Antanas Olšauskas
Antanas Olšauskas | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age near Liudvinavas, Lithuania |
| Died | May 10, 1942 (aged 78) Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, publisher, banker |
| Known for | Publishing the Lithuanian weekly Lietuva; founding A. Olszewski Bank |
Antanas Olšauskas (June 13, 1863 – May 10, 1942) was a Lithuanian American entrepreneur, known for publishing the Lithuanian weekly Lietuva and founding the A. Olszewski Bank.
Having lost his parents early and lacking formal education, Olšauskas initially worked as a carpenter before emigrating to the United States at age 25. He secured employment at a Polish print shop and in 1893 acquired the struggling Lithuanian weekly Lietuva, which he revitalized into a widely-read liberal publication. Subsequently, he established A. Olszewski Bank to serve the Lithuanian American population, amassing deposits of up to $1 million. Leveraging these funds, he expanded into real estate and various enterprises including Theater Milda, a clothing store, and an automobile dealership. A bank run in 1916 forced him to liquidate these assets; however, he raised capital to launch Universal State Bank in 1917. After internal disagreements with its management, he stepped down in 1919 and later earned a modest income through selling ship tickets and insurance.
Early life
Born on June 13, 1863, near Liudvinavas, Olšauskas descended from minor Lithuanian nobility. Orphaned at the age of four, his family farm was sold to settle debts. Raised by his maternal grandparents who taught him reading skills, he never attended formal school. Due to health issues restricting strenuous labor, he trained as a carpenter, focusing on furniture making and church restoration projects. By 1889, having saved 300 rubles, he emigrated to America.
Publisher of Lietuva
Upon arriving in Plymouth, Massachusetts in April 1889, Olšauskas initially faced challenges due to limited English proficiency but found work at Polish immigrant printing presses in Chicago such as Gazeta Polska, Dziennik Chicagoski, and Reforma. In 1892, he worked as a typesetter for the Polish newspaper Nowe Życie, which soon went bankrupt. He convinced its new owner Stasys Rakošius to launch Chicago’s first Lithuanian newspaper, Lietuva, with its inaugural issue on December 6, 1892. After changes in ownership led to his dismissal, Olšauskas and three partners purchased the paper for $300 in 1893.
From issue 24 onward, Olšauskas took control of editorial content and shaped Lietuva into a liberal platform advocating for Lithuanian immigrant solidarity, political representation within the U.S., entrepreneurial development, and cultural exchange with Poles. The paper’s increasing readership necessitated moving to larger facilities by 1894. Journalist Juozas Adomaitis-Šernas assumed the role of chief editor in December 1895.
Besides the newspaper, the printing house produced Lithuanian books—131 titles published between 1894 and 1917—including original writings and translations covering fairy tales, theatrical works, popular science, history, ethnography, culture, and dictionaries.
Banker
Olšauskas earned a reputation for trustworthiness that encouraged Lithuanian Americans to deposit their savings with him. This trust led him to establish a bank primarily catering to this community. In 1896, he constructed a two-story building on 33rd Street costing $5,000; it housed his residence upstairs while the printing press, bookstore, and A. Olszewski Bank operated on the ground floor. By 1901 he became sole proprietor of the Lietuva printing press. Despite a strike in 1905 delaying publication and rumors of insolvency, his bank survived a run and continued expanding. Deposits reached $1 million at their peak; between 1895 and 1914 approximately $4 million was transferred through his bank to Lithuania.
In 1906 Olšauskas invested $100,000 to develop a three-story property at the corner of 33rd and Halsted Streets that included space for the printing press, bank offices, retail shops, medical practices, and rental apartments. He diversified deposit investments into ventures such as clothing and furniture stores, an automobile dealership, residential building projects, and constructed the Milda Theater with seating for 1,200 patrons at a cost of $250,000. He also intended to publish the first encyclopedia in Lithuanian.
By 1916 Olšauskas sought to raise $200,000 in capital for establishing a state-chartered bank. However, following another Lithuanian bank’s collapse that sparked a run on his institution—which held $600,000 in deposits but only $100,000 in cash—he was compelled to sell off businesses including Lietuva at wartime depressed prices. Despite this setback he reimbursed depositors fully and founded Universal State Bank in 1917. Without formal banking education, he served as vice-president but resigned in 1919 after disputes with chairman Juozapas J. Elias.
Thereafter Olšauskas operated a small office providing ship ticket sales for Lithuanian emigrants along with insurance services and notarial work but did not regain his former wealth. He passed away in Chicago on May 10, 1942.
Bibliography
- Kasparavičius, Gediminas. XIX a. pab. – XX a. pr. lietuviai verslininkai JAV (Lithuanian Entrepreneurs in the United States Around the 20th Century). Oikos: Lietuvių migracijos ir diasporos studijos, 2019, vol. 28, no. 2, pp. 21–47.