Grave Matters

The Coming of the Telegraph to Arkansas, by Edward C. Newton, 1919

2011-10-14T17:31:00.000-05:00

[Edward C. Newton was born May 4, 1844, probably at New Madrid, Missouri. He died at Little Rock, Arkansas January 11, 1923. His brothers were also telegraphers, Jeremiah L. Newton (1846 - 1917) pounding the brass at Houston and San Antonio, Texas, and Charles Newton (1853 - 1901) at Frankfort, Kentucky. GMN]

The Coming of the Telegraph to Arkansas

by Edward C. Newton (from The Arkansas Gazette, Little Rock, November 20, 1919)

The most rapid means of communication, previous to the year 1860, between Little Rock and the outside world was by stage coaches and stern wheel steamboats plying between Little Rock and Memphis, the
former having the advantage in making a little faster time between these points. This stage line was operated by the firm of Hanger, Rapley & Gaines, and was equipped with large six-horse coaches which arrived and departed daily on a 24-hour schedule, which schedule, however, depended on the condition of the roads, rivers, and bayous. The stage coaches carried the United States mail and also as many passengers as could be accommodated, that is, nine on the three seats inside and two with the driver outside.

But in 1859 H. A. Montgomery of Memphis came to Little Rock and proceeded to organize the Arkansas Telegraph Company for the purpose of building a telegraph line between Little Rock and Memphis, with
Chas. P. Bertrand president, and James A. Henry secretary, both of Little Rock, and H. A. Montgomery superintendent. Some stock in this company was placed locally, but Mr. Montgomery retained a majority.
The railroad between Little Rock and Memphis was projected, but not constructed, and the Arkansas Telegraph Company had to find a way for its lines through the primeval forests and swamps, which, in many
instances, offered many obstacles not easily overcome. But the promoter was a forceful man of indefatigable energy, and as soon as it was possible to get the wire and material distributed by wagons along the route through the wilderness he proceeded with the work in the then primitive way of building telegraph lines. Brackets, designed to carry square glass insulators, were nailed to trees, and where there were no trees available, post-oak and cypress poles were used. The wire was of plain iron (not galvanized as now) of No. 9 gauge, and was placed in an open slot on receptacles in the top of the square glass insulator, which arrangement allowed it to slide back and forth through the insulator to prevent breakage of the wire by the swaying of the trees in high winds and storms.

The most difficult part of the route was through the forty miles of low country between the St. Francis river and Memphis. In some places the region was at that time almost impenetrable, and it was, besides, the habitat of every wild animal and reptile indigenous to Arkansas. I have heard Mr. Montgomery tell of his adventures in building the telegraph line in this region, which were both thrilling and laughable.

The wire, however, was finally erected and completed in the year 1860 with offices at Little Rock, Brownsville, Des Arc, Clarendon, Madison and Memphis. The office at Little Rock was located on the second floor of an old brick building on the northeast corner of East Markham and Scott streets, which had formerly been the residence of W. E. Woodruff, founder of the Gazette.

It was now demonstrated that a steamboat could announce its departure on the very day of its leaving Memphis, and orders for merchandise could be placed by telegraph for shipment by that boat and also a
telegram might be sent to New York and an answer received the same day. Furthermore, a telegraph news report, of perhaps 200 words, was appearing in the Gazette, which was considered both remarkable and
very enterprising on the part of the paper.

The building of this telegraph line was not only and event in the history of Arkansas, but greatly appreciated by the people, especially just at the inception of the Civil War.

The second telegraph line was built between Little Rock and Pine Bluff in1861 by the Pine Bluff Telegraph Co., which was organized at Pine Bluff by Snow & Ketchum, and which also had its office at Little Rock
in the old Woodruff Building. David O. Dodd, the young Confederate martyr, who had learned the rudiments of telegraphy, was the operator on that line in 1862 for a brief period. His knowledge of the telegraph alphabet proved his undoing, for he used it as a code in an attempt to conceal the information about the Federal forces he had obtained on a later visit to Little Rock, resulting in his capture and execution as a spy in 1864. This unfortunate boy, modest and unassuming in his manner and appearance, showed the qualities of a hero at his trial when, on an offer of clemency, he refused, even to the last minute on the scaffold, to disclose the name of the person who furnished the important military information found in his possession.

When the Confederate troops evacuated Little Rock in September, 1863, the Arkansas Telegraph Company, with which I was then associated, retreated also, saving as much wire and material as possible for the purpose of extending its line from Arkdelphia via Camden to Shreveport. The United States Military Telegraph controlled the wires running out of Little Rock during the occupation of the city by the Federal forces, which wires were returned to the companies six months after the close of the Civil War.

H. A. Montgomery, the pioneer of the telegraph in Arkansas, disposed of his telegraph interests to a larger company soon after the war. He became a prominent and wealthy citizen of Memphis. The celebrated
Montgomery Park was named for him. He died in that city and a life-like marble statue of heroic size was erected to his memory at his tomb, in Elmwood cemetery.

Christmas, Nineteen Fifteen, by Grace Cornell Newton. 1978

2011-10-10T09:34:00.000-05:00

The first of which I have a fairly good memory was Christmas, 1915. All our Christmases were beautiful. The tree in all its majesty dominated the small apartment. The mingled smell of pine and wax, the glittering tinsel, the glass ornaments and balls, cornucopias filled with a kind of candy that seemed to belong to Christmas, the little candles in their spring holders with their tiny flickering lights -- all the greens and reds and golds almost hiding the branches right on down to the floor. The tree itself was Christmas. It appeared miraculously, not the day after Thanksgiving, but on Christmas morning. It never failed to overwhelm me when I awakened to see all the little candles lighted in the dark of early morning.

Even though I somehow realized that Mamma and Daddy were the ones who arose early and lit the candles with a big "kitchen match," Christmas was a miracle no matter that its trappings were wrought by human hands. It was not just THINGS, but a FEELING.

This was the Christmas that we kids all received play costumes, exactly the ones we each had "ordered." Sister [Elizabeth] wanted an Indian squaw dress, so that's what was in the box under the tree for her. The big brother [Willie] wanted to be a cowboy, so a cowboy suit was there for him. The little brother [Jerry] was more inclined to follow his sister's ideas, so he asked for and got a little Indian suit. All my hopes rested on being a policeman, and a very convincing one I became that Christmas morning. My outfit consisted of a navyblue suit with bras buttons on the coat and white piping on the mandarin-type collar and the cuffs, plus white stripes down the pant legs. Finally I wore a navy cap with a hard shiny black visor, and I carried a "billy club." Beaumont's finest would have envied me. I was even "mounted," on a tricycle. But, alas, my mount was soon stolen by that little Indian and I was forced to patrol my beat on foot.

I remember that the two big kids had skates, and many a crisp winter's evening just before dark I would stand by the side of the house beneath the kitchen window and dejectedly watch the skaters zoom down Calder Avenue with the little Indian in hot pursuit on my tricycle.

The Fishing Trip and Nineteen Fifteen Hurricane, by Grace Cornell Newton

2011-10-01T17:22:00.000-05:00

That September Saturday dawned clear and sunny. We had been invited to visit friends on their house-boat moored on the Beaumont side of the Neches River. Mrs. Borgerson, who had been Mamma's nurse when I was born, lived there with her husband and grown son and daughter.

In our go-to-town clothes, we walked straight down Calder to where it met Broadway, and then past Main to the Neches River. There was no free-way then, and the pine tree forest was still primitive and regal.

After arriving, we kids quickly took off our shoes and gathered on the wide porch or deck, from which we cast our string lines baited with pieces of bacon. I caught a crab and threw it back in. That was my first and only venture as an angler.

Then we got into the rowboat, with the picnic basket, and went to the opposite bank to have lunch under the trees. It took two trips to get us all across the river, and while the rest of the party was still in the boat, the sky grew leaden with "threatening" clouds and a wind was rising. The adults cast analytical glances at the sky and decided bad weather was brewing. So we rowed back to the house-boat and hurriedly ate our lunch in the big breezy kitchen. And soon took our departure.

We made it back to the apartment just ahead of the storm, about 1:30 P.M. Daddy called frantically to tell Mamma not to come to town to the movie as a severe storm warning was out. Of course, he wa unaware that we had been to the far reaches of Jefferson County only a short time earlier.

We stood at the "long" (floor-length) window excitedly watching the progress of the storm. Mr. and Mrs. Johnston, laughing like two kids and enjoying the strong breeze, stayed out on the porch until gusts of wind sent the wicker furniture skipping down the steps and blowing about the front yard.

Jerry [who would have been four years-old] says he remembers standing at the back door and watching the big rain drops plopping into the already flooded yard.

[Somewhere along the way, Grace's memories of this storm became mixed-up. As she was only six-years old at the time, she may have, over time, merged one memory into another. The only hurricane in September of 1915 made landfall on Wednesday the 29th, near New Orleans, Louisiana as a strong Category 3 hurricane. This storm would have been too far away to affect Beaumont very much, I think.

I suspect she was actually remembering the Galveston Hurricane of 1915, which made landfall just to the southwest of Galveston early in the day on Tuesday, August 17. Similar in strength to the 1900 Hurricane, the 1915 Galveston Hurricane was a Category 4 storm with sustained winds of 135 mph. While property damage was substantial, there were only eleven deaths in Galveston, due to the recently completed seawall.]

1914 - Grandma Gruetzmacher's Funeral by Wilben Long Newton

2011-08-28T12:23:00.000-05:00

This is not so much a story, but rather unedited notes for a story. It is unknown to me if Uncle Willie ever transformed these disjointed notes into a 'story'. Comments by me (GMN) are in brackets.

1914 - Grandma Gruetzmacher's Funeral

by Wilben Long Newton

I remember a lot of aunts dresses in black with ditto veils when we went to Grandma's funeral, 1914 certain in my memory. I yield to 1907 for Grandpa, though I was always under the impression Mama said 1910. [Augusta Gruetzmacher died July 14, 1914. Her husband Paul Louis Gruetzmacher died December 2, 1905. Their son Paul died in 1909, which was probably the cause of the date confusion.]

Memories of Galveston 1914:

Aunt in black veil thrusting her face into mine. I asking, "Who're you?" Aunt: "I'm your Aunt Gussie." [Aunt Gussie would be Augusta Gruetzmacher (1880-1926?) who supposedly married a Bob Marquette and had two children. I haven't found anything about these folks.]

Someone taking me into the parlor on the night of our arrival and lifting me up to see the dead face of my grandmother. How shivery I felt! Afterward I kept being drawn toward the dimly lit parlor, but I never ventured over the threshold.

Morning after: Aunt Edith waiting with my pants and shirt for me to wake up and start having fun at Grandma's funeral. [Aunt Edith would be Mary Edith Gruetzmacher (1899-1974).]

Big barefoot kid of 14, Aunt Octavia, playing with us. She and Elizabeth had some kind of game wherein I was to be the captive, but I started crying and wouldn't play. [Aunt Octavia would be Octavia Elizabeth Gruetzmacher (1902-1958).]

To the beach late in the afternoon, Mama in a borrowed suit of Aunt Clara's, complete with tie-on head scarf. [Aunt Clara Gruetzmacher was the oldest child, (1878-1937), while "Mama" Matilda Elizabeth Gruetzmacher Newton (1879-1963) was the next oldest.]

Starting over, to the beach late of an afternoon, Mama in borrowed suit of Aunt Clara's, complete with tie-on head scarf and stockings (slippers yet!) Jerry bawling, afraid of the waves, Mama holding him and siting in one spot till the tide washed a hollow spot out. The rest of us paddling around. Elizabeth reported to Mama: Gracie's drowning. Mama yanked you up, saving your life.

Playing in the yard while the funeral was going on in the parlor. Seeing Grandma's casket borne down the front steps to the waiting hearse. Shivery feeling up backbone.

Memory of 1914: That cotton thing Ed had under glass. I remember it in the parlor at 1910 Ave. N in 1914. [Edward Gruetzmacher (1893-1900) had died soon after the Great Galveston Storm, of diptheria or scarlet fever, according to Grace. I wonder what that 'cotton thing' was? Perhaps a memento?]

Jerry drowned three chickens in a tub of water warming in the sun for wash day. He wanted them to swim. Also nipping a fig off a low branch with his teeth. This was considered by all the aunts as a great thing.

One lunch we had scrambled eggs and pork-beans, which I considerd singular, in that at home at 1009 Calder we always had meat for Daddy to cut up in little squares for us. Later we fell on evil days and sometimes had nothing, but then we always had meat, and it seemed strange that in Galveston there was none for anyone to cut up into small squares for me.

Big cat under table, Meetza. We had one named that in 1920 or thereabout, I recall.

Otto coming home for lunch, afterward lying on wicker couch with straw hat on waiting for time to go back to Pete Gengler's. [Peter Gengler's was a large wholesale grocer whose warehouse was located on The Strand.]

Otto waiting for time to hitch up and drive back to Gengler's, straw hat on, practicing sheet music, voice, "Get out and get under, get out and get under, get under the automobile." We kids scrambling and screeching around under foot until finally he said "You kids shut up!" Eventually he must have gone back to Gengler's.

The whole visit couldn't have been over four days, like leave Thu., return Sun. afternoon. But it seemed forever and a day. Ah, what fun! Grandma would've been happy that we had such fun at her obsequi[ti]es. Started in afternoon from S. P. [Southern Pacific rail] station (conductor calling "Nome" gave us name for our dolls town forever after.). Houston in early evening, but night before we could get on interurban and rackety-racket over causeway. Remember gawking up at Rice Hotel [downtown Houston], looking at moving sign in lights of newspaper boy running. Ice cream sodas at drugstore that wasn't Thames - Dunlops in 1914, I suppose. [Thames Drugs was a longtime Beaumont drugstore. Dunlops must have been the Houston equivalent.] Galveston, jitney to 1910 [Avenue N] on moonlit Broadway, cost 25 cents for the lot of us. Sad let-down coming home on gray Sun. afternoon. Daddy came before lunch and took us home afterward. It seemed forever crossing on the ferry, all those choo-choo cars weighting it all down. [For years, there was a railroad that went from Beaumont to Winnie and then down the Boliver Peninsula and over to Galveston via a ferry or railroad barge. The barge could hold the train engine and several freight and passenger rail cars.] The barge stopped for an hour, it seemed, out in the bay while they fixed something. Mama always said a fortune teller had told her she would be in a train accident that next summer, but that was the year of the 1915 storm. I remember Mama had a bag packed getting ready to go, but of course we couldn't. She gave me back a soldier and a rowboat I was going to take, and I saw no more of Galveston till I was a big kid of 18 and went over in the summer on a weekend excursion to visit Clara and Octavia.

The Haggardy Bull-Dog By Grace C. Newton

2011-08-27T19:01:00.000-05:00

The Haggardy Bull-Dog

By Grace C. Newton

I have few early recollections. 1914 is the first I can remember anything. That summer Grandma G. died. But it must have been in the Spring of that year that I had the experience of being frightened out of my wits by a friendly bull-dog from next door. We were living in the downstairs apartment at 1009 Calder. The big two-story house was on the corner at Magnolia. I was playing happily by myself in a sandpile near our back porch when I sensed something breathing close to me. Looking around, I was horrified to find a bull-dog, one of those ferocious-looking by lovable English bulls, close to my elbow. I sat petrified but screaming for all I was worth! Soon I became aware that the owner of the dog was rushing frantically to my rescue, while at the same time I was also aware that Mama and the other kids had come out onto the porch in answer to my screams. The neighbor was trying to console me and to determine whether I was hurt. The dog was sitting quietly, I suppose puzzled by my strange reaction; but the family were still standing on the porch, laughing hilariously and making no attempt to come to my rescue. Suddenly I felt more drawn to the kind neighbor than to them. Well, I decided, I was not going to be a free show for them. So I turned off the screams.

[Grace Cornell Newton was born in 1909. "Grandma G." was Augusta (maiden name unknown) Gruetzmacher, who died in 1914.]

2011-08-27T18:43:00.000-05:00

Cousin Stelle's Visit

Copied from a letter from Mildred (Aunt) Elizabeth Newton to Grace Newton

Estelle or Stelle Walker was Daddy's cousin. She and her husband came thru Beaumont when we were living upstairs at Mrs. Johnston's, in 1908 [sic] or 09, you [Grace, born July 1909] a baby, Daddy working at Roos Bros. He asked Mamma to have them over for the noon meal, and they came. (They were staying at the Fields Hotel.) Much of the visit didn't sink in, as I was rather young, but Mom told me the details several years later when we were living downstairs. The Walkers invited us for lunch in their room at the hotel. As we went upstairs, the light streaming through crisp, white curtains in the glass in the door was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It made such an impression on me, I remembered it, and Mamma didn't know of it, as I never told her. Daddy came and we ate. Mamma told me when I was older that Stelle had sliced ham, bread, milk and coffee on a small table. addy said he had to leave early to meet a buyer at Roos Bros. But that night he told Mamma he could not go all the rest of the day on sandwiches, so he had a meal at a cafe before going back to work. When the Walkers left, Stelle gave Mamma a brown and dark green striped dress she had. Mamma took it, but never wore it.

When we moved downstairs ay Johnstones [sic] I was about 7 [circa 1912]. I decided I needed a husband, so put an old broom and a mop handle together with rope. I needed a suit for Mr. Brown so Mamma gave me the old taffeta dress, and I made coat and trousers of it, and that's what became of Cousin Stelle's finery. What became of Stelle, I never knew.

[Estella Newton was born around 1875 in New Madrid, Missouri. She was the only surviving child of John R. Newton and Nannie Massengill. Estella married Arthur Walker. I have been unable to track this couple. John R. Newton has also been a bit of a mystery. He was a merchant in New Madrid, but died sometime before 1909, which was when his wife remarried. GMN.]

Miniature Chest of Drawers by André Joseph Villard

2011-08-27T15:55:00.000-05:00

Miniature Chest of Drawers by André Joseph Villard

Tom Newton also contacted antiques dealer Sumpter Priddy III about a minature chest of drawers which he sold a few years back. I want to publicly thank Sumpter for providing a fine photograph of the chest in question, as well as his description of the item, part of which I have inserted below.

Object: Miniature chest of drawers

Maker: Possibly André Joseph Villard (1749-1819)

Origin: Probably Washington, DC

Date: Circa 1800

Dimensions: Height 17 1/2”, width 21”, depth 14 1/2”

Medium: Mahogany primary with light and dark wood inlay; yellow pine secondary

Condition: When recieved, the chest survived in fine condition. Later partitions had been added inside the top drawer, the hardware had been replaced, approximately an inch and a half of “barber pole” banding was missing, the right front leg had a small unsympathetic veneer repair, and the piece had been refinished.

