Luka Biele Family

I found the following description of the family of Luka Biele on the web.


BIELE, LUKA Fisherman-Fishdealer

Luka was born in Cavtat, Dalmatia, Croatia as was his father before him. His birth date was October 5, 1875. He was born Luka Kristov Bjele. His father's name was Kristo. his great grandfather's name was Antun B. I am told he has at least one sibling who had a son. This son was in the military and sailed into San Francisco, California once and visited my grandmother's family in Richmond. My grandmother was teased by her brothers because she looked so much like her cousin. Someone sent me a paragraph from a book that was in Croatian. From what I have been able to piece together, his great grandfather Antun B was born around 1717 and died around 1792. He came to Cavtat around 1737. He Italianized the name to Bianca towards the end of the 17th century. (1780) He had two sons, Miho and Kristov. Kristov was a ship captain. Miho was an undersea diver. Kristov, Antun and Miha were the sons of Miho. Antun Antunov Bianchi was a business man who moved to Cairo, Egypt in 1866. Luka is listed in the 1900 census as having immigrated here in 1892. He was 25 years old, called himself Luke Biele and was a boarder and a fisherman. It states he had been in the U.S. for eight years. He was not a citizen. He is 25 years old. In the 1910 census, he is married now for about four years and has two sons, Christopher age 3, and Howard, age 2. He is 34 years old and his occupation is a fish dealer. He lived next door to his wife's family. He had married Rosie Freitas. She was born in San Pablo of Portugese immigrants, Joseph and Mary Freitas and came from a family of ten children. He uses the name Louis Beal. He is in Contra Costa County. He had married Rosie in St. Francis De Sales Church in Oakland California on Nobember 7, 1905. In the 1920 census, he calls himself Louis Beale. He is a lodger, age 44 years old and lodges with his son, Christopher,13, and his daughter, age 7. He has been divorced now about four years. It states he immigrated in 1890. He became a naturalized citizen in Pennsylvania in 1890. It states he was born in Dalmatia and his native tongue is Slavonian and the same is listed for his parents. He is listed as a retail fish merchant. His is listed in the 1927 phone directory as LC Biele, 719 Wood St. in the business listings. Otherwise he is listed as Louis C. Biele, fish, 719 Wood St. We do not know when he came to San Francisco. He fished commercially with Mr. Spanger of San Francisco's famous restaurant. He died at age 69 in 1945, known as Louie Biele, according to his obituary. According to California Death Records, his name was Lucas Christopher Biele. At that time, he was a resident of San Pablo. He was a commercial fisherman at the time of his death and his obituary states he had engaged in the fishing business all of his life. He was a member of the Oakland aeries of Eagles, the Moose Lodge, and St. Paul's Church of San Pablo. He was survived by his sons Howard Louis Biele of Richmond, Christopher Earl Biele of San Francisco, and his daughter, Alice Gertrude Biele Neckel of Richmond. He had five grandchildren; Beverly Neckel, Edward (Fritz) Neckel, and Wayne Neckel. Louie Biele was buried in St. Joseph's Cemetery in Richmond, California. (Denise Jackson 2004)