Joe Rickman: Stone Mason, Businessman & Bootlegger

Posted on by hchm-curator
This is an updated article based on a previously published post on Friday, February 8, 2013 at Voices of Harvey County: Stone Mason – Joe Rickman (harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com)
by Kristine Schmucker, Curator
This is the second in our series featuring the Rickman/Anderson/Clark/McWorter families who settled in Harvey County in 1871. For the first installment which features Mary Rickman Anderson Grant see: An Ordinary, Amazing Woman: Mary Rickman Anderson Grant – Harvey County Historical Society (hchm.org)

Eldest Son

Joseph C. Rickman was Mary Rickman Anderson Grant’s oldest son. Joseph was born November 2, 1850 in White County, Tennessee. His mother, Mary, was about 15 years old when he was born.  It is uncertain who his father was; according to family genealogies David Anderson, Mary’s first husband, was not his father and Joseph always used his mother’s maiden name, Rickman. On his death certificate, however, David Anderson is listed as his father.
Joseph C. Rickman
Photo Courtesy Jullian Wall

Joseph Rickman was twenty-one years old when he came to Kansas in 1871 with his mother, Mary Rickman Anderson, to homestead alongside his stepfather, David, sisters; America, Lucy and Tennessee, and brothers; Wayman, Jefferson, and Nathaniel.

Rickman Anderson Brothers
A few years later, Joe returned to Tennessee for a brief time.  On October 26, 1874, he married Lucinda Paige.  The newlyweds returned to Harvey County and Joe farmed.  They had five children, the three girls Linnie, Estelle and Alta died very young and were buried on the Rickman homestead.  Only the two boys, Clarence (b. 1884) and Ocran (b. 1889) lived to adulthood.
Lucinda Paige Rickman
Photo courtesy Jullian Wall
Joe and Lucinda had moved to Newton by 1885. The family was living at 424 w 5th and Joe was working as a laborer.  Two years later, Joe is listed as a stone mason.  According to family tradition, he helped to build the Warkentin Mill (today known as the Old Mill), and the Administration Building on the Bethel College Campus, North Newton. It is not known what other buildings Joe might have worked on over the span of his career.  He also could have been part of the crew, along with nephew Pat Rickman, that laid the bricks for Newton’s streets.
Warkentin Mill & Train Yards at Main & Third,
Newton, Ks, ca. 1915

Constantly Increasing Business

By 1905 the family had moved to 114 W 4th Newton. While in Newton, Joe was also a businessman. In April 1900, he built a two story, seven room house on west 5th street.  Joe also operated a restaurant and rooming house on west 4th street.  In 1908, he needed to enlarge the building. The addition, located on the west side of the existing structure, was two stories high, 12 feet by 40 feet with a brick front. It was noted in the Newton Kansan that “Mr. Rickman finds the addition room needed because of his constantly increasing business.”

