From Gettysburg to Sedgwick: The Adventures of Charles Schaefer Part 2

Posted on by hchm-curator
Originally posted on Thursday, January 17, 2013 at From Gettysburg to Sedgwick: The Adventures of Charles Schaefer.

by Kristine Schmucker,Curator

Before settling in south central Kansas in the future town of Sedgwick, Charles Schaefer led an interesting life.  At the age of ten he left home and became a part of the frontier army at Fort Leavenworth and traveled throughout the territory as a scout.  For part 1 Successful Plainsman and Scout. For more adventures of Schaefer see Buried Secrets.

U.S. Army Scout

Schaefer wrote;

“In 1858 he went to San Antonia and there identified himself with the U.S. army as a scout, serving at Fort Clark, Ringold Barracks, and Brownsville; being at the latter place when the civil war broke out.  Knowing the officers on both sides so well he hesitated for sometime whether to cast his lot with the North or the South.  the question as to the right of a state to secede from the Union was the deciding factor and he enlisted October 16, 1860 in Company E 3rd U.S. Infantry, drawing his first uniform from the Alamo.” (“Autobiography” by Charles Schaefer)
Charles Schaefer
Seventeen year old Schaefer spent the first year of the Civil War at Fort Pickens, Florida.  From there he went to the Army of the Potomac where he served the rest of the war, participating in most of the important battles of that region” under the command of General Fitz John Porter.  Schaefer was wounded in the knee at Gettysburg.
General Fitz John Porter seated

“Dramatic Highlight of the Civil War”

The orders were not to fire, unless fired upon.  According to Schaefer, that order saved the life of General Robert E. Lee and prolonged the war.  Schaefer recounted the story for a newspaper reporter years later.

Standing behind a shock of newly cut wheat in a field near Gettysburg, Pa., a blue-coated man, age 20, leveled his rifle across the shock and took careful aim at the heart of a grey-coated man with stars on his shoulder and gold braid on his black slouch hat.  

“Don’t shot!” exclaimed the officer commanding the squad.

“But I must,” answered the lad with a ‘bead’ on the grey-coated man.  “That is General Lee.  He used to be in San Antonio when I enlisted there and so I know him.  Let me kill him.  It will end the war.”

But  the officer in charge of the blue-coated reconnoitering party was obdurate  . . So rather than disobey the order of his superior, Charles Schaefer . . . put up his weapon and Lee passed on without knowing how near he came to death.”  (Undated Clipping “Sedgwick Vet Once Had ‘bead’ on Rob’t E. Lee” in the Charles Schaefer File, Sedgwick Historical Museum, Sedgwick, Ks)

This was one of several stories that Schaefer would later tell about his experiences during the Civil War.  Schaefer mustered out in 1865, but reenlisted to serve as Post Quartermaster at Forts Harper and Zarah until 1869.  He was recognized for his service at Gettysburg in 1913, when each veteran was presented with a bronze metal cast from metal of cannons used during the war.

Home to Sedgwick, Kansas

He married Maria Theresa Rivallissa from New Mexico, in approximately 1868 and they decided to establish a more permanent home.

Maria M. Rivalissa Schafer, ca. 1868
In 1869, Charles Shaefer brought his bride to a place he had explored before while traveling with Col. Fauntleroy in the 1850s and again in 1860.  A place he remembered as a place of great beauty – the region near the convergence of the Big and Little Arkansas Rivers in south central Kansas.
Schaefer wrote:

“and as he again came into the valleys of the Little & Big Arkansas rivers, his keen vision and clear memory spotted again the characteristic view that had as first so impressed him.  I have already spoken of the fact that the only break in the broad monotony of prairie grass was the green made by the river trees.  South of the present site of Wichita a few miles was a  very thickly wooded place in the long line of green that marked the river.  This looked perfectly round from a  distance, and could be seen for miles.  El bosque Redondo, the Mexicans called it, and according to their tradition it had been known for years.     (“Autobiography” by Charles Schaefer)

Schaefer settled with his family on a ranch approximately four miles west what would become the City of Sedgwick in 1869.  He operated a supply store and engaged in raising cattle for a few years.  By the early 1870s, the Schaefer family had moved to the town of Sedgwick to open a grain and mercantile business with another early pioneer, William Finn.

Charles Schaefer (lt), William Finn (rt)
Charles and Maria’s second child, a daughter named Rosa, was born August 12, 1870 and  was the first white child born in what would become Harvey County.  The Schaefer’s had five children; Charles G., Rosa A., Esia J., John F. and Earl.  Maria died April 28, 1885 at the age of 43.  It was noted that “she was an early community worker and was loved by all — she helped many people.”
Five years later, Schaefer married Mary Francis Wilkin of Sedgwick.  According to Schaefer she “proved a most gentle and efficient mother to the bereaved children.” She died in 1924 at age 75.


