It is possible that he was, in fact, the natural father of Alois but could not acknowledge this publicly due to his marriage. Another possibility is that he took pity on the ten-year-old Alois after the death of the boy's mother Maria, as it could hardly have been a suitable life for a ten-year-old child to be raised by an itinerant miller. Johann Nepomuk died on 17 September 1888 and left Alois a considerable portion of his life savings.