Joseph Vidich in International Falls, Minnesotta - 1913

Joseph Vidich is pictured in the back row on the right side.

Pauline Pesjak received this postcard a few days after it was mailed on August 14, 1913 near International Falls, Minnesota. At the time, Pauline was vacationing with the Norden family, her employers, at the posh Harbor View Hotel on Cape Cod in the town of Edgartown, Massachusetts. This hotel was a destination retreat for New York's wealthiest residents and Pauline certainly enjoyed her stay there even if her duties required her to tend to the Norden's children. Fluent in German, Slovenian and English, Pauline was a very attractive young lady who was well regarded by New York's upper crust families - having also worked for the Rheingold family - of beer fame. 


Built in 1891, Harbor View Hotel has been nicknamed the “Grand Dame” of Martha’s Vineyard and introduced a new era for Edgartown and Martha’s Vineyard. With an extraordinary view of Edgartown Harbor from the hotel's broad veranda, Harbor View became a summer haven for wealthy New Yorkers visiting the Vineyard.

Pauline Pesjak received this postcard from her fiance in August 1913 while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard

The photo shows Joseph Vidich in the right rear row with several other gentlemen including Pauline's older brother Franc Pesjak who it is believed came to America before her sister. 

It was just eight months later that Joseph married Pauline in St. Louis County Minnesota - apparently impressed by this handsome twenty seven year old Slovenian man.

Joseph Vidich's Military Passport

 Josef Vidic, who later became a naturalized American citizen with a new spelling for his name as Joseph Vidich, also carried a military passport since he served in the Austrian army in regiment No. 9 which was a field artillery regiment (i.e., Feldanonenregiments). According to his military passport he was born in Kropa in 1886 and spoke the Slovenian language. This passport is stamped December 2, 1910 in Klagenfurt Hauptbahnhof which was the central railway station in the southern state of Carinthia, Austria. Presumably Joseph Vidich passed through this central railway station on route to Kropa, which according to his military passport is dated "Kropa 8/12/ 1910"  - the European nomenclature for Kropa December 8, 1910.  According to this passport he joined the Austrian army on April 30, 1907 and he was assigned to the reserves effective December 31, 1910 and in the terrritotiral reserves until December 31, 1917.  His assignment to these reserve units may have been one of many reasons that encouraged Josef Vidic to migrate to America.

Certificate of Naturalizaton for Joseph Vidich

U.S. Dept. of Labor Naturalization Service

Original envelope in which the Certiificate of Naturalization was sent on December 12, 1921

Joseph Vidich was naturalized as an American citizen on November 2, 1921, about seven months before the birth of his son Arthur Vidich. His naturalization papers contained some errors in the birth dates of two of his children (e.g., Paulina was actually born January 3, 1915 - not January 1, 1915; Elizabeth was actually born September 28, 1920 - not December 30, 1920). The naturalization papers reveal that Joseph was 35 years old, had brown eyes, dark brown hair and was 5 feet nine inches tall. It also indicates that he was a subject of the King of Serbs, Croates and Slovenes before petitioning to become an American citizen. His wife Paulina, five years his younger, had three daughters and was pregnant at the time her husband was naturalized. The original certificate of naturalization was kept by Mary Jauquet Royer, Joseph Vidich's grand-daughter who presumably received this document from her mother Elizabeth Vidich who is still living today. The certificate was mailed to Joseph Vidich on December 12, 1921 to his address in Trommald, Minnesota (see original envelope in which the naturalization papers arrived).

For those interested in the history of naturalization, it is interesting to note that the U.S. Department of Labor included a notice with each certificate of naturalization indicating that it was a crime to forge or falsify such documents.  Those convicted of forging naturalization certificates could face 10 years in jail or fined up to $10,000 - an enormous sum of money in 1920. Anyone impersonating someone else or falsely appearing in the name of a deceased person or an assumed or fictitious name could be fined up to $1,000 or imprisoned for up to five years or both. The United States government even made it a crime to deny one was a U.S. citizen if the intent of such denial was to evade or avoid any duty or liability imposed or required by law.  Those caught in such activities could face up to $1,000 in fines or five years in prison or both.

The Hamburg American line had numerous vessels that plied the seas from New York to Hamburg including the President Grant, the President Lincoln, the Batavia, the Pennsylvannia and the Moltke. According to the Ellis Island website Joseph Vidich took the S.S. Moltke when he left

The S.S. Moltke, the vessel Josef Vidic took to reach America in January 1911

Hamburg for his historic migration to New York. The Moltke was built in 1902 and had a service speed of 16 knots and could carry 2,102 passengers and 252 crew. It was built for the Hamburg American line for service between Hamburg and New York City. Josef Vidic arrived at Ellis Island on January 22, 1911, or 19 days after his departure from Austria.