Harvey County State Militia & Public Life

In 1874, Schaefer was again called on to serve his state.  Deputized by Kansas Governor Thomas A Osborne on July 15, 1874, Schaefer was charged with the responsibility to “raise a company of men to stop the Indian depredations that threatened the countryside.”

Document addressed to
Capt. Charles Schaefer, Harvey County State Militia
ordering the return of 30 Sharps Carbines.

 

Gov. Osborne organized the Kansas State Guards in response to Indian raids in western and southern Kansas mostly concentrated near Medicine Lodge, Ks. By the close of 1874, the Harvey County Militia was disbanded.

Schaefer continued in public life when he served as Deputy Register of Deeds for Sedgwick County from 1888-1892.  During this time the Schaefers lived in Wichita, Ks.
In 1892, President Cleveland appointed Schaefer Consul to Vera Cruz, Mexico.  He spoke fluent Spanish “and made a good record in diplomatic corps.”  He held this position for five years.
In 1897, he returned to Sedgwick where he took an active part in civic improvements until his death January 7, 1934 at the age of 92.

Sources:

House of Steel or “Why Am I Living in this Lunchbox?”: Lustron Homes

Posted on by hchm-curator

by Jane Jones, HCHM Archivist

Originally posted on Wednesday, July 3, 2013 at https://harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com/2013/07/house-of-steel-or-why-am-i-living-in.html

You have heard of the “Man of Steel,” the new Superman Movie now showing. Have you ever heard of the House of Steel?  Hang a picture? Use a magnet.  Instead of just your refrigerator filled with magnets your whole house could become filled with magnetized reminders.  Not only would you water your outside plants, but you could lift that hose slightly and wash down your outside walls! No need to paint the house. The all-steel, pre-fab Lustron home provoked one owner to say, “Why am I living in this lunch box?”

From Luston home ad

Newton has one Lustron Home at 408 Mead.  In 2001 it was featured on the Historical Society’s Home Tour.  The house was built by M.R. Stauffer, Wichita contractor, in 1949.  The local overseer was Jean Coleman who was Stauffer’s son-in-law and the person who persuaded Stauffer to build this unique home.  In fact, Coleman put down money to bring this project to fruition.

An open house was held September 10, 1949 in Newton showing this rather unusual home.  It was all steel, insulated and heated, and erected on a concrete platform.  The home had built-in plumbing, electric wiring conduits and was equipped with all utilities.  An article in the Kansan described the house as having a “large” living room, dinette, utility room, two “commodius” bedrooms, a “large beautiful” bathroom and a “world” of closets and “built-in” fixtures.  Everything was as complete and handy as a “pocket in a shirt” which is probably real estate jargon for small and compact!  All Lustron homes in Kansas are now on the National Historic Register.

Lustron home, 408 Mead

According to Elizabeth Rosin of Historic Preservation Services, LLC of Kansas City, MO from a letter received in December, 2000, 2500 Lustron homes were built nationwide between 1948 and 1950.  Of that number 100 existed in Kansas as of the year 2000.  Lustron home manufacturing was part of the suburban house building boom in America after World War II.  Due to the wartime economy there had developed a housing shortage. Returning GIs starting families wanted affordable housing.

Carl Stradlund, a Swedish immigrant was a self-taught engineer and the founder of the Lustron Corporation.  These pre-fab homes were thought to be the future for middle-class home ownership.  Costing $8,000-$10,000 depending on the model, they were to be manufactured on an assembly line like automobiles.  In fact, automobile workers were first hire-es at the Lustron plant in Columbus, Ohio.  Most models had at least 30,000 parts and could be loaded on Lustron trucks, taken to the building site and put up in 72 hours.

Financial problems dogged Stradlund, as well as, Washington politics. Backed by the Reconstruction Finance Corporation Stradlund received an initial investment to start manufacturing his steel homes. But the company found itself in the middle of a tug-of-war between the idealistic Stradlund who just wanted to build affordable homes and Washington bureaucrats who wanted to skim money from the project. The RFC tried to get their cronies to become major stockholders in Lustron even replacing Stradlund.  Carl refused to fold and ended up losing the company. He “went bust in 1950, leaving millions in debt and thousands of factory workers unemployed.”
Now Lustron homes are special historic oddities representing a different time in American housing.

Sources:

  • Historic Preservation Services, LLC December 26, 2000.Lustron Home is Open to Guests.  Newton Evening-Republican Sept 10, 1949.
  • Man of Steel: 2008 Farmers’ Almanac.
  • Lustron Luxury http:www.piranhagrphix.com/Lustron/.
  • E-Mail from Gini Johnson, daughter of Jean Coleman June, 2013.
  • Lustron: The House America’s Been Waiting For: A Documentary Film by Ed Moore, Bill Kubota & Bill Ferehawk 2002. (loaned by Gini Johnson).

