1851
| February 2 | Hattie's uncle, her father's oldest brother, John Philip
(J.P.) Dieter, was born
in Gross Biberau in the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. Son of George Wendel and Anna Maria Margaretha Daab Dieter. |
1850's
| In 1852, Hattie's grandfather's (George
Wendel) older sister Justina Dieter emigrated to America. To learn more about Justina Dieter go to her time line on this website. Two of Hattie's great uncles, Johan Georg born in 1841 and Johan Nicolas born in 1845 followed Justina in 1858 and 1861 respectively. Johan Georg served in the civil war. He worked a barber in the army. He signed up in New York. In the late 1850's, Justina and her husband George Kilian had a son George, born in New York. |
1859
| September 3 | Hattie's father, Christian August Dieter, was
born in Langen, Germany. He was the 5th child and the 5th
son of Anna Maria Margaretha Daab and George Wendel Dieter. At various times in his life he would be called, Christopher, August, C.A. Dieter or "Cap". N.B. Hattie's father was first cousin to Justina's son, George Kilian born in New York. |
1860
| September 16 | Helene Bärenz, Hattie’s mother, was born in
Langen, Germany at 4 o'clock P.M. She was the third child and second daughter of Anna
Helene Kappes Bärenz and George Peter Baerenz. Her family called her "Lenchen"
which means little Lene, or little Helene. She was baptized on September 30. Her godmother was Helene Knoess. |
| According to the 1860, U.S. Census, Justina Dieter Kilian, her husband George, their son George and Justina's brother George Dieter are living in Zanesville, Ohio. Both George Dieter and George Dieter are barbers. |
1862
| April 18 | Wilhelm Bärenz age 5 old
brother of Lenchen died. Lenchen is two years old. Her older sister, Susanna is four years old. |
1863
| April 19 | Just one year after the death of William Jacob Barenz another brother is born in Lenchen's family. |
1864
| June 16 | William Jacob Bärenz dies. He is the second
brother of Hattie's mother to die in just a little more than a two
year time span. At the same time Hattie's mother's family is mourning the loss of their second son, her father's family is rejoicing over the birth of a daughter after six sons. (see below) |
| July 10 | Justina Eva Christian Dieter the seventh
child and first daughter of George Wendel Dieter and Anna Margaretha Daab
was
baptized. Justina Dieter Killian who was living in 1860 in Zanesville, Ohio is in Langen for the baptism. She is listed in the church book as the widow of George Killian. Justina Dieter Kilian stands as godmother to her niece and her younger brother's precious daughter. |
| December 1 | Just months after the birth of his only
daughter, Georg Wendel Dieter, Hattie's paternal grandfather, dies in a hospital in Darmstadt. Georg
Wendel Dieter was 33 years old. He had owned the Hartmann mill in Gross-Bieberau.
According to state records, he moved with his family to Langen
sometime between 1859-1862. According to family lore "He (Georg) left
a widow with six sons. The sons expected to inherit the mill but the
mother had other ideas and remarried. Four of the boys packed their
bags and went to America. They landed in Baltimore and stayed with
relatives who had arrived earlier, then went on to Wichita, Kansas"
letter of Henning Bruhn Dieter (descendent of Philip Dieter), 1995.
The four sons were John Philip, George, August (Hattie's father) and
Adam. According to ship's records, August and Adam arrived much later
in American than their two older brothers. |
1865
| July | Baby Justina Eva Dieter dies. |
 |
This picture taken circa 1870 is of the Bärenz
family home in Langen, Germany built in 1865. Click on the image to see an enlargement. At the time this picture was taken the Bärenz.family consisted of 3 girls. Susanna age 6, Lenchen age5 and Susanna Katherine an infant. |
 |
Writing on the back of the above picture
reads: Mama's home in Germany. Grandmother Bärenz. Built by Grandfather Bärenz when Mamma was 5 years old. Aunt Sancha Volger Uncle Phil Volger & daughter Susanna live here. Kate Dieter and Mother Dieter visited - 1934 |
1867
| November 14 | Anna Margaretha Daab Dieter is married to William Bar.
Note: Margareta is the widow of George Wendal Dieter.
In the year that his mother remarried, John Philip Dieter, 17 years old,
came to Baltimore to join his Uncle J. W. Dieter. |
1873
| November 12 | J.P. Dieter married his first wife, Anna in
Wichita, Kansas. |
1870's
| The US Census for 1870, shows George
Dieter, his wife Johanna (born Sweden) and their son George living in
Abilene, KS. Nicolas Dieter and his wife Lena also live there. Both of the Dieter's are barbers. |
 |
Before coming to America in 1879, Hattie's father worked as an apprentice
bricklayer in Germany. On the top of this 1912 postcard addressed to
Hattie's youngest brother, August, from his friend Peter in Germany, someone
has written "This tower is where Papa was an apprentice." From the handwriting, I assume that this note was made around 1950. Someone, perhaps, Hattie or her sister Kate, was trying to record family history. Click on the images to see an enlargement. |
1878
| Wichita (Kansas) City Directory Dieter, Geo. barber (Dieter & Kayser), fr Germany, bds with J.P. Dieter Dieter, J.P. (Dieter & Kayser), from Baltimore, MD. r. Lawrence, bet Williams and English Dieter, & Kayser, barbers (bath rooms) No.111 Douglas |
| Just imagine, J.P. Dieter and his brother
George are both barbers in the frontier town of Wichita, Kansas. This is the
same town and the same era that is so often pictured in cowboy movies. |
1879
| September 13 | Christian Dieter, 21 Bricklayer and his
brother Adam Dieter, 18, Bricklayer arrived at Baltimore, Maryland aboard
the ship "Ohio" on their way to Kansas. |
| November | Fred Jacob Dieter,
Hattie's oldest brother was
born in Germany. No record of Fred's birth could be found in Germany.
More research needs to be done. Note that Fred's
parents, CA Dieter and Lenchen were not married at the time. CA Dieter left
for America shortly before the baby was born. |
1880
| June 4 | The US Census reports in Wichita, Kansas: Philip Dieter age 29 Barber Anna D. Dieter age 30 wife Ida Mae Dieter age 11 daughter born in Wyo. Terr. August Dieter age 21 Stone mason Adam Dieter age apprentice barber Alice Denly age 21 female servant born in PA
Living next door to the Dieter family: George Kayser (29 born
in Holstein) and his wife Katie Kayser (17 born in Il). |
| June 9 | US Census, Junction City, Davis County,
Kansas Christina (Justina Dieter) Kilian, age 51, born Hesse Darmstadt George J.W. Kilian, age 26, son born New York, Barbar Christina Kilian, age 21, born New York. Note: Justina Dieter Kilian, the aunt of Philip, August and Adam Dieter is living in Junction City, KS. The families obviously stayed in touch.