Bootlegging and Gambling

In March 1913, Joe was arrested, charged with “bootlegging and running a nuisance.”  On the evening of May 15, 1913, authorities again raided Joe’s place. While he was not arrested this time, two “vagrants” J.E. Hill, white, and Katy Robbins, colored, were charged with vagrancy. They each had a bond of $15.00. Another patron of the establishment, “Big Boy” Taylor, paid the bond for Katie Robbins. Both Hill and Robbins failed to show up the next morning and forfeited the bond. The editor of the Newton Kansan noted that the new county attorney Hart was “going after the rough element” to “put a stop to the all the bootlegging and gambling” in Newton.
This was not the first time Joe Rickman had run afoul of Newton’s law enforcement. The area of W 4th and W 5th was the target of many police raids over the years. Rickman’s place was no exception.
In October 1903, the Newton police raided the “sporty colored population” on W 4th & W 5th. Joe Rickman was one among several brought in. He was “convicted of running an immoral resort and fined $50 and costs amounting in all to $61.50 which was paid.”
The most serious offense took place in 1909, when Rickman was put on trial for stabbing Arthur Childs in Harry Lum’s place. According to the Newton Kansan around 2:00 am “Joe Rickman stuck his stiletto into Arthur Childs” at Harry Lum’s place on W 4th. When witnesses along with Rickman and Childs were questioned, “they shut up like clams.” 
The Kansan suggested that the altercation could have been over some money Rickman owed Childs. After Childs struck Rickman, Rickman “drew a knife and stabbed Childs in the right breast.” The knife hit a rib which resulted in a flesh wound and not a fatality. The reporter express frustration over the lack of cooperation of witness and even the victim Childs who treats the matter lightly and seems not disposed to sign a complaint.” Ultimately, his father, Frank Childs, signed a complaint against Rickman. After a trial at the end of March, Rickman was found guilty and sentenced by Judge Mears a fine of fifty dollars and sixty days in jail. Rickman appealed the case to the district court.
Joseph C. “Joe” Rickman died in May 1918 at the age of 68.  Lucinda lived at 114 W 4th until her death in 1931 at the age of 76.
Clarence, son of Joe C. and Lucinda Rickman, owned and operated a “recreation parlor” locatedat 114 W 4th, Newton for a number of years, possibly from 1911 – 1913.  Clarence was married to Jessie J. Greenboam, a native of London, England, on June 13, 1917. Their other son, Ocran, served in World War I.  At the time of his death in 1955, he was living in Omaha, Nebraska.
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. 


Sources: 

  • Newton City Directories, 1885, 1887, 1902, 1905, 1911, 1913, 1918. Harvey county Historical Museum & Archives, Newton, Ks
  • Evening Kansan Republican: 10 January 1900,27 April 1900, 9 August 1900, 1 April 190217 October 1903, 3 June 1910, 15 October 1910, 13 March 1913, 21 March 1913, 7 May 1913, 16 May 1913, 6 May 1914

Many a Building  Stands Today Due His Skill: Pat Rickman & Joe Rickman

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by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

The 3rd in our series of posts celebrating Historic Preservation Month focusing on the people behind the buildings.

Newton in the 1880s was a booming town. Businessmen filled with optimism were constructing lavish buildings for their businesses and homes.

In most cases, we know about these men and their families or the information is fairly easy to find. The names of the architects and contractors for the building are frequently mentioned in the newspapers. But, who were the men who did the actual work of putting the stone upon stone or crafting the beautiful woodwork? Their names are harder to find.

Administration Building, Bethel College

Perhaps, the most recognized historic building in Harvey County is the Administration Building on the Bethel College Campus, N. Newton. The idea for a Mennonite College came largely from a group of  leaders, including David Goerz, in the early 1880s.  They envisioned a grand building fit for a place of higher learning.  The businessmen of Newton were also enthusiastic about the idea of a college near to town.  Little did anyone know how long it would take to finish this project. (see note at the end of post)

The Building Committee, led by David Goerz, first approached the well known architectural firm, the Varney Bros. They had designed  the Clark Hotel and the Hoag House. The excited committee met with the architects and described their desire for a splendid building on the empty Kansas prairie north of Newton. Discussions with the Varney Bros seemed to stall at one point and no usable plans were produced. The building committee regrouped and decided to go with a new Wichita firm, Proudfoot & Bird.  Ed Slater, a local man, was chosen as contractor and work began.

Detail of stone arch, Ad Building.

Pat Rickman: Contractor & Stone Mason

Almost everyday, young Hazel Rickman would walk across the prairie, cross Sand Creek and bring lunch to her father, Patrick Rickman.  Perhaps she sang while she walked or simply enjoyed the sound of the birds. Rickman was one of the stone masons working on the new college building. Perhaps she brought lunch for her other relative, Joe Rickman.  In later years, Hazel remembered this time fondly.

