Lyman West Bio

So...kind of like I suspected, he was way too important to ever live in my house. I suspect that Nathan Chance was as well. Basically, if the Augusta history books give you a mention, then you were much too good to live in my house. Boo.

Some Conflicting Information

I emailed a relative of Nathan Chance through a Chance family history website and received the following reply.

Carmen: I have checked all my notes and have nothing specifically about the house. However, I can tell you that in 1900 Nathan was listed as owning his farm free and clear. In 1910 he apparently was retired, but owned his house free and clear. And in 1915 he still owned the house free and clear. So, it appears that he was probably the first occupant and probably had it built. Perhaps the Tax Dept. at the court house in Wichita can give you more specific details. I also know that by 1920 he and Mary had left that area and moved into Wichita, where they again owned a house. Sorry I couldn't help you more than this. Good luck in your endeavors, Joan

So this creates a whole new group of questions. Why does the Augusta history book state that the Chances lived at Clark and Dearborn until 1933? Also, did the Chances merely build my house, or did they live in it as well?

I will be emailing Joan back to ask these questions.

More About the Chances

Freaking sweet...I found this online.

http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/butler/history/1916/33/c/chance_n_r.html

N. R., the subject of the sketch. N. R. Chance went to Iowa with his parents when a boy. He received his education in the common schools and followed farming in Lucas county, Iowa, until 1874, with the exception of a period during the Civil war, when he served as a member of the Forty-sixth Iowa infantry, enlisting in 1864, at the age of twenty years.

At the close of the war he was mustered out of service at Davenport, Iowa, and returned to the farm in Lucas county. In 1874 he came to Kansas, locating in Butler county, seven miles southwest of Augusta, in Bruno township. It will be remembered by those familiar with the early history and discouraging days of Kansas that this was the year of the grasshopper visitation. Many settlers were discouraged and left the State following the visitation of the grasshoppers, but Mr. Chance was not the kind of a pioneer to be driven from the plains of Kansas by any ordinary type of grasshoppers. He says that even with his forty years of life in Kansas that he likes the State a little better each year than he did the preceding one. He belongs to that school of sturdy pioneers who not only made Butler county what it is, but were the builders of the great State of Kansas, and have just cause to be proud of their achievements.

When Mr. Chance settled in Bruno township he bought his claim from Daniel Golden, for which he paid $1,000. The place was slightly improved, having a small four-room house with about twenty acres of prairie broken and some hedge. Here Mr. Chance was successfully engaged in farming and stock raising until 1899, when he removed to Augusta, where he built a comfortable and commodious residence, where he now lives. He has added to his original purchase of land, and now owns 640 acres of valuable farm land, 400 acres of which is located in Pleasant township and the rest in Bruno.

Mr. Chance was married in 1865 in Iowa to Miss Mary E. McKnight, a native of Ohio. Two children were born to this union, as follows: Mack T., a traveling salesman for the Potts Drug Company, who resides at Wichita, and Charlie C., a farmer and dairyman in Sedgwick county. Mr. and Mrs. Chance celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary December 24, 1915, in Augusta. Both their children were present and also their eight grandchildren. Mr. Chance is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Security and the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is one of the substantial citizens of the county.

Nathan Rich CHANCE Born: 9 Feb 1844 in Grant Co, IN Died: 22 Jul 1940 in Butler Co, KS Buried: in Elmwood Cemetery, Augusta, Butler

I have searched Elmwood a couple of times, but have not yet found the Chances' grave. Maybe once it warms up I will.

I Still Have Questions!

I'm curious like a cat, but let's hope it doesn't kill me.

1. Who really built the house? Was it Nathan and Mary Chance? If they did have it built, did they build it with the intention of living in it? Or were they going to rent it out? To find out, I need to check census records from 1910 to see who was living in my house at that time.

2. When was my addition built? Who built it? What was the original purpose of the added room - bedroom, family room, gun den? I fear that I might have to attempt to contact Kenneth Fitzwater to find this information out...how weird would that be?! Probably pretty weird! Hey uh...I work with this relative of yours...she says you used to live in my house. As a kid.

