Location of Julia Thomas Business 1891

Discuss information about the Lost Dutchman Mine
Ozarker
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Location of Julia Thomas Business 1891

Post by Ozarker »

There are two basic versions of the story concerning the location of Jacob Waltz’s death. Early accounts, documented by Jim Bark and Sims Ely, stated that Waltz had spent the last months of his life at the home of Julia Thomas, and that he eventually died there. Bark and Ely based their accounts on interviews with Julia Thomas and Rhiney Petrasch, and the newspaper notices of Waltz’s death that appeared in the Phoenix Daily Herald (26 October 1891) and the Arizona Daily Gazette (27 October 1891) would seem to indicate that Waltz did indeed die there. Julia’s residence was located in Phoenix in Block 51, at the corner of Mohave (2nd Avenue) and Jackson Street.

The second version of the story concerning the location of Waltz’s death is documented in Thomas Glover’s book, The Lost Dutchman Mine of Jacob Waltz, Part I: The Golden Dream (Cowboy-Miner Productions, 1998); and in Helen Corbin’s second book, The Bible on the Lost Dutchman Gold Mine and Jacob Waltz (Wolfe Publishing Company, 2002). Both of these books propose that Julia had instead moved Waltz to a small storeroom at the rear of her store, and that he died there in the presence of Dick Holmes and Gideon Roberts. The location of Julia’s store as proposed by Dr Glover and Helen Corbin was on the south side of Washington Street, between Center (Central) Avenue and Montezuma (First Street). A further study of the Sanborn Fire Insurance map excerpts contained in both books locates the store on the east half of Lot 13 in Block 22, immediately west of the north-south alley bisecting the block and known as “Cactus Way”.

The evolution of the story, from Waltz dying at Julia’s home to him dying in a storeroom at the rear of Julia’s store, appears to have been based on pioneer accounts by individuals such as Frank Alkire and Herman Petrasch. Dr Glover cites corroboration of these accounts by Charles White, and an individual know as Mr. Tull. Helen Corbin adds Rhiney Petrasch to that list, and his account, like the others, was collected many years after the events had occurred. The difference in Rhiney’s account to Jim Bark, and his account as given to Margaret Roberts was not explained by Corbin, and adds to the confusion researchers are faced with when trying to verify either one of the accounts of Waltz’s death.

Stories concerning the selling of tickets to Waltz’s bedside have also surfaced, but are generally discounted as a misinterpretation of events (it has been proposed that Julia was merely collecting donations to defray the costs of Waltz’s final arrangements). Likewise, there are varying accounts of who attended Waltz’s death and funeral, and exactly how Dick Holmes came to be in possession of Waltz’s gold. Variations to the details of the story seem endless, and it would be an almost insurmountable task to fully document them all.

So, which version of the location Waltz’s death is more accurate?

Practically all accounts agree that, after the flood of February 1891 had destroyed his home, Waltz was brought to Julia’s residence, where she still resided after being abandoned by her husband Emil in March 1890. It is after this point that details of the stories start to diverge. If Waltz was indeed placed in a small room at the rear of Julia’s business, exactly where was that business located?

Julia and Emil previously ran a business (candy, fruit, ice cream, tobacco, and oysters) located in Block 20 on the north side of Washington Street, between Montezuma and Maricopa Streets (today’s First and Second Streets). It is not clear exactly how long Julia remained at this location after being abandoned by Emil, but she eventually left and the store was turned into a millinery (ladies’ apparel) by EH Winters. In the meantime, Julia had to establish a business at a new location, and it is at this new location that Waltz was supposedly taken after complaining of the living arrangements at Julia’s residence.

In Chapter 7 of his book, The Lost Dutchman Mine, Sims Ely stated the following concerning the new location of Julia’s store:

Ambitious and daring, Helena Thomas took a lease on a frame building which fronted north on Washington – an east-west street – half a block east of the intersection of Washington and Central, which was the business center. An alley along the easterly side of the building bisected the block. On these premises she had a partition erected which divided what became the bakery and the business office from a retail section. In this latter area she installed a counter and tables and chairs for the serving of soft drinks, ice cream, bread and butter.”



This passage by Ely is an exact description of the east side of Lot 13 Block 22 in downtown Phoenix, which is the location of Julia’s relocated business as documented by both Glover (page 152) and Corbin (page 132). For those familiar with some of downtown Phoenix’s early history, this was the eventual location of the Donofrio’s Confectionary store.

Recent research into another aspect of this story brought me to the lease records accessible at the Maricopa County Recorder web site, where I ran across records that lead me to believe that the location specified by Ely, Glover, and Corbin was in error, and that Julia’s new store was actually located in Block 21, across the street on the north side of Washington, in what was then known as the Capitol Building.