The chest was conserved by F. C. Vogt of Richmond, Virginia, in December of 2006; he removed the later drawer partitions, replaced the “barber pole” inlay and and the old veneer repair, removed the later finish, applied several coats of shellac and finished it with a coat of paste wax.

Commentary: This rare miniature Southern chest hails from the bench of a remarkably accomplished artisan whose construction techniques clearly indicate that he was trained on continental Europe during the late eighteenth century. Five pieces can be attributed with certainty to this shop, which was most probably situated in northern Virginia or the District of Columbia. In addition to this chest, work by the artisan include two cylinder secretaries, a cylinder desk, and a tall case clock,1 which are unified not only by their distinctive inlays, but by their heavy reliance on French stylistic conventions and construction techniques.

Andre Joseph Villard Addenda

2011-08-27T15:44:00.001-05:00

Sophia DeMeaux Villard

Some new material has recently come to light through the efforts of brother Tom. Thank you, Tom, for making the contacts and finding these photos!

This portrait of Sophia DeMeaux (not Noelle Agathe DeMaux, as previously identified), second wife of Andre' Joseph Villard, was painted by David Boudon, the same painter who did the portrait of Andre' featured in a previous post. This portrait was dated 1806 at Washington City [Washington D.C.]. The picture is currently owned by miniature portrait dealer Elle Shushan, whom I wish to thank for providing this image.

How Andre' Joseph Villard is related to the Newton's

2011-08-21T18:50:00.000-05:00

Brother Tom e-mailed me today asking for a summarization of how Andre' Joseph Villard is related to the Newton's. It's a good question, and illustrates how I have assumed that everyone already knows all the branches of the family tree. I'll try to provide a summary for any further postings. If any of the previous postings are unclear in any way, please feel free to e-mail me for elucidation.

Andre Joseph Villard (born c1752 Paris, France; died c1819 Virginia) married Noelle Agathe Demaux (born c1761 Paris, France; died c1790-92 Virginia), their child was:

Constance Eugenie Etienne Villard (born c1775 Paris, France; died c1860-70 Little Rock, Arkansas) married William Spence Hutt (born 1773 Westmoreland Co., Virginia; died 1855 Little Rock, Arkansas), their child was:

Andre Joseph Hutt (born 1815 Charleston, [West] Virginia; died 1885 Little Rock, Arkansas) married Francisa E. Gaines (born 1823 Virginia; died 1903 Little Rock, Arkansas), their child was:

Mary (Mollie) Hutt (born 1851 Little Rock, Arkansas; died 1922 Little Rock, Arkansas) married Edward C. Newton (born 1845 New mAdrid, Missouri; died 1923 Little Rock, Arkansas), their child was:

Andre Hutt Newton, Sr. (born 1873 Little Rock, Arkansas: died 1944 Beaumont, Texas) married Matilda Elizabeth Gruetzmacher (born 1879 Galveston, Texas; died 1963 Beaumont, Texas), one of their children was:

Andre Hutt Newton, Jr. married Irene Marie Dziubinski.

Mamma's Big Surprise by Grace Newton

2011-08-12T09:47:00.000-05:00

MAMMA'S BIG SURPRISE

by Grace Cornell Newton, Aug. 23, 1978

For one Easter, I can't recall which year, mamma made a big white outing flannel rabbit for Daddy's Easter window at the store. Since it was meant to surprise him, she had to work on it when he wasn't at home. And he was certainly surprised; from start to finish he never suspected what she was doing.

Besides selling the fine grade of men's wear that Roos Brothers featured, Daddy had to "dress the windows," which was largely the mode of advertising then. He had a small workshop upstairs on the alley side where he made his cards, doing all his own printing and decorating. His talent for this art work was genuine and natural without benefit of formal training. His designs were mostly his own, his lettering was free-hand. Often he painted lilies or poinsettias or rabbits, in keeping with the season. He also had a unique method of stippling, using a cutout which, after being lifted off, left the design in white outlined by gold, or whatever color paint he might be using.

In great demand as a salesman, he often had to come downstairs to serve a customer who would not buy from anyone else. He worked hard at his job, the store hours were long; for selling and doing his windows he received the grand sum of forty dollars a week, there was no paid vacation, and of course no group employee health insurance. But in those days he was still young enough to be enthusiastic about his work, and Mamma was enthusiastic with him.

So while he ran up and down the stairs and in and out his windows at the store, Mamma was busy on her project at home. She was as talented with her needle as he was with his brushes. Finally the rabbit was finished, from pink nose and white embroidery thread whiskers to pink embroidered eyes and pink satin-lined ears. Having tied a pink satin bow about his neck, Mamma set him in the middle of the kitchen table, then went to bed. It was a late night and the apartment was dark when Daddy came home. Not to awaken Mamma, who was awake and snickering to herself, he tiptoed into the kitchen to undress.

When he turned on the light and saw that big rabbit, he let out such a war-whoop that if Mamma had really been asleep, she wouldn't have been for long.

Next day the rabbit was carried to the store and installed in a window where it attracted much deserved attention.

André Joseph Villard Sr. and Family

2011-06-11T13:54:00.001-05:00

André Joseph Villard Sr. and Family

André Joseph Villard Sr. was born about 1752 in Paris, France. He died about 1819 in Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Very little information is definitively known about André Villard prior to his arrival in America. We can only assume that he married Noelle Agathe Demaux sometime before 1775, which was the year that their daughter Constance Eugenie Etienne Villard was born in Paris, France.

Villard was a native of Paris, France, and was educated at the Royal College of Arts and Sciences. After his graduation, he was chosen by King Louis XVI as one of his guards.

I have found mention of André as a cabinetmaker at the Barrière du Roule in 1784. The Barrière du Roule was a gate built for the collection of taxation as part of the Wall of the Farmers-General [the king's tax collector]; the gate was built between 1784 and 1788 and demolished in 1859.

On February 19, 1790, André Villard and his family left LeHavre, France on board the ship “Patriot.” The list provided the name of the traveler, and their gender, profession, birthplace and age.

Villard, Andre Joseph, m, Cabinet Maker, Paris, age 38
Demaux, Noelle Agathe, f, spouse, Paris, age 29
Villard, Constance, child, f, Paris, age 15
Eustache, Claude, domestic, m, Dauphine, age 27
Dillard, Jean Thierry, domestic, m, Paris, age 16

The relationship of the ‘domestic’ servants to Villard is unknown, but I suspect they may have been apprentices in the woodshop rather than household help. The ship arrived at Alexandria, Virginia, on May 3, 1790.

The “Patriot” was one of several ships that, in 1790, carried many Frenchmen (and their families) that were escaping punishment after the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789. These French aristocrats, known as the “French Five Hundred,” which presumedly included the Villard's, were expecting to settle in the new town of Gallipolis (the City of the Gauls), situated on the Ohio River in the Old Northwest Territory. The various ships that carried the French to America transported primarily artisans and craftsmen, including wholesalers, woodcutters, clockmakers, doctors, lawyers, farmhands, tailors, wigmakers and so on. The variety of occupations would have allowed for a town to have been created.

Gallipolis is about 40 miles from both Charleston, West Virginia and Chillicothe, Ohio. Charleston and Chillicothe were both early residences of William Spence Hutt and his wife Constance Villard, before they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas.

However, the French were swindled by the Scioto Company, who had encouraged investors in France to purchase lands in Ohio by describing a virtual Garden of Eden. However, the deeds that they had purchased proved worthless upon their arrival via riverboat. The Scioto Company did not actually own the land, which was not the land of milk and honey that they anticipated. The land that they had purchased actually belonged to the Ohio Company of Associates. Many of the disappointed immigrants returned to the East, probably including the Villard family.

The disillusioned Ohio settlers petitioned Congress and President George Washington for aid, but it was five more years before President Washington stepped in and granted them free land in the French Grant, which was in Scioto County. Those moving to the French Grant had to live on the land for five years in order to own it. Those staying in Gallipolis had to purchase land a second time, this time from the rightful owners, the Ohio Company, who sent a group of woodsmen from Marietta to build 100 log cabins on land that is now the city park.

At that time Gallipolis was pure wilderness and the French were totally unprepared for what they would find. The French faced great difficulties during the early years of the town's settlement. Disease was common in the community due to the town's swampy conditions, and approximately one-third of the French settlers died from these diseases.

Whether the Villard’s travelled to Gallipolis is unknown. If they did, they most likely returned to Virginia to settle, as there is no record of them in Ohio. Sometime after their arrival in America in 1790 and before 1792, their daughter Felicitie Villard was born, most probably in Virginia.. Around this same time it appears that Noelle Demaux Villard died, perhaps in childbirth.

André also remarried, sometime before 1792, to Sophie DeMeaux. The similarity between the last names of these women suggest they may have been sisters or other close relatives.

Also around 1792, their son Richard H. L. Villard was born, most likely in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Richard was most likely named in honor of a near neighbor, Richard Henry Lee. I also believe that this son, Richard H. L. Villard, was the same person as Henry Lee Villard who was later listed as a son of André Villard. Henry Lee Villard was said to have been born in 1793 and rumored to have moved to North Carolina and married, but I have found no trace of him there or elsewhere. Richard Villard moved to the Washington DC area, married, and raised a family.

Another son, André Joseph Villard, Jr. was born in 1792, at sea on board a ship from France travelling to Virginia. I can only guess that perhaps after the death of his first wife, Andre went back to France to remarry. On the return voyage, his son from this second marriage died, either during birth, or at a very early age.

Back in Virginia, André Villard was working as a cabinetmaker for the wealthy neighbors who could afford these luxuries. “Light Horse” Harry Lee, a cousin of the afore mentioned Richard Henry Lee, made several modifications to the home after marrying, in 1793, Ann Hill Carter, “including a roof walk, two semi-circular porches, and employed the craftsman André Joseph Villard to change some of the woodwork, add a stairs to the lower floor, widened some of the doors, and created an arch that connected the Cherry Tree Room/parlor to the dining room, while also expanding the dining room and closing off a fireplace.”

In November of 1796, another daughter, Sophia S. Villard, was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. We also find mention in some tax records for 1800 of Andrew Joseph Villard of Westmoreland County.

A Federal-style Cylinder Secretary Desk and Bookcase, circa 1800, now located in The Walter Thurston Gentlemen’s Lounge, Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State Building in Washington, D.C., is attributed to André Joseph Villard. [see photo]

“Among the numerous French artisans who sought refuge in the United States in the unsettling times following the French Revolution, Villard introduced Washington, DC, to the prevailing Louis XVI fashions as interpreted by such master ébenistes as Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763) and Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806). This example stands alone in its fine crotch and plum pudding mahogany as a singular American work by this French cabinetmaker.”

Another piece of furniture attributed to Villard was a minature chest of drawers that was displayed in a Virginia antique dealers shop in 2007. Sadly, there was no photographs or further information of this item.

Sometime after the turn of the century, Villard retired from the cabinet making trade, either because business was slow, or as I suspect, at an age of nearly 50, André was getting a little long in the tooth to continue the exacting detail work of custom furniture making.

“As early as the year 1804 Andrew J. Villard, a Frenchman, began his long term of service at the Washington arsenal, where he invented a disappearing carriage for cannon.” The Washington arsenal was a distributing centre for guns and cannon, “as well as armament that had seen service. Men were employed to mend and clean guns and to provide fittings and carriages for the cannon.”

In December of 1805, a petition of André Joseph Villard was presented to the United States House of Representatives, stating that he has discovered a new method of mounting heavy cannon, and praying that his improvement may be adopted throughout the United States. The petition was referred to a committee for examination and that they should report their findings back to the House.

Representative Joseph Varnum, reported back from the committee in March of 1806, stating in the official records [with paragraphs added by this author, for ease of reading], that:

“Mr. Villard appears to be the inventor of a new method of mounting heavy cannon for the defence of forts and batteries, which exhibits the probability of being very useful. By this method of mounting cannon, a gun with a caliber which will carry a twenty-four pound shot, is raised two feet from its natural bed in fifteen seconds, by the labor of four men, and let down from its elevated position to its bed on the carriage in the same space of time, and with the same number of men.

“In the common mode of mounting cannon for the defence of forts and batteries, they cannot be elevated more than from four to five feet from the platform on which they are placed, without subjecting the gunners to great inconvenience in loading them; hence they can only be levelled over the parapet, and can only be aimed through the embrasures of the rampart; in which case the gun and the men who attend it are constantly exposed to the enemy's fire through the embrasures.

“By the method proposed by Mr. Villard embrasures will not be necessary. The rampart may be carried up in a solid mass, seven feet above the platform on which the guns are placed. The expense in building the walls will be considerably diminished, and yet they will form a much stronger bulwark against an enemy's fire. The men who manage the gun will be much more secure from danger. The gun will not be exposed to an enemy's shot, except at the very instant when it is levelled and fired. It is elevated above the top of the rampart, and by means of a swivel-wheel, on which the rear part of the carriage rests, can instantly be aimed in any direction. The moment it is discharged, it is lowered down to its safe position behind the rampart.

“It is contemplated, in the Department of War, to mount a considerable number of heavy battery cannon on carriages of this new construction. Mr. Villard is now employed in making those carriages, at the same rate of pay as would be allowed any other man qualified for superintending the mounting of cannon on common battery or travelling carriages. He seems desirous that the United States should enjoy the benefits resulting from his invention; but, at the same time, conceives himself justly entitled to some compensation for it. The committee are of opinion that justice, as well as policy, requing that the invention should be rewarded by the public. They therefore submit the following resolution:

“Resolved, That there be paid to Andrew Joseph Villard one thousand dollars out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, in full compensation for his invention and improvement in the mode of mounting heavy battery cannon.”

André Villard wrote to Rep. Varnum, explaining the use of his design for cannon mounts:

“In obedience to your commands, I beg leave to state the advantages arising from my improvement in the mode of mounting cannon for fortifications. In the usual mode of mounting cannon it is necessary to have embrasures, which are expensive, liable to be torn by the enemy's shot, and leave (he guns and men exposed to the enemy's fire.

“When cannon are mounted on my plan, a solid bank of earth, seven feet six inches high, from the platform, without the masonry and embrasures, completely protects the guns and men, except at the very instant when the gun is levelled and fired, and even then only one man is exposed.

“On the usual construction the enemy can see where the guns are placed, and can aim to destroy them; by my invention, the guns are completely out of sight, and cannot be injured but by a random shot.

“Where there are embasures, the guns can only be fired in a direct line; by my invention, each wing of the battery can flank an enemy advancing in front; or, if advancing in the rear, or on the flanks of the battery, the guns can be instantaneously wheeled about to bear upon them.

“I am, sir, most respectfully, your obedient servant, A. J. Villard.”

After many debates, committee meetings, and the usual government red tape, the petition was brought to a vote and approved on January 4, 1809. The petition now became “An Act for the Relief of Andrew Joseph Villard.”

“Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That there be paid to Andrew Joseph Villard, the sum of one thousand dollars, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for his extra services and expense, in the mode of mounting heavy cannon for batteries, on a new construction, for the use and benefit of the United States.”

Representative Thomas Newton, Jr., of Virginia, was instrumental in getting this bill passed.

We next hear of Villard in a petition dated August 13, 1808 to the Honorable William Cranch Chief Judge of the Circuit Court of the District of Columbia, in which he is seeking to settle a dispute with John Darby regarding compensation for a male slave, James, whom Villard sold to Darby for the sum of ninety-six pounds. James died shortly after the sale. Consequently, Darby brought suit against Villard. Villard requested and received an injunction to prevent further proceedings until the matter is settled.

A portrait of André Joseph Villard now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum was painted circa 1810-1812 by David Boudon. This portrait provides the only view we have of Villard. The miniature was done in silverpoint and watercolor on an oval piece of paper measuring 2 7/8 x 2 1/4 in. (7.3 x 5.7 cm). The portrait was a gift to the Smithsonian by Frederick W. Cron.

While Cron was not a direct descendant of André Villard, Sr., he was a second cousin, one time removed to this writer, with the common ancester being Francisa Elizabeth Gaines, who must have acquired it through her second husband, Andre Joseph Hutt, Jr., of Little Rock.

Around 1812, André Villard bought a farm (probably located in Westmoreland County, Virginia), from an old neighbor, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee. The once wealthy Harry Lee had fallen onto hard times, and was sent to debtors prison around this time.

Villard must have been doing okay, money-wise, to afford the farm. He was still working at the Washington Arsenal, so perhaps he spent his “cannon money” to buy a place in the country.

The family seems to have friends in high places, besides the Lee’s, for in May of 1813, Andrew Jackson, the recent hero of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and the future U. S. President, “went to visit Mr. Villard & family at the Navy yard.”

In February of 1814, daughter Sophia Villard married Colonel Jacinth Laval (1762-1822) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

During the British attack on Washington D. C. of August, 1814, the same attack that torched the White House and other government buildings, the house at Greenleaf's Point belonging to André Joseph Villard was also destroyed by fire.

In a Congressional investigation, it was reported that upon the approach of the enemy in August, 1814, Villard was ordered by the ordinance department, where he had been employed for many years, “to take immediate charge of a wagon loaded with public property, and conduct it to a place of safety in the interior. With this order he complied, being allowed no time to provide for the safety of his own property, nor room in the wagon but for a few articles belonging to him.

“That he remained with the public property committed to his care at Leesburg, Virginia till he was recalled, and on his return found the house he had occupied, his furniture, and tools, entirely consumed by fire. The loss thus sustained is estimated at $580, and indemnification to that amount is asked of Congress.

“The petitioner further states that the house containing his property was destroyed by authority under the control of Government; that, by his prompt attention to the safety of public property, he was prevented from having his own transported across the river beyond the reach of the conflagration; and that, on leaving Greenleaf's Point, he had the promise of the commanding officer that his effects should be removed, if necessary; but of this last statement he has adduced no proof.”

Similar petitions were presented in Congress by Representative Thomas Newton, Jr. (previously mentioned) and Senator Armistead Mason, both of Virginia. It was debated in Congress over many months, with the eventual denial of all claims by Villard, based on two main points: First, the house Villard had lived in was government property, and, second, that duty to country trumps ‘personal affairs.’

“The petitioner [Villard] was superintendent of artificers in the service of Government, and never can it be supposed that he should have been permitted, in the hour of danger, to prostitute the dignity of his office, or to neglect the service required of him, to attend to his own private affairs. The order of Government that he should superintend the transportation of public property to a place of safety, was requiring of him the performance of no more than a common duty incident to his profession, which he was bound to execute at the hazard of his private property. The order of Government was, therefore, perfectly correct, and the officer has no right to complain of its consequences. As to the promise of the commanding officer that the petitioner's property should be removed if necessary, it matters not in the present case, even if it had been proved; such promises are always to be understood conditionally, not absolutely. No doubt this promise would have been complied with if it had been practicable.