3. The chimney.

4. The laundry room.

5. The oddly shaped outlet in the living room.

6. The kitchen - original layout?

7. Was there a carriage house, or did the original residents have a car?

Found the Chances

So I have an actual picture of some former residents and owners of my house. Yeah! No, that's not my house pictured, but the dates listed that they lived in the pictured house mesh with the dates I have that they owned my house. I drove by and looked and the house pictured is not there anymore. The large gap in ownership data from 1905 through 1920 leads me to believe that at some point, the Chances bought the land and built the house. No information, at this point, has come to my attention to disprove my theory.

The Chances were married on December 24, 1865, in Lucas County, Iowa.

So not only are they "some" owners, they were most likely the original owners of the house.

New Information - Courthouse Trip

Today I went to the Butler County Courthouse in El Dorado to research my house's history. I am happy to report that I was able to trace my house's history back to the original owners of the land. I followed a woman back into a little room with a low, metal doorway, where she proceeded to pull out a couple of giant books (ledgers, maybe?). They were bound in some kind of red material and had yellowing pages, with all the information handwritten. The room used to be a vault...spooky. Very interesting indeed. Anyway, here is the information.





2/2/35 - Duncan sells the house to O.T. Nitz.





1/14/31 - Duncan purchases the property from L.A. Wish. "Wish" is listed as "West" on the line below, so it could have been either name. In 1920, an L.A. West, male, age 35, born in Kansas, is listed as living in Augusta. A Lyman (love the old name!) A. West had an obituary published by the Wichita Eagle on September 13, 1962. That means he died at age 77. Lyman West, age 15, is also listed in the 1900 census as living in Augusta. In the 1920 census, his occupation is listed as real estate agent.
A WSU newsletter states that Lyman A. West's wife, Flossie E. West, died in 1953. The newsletter goes on to suggest that she died of uterine cancer. Following Lyman's death in 1962, his trust began granting money to cancer researchers at WSU.





2/20/28 - West purchases the house from Wright.





12/4/20 - N.R. Chance and wife sell house to Wright. A Nathan R. Chance, age 56, born in Indiana, is listed in the 1900 census as living in Augusta. This means he sold the house to Wright when he was 76 years old. Nathan is listed in the 1920 census as living in Sedgwick county; however, I located a picture of him and his wife in a book about Augusta history, and the caption says that they lived in a house in Augusta (not mine) until 1933. That would have made him 89 years old when he "stopped living there" (died?). He also was a resident of Butler County in 1880, living in Bruno township, which today includes Andover.

A wife, Mary Emily McKnight Chance, is listed in the same book where I found the picture of Nathan. A Mary E. Chance, age 37, born in Ohio, is listed in the 1880 census as living in Bruno township in Butler County. Interestingly enough, a Mary McKnight, age 58, is listed in the 1900 census as living in Butler County. If this was really her, which the age suggests it is, why was she using her maiden name?





Okay, here's where it gets kind of out of order. This is being transcribed from my crude handwritten notes, so I apologize.





10/18/05 -sold to John Black. A John Black, age 44, is listed in the 1880 census as living in Augusta. His job is listed as farmer. A wife, Sarah E. Black, age 43, and children Mertie (13, f), Nellie (12, f), and Horace (7, m) are also listed (as of June 1, 1880). All of their birthplaces are listed as either Indiana or Illinois. He and two other John Blacks are listed in the 1900 census, and with such a common name, it is difficult to determine which one actually owned my land. I chose to believe it is the John Black that is listed as being from Indiana, and he is listed in the 1910 census as being 74 years old. He is not listed in the 1920 census.




1/3/05 - lots 5-10 sold to M & W (master and wife?) Arthur Offill. Ok, MW may not be master and wife after all. According to 1910 census records, there was a Mathias W. residing in Butler County, age 66, born in Kentucky. Indeed, I was able to find other records stating that a Mathias W. Offill was born in 1843 in Kentucky. For the 1920 census, James, 23; Leslie S., 33 (m); William M., 36; and Maggie Offill, 51; are all listed.

And...dun dun dun...the original owner of the land was:

4/4/02 - James Wilkinson purchases land from Butler County. A James C. Wilkinson, age 43, is listed in the 1900 census as living in Butler County. He was born in Kentucky as well. He is not listed in the 1910 census, so this means he had either died or moved away by the time the house was built. In the 1880 census, he is listed as living in Liberty, Kentucky, Casey county. He is age 23 at this time, so I assume it is the same man. A 13-year-old James Wilkinson, no middle initial, is listed in the 1870 census as living in Falmouth, Kentucky, Pendleton county. Indeed, I found a James C. Wilkinson, no age listed, but living at the time of the 1910 census back in Casey county, in Liberty.




