They arrived in Boston in late February 1921 to appear under a simple contractural basis and then return to their homeland when their U.S. tour was over. But the twins came to enjoy living in the States and were comfortable among friends and family in the large Slovak community that had been established in Chicago.
Thirteen months later they were dead.
First Rosa developed a serious cough that developed into influenza. Josefa then developed jaundice and the sisters were admitted to Chicago's West End Hospital. Five days later, Josefa died. Fifteen minutes later, Rosa followed.
In anticipation of Rosa's conjoined death doctors discussed separating the two but Rosa refused permission and when she herself became "unresponsive" her brother Frank refused in her stead.
Then the legal wrangling started. The sisters were said to be worth $200,000 USD and owned real estate in Czezhoslovakia. Since they died intestate, it would need to be determined who would inherit this vast fortune. The obvious heir would seem to be little Frank. But was he the son of Rosa or of both Rosa and Josefa?
As it turns out, this was not at all a moot question as after their death and upon examination it was declared "It is extremely improbable that there ever was a normal childbirth as the shape of the pelvic structure would require a Caesarian operation. No scar tissue can be seen to indicate that this operation ever was performed."
Still, brother Frank sought to be declared the legal guardian of Franzel but if his intentions were less than honourable it was not to matter as it was later determined the sisters left but a small fortune of only $400.
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The best account of the show business lives of the Blazek twins was written by Chris Fellner in his periodical Freaks (Feb 1996). In the following issue, Mr. Fellner published a copy of the death certificate for Rosa. In providing the information for the certificate it is noted that Frank had four options to choose from in reference to Rosa's marital status at the time of her death: Single, Married, Widowed or Divorced. He marked "Single".
Mr. Fellner, noting that under "Place of Burial" was written "Bohemian National' mistakenly thought the sisters were returned to their native country for burial. However, this actually refers to the Bohemian National Cemetery in Chicago.
The best medical account of the Bohemian twins in English is in the Dec 2001 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
It is humourous to note that even a prestigious journal such as this is capable of coming under the spell of a showman's ballyhoo as the writers were convinced of Rosa's motherhood.
"Their story is further verification that even in the era of advanced surgery, being conjoined was not inexorably linked to reproductive impairment" the doctor-authors wrote.
Yet nowhere in their scholarly paper is proof given that the birth ever took place.