“The fact that the buildings and other public property were destroyed by the order of Colonel Wadsworth is also immaterial in the present case. The residence of the petitioner in the houses of Government was no doubt both a privilege and a benefit conferred on him. If he derived such advantages from that situation, he ought unquestionably to take upon himself all the risk and danger to which it was liable. In the progress of a war, Government may often find it prudent, as in this case, to destroy their own property; and if the property of officers and soldiers should meet a similar fate, it is a misfortune to be lamented, but for which no compensation can be demanded.

“In the present instance, the property destroyed was of that character which it would be difficult to separate from the person and profession of an officer or soldier. For its destruction, then, he has no more right to complain than for the loss of his life. He must find his reward in the honor and profits of his profession in the one case as well as in the other. Such losses are always numbered among the accidents of war, for which no Government can be held responsible.”

The name of André Joseph Villard must have carried some weight in Washington circles. In a letter to the Secretary of War James Monroe (who later became President), dated September 14, 1814, Villard recommends his grandson John Hutt for appointment to the military academy. The first Governor of Ohio, and later Senator Edward Tiffin had also written a testimonial for Hutt. It was usual, and, in fact, quite necessary for academy candidates, to have a letter of recommendation from a congressman, so Villard’s letter must have been considered a strong endorsement. It suggests that Villard and Monroe had more than a casual relationship.

John Hutt of Ohio was later dismissed from the Military Academy of the United States at West Point in 1818. I have found no reason for the dismissal, and doubt it will ever be found.

André Joseph Villard died sometime around 1819, probably in Westmoreland County, Virginia. I ahve found no will or probate record, though there may be one in District of Columbia records.

Sophia DeMeaux Villard, the second wife of André, was born in Lyons, France. The only record I find with her name on is a receipt for the purchase of a mahogany coffin on June 22, 1825, in Georgetown, Virginia. Mrs. Sopia Villard is most likely the purchaser of the coffin, though there is the possibility that Sophia was the deceased.

André and Noelle’s first daughter, Constance Eugenie Etienne Villard, was born about 1775 in Paris, France. The family was exiled from Paris at the time of the French Revolution. She came to America with her parents in 1790.

Constance married William Spence Hutt, the son of Gerrard Hutt and Catherine (Caty) Spence, on June 18, 1794 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Constance died sometime between 1860 and 1870, probably in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.

William Hutt was born on January 11, 1773 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and died on May 7, 1855 in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. He was buried in Mount Holly Cemetery, in that city.

William and Constance lived in Westmoreland County for a period of about ten years, before moving to Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio. Tax records in Ross County from 1807 to 1817 show Hutt living there. The Hutt’s are enumerated on the 1820, 1830 and 1840 Federal censuses of Kanawha County, Virginia (West Virginia, after 1861) . They had ten children over a period of thirty years, from about 1795 to about 1826. Surprisingly, only two of these children died young, leaving the other eight to marry and have their own families. I will be writing of this family in more detail in the future.

The second daughter of André and Noelle, Felicitie Villard, was born sometime before 1792, probably in Virginia. She may have been living with her sister Constance Hutt’s family in the 1820 Kanawha County census. She married Amable Demorlaine on December 17, 1823 in Kanawha County, Virginia.

I have been unable to find anything more about this couple.

The first child of André and Sophia Villard was André Joseph Villard, Jr., who was born and died around 1792. Records show only that he was buried at sea on a voyage from France to America in 1792.

The next child of André and Sophia Villard was Richard. H. L. Villard, born about 1792 in Westmoreland County, Virginia, and who was, as previously mentioned, most likely the same person as Henry Lee Villard, who was born in 1793. The only mention of Henry Lee Villard is one that says he married and moved to North Carolina. Richard died in Washington, D. C. on March 5, 1849 of dyspepsia, also know as a upset stomach or indigestion. His funeral took place at his late residence on Bridge Street on March 7, 1849.

Richard Villard married on September 13, 1815 in Washington, D.C., Mary Ann Mulhollen, who was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1798, and died in Washington, D.C. on April 30, 1851, at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Louisa Delany [sic], on Missouri Avenue. Her furneral took place the next day at Trinity [Episcopal] Church, at the corner of Third and C streets.

In the Georgetown census of 1820, Richard and his wife are listed there with a male child, most likely his first son who died in July of 1820. A female, aged 45 or older, was probably his widowed mother Sophia (DeMeaux) Villard. Richard also had three slaves living with the family.

Richard H. L. Villard was a noted silversmith in 1833 with a shop on Bridge Street (now M Street) in Georgetown. His marks are known in two versions: ‘Villard’ in a rectangle; and ‘Villard’ in italics within a rectangle. This author owns spoons bearing both marks.

Richard and Mary Ann had four children, the first dying young in July of 1820. Mary Villard was born about 1821 and married John Hedges on May 17, 1843. I haven’t tracked this family, as yet.

The third child, Sophia Louisa Villard, was born about 1823 and died in Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri on May 4, 1895. She had married Michael Delaney on December 28, 1841, in Washington, D.C. They had three children: Richard H. Delaney, born about 1843; Thomas Delaney, born about 1846; and Nora Delaney, born about 1850.

The youngest child was Thomas Jefferson Villard, who was born around 1825 in Washington, and married there on October 25, 1848 to Caroline C. (perhaps Columbia) Bryan. Villard was a dentist and watchmaker in Georgetown, D.C., with his shop on the north side of Bridge Street, between Congress and High streets. The Washington and Georgetown Directory, 1853. The address may have been the same as his fathers shop, which was also on Bridge Street. The couple are enumerated in the 1850 Georgetown and the 1860 Washington censuses. No children are listed in either rolls.

The youngest child of André Joseph Villard and Sophia DeMeaux was Sophia S. Villard, who was born on November 10, 1796 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. She died on 8 Nov 1875 in Lake City, Columbia County, Florida. She was buried in Oaklawn Cemetery in the same city.

Sophia Villard married twice. Her first marriage was to Colonel Jacinth Laval on February 26, 1814 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Jacinth was born in 1762 in Paris, France. He died on September 2, 1822 in Harper's Ferry, Jefferson County, (West) Virginia. He was buried in Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, (West) Virginia.

Laval, a fellow Parisian, came to America in 1780 during the American Revolution with General Lafayette’s troops, and served in General Rochambeau army as Cornet of Dragoons, which was a mounted infantry, trained in both horse riding and infantry fighting skills.

After the war he stayed in American, moving to Charleston, South Carolina where he married Miss Rebecca (Hartley) Withers. He was a Catholic, she was a Episcopalian. They had four children between 1788 and 1806. Rebecca died in October of 1810 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Laval was enumerated in the 1790 Federal census at St. James Goose Creek Parish, Charleston District, South Carolina. He was serving as sheriff of Charleston during this time, and also owned Lowndes Grove Plantation on the Charleston peninsula. The plantation is still there today as a bed-and-breakfast, and a romantic site for weddings.

He was later appointed Captain of dragoons in the United States Army, May 3, 1809. He became Major on February 15, 1809, Lieutenant-Colonel of the First Light Dragoons, June 7, 1813, and Colonel on August 1, 1813. During the War of 1812 he commanded a battalion of cavalry, and was personally engaged several times. He was called a gallant officer and a much esteemed man. From May 21, 1821, until his death he held the post of military storekeeper.

Sophia Villard and Jacinth Laval had only one known child, Louisa H. Laval. Louisa married on January 26, 1828 in South Carolina to Samuel Ewart, a native of Ireland, and a younger brother to David Ewart, who married Sophia Villard Laval, Louisa’s mother. This would have made David Ewart step-father to his brother Samuel.

Samuel and Louisa had one child, Robert Edwin Ewart of Columbia, South Carolina. Louisa died in 1833 somewhere between South Carolina and Alabama.

Mrs. Sophia Laval [nee Villard] married in March 30, 1826 in Columbia, Richland County, South Carolina, David Ewart, by the Rev. Mr. Folker.

David Ewart was born in 1786 in County Antrim, Ireland, the son of Samuel Ewart and Mary Heron. He died on July 8, 1868 in Lake City, Columbia County, Florida at the age of 82, and was buried there in Oaklawn Cemetery.

David Ewart had married twice previously, both dying in their early 20's. He had two children by his second wife, but only James, born in 1821, survived.

An early historian of Columbia wrote that the “court house stood at the Northeast corner of main and Washington streets.... There it joined to ‘Uncle Sammy Herring’s’ [Heron’s] grocery and hardware establishment, which, when he moved to Boundary street, was continued with great success by his nephew David Ewart, a little, crooked, energetic and well informed Irishman. Unfortunately, in his old age, he got to dabbling in cotton, and, with his positive, dogmatic temperament, assumed to know more about the state of the market, both at home and abroad, than any one else. As in the case of others holding such opinions, he backed his judgment, and that to an extent that, when his calculations failed, cost him all that he was worth and much more. Besides this, a fire, commencing in his back store, burnt up his goods and buildings, with nearly half the rest of the square. He had erected a hotel adjoining the court house lot....”

In the 1850 Columbia, South Carolina census, it shows David Ewart, age 65, merchant, and his wife Sophia Ewart, age 53 (who claimed $3,500 in real estate, probably from her previous marriage), and their two children, daughter Sophia L. [Louisa] Ewart, age 22, who was born in South Carolina, and son David E. [Edmunds] Ewart, age 20, who was also born in South Carolina and studying medicine.

Ewart and his wife removed from Columbia to Florida around 1854 or 1855, after his reverses in cotton speculationforced him into bankruptcy.

By the time the couple were enumerated in the 1860 Ocala, Marion County, Florida census, they had rebounded, with a reported $6,000 in real estate. The children were no longer at home, but they did have a “hireling” living with them.

The tombstone of David Ewart at Oak Lawn Cemetery, reads: Sacred to the Memory of David Ewart. Was born in Antrim, Ireland, A.D. 1786 and died in Columbia Co., Fl, July 8th, A.D. 1868.

Sophia Villard Ewart’s tombstone reads: “Sacred to the memory of Sophia Ewart. Was born in Westmoreland Co., Virginia, Nov. 10th A.D. 1796 and died in Columbia Co., Fla, Nov. 8th A.D. 1875. Aged 78 years, 11 months, and 28 days.”

An obituary in the local [unnamed, but probably Columbia] newspaper provided a brief biography of Sophia.

“Died November 8, 1876 at the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Dr. William Bates [actually Dr. George Michael Bates]; Mrs. Sophia S. Ewart, relict of the late David Ewart of Columbia, SC and daughter of Andre Joseph and Sophia DeMeaux Villard of Westmoreland Co., Virginia in the 79th year of her age.

“Possessed of brightest talents and a mind thoroughly cultivated and refined, this estimable lady was the admiration of a large circle of friends.

“During her life she saw many sad reverses and though at one time surrounded by all the luxuries that wealth could give, she was ever the humble Christian ready to alieviate the wants of the needy and to give sympathy sweet to the distressed and sad at heart.

“During the late war, like many others, she lost all, but with true Christian patience, she bowed meekly beneath the rod and accepted with greatest cheerfulness the lot before her.

“Gently, softly, like autumn kissed flowers, she faded away from earth to receive the reward of eternal happiness. May God comfort the sorrowing hearts gathered together in that saddened house and give them that consolation that comes not of earth.”

[A footnoted version of this article is available by request.]

William Pendleton Gaines (1851-1920)

2011-05-08T23:02:00.000-05:00

After a bit more digging around, I found an interesting addition to the Gaines family history. The son of William Baxter Pendleton Gaines and Eugenia Gratia Harris was William Pendleton Gaines, born in Richmond or Columbia, Brazoria Co., Texas on November 20 or 21, 1851 and died in Austin, Travis Co., Texas on March 18, 1920.

William graduated from Lafayette College (Easton, PA), admitted to the bar in 1874, and practiced law in Texas. For a while he dealt in real estate, but ending up entering journalism and seems to have become owner (or at least, part-owner) of the Austin Statesman newspaper.

He married twice, first to Augusta Evans in 1883, and second to Reba [last name unknown], about 1899. He had one daughter, Celeste, by his first wife, and a son, William Junior, by his second.

The first marriage ended badly, to say the least. I was able to track down a New York Times article dated October 19, 1891, describing the pending court proceedings dealing with the divorce and surrounding events, which make for quite a tale. Further research has not found how the court case was resolved.

St. Louis, Oct 18 [1891]. news article about the divorce proceedings between Mrs. Augusta E. Gaines, "the daughter of one of the most prominent citizens of St. Louis, Capt. Albert J. Evans." The defendent is Col. William P. Gaines of Austin, part owner of the Austin Statesman. Their marriage at St. George's Church in SL, 1883 "was a great social event."

"The fight is for the possession of a little daughter. When the couple separated Mrs. Gaines came to the home of her parents, bringing her little four-year-old daughter with her. Col. Gaines followed and abducted the child under sensational circumstances. The mother employed detectives and soon located the little one in Austin. For eighteen months, the mother made continuous, but fruitless, efforts to get the child, making three trips to Texas for the purpose. Then she resolved to do as her husband had done - steal the girl. She was assissted by her father in making all arrangements. She dressed herself as a school girl and went to Austin, and soon discovered that Col. Gaines, who traveled about considerably, always took the child and a nurse with him.

"She followed the about, and finally her opportunity came in Houston. She drove in a closed carriage to where the child was at play, seized it, and drove to a landing on a bayou that runs into Galveston Bay. Her father, Capt. Ebvans, had a tug waiting, and they boarded it. They were caught in a storm on the bay, and after a rough experience were forced to abandon all hope of reaching Galveston, and put in at a point where the Southern Pacific Railroad could be easily reached. Meanwhile her husband, with a posse of rangers, had started in pursuit, and at the railroad station overtook the abductors. The little girl was disguised in boy's clothes, but the Sheriff insisted on making an examination. The mother, revolver in hand, said she would kill him if he touched the child. Then one of the posse of rangers, shotgun in hand, came to the front and said:

"I will never assist in taking a child from its mother, Madame. I will be your escort to the Louisiana State line."

"He kept his word, and they got away. All this and much more will be brought out during the trial." [New York Times, October 19, 1891]

WILLIAM BAXTER PENDLETON GAINES (1808 -1891)

2011-05-01T04:43:00.000-05:00

While doing some research in an old Galveston newspaper, I came across the mention of William Baxter Pendleton Gaines. I knew the surname from our family tree, and also knew that one of OUR Gaines had married a Pendleton, so I did some further research. It seems this William Gaines is our 3rd cousin (twice), with our common ancester being Richard Gaines (1670 VA-1755 VA) and Henry Pendleton (1683 VA-1721 VA).

The following biography was taken from The Handbook of Texas.

William Baxter Pendleton Gaines, planter and legislator, was born on September 17, 1808, in Abbeville, South Carolina, son of Benjamin P. and Elizabeth (Ware) Gaines. He taught school in Marengo County, Alabama, until 1832 when he became a merchant in Demopolis, Alabama. He was approached to enter into a business arrangement in Texas, and on August 6, 1835, he established himself in Nacogdoches. By October 1835 Gaines was a wealthy man.

He contributed money to the Texas Revolution and served as an officer in the volunteer force from Nacogdoches under Gen. Thomas Rusk that marched to reinforce the siege of Bexar. Gaines acted as a commissary and quartermaster. After the army reorganized, Gaines returned to Nacogdoches to serve as deputy paymaster general of the Texas Army.

Gaines left the army to pursue other opportunities and lived in Galveston while studying law under John B. Jones. He was admitted to the bar in 1840. In 1842 he moved to Brazoria County with a large number of slaves and began a cotton and sugar plantation. By 1860 Gaines had 47 slaves working on his plantation.

In 1846 he joined the United States Army to fight the Mexican War. He fought with distinction during the battle of Monterey and was awarded a sword for gallantry.

In 1850 Gaines married Eugenia Gratia Harris of Charlotte, North Carolina. They had five children. Gaines and his family were devoted Presbyterians.

Gaines, a Democrat, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1855 for Brazoria and Fort Bend counties. When Texas chose to secede from the United States, Gaines strongly supported the decision, and when the Civil War broke out, he left his plantation to join the Confederate army. Despite his age he was elected colonel of the second Regiment of the Sixteenth State Militia Brigade August 31, 1861.

After the war Gaines continued to run his plantation until 1868 when he leased his land and began to buy and sell cotton to Calvert and Galveston. In September 1872 Gaines retired from business and moved to Austin to live with his son, William P. Gaines. William B.P. Gaines died in 1891.”

Source: The Handbook of Texas Online http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/GG/fgshk.html

Article written by Stephanie P. Niemeyer.
------------------------------------------

Our Common Ancestry

William Baxter Pendleton Gaines (1808-1891), was the son of
Dr. Benjmin Pendleton Gaines (1772-1814), who was the son of
James Gaines III (1739-1788), who was the son of
James Gaines II (1710-1786), who was the son of
Richard Gaines (1670-1755)

Andre' Hutt Newton Jr. (1917-1997), was the son of
Andre' Hutt Newton Sr. (1873-1944), who was the son of

Mollie Hutt Newton (1851-1922), who was the daughter of

Francisa Elizabeth Gaines Hutt (1823-1903), who was the daughter of

Herbert P. Gaines (1785-1849), who was the son of

Rowland Gaines (1758-1805), who was the son of

Richard Gaines (ca1728-1804), who was the son of

William Henry Gaines (1705-1796), who was the son of

Richard Gaines (1670-1755)

Telegraphic Memoirs by Jeremiah L. Newton, 1905

2011-03-09T02:53:00.000-06:00

MY FIRST POSITION AND EXPERIENCE WITH MESSENGER BOYS

[Published in the San Antonio Daily Light, Sunday, April 23, 1905]

by Jerry Newton, 142 West Commerce Street, San Antonio, Texas.

[Jerry Newton was the son of John C. Newton and Elizabeth Snyder. He lived from 1846-1917, serving in the Union army during the Civil War, and running telegraph offices in Houston and San Antonio. He worked in other offices in other cities, but I have not tracked them down as yet. He also published some books of poetry in his latter years. He was married twice (that I know of) and appears to have had several children who seem to have all died young. In this article he mentions a diary that he kept for all his working life. What a treat it would be to have a copy of that diary!]

Next messenger out number 147. Then there was commotion in the neighborhood of the long settee used for seating messengers in the Telegraph office.

