Community Builder: Pat Rickman

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By Kristine Schmucker, Curator

Mary Ruth Martinsdale Rickman

Photo Courtesy Jullian Wall
Englishwoman, Mary Martinsdale arrived in Newton  to answer an advertisement for a mail-order-bride placed by Patrick Rickman of Newton, Kansas.  Much to her surprise, her future husband was black. She had answered the ad because “Rickman was a good English name, but now that she was here he was stuck with her.” 
(“On Equal Ground”  by Judy Burks, Newton Kansan, 125th Anniversary, Section B)

They wasted no time. Mary and Patrick were married March 17, 1911.
Mary was born on a farm near Liverpool, England on October 22, 1872.  She had come to the United States at the age of 14 “to work for a family.” Not much else is known of her life prior to coming to Kansas. In the spring of 1911, at the age of 39 she traveled to Newton, Kansas to meet her future husband.
Patrick Rickman  was a well-known and respected craftsman in Harvey County.  Born in White County, Tennessee on July 31, 1857, Pat came to Harvey County in 1879.  Here, he joined his father, Joseph Rickman, and aunt, Mary Rickman Anderson Grant.  He learned the trade of brick mason.
In 1882, he married Amanda Burdine and they had four children; Angus and Guy, who died young, and Hazel and Lloyd who lived to adulthood.  Pat and Amanda divorced in the fall of 1899.
Patrick Rickman  was a well-known and respected craftsman in Harvey County.  Born in White County, Tennessee on July 31, 1857, Pat came to Harvey County in 1879.  Here, he joined his father, Joseph Rickman, and aunt, Mary Rickman Anderson Grant.  He learned the trade of brick mason.
In 1882, he married Amanda Burdine and they had four children; Angus and Guy, who died young, and Hazel and Lloyd who lived to adulthood.  Pat and Amanda divorced in the fall of 1899.
Patrick Rickman
Photo courtesy Jullian Wall
At the time of his death, Pat Rickman was “one of the best known workmen in this section, as well as one of the most dependable, respected workman.  Many a building  stands today as a monument to his skill and industry.” (Evening Kansan Republican, 25 August 1926, p. 2.)
 
His daughter, Hazel, later recalled the times she brought lunch to her father (Pat) while he was working on the foundation of Bethel College Administration building.  According to family tradition, Patrick Rickman was the head of the construction company that employed several members of the larger Rickman/Anderson family.This company worked on the foundation of the building for the new Mennonite college.*

After the death of Patrick, his wife Mary, “worked as a private nurse having in her care, until their death, several of Newton’s widely known and highly respected citizens.”  In her obituary, Mary was described as “kind and loving, patriotic and charitable.” She was survived by her step-children, Lloyd Rickman and Hazel Rickman Rossiter. Services for Mary were held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Newton.  The pallbearers were  members of her adopted American family, the Rickmans, Andersons, and Rossiters. (Evening Kansan Republican, 12 Aug. 1943, p. 2.)

During the month of  February, in honor of  Black History Month, we will be featuring related stories from Harvey County. Much of the information on the Rickman/Anderson/Grant family is based on oral traditions preserved by Marguerite Rickman Huffman & June Rossiter Thaw and research by Karen Wall.  We are grateful for their willingness to share the stories of this Harvey County family. 
 
For more about the early life of Patrick Rickman   http://hchm.org/old-story-murder-main/



*No records have been found that identify who constructed the first half or foundation of the Ad Building. “On Equal Ground”  by Judy Burks, Newton Kansan, 125th Anniversary, Section B
Sources: 
  • Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives Marriage Certificate – March 17, 1911
  • Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives City Directories 1885-1926
  • Evening Kansan Republican, 25 August 1926, p. 2.
  • Evening Kansan Republican, 28 August 1926, p. 2.
  • Evening Kansan Republican, 12 Aug. 1943, p. 2.
  • “On Equal Ground”  by Judy Burks, Newton Kansan, 125th Anniversary, Section B
To view the complete inventory of Marriage Certificates at the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives, visit http://hchm.org/ and click on the ‘Research Library’ tab.

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Cigars & Confectionaries: The Buildings at 615-617 Main

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Archivist/Curator

There have been some good changes on Main Street in Newton! Some of the older buildings are getting attractive ‘facelifts’ which help the whole community. Because some of these buildings have been standing since the 1880s, extra care needs to be taken. It also means there are lots of stories to be told!

Two buildings, 615 N Main and 617 N. Main are two that have had work done. Both buildings are very old, one dating to about 1901 and the other 1884. Of course there have been many changes, especially on the exterior, but the actual structures have stood strong since almost the beginning of Newton.

Paint, Perfume & Tobacco – 617 N. Main

In 1884, a small stone building was located at 617 N. Main and a wooden one at 615 N. Main.

Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, 1884

The building at 617 N. Main started out as a small stone structure with a wooden front porch and awning. One of the earliest businesses at 617 N Main was Dymond & Arnold.  The store was a pharmacy that also sold paint and perfume.

Weekly Kansan Republican, 6 November 1884

The 1884 newspapers mention an earlier partnership of Dymond & Kraum, but the location is not given. Dymond may have gotten his start in business in Sedgwick in 1875 when he ran a boarding house. (Weekly Kansan Republican, 1 April 1875)

By 1887, Mrs. S.E. Davis had a millinery shop at 617 N. Main. There is no residence listed for a S.E. Davis or a Mrs. S.E. Davis. She possibly lived either in the back of the building or on a second floor. Mrs. Davis was only there for a short time. In November 9, 1889, Miss Lena Smith announced that she was closing her millinery business at 617 N. Main.

In 1898, there was a notice in the paper that Tom Sheridan had repainted his “Cigar Man . . . in fine style” and it was again standing in front of his store at 617 N. Main.

Thomas Sheridan Jr came to Kansas with his parents and three brothers in March 1878. They settled on a farm in Highland Township, Harvey County, Ks. Thomas married Elizabeth Conway in 1896. They had one son, Frank, who died at 4 months. She died in 1898 exactly a year later from the death of her son.

Interior Sheridan Tobacco, 1905

Thomas remarried in 1902 to Louisa Felix. Sheridan ran a cigar and tobacco store and factory at 617 N. Main in Newton, Ks for many years. He was also on the Board of Directors for the Kansas State Bank. Perhaps around 1917, he moved from Newton to Los Angeles. Sheridan seems to have kept an interest in his Newton business until at least 1919-1920.

Evening Kansan Republican, 5 November 1919

Other stores that have occupied 617 N. Main include Litwin’s and Browns Hallmark.

Brown’s Hallmark opened in 1877 by Roy L. Brown and Tom Brown from Hutchinson. Kansas.


615 N. Main – Confectionary, Cigars and Women’s Clothing

 According to Sanborn Maps 1884, 1886, & 1896 the structure was wood and not very large. The first businesses included Henry Held, L.A. Meade, J.L. Meade and Jacob Moser as butchers. In 1889 John Herby listed as butcher. In 1896, a new confectionary was in place at 615 N. Main.

In 1902, a new stone structure is built and the length of 615 & 617 match. A few years later a “new modern front” was added. (Evening Kansan Republican 6 May 1906) At that time Ball’s Place – Confectioner, Cigars & Tobacco was located at the address with Walter Ball manager. Several owners had confectioneries between 1905-1913. 

In 1915, Central Shine opened for business owned by the Collin brothers. (Evening Kansan Republican, 13 April 1915). They may have been the ones to make some improvements.  Brick and stone extensions were added to the back of the building with an outside stairway to the second floor in 1915.

In 1916, Schwenker Confectionery, Cigars owned by Fred Schwenker was located at 615 N. Main. It’s not clear when he opened the business, but he ran into trouble almost immediately. On January 10, 1916, a police raid was conducted on two confectionery and cigar stores. One was run by Alex McGuigan on the south side known as “Mack’s Place” and the other Fred Schwenker. The police wanted to examine the “soft drinks.” From Schwenker, bottles of “Tempo” “Tanhauser” and cider were taken to see if they were intoxicating beverages. (Evening Kansan Republican 01/10/1916)

Schwenker operated the business until 1921 when he left Newton for Los Angeles.

Newton Music Store quickly took over the space.

In 1960, Mrs. Katherine Gilchrist purchased the clothing store from Kenneth Granger at 615 N. Main and renamed it Katherine’s. A popular women’s clothing story into the early 1990s. She also operated another clothing store named Katydid’s, targeting the teenage market.

Self-Appointed Arbiters of Community Conduct: The White Caps

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Part 2

 Click here for Part 1

“A few years ago on Easte 3 Street by the coal yard thair live a colord lady she had 2 little children & their was a white Man lives in thus city tride to forse Mrs. Harries the colored lady to lay with him. in the Mean time came in Bob Walace & the white Man let her alone. why is it you did not white cap him? Because he was white. those Boys did Not force those girls. -Black Caps” – Abe Weston, Evening Kansan Republican, 3 April 1896.

When Abe Weston questioned why the “White Caps” had not gone after the men who had assaulted Mrs. Harris, he was not expecting the impossible. The men in the White Cap organization had imposed their own type of justice on others in the community in the past.

Who Were the White Caps?

The White Caps was a group of self-appointed arbiters of community conduct, not necessarily concerned with race. They were concerned with preserving morality and maintaining social norms of the community. Both Black and white citizens were subject to their censure. The movement started in southern Indiana. It spread to other states and sometimes led to extreme violence. One of the most extreme incidents occurred in Sevier County, Tennesse where several people were murdered. In 1889, John S. Farmer described the White Caps as “a mysterious organization in Indiana” that was “trying to correct and purify society” where they felt the law was not adequately protecting citizens.