Patrick Rickman  was a well-known  craftsman in Harvey County. According to family tradition,  Rickman was the head of the construction company that employed several members of the larger Rickman/Anderson family.  To support Hazel’s memory, the Newton newspapers provide several clues that link Pat Rickman and E. Slater, the contractor for Bethel College.

Detail of stone work, Ad Building.

In October 1886, the Newton Daily Republican, noted that E. Slater,
“who is the mason work on the Swenson Block, ran out of stone . . . and laid off all the men but Pat Rickman.” When the shipment of stone came in, he asked the men to come back, “but they refused . . . their grievance was that Mr. Slater had kept Rickman, a colored man, at work . . .while they were laid off.”

Swenson Building, 1886, northeast corner of 6th & Main, Newton. Varney Bros, Architect. The home of the First National Bank. Demolition in the late 1970s.

E. Slater was also the contractor for the brick and stone work for the Clark Hotel, built in 1887, and Pat Rickman was likely among the skilled laborers in the crew.

Clark Hotel, 409 N. Main, Newton, Ks. Architect Varney Bros.

Finally, the working relationship between the two men becomes apparent when Slater testified in Rickman’s murder trial in February 1895. Ed Slater testified that Rickman worked with him often and concluded “I had always been friendly” with him.

Rickman also worked with another contractor, Ed Fox. The newspaper reported that the two worked together to repair the base blocks at the Ragsdale Opera House. Over the winter the stones had became water soaked, froze and then crumbled.

Newton Daily Republican, July 2, 1890.

“A Great Deal of Work to be Done”

Throughout the 1880s, there was a great demand for skilled stone masons.  The editor of the Newton Daily Republican, after speaking with one of the contractors noted, “the truth is that there is a great deal of work to be done and many brick and stone masons are employed on other buildings.” The same article noted that most of the stone masons and brick layers received between $3.00 and $3.25 a day in 1886. (Newton Daily Republican 12 March 1886)

Improving Newton’s Streets

Patrick Rickman also had a crew that bricked many of Newton’s streets.

Pat Rickman’s crew paving the streets in front of St. Mary’s Church , corner of 8th & Main, Newton.

Pat Rickman’s crew paving a residential street.

Patrick Rickman
Photo courtesy Anderson/Rickman Families
Born in White County, Tennessee on July 31, 1857, Pat came to Harvey County in 1879.  He was a skilled stone mason and brick layer and ran his own construction company. He  also participated in local politics serving as a Republican delegate for the Fourth Ward several years.

Newton Daily Republican 11 October 1886.

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.)

Joe Rickman: Stone Mason

Pat Rickman no doubt hired many of his relatives to work for him. With skilled stone masons in high demand,  Joseph C. Rickman was among those working.
Joseph C. Rickman
Photo Courtesy Anderson/Rickman Families

Joseph Rickman was twenty-one years old when he came to Kansas with his mother, Mary Rickman Anderson, to homestead alongside his stepfather, David, sisters; America, Lucy and Tennessee, and brothers; Wayman, Jefferson, and Nathaniel.

Joe worked as a laborer and a stone mason.  According to family tradition, he helped to build several Newton landmarks including the Warkentin Mill (today known as the Old Mill). He also worked for  Pat on the Administration Building on the Bethel College Campus. It is not known what other buildings Joe might have worked on over the span of his career.
He likely was part of  Pat Rickman’s crew that  laid the bricks for Newton’s streets.

Warkentin Mill, 3rd & Main, Newton, ca. 1900.

Unfortunately, Joe appears in the newspapers more frequently for fighting, usually with Arthur Childs, than for his work. His name may not appear in the newspapers for his skill as a stone mason, but  Joe Rickman was one of the many who used skill and hard work to build the city of Newton. Joseph C. “Joe” Rickman died in May 1918 at the age of 68.

Note:

  • The cornerstone for Bethel College was placed October 1888. Shortly after that construction work halted due to lack of funds.  The building was completed and classes began in 1893.

