ŠTEFAN (STEVE) MIKLO, SENIOR

Before we return to Štefan’s early life, here is a little bit about his father Štefan Miklo, Senior.  He was born to Ján (John in English) Miklo on July 21, 1885* in Vagderbrod (Drahovce).  He had four siblings, Gabriel, Ján, Paulína, and Anna. Anna also immigrated to America.  She lived in Wisconsin. Her married name was Spal. She is buried near Steve, Sr. in Corpus Christi Cemetery in Fort Dodge.

We do not know much about Štefan, Senior’s life in the Old Country.  He said that he was sent to work in the farm fields when he was five years old and he did not see his parents much.

At the time Slovakia was ruled by Hungary as part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.  The Slovak language was oppressed. Drahovce was officially known by the Hungarian name, Vagdebrod, although the Slovaks referred to it as Drahovce. The Empire even required first names to be written in the official language.  So Štefan, Sr. was baptized as István, the Hungarian name for Steven. Even today in Slovakia there is resentment toward the Hungarian minority that still lives in the country.

Steve, Jr. once told me a story that he might have heard from his father.  He said that the Empire would send inspectors to the school to make sure the students were learning the official language: Hungarian. Knowing the inspector was coming the teacher told the students to hide their Slovak books under their desks.  In front of the inspector the teacher would call on the student that he knew best spoke Hungarian. That student would answer the questions correctly. The inspector would leave satisfied that the students were learning the official language. The teacher would then return to teaching in Slovak.

Štefan, Sr. first came to American in 1909 to work for U.S. Gypsum Company in the gypsum mines in northern Ohio.  We do not know how long he was in the U.S., but we do know that he returned to Slovakia by 1912 when he married PaulÍna Sedláčiková

Steve, Jr. told me that to avoid being drafted into the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire for World War I, his father left for America a second time.  He took the equivalent of $50 and a loaf of bread, leaving behind his wife and his infant son.  But the timing of the war indicates that there may have been other reasons for Štefan, Sr. going to America.

Immigration records indicate that Štefan, Sr. arrived in New York Harbor on May 10, 1914. The ocean crossing would have taken several weeks. The war did not start until July 28, a few months after he had left Europe. So  maybe he went to America to earn money, as he had done in 1909, rather than to avoid the draft.  In1914 he returned to his old employer, U.S. Gypsum, but this time in Iowa rather than Ohio.  If he had intended to return to Slovakia, or to send for his wife and son once he had established himself, the war would have interfered with such plans.

Here is a picture of Steve Miklo, Sr.  I believe it was taken in Iowa sometime between 1914 and 1921.

*The July 21 birth date was found in the records at the town hall in Drahovce.  But his draft registration card from 1918 notes his birth date as August 15, 1895 and his Social Security death record from 1964 notes his birthdate at August 20.