Thirty-seven years ago, at a time when young men were seeking positions which were not plentiful in those days, owing to the vicissitudes and very material changes in conditions, brought about by a long devastating war between the states, goaded by a keen desire to become a telegraph man, and also by necessities naturally surrounding a young man left entirely alone, without funds, education or influence, I sallied forth to meet the fortuitous fates, be they generous or cruel. During my peregrinations in search of employment I turned up in a town in southeastern Missouri. While strolling listlessly down the main street of the town, looking from side to side at the different signs, plain and gaudy, my attention was attracted by a small unpretentious sign with blue background and white letters "W. U. T. Co." At that time I was not at all familiar with telegraph signs, or any other kind as for that, and the one referred to was indeed obscure, remote and quite an enigma to me. I stood mutely gazing at the sign oblivious to surroundings in my effort to decipher the letters. A "good morning, young man," from a passing gentleman dispelled my reverie. I responded to his salute and with but little delay or hesitation asked him if he could tell me what the letters "W. U. T. Co." were intended to convey. He very generously gave me the desired information, and after some little talk passed on.

I gazed with fickle courage up the long flight of grimy stairs in front of which the sign was suspended by two small wires. These steps were the only means of reaching the second floor of a rickety old frame building. A chilly rigor seized me which it took some moments to shake off. Finally that hope which springs eternal, chastised me for my timidity and lack of confidence. Necessity goaded me and bade me be brave. Encouraging fancies of honor, and of fame I might achieve by becoming an expert telegrapher smote my timidity, and partially dissipated my doubts and misgivings.

With slow step I ascended the time-worn stairway with a certain degree of fear and dread. Reaching the second floor I steadied myself by leaning against a stair post, took a few deep long inhalations of fresh air, and began surveying the surroundings. At the far, or back, end of a long unkempt hall I beheld a smaller sign than the one I had seen at the street entrance, which bore the same insignia. I walked leisurely down the hall, endeavoring to compose myself, until I reached the entrance of what I afterwards learned was the receiving room. With some difficulty I partially assumed an air of confidence and unconcern, and walked in. There was a crude counter which reached entirely across one end of a long room, dimly lighted by four old-fashioned windows, bedaubed with grime and festooned with numerous cob-webs and spider nets. At one end of the counter there was an opening for the ingress and egress of the office force. This apperture [sic] was closed with a shutter made of crude ungainly lumber with a conspicuous placard tacked thereon which bore the legend "Private, Keep Out."

Everyone in the office seemed to be busy. As I had noiselessly entered I had not, apparently[,] attracted the attention of anyone. After taking a hurried glance at the surroundings I stepped up to the counter and gave the accustomed rap to attract attention, when a weezled-faced, dapper youth observed my presence and came forward to the counter. With what I considered a haughty air he asked what he could do for me. I sized him up as being the president, or some high official, of the company, judging from the lofty attitude he assumed. As I look back through the vista of years fancy pictures the humilated and embarrassed aspect I presented when I meekly informed him that I was in search of employment.

Almost before I had finished making my mission known he with much indifference, replied: "We do not need anyone at present." He doubtless observed the depression his reply caused me, and his chilly mien seemed tempered with a spark of sympathy. When I started to retrace my steps he called me back and inquired if I had had any experience in the telegraph business. I sorrowfully admitted that it had not been my good fortune to have had an opportunity to enjoy advantages or to obtain knowledge in that line, and added that I was
more than anxious and ready to do anything legitimate, or any kind of work which would enable me to obtain necessaries adequate to maintaining myself until I could by faithful application become familiar with the business, the intricacies of which I had a great desire to master.

My straight forward talk seemed to impress him favorably. He excused himself a moment and walked over to a desk at which an elderly gentleman sat; returning he invited me to come inside, at the same time asking my name, and pointing to the opening at the end of the counter. I readily accepted his invitation, feeling elated even to get a view of the operating department that I might get a glimpse of the machinery and strange devices peculiar to a business which I had been informed were dependent upon lightning for operation. He conducted me to where the elderly gentleman sat at an old-fashioned rather dilapidated desk and introduced me to Mr. Hartwell, adding that "Mr. Hartwell is our superintendent."

I was received cordially by the superintendent, his courteous, dignified manner was indicative of the true polished man of affairs. He motioned me to an old split bottomed chair with the words "be seated." I briefly made my mission known to him. His every word was tempered with kindness. A moment in his presence made me feel entirely at home. I began at once to take courage. The ordeal changed and became pleasant instead of burdensome. He asked me if I was willing to clean battery, sweep office and assist in the delivery of telegrams. I could hardly wait for him to complete his remarks, but I remembered the golden teachings of a devout mother and suppressed my inclinations to talk until he had finished, at which time my answer came quickly, "Yes, sir, and I will devote my entire abilities and energies to fullfllling, my obligations, my adherance to business will convince you that I am as anxious to work as I am to get the chance to do so."

He asked me if I could read and write reasonably well. I told him I could do both fairly well, and felt assured that in a short time I would improve very perceptibly. "I think you will suit me," was his cheering response. He then gave me the most pleasing surprise of my life, before or since it was my pleasure and good fortune to meet him, by remarking: "Commencing tomorrow, December 1, your salary will be forty dollars per month. You may report for duty tomorrow morning, and your number will be 147."

Forty dollars per month, shades of Moses! I could hardly believe my hearing apparatus had served me correctly. Forty dollars per month continued to ring in my ears; visions of all kinds of money of large and small denominations floated before my fancy's gaze. My chalice was filled to overflowing with the nectar of joy. I was enthused beyond expression, yea, was very happy. I managed to suppress the choking sensation in my throat and thanked the dear old gentleman profoundly and profusely, at the same time stepping to his desk. I grasped his soft white hand and repeated my thanks again and again.

I stood riveted to the spot, swayed by those blissful emotions that produce inexplicable joy, when smiles and tears mingle, as messengers from a heart full of unadulterated gratitude. An effort to suppress my emotions and tears was fruitless. The supreme felicity offered me knew no bounds. The dear old man's heart was also touched and he spoke words of sweet sympathy and encouragement which I have ever cherished with fondest recollections. It has ever been a sweet morsel for memory to feed upon, when flitting back to the time I secured my first position.

I ever afterwards entertained a high regard and deep respect for the good old man, which began at the incipiency of our acquaintance and ripened into that affectionate esteem which insures devotion and loyalty, especially to a benefactor who has bestowed friendship in the hour of dire need. My admiration for, and fealty to him continued until his demise in 1885. Peace to his ashes. Affectionate memories linger 'round his tomb and I shall ever revere and reverence his name, and cherish with fondest recollections the manifold bestowals of his generosity and kindness.

Buoyant and highly elated, early on the morning of December 1, I reported for duty, filled with emotions born of happy surroundings and a heart at ease, such a status yields a good harvest in any undertaking or cause espoused. I assisted my predecessor in the janitor work and was shown the different duties I was expected to perform. Divinely happy, nothing seemed impossible or improbable to me. The old German gentleman whom I relieved had been promoted to a position which he thought would suit him better, at a small advance in salary, and on the morning of the following day departed with a light heart for his new post.

Only a few weeks elapsed before the good hearted superintendent accorded me the privilege of learning the art of telegraphy, at which advantage I gladly availed myself. My every spare moment was devoted to that end.

Three months after I accepted the position as battery-man, janitor and assistant messenger I was placed in charge of the delivery department of the main office, and through my hands passed every message for delivery that came into the office from distant points. I was in charge of the entire messenger force, composed of boys ranging from 12 to 16 years of age; hence March 1st, 1868, marked the day when my real experience with messengers commenced.

I was comparatively new in the business, which fact the boys soon detected and readily took advantage of. Many were the tricks they played at my expense, pecuniarly and otherwise. It was not long, however, before the tide changed. I complained to the manager that I could do nothing with the messenger force unless I had absolute control of them, and asked him to clothe me with authority to discharge and employ at will, or when the interest of the service demanded it. This request he readily granted and when the boys found I was boss in fact there was a great change for the better. This gave me leverage and I soon had them in line.

In eight months after I accepted my first position I had mastered the art of telegraphy sufficiently to enable me to take charge of a small office, when I was made manager. I began to feel somewhat important, but endeavored to suppress any undue egotism. I had some attractive cards printed with my business thereon and imagined they were the prettiest cards that ever passed through a printing machine.

The office to which I had been assigned as manager afforded only one messenger, who received the munificent sum of $4 per month with the privilege of learning the business which he accomplished in a remarkably short time, and finally developed into one of the most expert operators.

It was not until I assumed charge of the delivery department in a large office that my interesting experience with the different types of the messenger boy began. There were 48 messengers employed in the office referred to, and they were as tough as the toughest specimens, I imagined; and I am still of the same opinion.

Since 1868, by actual count, kept in my diary, I have handled, employed, discharged and had to resign 17,489 messengers, hence have had ample opportunity to thoroughly study the natures of this especial wing of the human race; my experience has run the gamut, so to speak, and has indeed been varied, interesting, disgusting, serious, pathetic and mirthful. Patience and firmness has contributed largely to my success in handling boys.

It has been my fortune or misfortune to deal with types from all nationalities, save a few of the most remote, illiterate and heathenish. I am constrained to say, without reflection, intended or otherwise apparent that the German boy, as a rule, has proven himself the most tractable, devoted and trustworthy: that is the composition of a German boy seems more adapted to the needs essential for a long hard pull, where constant untiring devotion to business is required.

It is an incontrovertable fact that a large percentage of messenger boys have abnormal appetites. In this assertion, I dare say, merchants who handle pecans, peanuts, sweet potatoes, turnips, etc., will concur. The average messenger is ever on the alert for something with which to appease a gnawing hunger that seems to be innate, whether real or imaginary. Raw sweet potatoes and raw turnips may strike my readers as being an unwholesome, unsavory morsel, but to the palate of the messenger boy they are absolute ticklers.

During my thirty-seven consecutive years of service with a large telegraph company, I filled every position from janitor to manager; opportunities afforded me to observe human nature closely, in its many different phases have been abundant. Many years ago I had in my employ a delivery clerk in the person of a young lady, possessed of a high strung nervous temperment, she was indeed an esthetic little soul, in her general makeup.

By way of enlightenment for my readers I will state that, a delivery clerk in a large telegraph office of considerable importance, has almost entire control of the messenger force. There is usually a row of chairs, or a long bench similar to those used for lawn settees, for the seating of the messenger force. When they are in the office alll must sit with hats off until summoned by the clerk to take out messages, or a route, as they term it. These chairs or benches are ordinarily just back of the delivery clerk's desk, and very near to that supposedly, amiable personage, who has a buzz or electric call bell connecting the messengers bench with her desk, with which to call a messenger when it is desired to send one out. The clerk touches the button and the next messenger out does the rest.

You will perceive from the above that the delivery clerk and messenger boys are very closely allied, which at times does not guarantee the most pleasant surroundings. Among the many serious and ludicrous happenings in connection with the messenger boy, there are some that provoke mirth which it is difficult to subdue, even though it be necessary to promote that dignity which will insure good discipline and hold the belligerent messenger boy in line. A laughable incident in connection with the young lady and the messenger force comes to mind.

On a very summer's day, some twenty years ago, when the zephyrs had almost ceased to waft cooling and refreshing draughts to dissolve the contaminated oxygen, the density of which was very oppressive, the young lady referred to rushed over to my desk and in a very agitated demeanor remarked that she could not stand that odor any longer. It required several seconds for me to get my faculties together, sufficiently to make a reply, when to my relief it occurred that perhaps it was the corpse of a dead rat whence came the obnoxious odor.

I ventured to make known my dead rat theory, at the same time entertaining misgivings as to the real cause, knowing the weakness of the average messenger boy. The young lady replied "No, sir, it is not the odor from a dead rat, it is even worse; it is a conglomeration of offensive smells, created and thrown off by those messengers.

I stammered and coughed a few times searching for an answer that would suit the embarrassed situation. Finally I said: Miss K- I will have each messenger take a bath and make it a rule that no messenger will be retained in the service who does not bathe at least every other day, and who will not agree to abstain from eating peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans and raw turnips, etc., while on duty. This seemed to satisfy the young lady and she returned to her desk when I heard her telling the boys of the new rule that was to be put in force.

The young lady that was, has now been married many years and has several messenger boys of her own. She tells me the experience she gained while handling telegraph messenger boys has proven very useful in the handling of her own.

When a new addition to the messenger force is employed he is quietly taken to some covert place and there coached by some member of the force who knows all the ropes. Among other things he is told that he must not go too swiftly when out delivering messages, if he does he will spoil the time killing arrangement that the older messengers have in vogue; also that many times he can with impunity ask for a dime or even more, when he delivers certain messages, but is warned that he must be d----d careful, if the old man (the manager)
catches on, you will catch h--l, and likely get fired, etc.

As previously stated, messengers have ravenous appetites, and will eat anything that is eatable. It may seem strange, and it may not be credited by some of my readers, but now and then it has been found that certain messengers are fond of smothered spring chicken, especially when surrounded with tempting condiments to add zest.

I remember having a call from a lady who resided on D street, in a certain city where I presided as manager, jointly, for a telegraph company that furnished messengers for all kinds of errands; the latter company delivered packages of all kinds charging a small fee for the service each trip.

The lady referred to, asked that a messenger be sent to a down town restaurant to bring to her residence a smothered spring chicken which she had ordered, adding that she was just convalescing from a serious protracted spell of sickness, and felt inclined to partake of such delicacies as might tempt her depressed and sluggish appetite. The restaurant proprietor happened to be a lady who was well acquainted with the lady just recovering from sickness, and in preparing the chicken sheo had been particular to give it her personal attention, adding all the tempting finishing touches she thought would appeal to the most rebellious appetite.

Messenger number 146, who was considered as good material as was had in stock was directed to call at the restaurant named for a package, to be taken to a lady on D street. A nicely wrapped and tied box containing the precious morsel was handed him with the injunction "Handle this package with care, it contains a smothered spring chicken for a sick lady."

When about half way on his mission the messenger began to feel a yearning to at least see the inside of the package. He soliloquized, "Spring Chicken. Gee it must be awful good." Goaded by morbid curiosity and that ever present desire in the messenger to eat, he dared to open the package; what he found in that box touched his fancies and must have temporarily dethroned his reason. Regardless of the after-clap his desire to taste that chicken could not be then subdued. He evidently relished the stolen sweets, as he consumed the best portion of the chicken, and the few remaining fragments he replaced in the box.

Before be had made his return the lady, although just out of a sick bed, called at the telegraph office and gave me a thorough tongue lambasting for keeping in my employ such villainously dishonest messengers. I begged of her to compose herself, assuring her that I would endeavor to remedy any loss she had sustained resulting from indiscretions or shortcomings on the part of any employe in the office I managed.

She continued: "It is an outrage on the public to give a boy employment who cannot be entrusted with a package containing a spring chicken. (The facts then dawned upon me.) When I opened the box containing the chicken, what do you suppose I found? Only a drum stick and part of a wing, and a small piece of toast remained."

I succeeded in smoothing the ruffled waters, by promising to send at once another spring chicken to her residence, and promised to send it by a boy who might not be afflicted with such an ungovernable and ravenous appetite, feeling at the same time I did not have one in my employ. The lady accepted this offer and departed.

The next thing was to interview and jack up the messenger. I stepped I stepped over to the delivery clerk's desk and told her to send messenger number 146 over to my desk when he came in. But few moments elapsed before number 146 reported and was told that I desired to see him. He came over to my desk with confusion and guilt depicted on his countenance. I asked him if he carried a package from a certain restaurant to a lady on D street. He became more visibly confused. I informed him of the lady's charge, which was that she claimed the package had been opened before it was delivered to her, and it appeared that all of the contents, a chicken, had been consumed save one leg and part of a wing.

He bitterly denied the lady's allegations and persisted in his innocence, endeavoring to arouse my sympathy with tears. Being so familiar with the tactics peculiar to the messenger boy, I went at him in another way. Well, I said, it is in order, if you are innocent, and I trust you are, to call on the lady and get a written statement from her that this package had not been opened when she received it.

He hung his head and was more non-plussed. I came to his relief by asking him which he had rather do, pay the cost of the chicken and the errand service a total of $1 or go back and see the lady. His answer came promptly: "I had rather pay the dollar."

[Edited by GMN, adding a few paragraphs to make reading a bit easier.]

Daddy's Trick by Grace Cornell Newton

2011-02-13T14:08:00.000-06:00

Mamma went to Galveston in 1907 to spend December through Christmas with her folks. Christmas Day fell on a Wednesday that year, so there was no "long weekend" for Daddy to come over and help celebrate. He had to stay in Beaumont on the job, and then take a quick trip by train on Christmas Eve, bringing his family back on Christmas night.

They Were staying at Mrs. Hearn's then, 219 Main St., a semi-family-light-housekeeping hotel typical of early Beaumont. Daddy kept very busy at work all day; but in the evening there was nothing to do, with his family gone, and the rooms seemed to close in on him.

Often after supper, which he sometimes ate at the Crosby House across from the S. P. station, he would wander around there aimlessly. That was where he had kissed his wife and little girl and baby boy goodbye early in December.

One Saturday night, "pay day", he was walking beside the tracks feeling lonely, his hands shoved into his pockets. He had been paid in bills, not the usual slver dollars, and had the roll gripped in one hand.

"Hand's up," a voice suddenly ordered him, and he snapped out of his reverie to find himself confronted by a tramp. His hands flew into the air and he stood quietly allowing the tramp to frisk him. Of course, his money was in his hand, only a few small coins, change from supper, remaining in his pocket.

"Sorry, buddy," presently the tramp apologized, patting him on the chest, "you're as bad off as I am."

And he shuffled away, leaving Daddy much relieved, and hightailing it back to Mrs. Hearn's.

Cast of characters:
Daddy: Andre Hutt Newton
Mamma: Matilda (nee Gruetzmacher) Newton
"Little Girl": Elizabeth Newton
"Baby Boy": Wilben Newton

Photos from the Archives

2011-02-11T23:39:00.001-06:00

Christopher and GMN, sometime before 1980.

Dad and Paul taking a nap, with Mary (in petticoats?) and Greg in a jumper!

Mary in the Rear View Mirror (Photo by GMN during his artsy-fartsy period)

Mary, just before guest-hosting 'This Old House'

Two and a Half Men, sometime in the 1980s

"Professor Andre'", Tom, Mary, and Greg at White Rock Lake. (undated)

I am mooved!

2011-02-05T00:02:00.000-06:00

I'm a little late announcing it, but I have moved! Brother Tom and Brother Paul, along with his sons Matt, Andrew, and Stephen all helped me transport tons of books and other clutter all the way down to Galveston. Actually, they did ALL the work. I supervised.

I've wanted to live down here since high school, and finally didn't have a good reason to NOT be here. I'm living in a 150 year-old house (not a level floor throughout!) whose 'biography' I just posted on my Galveston History Blog (See the link on the right-hand side.)