The lease signed by Julia (found in Book 2 of Leases, Page 132) was for the term of 1 June 1891 to 1 January 1894. She leased the store from a man named Pierce W. Butler, who was the proprietor of the Capitol Saloon located in the same building and immediately next door to the store that Julia was leasing. From a review of other lease records throughout the time period I was interested in, it became clear that the owner of the Capitol Building was Lofus H. Goodrich, and that Pierce Butler had leased the store from Goodrich on 14 May 1891, subleasing it to Julia only two weeks later.

At first, I wasn’t sure that I was interpreting things correctly, and took on a more thorough review of all the lease records available at the county recorder web site for the period 1882 to 1911, not only for the store leased by Butler to Julia, but for all the businesses up and down the street, including the store on the south side of Washington proposed by Ely and others as the site of Julia’s relocated business. There are about 45 pages missing from the lease records, but I am satisfied that the location on the south side of Washington Street was never leased by Julia, and was instead being leased from George Loring by RB and JW Dorris, where they ran the “Dorris & Co. Fruit, Confectionary, and Oyster and Ice Cream Parlor”.

I am not sure how long Dorris & Co. had been leasing the store from Loring, but they sold their business, including their lease, to Frank Phillips and WS Leggat on 25 March 1891, a little over two months before Julia signed her lease with Pierce Butler. Phillips and Leggat established their own Ice Cream Parlor and Confectionary Store at the site, and would remain there until the store was leased to Mrs. MG Wood on 3 January 1898. (There are some indications that Leggat may have left the Phillips-Leggat partnership by August 1896).

What this all means to the evolution of the story is up for debate, but a review of the 1890 and 1893 Sanborn maps, as well as the pertinent lease records associated with the Capitol Building owned by Lofus Goodrich, makes it clear that there wasn’t a storeroom in the rear of Julia’s store (there was a kitchen about 16 by 25 feet), and that there was no alley that ran along the side of her business. While it’s not proof positive that Waltz was never moved to the store, it does tend to cast doubt on the story as it has come to be known, and provides food for thought when evaluating this aspect of the legend.
Ozarker
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Map Excerpt of Block 21

Post by Ozarker »

This image is an exceprt of the 1890 Sanborn map, annotated to show the location of Julia's store and the other tenants in the Capitol Building (highlighted in red).

North is to the left of the image.

Image
Ozarker
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Kitchen Layout

Post by Ozarker »

Hello All:

I kind of got ahead of myself regarding the size of Julia's kitchen. As shown on the 1890 Sanborn map, the size of the kitchen was actually only about 11 feet wide by 15.7 feet deep.

Sorry for the mix-up.

Larry
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Reconstruction of Thread

Post by Ozarker »

Hello All:

I’ve decided to go ahead and reconstruct the Location of Julia Thomas Business 1891 thread here, similar to what Novice (Garry) did for the “Frank Alkire and the Alkire Family in Arizona Territory” thread. The reconstruction is based on what Garry had saved and passed along to me (Thanks, Garry!), along with some of the photos that I had saved.

I believe this will be the majority of the thread as it originally appeared on the other forum, although it will be missing the last few posts which, unfortunately, had not been saved in time to prevent their loss.

I’ve made very few changes to these posts, mainly formatting and very minor typographical corrections. I’m afraid I may have lost some of the “emphasis added” (for example, through the use of bolding or italics) that appeared in the original posts.

This reconstruction begins with post #5 from the other forum (posts 1 through 4 already appeared on this forum as posts 1 through 3, above).

Larry
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What Really Happened.....

Post by Ozarker »

(#5)

03-15-2009, 08:30 PM
Joe_Ribaudo
Subject: What Really Happened......

Larry,

That was fine bit of detective work.

I have always doubted the newer versions of the circumstances surrounding Jacob Waltz and his last days. I know these stories have always been there, but I have always had a problem with going against the Ely/Bark version. They were getting the first hand story directly from Julia and Rhiney.

According to the Phoenix Herald for October 26, 1891: "Jacob Waltz, aged 81 years, died at 6:00 A.M. Sunday, October 25, 1891......and was buried at ten o'clock this morning from the residence of Mrs. J.E. Thomas......" .

Considering the sensitive details of someone dying of pneumonia, it seems highly unlikely that Julia had Waltz in her store.

In looking at the Sanbourn Fire Insurance Map, there are a number of differences from the map that appears on page 152 of Thomas' book. In looking at the location you point out as Julia's shop, it matches the pictures found on page 170 of the same book, and page 127 of Helen Corbin's Bible .

The door into the kitchen is quite obvious in the left rear of the shop, just as it appears on the fire map.

What this does, IMHO, is cast some doubts on the stories that have been in circulation concerning the details surrounding the death of Jacob Waltz. In particular, I believe the story attributed to Frank Alkire is questionable. That and five bucks will buy me an average cup of coffee. On the other hand, the story could be true......in every detail.