The organization’s name corresponded with its uniform. This description appeared in the Knoxville Sentinel, April 27, 1892: The White Caps scarcely ever ride horseback and wear coverings on their head similar to a hangman’s cap, also gowns or dusters reaching to, or below, their knees.

White Caps, 1889.

The Ominous Words ‘White Caps.’

In Harvey County, the organization was short-lived with only sporadic mentions in the newspapers over a 20-year time span, 1889-1909. The men involved were never named but at least twelve men participated.

At first, the “White Caps” were viewed as something of a joke by the editor of the Evening Kansan Republican. He was often dismissive of the group. Although a meeting was noted in the Evening Kansan Republican on December 29, 1888, subtle criticisms followed.

Evening Kansan Republican, 29 December 1888

Likely, they were planning for the New Year’s Day Parade. In the next issue of the paper the description included details about the parade.   The editor of the Evening Kansan Republican was not impressed with the White Caps and their contribution to the parade. He complained that “everything went along smoothly and without confusion . . . the only departure from this rule was in the case of the ‘White Caps’ who sailed around at the rate of one knot an hour in a covered wagon drawn by Frank Dickensheet’s prize oxen, and with the banners on the wagon bearing the ominous words ‘White Caps.’  (Evening Kansan Republican 2 January 1889)

Another clipping from the paper regarding the New Year’s Day parade.

Evening Kansan Republican,2 January 1889

A few years later, the editor of the Weekly Kansan Republican seemed annoyed by the group when he noted in a February 6, 1898 “that ‘white cap organization’ in this city is going the rounds. It is wonderful how familiar some people are with such things.”

The men of the group were serious about their duty of monitoring the morals and social activities of the community. In 1889, John Burns, a farmer living north of Sedgwick, caught their attention.

White Caps & John Burns – 1889

By February 1889, small notices appeared in the local newspapers making threats to those the White Caps felt were acting outside of the morals of the county. In the Evening Kansan Republican on February 8, 1889, a notice appeared from the Sedgwick White Caps. They explained that they had left a notice for Mr. Burns of Sedwick which stated:

John Burns: You are hereby notified to move off of this place inside of 3 days from this date. What you get tonight will be nothing compared to what you will get if we have to come back. We will hand you to the first tree we come to. – White Caps”

This followed the typical pattern of the group. The notifications would be sent to the offender as a warning. The notices always had “a regular skull and cross bones and red ink seal.” The note also stated that Burns’ daughter who was living at the house should leave “before that night as they would call on them.”  Burns’ son saw the note and for some reason did not share it with his father. He took his sister to visit a neighbor, leaving their father at home alone.

Alone in the farmhouse, Burns heard a number of men approaching. He blew out the lights and waited with an ax as his only weapon.  Later he reported; “The men came close to the house and after firing a large number of shots into it with revolvers left.” They also left a second notice written in red ink; “We will give you two days to leave and if at the end of that time we come and find you here, we will hang you to the nearest tree. – White Caps”

Burns reported the incident to Deputy Sheriff Groom, who investigated at once and promised to provide protection.  The editor pondered “what Mr. Burns has done to make himself offensive to the cowardly regulators.”  (Evening Kansan Republican 07 February 1889)

Apparently, Burns was ready for their next visit at which they “riddled his house with bullets” but nothing more. Perhaps they were scared off because Burns “had fifteen old army comrades with him and each armed with a rifle.” Burns insisted that he would remain in his house and that he was ready for the White Caps, which the newspaper editor noted, “will no doubt make it interesting for any that come to regulate him.”

What was the motivation for the White Caps to visit John Burns?

One of the activities that the White Caps frowned on was abusive behavior. From the pension records for John Burns, it is clear that he was abusive to his wife. The abuse was so bad that she often feared for her life and lived apart from him. In April 1902, he was declared insane and sent to the Asylum in Topeka, where he died a short time later on April 26, 1902.

Kansas, 1896

Walton White Caps

The youth of Walton caught the attention of the White Caps in 1892. The White Caps sent warnings to change their behavior. (Evening Kansan Republican, 16 January 1892) Nothing more could be found, presumably the young people changed their behavior.

The End of the White Caps

The group’s activities dwindled after 1896 and the incident with Abe Weston.

In 1909, there is one last mention in the Weekly Kansan.  It was reported that the two men run out of town by “so-styled White Caps” had returned. The men received a second warning from the group. Nothing more was reported in the paper.

For a short time, some in Harvey County resorted to a type of vigilante justice that had echoes of past groups like the KKK and perhaps foreshadowed the revival of the Klan in the 1920s in Harvey County.

 

For more on Abe Weston – “Not the Most Peaceful People on Earth” Abe Weston – Harvey County Historical Society

For John Burns’ story – “A Woman of Good Moral Character” John Burns Pension – Harvey County Historical Society

Sources