|
|
|
|
1881
|
The following is an excerpt from "Chapter 5a, Houch and
Dieter, Purity, Empire, and Grapette" Bill Lockhart, 2000. the article in its entirety can be found on the web at this address: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:Gv5LwxtAIhYJ:alamo.nmsu.edu/~ lockhart/EPSodas/Chapter5/5a/chap5a.htm+henning+Bruhn+Dieter&hl= en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us Houck & Dieter
(1881-1912) Although Dieter was primarily interested in alcoholic beverages, he was farsighted enough to realize that the coming of the railroads meant an opportunity to fill the needs of a multitude of different thirsts. On April 1, 1881, less than two months prior to the arrival of the railroad, the firm of Houck & Dieter opened its soda bottling establishment in El Paso. According to the El Paso Times, the new establishment was "a branch of A. L. Houck & Co., Santa Fe, New Mexico, the largest and most extensive wholesale beer and soda house in the territory." Dieter managed the El Paso establishment that the Times crowed was "the largest establishment west of Chicago, employing a large number of men" (EPT 1/1/1882 2:3). Although the Times may have exaggerated, Houck & Dieter could rightfully claim a thriving business. The firm bottled Soda Water, Sarsaparilla, Royal Ginger Ale, Seltzer Water, Champagne Cider, and other carbonated beverages. Royal Ginger Ale enjoyed a particularly good reputation in early El Paso. In addition, the firm distributed Appolinaris Water, Nassau Selter, Manitou Mineral water products, and Stafford Mineral Springs Water. The El Paso branch bottled five hundred dozen sodas a day, while their second plant, across the Rio Grande in Paso del Norte, Mexico, had a capacity for two hundred fifty bottles per day. In addition, the firm sold Anheuser Busch St. Louis Beer and was the city's leading supplier of ice (EPT 6/10/1881 3; EPT 1/1/1882 2:3) . In the beginning, its only competitor was Coffin & Co. who sold "Complete Outfit[s] for Manufacturing Mineral Water, Selter, Ginger Ale, Lemon, Sarsaparilla" and other carbonated beverages. Coffin & Co. promised that "All orders in the City and along the line of the Railroad will receive prompt attention" (EPT 6/10/1881 4:6).
|
|||
| J.P. Dieter moved from Wichita, Kansas to El Paso, Texas and began a very successful ice business. He was the founder of the first ice house and beverage depot in El Paso. In May of 1881 he established the house of Dieter and Houck. The firm bought property on 4th and Chihuahua St where it erected its own house and bottling works company. | |||
|
J. Adam Dieter also moves to El Paso. |
|||
| El Paso at that time was a city with one street and 400 inhabitants. | |||
| July 27 |
Lenchen's father, Georg Peter Bärenz
died in Langen. It is possible that Lenchen did not marry C.A. Dieter because
of her father's objection. After his death, C.A. returned to Germany and
married Lenchen. See below. |
1882
| February 20 | Helena (Lenchen) Barenz and Christian
August Dieter wed in Langen, Germany. According to records in Germany. The newly weds came to America but quite possibly, they left behind 2 year old Fred with Lenchen's family. |
1883
|
Wichita City Directory C.A. Dieter fr. Germany, stone contractor, res es market 2d s Williams st. Dieter & Kayser, barbers, hair dressers and bath rooms, ss Douglas ave 2dw Market st. Dieter Phillip (P.D. & Geo. Kayser). fr Junction City, Ks..barber, res. w s Lawrence ave bet Williams and English Sts. |
| January 11 | Helena and C.A. Dieter's second son, George
Philip was born in Wichita, Kansas. |
| August 27 | The eruption of Krakatoa in Indonesia ranks among the most powerful volcanic blasts in history. It spewed six cubic miles of ash and dirt into the air and disrupted the world's climate for several years. This event certainly was felt in the drastic climate changes in the Great Plains in the years surrounding Hattie's birth in 1886. |
1884
| June 29 | Helena and C. A. Dieter's first daughter, Kate was born in Wichita, Kansas. |
1885
| In March of this year, the young C.A. Dieter family was living at 718 South Main Street in Wichita, Kansas. The family consists of C.A. Dieter, his wife Lena and their two children George (Philip) and Kate. Two of C.A, brothers, J.P. Dieter and Adam Dieter has moved from Wichita to El Paso, Texas. There J.P. was a successful business man. There was talk of C.A. and his family joining his brothers there. Another brother, George Dieter had lived for a while in El Paso but was in late December living with his brother's young family in Wichita. |
|
This picture of Hattie's mother, Lenchen
Dieter, was taken in Wichita, Kansas circa 1885.
|
This picture of Hattie's father,
|
| December 28 | Hattie's uncle, George Dieter
committed suicide in Hattie's father's barn in Wichita, KS.
The Wichita Daily Beacon reported that
George Dieter committed
suicide. George left a note which read: "August, I take my poor miserable life. What Phil Dieter is involved in is a different thing". August was Hattie's father. Phil Dieter was Hattie's
uncle.
|
| December 30 | El Paso Lone Star, "A telegram
announces that George Dieter, well know here, committed, suicide by shooting
at Wichita, Kansas, on the 27th. J.P. Dieter and A.C. Dieter left
for Wichita on the 28th. |
| December 30 | The Daily Times, El Paso, Texas
"Death of George Dieter. On the 28th instant Mr. J. P. and A. C.
Dieter, in response to a telegram from Wichita, Kansas, left for that place.
The telegram announced the death of their brother George Dieter. The sad
occurrence will bring up in the minds of the people of El Paso the many
recollections of the whole souled, generous, openhanded and impulsive friend
who has often put himself "in a hole" to relieve the pressing necessities of
his friends. George Dieter never in his whole life turned a deaf ear to the
cry of distress or the claims of friendship. Whatever his faults may have
been (and who of us have none?) these were not found in his vocabulary and
when the recording angel comes to balance his accounts we feel assured (for
we knew him well) that the deeds of generosity and charity which will go to
his credit will more than offset what is on the other side of the balance
sheet. His brothers and friends have our sincere sympathies in their
affliction. May the sod rest lightly above him and may the perennial flowers
of spring bloom as brightly as the memory of his friends in the minds of his
friends." " You may break, you may
shatter the vase |
| December 30 | Wednesday, Wichita Daily Eagle,
"Gus Dieter has telegraphed from El Paso, that he in company with his
brother Phil will arrive tomorrow morning and the funeral of George will
take place in the afternoon. |
| December 31 | Thursday, WDE," The funeral of
the late George Dieter will take place from Gus Dieter's residence, on south
Main street at 3 o'clock this afternoon. His brother will arrive in the
morning. |
1886
| January 1 | Friday WDE "Gus and Philip Deiter, brothers
of the young man, who in a fit of temporary insanity, put an end to his
life, arrived home yesterday morning from Mexico, in time to attend the
funeral. Mrs. Killian, an aunt of the deceased, also arrived from Junction
City, to attend the funeral" Wichita Daily Beacon,"Gus and Philip Dieter arrived home from Mexico yesterday in time to attend the funeral of their borther George, who suicided Sunday night. Mrs. Kilian, an aunt, also reached here from Junction City in time for the funeral." Mrs. Kilian was Justina Dieter Kilian. She was the sister of Hattie father's father. She was listed as a widow in 1864 when she attended the christening in Germany of her niece, Justina, the youngest sister of these Dieter boys. However, in the 1870 census, she was living with her husband in Kansas. Apparently, Justina Dieter Kilian stayed very close to her nephews when they came to America in the 1860's and the 1870's. Her husband was most likely a friend of the first Dieter's to come to America. Note also that Junction City is where George Kayser was from. See 1873 above. Perhaps, the Dieters first came to Junction City when they first came to Kansas. |
| May 2 | 8 p.m. Helen Hattie born in El
Paso, Texas. "About two blocks past the former Court House near Toltek Club.
Before getting to the Toltek Club, just before the division of the road, on
the left side of the road, two or three houses alike. I was born in the last
of these houses." This description was written by Helen in 1941 when she
applied for her birth certificate from Texas . C.A. Dieter had come to El Paso, Texas at this time to begin "....exploring Chihuahua, Mexico for the purpose of erecting and operating an ice plant. The plan fell through and he then spent his time profitably by learning the Mexican art of lime making and later returned to Kansas near El Doraldo about 21 miles east of Wichita and located a suitable quarry and built and operated a lime mine." (from a obituary written by the family when he CA died.) According to Hattie's granddaughter, Charlotte Gretsch, Hattie was always very proud of the fact that she was born in El Paso, Texas. the family did not live there long however, they soon moved to El Doraldo, Kansas and then onto Missouri. |
| November 7 | Hattie's future
husband, Max Fritz Julius August Elsner,
born in Salzwedel, German. Mother Lissette De La Pre, Father Gustave Adolf. Lisette had been married earlier and had a daughter but both her husband and her child died. The De La Pre family, so the story goes, were nobility from France who had escaped the French Revolution by moving to Germany in the late 1700's. |
1887
| October 23 | J. P. Dieter, brother of C.A. Dieter is
divorced in El Paso. |
| Hattie is only a baby at the time.