The house is in the old East End Historical District with all the painted ladies (houses, not hookers) up and down the block. I'm close to the Strand, the Rosenberg Library, and most everything else I need. I've got a corner grocery one block away, so I can walk down there for the newspaper most days. And I have a big front porch that I sit out on most every day, even when its rainin' and the sun don't shine.

It's a small, downstairs one-bedroom apartment. Not a lot of room, and I don't have a couch, yet. But guests are welcome, with some advance notice, and if'n you bring a sleepin' pad or something like that. Gimme a call to find out if there's anything interestin' happening. Ya' know, like Mardi Gras, or Dickens on the Strand, or the motorcycle rally! Or, we can just go down to the beach and look at the hot babes!

Letter From Aunt Clara Gruetzmacher to Elizabeth Newton, 1924

2011-01-18T00:22:00.000-06:00

Los Angeles, June 30th, 1924

My Dear Niece,

I received your card of June 14th. I am sure you must be a bright girl to graduate so young. I wish you the best of health, wealth and happiness, and a long and usefull life. for every thing will change for you. I can't form any ideor how you look as I have never seen your father and your mother, I think, a few years before she married, but she was pretty and her eyes were always so bright and beautifull. I look just like my [last ?] picture. Am amused to hear that you have it on display, but don't get the ideor that I am rich because I am in California. I am here for my health, that is I suffer with asthma, but not since I came here. So as I have to work. I of course like it. The climate suits me. I would like to be with my sisters and relatives but had to make my visit short last fall, on account of those awfull attacs I had while in S.A. [San Antonio?] and Galveston. I supose you have read and heard much about California. it truly is a land of sun shine, fruit and flowers. I hope you will some day take the trip. I have been here eight years, and in 1905 I came here and went back to Texas in 1907 but I had to come back. I will mail you some [postcard?] folders of California to day. I addresses a Sunday Times to you but was down town and I know I got your address wrong. So you might be on the look out for it. I put 1007 Oak st. No body home up stairs [Words in last sentence underlined!] I will close with love for you and the family.

from: Grand Aunt Clara [return address of 160 E. 49th St.]

By the way I lived in Beaumont six months, but that was long before the oil boom, lived on Liberty Ave. Was a saw mill town then.

160 East 49th Street, Los Angeles, CA (Built 1912, photo circa 2010.)

Timeline for Clara Gruetzmacher Lang McIntyre:

1857: born in Germany
1860: Navasota, Texas with parents.
1870: Galveston, Texas with mother.
1876: Marries Henry Lang in Galveston.
1877: Daughter Sarah Lang born.
1880: At Indianola with husband Lang.
1887-88: Builds two buildings in Galveston.
pre-1900: At Beaumont, Texas for 6 months.
1901: Daughter Sarah marries in Galveston.
1914: First appearance in San Francisco city directory as wife of Anthony McIntyre.
1921: Last appearance in San Francisco city directory as widow.
1924: Living in Los Angeles, letter with address of 160 E. 49th St.
1927: Los Angeles City Directory lists a Clara Lang (Miss California Womens Wear and Lang's Mlnry) residence at 803 S. New Hampshire Ave.
1932: Los Angeles City Directory lists a Clara T. Lang (Miss California) home at 1102 W. Sta Bar.
1936: Los Angeles City Directory lists a Mrs. Clara A. Lang res. at 902 W 9th, and Clara T. Lang (Miss California Shoppe) res 4231 Edgehill Dr.

1942: Los Angeles City Directory lists a Clara T. Lang res 4231 Edgehill Dr.

The Elopement, by Grace Newton

2011-01-17T17:21:00.000-06:00

THE ELOPEMENT

by Grace Cornell Newton, Sept. 30, 1978

[Commentary by Greg Newton are enclosed within brackets]

Mattie as a young girl, 13 years?

Mattie Gruetzmacher, clerk at Nat Jacobs' Dept. Store in Galveston, and the good-looking floor walker, Hutt Newton were going to be married this evening, September 15, 1903, a Tuesday. Both had already resigned from their jobs. Excitement must have fluttered in their hearts as the workday drew to a close.

Augusta Gruetzmacher had always opposed any talk of marriage. Not that she had anything against the likable fellow from Little Rock; she just dod not want her second daughter to leave home. Mattie was a dependable, efficient person, and Grandma leaned on her. This daughter, a bright scholar, quit school when she was thirteen to help with the cooking and housework. At seventeen she got herself a good job at Mrs. Houlihan's embroidery shop, but after work she still cared for the younger brothers; and she also brought her salary home to add it to the waning family income. In the chaotic days following the 1900 storm, she found a better paying job in the big department store. And when little Arthur came down with a raging fever, it was Mattie who went to the John Sealy Hospital on her way to work to chalk a note on the appointment slate requesting a visit of a doctor.

Nat Jacobs' Department Store, circa 1900.
"Jerry says Mamma is with the group of sales-ladies on balcony"

In spite of Dr. Ruhl's attendance the child died, of scarlet fever.[In the aftermath of the storm contagious diseases were epidemic, and diptheria claimed another brother, Eddie, before a year had passed. [Grace evidentually mis-remembered these events, as Arthur was born March 1896 and, according to his death record, died January 20, 1905, aged 9 years, of diptheria. Eddie, who was born in March of 1893, died November 15, 1900 of "Malignant Scarletina" or malignant scarlet fever, according to his death certificate.]

Each time tragedy struck Grandma looked to her daughter for help. And Mattie pushed the thought of Marriage aside. Especially since her father seemed to be settling into a deep depression. He had lost his private printing business to the storm when his press fell through the upper floor of the two story building on Mechanic St. [Paul Gruetzmacher's printing business was actually on the second floor of the 4-story Clara Lang Building at 2109 Strand.] Unable to start anew, he was forced to go to work for another print shop.

The Gruetzmacher home at 1910 Avenue N.

Meanwhile the floor walker's patience was running out. He told Mattie in effect, " If you love me, leave them." Mattie agreed and the date was set. They decided on elopement as the least painful method of breaking the family ties. The night before she unobstrusively packed a suitcase of essentials. And next morning wore an outfit suitable for traveling. All that day long whenever their eyes met, silent messages of promise and reassurance must have passed between the two "conspirators".

When Mattie came home from work, she took off her hat and tied on an apron as usual to help her mother get supper on the table. Then she slipped upstairs to freshen up. As the family sat around the big table in the dining room, they did not notice Mattie, suitcase in hand, pass swiftly through the hall and quietly let herself out the front door.

The Old Mule Drawn Trolley

At the corner she met her lover and to-gether they boarded a "trolly-car", (actually the old mule-drawn car reactivated since the storm.) and rode to the train station. At 7:00 P.M. they sttod in old St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Fannin and Orleans in Beaumont exchanging their marriage vows.

Helen Dubinski, Expert Marcelling, Permanet Waving, and Haircutting

2010-12-30T15:14:00.000-06:00

Brother Tom found this flyer in some of mom's archives. I find the item curious, what with Helen's last name being spelt differently from the way mom taught us chillins. It could simply be a case of the typesetter spelling the name phonetically. I do know that Helen's uncle Daniel used the Dubinski spelling instead of the Dziubinski version.

Clara Gruetzmacher Lang, Real Estate Investor

2010-12-18T10:22:00.000-06:00

I just found an interesting bit of information about Clara Gruetzmacher (1857-1930s), daughter of Louis and Matilda. She married Henry Lang in 1876, but he died fairly young. They were living in Indianola during the 1880 census. She eventually moved to California, remarried there and died there sometime in the 1930s.

It seems that after the Great Fire of 1877, she constructed what became known as the Clara Lang Building, at 2109 Strand. This building was designed by the architect, John Moser, to be four stories tall and made from pressed brick and artificial stone trim. The building is clad in one of the legendary cast-iron storefronts that Galveston is famous for. The 1900 Storm destroyed the upper floors, which were removed, leaving the building as a two story building, still standing.

As mentioned in an earlier post, the address of 2109 Strand was also the home of Ritter's Restaurant and Saloon, and on the 2nd floor, the printing offices of Clara's older brother Paul Gruetzmacher (1852-1905).

William Ritter, the owner of the saloon, lived at 1814 21st St., which was adjacent to the home of Mattie Gruetzmacher Hubner (1859-1949), Clara and Paul's little sister. This can only suggest that the Gruetzmacher and Ritter families were close friends. Certainly, the German community in Galveston was a close-knit group, but perhaps this relationship was even closer.

Perhaps these families were related. I haven't any proof of that. Ritter's wife is only known to me at this time by her first name, Margaret. In the 1900 census, his wife was named Elizabeth, which may be the same woman as Margaret, or perhaps a second wife. This Elizabeth drowned in the 1900 Storm, and Ritter married again (for the 2nd or 3rd time) in 1902. Perhaps Ritter's wife Margaret (or Elizabeth) was a Gruetzmacher. Much more research will need to be done.

It is still unknown to me at this time how long Clara Gruetzmacher Lang owned her building. Some references suggest other buildings owned by her. I will eventually check the early Galveston deed records for additional facts about her investments.

Fresh Bread

2010-09-22T12:05:00.000-05:00

For the past several days I have been reading various rememberances of bread. All about the feel, the look and the taste of Wonder Bread, and all its gooey-gummy homage to American middle-class mediocrity. And also about the fresh bread pavilions in your neighborhood Kroger's or HEB, what with its attempts to provide "artisan" bakery goods for the modern family. And while these bakeries provide accessible breads for the hard-pressed Ozzie and Harriet, they seldom match the tastes of the neighborhood Daniel's Bakery of my youth.

Daniel's Bakery was a small family-run operation that provided Dad his occasional indulgence of pumpernickle bread. Oh, they made more then that! Donuts, and pasteries, French baguettes and Italian loafs, sourdoughs and ryes. But pumpernickle was Dad's favorite, and mine.

I remember him usually bringing home two loafs at a time, wrapped in a plain brown bag. One loaf went on top of the refrigerator, while the other went on the cutting board. Mom or Dad would slice into that heavy brown bread with the utilitarian, one-size-fits-all, kitchen knife. While there may have been other knives in the house, I can only remember the wooden-handled smooth-edged with a 8 or 9 inch blade. It once was a good inch thick at the butt, but has, the last time I saw it, almost the look of a filet knife, narrowed down by years of sharpening.

But I digress.

After the pumpernickle had been sliced, Dad would slather a gob of butter (though probably margarine on our budget) across the small butt-end piece, which was, in his eyes, the filet mignon. While the heel was to most the least desired piece, a throw-away scrap to some, it was Dad's preferred slice. It's not like he was taking the heel because he was saving the rest for the family. I'd don't remember there being much interest in the bread amongst us kids, at least not until later. I think he actually liked the crunchy chewy texture of the heel, much like a good Chibatta-style loaf.

I don't remember the bread being used any other way. I don't think Mom or Dad ever schmeared jam or preserves on a slice. I never saw them toast a piece. My memory was of the bread, and butter. That's it. A slice of pumpernickle, cut off one piece at a time, and a pat of butter. Plain and simple.

As I grew up, after Mom had died, Dad would share his pumpernickle with me. Whether I liked it for itself, or was simply hungry (which I always was), I don't know. Maybe it was the desire to break bread with the Old Man, a chance to sit quietly with Dad and talk, during a period when all our lives were topsy-turvy. For whatever reason, I liked, and still do like, that thick bread made with rye and white flour, suffused with cocoa and molasses, and spiced with caraway seeds.

The smell and taste of a good slice of pumpernickle, slathered with a dollop of real butter, recalls the Old Man, and a calm point in our everyday lives, a time for reflection and a time for planning the day or week ahead.

I think I know what I'm having for dinner...

Clara Gruetzmacher (1857-1930s)

2010-09-14T16:41:00.001-05:00

Clara Gruetzmacher was born about 1857 in Prussia to Louis Gruetzmacher and Matilda Schuler. She arrived in Galveston aboard the ship "Fortuna" out of Bremen, in either June or November of 1858 with her mother and 3 siblings.

On the 1860 census, she is found with her parents at Hollandale (renamed Navasota), Grimes Co., Texas, about 3 years old.

In the 1870 census, Clara is aged 13 and living with her mother Matilda and her siblings at Galveston, probably at 324 Market Street, which I think was between 18th and 19th Streets.

On April 24, 1876 in Galveston, Clara married Henry Lang, who was born about 1848 in Galveston to John Lang (1807-1859) and Christiana Ungerer (or Ongerry) (1823-1867). John and Christiana Land are both buried in Indianola

It is interesting to speculate how these two people met. Henry was most likely living in Indianola before 1860, which would be before the Gruetzmacher's had even moved to Galveston. Had he met her when he came to Galveston on business? Or did he have family still in Galveston, and they met through those relations?

Around 1877 Clara and Henry had a child, Sarah M. Lang. Her birth location is unknown at this time.

In the 1880 United States Census for Indianola, Calhoun Co., Texas (Page Number 303D), we find that Clara, her husband, and child:
Henry M. LANG Self M Male W 31 TX. Bookkeeper GER. GER.
Clara A. LANG Wife M Female W 23 GER. Keeps House GER. GER.
Sarah M. LANG Dau S Female W 3 TX. TX. GER.

The 1890 US census was destroyed by a fire, so there are no record of this family in this time period.

In 1875, the city of Indianola, located on Matagorda Bay, was then the county seat of Calhoun Co., and had a population of 5,000. On September 15 of that year, a powerful hurricane struck, killing between 150 and 300 and almost entirely destroying the town. Indianola was rebuilt, only to be wiped out on August 19, 1886, by another intense hurricane, which was followed by a fire.

It is currently unknown to me when and where Henry Lang died, but it must have been sometime between 1880 and early 1900's.

I have found no record of Henry and Clara Lang in the 1900 census. It is unknown if Henry Lang was even alive then. Neither Clara or Henry are listed in the lists of the dead from the 1900 Galveston Storm. Where Clara (and Henry, if still alive) were living from the destruction of Indianola in 1886 to 1901.

On September 4, 1901 in Galveston, Texas, Sadie Mathilde Lang, the daughter of Clara and Henry, married Oscar Andrew Tryon of Crockett, Texas. Family tradition says that she died in childbirth. She was certainly dead before June of 1909 when her husband remarried.

Oscar Tryon married for the second time on June 17, 1909 to Viola B. Bilger, in Chicago, Illinois. His occupation in 1911 and 1913 was listed as a "Telegraph Operator" and in 1915 as a "Test Board Man", whatever that is. They had several children.

Grace Newton told me that Clara died in San Francisco in 1924 or 1930. I believe Grace was mistaken as to the location, as a letter exists from Clara living in Los Angeles. I have not been able to verify her death date, as yet.

F. Missler, Bremen Wallet

2010-09-11T17:26:00.000-05:00

Several years ago I purchased a ticket and document wallet given by the F. Missler company of Bremen and Galveston to one of his emigrant clients. While this item never belonged to one of out Gruetzmacher's, I suppose there is a chance that they might have received one similar to this.

Freidrich Missler was the biggest ticket agent in Bremen, and shipped emigrants out from Germany to Canada, the U.S., South America, and South Africa in the late 1800's and early 1900's.

He usually gave emigrants a small cloth folding ticket and document wallet to hold their ticket and other papers. That wallet has a picture of a steamship on the front (see the picture above), and the name "F. Missler" in large letters. On the back of the wallet his Galveston address at 210-212 21st Street, around the corner from The Strand.

The picture above is taken from another wallet similar to mine, only mine is rather dirty and doesn't photograph very well.

Gruetzmacher Print Shop on the Strand

2010-08-17T14:32:00.000-05:00

Frank Heizer sent me the photograph below showing Ritter's Saloon and Cafe immediately after the 1900 Galveston Storm. His e-mail got my juices flowing, and I did a little research into the family legend that it was the Gruetzmacher's printing presses that crashed through the ceiling into Ritter's Cafe, killing several customers.

First off, I checked my records for the location of Paul Gruetzmacher's shop, finding it located at 2109 Strand (on the 2nd floor), circa 1896, which was the last confirmed date I have. After that date, Paul is mentioned in the city directories as a printer, but gives no business address.

I was able to confirm with the Rosenberg Library that Ritter's was also located at 2109 Strand, and not on Mechanic street, as had been stated in at least one report. According to the Sanborn Insurance maps for 1899 Galveston, the address of 2109 Strand was assigned to the second building from 21st street, on the south side. In the photo below, this is the 4-story dark-colored building with the large pile of wreckage in front. The top floors were blown away by the 100-120 mph hurricane winds. This building is still standing, and is the (now) two-story building painted green (Newton Green!) in the modern photo, above.

To give you an idea of where this building is, it is located across and down the street from The Old Strand Emporium, which has been a fixture on the street for at least the last 35 years.

So, now we know that it may have indeed been Paul Gruetzmacher's printing presses that fell through the ceiling of Ritter's Cafe the afternoon of the storm, resulting in the first fatalities of the deadly hurricane. One first-hand report had called it "a strongly-built brick building, which was thought to be very safe" As the wind increased in velocity, "a blast of wind tore the roof from the building, collapsing the ceiling onto the ground-floor dining room. Desks, chairs and presses from the printing shop on the second floor crashed onto the diners."

One of these days, I will pore through the daily Galveston newspapers just prior to the Storm to see if I can find any mention of Paul Gruetzmacher's shop being open. I think there is a good possibility that the presses on the 2nd floor at 2109 Strand were indeed Paul's.

Gruetzmacher Homestead

2010-07-29T23:32:00.000-05:00

This is a recent photograph of 1910 Avenue N in Galveston, Texas. According to the realtors, the building was built in 1886. Which is just about the time the Gruetzmacher family lived there, so I suspect they were the original builder/owners. The family lived there during the 1900 Storm, when Papa Gruetzmacher drilled holes into the floor to allow water to rise into the house rather than the water raising the house off its foundations. The high water essentially 'anchored' the house in place, while so many of their neighbors houses were swept away by the flood tide.

The house, which is currently a multi-apartment house, was listed for sale this summer for over $165,000. The listing says the house is 4,915-square feet. A 1-bedroom, 1-bath, 700-square foot downstairs apartment, with window air, is currently available for $400.00 a month. Fresh paint and quiet neighbors!

Market Street, Galveston, circa 1910

2010-07-29T17:07:00.000-05:00

(click for larger view)

Postcard view of Market Street in Galveston, circa 1910. Notice that Purdy's Book Store, which used to house Louis Gruetzmacher and Bro., Printing, is on the right side of the street.

Andy [Story 1]

2010-07-17T23:14:00.000-05:00

At the Jennifer/Adam wedding this evening Christopher passed along a story that I had never heard of (or dis-remember).

