John Spicka's Crime

John Spicka, the father of Mildred Spicka Quaid, was on the front page of the Chicago Tribune on July 5, 1897. The sub-headlines tell the story.

The Chicago Daily Tribune, page 1, July 5, 1897

Well, that could be anyone with the name, right? The story has some additional details. When reading them, keep in mind some facts about our ancestor John Spicka: his father Vaclav had died the previous year, his mother was named Josie (Josepha), he had a brother named Frank, and he lived at 693 W 16th St.

The Chicago Daily Tribune, page 1, July 5, 1897

The story spread across the country.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat, page 9, July 5, 1897 The San Francisco Examiner, page 7, July 5, 1897

Courier Democrat, Langdon, North Dakota, page 6, July 22, 1897 The Boston Globe, page 3, July 6, 1897

John Spicka was apparently indicted for manslaughter, but didn't come quietly. A few months later this appeared in the Tribune:

The Inter Ocean, Chicago, page 5, Nov 28, 1897

I think this article is a little overblown. Spicka was not indicted until November 23, 1897, when the Grand Jury declared in their peculiar grammar that Spicka "... Victoria Jasicki in the manner and form aforesaid then and there unlawfully feloniously and willfully did kill and slay."

If I'm reading the records correctly, the Sheriff was acting on a subpoena issued November 27, so it looks like it wasn't too much of a manhunt to find the guy a couple of houses down the street.

Spicka and his mother had put up a $300 bond on September 1st, 1897, and after the indictment bail was set at $5,000. That seems like a lot; does it indicate that he had run before? In any case, Spicka's mother Josepha was able to act as surety for her son, putting up the family home, worth $3,000, and another building at 1009 W. 19th Street worth $3,500. In addition, someone named Albert Koubart did the same, putting up his home at 684 W 18th Street, which was worth $4,000. Those applications also note the amounts owed, but in all cases it's quite low, less than 10%. That's a lot of equity for an immigrant family, I must say.

Spicka must have pled not guilty, since a trial was held in before Judge Frank Baker in the Cook County Criminal Court, in May 1898. The state called Albert Jasicki and some of his relatives, a couple of neighbors, two police officers, and E. P. Noel, a prominent Chicago pathologist. On May 11th the verdict was in:

The verdict: Guilty. Filed May 11th, 1898.

What's missing from the case file, frustratingly, is the sentence. The next month, John Spicka joined the Army, apparently the 3rd cavalry. That regiment was serving in the Spanish American War at the time, and this service is noted on John Spicka's headstone. So it looks like John Spicka served no time. Was joining the Army part of his sentence?

The Spicka house at 693 16th street, across the alley from
the Jasicka house at 744 W 17th

By 1900 Spicka was married to Anna Cihlar, and still living at 693 W 16th St along with his mom, his brother, two of his sisters, and all of their families. That's 18 people in all, living in two houses on one lot. The street has since been renumbered; the lot is now 1715 W 16th St, and the buildings have been replaced by a single house. The home next door is from the period, built in 1885, so it may give a sense of what the Spicka home looked like.