Sources: 

  • Newton City Directories, 1885, 1887, 1902, 1905, 1911, 1913, 1918. Harvey county Historical Museum & Archives, Newton, Ks
  • Newton Daily Republican: 1 October 1886; 11 October 1886; 12 March 1886; 14 May 1887
  • Evening Kansan Republican, 25 August 1926
  • Sprunger, Keith L. Bethel College of Kansas, 1887-2012. N. Newton: Bethel College, 2012.

 

 

 

 

“Our Good Laundryman:” Harry Lum

Posted on by hchm-curator

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Harry Lum, probable friend to all, but close to no one, was a man that lived on the edges of the Newton community, providing a much needed service as “our good laundry man” for close to 30 years. He also had the distinction of being Newton’s first, and for many years, only person from China.

In 1880, 26 year old Harry was a miner in Humboldt, California.  At the time, he was living in the household of Po Bar with a group of six other men, all from China. Harry must not have enjoyed mining as within three years he was living in Newton, Kansas. He married 22 year old Beckie Swader on May 29.

 

Chinese Laundry: Harry Lum, Prop.

Newton Daily Republican, 22 August 1888

In January 1884, the Lums opened a “new Chinese laundry” in Newton at their home at 116 W 4th. The Weekly Democrat noted that he “comes well recommended, and guarantees satisfaction.”

“Tired of ‘Wedded Bliss.”

Shortly after their marriage, the Lums began to have trouble. The Newton Daily Republican reported that “Harry Lum, the celestial who presides over the washee [sic] house on West Fifth street, has commenced suit for a divorce.” Rebecca “Beckie” Lum, described as a “lady of color,” was accused of “infidelity, abuse, gross neglect of wifely duties, frequent absences from home and finally abandonment” when she went to Sterling and had not returned “to his knowledge.”

By December 1886, the marriage was over and Lum put a notice in the Newton Daily Republican indicating that Beckie Lum had deserted him and “not to trust her on my account.”

Newton Daily Republican, 9 November 1886

A year later, Lum married Alice (or Alize) Plice. Alice, a colored woman born in Kentucky in 1853, was also divorced from her first husband, Abraham Taylor, of Sedgwick County.

The Newton Kansan described the marriage ceremony:

“Harry Lum, a Chinaman without a queue and Alice Plice, a colored woman with out bangs, were licensed to marry to-day.”

Newton Kansan, 1 December 1887

There are brief mentions of Harry in the late 1880s. On November 10, 1887, the Newton Kansan reported that a drunken soldier went to Lum’s laundry and “raised ‘peculia hellee’ to use the language of the excited Chinaman” [sic] when reporting the crime. He was also mentioned in the obituary of Mrs. Lucy Russell, who was “dearly loved and greatly respected by those of her race,” and the mother of his second wife Alice.

“Renounced Allegiance to Chinese Empire”

The Newton Daily Republican reported in February 1889 that Harry Lum “our good laundry man . . .who was born and reared in the Celestial Empire . . renounced allegiance to Chinese Empire” and became an American citizen. The editor noted that Mr. Lum “has always borne a good reputation and will not abuse the privilege this day conferred upon him.”

Even though Lum became a US citizen, he was still subject to the anti-immigration laws focused on the Chinese in the 1880s and 1890s. The Weekly Republican reported in the November 18, 1892 issue that “Revenue Collector McCanse . . . was here to secure a photograph of Harry Lum, our sole Chinese resident.” 

 In 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act  was enacted, however it was only valid for 10 years. The Geary Act in 1892  extended the exclusion of Chinese laborers for another decade. The Act required Chinese residents in the U.S. to carry special documentation—certificates of residence—from the Internal Revenue Service. Those who were caught not carrying the certificates were sentenced to hard labor and deportation, and bail was only an option if the accused were vouched for by a “credible white witness.”