Of course, the Native Americans who most likely were killed for the land were the original owners. But I have no way of tracking them down. Osage

The Bathtub Mystery Deepens...

In 1910, there were only clawfoot tubs, right? So why did I have this ugly, built-in shower/tub combination? On a whim, I decided to remove the service panel from the wall in the laundry room. I peeked in with my flashlight...yes. There was my once-beautiful clawfoot (maybe there were little feet hidden in the rotting boards??) tub. Covered by something ugly. I knew it.

But, I did discover something else. Another green wall. See, in the laundry room, the only room on the ground floor we haven't painted yet, are several layers of wall covering. From what I can see (from where I've annihilated the wall trying to hang up pictures) are several distinct layers. On top is white paint and ugly brown wood paneling. Under that is burlap on the upper half of the wall. Under all of these layers is pink paint. Someone must have really liked pink, because I found it when I sanded the living room walls to paint in there. Under the pink is a layer of green paint. This is what is seen in the photo here. This green is also visible on the insides of the built-in cabinets in the laundry room. But, not all of the laudry room built-in is original either. Upon inspection (by me of course) I noticed that the wood bracket-brace-type-thing comes down on the right side of the shelves, too. You can't see this unless you take out the top drawer. And what is behind the drawers? Pink paint, cracking and peeling to reveal specks of green.

Interesting.

Who's Been Chillaxin' In My Crib?

Here is the School Street House's occupants timeline so far.

1910 - House is built. Who built it and first lived in it is unknown.

1920 - John F. Wright, age 23; and Hellen N. Wright, age 23. John's job is listed as "tool dresser" in an oil field and Hellen does not have a job listed. This information was recorded on January 1, 1920. A John F. Wright is listed in the Wichita Eagle as passing away in 1978 - if it is the same Mr. Wright, John would have lived for 81 years.

1930 - William Duncan, age 70; Olive Duncan, age 67; Robert Duncan, age 14; Oral Citty, age 31. William is listed as head of household, Olive as wife, Robert as grandson, and Oral as daughter. Oral is listed as divorced. William's job is listed as crossing flagman for steam railroad. This information was recorded on April 1, 1930.

1940 - Unknown, but could be the same occupants as 1958.

1958 - Ownership of the property changes hands from Oscar T.Nitz to Maurice O. Fitzwater. The following obituary was found online.

NITZ, LALLA GARNETT

Lalla Garnett Nitz, 80, **** School died yesterday at the Augusta Medical Complex.

Her service will be at 2 p.m. Thursday at the Dunsford Funeral Home. Rev. Richard Axmann will officiate and burial will be in the Walnut Valley Cemetery at El Dorado.

A memorial has been established with the First Baptist Church in Augusta.

She was born May 20, 1901 in Augusta to Stephen D. and Lucy M. Bumgarner Fitzwater.

She married Oscar t. Nitz Feb. 8, 1929 in Wellington. He survivies.

She was a member of First Baptist Church.

Other survivors include a brother, Bill Fitzwater of Grenola and two sisters, Mary Reinhart of El Dorado and Mildred Potter of Wichita. Two brothers, Emmett Fitzwater and Ray Fitzwater, preceded her in death. (Augusta Gazette, November 3, 1981)

There is no mention of any children, but I am assuming that Maurice was a relative of the Nitz's. A source told me that she is related to these folks, and that she used to visit her aunt's house as a child, the house next door to the north. She mentioned that her cousins, children of Maurice Fitzwater, and she used to play on the front porch of what is now my house. She mentioned that the porch used to have a porch swing, because she remembers swinging so hard with her cousins that they all fell off the swing. The source told me that Maurice and his wife, Helen V., divorced sometime later. She mentioned that Maurice, called Mike by his family, moved to El Dorado where he later died. The Wichita Eagle lists the death of an M.O. (Mike) Fitzwater as January 30, 1977. This is the date his obituary appeared in the newspaper, so it may not be the date of his actual death.

Oscar's obituary appeared in the paper on June 22, 1985.

