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.
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