2019JAN12: In her divorce petition, Clara Pavlat stated that Henry abandoned his family in May of 1913. Oral tradition received by Dick Pavlat and Craig Schoenung suggests that the reason for the abandonment might have been another woman - perhaps an employee of the dance hall above which they lived.

Several years ago I discovered that Henry was reported as living in Milwaukee in the 1916 city directory. He was employed as a night watchman and living at 526 Beulah Ave. Today I found myself curious about whether that same directory might also report a woman living at the same address.

I experimented with the query system on Ancestry.com, limiting my query to the 1916 directory and using "526 Beulah" as a "keyword". To my surprise, the first hit I received was for Frank Keltner - 2nd husband of Henry's elder sister Marie! Looking at my info for Keltner showed the same address in the 1920 census. In 1920 Frank and Mamie were renting and sharing that address with a second family. I then proceeded to use the same query to move forward and backward in years to see what I would find.

In 1913, 526 Beulah was shared with Joseph Thelen.
In 1914, 526 Beulah was shared with Charles Pablak
(I will let you speculate).
Also, Henry Keltner was in residence. I have not data on such a person,
but the name sure is familiar.
In 1915, 526 Beulah gets crowded!
Franklin and Henry Keltner are still here.
Henry Pavlat is already in place employed as a watchman.
(He was not found earlier because the directories are indexed using automated
character recognition software and he had been indexed as "Pflvlat")
Also in residence is William Larkin, a switchman for the nearby railyard,
and the widow Helen Hill.
In 1916, Henry Keltner and Helen Hill are no longer listed.
In 1917, Henry Pavlat has gone. The directory proved problematic this year - even Keltner was mis-listed as "626 Beulah" in the indexing. I tried several different search versions but was unable to come up with any other listing for this dwelling.
In 1918, Anton Kebbekus, a butcher, has moved in next door.
In 1919, the Tom Mattey family has replaced Anton. This family then carries over to the 1920 census listing.
Summary: it seems clear to me that Henry probably did not leave town until 1917 and that the family would have been well aware of his where-abouts since he was sharing with, or appartment-adjacent to, his sister. In 1917 all men were required to register for the draft, and Charles and Joseph Pavlat did so. I have found no record of Henry registering. In 1920 Prohibition was installed, and that certainly opened employment opportunities that could have led to a violant death for Henry, as has been reported in the oral tradition.

In his father's obituary in 1943, Henry is specifically NOT mentioned as still alive. Prohibition ended in 1931, and I have elected to quesstimate that Henry was already dead by then.

According to the Milwaukee County Historical Society, in the 1930's Beulah Ave was renamed South Shore Drive.