From page 10 of the Brownie Holmes Manuscript , we have this: Mrs. Thomas became very excited and rushed from the house to obtain help..............When they arrived at Wolz's home he told them to sit down and addressing my father said..... .

In this manuscript it becomes obvious.....to me, that the story is being told from the viewpoint of an outsider to what actually took place. Brownie, or whoever wrote the manuscript, believed that Waltz died in his own home, and Thomas was his housekeeper . I have been told by reliable sources, who knew him, that Brownie denied writing the manuscript to his dying day.

Nice work

Take care,

Joe
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Slim Kite Interview

Post by Ozarker »

(#6)

03-15-2009, 10:31 PM
Cubfan64
Subject: Slim Kite interview...

[Note: For clarity, I have reformatted this post by Cubfan to separate the statements made by Slim Kite and the interviewer. No changes were made to the actual content of the post]

For what it's worth, a couple months ago Roger and I had the pleasure of listening to and putting together a transcript of an interview done with an old timer named Slim Kite. The interview was done June 18, 1986 and Roger had obtained a cassette copy from Greg awhile back.

While we didn't know it at the time, there was already a transcript available (we should have asked Greg ahead of time), but it was good practice to put one together and it turned out to be a good experience.

While quite a number of the stories Mr. Kite recounted seemed to have factual errors in them, I don't think it's fair to just discount everything he said. Here's a brief section of the interview that relates to Waltz's death that I found interesting and relates to this thread I think.

Quote:

Slim: Well, the first time I ever heard of the Superstitions was… I was workin' for Frank Campbell at Ash Fork…

(interviewer: yeah)

Slim: ...1935, and when the roundup was over that fall he said, let's go dutch huntin'.

(interviewer: yeah?)

Slim: Well I didn't know what he meant… he told me about it… well, it kinda Interested me so… he wanted a packer… I knew how to pack mules, so we went down to Phoenix and we went out to Dick Holmes's place…

Interviewer: in Phoenix…

Slim: ..and uh… Brownie Holmes, their son, he was… Dick Holmes was dead… but uh, Mrs. Holmes told us what the dutchman told her when he died ya see.

(interviewer: mm hmm)

Slim: Frank, he wanted to hear that story again, so we went out there and she told us about… they lived just across the fence from where he lived ya see.

(interviewer: yup)

Slim: And he had a colored gal that lived with him, and she run out in the yard and hollered, Dick come over here, Jake's a'dyin, said uh… you stay with him and I'll go get a doctor, so I think he's dyin.

(interviewer: mm hmm)

Slim: So she left, and Dick Holmes and his wife went over there, and old Waltzer he would tell em about this mine ya see…”


Like I said, this goes in the for what it's worth category, but though it's not a firsthand account, it's second hand via Mrs. Holmes (if Slim remembered it right that is).

As I mentioned right off the bat, the interview is littered with many factual errors. The problem is, in some cases there's no way to know whether Slim remembered things incorrectly, embellished the facts, or is stating true events factually. I just found it interesting to note that in the above case, Mrs. Holmes implied to him that Waltz died in a colored gals home and not a place of business.
Ozarker
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Great Work

Post by Ozarker »

(#7)

03-16-2009, 05:56 AM
Novice
Subject: Great Work

Larry,

I want to echo Joe's sentiments of a nice job. I know this has taken weeks of work and the review of literally hundreds of deed records. It will be interesting to see where your research leads.

Joe,

I admire your loyalty to Ely but it seems that it was Sims that got the location of Julia's store wrong in the first place?

If he hadn't done that we would have had no storeroom to put old Jake in and he might have been able to remain at Julia's home on Jackson Street?

Garry
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Wrong.....

Post by Ozarker »

(#8)

03-16-2009, 07:39 AM
Joe_Ribaudo
Subject: Wrong......

Hi Garry,

Hope you and the missus are doing well.

Ely got a number of things wrong. The story of where Waltz died, and what took place at that time, came from Julia and Rhiney themselves. He was not in Phoenix when she had her shop.

Paul,

I just found it interesting to note that in the above case, Mrs. Holmes implied to him that Waltz died in a colored gals home and not a place of business.

I did not read, in your quote, where it says that Waltz was in Julia's home when he died. On the contrary, it says: And he had a colored gal that lived with him , and .....they lived just across the fence from where he lived ya see.

I think this all fall into the catagory of..... Hell, I was there

I trust you folks are well, and no longer up to your ass in that white stuff. I believe we are headed towards the 90s.

You guys take care,

Joe
Ozarker
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Post by Ozarker »

(#9)

03-16-2009, 08:10 AM
Cubfan64
Quote:
(Originally Posted by Joe_Ribaudo)

“Hi Garry,

Hope you and the missus are doing well.

Ely got a number of things wrong. The story of where Waltz died, and what took place at that time, came from Julia and Rhiney themselves. He was not in Phoenix when she had her shop.

Paul,
I just found it interesting to note that in the above case, Mrs. Holmes implied to him that Waltz died in a colored gals home and not a place of business.
I did not read, in your quote, where it says that Waltz was in Julia's home when he died. On the contrary, it says: And he had a colored gal that lived with him , and .....they lived just across the fence from where he lived ya see.

I think this all fall into the catagory of..... Hell, I was there

I trust you folks are well, and no longer up to your ass in that white stuff. I believe we are headed towards the 90s.

You guys take care,

Joe”
Joe, thus the caveat I stated about Slim's comments having plenty of factual problems. I certainly can't argue the point, but I'm not necessarily willing to readily toss it into the category you mention either. For all we know Ely may have been going by faulty memory at the time he wrote his book as well.

As far as the weather goes, we're still in the 30's and 40's, plenty of snow still on the ground and all the lakes still frozen - in fact I saw some guys out ice fishing just yesterday despite the DANGER - THIN ICE signs so prevalently displayed. There's always a few crazy people out there - guess that's what keeps the Darwin Awards in business.
Ozarker
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Hell, I was there......wasn't I???

Post by Ozarker »

(#10)

03-16-2009, 09:02 AM
Joe_Ribaudo
Subject: Hell, I was there .......wasn't I???

Paul,

Since Slim stated that his story came from Mrs. Holmes, he was only repeating the tale from what he considered a reliable source. If he is not embellishing or even fabricating a story he heard from another source, Mrs. Holmes was totally unaware of the actual truth surrounding the last days of Jacob Waltz.

If that is the case, Mrs. Holmes falls into the Hell, I was there category. Slim does not say he was there.

Take care,

Joe
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Post by Ozarker »

(#11)

03-16-2009, 09:49 AM
Cubfan64

Ahh, I was confused. Yes the implication of the story is that Mrs. Holmes was there. To be honest, I don't think we'll ever really know EXACTLY WHO WAS THERE during that whole mess.

Nevertheless, I don't want to derail Ozarker's thread anymore than I already have. What are the implications (if any) if it turns out Julia's store was not where it's been assumed it was?
Ozarker
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What Do It Mean????

Post by Ozarker »

(#12)

03-16-2009, 11:13 AM
Joe_Ribaudo
Subject: What Do It Mean????

Paul,

For me, the implications are:

If Larry's location and map are correct, and I believe it is, it means there was no storeroom at the back of Julia's shop. It follows, that many of the stories that relate the details of what took place that day, are questionable.

My conclusion is that, because of the question of what happened to the gold under Waltz's deathbed, stories were fabricated to make Julia look bad. Dick Holmes was....someone, while Julia was......a woman and half-black at that. I believe an effort was made to discredit her and it continued for years. As a matter of fact, it persists to this day.

What it does, IMHO, is shed a more truthful light on the story of Waltz and Julia Thomas. It also places the entire Holmes story in a more questionable, category. If Waltz died in Julia's home, you can throw out the stories that place him in the back of the shop. That could not be an innocent mistake, or a total ignorance of what actually took place.

All of that is my personal opinion and could, of course, be wrong.

The purpose of this kind of debate has nothing to do with the location of the LDM, only a search for the truth.

Take care,

Joe
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Perspective

Post by Ozarker »

(#13)

03-16-2009, 11:17 AM
Ozarker
Subject: Perspective

Hello Joe:

I've studied the photo of the store (and the people) in both books, and couldn't come to any definite conclusions either. I agree that the map of the store leased by Julia in the Capitol Building appears to be a better match to the store in the photo of the possible Thomas bakery, but if that is really Emil in the photo, it would be comparing apples and oranges. Emil was gone for over a year before Julia leased the new store, having abandoned her in March 1890 (Julia and Emil Thomas Decree of Divorce, Miscellaneous Book 4 Page 519, Maricopa County Records).

The comparison of the photo should probably only be made to the old confectionary store of Julia and Emil, also on the north side of Washington Street, but a block away to the east opposite the old city hall. According to Thomas Glover, Julia and Emil opened that store in April 1887 (page 170), and if that is Emil in the picture, and if that is the Thomas Confectionary, that puts a date range on the picture of about April 1887 to March 1890.

Cubfan:

Thanks for the excerpt from the Slim Kite interview. I'm really looking forward to spending some time with the entire transcript and trying to put into perspective. Your point is well-taken about not dismissing the information out of hand, as Ida Holmes was closer to the events we're discussing than many others that are used to support variations to the legend.

Novice:

The effort has been worth every minute. In all, I'd say the number of records I looked at over the last four months ordered in the thousands, and when I was done I started over from the beginning. I've learned more about early Phoenix than I could have gotten from a history text, and there is little doubt in my mind about the information posted above. There's still much more of the story to be told, some of it interesting and some just boring detail, but all of it relates to the story, and any piece of it may prove useful to somebody as they pursue their own research.

All:

I have great respect for every author and researcher of the Lost Dutchman legend, no matter where their story leads. Nothing I post changes what they successfully brought to the table after what was probably years of effort on their part.

Having said that, comparisons of the various stories are inevitable. I hate walking on eggs, but I also don't have a "gotcha!" mentality, I'm simply bringing my own research to the table. If it furthers somebody else's research or saves them some time and effort, it's time well spent.

Larry
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The Thomas Confectionary

Post by Ozarker »

(#14)

03-16-2009, 11:46 AM
Ozarker
Subject: The Thomas Confectionary

All:
This is an excerpt of the November 1890 Sanborn map, enlarged to show Block 20 where the store of Julia and Emil Thomas was located. The store fronted south on Washington Street, between Montezuma (First Street) and Mariocpa (Second Street). This is the location that the photo of the possible Thomas store should be compared to.

Image


It would be interesting to know just how long Julia stayed in the store after Emil abandoned her. She had given Rhiney legal possession of most of the store fixtures in May 1890, just a couple of months after Emil left (Miscellaneous Book 4 Page 179).

Alexander Steinegger executed a new lease on the store with EH Winters in March 1891, giving him possession of the store for three years beginning in mid-April. Steinegger also gave Winters permission to dismantle the brick oven of the bakery, and to use the bricks in the remodeling of the store (Lease Book 2 Page 113).

It is not apparent in the records whether Julia continued the business as usual up until the time of the Steinegger-Winters lease, or if she had closed up shop for awhile to collect herself after being abandoned.

At a minimum, Julia had at least two months to find the store that she would eventually settle into, but it's also possible that she had much longer than that, considering the deal with Rhiney.
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Das Picture.....

Post by Ozarker »

(#15)

03-16-2009, 12:52 PM
Joe_Ribaudo
Subject: Das Picture......

Larry,

Because of the date on the lease, the picture showing the door into the back and the map, it seems likely that Emil is not the man pictured in the photo. If it were Emil, the door would be towards the center of the room, not on the left side.

The picture, almost certainly, is of the second store, assuming it is Julia's, which I do.

I also have great respect for the work of our modern-day authors. Having said that, each and every one of them have errors in their books. Any fabrications or false stories were simply taking what they heard or read at face value.

It is well accepted that Waltz died in Julia's shop. Without your work, there would have never been any question of that fact .
Kudos.....

Take care,

Joe
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Accepted Fact

Post by Ozarker »

(#16)

03-16-2009, 02:38 PM
Novice
Subject: Accepted Fact

Joe,
Quote:
You wrote:

“It is well accepted that Waltz died in Julia's shop. Without your work, there would have never been any question of that fact .”
I would put it a little differently. It was a well accepted fact for over 100 years that Waltz died at Julia's home. The story of Waltz dying behind Julia's shop only came into vogue a few years ago.

I suspect that if you go back and review your library of Dutchman books and literature (Pre 1990s), you won't find the second story suggested. I think everyone was content with Jake's death at Julia's house until modern day stories surfaced. (If I'm wrong please let me know I will certainly be interested and will stand corrected.)

Even if we look in Helen Corbin's book, published in 1990, we find her relating that Jacob died in a hut behind Julia's house.

Go figure?

Garry
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True.....

Post by Ozarker »

(#17)

03-16-2009, 04:04 PM
Joe_Ribaudo
Subject: True......

Garry,

That's a true comment, but I didn't say that it has always been accepted as a fact. I said it is accepted fact...... . Perhaps it is not so well accepted, but that is the impression that I get whenever we discuss things, like the Frank Alkire's story.

I believe no one has voiced any doubts about the fairly new, in print, stories. In another 100 years, the original stories will be laughed at as.......quaint. That's how history gets changed.
Take care,

Joe
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Capitol Building History

Post by Ozarker »

(# Eighteen)

03-16-2009, 04:07 PM
Ozarker
Subject: Capitol Building History

To understand how Julia Thomas came to lease the store in the Capitol Building, it's probably necessary to back up a bit and cover some its earlier history.

When the Town of Phoenix was first established, town lots were set aside for the early residents, and in April 1872, a man named Johnny George came to own Lot 6 and the west 15 feet 2 inches of Lot 4 in Block 21 (Deed Book 1 Page 61).

Johnny made improvements to the property which were appraised at $2500 (Farish, History of Arizona, 1918), and in November 1878 he sold the property to WT Smith and Allen Stroud (Deed Book 4 Page 72).