However, the divorce must have impacted the family deeply. Did the divorce have something to do with the ice deal falling through and CA and his family returning to Kansas? Did the divorce have something to do with the suicide of George Dieter less than a year earlier? In the suicide note that George left to Hattie's father " August, I take my miserable life. What Philip is concerned in is a different thing." A lot of things are going on when the little girl Hattie is born into the family! |
 |
The back of this picture reads" Brother Fred Dieter and Aunt Kate when first arrived from Germany to Texas." Brother Fred was born in Germany and I believed remained there until the family was settled in America. Aunt Kate was most likely the younger sister of Hattie's mother born in 1867. |
1889
| March 17 | Hattie Helena Emma baptized in Sarcoxie,
Jasper Country, Mo Witnesses were Mrs. Cath. Kaiser and Emma Sabert Lutheran Pastor signed: J.E. Roschke. Philip was also baptised in Sarcoxie by this minister. Why were the children baptised at this time? Was it a custom to baptism children so long after their births or perhaps was there some change made around the family's religion? |
1890
| March 15 | Carl August Daniel, Hattie's younger brother born in Sarcoxie, Mo |
1891
| December 25 | Christmas, Hattie gets an autograph book. The first page says, "Be kind to your Mama and Papa Xmas '91 To Hattie Dieter" |
| December 26 | Dear Sister, Do your best and leave the rest, 'Twill all come wright, some day or night. Your brother, Fritz |
| December 27 | Dear Sister, the very first duty of love is to be true Before yournro (?) land (?) be sure your true from your lips speak the truth. Your Brother Philipp |
| Dear Sister, Think well and do well and you well be
good Your Sister Katie Dieter. Perhaps, this undated entry from Hattie's older sister is from this same date. Kate was is 6 years old . |
1892
| January 25, | Mein lieber kleiner frund Hattie Dieter …………Dein Frund John Nau |
| Feb 3 | Sarcoxie, Mo "In dem grossen Garten des Haus, Gibts keine schonere Blumen, Als meine kleine Hattie" Dein Onkel J.P. Dieter |
| December 6 | Avilla, Mo. Dear Hattie, "Duty by habit is to pleasure turned. He is content who to obey has learned." (Brydges) Your Friend, Nettie Fishburn, Avilla, Mo. (very adult handwriting). |
This picture circa 1892 was found in the Dieter Collection at
the El Paso Public Library. The house belong to John Philip Dieter ,
Hattie's uncle. It was located at 415 Upson Street. |
1894
 Hattie's
uncle, John Phillip Dieter, October 1894 in El Paso. Click on the image to
see an enlargement. |
1895
| Dieters own a large plot of land in Sarcoxie. See county map of that date. | |
1896
| Hattie is now almost 10 years old. Her autograph book which she received for Christmas from her parents when she was five years old takes on a new importance. | |
| February 26 | Several of Hattie's friends from school sign her autograph book on this date. Perhaps, she took the book to school that day or perhaps there was a gathering of her friends at a party. The follwing entries are from that day. |
| Sarcoxie, Feb 26. Forget me not. Dear Hattie, Remember me early, Remember me late, Remember me as your old schoolmate. Your Friend, Pear Snow | |
| Sarcoxie, Feb 26 Dear Hattie, Remember me early, Remember me late, Remember me to the golden gate. Your Friend Alpha Everton | |
| Sarcoxie, Feb.26, Hattie Dieter, When you get so old that you can not see, put on your specks and think of me. Frankie Williams. | |
| Sarcoxie, Feb 26. Dear Friend, When you are old and can not see put on your specks and think of me. Your Friend, Frankline Breeze | |
| Sarcoxie, Feb.26, Dear Hattie, remember me, Remember me with my spectacles on my knee your friend Lancle R | |
| Sarcoxie, Feb 26, Dear Hattie when I get old and my hair is gray all I'll do is sit and pray. our Friend, Willie Turner | |
| Sarcoxie, Feb 26. Dear Hattie, I've looked thes papers oe' r and oe'r to see what these had wrote before and in this little cacant spot I'll write the words forget me not Your Friend, Besta Jones | |
| Several undated entries appear in this tiny book: | |
| Dear Hattie, Every duty omitted obscures some truth we should know. Your Teacher Kate DeConers. | |
| Dear Friend, Remember me early, Remember me late, remember me at the golden gate Jackey Blankinship | |
| Dear Sister, Do your best and leaave the rest Twill all come wright some day are night. August Dieter | |
| Dear Sister, I thought I thought I thought in vane I right my nam, Katie Dieter | |
| Dear Sister, Do your best and leave the rest T will all come wright some day or night, Your brother A | |
| My Friend, Roses are red Violets are blue, Suger is sweet and so are you, Ella Frankenstein |
1895
|
This picture of Hattie's uncle J.P.
Dieter was taken in New York City. It was signed by JP Dieter on
October 27, 1895 in El Paso. It was
written to George Kayser. J.P. Dieter and Kayser were barbers together in Wichita, Kansas in 1878. |
1896
 |
This picture of the Dieter family was taken in
Sarcoxie around 1896. Pictured from left to right are August, Hattie, Kate, Philip, their mother Lenchen and Fred. The picture of C.A.Dieter's wife and children was probably taken for him to carry with him as he traveled on business. |
1897
| March 26 | Hattie's uncle, Philip Dieter married
Minna Dieter in Luebeck, Germany. Philip was divorced from his first wife in 1887. " At 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon Hans and i were married by Reverend Ranke n the beautiful Marian Church in Luebeck. The reception was held at the beloved old Salmon Wier Garden where I had enjoyed so many heavenly times in my golden youth."
This is the beginning of the diary that Minna Dieter,
born Bruhn kept from March 26, 1897 until July 17. In this diary,
Minna recounts her wedding trip from Germany to El Paso, Texas. The
diary was translated and a commentary was added by Minna's grandson,
Henning Bruhn Dieter, jr. A copy of this manuscript was found in the
El Paso Library. I am indebted to Jack Austin for alerting me to the
document, copying it and sending it to me. |
1898
| December 8 | The Sarcoxie Tribune reports :" Fritz
Dieter went to St Louis last week, where he will enter a business
college and make a commercial course. Maybe this is when the 11 by 18 inch truck that Lauren Elsner now (2000) owns was purchased for August. Lauren found August's name on the truck and possible Fred got it as a gift for his little brother from St. Louis. The label on the truck reads "Jas. A. Quirk, manufacturers of Satchels and Sample Cases, Southwest Corner of Second and Walnut, St.Louis." Lauren noticed that the little pictures inside the truck were probably stuck in there at a later date. There is a little girl fishing, a little girl playing with a hoop, a scene of horses and farmers gathering hay, and a little boy in a blue outfit with a butterfly net. Perhaps, Katie and Hattie, August's sisters helped decorate the trunk to make it look more like a child's trunk. Pressed tin on the sides and pressed and painted leather on the top. Wooden ribs on the outside and a tray inside with little compartments. |
| Also advertised in the paper on a
weekly basis is an ad for Bryant and Stratten School of business ."
the largest and most widely know business school in the West.
Shorthand, telegraphy, Century Building Corner Olive and Ninth St.
