“A Woman of Good Moral Character” John Burns Pension

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

On September 7, 1862, the men of the 86th Illinois marched out of the gates of Camp Lyon, through the streets of Peoria with great fanfare to the train depot. There they joined the 85th and boarded the train for Camp Joe Holt, Jefferson, Indiana. Among the men in the 86th was 20 year old John W. Burns. Described as being 5′ 8″ in height with light complexion, dark hair and hazel eyes, John had volunteered a month earlier with the Union army. He listed his  occupation as a farmer.

Six days before he left, on September 1st, 1862, he married Zelpha L. “Lucy” Roberts in front of Justice of the Peace T. Baldwin in Marshall County, Ill.  According to later statements they had known each other since childhood.

Certificate of Record of Marriage, John W. Burns Civil War Pension File.

Three weeks later, John was a part of Col. Daniel McCook’s Brigade pursuing Confederate soldiers. At the Battle of Perryville, Kentucky, the 86th Ill suffered their first casualties.

Over the next two and a half years Private John W. Burns was witness to and a participant in numerous battles, including some of the bloodiest fighting in the Western Theatre including the Battles of Chicakauga, Resaca, Rome, Peach Tree Creek  all in Georgia, and Aversborough, N. Carolina. John was also along with Sherman on his infamous “March to the Sea.”

Sherman’s March to the Sea.

Toward the end of the Civil War, John was injured and sent to a hospital near Camp Butler, Springfield, Ill. PVT John W. Burns was discharged on May 2, 1865 and he returned to his home in Marshall County, Ill. He picked up the pieces of his life with his wife and resumed farming. John and Lucy had one child, Herbert H. Burns, born September 21, 1865.

The Burns family came to Harvey County, Ks in 1877 and settled to farm two miles northwest of Sedgwick, Ks.

There are not many clues as to what kind of person John Burns was prior to volunteering for the Union Army, but his time fighting had an affect on him.  By the mid-1880s, Burns began to have difficulties as a result of injuries received during the war including rheumatism.  He also became violent toward his wife, Lucy.

In 1892-3, he applied for a pension. The list of ailments that John Burns suffered from was included in his file. Sunstroke which happened “on or near Marietta, GA, June of 1864”  and resulted in many problems including derangement, vertigo, disease of brain, heart paralysis. Scurvy and rheumatism in the summer of 1864 also caused problems later in life.

John W. Burns List of Afflictions

In March 1893, he began receiving a pension of $30.00 a month “on account of disease of heart and nervous system, result of severe stroke . . . and rheumatism.” 

“Is not Inclined to Take his Incarceration Easily”

January 1, 1899, Lucy left their home in fear for her life in the middle of the night. The story of the abuse endured by Lucy was chronicled in John W. Burns’ Pension File.  Between the documents in the file and the newspaper, a very grim story emerges of the last years of John’s life.

On April 10, 1902,  Burns was judged to be insane. Since Harvey County did not have a facility that could take proper care of him, John stayed at Axtell Hospital where a male nurse was with him constantly. The Evening Kansan Republican concluded that “Mr. Burns is not inclined to take his incarceration easily and at times makes trouble for the attendants.”

At the end of April, he was transferred to the Asylum in Topeka, where he died a short time later on April 26, 1902. His obituary noted that he was one of the earliest settlers of Harvey County, an “old soldier” and “a well known character . . . however in the last years of his life he was afflicted with poor health and under the strain his mind gave way.” (Evening Kansan Republican,  26 April 1902.)

“I am the lawful widow of John W. Burns”

As the widow of John Burn, Lucy Burns was eligible to continue to receive his pension. However, she had to have documented proof that she was “the lawful widow of John W. Burns.”

The pension file of John W. Burns tells the tale of a mentally ill man and the abuse endured by his wife.

Lucy Burns, 55 years old, described the events that led her to separate from her husband in 1899.

“My husband, John W. Burns, commenced to abuse and ill treat me some two or three years ago. . . .One night in December 1896, he walks the floor all night long with a flat iron in his hand and he threatens to kill me. He has not supported me for the past fifteen years . . . the night I finally left him was January 1st, 1899, he pounded me with his fist and he threw me out of the house and then locks the door, so that I could not  get in.” 

Mrs. Burns went to a neighbors and did not go back.