A Woman of Strong Personality: Mrs. Anna B. Butler

Posted on by hchm-curator

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Archivist/Curator

Mrs. Anna B. Butler

Her hat caught my attention, then I noticed her strong, confident face and I wondered, what is her story?

Born in 1861 in Adams, Illinois, Anna Eliza Balfour Butler eventually married Henry J. Butler. The couple had one son, Carl. The family came to Newton perhaps as early as 1885. The 1885 City Directory lists “Mrs. H.J. Butler, crayon artist” as a boarder at the Howard House Hotel, Newton, Ks.

Henry died of “nervous prostration” in the late 1890s. Very little information can be found about him.

Mrs. Anna B. Butler was active in the Newton community. In 1898, she was the president of the newly formed French Club and active in the Themian Club, where she also served as president. Meetings were often held at her house 203 E Broadway. She was active in developing Themian Park in Newton.

“Practiced Law Here”

In 1902, Anna is listed as a lawyer in the Newton City Directory. Her obituary also makes note of her profession in Newton.  “Mrs. Butler was a former resident of Newton and practiced law here.” (Evening Kansan Republican,  7 Jan. 1919)

What did it mean? “Practiced Law Here?”

While women were admitted to law school as early as the 1860s, there were other ways to become a lawyer. In the late 1800s-early 1900s, a person could “read” for the law and were “examined” by a designated group of attorneys and judges, usually at the county or judicial district level. Once they passed, they could practice law.  Most of the early women lawyers in Kansas “read for the bar” in a lawyer’s office rather than attending law school. It is likely that Anna was one that “read for the bar.” Kansas apparently had a fair number of women lawyers. Linda Diane Henry Elrod writes, “by the end of the nineteenth century, Kansas had enough women lawyers that an 1898 newspaper article indicated that Kansas had more successful women lawyers than any other western state.”

In 1906, Anna sold her household goods and moved to Manhattan to be closer to Carl while he was in school at the university.

Evening Kansan Republican, 26 May 1906.

“Renewed Faith in Manhattan”

While she return to Newton to visit frequently, Anna and Carl put down roots in Manhattan, Ks. Anna became well known as a savvy businesswoman and land agent.

Morning Chronicle, 26 July 1911

She also did not waste time getting involved  in Manhattan, purchasing several properties along 14th Street.

In 1911, the Manhattan city council  proposed to enlarge 14th Street to connect the new city additions with old. The main property owner affected was Anna B. Butler. According to the newspapers, she argued for a different route than the one that went straight through her property. After she presented her ideas, “the matter was thoroughly – at times heatedly – discussed.” In the end, The city council went with the initial proposal with compensation for Anna to move one house and cover the damage to the property.

This  incident did not stop her. She continued to invest in the Manhattan  community. According to the Riley County Democrat, 5 April 1912, “Mrs. Anna B. Butler is exhibiting renewed faith in Manhattan by building three new houses on West Laramie street.” In 1916, she built another house at 14th & Laramie in Manhattan for $2,500 to use as a rental property.  (Morning Chronicle 15 July 1916)

She was “vitally interested in a business  way in the growth of the town. She was a woman of strong personality, deep convictions upon spiritual matters and a fine business woman.  . . . the center of her life interest was her son Carl. Between the two existed a sympathy, understanding and love of the highest type between mother and son.” (Manhattan Tribune, 9 January 1919)

In the winter of 1918, she traveled to Berkley, California to be near her son Carl, who was in the aviation branch of the service near Riverside CA. She died January 6, 1919 after sudden  illness which was later revealed to be stomach cancer. Her body was brought back to Newton for burial.

Both Henry and Anna are buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton, Ks.

Sources:

  • Newton Journal: 17 January 1919
  • Newton Daily Journal: 12 February 1898, 21 February 1898
  • Evening Kansan Republican: 28 May 1906, 15 August 1907, 12 September 1910, 15 September 1910, 15 July 1913, 7 January 1919, 13 January 1919, 15 January 1919, 22 August 1922
  • Riley County Democrat: 5 April 1912
  • Morning Chronicle: 26 July 1911, 15 July 1916
  • Manhattan Tribune: 9 January 1919
  • Manhattan Republican: 29 June 1911, 19 October 1911
  • Manhattan Mercury: 8 January 1919
  • Elrod, Linda Diane Henry. “Washburn Law School Celebrates a Century of
    Welcoming Women” Washburn Law School, Vo. 42. p. 854-907.