St.. Louis. Fritz is going off to school while many boys his age are going off to serve in the Spanish American War in the Philippines. |
1899
| March 16 | The Sarcoxie Tribune reported on Thursday, March 16: "The young people gave John Crummel a birthday party on the 5th inst. in honor of his 21st birthday. An enjoyable time was participated in by all. The following were present: Louisa Herman, Emma Herman, Katie Dieter, Oral Woods, Elta Woods, Minnie Wild, Mrs. Emma Carnahan, Bertha Carnahan, Rhoda Paltz, May Jennison, Emma Krummel, John Herman, Will Herman, August Herman, Philip Dieter, Tom Bobison, Gilbert Wild, Eddie Wild, Mark Carnahan, Ernest Carnahan." |
| March 23 | The Sarcoxie Tribune reports: "John
Crummel Jr. and Miss Etta Woods daughter of Marvel Woods were
married on Wednesday evening last week by Rev. Mahnke. John does not
want anything said about it: its a secret and mums the word." Also reported that day in the paper " Last Sunday, confirmation services were held at the Lutheran church. There were 6 candidates adn the services were long and impressive. The Church was very nicely decorated with evergreens and potted flowers for the occasion." Did any Dieter children take part. Most likely. |
| June 1 | The Sarcoxie Tribune reports: "Miss Katie Dieter of Sarcoxie visited with Rosa Mc Nallie a few days of last week." Katie was 14 years old |
| July 20 | The Sarcoxie Tribune reports: " Fritz Dieter is home from St. Louis where he has been attending school |
| December 10, Sunday | Note the Dieter family's
participation in this very German event: The Sarcoxie Tribune reported on Thursday, December 14: Mr. John Keutler of Block, Kans. and Miss Louisa Herman were married at the Lutheran church last Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Rev. Mahnke officiating. The old German custom in the ceremony was observed and each guest brought a yard of ribbon which was used in bedecking a youth, who rode at the head of the procession to and from the church. Fritz Brummek and Miss Emma Herman attended the bride and groom. They will make their home in Kansas. Those present were as follows: Rev. F. W Mahnke and family. Henry Kiene and wife. C.A. Pohl and family. J. H. Sabert and wife, S. Goodner and wife, A. H. Forsythe and family. Will Pothoff and family, August Schimmel and family, L. A. Stebbias and family, C. A. Dieter and family, Geo. Kruse and mother, Mrs. Martha Krummel and family, John Krummel and family, H. W. Eggerman and son, Misses Lena Kettler of Block, Kans, Emma Wodtke, Tracy Krummel, Dells Evertson, Messrs. Paul and Richard Wodtke, Fred W. and Wm. A. Krummel and Dewitt Reese, of Springfield, Mo. One Who Was There |
1900
| January 3 | Sarcoxie Tribune. A City Council
meeting on January 2, states that C. A. Dieter was an alderman. He
also was serving on the Ways and Means Committee, The Sanitary and
Police Committee and the Public Building and Property Committee |
| June 21 and 22nd | U.S. Census, Sarcoxie, the two older boys Fred and Philipp are no longer living at home. The rest of the family is living
in Sarcoxie. |
| Fred is 21 and perhaps he is still at Bryant and Stratton Business
College in St. Louis (honor student). Or perhaps, Fred is already in Texas where he will work for his uncle for the next few years as a bookkeeper. |
|
| Philip, age 17 was living with a 82 year old man
Keziapp Viele not too far from his parents home in Sarcoxie. I found him
there on Nov.2, 2001. His name is misspelled as Deiter but all other
information on him points to his being our Philip. Mr. Viele owned his
own home and the Dieter's rented. Perhaps, Philip is working there. The day after I discovered this Mr.
Taylor told me that his youngest son Keith- also about 17 was living in
Mississippi with his grandparents. I asked Mr. Taylor if he was sad
about that and he said no that 's just the way it is." The son is happy
there but I do think that Mr. Taylor is sad. |
|
| September 8 | "Great Storm" hits Galveston, Texas
from the Gulf of Mexico and left 6,000 people dead and almost
destroying the "Queen City". Galveston, at
the time was an extremely important port city. |
1901
| Hattie is 15 years old. In this year her oldest brother, Fred is listed in the city directory of El Paso as a sales man for Houck and Dieter Co. 220 S. El Paso Street. This company was owned by Hattie's uncle J.P. Dieter. Fred has rooms at 213 1/2 South El Paso Street. Hattie who was always very proud of having been born in El Paso must have been very interested in her oldest brother's life in El Paso. Her family is keeping a close connection with this city of Hattie's birth. |
|
| Adam J Dieter, Hattie's uncle was listed in El Paso City directory as
the manager of the Senate Saloon. He lives at 625 North Campbell Street. |
|
| C.A. Dieter and his family are now living in Joplin at 213 North Pearl
street. |
|
| Elsner's living at 806 Pennsylvania
Ave |
|
| July 4 | Joplin newspaper reports: Miss Tillie
Goldstein (do they mean Geltmacher)
and Rosina Morris have gone to Parsens, KS where they will spend their
Fourth.Tillie Geltmacher would be a close friend of the
Dieter girls but perhaps they haven't met yet. |
| July 5 | Mr. Inger the popular young proprietor of the
Pearl grocery 2nd infant passed to the great beyond. |
| July 7 | Joplin Globe reports: Piano solo Miss
Martha Blieddung, entertained
the coral club. (Years later she would play at Hattie's wedding!) |
| July 9 | Oklahoma land grad going on. President's
proclamation opening the Kiows & Commanche and Apaachie and Wichita
reservations to settlement embraces 3 distant ???? |
| July 10 | Immense crowds are gathering in Reno
to register (and passing through Joplin on the train, it must have
been the talk of the town. |
| July 12 |
Library for Sale, Owner leaving city offers upwarsd of 1000
volumes. Limited and deluxe editions of standard authors
and art books illustrated by famous artists. Books may be seen at 124
North Pearl. Joplin Globe This was just a block away from the Dieter home. Surely some members of the Dieter family went to look at the books and probably bought a few. |
| Aug 4 | A long article in the Joplin Globe on
Sunday "The Beauties of Yellowstone park." By Mrs. Troutman a local
Joplin woman. Did Hattie read this article and start dreaming about herself being a writer. Perhaps this is when she first got the idea of keeping her own travel diary. For more information about Hattie's Travel diary, go to the library section of this website. |
| Aug. 18 Sunday | "On this day, the town
of Pierce City, Missouri was the scene of an horrific triple
lynching which drew national attention." To read the complete story,
see Uunder Penalty of Death: Piece City's night of Racial Terror
by Jason Navarro. This article appears in the Missouir
Historical Review of January, 2006. On this day the body of Gisela Wild was found in Piece City, Missouri not far from Joplin. Twenty three year old Gisela was on her way home from Church. Her seventeen year old brother Carl discovered her body as he followed some time behind her. Her throat had been cut and there were signs of a severe struggle.