“I am the wife of their only son”

Lucy’s daughter in law supported Lucy. Kate Burns, age 31, noted that she had known John and Lucy Burns for thirteen years. She stated;

“John W. Burns has been abusive to his wife during the entire time I have known them.  He often beat and pounded her, she has come to my house at midnight, often earlier to escape a beating. He has not supported her since I have known them.  She made a living by taking in sewing. . . He often swore at his wife and struck her in the face and blackened her eyes.  He would frequently pull hand full of hair out of her head. On a number of occasions, he threatened to kill her. His treatment finally became so bad bad she was compelled to leave him for her own safety. ” 

Initially, he kept possession of the house, but later moved to Newton. After he moved to Newton, Lucy returned to the Sedgwick area to be near her son and daughter-in-law. During the time of separation, and even prior, Lucy Burns had provide for herself working as a seamstress.  Witness statements in the pension file noted that the only thing that her husband had provided for her in thirteen years was a cloak.

Family members from Illinois also sent statements.

Statement from William Roberts.

In all the statements Lucy Burns was described as “a woman of good moral character,” who although living separated from her husband for her safety, was his lawful wife.  She never divorced him, or married another. She was deserving of the widows pension.

Lucy Burns died 14 November 1915 at the age of 72.

Sedgwick Pantagraph, 18 November 1915

“The Old Soldier“

John Burns was not alone among Civil War veterans from suffering lingering effects of what he saw and did during the war. Witness statements from people that knew him and his wife since childhood do not hint at violent behavior prior to the mid 1880s.  So what caused John Burns to become an abusive husband.

Some Civil War historians have looked into the idea that some of these men may have suffered from what  today is labeled PTSD. In the early 20th century, however, men with suffering from PTSD were diagnosed  with derangement, a feeble mind, insane. How to care for them was a complete unknown other than to send them  to a hospital that could handle the insane.

Burns was  not the only Civil War Veteran to be declared insane. One historian, Eric Dean studied admissions to the Indiana Hospital for the Insane and discovered 291 Civil War veterans were admitted many with violent and erratic behavior or acute panic attacks and  suicidal thoughts. Dean attributed this to the trauma experienced either in battle or in prisons. For many “old soldiers” of the Civil War, it never quite ended. Even though he returned physically, John W. Burns’ emotional injuries took a toll on both himself and his family in later years.

Sources

  • Burns, John W. File. The John C. Johnston Collection of Civil War Pensions, HCHM Archives.
  • Evening Kansan Republican: 24 April 1902, 25 April 1902, 26 April 1902.
  • Sedgwick Pantagraph: 18 November 1915.
  • Information on John W. Burns’ Civil War Record courtesy Baxter B. Fite III on Find A Grave and via e-mail with author.
  • Horwitz, Tony. “Did Civil War Soldiers Have PTSD?” Smithsonian Magazine January 2015.

This blog post is part of a Heritage Grant from Humanities Kansas to digitize the John C. Johnston Civil War Pension Collection. As part of the project HCHM, seeks to tell the stories of these men and their families.

Humanities Kansas is an independent nonprofit spearheading a movement of ideas to
empower the people of Kansas to strengthen their communities and our democracy. Since
1972, our pioneering programming, grants, and partnerships have documented and shared
stories to spark conversations and generate insights. Together with our partners and
supporters, we inspire all Kansans to draw on history, literature, ethics, and culture to enrich their
lives and serve the communities and state we all proudly call home. Visit humanitieskansas.org.

The Sears Pig

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

History is full of tiny, yet interesting stories.  Such is the case of the “Sears Pig.” Recently, I gave a presentation in partnership with the Newton Public Library, Tales & Tails: Usual & the Unusual Pets. One 4-H photo featured a young woman with her Sears Pig Project. I had not had time to research this, so I asked if anyone knew about this project. The next day I had some good answers from friends listening to the program.

Sears-Roebuck 4-H Pig Projects

The “Sears Pig” was part of unique program was popular in the 1940s-60s often known as a “livestock chain.”  4-H and FFA Clubs were active participants in the educational program. The Sears-Roebuck Plan selected ten 4-H Club members in a county who were given purebred pigs. They raised and bred the animals and gave one pig from their first litter to the organization. The ten animals given to the county agricultural agent would then be placed with ten more student participants.

They also participated in county showing and judging events with small cash prizes.

This enabled the young people to build their own stock.

