Wenceslaus Vopalensky was born September 13, 1893 to Jan and Josefa Vopalensky. He grew up in Milwaukee and worked as an auto repairman. He married Frances Anna Riha (b. February 12, 1897) on February 8, 1916 at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Milwaukee, WI.

1.The wedding picture, circa 1916 2.James and Frances, cira 1936.

They had 6 children:

Edward J.(b. 1916, d. 1938)

George John(b. 1918)

Walter Joseph (b. 1919, d. 1993)

Girl -- stillborn (b. 1920)

Clarence F.( b. 1922, d. 1949)

Joseph (b. 1923, d. 1924)

See a picture of the Vopal Family in 1936.

Frances passed away on Christmas Day, 1966; and James June 5, 1974.

Stories and facts about the Family:

Wenceslaus had his name legally changed to James F. Vopal in 1940. His birth record shows Wenceslaus crossed out and James F. written above it.

James played the concertina -- also called the "squezebox," an instrument that represents an accordian. He would often play it at holiday and family gatherings.

Edward, the oldest, was the first to shorten Vopalensky to Vopal when he enrolled in college in th 1930's.

Edward died when he drowned in Potter's Lake in Wisconsin in 1938. He was never married. It was an unusual death because he was a lifeguard. Some attribute it to the fact he had been in a car accident sortly before he died.

The baby girl who was stillborn is buried in an unmarked grave beside her grandparents, Jan and Josefa.

Clarence Vopal married Elanore C. Mielcarzewicz April 3, 1948. She was the cousin of Aloysious Kaluzny. Clarence later died of cancer. They had no children.

Clarence married Elanore and George got married to his wife, Ruth Courtney, on the same day!

The reason for the death of Joseph, the youngest, at the age of one is unknown.

As I write this in October of 1998, George is the only child of James still living.

This set is courtesy of:

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