Josef''s girl friend and future wife, Pauline Pesjak (spelled Pesjack in the Ellis Island records), arrived at Ellis Island on June 27, 1911 or about six months after he did. She listed her contact in America as Agnes Lapajne who had come to America on September 25, 1907 at the age of 27. Pauline gave her age as 20 upon her arrival. Josef stated that his age was 25, which is consistent with his date of birth in his Austrian passport.

Joseph Vidich's Austrian Passport

Joseph Vidic left Austria for America from the port of Hamburg, a very common point of departure for many eastern Europeans seeking a new life in the new world. His passport indicates that he left his native land on January 3, 1911, when he was 25 years of age. He must have spent only a few days in Germany before he departed for America. His vessel departed Hamburg on January 3, 1911, taking him on his historic voyage to New York City.

Josef Vidic

Born in 1886 under the reign of his majesty Franz Joseph I, King of the Austrian empire. Joseph was smart dresser from the village of Kropa. His last name, Vidic, of Latin origin, comes from the root word "seer" or one with vision. His name was changed when he arrived in America to Vidich. It is not clear why he added the letter "h" to his name but this is how he spelled his name on his naturalization papers and throughout the rest of his life. See page 2 of his Austrian passport for his signature prior to arrival in America.

It is also worth noting that his passport was stamped with the name of Radovlica, a city not far from Kropa, where immigration affairs were apparently handled at that time. This passport was provided to Arthur Vidich, Joseph's only son and later this document was given to Arthur's son Charles who is now maintaining an archive of family documents and photographs.

The marriage of Pauline and Joseph Vidich

Joseph and Pauline were married in New York City at a ceremony that was attended by his brother (far left). While in New York, Pauline worked as a governess for a very wealthy American family where her German and English language skills gave her access to the high society of pre-World War I America. In contrast, Joseph did not have the education or the language skills and relied on hard work and determination to make his mark in New York City. One of his jobs was the construction of the fire escapes that became a ubiquitous part of the New York City landscape. His life in Kropa. where the work of the blacksmith had reached a fine art, gave him a natural proclivity to work with metals. It was no accident that his heritage prepared him for his life as a mine worker.

Pauline & Joseph Vidich on their wedding day

The wedding photo was recently provided to me by my cousin Mary Jauquet Royer who had been given this precious photo by her grandfather Joseph Vidich one day while we was visiting him in Milwaukee. According to Mary, "One day he removed it from its spot on the top of the TV and thrust it at me and said 'Here take this.' So I did, and managed to carry it around during many moves and changes when I was younger. I treasured it."

Arthur Vidich with his Father Joseph in Sarasota, Florida

Joseph Vidich visited his son Arthur while he was a visiting professor at New College in Sarasota, Florida. Living right on the beach in a beautiful modern home, Art was thrilled to have his father visit. In his later years, Joseph led a relatively reclusive life, enjoying a good cigar and a periodic glass of wine and kielbasa sausages. Indeed, he was so fond of his sausages that he made a ritual of sending this treat to his son every Christmas. His children loved the taste of this Slovenian treat and always enjoyed his doting ways. Art's oldest son Charles had fond memories of his grandfather, especially his gentle and unassuming manner. He was a man of few words but he was immensely proud of his son and daughters. While he rarely wrote letters, he spoke volumes when he smiled and shook your hand. He was truly a man that knew his place in the matriarchy of the Vidich home.

Pauline and Olga Vidich

Joseph and Pauline Vidich were extremely proud of their children. Living in West Allis, a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the three daughters served as surrogate mothers for young Arthur during his early years. As the youngest son with three older sisters, he developed a sensitivity for the opposite sex that made him a natural conversationalist and a relatively uninhibited socializer. In his later years, he told his oldest son that his sisters played a significant role in his upbringing and he always held them in high regard. The Vidich family was a warm and close knit group that relied on mother Pauline to run the household and manage daily affairs.

Joseph was not able to pursue manual labor after his accident and chose to start a saloon to support his family. The timing of this business decision, comining in the late 1920s, positioned him well to survive the Great Depression when many Americans lost their jobs and were desperate to make ends meet. For the Vidichs, the Great Depression brought an economic boom time as the prohibition on the sale of liquor artificially increased the market for bootleg booze. Joseph ran a "speak easy" and kept the police at bay with the appropriate bribes so he could keep his restaturant/tavern open despite "prohibition."

Joseph Vidich in New York City

The parents of Arthur Vidich lived in three locations after leaving Kropa in the early 1900s. Their first place of residence was New York City. After getting married Joseph and Pauline Pesjak Vidich moved to Crosby Minnesotta where their first child, Paulina was born on January 3, 1915. Three years later they had their second child, Olga, born on August 31, 1918. Their third daughter, Elizabeth was born September 28, 1920. All three daughters were born in the town of Tommald, Minnesota, located in Crow Wing County near the iron mines which employed Joseph for many years. The Vidich's only son, Arthur was born on May 30, 1922 in the village of Manganese when his father was 35 years of age and his mother was only 30.

Unfortunately, because of an injury Joseph could not continue as a miner and the family pulled up stakes and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.