Mary Ann Covalt with Sears Pig, 4-H, 1950s Ellen Samuelson Collection

Although support for these programs came from several sources, the most notable was the Sears-Roebuck Foundation. Sears provided animals and funding to support the livestock chains throughout the country. At one point Sears had 1,253 swine programs in operation all across the country.

There were also other livestock chains including poultry, dairy calf, beef heifer, and bull chains.

Sources

  • The Friday Footnote: Livestock Chains (5/3/2019) https://footnote.wordpress.ncsu.edu/
  • Hurford, David D. “The Sears-Roebuck Foundation: A business history of the Sears, Roebuck public relations program, 1950-1960.” Master’s Thesis, Business Administration, 1962. University of Southern California. http://digitallibrary.usc.edu/digital/collection/p15799coll26/id/310268

Building a Healthy Community: Early Pioneers

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by Kristine Schumcker, HCHM Curator

This is the last in our month long focus on #thisplacematters celebrating Historic Preservation. This post highlights a different kind of building – not a physical building, but a building of a better community. Each of these women were early pioneers in health care in Harvey County.
These women  dedicated their lives to the health of the Newton community.  Their work provided the foundation for several  medical and health services we take for granted today.  From a public nurse assisting with immunizations and bringing health information to those in need to it to building hospitals and overseeing the operations.

Deaconesses. Doctors and Hospitals

Two of the women were closely involved in the building and overseeing of Newton’s two hospitals; Sister Frieda Kauffman and Dr. Lucene Axtell.

Dr. Lucena Axtell

Dr. Lucena Axtell

Lucena was one of two women to graduate from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in in Kansas City in 1897. Dr. Anna Perkins, also from Newton was the other. Following her graduation, she resumed management of the hospital and also set up a private practice.

Together with her husband, Dr. John Axtell, opened Axtell Christian Hospital in 1887. The first hospital in Newton, Ks.

Her daughter Marian Axtell Hanna later recalled:

“Years after she stopped practicing . . . people would come up to her and say, “Oh, Dr. Lucena, surely you remember me. I was so sick and doctor thought that I would surely not live. But you came and stood beside me and held me by the hand and it made me feel so much better.” That was the phrase that always was reiterated, “You held me by the hand and I felt so much better.” daughter Marian Axtell Hanna

Sister Frieda Kauffman

On May 27, 1942, Sister Frieda Kaufman received the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Bethel College for her lifelong work as a deaconess and ‘sister-in-charge’ of the Bethel Deaconess Home and Hospital in Newton, Ks. She was the first Mennonite woman to receive an honorary degree from a Mennonite institution of higher learning.

Born in Germany many of her early teachers were Lutheran Deaconesses and Catholic nuns. They had a profound impact on young Frieda. At the age of 8, Frieda with her family migrated to the U.S. arriving in Halstead Ks on July 2, 1892.  As she grew up in Halstead, her childhood affinity with the deaconess and nuns did not diminish. She later recalled “the desire of her heart to become a sister did not disappear” as she got older. In 1902, she began the first step to her goal when she began at training  the Interdenominational Deaconess Home & Hospital in Cincinnati. She returned to Kansas ready to serve.

On June 11, 1908, the Bethel Deaconess Home & Hospital, located on south Pine in Newton, was dedicated and the first three ordained Mennonite deaconesses in America were ordained, Sisters Frieda Kaufman,  Catherine Voth and Ida Epp. At the age of twenty-five, Sister Frieda was appointed deaconess mother and superintendent of the hospital in addition to her nursing duties. She also taught and oversaw the nurses’ training school at Bethel Deaconess Hospital.

As deaconess mother, Sister Frieda oversaw the day-to-day activities of the hospital. In the early years most of the work at the hospital was performed by the deaconesses.  Several were trained RNs, like Sister Frieda, but all helped with housekeeping and laundry.

On August 7, 1944, at the age of sixty, Sister Frieda Kaufman passed away due to complications from diabetes and a heart condition.  She was buried in the Bethel Sister Family lot at Greenwood Cemetery, Newton Ks.

With almost single minded purpose Sister Frieda Kaufman became a deaconess and spent the rest of her life encouraging other women to join her in the work.  She enjoyed people, which contributed to her success as a nurse. She could have been a nurse without becoming a deaconess.  She chose to become a deaconess —  she saw it as a way of life.