1973 - On May 24, 1973, ownership of the house changes from Helen V. Fitzwater to Gerald D. Parker Sr. and wife. Not much is known about the Parkers, but I was able to locate Wichita Eagle obituaries for both Gerald D. Parker Sr. and Jr.

In January of 2010 I received a Kansas Healthwave letter addressed to a Lori A. Parker. I am assuming she is related to the Parkers that owned the house from 1973 - 1984. She may be a daughter. However, it is a little weird that the state of Kansas would seriously have this address as hers, considering her parents stopped owning the house twenty-six years ago.

Further research has led me to a Gertrude "Gertie" Jean Parker, who might have been Gerald's wife.

1984 - On June 28, 1984, Robert Allen and Rita K. (Kathy) Cook purchase the house. Neighbors told me that they raised their children there.

2008 - My husband and I close on the house on August 15, 2008. We move in approximately two weeks later with our three children.

A Few More POMQ

One more thing - the windows. We have what seems to be the regular sized variety - found in the the living room and master bedroom, and the small, narrow type - found on the south walls of the bedrooms and the east wall of the laundry room.

I don't really know of a practical function for the different sized windows. I can only assume that some of them were replaced at some point. Why? I hope to find out.

POMQ #3

The kitchen area is another part of the house that raises a few questions. The picture with the fire extinguisher is the original back door of the house, before the addition was built. Note the original siding and evidence of door hardware still visible in the door frame.

I have to wonder how this kitchen was originally configured. Where did people eat? I know we have trouble squeezing the five of us into the eat-in area.

Notice anything important missing? Yeah...a stove hood. There isn't even a place for one, and I know those old fashioned stoves needed at least a hole in the roof for ventilation. Didn't they?

And who thought of this countertop? It's a little awkward - hey, that could be the adjective of the day for my house. Everything is very awkwardly laid out. I assume this has to do with the fact that many new things have come along in a hundred years that this house wasn't designed for. Again, part of why I'm conducting this research. I want to know the evolution of my house.

Pictures of My Questions 2

So yeah...the chimney. Not sure why it was there, maybe to heat the bedrooms?

Either way, I wish I could tear apart the walls and check out what's underneath. The room with the blue walls is bedroom #2. This room appears to have always been a bedroom, as I can see no other practical purpose for it. Its only closet contains the furnace, which is only a few years old. So it is quite difficult to dig around for clues with that monstrous thing in the way. The room with the green walls is the master bedroom, and the other photo is a shot of the wall in between, taken from the doorway that connects the two rooms.


Knocking on the wall around the chimney is and interesting but seemingly fruitless activity. I hear what I interpret as a "bricky" sound on the raised upper part, and possibly a "metallic" sound on the lower half of the wall. Who knows, this could be from the metal "H" we have hanging on the wall in bedroom #2. Knocking on the truncated corner from POMQ #1 also leads to an odd sound, but I can't define it. Also, the wall covering, whatever it is, appears to be loose and bubbled up in this area. I suppose this could be from years of layer after layer of wallpaper and paint, but what is under there? More and more questions, so few answers.

Pictures of My Questions

Why this one truncated corner in the master bedroom (below)? The room in which I sleep holds a great number of mysteries, but this one bugs me the most. Was it a front door? Or is Jimmy Hoffa's body hidden back there?

The floor is noticably different in the master bedroom (above right). It is lower, and made of wide planks, like a porch. I don't see how this entire room would have ever been a porch, but I suppose it's possible.

This is the view of the floor, going into bedroom #2 (below).

Reasons

So one might ask why I care so much about the history of my house. I'm not entirely sure, but I know a few of the reasons so I might as well list them here.

1. I've never owned a house before. I've never even owned a car, so this house is a big deal to me.

2. My house is old. In fact, it turns one hundred this year. Surely some interesting folks resided in my simple house.

3. My house is nothing special. Well, at first one might think that, but obviously I have taken an interest in it or I wouldn't have started this research project. It's fairly easy to find out about the history of your house if it's on the register of historic places, or if someone famous once lived there, or if it was once used as a hospital. (See upcoming blog about the house on Santa Fe.) But my house? Well, even when it was brand new, I have a strong suspicion that it was a house for common folks. Without its 1/2 story addition, the house is only 878 square feet. So originally, this was not a spectacular house.