The condition of the body and the murder scene
suggest that the attach had begun as a sexual assault. "We presume
the fellow found Miss Wild too strong for him and thought to hide
the evidence of his crime by adding murder to it" the Pierce City
Empire and the Carthage Evening Post reported the
following day. Suspicion soon fell on the black community. The next
day William Godley, 32 years old was dragged from the city jail and
lynched by a mob numbering more than one thousand. "This was no
unruly mob but was instead an organized effort lead by some of
the town's most respected citizens."(JN) Later, parts of the mob
moved to the black section of town and two more blacks were killed
French Godley and Pete Hampton. Their charred bodies were found in
the burned out ruins of the Godley home the next day. The city's
black population who had fled the town that night returned to
retrieve their belongings but were not allowed to remain. The Joplin
Globe reported "The white men stand ready to buy the (African
Americans') real estate. After this is done they must vacate the
city". "....the Pierce City African American community ceased to
exist."(JN) Afterwards Mark Twain remarks, "and so Missouri had fallen, that great state! Certain of her children have joined the lynchers, and the smirch is upon the rest of us." This is the context of Hattie's 15th year! "The violence in Pierce City played a pivotal role
in a larger regional story. A series of lynching in southwest
Missouri between the years of 1894 and 1906 drove away most of the
region's black population. These lynchings were unlike lynchings in
the Deep South, where the main goals were to uphold white supremacy
and to keep a compliant and intimidated force of agricultural
laborers. In the decades after the Civil War, southwest Missouri saw
a vast immigration of southern Blacks into the region. This
populations was not economically important to a local economy that
did not depend on cash crops such as cotton and tobacco. Blacks
instead found themselves competing with poor whites for mining and
railroad employment. this condition lead to racial tensions and when
lynchings took place their aim was to intimidate but also to remove
the region's black population." JN
|
| September 6 | President. McKinley shot. He was the
third of the last seven Presidents to be killed. (Lincoln and
Garfield (shot in July, 1881 died September 1881) |
| Nov. 7 | Fred Dieter sends August a post card
from El Paso. This cards represents Fred as a representative of the
Dieter and Houck Company. |
| JP Dieter pays for the passage of his nephew Philipp Dieter from Germany to El Paso. It seems that Philip Dieter was very interested in bringing his s nephews into his buisness. | |
| Perhaps, this young Philip Dieter
stopped in Joplin on his way to Texas. It would certainly have been
interesting to Hattie and her sister Kate to meet a new male cousin
from Germany. |
|
| end of November | Otto Elsner, 26 year old dies. He is
the uncle of Max Elsner. There
are many notices in the Joplin Globe about his funeral, 3 in English and
3 in German. He must have been very well liked. I don't remember seeing
so many notices before for someone in the family.
Did his death have an effect on Max, who was only 15? Were they close friends? I wonder? Is that his picture in the tailor shop with Max and G.A.Elsner? Is he that good looking and well dressed young man to the right? Very possibly!
|
1902
| Fred is listed in the city directory of El
Paso as a sales man for Houck and Dieter Co. 220 S. El Paso Street. He has
rooms at 213 1/2 South El Paso Street. Also John A.
Dieter, is an employee of the Houck and Dieter Factory. He has the same
rooms as Fred Dieter. |
|
| June 14 | INSERT PICTURE
Concordia, Hattie and Laura Bartman dress up in long robes, hats, umbrella,
fans long robe. (a photograph) What was Concordia? |
| August |
"Nearly one year after the lynchings in
Pierce City, America Godley, Sarah Godley and Beedie Hampton filed $5.000
lost support suits in the Jasper County Circuit Court against 21citizens of
Pierce City. After fleeing Pierce City the widows lived in Joplin. When one
of the presumed riot leaders moved to Carthage, the woman filed suit in
Jasper County believing they could not win in Lawrence County."(JN) WOW! How brave these women were. |
| September | 
Hattie's mother returns from Germany and gives Hattie the
autograph book or "" as it is called in German.
The above pressed flowers were found inside its pages
almost one hundred years later. The family lived at 213 North Pearl. Hattie
is 16 years old. |
| November 12 | Katie Kayser from Wichita, KS signs the
"Poesie Album". It is the only English entry. The relationship between the Kayser family is a long one. Kayser and J.P.Dieter had a barbers shop in Wichita in 1878's. In 1895, Uncle Philip Dieter wrote an inscription to George Kayser on the back of his photograph. Also in 1889 Mrs. Catherine Kaiser was a sponsor at the baptism of Helen and her brothers in Sarcoxie in 1889. |
| Max Elsner's mother, Lisette Dela Pre Elsner has a baby girl who dies as an infant.
It is her second baby girl to die which I know of. Lisette is probably in her early 40's by now. Certainly old to be having a baby at that time. What did this baby mean to her? What a sadness it must have been. |
In 1906 Philipp Dieter went to San Franciso to enter the construction business.
1903
| Max A Elsner (age17), tailor GA Elsner 806 Penn |
| February 18 | Sarah Godley, the widow of French Godley and
the mother of Pete Hampton took her case to trial in Joplin.(JN) Surely the Dieter and Elsner families were watching. "On the following morning the all white jury acquitted the defendants of all charges and awarded Sarah Godley nothing. ....America Godley apparntely lost heart after the verdict and failed to appear for her trial. Her case was dismissed as well as Beedie Hampton's suit."(JN)
|
| March 24 | "On Tuesday, March 24, 1903, a party was held in
Joplin which was reported in the society column of the Joplin Daily Globe
the following Sunday. The party was given in honor of Laura Bartman, a friend of
my grandmother’s. Hattie, her sister Kate, and all of her brothers, Fred,
Philip, and August, were there. Fred, the oldest, was 23; August, the youngest,
was 13. They were all single then, but each of their future spouses were also at
this party: my grandfather Max; Fred’s future wife Frieda, who was a good friend
of Hattie and Kate; and Philip’s future wife, Emma. Kate and August never
married. The guest list included other German names and attests to the closeness
of the Dieter children not only as siblings but also as friends. The young people talked that night about the Kermess to be held soon at the Germania Club. "Kermess" was a familiar and exciting word to these young people, although its meaning is lost to me today. By reading the Joplin papers, which are filled with every detail of its preparation, I find myself listening as the echoes of an old European tradition take root in America. Hattie and her friends and siblings are very much a part of these old-world traditions and very much a part of this new city. At this Tuesday night get-together, games were played and prizes were given
out. Hattie, the only girl to win a prize, stood out—as she would a year later
at the carnival. At ten o’clock refreshments were served. Not long after that, I
imagine, the Dieter siblings started their walk home together. Max, my future
grandfather, walked with them. Fred and Philip left on different routes to walk
their future wives home." * |
| April 15 | "a...foreboding incident shaped the contours
of my grandmother’s teenage years. It happened on Wednesday, April 15, 1903,
just weeks before her seventeenth birthday. Hattie and her family heard the
early morning reports of the police officer who was killed the night before
at the Kansas City Southern freight yards by a "tramp negro." They read in
the papers about "the bands of determined man standing around the street and
awaiting developments." Hattie’s parents kept her and her sister home that
day as the city buzzed with tales of posses, rewards, and revenge. The
atmosphere was expectant, full of barely contained turmoil. When a frightened Negro hiding in an outlying barn was captured and brought to the police station, a crowd was quick to gather. "Never before in the history of Joplin has the passion of the people come to surface with such force," the paper reports. At five minutes of five in the afternoon, the mob, which consisted of men, women, and children, stormed the police station. They dragged their victim from his cell to the southwest corner of 2nd and Wall streets. There, less than an hour later, after some debate and an effort to prevent the lynching, they beat the Negro unconscious and hung him with a rope draped over a telephone pole. Almost one hundred years later, as I read the newspaper accounts of this day, my unfolding horror mirrors the fright my sixteen-year-old grandmother must have felt as she watched these events unfolding in the familiar street of her neighborhood. The lynching took place just two blocks from the home where her parents were trying to keep her safe. The violence, fear, and hatred could not be prevented from seeping through the walls and windows of their wood-framed house on North Pearl Street and into my grandmother’s developing consciousness. As a teenage girl, Hattie had more insight into what this day meant than she would be given credit for. In the weeks and months that followed, many residents debated the role that justice played in the lynching. Hattie didn’t take part in any of these discussions; she left them to those more articulate than she. Deep inside, however, she had a new understanding of the world around her. This event led her to recognize racism and violence more acutely than any well-formed debate could do. Although she kept her thoughts to herself, after April 15th Hattie knew that the possibility of chaos was never far away.Violent lynching in Joplin and destruction of negro property.'* |
| *(excerpts from the essay "Looking
Oppositely" which can be found on the Essay page of this website) |
|
| December 26 | The Joplin Daily Globe reports a story in which two men stole a hat with the initails "G.P.D" . the hat was later returned to Mr. Dieter. That was George Philip Dieter, Hattie's brother. |
1904
| Max A. Elsner (age 18) tailor GA Elsner, 806 Penn | |
| C.A. contract builder, 213 North Pearl | |
| Fred and Philip are living at home again. | |
| Fred Dieter, Bookkeeper. Joplin Supply, 213 North Pearl | |
| Philip, Brk/Lay, 213 North Pearl | |
| Katie, 213 North Pearl | |
| Hattie Dieter Student, 213 North Pearl | |
| August Dieter, Student 213 North Pearl |
|
|
. |
| January 6 | Joplin Daily Globe runs a series of stories
about "Dieter and Wenzel "and a claim made by the Eagle Cornice Company that
their bill was not paid by Dieter and Wenzel. Turns out in the end Dieter
was right. ‘Not one cent is due." |
| January 31 | Joplin Daily Globe reports that the
Lutheran Church on the corner of Ninth and Moffett Ave. was a gift of Charles
A. Schifferdecker to the German people of the city. It maintains a
most excellent school for the education of German youth. |
| February 2 | Joplin Daily globe reports that ladies
invited their Gentlemen friends to a dancing party at the Germania Club last
Tuesday evening. Tellie Geltmacher, Frieda Brandli, ...Dieter was one of the
men but it doesn't report which Dieter. |
| February 9 | Globe reports that 140 acres in the heart of
Baltimore destroyed by fire. The Dieter's had family in Baltimore. Were they
affected? |
| February 21 | 213 North Pearl St. Mr. & Mrs.
