The Roads Were of Course Bad: Thanksgiving 1918

by Kristine Schmucker, HCHM Curator

Today, the weather in Kansas is dreary and getting colder.  The north wind is beating against the large windows of the museum.  It is a good day to stay inside.  Before television and video games, people had to find other entertainment on cold Kansas days. 

Playing a Game
HCHM Photo Archives

Waive Kline described her Thanksgiving Day 1918 in a letter to Glenn Wacker, who was serving with the United States Army in France during World War I.  Harvey County had received a fair amount of rain throughout October and November.  The rural roads were frequently impassible and this proved to be true on Thanksgiving Day.

"This has surely been a beautiful day.  This morning when we got up everything was covered with snow. The evergreen trees in the front yard were so full of snow that they bent almost to the ground. . . . The roads were of course bad. We had  invited  Aunt Elva's here so we were rather disappointed when the roads had to get so bad.  As it was the Kline family ate their Thanksgiving dinner by their 'lonesomes'. . . . We haven't done much to-day.  I have read a lot and tatted some.  I started to read a book." (Letter Waive Kline, Newton, Kansas to Glenn Wacker, France, Thanksgiving Day, Waive & Glenn Wacker Collection, HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks)

No doubt, many rural Harvey County families were home bound on Thanksgiving Day in 1918 and for entertainment played games together, read and worked on handwork.

Playing a Game
Lucile Mitchel Miller Collection
1917

Our next exhibit, Games People Play, will open January 18, 2014.

Sources

• Letter - Waive Kline, Newton, Kansas to Glenn Wacker, France, Thanksgiving Day, Waive and Glenn Wacker Collection, HCHM Archives, Newton, Ks)

For other blog posts featuring the Glenn and Waive Kline Wacker Collection click here.

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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.  Part one of the series can be read here http://harveycountyvoices.blogspot.com/2012/12/a-successful-plainsman-and-scout.html. Part 2 focuses on the Civil War and his adult life.

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, p. 1-2. Charles Schaefer File, Sedgwick Historical Museum, Sedgwick, Ks) 

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, Charles Schaefer File, Sedgwick Historical Museum, Sedgwick, Ks) 

 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.  ("Autobiography" by Charles Schaefer, Charles Schaefer File, Sedgwick Historical Museum, Sedgwick, Ks)

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. ("County Loses Its Oldest Pioneer" Charles Schaefer Obituary; Evening Kansan Republican January 8, 1934, p.1)

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:

•  "Autobiography" by Charles Schaefer, Charles Schaefer File, Sedgwick Historical Museum, Sedgwick, Ks
•  "Sedgwick Vet Once Had 'bead' on Rob't E. Lee" undated clipping in the Charles Schaefer File, Sedgwick Historical Museum, Sedgwick, Ks
• "County Loses Its Oldest Pioneer" Charles Schaefer Obituary; Evening Kansan Republican January 8, 1934, p.1
• Report of Adjutant General, p. 47; Combined Kansas Reports (Google eBook) Kansas 0 Reviews Kansas State Printing Plant., 1875, 
• For more information on the 1874 conflicts that led to the formation of the Militias see: http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ksbarber/osage_indians_1874.html; http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ksbarber/osborn_j_29sept1927.html;

This blog post is in connection to our current exhibit featuring the Harvey County community of Sedgwick, Kansas.  Thank you to the Sedgwick Historical Museum, Sedgwick, Ks, for providing access to their collections related to the history of Sedgwick.   

Visit our web page at http://hchm.org/ for information available for family history research.

Full Cycle: The Beginning and End of the Harvey County Poor Farm - Part 1

 This is the first of a two-part series on the county poor house by guest blogger, Deb Hiebert.  Deb is the Director at the Harvey County Historical Museum & Archives. The article first appeared in a March 2012 edition of “The Newton Kansan,” and since that time research has revealed more clues about the farm.  This article has been modified to include new information.  The June 21 blog will feature Part 2 of the Harvey County Poor Farm.

"I'm old, I'm helpless and feeble;

and the days of my youth have gone by;

and it's over the hill to the poor house,

I must wander alone there to die."