An example of the required Certificate of Residence. Although this is not Harry Lum, it is an example of the document he would have carried.

In the spring of 1892, Harry suffered a painful accident. While ironing clothes for the Clark Hotel, two of his fingers got caught between the rollers causing a severe injury. The Evening Kansan noted “it will be some time before he is able to resume work.”

“All old scores are blotted out and friendships renewed”

A reporter from the Newton Daily Republican took some time in February 1894 to interview Lum about the Chinese New Year. During the holiday, “all old scores are blotted out and friendships renewed.”  According to Lum, “the Chinaman who does not forgive a fellow countryman during these two weeks is a black sheep and all other Chinamen turn their backs up on him.”  Lum noted that “like white men, many Chinamen get hilariously full on New Years and paint the town a bright crimson hue.”

Lum, however, celebrated the holiday like Christmas and had “dispensed with the insignia of all devout heathen . . . and follows the custom of his brother Kansans and is strictly temperate.”  The editor closed with this description of Lum; “he has an idea that it is a capital offense to drown one’s senses in Kansas bug juice and he will neither drink whisky nor hit the opium pipe.” (Newton Daily Republican, 6 February 1894)

“A Little Gambling”

 Lum apparently enjoyed  gambling.  The Wichita Star, August 1888, noted that Lum, “the christainized celestial from Newton was taking in the races to-day and betting his money allee samee like white man.” [sic]

Gambling also brought trouble to Harry. This was the case in August 1900, when Lum reported a robbery.

“Frank Weston, a gentleman of color, had procured a sum of money from him in a manner not prescribed by law. It seems there was a little gambling device operated in a shed back of the laundry.” At the end of the evening. Lum was counting his winnings when “Weston grabbed a handful of silver, alleged to be $20 and forthwith made his escape.” Weston was arrested. (Newton Kansan, 3 August 1900)

“Of Some Notoriety”

Harry’s wife, Mrs. Alice Lum, was more notorious in the Newton community.  In 1892, she was found guilty of keeping a bawdy house and fined $50. Fights at the Lums  were not uncommon. Abe Weston, also a Black man, was frequently involved.  On March 26, 1892, the Evening Kansan Republican reported that Mrs. Harry Lum had issued a complaint against Abe Weston, who was arrested for assault. In return, Weston reported that Mrs. Lum kept a bawdy house and as a result she was arrested.

In 1907, Lum’s was the site of a shooting. John Allen shot Frank Jordan, both Black men, in  the home of Lum. This gained statewide attention.

The Lum’s home was again the site of a drunken brawl in 1909 during which “Joe Rickman stuck his stiletto into Arthur Childs.”  The reporter observed that “it had to be said to the credit of Harry that he does not seem to have participated to any great extent, if at all.” (Evening Kansan Republican, March 11, 1909)

What happened to Harry Lum?

In 1902, Lum sold his Newton business to another Chinese man, Shung Lee, and worked at Peabody during the week and spent Sundays in Newton. This business arrangement apparently did not last long.  Shung Lee was not mentioned again and Lum returned to Newton to oversee the business.

Harry Lum’s exit from Newton seems to have passed without notice or comment. On December 28, 1910, Harry Lum and wife sold Lot 20, block 13, in Newton to Mary O. Grant for $1300. Shortly after that an announcement in the paper noted that Mrs. Harry Lum was moving to California, where she likely lived for the rest of her life.

Evening Kansan Republican, 23 May 1911.

A Mrs. Alice Lum died March 17, 1915, and was  buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Oakland, Alameda Co, CA.  She was 62. It is possible that this was Harry Lum’s wife.

Evergreen Cemetery
Oakland, Alameda County, California.
PLOT Garden of Serenity

Harry Lum, born in China in 1852 to Ward Lang Lum and Lara Lum, Newton’s “good laundry man, ” disappeared  from the record after 1910-1911. A notification of Harry Lum’s death, or a place of burial has not been found.