Public Health

This past year we have learned of the importance of public health. Harvey County  was an early leader in this area and was one of the first counties in Kansas to establish a Public Health Nurse.  Three of the women were pioneers in the area of public health, Sister Anna Penner, Miss Johanna Conway and Miss Lillian Fitzgerald.

The roots for the Public Nurse got it’s start when the Bethel Deaconess  Women’s Auxiliary was established on March 22, 1910.  One of their many projects was to sponsor a public nurse in Newton.

Sister Anna Gertrude Penner

Sister Anna was ordained in 1916 and went to work at the Bethel Deaconess Hospital.  Seeing a need in the community, Sister Anna decided to expand her role into the community and become the first the Public Health Nurse from 1916-1921.  In this role, Sister Anna joined a national movement started by Lillian Wald in New York that sought to educate and care for the health of the community and especially the poor.

Her duties were varied and went beyond caring for the sick to educating people on proper hygiene and safety. In 1918, the responsibility to finance the Public Nurse program was shifted to the city of Newton.

In 1966, Sister Anna was the first Bethel Deaconess to serve for 50 years. Sister Anna Gertrude Penner “quietly departed” on February 22, 1967. She is buried in Greenwood Cemetery along with the other Bethel Deaconesses.

Miss Johann Conway

At the same time,  a group of women at St. Mary’s Catholic Church became concerned about the conditions of the “Mexican Camps.” One of the early leaders was Miss Johanna Conway who  served as one of seven directors for the “Public Health Service.”   Goals of the committee included teaching English and needed skills for future employment including “industrial work and sanitation  lines of work.” 

In October, the Evening Kansan Republican reported “under the able leadership of Miss Jo” a “band of willing” women spent two afternoons each week “teaching both old and young Mexicans those things which they ought to know but do not know.

Miss Johann was born in Ohio and came to Newton in 1895 where she lived with her brother and sister. She dedicated her life to providing help and education to the Mexican community in Newton.

Her obituary in the October 5, 1929  Evening Kansan Republican concluded;

“A devout member of the Catholic church, a pioneer  worker in St Mary’s parish. . . . She was a leader and organizer in humanitarian work of the community. . . . Her welfare work with the Mexican settlement . . . [where] she has been working assiduously until her illness, a work that cannot be measured on this earth.”

Miss Lillian Fitzgerald

Miss Lillian Fitzpatrick also focused her work in Newton on the Mexican community.  In the early 1920s, she worked as a “City Health Nurse” in Newton, Ks.  One important responsibility of the City Nurse was “to see that adequate medical and hospital treatment are secured for all indigent persons.”  She was expected to not only be a knowledgeable nurse or health care provider, but also be familiar with local agencies that provide assistance to those in need. The position of city nurse was “supported by public funds or by other means of a public nature.” (Evening Kansan Republican,  22 September 1922.)

One of Miss Lillian’s projects included caring for the Mexican American mothers and children that lived at the ranchito in Newton. She oversaw the building of the Mexican Health Center. Described by the Evening Kansan Republican  as “a substantial and adequate building the Santa Fe railroad . . . erected for the public health work among the Mexicans of this camp.” 

Vaccines & Well Baby Checks

There were many occasions for all of these women to work together as their goals of a healthy community were the same. Much of the work reported in the Kansan Evening Republican centered around vaccinations and well baby checks for all Harvey County children. Educating young mothers was another priority.

As City Nurse, Miss Lillian worked with doctors and nurses from the two hospitals to provide information and care to new mothers. Education on disease prevention was a strong component for all of their work. Administering the small pox vaccine was another high priority. Miss Lillian  assisted Dr. Roff with small pox vaccinations at the “Mexican Camps” in the early 1920s.

In connection with Bethel Deaconess Hospital “Well Baby Clinics” were held at various locations in Newton. The Evening Kansan Republican reported on several clinics held by Miss Lillian in conjunction with Sister Catherine Voth, Bethel Deaconess Hospital, and Miss Lucille Thomas, Red Cross Nurse. In September 1922, a “white baby clinic” was held.  Sister Catherine spoke on malnutrition. A meeting for “colored babies and mothers” was held on a separate afternoon.

Each of these women were pioneers in health care, each one dedicating a significant part of their life to the service and care of others, often for little to no pay. Their work formed the foundation for many institutions and services that we have today from the Newton Medical Center to the Harvey County Health Department.

For more on each of these women follow the links in the post to learn  their individual stories.