The chorus of Over the Hill to the Poor House, written by famous bluegrass artists Flatt and Scruggs, refers to the by-gone institution of the county poor house or farm. Prior to the creation of the federal Social Security system in the early 1930’s, the care of economically disadvantaged citizens (due to, for example, advanced age, widowhood, single motherhood or injury), as well as those with mental or physical challenges, fell to individual county governments. If the county was well populated, a poor house was established, and these were the precursors of hospitals and “insane asylums.” Poor farm legislation is included in the original state constitution, and most counties offered relief for the poor by the mid-1870’s.


Such was the case in Harvey County. The November 4, 1873 election resulted in $3,000 in bonds being approved to establish a county poor farm. Only $2,000 in bonds were needed to purchase the Macon Township property in August, 1874 through the agency of R.W.P. Muse and R.M. Spivey. Muse and Spivey offered the property for $1,500 if cash was paid, but charged $2,000 if bonds were issued. A wood frame house, constructed in approximately 1875, existed on the property for immediate use by the county.

The original county poor farm house.
 Written on the back of the photo:
 “Harvey County Poor Farm, W. 12th, 1914, John Hollister, Supt.”  

At this point, the poor house was leased to a tenant, who would work the farm for personal profit (or loss) and provide housing, food and care to the residents, commonly referred to across the country as “inmates,” who were expected to help with the farm duties. The challenge in this system was that many of the residents were at the farm due to their inability to support themselves, which led to incidents of forced labor and abuse across the U.S. Fortunately, soon after the Harvey County poor farm was opened, a new system was established in which the county commission would appoint and hire a poor farm superintendent, who was paid to provide care for residents. The superintendent maintained the livestock, gardens and cropland, which were all county property, and any profits from the sale of commodities was returned to the county. 


In 1877, the Harvey County farm was rented to Mr. James Finch for $20, but by 1888, the county apparently owned not only the land and house, but the equipment. A March 1^st, 1888 poor farm inventory of property by H.T. Jackson starts with “10 cows” and goes all the way through “5 stone jars, 2 meat barrels and 3 milk cans.” Although the commission may have intended the farm to make a profit, breaking even was more realistic. An 1891 annual statement from the superintendent shows a net profit of $13.41, and is accompanied by the statement that “we are paying expenses.” In 1907, the superintendents’ contract shows an annual payment of $500 for care of the farm, with an additional $264 “for help with the household duties, and in caring for the inmates of said Asylum.” The superintendent and his family were also provided with groceries, fuel and light, and at later dates, telephone service.


(The second article of the series, documenting the transition to a new brick house, will be published  on June 21, 2012) 

50 Years on a Harvey County Homestead

The August 22, 1922 Anniversary Edition of the Newton Kansan celebrated 50 years of Harvey County history and 50 years of publication for the Kansan (1st issue August 1872). This 140+ page booklet is a wonderful resource for the history of Harvey County.  All the important people, businesses, clubs and organizations are mentioned.  To me, however, the little stories that are included in the margins, the stories of the ordinary people, the farmers and their wives, are far more interesting.  

Anna Godfrey on her farm in 1922.

In 1922, one of the oldest citizens in Harvey County was Anna Godfrey.  At the age of 92, Mrs. Godfrey was living on her farm located in the Walton Township in Section 18.  The same farm she and her husband, Micheal, had homesteaded in 1871.


Further research revealed that Anna McCormack Godfrey was born in Tipperary County, Ireland in 1830.  She married Micheal Godfrey and they immigrated, first to Canada, then to New York, before finally coming to Harvey County, Kansas, in 1871, with their 6 sons and one daughter.  Micheal died July 2, 1915, but Anna continued on the farm.  Daughter, Ida, graduated from Newton High in 1904. At least two of her sons were living on the farm with Anna  in 1922.


The 1922 article noted that Anna did "not frequently leave her home . . . she enjoys good health, exceptional memory and is loved for her kindly disposition and genuine goodness and faithful adherence to the loftiest of principles of living."


One can imagine that Anna worked hard her entire life caring for children, doing housework and helping with farm work.  The photograph used by the Kansan shows Anna on her farm, surrounded by chickens, and illustrates a life of hard work and perseverance common to many pioneer women. 


Anna McCormack Godfrey died in 1927 at the age of 97 and is buried at the Walton Cemetery.