Tombstone Tuesday: Lyford L. and Hazel M. Chew

Source: Salamonia Cemetery (Jay County, Indiana), Lyford L. and Hazel M. Chew marker, photographed by Travis LeMaster, 26 March 2009.

Lyford L. and Hazel Mildred (________) CHEW are buried in the Salamonia Cemetery, Madison Township, Jay County, Indiana.  Lyford was my paternal 1st cousin 3 times removed.

Lyford was born August 2, 1900 in Jay County, Indiana, the son of Dr. William Anderson and Emma Susan (STRAIGHT) CHEW.

Hazel Mildred ________ was born in 1898 to unknown parentage.  I do not yet know when and where they were married.

Hazel died in 1950.  Lyford died in 1964.  

Tombstone Tuesday – To participate in Tombstone Tuesday simply create a post which includes an image of a gravestone of one or more ancestors and it may also include a brief description of the image or the ancestor. This is an ongoing series at GeneaBloggers.

Amanuensis Monday: Letter from Aunt Helene (April 1972)

An Amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another. 

Source: Letter from Mrs. V.W. LeMaster, 206 Bon Air Dr., Sidney Ohio to Mr & Mrs. Ord LeMaster, 214 W. Monroe St., Alexandria, Indiana, postmarked February 19, 1972.

Dear Gloria & Ord :

I received your letter with the request to give you the information about the LeMaster family.  I know very little about the early history of the family.  Art had a book of the LeMaster family that was published through the efforts of some LeMaster.  It had father & mother's names and their children.  It was not all together correct (the Luman LeMaster family) if I recall rightly.  Then, Art also sent a history of his family that he and Aunt Maud Phillips had typed and sent to their families.  I have that and will check through it for information.

I am sorry to be so late in answering your letter.  I have had the flu for almost a month and have such an accumulation of back work it seems I never get caught up.

You do not have Clifford LeMaster in your group.  If I do not find enough about his family I will give you the name and address of his daughter Gladys who lives in California.

You might inquire about the book Art had.  It had the 'crest' or emblem or whatever it is called of the LeMaster family.  I do not know what has been done with his books.

You will hear from me again when I get the material assembled.

Keep well and happy,

Love Aunt Helene

---

This letter, postmarked February 19, 1972, was written to my parents by my father's grandaunt, Helene (GARMHAUSEN) LeMASTER, widow of Dr. Vernon Walker LeMASTER.

The following explanations of people and things mentioned in the letter:

1. Art = Arthur Raymond LeMASTER, brother of Vernon Walker LeMASTER.  Arthur died December 16, 1971.

2. The LeMaster genealogy referenced must refer to Lemasters, U.S.A., 1639-1965 by Howard M. Lemaster and Margaret Herberger.  I have a copy of this genealogy.

3. The family history mentioned as being compiled by Art and his sister, Maud (LeMASTER), was put together circa 1960.  I have a partial copy and will reference it in later posts.

4. The Clifford LeMASTER is William Clifford LeMASTER,  an older brother of Arthur and Vernon.

Amanuensis Monday is a daily blogging theme which encourages the family historian to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes, and other historical artifacts. Amanuensis Monday is a popular ongoing series created by John Newmark at Transylvanian Dutch.

Who Burned Down the Opera House?

According to the 1920 census of Victor, Teller County, Colorado, my paternal great granduncle, William Clifford LeMASTER was the proprietor of a theatre.  He was living as a lodger in the Francis P. Hall household.  His age was listed as 46 and marital status was given as divorced.  Also living with him was his son, Ralph, aged 17, who was working as an express driver.

Source: Francis P. Hall household, 1920 U.S. census, population schedule, Victor, Teller County, Colorado, ED 238, SD 3, sheet 9, dwelling 192, family 207; Ancestry.com [database on-line].

This finding in the 1920 census jives with information given in the biographical sketch of William's father, Luman Walker LeMASTERS Jr., in Milton T. Jay's History of Jay County, Indiana, on page 197, where it states that William was the proprietor of a motion picture theater in Victor, Colorado.

Previously, William had been a bank cashier at banks in both Elyria, Ohio and Fort Collins, Colorado.  Sometime between 1910 and 1920, probably around the time of his divorce, he switched occupations.

Several weeks ago, I discovered the website Opera in Old Colorado, which had some information and photos of the old opera house in Victor, Colorado.  This opera house was the one being used to house the movie theater.  The opera house burned September 27, 1920, and the website stated that W.C. LeMaster had burned it down to obtain the insurance money.  Very interesting story, indeed!  

I immediately contacted the website's author, in order to obtain more information.  He was able to send me the following:

I have attached an item about the burning of the Victor Opera House from the Fort Collins Courier, Monday, Sept 27, 1920.  At the moment I cannot locate the source of the information about the owner burning the building to collect the insurance.  I will try to do so sometime next week when I can get into the library at CSU to search some newspapers of the time.  If you have access to microfilms of the Rocky Mountain News, you might look at some issues on and after September 27, 1920, to see if you can verify the information.

Cripple Creek has $100,000 fire in Big Opera House

CRIPPLE CREEK, Sept. 27 - The Victor Opera House, the largest structure in the Cripple Creek district, was destroyed by fire at noon today.  The building was valued at $100,000.  No one was in the opera house at the time.  The origin of the fire is a mystery.  The opera house was being used as a motion picture theatre.

Though intriguing, this tidbit didn't mention W.C. LeMaster by name, but it did confirm that the opera house was being used as a motion picture theatre.

The owner of the Opera in Old Colorado website did contact me this week with an update to the information :

I am unable to locate the source of the information about W. C. Le Master burning the Victor Opera House.  I believe it was from a university dissertation, but I cannot find a written record to verify it.  I have found a newspaper account from 1920 that give a different story (see attached).  I do not know which is the more accurate one, but as I do have a copy of the newspaper story, I have used some of the information from it for a modified version now on the website.

Fire raised its ugly head again in September 1920, when the Victor Opera House burned.  At the time, the opera house was said to be the largest structure in the Cripple Creek District and had played host to many famous performers.  Built at an original cost of $65,000, the building was a total loss estimated at $100,000.  The opera house's owner, E.H. Hall of Denver, was insured for no more than $6,500, which was not enough enough to replace even the impressive $7,000 organ.  The opera house was never rebuilt.

The website is now updated with this new information.  Jack Dempsey began his career in Victor and boxed at the opera house.  The search will continue for more information about this mysterious fire.

Another question: what is the relationship between E.H. Hall of Denver and the Francis P. Hall, in whose home William Clifford LeMaster was a boarder in 1920?

I have reached out to the Pikes Peak Library District to see if they have newspaper articles regarding the fire to clear up this mystery.