Dieter celebrate their 25th Wedding anniversary. See article in Joplin Daily
News. "The Turner Liederskranz and the German card club and a number of
friends" came to their home for a surprise celebration." Records from Germany
show that they were actually married on this date in 1882 and not in 1979 as
their 25th Anniversary would suggest. Their oldest son
Fred was born in 1879. |
| March 27 | Joplin Daily Globe reports the marriage last
Tuesday evening of Miss Minnie Schifferdecker and Mr. William Meyer. A large
affaire at the Germania Club but names of the guests were not mentioned.
Niece of Mr. and Mrs. Schifferdecker. Married head of Liederkranz Society. |
| April 20 | Local Item, JDG, German Turner Liederkranz will give a dance
the 20th of this month..next day.....The Grand Concert and Ball given by the
JTL at Germania Hall was one of the the most successful entertainment ever
given by the society.....program Komisches quartets- Elsnei, Kraus,
Fahrenbach and Voscamp. (could this be Elsner?) Was GA Elsner a funny jun
guy like Luc? A few years later, Max worked at the liquor store of
Fahrenbach. |
| May 2 | Hattie’s 18th birthday |
| May 19 | Miss Dorfelt leads for Queen of Carnival.
Joplin Germania society the leading German organization of the kind in the
southwest. Germans of Joplin are in favor of building a many thousand dollar
float. |
| May 20 | Graduation but did Hattie graduate? |
| May 28 | "Queen of Carnival was assaulted by Mrs. J.
R. Weyland. Distressing Trouble grew out of Controversy over Appointement of
the maids of honor. Miss McGee seriously injured-Could not be seen." JG |
| May 31 |
"In the spring of 1904, Joplin spent months preparing for the first annual carnival in honor of the sovereign majesties "Rex Plumbum and King Jack." These fictionalized monarchs were the personifications of lead and zinc, which figured so prominently in Joplin’s meteoric growth at the turn of the last century. The Germania Society of Joplin fashioned "one of the most appreciative efforts made by any of the organizations" which participated in the grand inaugural parade ushering in the carnival. "Their float was grand. It was twelve feet by thirty six feet and contained three allegorical figures … Uncle Sam, Columbia and Germania…. Miss Dieter impersonated Columbia." There, there was my grandmother. It must have been her and not her older,
sister sister Kate. Kate would never have been comfortable atop a float. But I
could imagine the grandmother I never knew there. The younger and more outgoing
sister, Hattie as she was called then, enjoyed moving slowly through the
evening, waving and smiling at the crowd. That Monday night, the crowd of nearly
30 thousand was "the largest ever congregated on the streets of Joplin." This
must be the story I was never told behind the picture of my grandmother as a
young woman wearing a dress made of stars and stripes. Along the side of this
very faded image, written in the shaky hand of my grandmother’s sister Kate, is
the inscription: "Hattie Helen Dieter - Miss America On Float in Parade, 1904."
|
| picture here of Hattie as Miss America |
|
| June 2 | Grand Ball of Carnival is at Germania Hall.
serious rain last night. some of the tents blown away. Rain and wind came
together. People forced inside tents....storm did damage to electric and telegraph wires...Joplin cut off from rest of the world. |
| June 5 | Joplin Dailey Globe, "Plumblicum Carnival
ended in Dampness last night….with a deficit of about $2,000." |
| June 14 | "Concordia" is written on the back of a
picture of Hattie and a friend "Laura Bartman" both dressed in an oriental
costume. What is Concordia? |
| June 16 | Newspapers report news of the General Slocum
disaster in New
York City. For more information on this disaster and its effect on the lives of Charlotte Sommer Gretsch, see "Agility and Excellence" on the Essay page of this website. |
| July 3 | Miss Martha Biledung gave a most delightful
musical soiree at her home in N. Pearl Street, Thursday. The program of
the evening was…..Miss Biledung is acknowledged one of the leading
musicians of the Southwest and those who were fortunate enough to hear her
enjoyed a rare treat. Her interpretation of the masterpieces is most
pleasing and effective and her technical ability places the many tones
qualities of the piano well at her command. Those who were present
Thursday night were Mesars and Medames D.Bosewell, L.F. Cramer, B.J.
Davidson. Mrs. Cary and Mrs Charles Schenuch. (Joplin Globe) Martha Bieldung was a guest at Helen's wedding and Mary (maybe the same) Bieldung played at her wedding.
|
| July 24 | Joplin Globe reports a party on Friday
evening given by Mrs. George Wiemer (sister of Frieda Brandli) in honor
of her sister Mrs Adolf Gauer visitng from Houston. Frieda Brandli is there
with Kate and Hattie Dieter and Fred and Philip Dieter and Max Elsner. Also present were Mr and Mrs. William Meyer, the Schifferdecker's neice and her husband. Years later, August Dieter would be in touch with Mrs. Gauer when he lived in Houston. |
| July 24 | Joplin Daily Globe (same day) " The Young Ladies Aid society of the Lutheran Church enjoyed a picnic Thursday. The party started in the morning and enjoyed a long day of pleasure. Those who went were: Missses Lissie Schelidt, Hattie Deiter (sic), Adella Marder, Mary Scheidt, Minnie Martin, Octavie Scheidt, Minnie Waggy, Edith Bronder, Louise Bauermiester Kate Deiter (sic) and Lillie Damm. |
| August 15-19 |
Missouri State Fair in Sadalia. Is Hattie
Miss America in this parade? I can find no mention in either the Sadalia
paper or the Joplin Globe. However, in Hattie's papers a paper medallion is
found which says, "Meet Me, Missouri State Fair Sadalia Aug 15-19,
1904" |
| August 28 | Joplin Daily Globe describes a party
on Friday night in Sarcoxie. "Miss Ada Bess Gangler, of Sarcoxie,
entertained about fifty of her friends Friday evening in honor of
her birthday anniversary. The lawn was beautifully lighted with
Japanese lanterns which together with the soft rays of the moon made
quite a charming scene. The evening was spent in music and games and
at 10:30 a delicious luncheon consisting of ice cream, cake and
fruit was served." Frieda Brandli, Katherine Dieter, and Hattie
Dieter were among the quests along with August Dieter. How did they
all get there? Did they spend the night? The
Dieters had lived in Sarcoxie from at least 1889 until 1899 when
they moved to Joplin. |
| August 30 | "Surprise for Schifferecker Liederkranz Society Gives Old Joplin Citizen Peasant Birthday
"Sendoff" (JDG) In this four paragraph article a surprise party on
Monday night for Charles Schifferdecker a passive member of the
Joplin Turner Liederkranz society is reported. The party was held at
his home on the corner of Fifth and Sargeant Ave and it was in honor
of his 53rd birthday. " The members of the society with their
ladies and a few intimate friends assembled at the home of the
jubilar about 8 o'clock and awaited patiently the return of Mr. and
Mrs. Schifferdecker from their regular evening drive. The whole
inner yard had in the meantime been nicely decorated with Japanese
lanterns and flowers of all description and transformed into a real
garden of a fairyland. The Liederkranz under the able
leadership of Prof. Wm Meyer ( who was married to Schifferdecker's
niece) presented "vocal recitations". "Games of all sorts were
enjoyed by the young people. Among the guests
Misses Hattie and Katie Dieter were the first mentioned. Perhaps,
these young ladies were the most memorable. Also present were Mr and
Mrs..C. A. Dieter, Mr and Mrs A. Elsner,.....Wm. Fehrenbach, Max
Elsner." |
| September 6-8 |
Hattie writes in her Travel Diary about her
trip to the St. Louis World's Fair. Mrs. George Wiemer, Mrs. Brandli, Anna
Brandli, Mr.Brandli, Mr. Wenzel. Fred and Philip were at the station to see
them off. Boarded for ST. Louis: Also on the trip were: Mr. & Mrs. CA Dieter,
Mr. Muernnig. Mr. Georg Jacobs, Mr. August Dieter, Miss Katie Dieter, Miss
Katie Muernnig, Miss Frieda Brandli, Miss Helen Dieter. See a transcript of
Hattie's hand written diary in the Library section of this website. |
| Sept. 7 | The Joplin Daily Globe notes that Mr. George
Muenning accompanied by his daughter Katherine and his nephew George Jacobs
left last evening for St. Louis. However, the Dieter party is not mentioned. |
| September 11 | The Joplin Dailey Globe reports that a party
was given by Mrs. W. Dehm on Thursday afternoon. Mrs. G.A. Elsner is one of
the guests. "One of the features of the entertainment was a contest in which
the ladies present guessed at the number of beans contained in a glass" |
| October 5 | JDG reports that Myra Adams, 10
years old, drove away with a surrey and pony belonging to Mrs. Lieb. The
girl "is a winsome child but she has a mania for driving off with horses
which she finds hitched along the streets... The poney is small and
black has four white feet and a blaze face. Upon several other occasions she
had driven away with horses belonging to partied in Webb City and Carthage."
|
| November 13 | The Joplin Globe Sunday. Page 2. "Completed
Several Large Projects. The contracting firm of Dieter and Wenzel yesterday formally turned over the colored Baptist Church on East 7th Street to the church trustees. This church was built with the money donated by Thomas Connor and will be dedicated in a short time. It cost $5,000. the firm of Dieter and Wenzel also completed the extension to the Federal Building in St Scot Ark. And a letter received by the firm yesterday from the supervising architect speaks in glowing terms of the manner in which the work was performed. The extention cost $80,000. A week ago the $25,000 Carnegie Library at Carthage by Dieter and Wenzel was completed and formally accepted by the board.
(same day) paper notes that "John Wenzel and Fred and Philip Dieter leave tonight for a visit to the world’s fair" Could it be that they stayed home until these projects were completed?
|
| November 24 | Hattie traveled to Miami, Indian Territory
with Kate to have Thanksgiving Dinner with Nellie and Walter Johnson. See
her diary in the Library section of this website for more information. |
| November 25 | "After dinner we went to town where Mr. Stine
and I entertained the rest with music" (Did she play the piano for
everyone?) This is about the time that the picture of Hattie and Katie was
taken in the white blouses. |
| November 30 |
Fred receives a book on construction. Perhaps
his 25th Birthday. Perhaps, Fred is starting a new career in life,
construction and not bookkeeping. |
| December 22 | JDG describes" Impressive Funeral Services
Under the Auspices of the Germania and Liederkranz Yesterday." " ..the
Germania Society awaited in full force, (at the church) headed by the Joplin
band which had been engaged by them as it is customary to escort all the
members to their last resting place under the sweet strains of music....at
the cemetery the Liederkranz under the direction of Wm Meyer rendered an
impressive song in German, entitled, "Prayer" after which Mr. Chris
Guengerich delived a last farewell tribute to the departed, mingled with
consoling words to the bereaved family and the Liederkranz sand, " The
Scotch Bard". The funeral was for Wm. Grundler. Although the Dieter and
Elsner families were not mentioned in this article, I am sure the ceremony
about this burial was familiar to them. |
1905
| January 3 | Tuesday, Joplin Globe reports " First
Ball of the New Year. Immediately following 12 O'Clock new Year
Night the Germania Tripped Light Fantastic. The Joplin Turn Verein
Germania celebrated their twenty-eight anniversary at the hall
corner Third and Joplin Street in a most elaborate manner Saturday
night. The large dancing hall presented a most beautiful and
artictic appearance. The ladies of the societ had tried to eexcel all former occasions and had been as busy as bees, baking, roasting and preparing all the good things to eat in a masterly manner, for the great banquet. Three long tables had been placed in thehall and fifty plated or each table, all decorated nicely and neatly for loaded down with an abundance of all the market offers. At nine o'clock the Putnam orchestra opened theprogram with a nice sselection. The Joplin Turneer Liederkranz then rendered "Vereins-Gruss" a very appropriate number for the occasion, a song of greeting and welcome for the guests. The members and their families were all seated adn tWm. Feherback president of the society delivered his address of greetings and welcome to the guests. the waitresses all young ladies of the society then appeared and with sparkling eyes and smiling faces declared they were ready to attend to the wants of the guests and dischared their duty in a most elegant and graceful manner and under the sweet strains of music the good things to eat and drink slowly disappeared. ...speeches were made and preparations to trip the light fantastic..As a rule the Germans always like to dance the old year out and the new year in or al least to close as possible and it is a sure thing that Germania has the lead as the first hall to have a ball in 1905." |
| March 15 | Hattie's uncle, J.Philip
Dieter buys a big brewery in El Paso. (See newspaper article El Paso
Times) |
| July 3-6, | Hattie travels with her
sister Kate to Miami, Indian Territory ( present day Oklahoma) for
the Fourth of July festivities. To learn
more about the trip read Hattie's Travel Diary in the "Library"
section of this website. |
| September 6 | Hattie's oldest brother
Fred marries Frieda Brandli.
Frieda is a good friend of Hattie's. She was described in the Joplin Daily Globe the next day as "a pretty blonde quite popular in her social circle". Fred was a "junior member for the firm Williams and Co,. Building Contractors." It is interesting to learn that he was not working for his father. The wedding took place in the home of the bride's parents, 802 Chestnut Street. After which a wedding reception and luncheon was served to the 20 guests present" Joplin Daily Globe Frieda had at least three sisters and three brothers. The Brandli family was from Zurich and had come to USA circa 1880. |
1906
| Max A. Elsner (age 18) tailor GA Elsner, 806 Penn | |
| Dieter, C.A. (Dieter and Wenzel) 213 N.Pearl | |
| Fred, steneo 213 N. Pearl | |
| Philip, Mason, Dieter and Wenzel, 213 N.Pearl | |
| Helen H. 213 N. Pearl | |
| Katie 213 N. Pearl | |
| March 11 | "Nicht wie Rosen, Nicht wie Nelken Die da bluehen und verwelken Sondern wie das Immergruen So soll unsre Freundschaft bluehn." Zur Erinnerung von Deiner Freudin Mathilde Geldmacher
|
| May 16
|
Picture of Hattie Helen is taken.
She is 20 years old and eight days. Was this her graduation from Joplin High School. There is a similar picture of a young woman in a similar dress. On the back is written. Lillian Hill, Joplin High School, 1906
|
| June 16 | J. Adam Dieter, younger brother
of CA Dieter, dies in El Paso from Tuberculosis after a lingering illness.
He had come to America in 1879 with C.A. Dieter. Adam was 45 years old. His
wife Belle stays in touch with the Dieter family. Fred must have known him
quite well when he lived in El Paso with him. In 1905, Adam was the manager of the Senate Saloon in El Paso, Texas. |
1907
This is a busy year for the Dieter & Wenzel Construction Co. They are building Joplin High School, the Connor Hotel, etc
Hattie is probably already seeing quite a bit of Max Elsner.
Max's cousin comes to Joplin from Germany Fritz Kruger.
Apparently, he went to Dakota and shows up again in Joplin in 1910.
He is the son of Ida Elsner Kruger, a sister of Max's father.
He stays in the US and marries and has children.
His sister Helene Kruger marries Herman Schroeder (see letter 1947).
February 6, Brother George Philip marries Emma Moritz "Philipp Dieter, son of C.A. Dieter of 410 North Pearl St. and Miss Emma Moritz formerly of Sedan, Kans. were married last evening at the Home of Rev. Father Clinton. the couple will make their home at Eighteenth St. and Picher Avenue. The wedding last night was followed by an elegant dinner. Mrs Dieter is a niece of Mrs. Mike Kolb."( Joplin Daily globe) Emma was a Catholic, did this cause a problem? (NB Mike Kolb is mentioned 20 years later as a pall bearer for Mrs Brandli mother of Fred's wife. Maybe Philipp met Emma through his brother's wife?) The Kolb's were also at Hattie's wedding in 1909.
June, Hattie's little brother August has just finished his sophmore year Joplin High School. His friend Charles Hebbard is the staff editor, a basket ball forward and a scientist.
June 6, Philip Dieter sends August a postcard from Kansas City and Memphis.
July 25, Helen Dieter (21 years old) is in Sulphur Springs, Ark. With Kate Dieter, Elizabeth Scheidt, May (Reha) Scheidt , on the back of the picture the men's names are written in pencil: John B., Harry C., Frank J. also "Whatia Princh! And Celera (what do these words mean? Note the beautiful white dresses and hats that the girls are wearing.
August 19, Hattie Helen is in El Dorado Springs, Mo with Anna (Schulte), Kate and Tillie. She goes to a dance Wednesday night at the park Hotel and sends her brother August a postcard. (She is there again in the 1920's with her children and maybe Max.)
August 25, Hattie is still in Eldorado Springs and sends another postcard from Tillie, Anna, Margaret, Kate, Rosa and Helen. They must have been there visitng a friend of August for the day they leave he writes August a postal telling about their visit.
September 7, is in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas. Is this a resort area or is there business there?
Sept. 23, 6:30 p.m. J.P.Dieter died. Uncle Philip. El Paso, Tx. He signed Hattie's autograph book in 1892. Helen's father C.A. Dieter rushed to El Pasco to be by his dying brother's side. He died of an inoperable brain tumor.
"Not even Mr. Dieter himself imagined that there was anything seriously wrong with him when he returned from Cloudcroft- where his family spent the summer- three weeks ago." EL Paso Daily times, September 24, 1907.
October, November, December- economic panic of 1907
1908
| January 14 | Anna Helena Kappes
Barenz dies. Hattie's maternal Grandmother. She was born
December 11, 1824. She was 86 years old. |
| January 18 | Moritz August Dieter (born son of
Emma & Philipp) |
| He is named with his mother's maiden
name and his paternal grandfather's name. The baby is the first grandchild of C.A.and Lenchen. Hattie's first nephew. |
|
| Joplin Turner Liederkranz Society lists among its
members, C.A. Dieter, Fred, Philip, Mr. Elsner, Mr.Schiffendecker,
Mr.Kolb but not Max. |
|
| April | Connor Hotel opened. The Middle
West's Finest Hotel. Absolutely Fireproof. European. 100 rooms
without bath $1.00 and up, 150 rooms with bath, $1.50, and up. (JNH ad, 1911) |
| May 25 | Contract was given for
Hattie's brother Fred to work on the Carthage Water works. This was a very big deal. |
| May 29 | Hattie writes about her
trip to Baltimore, Maryland in her travel diary. "The following were at the station to see us off: Tellie Geltmacher, Adolf Geltmacher, Max Elsner, Marie & Elizabeth Scheidt, Frank Reha, Mr.& Mrs. Buerc. Anna Schulte, Mr. & Mrs. Drawe, Mr. Benedict. and of course all of us except for Emma and "little August" they were at Sedan (KS). Were met at the Union Station in St. Louis by Mrs. Hallenberg. Were met in by Rev. Mahnke at La Salle Station and taken to his home in West Chicago.stopped at Concordia Cemetary." |
| June 2 | "Tuesday 1908.
Kate and I took the train at 8 o'clock for Chicago to see cousin
Lillian Cain. Her husband was at the station to meet us but was too
early, so we telephoned to the house, received instructions and went
by ourselves. We made our first trip on the Elevated Railway. Cousin
Lillian and her two children, Helen and Louis, me us at the
Edgewater. She certainly has a beautiful home. We had luncheon
at the Presbyterian Church where her husband is in charge. The
church is finished with mission wood. After luncheon Rev. Cain took
a carriage and we took the Lake Shore Drive. This is a long Lake
Michigan. Then we drove all through Lincoln Park. The park is
beautiful. We saw all kinds of animals, birds, flowers
monuments, people and everything. Rushed home, had lunch and hurried
to the station. Rev. Cain took us to the Chicago and N.W. and we
were again speeding onour way to west Chicago." |
| June 4 |
" Baltimore MD. " Thursday, were on the train
all day, at 5:50 P.M. we arrived at Baltimore. Cousins Lewis, Mary and
Dora were at the station to meet us. Went home, had supper, sat on the
front steps awhile, then went to a spiritualist meeting what do you
think of that!" Arrived in Baltimore and met by Cousins Lewis, Mary and
Dora. Cousin Phil Volz of Newark, NJ-we have never seen him. |
| June 7 | "Saturday, Up at 8. Breakfast. Cousin, Kate
and I had one of our popular concerts. I took a bath dinner and now am
writing. Cousin Dora and Kate went to the cemetery." This is the cousin "Mary" Nicklaus who sent postcards to August in 1907 and 1908. Aunt Mary Nicklaus sent August a postcard from Germany in 1905. Perhaps that is the mother of these Nicklaus children. When J. Philip Dieter first came to America in the 1870's he came to Baltimore to live with an Uncle. This family must be descendants of the Uncle of C.A. Dieter. |
| June 22 | Trip to New York,
Newark, Hoboken, Coney Island and Philadelphia Cousin Mary Nicklas, met
Mamma and Pappa in NJ. |
| June 25 | Hattie watched her
parents set sail for Europe on "Deutschland" Hamburg-America line.
The death of Hattie Grandmother must have been for this trip.z |
| July 11 | Trip from Baltimore, MD
to Washington, DC Hattie Helen and her sister Kate certainly traveled a lot! |
| July 30 | Fred sends August a
postcard from Columbia. Was he taking classes at the University?
Fred refers to himself as "Luckless Will." |
| Oct.12-16 | Lena and C.A. return home on the Deutschland. |
1909
| Max Elsner is listed as a Bkpr at Inter State Grocery Co. |
|
| He is living with his parents at 615 Moffet. The family has moved in the past year from 806 |