stayed in Illinois through the 1940 census. I'm not sure what really happened to them after WWII (though I do see them in a couple of city directories in Illinois up until 1950), but I find Josef listed in the California Death Index in 1976.

I don't think Josef and Mary had any children, but I am still investigating their lives as a married couple, so it is still possible.

Taken from Josef's 1920 passport renewal application

Sources:

• 1900 Chicago, Cook County, Illinois U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1930 Maywood, Cook County, Illinois U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• 1940 Creve Coeur, Tazewell County, Illinois U.S. Federal Census (accessed on Ancestry)
• "Baraca Enterainment Course: Josef Konecny & Company," 3 December 1913, Perry NY Herald, Perry, New York (accessed on Chronicling America)
• Josef Konecny brochure (accessed at Iowa Digital Library)
• "Josef Konecny: The Bohemian Violin Virtuoso," 29 September 1920, Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Wisconsin (accessed on Chronicling America)
• Passport applications and renewal applications (accessed on Ancestry)

Josef Reaber

Josef Reaber was born 9 March 1874 in Pilsen, Bohemia to Johann and Maria Reaber.

1855 Map of Bohemia
Found in the David Rumsey Collection

Josef married Christine Konecny on 17 April 1908 in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. They had an arranged marriage. Josef knew Christine's father, Johann, before the marriage was arranged.

Together, they had one child, Rosemary Christine Reaber, who was born 22 January 1910 in Chicago. The following is one of only two photos I have ever seen of my great-great-grandfather.

Josef and Rosemary, 1924
Photo provided by Thomas Cardenas

Now, I remember talking to my great-grandmother in 2000 for research on an autobiography assignment I had at school. I interviewed her and my grandmother (Rosemary's daughter-in-law) to get information on our family. Being the overachiever that I am, I said I couldn't know who I was until I knew those who came before me. Little did I know, this one assignment would spark a new hobby of genealogy.

I remember Rosemary saying her parents came over from Bohemia. Since her passing, I have come to learn that her mother was from Vienna, which was not part of Bohemia. I also remember her saying that their last name used to be "like 15 letters long." According to her, it was shortened upon arrival in America.

Up until my brother found this notebook in our great-grandmother's possessions, I had only known of a few spellings of Rosemary's last name, all of which were fairly similar phonetically: Reaber, Reba, Ribar, Ryber, Rybar, and Ruban. The following, written by my great-grandmother, shows yet another spelling of her last name and also mentions possibly another time her name was changed long after they'd been in America.

Notes written down by Rosemary for her granddaughter, Nancy
Provided by Thomas Cardenas

Continuation of notes written by Rosemary for Nancy
Provided by Thomas Cardenas

So now, Rybash is added to the list of alternate surnames for my great-grandmother's family. My favorite part of this story is the stark difference between Josef and Christine's attitudes toward the principal's error. Christine is almost disgusted that the name was misspelled, while Josef, who liked the misspelled name, decided to adopt it completely! One day I hope to find out what the true surname and spelling was, but for now I'm left with these alternates.

Another interesting thing about my great-great-grandfather is his occupation. He was a chemist who worked at the stockyard of Armour & Co., a local meatpacking plant. According to The Encyclopedia of Chicago, Armour was "Chicago's leading industrial enterprise and employer" by 1880.

Armour & Co.

Josef was responsible for the oils and oleo (or margarines) the company produced. Armour refused to let any portions of their slaughtered animals go to waste and manufactured many difference products from the "leftover" parts of their slaughter.

The following clip from the notes of Rosemary state he had "the gift of taste" and "in one day he knew what caused the product to go rancid."

Continuation of notes written by Rosemary for Nancy
Provided by Thomas Cardenas

I have yet to come across any kind of information regarding Josef's level of education, but since I have a Bachelor's of Science in Chemistry, I like to think he had more than just a gift of taste. Josef is the only other person I have come across in the family with a science-related job.

My brother, Thomas, also came across another gem in our great-grandmother's possessions. It was a small memory book completed by our mother. In the short book, our mother wrote down Rosemary's responses to several questions about her upbringing and family. Here are Rosemary's recollections about her own father, Josef.

Clipping from a book called "For My Grandchild"
as written by Rosemary's granddaughter, Nancy
("Grandma" is Rosemary.)

Based on my great-grandmother's memories of her father, I think I would have liked Josef very much.

Josef and, I assume, his wife, Christine
Provided by Thomas Cardenas

Josef died in July 1959, I assume, in Chicago. He is buried at Saint Boniface Cemetery which is located in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. He and Christine share a tombstone with Christine's parents, Johann and Anna Konecny. One day, I hope to visit the cemetery myself. I have been to Chicago before, but not with the knowledge of my own history there.

Sources:

• The David Rumsey Map Collection
• "Chicago: City of the Century"
• "Chicago Tribune", 8 Aug 2014 article
• Photo of Armour & Co. taken from "Notable Men of Chicago and Their City"
• Marriage License for Josef and Christine Reaber (unsure where I found this)
• "For My Grandchild, A Keepsake to Share and Treasure" memory book. Completed by Nancy Findley, with the help of Rosemary Reaber
• Rosemary Reaber, relation: daughter