Starting a New Life

This is the portion of John's life of which I know the least, so I must speculate. Arriving at the age of 17, John may have traveled west by train to be with relatives or friends that had come before ... possibly to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (This area had [and still has] a prevalence of residents named Jungwirth, an unusual surname.)

From there, it would not have been difficult to get to Chicago where a carpenter could easily have found work. Rebuilding after the Great Fire of 1871 had made the city's economy strong, and the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition would show off Chicago's rebirth.

Here he would meet Catherine (Katie) Meyer, born to Jacob and Susana (Schommer) Meyer on 25-Oct-1874 in Chicago. They were married 20-Jul-1895 at St. Francis of Assisi Church, 813 W. Roosevelt Road.

John and Katie had a large family, all born in Chicago:

1. John Jungwirth Jr., b. 6-May-1896, d. 8-Jul-1961


2. Edward Henry Jungwirth, b. 12-Nov-1897 , d. 28-May-1964


3. Fredericus Jungwirth, b. 16-Aug-1900, d. 19-Aug-1900


4. Catherine Gabriela Jungwirth, b. 12-Aug-1901, d. 6-Apr-1952


5. Gertrude Jungwirth, b. 28-Mar-1903, d. 24-May-1930


6. Marie Jungwirth, b. 17-Apr-1905, d. 11-Dec-1939


7. Frederick Peter Jungwirth, b. 15-Oct-1906, d. 7-Oct-1980


8. Arthur Henry Jungwirth, b. 22-Sep-1908, d. 6-Apr-1944


9. Clarence William Jungwirth, b. 19-Mar-1910, d. 3-May-1983


10. Susan Agnes Jungwirth (twin), b. 17-Dec-1911, d. 11-Feb-1977


11. Henry John Jungwirth (twin), b. 17-Dec-1911, d. 1-Oct-1958

For baptismal information on these children, click here: Baptismal listing

John and Katie celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in 1920, and are shown below at the celebration with nine of their 10 living children. Front row: Clarence, Henry (Heinz), Susan, Arthur, and Fred (Fritz). Back row: Gertrude, John, Edward, Katie, John Jr., and Marie. (Catherine [Kate] is not present.)

Because John had no family in Chicago, the family was especially close to Katie's Meyer relatives. There is no evidence that John ever returned to visit the family he left behind in Bohemia, although his daughter Susan recalled that packages were sent to and received from John's family. His father Johann did visit his son on 4-Oct-1899, arriving (via Bremen) in New York City on the ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse.