J.C. Trader and Mrs. Lizzie Goolsby, Horton, Kansas 1902

“Taken May 30. 1902,
Received June 15. 1902.
Mr. L.C. Trader and Mrs. Lizzie Goolsby”

Emma Elizabeth Fries, or Lizzie, was born November 20th, 1879 in Speiser, Nebraska. She was the second of George and Rhoda Fries’s five children. In May 1898, at age 18, Lizzie married Howard Goolsby. That September, Howard was participating in a jackrabbit chase when he was thrown from his horse. His injuries proved fatal. Howard died at just 20 years old, leaving behind a pregnant Lizzie. Their only son, Howard, Jr., was born in December. By this time, Lizzie had returned to live with her parents and siblings in Speiser. 

Lizzie remarried in Horton, Kansas in 1903 to Louis Charles Trader, who worked as a railroad shopman. It seems that this photo was taken before their marriage, which may explain why Lizzie is labeled as “Mrs. Lizzie Goolsby” rather than by her new married name. Their first child, a daughter named Mary Elizabeth, arrived in 1907. Sadly she fell ill with pneumonia and died at just 9 months. In 1908, Lizzie finally had another healthy boy, Charles.

As a young man, Howard decided to take after his step-father and began an apprenticeship as a railroad shopman. Charles worked as a farm laborer and eventually as a carpenter for Chevrolet. He would be the only one of his family to leave Horton, moving from Kansas to Texas with his wife Evelyn in the 1940s. I believe it's through Charles that this photo ended up here in Texas, where I found it in an antique shop.

Lizzie remained in Horton for the rest of her life. During her time there, she was an active member of the Horton Methodist Church and the Rebekah Lodge. After their boys left home, Louis Charles continued to work- the 1940 census lists his occupation only as "labor," though he was by then in his late 60s. He passed away in 1955 at age 89. Lizzie joined him in 1967 at age 88. Her obituary noted that at the time of her death, she had one grandchild and three great-grandchildren. She was buried with Louis Charles in Horton Cemetery.

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Minnie Sand Hemmle, St. Louis, Missouri 1910s

Minnie Sand was born in Missouri in 1860 to German immigrant parents Heinrich (or Henry) Sand, a farmer, and Anna Margretha Todt. Minnie was the fourth of Henry and Margetha’s eight children. By 1880 the family had moved from Missouri to Loraine, Illinois. Minnie, then 20, stayed home with her mother and sister, Margaret, while her brothers Barney and Albert helped their father on the farm. Margaret’s obituary notes that she went to a “rural school” near Loraine, and I would guess Minnie attended as well. 

Ruth Hemmle, 1912

Minnie married Edward S.F. Hemmle in 1885 when she was 25, and the couple settled in Neosho, Missouri. Their first son, Irvin, was born in February the next year. Ruth was born in 1896 and Edward Jr. arrived in 1901. Edward supported his family in different ways throughout his life, including as a clerk at an electric company and as a coal salesman. In 1910, his occupation is listed simply as “Own Income,” which according to the 1910 Enumerators Instructions was put down for “all persons who follow no specific occupations but have an independent income upon which they are living.” In 1910, the family may also have been supported by 24-year-old Irvin, who, though still living with the family, was now married and worked as a clerk at a wholesale grocer. 

In 1913, the family relocated to St. Louis. It’s hard to tell if this photo was taken before or after the move- perhaps Minnie wanted a photo in their new St. Louis home. She seems comfortable in her home, surrounded by photos of friends and family. 1915 quickly became a difficult year for the Hemmles, as both Minnie and Edward lost their mothers. They then tragically lost their daughter, Ruth, who was only 18. I wasn’t able to find more on Ruth’s death, only that it was “unexpected.” A poem was published in the Times in April of that year,  “In memory of Ruth E. Hemmle, who died at St. Louis, Mo., Feby. 11, 1915.” A line of the poem says “Her sister met her at the gate, While father, mother, and brothers must wait,” referencing a fourth Hemmle child who may have died young. 

After suffering from tuberculosis, Minnie Sand Hemmle died on July 23rd, 1917 at the age of 56. Her funeral was held at the family home in St. Louis before she was buried in Salem Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery. 

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