Josef Joe Bican
(1890-1918)
(1890-1918)
SS Canopic
Gravestone, Brothers Private Josef Joe Bican and James Vaclav Bican buried alongside each other, West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH
Photo on Gravestone, Private Josef Joe Bican, West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH
Josef Joe Bican
*No plaque found
*The List of Liberty Row Names indicates the possible original location of the plaque.
*No soldier photograph found in the following book: Doyle, A. C., Haulsee, W. M., Howe, F. G. Soldiers of the Great War. Washington, DC: Soldiers Record Publishing Company, 1920.
Address: 3457 W. 65th St., Cleveland, OH
Demographics: age 26 at draft registration; single, Caucasian; native-born Clevelander; occupation Laborer at Cleveland Union Stockyards [Cleveland Union Stockyards Co. was incorporated in 1892 and became the 7th largest meat-processing center in the country in the 1920s. It was called the "Hotel de la Hoof," as it provided shelter and food for the animals prior to their sale or demise.] https://case.edu/ech/
Appearance: Height medium, Build medium, Eyes green, Hair light
Service Number: 2657855
Deployment: 7/21/1918 from New York aboard SS Canopic
Action:
Additional Information: Tragedy struck this family on 7/17/1921 while Private Joe Bican's remains were en route from France to the U.S. Private Bican's older brother James Vaclav Bican (who had also served in WWI) was shot and killed at age 32 by their father after an argument. Three months later, Private Bican was buried alongside his brother at West Park Cemetery. The brothers, who had listed the same address on their draft cards, were reunited in death. James Vaclav Bican left behind a young daughter from a previous marriage, Violet May Pearson Smith (1912-1997).
Father: Josef Vaclav Bican, Sr. (1865-1937), born Bohemia, emigrated ~1888, married 1888, occupation Day Laborer, buried West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH; Mother: Katherine Kate Bartik Bican (1867-1937), born Bohemia, emigrated ~1880, married 1888, buried West Park Cemetery, Cleveland, OH; Siblings: James Vaclav Bican (1889-1921); Mary Bican Kanserski (1892-1946); ?Annie (1895-?). Sibling list may be incomplete.