Smith eventually gained sole ownership of the property, and went into business with Lofus H Goodrich, signing an agreement with him that gave Smith a two-year lease on the property (January 1882 to January 1884), including what was then known as the Capitol House situated on the property (Deed Book 7 Page 242). This agreement required that, at the end of the two-year lease, one of the men had to buy out the other, and he would become the sole owner of the property. Goodrich apparently made the better offer, and Smith sold out to him in late 1883 as required by their agreement (Deed Book 10 Page 7). Immediately after Goodrich acquired sole ownership of the property, he began making improvements to the building and executing leases to various businesses/shop owners.

The first set of leases from Goodrich show that there was room for three businesses in the building, and that he was adding an addition on the east side that would make room for a fourth. Goodrich executed the leases for two-year terms, with the first set of leases covering the period of January 1884 to January 1886. Going from west to east the businesses were laid out as follows:

Chung Phy's Restaurant (16 feet wide by a planned 75 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 104)
Asher's and Abe Kiewe's Barbershop (9 feet wide by a planned 75 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 110)
WT Smith's Saloon (17.5 feet wide by an existing 75 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 101)
Asher Bros. unspecified business waiting construction (planned 14.5 feet wide by planned 75 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 98)

When the above leases were executed, the building appeared to be a patchwork of different structures of various depths. There was a second story to the structure, but it appears that it only existed above the saloon, and it was included in the saloon lease. This second story was probably intended for lodging rooms, but it is not clear whether they were complete at this point.

Near the end of 1885, Goodrich began executing leases for the coming two-year period (January 1886 to January 1888). It appears from these leases that he had made considerable progress in improving the building, but that there was still work to be done to make it of a uniform depth. The addition to the east end of the building had been completed, lodging rooms definitely existed above the saloon, and the stores were laid out west-to-east, as follows:

Joe Gunn's Restaurant (16 feet wide by 75 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 213)
Abe Kieve's Cigar Shop (9 feet wide by 25 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 247)
WT Smith's Saloon (17.5 feet wide by 75 feet deep, plus the space behind store number 4) (Lease Book 1 Page 266)
Shumaker's Barbershop and Bath's (14 feet wide by 40 feet) (Lease Book 1 Page 251)


As shown in the above leases, ownership of the restaurant had changed hands, and Abe Kiewe was now on his own and was in the cigar business. H. Shumaker had taken over the store on the east end of the building, and was in the barbershop and baths business.

This set of leases was interrupted by the 1886 fire that swept through downtown, destroying most of the businesses in this area lying on the north side of Washington Street. I couldn't find a reference with a firm date of the fire, but from the new leases that Goodrich had to execute after reconstruction of the building, it appears that it occurred in about August of that year.

Goodrich took this opportunity to build a more integrated structure of uniform depth, and executed new leases that ran from the date that the individual stores were ready for occupancy, through to the end of the previous set of leases (i.e., the end of 1887). From these new leases, we see that the layout of the stores shifted. The new layout of the stores, from west-to-east were as follows:

Joe Gunn's Restaurant (16 feet wide by 75 feet deep)
WT Smith's Saloon (19 feet wide by 75 feet deep, plus the space behind stores 3 and 4) (Lease Book 1 Page 290)
Tobias Seelig's Cigar Shop (12 feet wide by 40 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 292)
Shumaker's Barbershop/Baths (15.5 to 16 feet wide by 40 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 289)


Goodrich did not execute a new lease for the restaurant above (which just happens to be the store that Julia would eventually come to lease), which may indicate that the store wasn't affected by the fire, and was retained as part of the new structure. The lease for the saloon indicated that the second story had been destroyed, and there were no immediate plans to rebuild it. The saloon lease also indicated that the rebuilt saloon was L -shaped, with the "L" taking up the space behind the two stores that would now occupy the east end of the building. The new layout of the building is accurately reflected on the later November 1890 Sanborn map excerpt posted above.

(One other note about this new set of leases is that Abe Kiewe did not renew with Goodrich after the fire, and the cigar business was taken over by Tobias H Seelig)

Near the end of these leases, Goodrich, following his usual routine, executed another set of leases for the coming two-year period (January 1888 to January 1890). It appears from these new leases that the shape of the building had stabilized, and there were no appreciable changes in the layouts or dimensions of the stores. From west-to-east, the stores were as follows:

Joe Gunn and Jim Lee's Restaurant (16 feet wide by 80 feet deep more or less ) (Lease Book 1 Page 383)
Butler and Pimm's Saloon (19 feet wide more or less by about 75 feet deep, plus the space behind stores 3 and 4) (Lease Book 1 Page 398)
Tobias Seelig's Cigar Shop (12 feet wide more or less by 40 feet deep more or less ) (Lease Book 1 Page 391)
Shumaker's Barbershop and Baths ( about 16 feet wide more or less by about 40 feet deep) (Lease Book 1 Page 385)


Again, these layouts compare favorably with the November 1890 Sanborn map. One item of note is that Joe Gunn had taken on a new partner in the restaurant business, Jim Lee. Some of you may recall that there was a Jim Lee that loaned $75 to Julia, and filed the record of it the day before her divorce hearing (Miscellaneous Book 4 Page 517). You'll also note that WT Smith's saloon business had now been taken over by Pierce Butler and Sarah Pimm. Pierce Butler is the man that would come to lease the store occupied by Joe Gunn and Jim Lee as a restaurant, to Julia Thomas in June of 1891.