It seems Andy was on the road with a traveling sideshow-type outfit. Apparently this was before the war, but when exactly is a guess. I am unaware that dad was ever part of a traveling sideshow.

The sideshow would travel from town-to-town by train and featured a boxer who would take on all comers. Some sort of betting was going on, with the boxers 'backers' taking bets against the townie's brawlers.

Each time a local champion got into the ring, the traveling pugilist would give him a knuckle sammich. And each time the odds tilted more in the 'ringer's' favor. Eventually, a stranger would climb into the ring and the bets were made, with the townfolk laying down their money that the traveling pro would be the winner.

The fight would commence, and while the pro put up a valiant effort, the stranger ended up the winner and the townies ending up the losers, money-wise. Seems the stranger was part of the sideshow troupe, and was let off the train before the town limits. He would walk into town, hours after the troupe had arrived, and the locals never figured him as part of the sideshow gang.

Night after night, town after town, the stranger would always beat the pro, and the sideshow would end up with the local gamblers money, having conned them with the fixed fight.

Augusta Gruetzmacher

2010-07-11T06:17:00.000-05:00

Augusta Gruetzmacher was born about June, 1888 in [probably Galveston,] Texas, to Paul Gruetzmacher and Augusta Altmann. [Data from the 1900 census.]

Augusta Gruetzmacher was confirmed at the German Lutheran Church, corner of Winnie and 24th sts. Palm Sunday. --The Galveston Daily News, March 29, 1896.

In the June 7, 1900 Galveston census, she is living with her parents and siblings at 1910 Avenue N.

"Miss Augusta" is listed in the 1901-02 Galveston City Directory, living at 1910 Avenue N. This is the only time she gets a listing as a Gruetzmacher. Perhaps she is later listed under her husbands surname.

Family tradition says she married Bob Marquette and had two children, Robert and Blanche. I have found nothing more about this family. Augusta supposedly died in 1926.

Antoinette Gruetzmacher

2010-07-11T02:54:00.000-05:00

Antoinette Gruetzmacher was born September 28, 1854 in Germany (Hamburg, Havelburg Province, Prussia, by tradition), the daughter of Louis Gruetzmacher and Mathilda Schuler, according to her death certificate.

In the 1870 census she is listed, as Anna, age 15, with her parents and siblings in Galveston.

She is listed in the June 1, 1880 census, as Antonette, age 25, with her mother and siblings at 75 W. Winnie Street in Galveston.

In the Galveston City Directory for 1888-89, "Miss Antonia", while living with Matilda Gruetzmacher, her mother, and is working as a dressmaker for E. D. Garratt & Co.

In the next edition of 1890-91, she is listed as a seamstress, and is again living with her mother at 71 Winnie.

Antonia's last listings in the City Directory comes in the 1891-92 and 1893-94 editions, living at 2619 Winnie, which I believe was her mothers home before her death.

Antonia married Alfred Olson in Galveston on April 19, 1893.

Alfred had previously been married (August 17, 1886) to Anna Bolliman (b. ca 1862; d. December 24, 1890), and they had two children: Ida Celeste Olson (b. November 19, 1887; d. December 6, 1933); and Arthur Alfred Olson (b. January 6, 1890; d. December 17, 1939).

Antoinette and Arthur had only one child together, Olga Anita Olson, born November 19, 1894, in Galveston. Olga died April 18, 1966.

Antoinette is listed in the 1900 census with her husband Alfred (a grocer), and children Celeste, Arthur, and Olga.

Antonia Gruetzmacher Olson, age 87, died November 21, 1941 at John Sealy Hospital after fracturing her hip 5 days earlier. She had fallen on the floor of her home at 1901 27th Street, Galveston. She was buried at Evergreen Cemetery on Novemeber 22, 1941. [Info from death certificate.]

Paul Gruetzmacher

2010-07-10T13:23:00.000-05:00

Paul Gruetzmacher at age 32 in 1888.

Paul Gruetzmacher was born in Germany around November of 1852, to Louis Gruetzmacher and Matilda Schuler. His burial certificate states he was born in Havelberg. He arrived in Galveston after June of 1858 with his mother and 3 siblings on board the ship "Fortuna" from Germany.

Paul is listed in the 1860 census with his parents at Hallendale in Grimes County, Texas. I have found no information about Hallendale.

By the 1870 census, with his father Louis having died of disease in the Civil War, his mother had moved the family to Galveston.

In the 1872 and 1874 Galveston City Directories, Paul is listed as living with his mother at 324 E. Market Street. By 1876 they are located at the corner of 19th Street and M 1/2.

From 1872 through about 1878 he is employed with (or quite possibly in partnership with) A. Stein & Co. A picture of this partnerships streetfront operation exists in Grace Newton's scrapbooks. The photographs shows a signboard reading "Paul Gruetzmacher & Co." directly above a sign for "A. Stein and Co." Grace's notes place the print shop on Mechanic, above the stationers.

From this information, I suspect that the photograph above was taken from 1872 to 1878, when Paul was partners with Stein. I believe Aunt Grace was in error as to the location, as the city directories never locate Paul's (or Louis') print shops on Mechanic.

In researching the location, I dug out my copy of "The Galveston That Was" by Howard Barnstone (1966), and found the picture above (and several more) of the "Willard Richardson Building" that was built in 1858. Located at 2217 Market Street, it was demolished around 1964. Upon close comparison of architectural details, especially the windows, I believe that this building was in fact the true location of Paul's first print shop in Galveston.

The building later was utilized by a series of bookstore's, first as Bacon's (with a job printer as co-tenant), next as Purdy's, from 1909 until 1930, and lastly as Henry's Bookstore from 1945 to 1963.

Barnstone describes the building as "One of the most luscious of the iron fronts to be built anywhere...." The iron front for Richardson's building came from the Philadelphia foundry owned by Sanson & Farrand.

Around 1876 Paul married Augusta Altmann, the daughter of William Altmann and Augusta Needemann.

In the June 5, 1880 census, Paul and his family consists of his wife Augusta, and children Clara and Mattie. His mother-in-law Augusta is also living with them. The 1880-81 City Directory shows the family living at 610 Avenue K. Paul now has his own store, Paul Gruetzmacher & Co., Books and Stationery, located at 125 Strand, between 22nd and Tremont (23rd) streets. His brother Louis also works there.

The 1881-82 edition of the City Directory shows Paul and family are now living at 607 Avenue K, between 12th and 13th streets, on the south side of the block.

In the 1882-83 City Directory, Paul is shown working at the William Terry & Co. print shop with his brother Louis.

The Galveston Daily News for October 4, 1885 reports that P. Gruetzmacher is on the arrangement committee for the Galveston Lodge No. 774, Knights of Honor which is celebrating their anniversary.

According to the 1886-87 edition of the City Directory, brothers Paul and Louis have their own print shop, Paul Gruetzmacher & Bro., located at 171 E. Strand (old street numbering), between 21st and 22nd streets. The family has moved again, this time to 611 E. Avenue I, between 12th and 13th streets.

Soon, Paul is working for Clarke & Courts printing concern, according to the 1888-89 City Directory. The family has moved once again, this time to a house on the north side of E. Avenue N, between 19th and 20th. This location is the final home for the family, 1910 Avenue N, which survives the 1900 Storm and, as of 2010, is still standing.

The Galveston Daily News for February 14, 1889 has an advertisment for Paul Gruetzmacher, Job Printer, Strand near Center, Telephone 84. And by the time of the 1890-91 directory, Paul has his own print shop over 2109 Strand (new street numbering), between 21st and 22nd streets.

In The Galveston Daily News for May 7, 1893, (and other dates) there is an advertisment for "Paul Gruetzmacher of the Tenth Ward is a candidate for Alderman at Large Election June 6, 1893. Respectfully solicits your vote and support."

In the June 12, 1893 issue, The Galveston Daily News calls him Alderman at Large Paul Gruetzmacher, so he obviously won the election. Over the next few years, until June of 1895 when he was either voted out or did not run for reelection, he is mentioned in the newspaper along with his fellow city aldermen.

Paul Gruetzmacher announces in the paper that he is now with Knapp Bros., Stationers and Printers, Center and Mechanic. --The Galveston Daily News, January 24, 1896. Paul is called a printer in the 1896-97 city directory, as well as the 1898, and the 1899-1900 edition, but there is no mention whether he was working for someone else, or if he again had his own shop.

In the June 7, 1900 census, Paul and his family, consisting of his wife, Augusta, and their children, Clara, mattie, Augusta, Pauline, Emilia, Otto, Paul, Edward, Arthur, and Edith, are living at the house at 1910 Avenue N. The census reports that Paul owns the home.

Next door the the Gruetzmacher's, at 1906 Avenue N, is George Maguire, a clerk in the telegraph office. Could this have been how Matilda Gruetzmacher and Andre' Hutt Newton met? Even in 1900, the telegraph world was probably a small one, and Andre', as the son and nephew of telegraphers, may have visited Maguire as a courtesy of the Newton telegraph clan.

One of the classic reports of the 1900 Storm is that a print shop collapsed over a bar during the early hours. While this would be a terrific family legend, I doubt that this shop belonged to Paul Gruetzmacher.

Frank Heizer has recently provided me with the following information: "At the lunch hour, as the wind increased in velocity, the first deaths occurred. At Ritter's Cafe and Saloon on Mechanic Street, a popular lunch spot for businessmen, a blast of wind tore the roof from the building, collapsing the ceiling onto the ground-floor dining room." --Houston Chronicle, Aug 28, 2000.

And from the book "The Great Galveston Disaster" by Paul Lester, 1900, Alexander Spencer tells about his father being at Ritter's Cafe, where he was killed. Stanly Spencer was sitting on a desk, with his hands clasped over his head, a favorite position of his, talking to Mr. Lord and a Greek, named Marcleitis. "Ritter's cafe was a strongly-built brick building, which was thought to be very safe, but, unfortunately, it was at the foot of a short street leading to the wharf. This gave the wind from the Gulf full sweep against it. There were several other men in the cafe, and one of them said: 'Why, did you all know there are just thirteen people in this room?' Papa laughed, and remarked that he was not superstitious. Just then the crash came, killing five of the thirteen. In the floor above the cafe was a large printing establishment. A beam hurled down by the weight of the presses above struck papa, killing him instantly."

The last listing for Paul Gruetzmacher in the City Directory was in the 1903-4 edition, where he is called a city solicitor for the Hatch, Millis & Co. firm. Was this a type of lobbyist?

Paul died at his home at 1 A.M. on December 2, 1905. He was suffering from cancer of the larynx. He was buried the next day at Cahill's New Cemetery, which was later renamed Lakeside Cemetery. There is a good-sized family plot reserved for the Gruetzmacher's there, with a low cement border surround. On one edge of the surround the family name is carved in relief. There are no headstones within, as of the 1980s.

Eaton Memorial Chapel

2010-07-09T17:54:00.000-05:00

I have no idea which church the Gruetzmacher's attended in Galveston. But I ran across this postcard today and thought "that ain't no chapel". When I think of a chapel, I think of small. Really small. I think of Sister Mary Elephant (or whatever) telling Sidney Portier (in that thick German accent) that she wanted him to build a "shappell".

This ain't no shappell.

The Eaton Memorial Chapel was designed by architect Nicholas Clayton in the Gothic Revival Style. It was erected in 1878-82. After the city-wide fire of 1885, the chapel was used by St. Paul's German Presbyterian Church.

Paul Gruetzmacher & Co.'s Galveston Printshop

2010-07-08T04:07:00.000-05:00

Reece sent me some photos from Aunty Grace's scrapbooks this past week. Among the portraits of a bunch of Gruetzmacher's [What is the collective term for this? A Gaggle of Geese. A Pride of Lions. A Grinch of Gruetzmacher's, maybe?] was a cabinet photograph of Paul Gruetzmacher & Co.'s storefront in Galveston. Grace's notes place the print shop on Mechanic, above the stationers. I date the picture from before 1900 for two reasons. As far as I know, Paul never re-opened his printing business after the 1900 Storm. And, looking at the picture, it appears to have gone through the storm with some rather heavy water damage.

In the Galveston City Directories for 1872 through 1878, Paul was in business with A. Stein & Co. (whose name is below Paul's on the storefront sign). The location of this store is not in my notes. From 1880 to about 1882 "Paul Gruetzmacher & Co., Books and Stationery" was located at 125 Strand between 22nd and Tremont (23rd) streets. From 1882 to 1885, Paul worked for another printing outfit, but soon went independent again in 1886 as "Paul Gruetzmacher & Bro., Book, Job & Comm. Printing" at 171 Strand (later re-numbered 2109) between 21st and 22nd. He is listed at that location to about 1895-95, and until 1900 simply as a printer, with no location provided. After the 1900 Storm, Paul is mentioned in the 1903 Directory as a City Solicitor with Hatch, Millis & Co.

The Kingdom of Galicia

2010-03-11T17:04:00.001-06:00

Beginning in the 1880s, a mass emigration of the Galician peasantry occurred. Caused by the backward economic condition of Galicia where rural poverty was widespread, the emigration began in the western, Polish populated part of Galicia and quickly shifted east to the Ukrainian inhabited parts. Poles, Ukrainians, Jews, and Germans all participated in this mass movement of countryfolk and villagers. Poles migrated principally to New England and the midwestern states of the United States.

A total of several hundred thousand people were involved in this Great Economic Emigration which grew steadily more intense until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The war put a temporary halt to the emigration which never again reached the same proportions.

Galicia was the easternmost part of Austria and also the economically least developed part of that country. Its level of development was higher than that of European Russia, but well behind Western Europe. In 1873, the Polish economist Stanislaw Szczepanowski described Galicia as one of the poorest regions in Europe. On a more informal level, the poverty was expressed in a Polish nickname for Galicja and Lodomeria: Golicja i Głodomeria, loosely translated as Naked- and Hunger-Land. In 1888 the average income per capita did not exceed 53 Rhine guilders (RG), as compared to 91 RG in the Kingdom of Poland (ruled by Russia), 100 in Hungary and more than 450 RG in England at that time. The taxes in Galicia were relatively high and equalled to 9 Rhine guilders a year (ca. 17% of yearly income), as compared to 5% in Prussia and 10% in England.

No country of the Austrian monarchy had such a varied ethnic mix as Galicia. At the turn of the Twentieth Century, Poles constituted 78.7% of the whole population of Western Galicia, Ukrainians 13.2%, Jews 7.6%, Germans 0.3%, and Armenians, Czecks, Slovaks, Hungarians, Roma and others 0.2%.

Religious denominations were fewer, with the Poles being Roman Catholic, the Ruthenians (now mostly calling themselves Ukrainians) belonged to Ruthenian Greek Catholic Church, and the Jews belonging to the branch of Orthodox Judaism known as Hasidism.

The average life expectancy was 27 years for men and 28.5 years for women, as compared to 33 and 37 in Bohemia, 39 and 41 in France and 40 and 42 in England. Also the quality of life was much lower. The yearly consumption of meat did not exceed 10 kilograms per capita, as compared to 24 kg in Hungary and 33 in Germany. This was mostly due to much lower average income.

Thus, due to the hunger, cold and ethnic oppressions the Galician peoples were forced to look for refuge in America and elsewhere. With the abolishment of serfdom in 1848, immigration became possible. For travel across the border local authorities issued provisional passes or permits.

The journey to America was long, costly, and tedious. The majority of emigrants came from remote villages. Peasants began their journey with teams of horses or on foot, to get to the nearest railroad station. In the case of Athanasius, he may have boarded the train at Chabowka, which had rail service since 1884. Zakopane did not get a rail line until 1899, long after he left.

In the 1890s there were many instances of people using rafters’ passports to travel up the nearby Wisła (or Vistula) River all the way through Poland, passing through Krakow, Warsaw, Toruń, and Gdańsk, where it emptys into the Baltic Sea. From there the traveler would head for Hamburg for ships passage to America or elsewhere.

As the extent of emigration increased, the regulations were changed to discourage removal. In the case of men of military age, immigration was outright banned.

In Galicia raids were usually conducted most often at railroad stations. Agents posted there observed the travelers, and if there was even the slightest suspicion of illegal emigration they seized the persons suspected and turned them over to police commissioners. Their documents legality were thoroughly checked, as well as their financial means and their status in regard to military service.

Toward the end of the 19th century, when the wave of emigration reached its greatest height, the partitioning powers introduced more and more restrictions—but the number of emigration permits issued differed more and more from the actual state of affairs. In the years 1886-1890 the Prussian border was closed to emigrants from Russia and Galicia. Issuing passports was limited to a minimum.

In mid-1893 the Galician governor’s office issued a circular, instructing officials to use all legal and moral means to keep people from emigrating without good cause. The campaign included clergymen, teachers, and military policemen. In the years between 1870 and1890 even the newspaper Gazeta Lwowska printed articles that were intended to discourage emigration, giving false information on numerous ship sinkings and other catastrophes on the ocean. The authorities even confiscated letters from abroad, which touted the New World lands of milk and honey.

Dziubinski Info

2010-03-11T16:18:00.000-06:00

Brother Tom provided a photograph and some newspaper clippings to me the other day which offered new (to me) information about the Dziubinski's. The photograph is of Emil Dziubinski in 1931 with his Holdingford High School classmates. (I have the full picture, with names, available to those interested.) Emil was Irene's older brother who died in the October, 1931 car accident in Wisconsin. In that same accident, Irene's mother Anastasia (or Nettie, as she was affectionately known), was also killed and sister Helen lost her leg.

In one of the other clippings Tom discovered is the obituary for Irene's father Athanasius. It says that he was "born in Nowysak, Poland" and "grew up and attended school in Zakopony, Poland". Nowy Sacz is both a town and county in southern Poland, very near the border of present-day Slovakia. Further southwest is Zakopane, also a village in Nawy Sacz county, sitting almost on top of the border.

In the 19th century, Zakopane was the largest center for metallurgy in Galicia — and later with that of tourism. It grew greatly over the 19th century, as more and more people were attracted by its salubrious climate, and soon developed from a small village into a climatic health resort with 3,000 inhabitants in 1889, eight years before Athanasius immigrated to America.

I wonder why Anthansius, situated in a apparently prosperous if not down-right booming town, would decide to head off to America. The obituary notes that in addition to being a farmer, he was also a cabinet maker. As a 23-year-old with such a marketable skill, I am trying to imagine what influences pressured him to leave Poland.

Just prior to his birth in 1874, Galicia, as this area of southern Poland was called, was de facto an autonomous province of Austria-Hungary, with Polish and, to a much lesser degree, Ukrainian or Ruthenian, as official languages. The area had been racked by the Austro-Prussian War, peasant insurrections, political revolutions and military actions in response. Galicia was now subject to internal arguments between Vienna and the Poles in the west and the Ruthenians and Ukrainians in the east.

