The 6 Leisz Brothers had TWO sisters who lived beyond infancy or early childhood:
1) Mary Leisz (1862-1903), who married Janos Minnichsoffer in Peregu Mare, Arad, Romania in on Nov. 24,1885.
2) Julia Leisz, who came to America in 1893 with her mother and five of her six brothers. Julia died in Chicago before the family moved to Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. Born abt. 1885 in Peregu Mare, Arad, Romania, Julianna was 9 years old at the time of her passing.
On Oct. 26, 2017, WE FOUND JULIA!
Hints from ancestry.com led us to call St. Boniface Catholic Cemetery in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. We spoke with Senior Clerk Tom Berry at Calvary Cemetery, which now manages St. Boniface Cemetery, which is full.
After some searching through records on Tom’s part, he informed us of the following:
- In their records, her name is listed as Julianna Leis (one s, and not Laes as is listed on ancestry.com). Note her death certificate (first received by us on July 23, 2018) lists her name as Julia.
- She is in Grave #59, Row 30, Section B.
- The grave was purchased in 1894 by our family upon her death as a “Term Grave” meaning that the family didn’t purchase it entirely, in perpetuity.
- There is no marker.
- Her date of death is March 4, 1894, and her burial was on March 6, 1894.
- It will not be possible to install a marker, as some years ago, the whole section of cemetery where Julia rests was “lowered” as Tom put it, to make room for more burials. Some were buried in a new layer above Julia.
- It will not be possible to reinter her in another location, as we had asked about having her moved to Turtle Lake. Tom said that they buried people in wooden boxes then and that there were really no remains to move.
We just received Julia's death certificate on July 23, 2018 - many thanks to Kevin Wick for obtaining this from Cook County, IL Vital Records. See HERE for the certificate.
Cause of death is listed as rheumatism which means rheumatic fever; she was sick for one week. Rheumatic fever can occur 2-4 weeks after a strep throat infection, according to our cousin, healthcare professional Jennie Leisz Nitchey, BSN. Jennie notes rheumatic fever is common in children ages 5-14. Risk factors include genetics, malnutrition and poverty. How very sad that the Leisz family didn’t have access to antibiotics when Julia became ill. Thanks for the background on Julia's cause of death, Jennie.
Just think of the Leisz Brothers and Mother who had to leave their beautiful young daughter behind in Chicago. She went to join her father who had died in 1893 in a tavern fire back in Peregu Mare, Arad, Romania before the family immigrated to America