I'll break here, and continue the story in another post.

Larry
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Julia's New Lease

Post by Ozarker »

(#19)

03-16-2009, 05:06 PM
Ozarker
Subject: Julia's New Lease

Toward the end of 1889, Lofus Goodrich executed a new lease for the restaurant in the Capitol Building, formerly leased by Joe Gunn and Jim Lee, to a man named Charley Sam (Lease Book 2 Page 101).

Charley Sam, like Joe Gunn and Jim Lee before him, was Chinese, and he was in the restaurant business, signing the lease with Goodrich for a two-year term (January 1890 to January 1892). (The Chinese heritage of these three men is evidenced by their signatures on the various leases).

For some reason, Charley did not complete the term of his lease, and instead moved to a store just down the street to the west (Lease Book 2 Page 139).

Instead of letting the restaurant set empty, Goodrich decided to lease it to James Coleman for use as a saloon (Lease Book 2 Page 212). Coleman, however, was then indicted for selling saloon fixtures under false pretenses (Arizona Republican, 22 May 1891), and Goodrich, who was in California at the time, hastily executed a new lease for the store to a man named Ben Butler (Lease Book 2 Page 121).

At first, I thought that Ben Butler was somehow related to Pierce Butler, the saloon proprietor, but I was later led to the death certificate of one of his children, where it was indicated that Ben was Pierce's nickname. The genealogical history of Jack Swilling's daughter, who was married to Pierce Butler at one time, also confirmed that Ben was his nickname. Finally, I was also led to several Arizona Republic newspaper articles and advertisements that make it clear that Ben' was Pierce Butler's nickname, and it was in fact the same person (Arizona Republican, 7 June 1893; 21 September 1894; 11 December 1895; 27 February 1898; etc.).

Two weeks after Pierce Ben Butler leased the store from Goodrich, he executed a sublease for the store to Julia Thomas (Lease Book 2 Page 132). As noted before, Julia's lease began on 1 June 1891, just a few short months before the death of Jacob Waltz.

Larry
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Previous Researchers

Post by Ozarker »

(#20)

03-17-2009, 02:23 AM
Novice
Subject: Previous Researchers

Previous researchers, working on the location of Julia's business, certainly receive a lot of sympathy from me Julia's lease has been available to researchers for a long time (Lease Book 2, Page 132). Greg Davis has shared it and even paraphrased it on the forums. The problem is that it doesn't tell us directly about the actual location of Julia's business. There is no Block Number and Lot Number associated with the lease. About all we know is that it was in a place known as the Capital Building, Julia was leasing it from some fellow named Butler and it had been Coleman's Saloon previously. It could be anyplace in Phoenix from that description alone.

This is where the trail begins and Larry has worked backward from there. What is amazing to me, regarding what Larry has done, is the tedious path that he has followed to finally reach the Block Number and Lot Nos. It is obvious from his posts that the lease chain is long and convoluted. It's certainly not a research project that most of us could have pulled off

I have enough trouble trying to follow, even after he has laid out a detail path out for us

The bottom line for me is that he did get there and there is no fuzz on where Julia's business was physically located.

Amazing job,

Garry
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Phillips Leggat Confectionary

Post by Ozarker »

(#21)

03-17-2009, 08:28 AM
Ozarker
Subject: Phillips Leggat Confectionary

Some of this information has already been touched on, but it's important to assemble and place it here to complement the information on Julia's store across the street.

On 25 March 1891, a little over two months before Julia signed the lease for the store in the Capitol Building, JW and RB Dorris, doing business as the Dorris & Co, sold the Dorris & Co. Fruit, Confectionery and Oyster and Ice Cream Parlor, a store located in Block 22 and leased from George Loring, to Frank Phillips and WS Leggat (Miscellaneous Book 4 Page 407). Dorris and Co. was selling their lease from Loring, their entire business stock, the furniture, and the store fixtures to Phillips and Leggat. They were also selling a soda fountain located at the business, and were requiring Phillips and Leggat to maintain insurance in the amount of $500 on the fountain until they paid off the vendors lien that Dorris & Co was maintaining on the property.

On 4 April 1891, less than two weeks after Phillips and Leggat bought the Dorris & Co confectionary store, George Loring mortgaged all of Lot 13 Block 22 (which included the new Phillips and Leggat confectionary on the east side of the lot and a saloon run by MJ McKelligon on the west side of the lot) to Josiah Alkire, of St Louis, Missouri, for $7500. The terms of this mortgage required Loring and his wife, Jennie Libby Loring, to repay the mortgage within one year (Mortgage Book 12 Page 508).