I had always assumed Athanasius has immigrated to America to get away from the ongoing military situation. And while that may have been a part of his decision, it was the economic situation of Galicia that was most likely the main impetus for such a drastic removal. I will discuss the economics in the next posting.

Real Photographs

2009-11-29T14:26:00.000-06:00

For the last few weeks I've been scanning 'real photograph' postcards (RPPC) that I bought this past summer. These were most popular around 1905 to 1920, during the height of the postcard craze. As these views were not mass produced, some being one-off's and at most maybe 100-200 copies printed, they are usually quite sought after. Compared to the mass produced lithographically printed commercial cards, they are usually pictures of unusual events or places.

I have dozens of family snapshots, which sadly have NO identifying names or locales. I know that if I could put a name to these folks, they would be extremely desirable to present day family historians.

So my request to you is to pencil names and dates on the backs of your photographs, so your relatives, after you're gone, can put a name to that photo of the weird looking guy or gal in the family album.

2009-06-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

A series of (I think) four of these small, postage stamp sized stickers were issued, possibly, in the early part of the last century. When did this form of bathing attire become passe'? Certainly by the Roaring Twenties.

They were issued by the Clarke & Courts printing firm of Galveston, where some of the Gruetzmacher's worked after the 1900 Storm wiped out the family printing business.

2009-06-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

The original Kentucky State Penitentiary was built in Frankfort in 1798. In 1912 the remaining structure in Frankfort was renamed the Kentucky State Reformatory.

The original cell house in Frankfort contained 648 single-occupancy cells measuring only 7 x 3.10 x 7 feet (2.1 m) on six tiers. In the 1870s, a second cell house was built. This cell house contained 408 cells that were slightly larger than those in the original cell house, measuring 7 x 4.10 x 7 feet (2.1 m). These larger rooms contained a double-deck bunk for two inmates. None of the cells had plumbing.

The prison in Frankfort housed a small population of female inmates. They lived alongside the prison in a separate cell house.Inmates at the Kentucky State Reformatory labored in workshops during the day. The Reformatory had contracts with the Frankfort Chair Company and other companies.

Ephraim Thomas Lillard (23 Jun 1847 Kentucky - 6 Apr 1921 Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois) was warden at Frankfort Reformatory (Kentucky State Pen.). A native of Jessamine Co., KY, he enlisted in the Confederate Army at age 15, serving in the 5th KY Cavalry. He was with General Robert E. Lee at the surrender at Appomattox. Ephraim represented Jessamine Co. in the KY legislature.

His daughter Lucille Lee Lillard (23 Oct 1878 Kentucky - 6 Dec 1954 Chicago, Cooke Co., Illinois) married Joseph Robinson Newton.

What especially interests me about the Lillard's is that the name 'Newton' is used several times for the childrens given name. I suspect that a Lillard married a Newton back in ol' Virginy... but which Newton?

2009-06-12T20:41:00.000-05:00

Joseph Robinson Newton (24-Dec 1878 KY - 6 Oct 1948, Martinsville, Morgan Co., IN) was the son of Charles Newton. Joseph married Lucille Lillard, and had three children, the third being mentioned below, Joseph Robinson Newton, Jr.

Big Contract for Ford & Johnson Co.

The Ford & Johnson Company which is closely identified with Frankfort and which has a large plant here has just secured the contract forsupplying the furniture for the new Senate office building in Washington. The contract will amount to about $100000 and will be awarded next week to the Ford & Johnson Company. The bids were opened in Washington on Wednesday and the company was the lowest bidder of the many who entered the competition.

All the furniture which will be used will be of solid mahogany and the tables desks and chairs will all be of the handsomest. The desks will cost about $250 each and each Senator will have a settee ten feet long, handsomely finished and luxurious. The Senate office building will contain a suite of three rooms for each Senator. This will include a bathroom and the furnishings will be elaborate and expensive designs which they submitted to the committee in charge of the letting of the contracts.

The Ford Johnson Company is preparing to bid on the furniture for Kentucky's new capitol, the contract for which will amount to about $100,000. It is probable that the company will submit designs for furniture as they did at Washington so that the Capitol Commission can tell how to estimate the cost and the kind of furniture which is wanted.

Joseph R. Newton who was a resident of Frankfort but who is now sales manager for the Ford & Johnson Company with headquarters at Chicago, was here Friday in the interests of the company, and also to see his new son who is just three days old. Mr Newton said his company had won the big contract in fair competition and was ready to bid on the furniture for the cajitol here. He returned to Chicago Friday night.

--Frankfort Weekly News, July 11, 1908.

A Brief History of Ford & Johnson, by Greg Newton

Ford & Johnson Company was originally established in the late 19th century by John Sherlock Ford (16 Sep 1831 Burton, Geauga Co., Ohio - ), the son of Stephen and Eunice Ford. He graduated from Burton Academy at age 16, and married Sarah M. Starrett, of Columbus, Ohio, on 16 Sep 1866. He clerked for D. T. Woodbury & Co., wholesale dealers in general merchandise at Columbus, until 1856. He worked with the firm of Brotherlin, Halm & Co., furniture manufacturers, from 1856 until the dissolution of that firm in 1863. He was partners in the firm of Ford, Stage & Co. until the death of Mr. Stage in 1865, when he purchased his partner's interest and continued alone, organizing the business as a stock company and afterward sold it out, retaining the chair department.

In 1867 Ford formed a partnership with Henry W. Johnson as Ford & Johnson Co., manufacturers and jobbers of chairs, at Columbus, Ohio. In 1868 the firm moved to Michigan City, Indiana as Ford, Johnson & Co. In 1872 the company established the Chicago base as J. S. Ford, Johnson & Co., manufacturers of chairs and settees. In June of 1900, the Michigan City factories and the Chicago business was placed in a corporation under the name of J. S Ford, Johnson & Co. (The Book of Chicagoans by John W. Leonard. 1905. page 211.)

Major Henry W. Johnson (1834 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - ), the son of James E. and Emily B. Johnson. James Johnson, in early life, learned the trade of carpenter. For several years he was in the contracting and building business at Philadelphia, until his partner absconded with all the capital of the firm. He then returned to Ohio and took the management of the farm which he inherited, and later continued in business as a contractor and builder.

Henry Johnson attended Hiram College in Ohio, taught school for some six years, and was commissioned second lieutenant of the Forty-First Ohio Infantry in 1861. He was brevetted major of volunteers by the United States War Department "for meritorious services in the Union Army." After the war Major Johnson engaged in the business of manufacturing furniture at Columbus, Ohio, and joined up with J. S. Ford in 1867 at Michigan City. Mr. Johnson for many years was vice president.

Henry Johnson's son, William Ford Johnson (b. 1869), was Secretary, Treasurer and Chicago Manager of J. S. Ford, Johnson & Co., chair manufacturers.

Their furniture was sold across the country, with one reference of a furniture store as far away as Seattle carrying their product. They were what is now known as a "second tier" or generic manufacturer of mission furniture, patterning some of their designs after Stickley furniture.
The company had a large factory in Michigan City, Indiana, with the showroom and warehouse on Wabash Ave in Chicago, IL. They were among the exhibitors at the International Universal Exposition in Paris in 1900. The company was a member of the Business League of America in 1905.

Their enormous physical plant in Michigan City, at Chicago Street near Park Row, was composed of Factory A, a three-story building, 947 x 60 feet wide, not including the boiler and engine rooms, and divided into five sections by four fire walls; Factory B, a one-story building with a clerestory arrangement for good lighting, 475 by 75 feet not including the boiler and engine rooms; and Factory C, a three-story building, 450 x 60 feet.

The Michigan City factory started with a force of 150 men, and later had over 500 employees with an annual payroll of over $1 million. Local residents who worked in the factory were given gifts when they married and at the birth of each child. There was a provision made for the payment of an insurance benefit upon the death of the head of the family, and in addition to all this a bonus at Christmas — all showing the interest of the company in its employees from the “cradle to the grave.”

One of the factory buildings was located within the Indiana State Prison, where the Ford & Johnson Company were allotted 100 prison laborers to work in the chair industry. Although prison labor was declared illegal in 1904, the previous contracts were apparently grandfathered in, as there were still convicts working as late as 1916, when S. Karpen took over.

In July of 1908, Ford & Johnson announced that they had secured the contract for supplying the furniture for the new Senate Office Building in Washington D.C. The contract was for about $100,000 and was awarded to the low bidder in the competiton.

"All the furniture which will be used will be of solid mahogany and the tables desks and chairs will all be of the handsomest. The desks will cost about $250 each and each Senator will have a settee ten feet long, handsomely finished and luxurious. The Senate office building will contain a suite of three rooms for each Senator. This will include a bathroom and the furnishings will be elaborate and expensive designs which they submitted to the committee in charge of the letting of the contracts. (Frankfort Weekly News, July 11, 1908)

But it appears they were premature in their announcement, and the contract was awarded to S. Karpen and Brothers.

"Samples were also submitted from Ford and Johnson Company of Chicago. The head draftsman of the Senate and House Office buildings, Oscar Wenderoth, reported that Elliott Woods was “immensely impressed with the furniture made by Mr. Wadelton and is quite enthusiastic over it.”

"After the bids were open, Brainard was asked to submit a report of the Architect of the Capitol analyzing the prices and quality of the work of the various manufactures. Although S. Karpen and Brothers (Subcontractor to George W. Cobb) of Chicago, was the lowest bidder, Brainard felt the work was of less skillful design and execution and recommended that the work be done by one of the “more expensive people.”5 Unfortunately, his report arrived too late and Architect of the Capitol Woods had awarded the contract to George W. Cobb, who had bid $61,715.70 for the 2105 pieces; T.D. Wadelton had bid $118,755.00. S. Karpen had wanted the contract so badly that they had proposed to make a sample of each piece and guaranteed by a special bond that the other pieces would be of equal quality. If not, they would pay for the government to have quality articles made by another company." (Architect of the Capitol. Art & Reference Subject Files. Russell Senate Office Building. Group record #40; Series #40.3 Reel 21. 1908.)

"The Ford Johnson Company is preparing to bid on the furniture for Kentucky's new capitol, the contract for which will amount to about $100,000. It is probable that the company will submit designs for furniture as they did at Washington so that the Capitol Commission can tell how to estimate the cost and the kind of furniture which is wanted." (Frankfort Weekly News, July 11, 1908)

Joseph Robinson Newton (24 Dec 1878, Frankfort, Franklin Co., Kentucky - 6 Oct 1948, Martinsville, Morgan Co., Indiana), previously a resident of Frankfort, Kentucky with the Frankfort Chair Company. In 1908, he was then living in Chicago, and was the sales manager for the Ford & Johnson Company with headquarters there.

In September of 1908, at the annual company meeting, George B. Cox was elected President, and Col. A. D. Martin of Frankfort, Kentucky was elected 2nd Vice President. By this time, Ford & Johnson was one of the two largest chair manufacturing companies in the United States, and had factories, warehouses and salesrooms in New York City, Chicago, Michigan City, Hartford and New Haven, Connecticut, Cincinnati, Atlanta, Georgia, Frankfort and Louisville, Kentucky, Helena, Arkansas, and High Point, North Carolina. The administrative offices for the company were moved from Chicago to Cincinnati. Ford & Johnson moved into the Kruse-Bahlmann Building, leasing four floors on the eastern side of the building. The building came with railroad switching facilities. In addition to chairs, the company expanded to manufacturing interior woodwork and office furniture, and outfitting office buildings and hotels with everything pertaining to interior woodwork in seating. (Frankfort Weekly News, Sept., 1908)

In Frankfort, Ford & Johnson's mill was on the southside of town. The sawmill and chair factory was at the corner of Fourth and Fowler, with the west and southwest sides along the Kentucky River.

The company sold in a bankruptcy sale to Midland Chair & Seating Company in 1913. It's fortunes declined further under Midland management, and in 1916 the company and plant were sold to S. Karpen & Bros. for the winning bid of $88,549. In January 1933, it was announced that S. Karpen & Bros. would be closing the plant.

2009-06-12T14:57:00.000-05:00

Joseph Hughes Newton (26 April 1905, Kentucky -15 March 1984, Glen Ellyn, Chicago, Cook Co., Illinois) was the son of Charles Newton and Mildred Hughes. I have no biography on this Newton cousin, other than what I have recently found on the internet.

Tullus is the fictional hero of an American comic strip that was created by Joseph Hughes Newton. It began December 26, 1943, appearing in three David C. Cook's Sunday School papers What to Do, Boys' World and Girls' Companion, all three subsequently being merged into Sunday PIX. Other artists later contributed to the strip.

Tullus was about a young Roman Christian in the first century, and had many adventures throughout the ancient world, visiting Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome.

Six collections of the Tullus comics have been made into paperback books:

Tullus and the Monsters of the Deep
Tullus and the Dark City
Tullus and the Ransom Gold
Tullus and the Vandals of the North
Tullus in the Deadly Whirlpool
Tullus and the Kidnapped Prince

Galveston, Texas ships in the harbor, circa 1907

2009-05-16T15:46:00.000-05:00

Galveston, Texas ships in the harbor, circa 1907

Birdseye view of Galveston, Texas circa 1903

2009-05-16T09:15:00.000-05:00

Birdseye view of Galveston, Texas circa 1903

Galveston Fire of 1885

2009-05-10T23:14:00.000-05:00

The Galveston fire of 1885, started on Friday, November 13 near the business district. The sheet music to the left celebrating the fire is a song written by Louis Gruetzmacher, with music by Jacob Day.

Cary Cartwright, in his history 'Galveston' writes:

"The fire began at a foundry near 17th and the Strand, and a stiff north wind swept it from rooftop to rooftop.... Flames raged out of control, cutting a four-block-wide swath across the center of the Island-from the Strand, over Broadway, past Avenue O, nearly to the beach. Homeowners raced ahead to save what they could.... In the street, people stumbled about, dazed and bewildered.

"Galveston's first professional fire department was barely a month old and no match for the conflagration. The pressure on its newly installed saltwater system proved insufficient, and bits of shell clogged the nozzles of the firehose. By the time it burned itself out, the fire had consumed forty-two blocks, destroying 568 buildings and homes.... Amazingly, no one died."

T. T.

2009-05-07T23:23:00.001-05:00

Way back in the dark ages, one of our backdoor neighbors was Mary's best friend, Mary Budwine. Brother Dave used to hang out with Mary's older brother (whose name I can't remember, maybe Steve?). Didn't they have a folk trio (The Rambling Goobers, or sum such) who played at one of Assumption's talent shows.

Anyways, while same age kids might become best friends, like Mary and Mary, the neighbor kids of all ages would play around a lot. I distinctly remember the Budwine's, the Choate's, the Staton's and the Newton's playing tag football, with kids from 9 to 19. I may have been 11 or 12, who knows, but on one play one of the Choate girls was right in front of me on the scrimmage line. We were in the three-point stance when I looked over, and right down her baggy sweat shirt and her bra-less boobs! Heck, I don't remember anything else about the game, though I imagine I tried to get in front of her for the rest of the game.

But back to the reason for the story... the Budwine's father was T. T. Budwine, a small-statured refinery worker from southeast Louisiana. I always found him funny, first because of his name, and then because his wife was so big, compared to him. Then, of course, ol' T.T. liked his drink and his cajun music, usually at the same time. Every once in a while he'd crack open a jar of the brown stuff and crank up the 78s on record player and blast out some of that real old-timey coon-ass chank-chank. We'd sneak around and peek in the windows to watch him dancing around, singin' along, and sometimes playin' along with his own little squeeze-box. We just thought that music (and him) were the funniest stuff! Imagine! We'd been brought up on rock-n-roll, and this old French language fiddle and accordian music was just so-o-o-o not cool!

Now here I am, 40 years later, tracking down some of that same ol' cajun music that T.T. was always listenin' to. I just love when I can find a nice, cleaned-up CD re-release of some of the stuff originally issued back in the 1930s or 40s on 78's. I may have laughed at ol' T.T. back then, but now I've come to respect the guy for his taste in music. Heck, one of my Louisiana friends swears that T.T. was in a band and made some recordings. I would love to track down some of his recordings, crank up the CD player, sip a little brown stuff, and dance and sing along!

Full circle, baby!

Cow Patties

2009-05-07T21:51:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week someone asked a question about the term 'burlap sack' and its synonyms. I can think of tote sack, potato sack, and gunny sack, but I'm sure there's more.

Just thinkin' about burlap sacks kicked in a memory of the Newton gang heading out bright and early on a Saturday morn for the mine fields of southeast Beaumont, out past Spindletop Road and into the pastures near a sulphur refinery and the Neches River. We'd load up dozens of burlap sacks and a coupla long-handled shovels into the back of the Rambler to gather up big ol' heapin' pie plates of dried cow poop.

I know we did this at least once a year, but I seem to remember it being at least twice or more a year. Mom's vegetable and flower gardens needed their fertilizer!

Being on the kid end of the family, Mary, Tom and I would help for a little while, and then get sent over to the nearby woods to 'explore', and stay outta the way of the grown-ups. I guess Paul and Dave got stuck with the work, along with mom and dad, scooping up the cow patties and bagging them up.

I vaguely remember that sometime during the day we'd have a picnic, but I'm not real sure about that. The thought that after messin' with poop all day long (even with gloves on) we'd sit down for lunch without a major scrub-down with soap and water seems a tad unhealthy.

Was this the same place we found those sulphur core samples?

2009-02-05T23:25:00.000-06:00

Well, damn!

I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last posting. I coulda sworn it was only sometime last fall that I got carried away with all the little things that life throws atcha. I'll try to do better, I swear.

Variants Found in the 1900 Galveston Storm Books

Can't remember if I every posted a link to this site, so I'll do it now. This is my list of books about the 1900 Galveston Storm which were issued a few months after the hurricane.

Randolph Cornell Newton

2008-04-03T00:53:00.000-05:00

Randolph Cornell Newton was born on 20 Jan 1888 in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas. He died on 26 Jul 1954 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., Missouri. He was buried on 30 Jul 1954 in Fayette Cemetery, Fayette, Howard Co., Missouri.

In the book "Annals of Christ Church Parish, Little Rock, Arkansas (1900), there is a list of the children of Mollie Hutt Newton, with Cornell Randolph Newton being her last child. This seems to verify that Cornell was his first name, though he seems to have gone by his middle name "Randolph" all his life. Which might not be too unual, for his older brother Andre Hutt Newton was known as "Hutt" most of his life.

In a piece of sheet music published in 1916, he calls himself Randolph C., and in the 1930 census, he goes by Randolph Cornell Newton, so perhaps that was the 'real' name.

