Married on June 19, 1883
Sophia Schilly and Frank J. Hunleth
Picture published in St. Louis, Wednesday
Morning July 28, 1937
Caption: About 50 members of the extensive family connections of
Frank J. Hunleth of the Hunleth Music Company, 516 Locust Street,
have joined religious orders, including six of his 11 children.  Above,
from left to right are: Sister M. Joecille, Sister M. Frances Alois, Rev.
C. Hunleth, S.J., Sister Elizabeth Marie, and below, Sister M. Vera
and Sister Sophia Marie.  All of the sisters belong to the Loretto
Order.
She was the second child born to
Lorenz Schilly and Victoria Birkenmeier.
 The first child Elizabeth was born
November 19, 1856 but died in 1858.
Sophia Schilly b. 10-12-1858 in St. Louis, d. 11-2-1935 in St. Louis of stomach cancer.
She married Frank J. Hunleth (owner of Hunleth Music Company on Locust Street) on June 18, 1883 (they had 11 children; five of her daughters became Loretto
nuns and her son Frank, a Jesuit).  Frank was the son of Franz Hunleth and Elizabeth Viox, he was born on November 1, 1857 in St. Louis, Mo.

  • Joseph F. Hunleth (b. June 2, 1884; d. ?) married Violet ? 1935
  • Marie L. Hunleth (Sister Sophia Marie of the Loretto Order August 15, 1913) (b. June 12, 1886; d. November 21, 1944) Taught music at Loretto Academy in
    St. Louis, was an accomplished pianist and had her masters degree.  She also taught for many years at Loretta Heights Academy in Denver.
  • Alois J. Hunleth (b. June 20, 1888; d. ?)
  • Cecilia Hunleth (b. November 8, 1891; d. ?) who married Frank Rathgeber in 1920 (They had one child Paul Joseph, who married Bernardine Lange on
    March 17, 1949 and had one son, Mark)
  • Agnes Hunleth (Sister Vera of the Loretto Order April 25, 1913) (b. January 25, 1893; d. ?) taught music in a school conducted by the Loretto Order in Santa
    Fe, N.M.
  • Elizabeth Hunleth (Sister Elizabeth Marie of the Loretto Order) (b. December 2, 1895; d. ?) She taught at Loretto Academy in St. Louis, spent 11 years
    behind the counter in the music store before entering the convent, and was nationally known for her familiarity with orchestra and theater music.  She even
    was offered several times to join music firms in the East.
  • Victoria "Dora" Hunleth (Sister Francis Alois of the Loretto Order April 26, 1919) (b. November 26, 1897; d. ?)  She also taught in Santa Fe, N.M., where she
    taught chemistry.
  • Frank C. Hunleth, b. July 2, 1899 (Ordained a Priest in the Society of Jesus on June 25, 1930) (b. July 2, 1899; d. ?)  Was stationed at Champion College at
    Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, where he directed the school band.  He also taught at St. Louis University and at Jesuit schools in Denver.
  • Adelaide Hunleth (Sister Joecile of the Loretto Order April 26, 1919) (b. April 8, 1901; d. ?) Taught music at Webster College, and was an accomplished
    violinist.  She studied for her masters degree at Chicago Musical College.
  • Edward R. Hunleth (b. March 23, 1903; d. ?) married Margaret Musik on May 16, 1929.  (They had two children, Francis J. and Margaret)
  • Sophia M. Hunleth (b. November 10, 1905; d. ?)

Hunleth and his three other sons were associated with the music company which they took over in 1900 (absorbing an older company which has been in
operation since 1846).
In the early days of the American frontier, poor children were forgotten
when it came to education. The Sisters of Loretto, a Catholic religious
organization founded in 1812, set out to offer a solution.

The Loretto Community dedicated itself to providing education to those
who normally might not possess an opportunity to obtain one. It's this
mission that remains at the heart of Webster University today.

The Sisters of Loretto laid the cornerstone for Webster University on Nov.
1, 1915. Originally named Loretto College, the school was one of the first
Catholic women's colleges west of the Mississippi River. It was
progressive for its time, providing higher education to women when it was
not generally made available.

Loretto College opened with eight Sisters of Loretto teaching class for five
students. Two students populated the first graduating class in 1919.

Five years later, in 1924, the school changed its name to Webster College
to avoid confusion with Loretto Academy, a school operated by the Loretto
Community on Lafayette Avenue in St. Louis. The North Central
Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools accredited Webster
College the same year.
outside of Kentucky. It was located at the Barrens in Perry
County, MO. Father Charles Nerinckx was working in this area
when he fell ill and died in Ste. Genevieve, MO.

Loretto Academy in Florissant, MO

In 1847 the Sisters of Loretto arrived in Florissant, MO to
resurrect a school for Indian girls that St. Rose Philippine
Duchesne and her Religious of the Sacred Heart had been
forced to abandon in 1846. The school came to be known as
Loretto Academy. When it was destroyed by fire in 1919, it was
home to seventy-five sisters and fifty girls, ages five to fifteen.

The Sisters first began their educational journey through St.
Louis history in 1862 when they resolved to open a day school
called St. Mary's Academy on 10th and Morgan Streets. The
effort did not prevail and those involved were transferred to
Cairo, Illinois to start a school there.

The first St. Louis parochial school in which the Sisters of
Loretto taught was St. Michael's at 11th and Benton. It opened
in 1869. In 1871, 180 girls and 60 small boys were taught there
by the Sisters of Loretto while 116 boys were taught by the
Christian Brothers. Subsequently many schools throughout the
metropolitan St. Louis area were staffed by the order. The
Sisters continued their affiliation with that first parish until the
school was closed in 1963, when they were transferred to
Ascension parochial school in Chesterfield, MO.
After years of effort, the Loretto Academy opened at Jefferson
and Pine. The school still had boarders as its sister school in
Florissant did, but as the population of the city crept towards it,
students in the day school increased. The 1890 prospectus for
the school gives a vivid sense of the times:

"This Academy was opened in 1874, since which time it has
been one of the best patronized Educational Institutes in the city.
Loretto in Santa Fe, New Mexico
Frank C. Hunleth, b. July 2, 1899 (Ordained a Priest in the Society of Jesus on June 25, 1930)
(b. July 2, 1899; d. ?)  Was stationed at Champion College at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin,
where he directed the school band.  He also taught at St. Louis University and at Jesuit
schools in Denver.
Champion at Prairie du Chien
St. Louis University
Double Fudge. Joe Jordan (St. Louis, MO: Hunleth Music, 1902).

Sheet music of World War I song "Lorraine" (My Beautiful Alsace Lorraine). The cover has a wonderful WWI graphic that bears the artist's signature.
The artist is Andre C. de Takacs. Would make a wonderful matted piece of art. The cover bears the stamp of the owner and also the stamp of the
music company, Hunleth Music Co., St. Louis, MO. The music bears the copyright date of 1917.

KENNEDY'S 1860 ST. LOUIS CITY DIRECTORY
Hunleth Francis, 191 S. 4th, r. same
Sophia outside her fathers store in 1880s
Regis in Denver