One year later, on 4 April 1892, George and Jennie Loring had repaid the mortgage on the property to Josiah Alkire, who was now located in Los Angeles County, California (Release of Mortgages Book 2 Page 22).

(Note: The release of mortgage record from Josiah to the Lorings is misfiled at the county recorder web site, and you must actually select Release of Mortgages Book 2 Page 21, then scroll to the next page to find the record. It cannot be found using a normal index search)

After purchasing the lease and business from the Dorris & Co, Phillips and Leggat continued to operate the store as a confectionary, appearing in the 1892 Phoenix directory on Washington, between Center and Montezuma. Julia Thomas is listed three names below the Phillips and Leggat store, and is also shown as running a confectionary, also being on Washington, between Center and Montezuma.

The next record found on the Phillips and Leggat store is located in Lease Book 2 Page 234. RF Kirkland, acting as a trustee, executed a new 3-year lease for Phillips and Leggat, which specifies the northeast corner of Lot 13 Block 22 as the space being leased, and that it was currently occupied by Phillips and Leggat. This document has some problems (missing and unreadable dates, and a possible date error entry by the notary public). From other information in this lease, I believe it was executed in December of 1892, and I also believe that it covered the three-year period of 1893 to 1896. (A trip to the county recorder's office would resolve the date of execution of this instrument)

In August 1896, George Loring's wife leased the store next door to Phillips and Leggat (MJ McKelligon's saloon) to Otto Waldeck, stating that the store was located between stores occupied Phillips (this was the confectionary) and Vantilburg and Davison (this was a jeweler on the opposite side). (Lease Book 2 Page 478). Leggat's name was not cited by Mrs Loring, and it is possible that he had left the partnership by this time.

Finally, on 3 January 1898, Jennie Libby Loring (George Loring's wife) executed a new lease for the ice cream store to Mrs. MG Wood, citing it as the building previously occupied by Phillips as an Ice Cream Parlor and Confectionary Store . According to the 1901 Sanborn map, the store was converted to selling Crockery and Furniture, and it's possible that Mrs. Wood was in this business (Lease Book 2 Page 563).

I've traced the history of how Loring came to be in possession of the property, similar to the history I laid out for the Capitol Building (Loring was a respected businessman, but in this particular instance he was a squatter, eventually going legit and gaining legal title to the property in November 1878). I can provide that history and the record locations if anyone is interested.

In May 1899, a little over a year after the Phillips confectionary went out of business, the Lorings sold all of Lot 13 (which included both the former ice cream store and the former saloon) to Mons Ellingson (Deed Book 48 Page 142). Mons was the man that eventually leased the store to Donofrio's in 1911 (Lease Book 4 Page 97).

Larry
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Post by Ozarker »

(#22)

03-17-2009, 04:06 PM
Cubfan64

Really interesting stuff Ozarker I've only casually looked through some of those records online and my eyes get fuzzy trying to read some of them after only 15 minutes - I can hardly imagine the work involved going through everything you did

I thought with all the views of this thread there might be more discussion, but it IS alot of information to absorb all at once

Greg, if you're looking in - there are digital Sanborn Maps available, but none online between November, 1890 and June, 1893. Do you know (or have) any other Sanborn maps of Phoenix (or any other city maps that might be useful) during that missing timeframe?

It would sure be fun to sit down sometime with a bunch of old photographs of Phoenix and try to match things up with those maps

Great work again Ozarker - once I absorb it all myself, I'll probably have some questions.
Ozarker
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Post by Ozarker »

(#23)

03-17-2009, 05:06 PM
Gregory E. Davis

Hello Paul: I have a copy of the Sanborn Map for Phoenix for l889, 1890, and 1893. The stamp on the maps indicate I got them through the Library of Congress however there may be duplicates at the Arizona State Capitol Library. Regards, Gregory E. Davis
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Post by Ozarker »

(#24)

03-17-2009, 05:55 PM
Cubfan64
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregory E. Davis

“Hello Paul: I have a copy of the Sanborn Map for Phoenix for l889, 1890, and 1893. The stamp on the maps indicate I got them through the Library of Congress however there may be duplicates at the Arizona State Capitol Library. Regards, Gregory E. Davis”
Looks like you have the same ones I've seen online. I had hoped maybe there had been some in 1891 & 1892, but they must not have updated any at that time.

Thanks for checking Greg.
Ozarker
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Post by Ozarker »

(#25)

03-17-2009, 06:34 PM
Gregory E. Davis

Paul: Chances are there were no major changes in Phoenix from 1890 to 92 so what the Sanborn people would do is simply draw in new lines for buildings or past in small pieces of paper to denote any changes rather than do an entire new map. I have seen this done when viewing the original maps. Cordially, Gregory E. Davis
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