Bug-House Rag. Randolph C. Newton & Will E. Skidmore. Kansas City, MO: Skidmore Music Company, 1916.

1930 census: Kansas City, Jackson Co., Missouri, page 79.
Randolph C. Newton, 601 East Armour Blvd. Residing at the Family Hotel. Age 44, married. Age 20 at first marriage. Not a veteran of any wars. Sales manager, paint-plaster.
Wife Adele C. Newton. Age 48, born in Missouri. Age 19 at first marriage. Father born in Illinois, mother born in Missouri.
East Armour Blvd. crosses Locust 2 blocks away. [Someone in our family lived in Kansas City, on Locust perhaps... who was it???]

Death Cerificate, with death July 26, 1954 at 3403-1/2 Independence Ave., Kansas City, Missouri. He was buried in Fayette, Howard Co., Missouri. [Why? Is there a family connection there?] He worked in the credit department at Jenkins Music Co. His birthdate is listed as January 20, 1888 in Richmond, Virginia.

I think his wife Sallie Allen Newton (the informant on the death cert.) may have been confused, as his parents, whom she listed as George Newton (not Edward C.) and Molly Hutt, were of Little Rock at this time. But, perhaps Cornell had mentioned that the Newton's came from Richmond. This is worth investigating.

Cornell married (1) Olive Merton daughter of Peter J. Merton and Elfriede (Elfie) Kahlert in Oct 1909. Olive was born on 30 Oct 1889 in Missouri. She died on 13 Apr 1938 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was buried on 15 Apr 1938 in St. Peter's.

1920 St. Louis census, 2826 Semple Ave. Olive Newton, age 22, is living with her mother Elfie M. Giles, age 53, and her three sons, Randolph, David, and Merton. Also boarding at this address is Gastof F. Marin, age 28.

1930 St. Louis census, 6408 Chatham. Living with new husband George Marin, her three sons using the last name of Marin, and her three new children Jean (male), John L., and Olive.

Death Certificate for Olive, April 13, 1938 St. Louis, naming husband George F. Marin, father Peter Merton of Canada, and mother Elfie Kohlert Giles of St. Louis.

Cornell and Olive had the following children:

1. Randolph Cornell Newton Marin was born on 29 Oct 1911 in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas?. He died on 8 Jun 1955 in Clayton, St. Louis County, Missouri. He was buried on 10 Jun 1955 in Oak Grove Crematory, Hanley Hills, Missouri.

Death Certificate dated June 8, 1955 in Clayton, St. Louis Co., Missouri. Born October 29, 1911 in St Louis. Father listed as Gaston Marin, but really he was the son of Randolph Cornell Newton. His mother is Olive Merton. Married to Helen W. Marin. No further info on her. She may have remarried, as I find no death record for her under the Marin last name.

Randolph lived at 6552 Page St., which is about 5 miles northwest of downtown St. Louis, the Arch, and the Mississippi River. He was cremated and his remains are at Oak Grove Crematory in Hanley Hills, Missouri, a suburb which was 2 or 3 miles further northwest at 7800 Saint Charles Rock Rd.

Randolph married Helen W.

2. David Newton was born on 2 Aug 1913 in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., Arkansas?.

No information available on David. Possibly died young.

3. Merton Field Newton Marin was born on 7 Feb 1916 in St. Louis, Missouri. He died on 1 Jun 1949 in Bourbon, Crawford Co., Missouri. He was buried on 4 Jun 1949 in Valhalla Crematory, St. Louis, Missouri.

Death certificate June 1, 1949, unmarried Merton Field Marin died of lung cancer at his mothers
residence at Bourbon RR2, Crawford-Boone County, Missouri. Usual residence was St. Louis, Missouri, where he was a musician. Merton and his brother Randolph both took the surname 'Marin', when Gaston Marin married Olive Merton Newton.

Cornell married (2) Mary Durham in 1920 in Jefferson Co., Texas?. Mary was born in 1890 in Port Arthur, Jefferson Co., Texas?. She died in Sep 1955 in Beaumont, Jefferson Co., Texas. She was buried in Greenlawn Memorial Park, Port Arthur, Texas.

1930 Port Arthur, Jefferson Co., Texas census. Mary Newton, head of household at 314 Sixth St, age 41, widowed. Born Missouri. Runs boarding house at that address.

Mrs Mary Newton, in 1941, owned the Newton Hotel at 922 1/2 Pearl St. in Beaumont. Directly across from the old Jefferson Theater, which was managed by Andre' Hutt Newton Jr. before the war. It shared the building with White Blueprint Co., which also employed Andre' Jr. after the war. The hotel was generally known as a house of ill repute, yet Andre' never knew that is was owned by his Aunt, until I queried him in the 1980's. Wilben Newton confirmed the relationship,
telling Andre' that the family kept mum about this dark shadow on the family.

Cornell married (3) Adele C. before 1930. Adele was born in 1882 in Missouri.

No further information on Adele.

Cornell married (4) Sallie Allen after 1930.

Sallie Allen Newton is named as the wife of Cornell R. Newton in his death dertificate of 1954. She must have married Randolph after the 1930 census which shows Randolph married to Adele. No death certificate found.

2008-04-03T00:39:00.000-05:00

"One direct ancestor was a doughty pioneer bearing the stirring name of Nimrod Hutt and is said to have been a mighty slayer of panthers. He lived in Chillicothe, Ohio, as far back as 1812. --"Dewey: An American of This Century" by Stanley Walker.

Yes... I had to look it up! Webster's says 'doughty' means marked by fearless resolution; valiant.

2008-03-19T13:57:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of the Gruetzmacher home at 1910 Avenue N in Galveston, Texas, circa 1975. At that time, it was a rooming house in a crummy part of town. Then again, at that time, most of Galveston seemed to be pretty crummy.

The Gruetzmacher family lived at this address from around 1890. Originally occupied by Paul Louis Hermann Eugen Gruetzmacher and his wife Augusta (nee Altmann), along with their children Clara Elizabeth (1877-1937), Matilda Elizabeth (1879-1963), Augusta 1880-1926, Pauline (1881-?), Emily (1882-after 1950), Otto Henry (1885-1924), Paul (1887-1909), Edward (1893-1900), Arthur (1896-1905), Edith (1899-1974), and Octavia (1905-1953).

Otto and Clara were the last Gruetzmacher's living in the house, in around 1921, according to the Galveston City Directory for that year.

The house was one of the few houses in Galveston that survived the 1900 Storm. Dad always told the legend of his grandfather Paul drilling holes into the floors of the house so as to allow the rising waters to flood into the house rather than raise the house off its foundation, which is what actually did happen to many of the houses in town.

2008-03-19T11:44:00.000-05:00

Earlier today I was poring over some pictures of old furniture, mostly what you would call 'rustic' or 'country' pieces. Definitely not the fancy city-made pieces that show up on the Antique Road Show or being offered at auction by Sotheby's. Nope, this stuff is home-made, usually by the homeowner himself or maybe the nearby craftman with a little bit of talent. In many cases, at least in Texas, that would be the Swiss or German emigrant carpenter. The best books on the subject are 'Texas Furniture : The Cabinetmakers and Their Work, 1840-1880' by Lonn Taylor and David B. Warren, and 'Early Texas Furniture and Decorative Arts' by Cecilia Steinfeldt and Donald L. Stover. Sadly, both are long out of print, and rather pricey on the used book market. And luckily, I have copies of both that I picked up when they were still available at rather reasonable prices. (They are not for sale!)

In the other room, I have the old armoire that was supposed built by one of the Gruetzmacher's in Galveston, back before 1900. It went through the Galveston Storm, which may account for its lack of feet, and some other water damage along the bottom edge. Over the years it's lost its cornice, leaving me with a difficult decision of choosing a replacement when I have the piece restored. Hopefully, there's a picture of the piece in one of the old Gruetzmacher photos that Aunt Grace and Elizabeth had, and if those photographs are still extant.

The armoire still has remnants of the various paint jobs over the years, especially that hideous lime green crap from the early 1970's. Over the years, I've removed some of this stuff, but because of the time involved to remove even a small amount, I keep setting the piece aside for another day. But once you get under all the paint, and then remove the original, gone-to-black varnish, you end up with wood that has a warm, mellow patina to it. I'm guessing pine.

One of the front door panels has a piece that has been replaced, a device or technique known as a 'dutchman'. Usually, this technique is used to repair a hole in the wood caused by a mouse or some other critter chewing through, but as this newer panel is much larger (8 or 9 inches square), the reason for replacing it is pure speculation. It may simply be a case of the original panel had a defect that didn't appear until after the armoire was completed.

At the top of the armoire is a series of thin wooden decoration, curving upward into the now missing cornice. This gives an idea of what the original cornice looked like. The inset panels in the doors also have a curved edge, which further suggest the lines the cornice may have taken. Studying the aforementioned books, I have a number of examples of similar pieces that will help in designing a new replacement cornice, when the time comes.

Replacing the missing feet causes another design dilemma. As the originals seem to have been sawed off, I propose to design a petestal for the cabinet to sit on, rather than try to incorporate new feet into the old armoire. I do wonder how high the original legs were. My first thought is that 4 to6 inches would be about right, making the total height of the cabinet about 6 feet, without the cornice. Perhaps the legs were much longer, from 12 to 15 inches, giving the armoire a much greater height, which might be more fitting in the high ceilinged houses of the late 1800's. But because this would make the interior hooks be almost 7 feet high, I think, unless original pictures provide contradictory information, I will use the lower legs, which would be more appropriate for use by a normal-sized person.

2008-03-15T13:33:00.000-05:00

Little Rock Arkansas July 9th 1851

My dear brother [Nathaniel T. Gaines, not found on the 1850 Victoria Co., TX census],

It has been so long since you have gotten a letter from me that I expect you begin to think I never in[tend]* to write again, but the fact is we have had sickness in the family for the last four months, the children have had the mumps measles diahrea & chills, & I have had the chills this Spring and Summer. I have a young baby about four months old which is another hindrance to letter writing. She is a very pretty child by the by - I call her Mary [Mollie Mary Hutt was born March 7, 1851 in Little Rock, AR. She married Edward Cornell Newton and was the mother of Andre' Hutt Newton, Sr.] after an aunt [Probably Mary Mollie Hutt b. 1761 VA; married to James Smith Dozier.] of Mr. Hutt's.

I hope you have gotten rid of your troublesome complaint, if not, do come to Little Rock, I almost know a trip home would restore you to health - come any how, well or sick. I think you would feel better by coming, & we all want to see you so much. Judge Hutt [William S. Hutt 1773-1855, Francisa's father-in-law] told us you had grown a great deal taller, you take after Pa [unknown Gaines] in that respect. I heard him say he did not get his growth until he was twenty five years of age.

Little Rock is rather dull now, Mrs. Chase [Rosina Dunn Chase, b. NY, d. 6-14-1851, wife of Luther Chase] died a short time ago, & Mr. Officer [William P. Officer b.10-10-1810 PA, d. 6-21-1851, Married to Mary Eliza Field.] died about a week ago in Fort Smith he had removed with his family there this Spring. Jimmy Finley [probably James W. Finley b. 1837 VA, son of James Finley and Felicity Hutt] has been quite sick with the measles & mumps but is better now, there were some deaths from Cholera, but it was from among strangers - the marriages have been few & far between - Mr Philip Grapnall [unknown] & Miss Sallie Falkner [Sally A. Faulkner b. ca1831 AR, daughter of Sandford C. & Eveline Faulkner] were married this spring. Fitzgerald [unknown] was married to a Miss Stirks [possibly Sophia Stirks b. 1838 NC] - he took the pledge when Father Mathew was here, & looked like a decent man for a while, but I heard the other [-] he had the mania p[-t--]. Mrs Leincoln [probably Mary Lincoln b. 1772 CT, who lived a couple of houses away from the William V. Hutt family] has also had that beautiful disease. Edmund [Edmund P. Gaines, b. 1-14-1817 VA, d. 6-10-1880 AR] holds out very well indeed - I believe it was two years since he joined the Sons of Temperance. He & his family are well at present, their last child they call Nat [Nathaniel H. Gaines b. 2-22-1851, d. 6-6-1924] & is quite a pretty little fellow.

I have not heard from William [unknown, possibly Gaines] for a long time, he was in Havelindvill [Havilandsville] Ky when he wrote last, the first time he ever said anything about his size since he left here. He is very little taller now than he was ten years ago. Poor little fellow. I wish he may do well. I could not help but laugh, when he wrote to me about marrying, he said there were thirteen girls in love with him, but I believe he did did not love any of them enough to marry them.

Uncle William [Uncle William ?Gaines?, b. ca1816] has been in Washington City lately, he has business in the post office department, he mentioned in a letter to uncle Peter, that he had a daughter almost grown, he said he was a great favorite with the ladies there, they would not believe he was over thirty five years of age. & I think his age is forty five, is it not?

Uncle Peter [Uncle Peter ?Gaines?] is rather lonesome now, aunt Elizabeth & Juliet are in Mississippi, she took Juliet down for the purpose of sending her to a better school than we have here. She is now nearly grown, & is a sweet girl, for one that has been humored so much. You would scarcely know Mitty & Lolly [Mitty & Lolly are probably nicknames for Francisa's daughters Sarah and Laura.] they have grown so much. They are going to school or have been until lately. Mitty can read very well & writes quite a good hand, Willie [Willie would be Francisa's son William Spence Hutt b. February 14, 1848 Little Rock, AR; d. May 30, 1901 Little Rock, AR.] is so much like his Pa as he can be. He often speaks of Uncle Nat as if he knew all about you. The children say, Oh, Ma do write to Uncle Nat to come here, we want to see him so bad.

Mr. Hutt [Francisa's brother-in-law William V. Hutt b. ca1807, or Francisa's husband Andre J. Hutt b. 1815] is more fleshy than I ever saw him, he is still merchantdizing & is doing a very good business.

Judge Hutt [William S. Hutt b. 1773 and Constance Villard Hutt b. ca1780] is here he says it is uncertain how long he will remain. The old lady & gentleman look as young as they did ten years ago.

Grand Ma Gaines [unknown] is still living I believe, she is now about nearly ninety years of age & was quite active when I last heard from her.
I d[o not] know of any thing more that would [inter]est y[ou. Y]ou must excuse bad writing [and] mista[kes.] I have put it down a half dozen times [sin]ce I commenced. I hope you will make up your mind to come here as soon as you can. & now farewell.

The children send you a kiss.
Your affectionate sister,
Francisa E. Hutt

[Francisa E. Gaines b. June 1823 Virginia; d. June 17, 1903 Little Rock, AR; m1. Benjamin Linebaugh ca1840; m2. Andre' Joseph Hutt April 27, 1847 Little Rock, AR. She had two daughters, Sarah and Laura, by her first marriage. She had William Spence Hutt and Mollie Mary Hutt by her second marriage.]

2008-03-15T12:35:00.000-05:00

Newton's Baby Ointment, Seattle, Washington.

To my knowledge, this company has no relation to 'our' Newton clan, but I thought the label was interesting anyway.

2008-03-15T12:25:00.000-05:00

Postcard of New Madrid, Missouri dated 1908. An interesting "Bird's-Eye" view of the residential area of New Madrid. Note the five houses closest to your eyes. I suspect they were designed by the same person, with each built in a 'cross' shape.

2008-03-15T10:14:00.000-05:00

Recently I bought a large collection of CD's from a record producers estate. The collection was huge, well over 5,000 CD's, and the selection was wide-ranging, from country, pop and classic rock, to jazz, rap, and blues. Normally I wouldn't try buying music for resale, 'cause the market is glutted with last years hits, but there was so much odd-ball stuff that I wanted to listen to that I ended up buying about 500 CD's. And because so much of the pickin's are off the beaten path, the demand (and prices) has been fairly good so far. I've sold enough in two weeks to have paid for the entire lot. And I still have a lot of unlisted music that I'll be listening to for a long time.

I mention all this to get to the current thought in my head. How some music holds up, and some doesn't. Just off the rotation was Crosby, Still, Nash & Young 'Deja Vu' which was originally released in 1970. I remember listening to brother Dave's copy on LP back in the early '70's. Later still, I had my own copy that I probably wore out. I may have had a 8-track version of it, but I don't remember buying a cassette of it. And of course, I listened to it at Record Town, which is where I worked back in the late '70's.

But I suppose I haven't listened to the whole thing in maybe 20 years. Oh, I've heard various cuts on the radio every once in a while, but maybe only 'Our House' and 'Woodstock'. Hearing these tunes for the first time in years, I am amazed at how well these songs still sound. The harmonies in Stephen Stills' 'Carry On' still makes me shake. 'Country Girl' still sounds good, despite Neil Young's scratchy voice. Okay, David Crosby's 'Almost Cut My Hair' is dated, and I wouldn't miss it if I didn't hear it in another 20 years. But, on the whole, the album really holds up. Here's one CD that will stay in MY collection for good. And it makes me want to revisit the first album 'Crosby, Stills and Nash' just to hear 'Suite: Judy Blue Eyes'.

2008-03-14T02:17:00.000-05:00

This is an old picture of Main Street in downtown Little Rock from around 1860-1868. While I can never be sure, I think that the building below may be the Hutt store.

2008-03-14T01:39:00.000-05:00

Little Rock, Arkansas. After the Civil War the Hutt Family had a wholesale grocery that sold a little bit of everything. Including whiskey.

Which brings us to this little 3 inch tall jug that I bought on eBay from a antiquarian (nee junk dealer) living just North of Little Rock. When he first found it, the surface had been painted over with tacky colorful flowers. The dealer cleaned off the paint and found the advertising pictured here.

"Compliments of W. S. Hutt & Co. Main St."

Little did he know that William S. Hutt had his store on Main Street in downtown Little Rock. Lucky for me! Had the town been known, I doubt I would have been able to buy it as cheaply as I did. But there was no way I was gonna let this thing slip away.

2008-03-14T01:33:00.000-05:00

This is my opening farewell

2008-03-14T00:54:00.000-05:00

But suddenly its so clear to me
That I'd asked her to see what she may never see
And now my kind words find their way back to me
Theres a train everyday leaving either way
Theres a world, you know
You got a ways to go
And I'll soon believe -- its just as well
This is my opening farewell
--Jackson Browne

So, I just have this desire to get some stuff down, in print for someone else to see... to think out loud, to puzzle over brick walls and maybe amuse (or bemuse) along the way. I hope to hear different voices and different thoughts, suggestions for research and avenues to explore. So, bear with me. I'm gonna cover whatever topics I feel like, whatever floats my boat. Music, genealogy, books, photography, travel, art. Who knows? I hope you'll join the ride.