John C. Karel Sr. (or Carel)The 1879 and 1881 Wisconsin Blue Books spell his last name "Carel", but all later coverage, including his gravestone and his son's gubernatorial campaign, spell it "Karel". (March 29, 1851 was an Austrian Empire born American banker, and

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

politician. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Kewaunee County during the 1879 session. During the presidency of Grover Cleveland, he served as U.S. consul at Prague and Saint Petersburg.

Biography

John Karel was born in March 1851, in the village of

Nemecká Nemecká (german: Deutschendorf an der Gran; hu, Garamnémetfalva) is a village and municipality in Brezno District, in the Banská Bystrica Region of central Slovakia. The name, which can be translated as "German village", suggests villagers, or ...

, in what was then Zólyom County in the Austrian Empire—the area is now central Slovakia. His early life was spent in Prague and

Plzeň Plzeň (; German and English: Pilsen, in German ) is a city in the Czech Republic. About west of Prague in western Bohemia, it is the Statutory city (Czech Republic), fourth most populous city in the Czech Republic with about 169,000 inhabita ...

, and he received a collegiate education at the Plzeň Gymnasium. He emigrated to the United States and settled at Kewaunee, Wisconsin, in 1868. He served as chairman of the Kewaunee County Board of Supervisors and was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1878, running on the Democratic Party ticket. He ran for Wisconsin State Senate in 1880, but was defeated by Republican

William A. Ellis William Allen Ellis, Sr., (April 23, 1828November 21, 1900) was an American businessman, Republican politician, and Wisconsin pioneer. He was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate, representing the 1st State Senate district—northeast W ...

. Karel was the Democratic nominee for the statewide elected office

Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance of Wisconsin is an independent agency of the Wisconsin state government responsible for supervising and regulating the insurance industry in Wisconsin. The office licenses insurers operating in the sta ...

in the 1886 general election. He was defeated along with the entire Democratic ticket. A month after his election loss, he accepted appointment as vice-consul to Prague, in Austria-Hungary, under U.S. consul-general Charles Jonas. He remained in the office through the end of U.S. President Grover Cleveland's first term, in 1889, and afterward moved to Chicago, Illinois. In Chicago he was a partner in a banking business known as Kasper & Karel, which was considered the leading banking institution for Bohemian American merchants in Chicago. When Grover Cleveland returned to office in 1893, Karel was re-appointed to the consulate in Prague, and then, in 1894, he was appointed consul-general at Saint Petersburg, which was then the capital of the Russian Empire. After returning from his diplomatic missions, he resumed his interest in banking and was one of the founders of the American State Bank in Chicago, where he served as president until his retirement. He retired due to poor health about 1912. His health continued to decline and he went to live with his daughter, Flora, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

. He died there on August 23, 1914.

Personal life and family

John Karel married Elizabeth Metzner in 1871. They had at least three children before her death in 1883. Their eldest son, was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, a county judge in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, and the Democratic nominee for

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

1912 Events January * January 1 – The Republic of China (1912–49), Republic of China is established. * January 5 – The Prague Conference (6th All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) opens. * January 6 ...

and

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (1878)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 5, 1878

Wisconsin Senate (1880)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1880

Wisconsin Insurance Commissioner (1886)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 2, 1886

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karel, John 1851 births 1914 deaths Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States People from Brezno District People from Kewaunee County, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Chicago County supervisors in Wisconsin Illinois Democrats American bank presidents American consuls Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly