Amelia Kleinlogel Geiges (1856-1898) - Health Seeker

 

Photo:  Donna Carr

Amelia Kleinlogel was born about 1856 in Ohio to Talla Kleinlogel who had been born in France.  She was the second oldest of five children which included Charles, Theodore, Louisa and Albert.  Her father had died sometime between 1864 and 1870, which may have been why the family moved from Ohio to Michigan.

In 1870, the Kleinlogels were living in Solon, Kent County, Michigan, in the same household with several other people, among them 23-year-old Henry Geiges, an immigrant from Germany.  Geiges was a sawyer in a local sawmill, as was Amelia’s older brother Charles.

Henry Geiges had been born 1849 in Schleswig-Holstein.  He and Amelia were married on August 17, 1875, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.   Their first child, Lillian, was born about 1880 in Michigan.  Daughter Minnie was born February 1, 1884, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. 

Amelia eventually contracted tuberculosis, which was rife at that time.  Around 1896, the family moved to Phoenix, Arizona, for her health.  However, on December 28, 1898, she died at the family home at 235 East Taylor Street.  With Woodmen’s Circle paying for the interment, she was originally buried in Rosedale Cemetery.  Sometime later, possibly in the 1920s or 1930s, her remains were moved to Greenwood Cemetery.

Henry and their two daughters moved soon afterward to Los Angeles, where Lillian eventually married Guy Hidden Lawrence.   Henry Geiges died August 2, 1905, in Los Angeles, only a few months after his daughter’s wedding.

Daughter Minnie married Robinson P. Kane, a Seventh Day Adventist, in Los Angeles on June 30, 1908.   Unfortunately, he died just a few years later, in 1911.

Lillian later returned to Phoenix with her husband.  In 1929, they built a house at 6234 North Central which is on the National Register of Historic Places today.

- by Donna L. Carr

 

 

George F. Parks (1856-1888) - Waiter at the Commercial Hotel

Photo:  Donna

George Fremont Parks was born in California in 1856.  His parents were Charles Parks and Irene Taylor, and he had a younger brother named Charles.

Following the death of George’s father, the Parks family moved to Phoenix, Arizona.  In 1879, Mrs. Parks married George Patterson, an immigrant from Norway.

Young George Parks worked as a waiter at the Commercial Hotel in Phoenix during the winter months.  During the summers, when there were fewer travelers lodging at the hotel, he would go up to Prescott to work.  Like many local men, he was a member of the volunteer Phoenix Fire Department, Hose Company.

On October 12, 1882, George married Mary Agnes Thompson Lucas, but the marriage may have been of short duration, as nothing more is known about her.

On the evening of December 10, 1888, after serving supper to the hotel’s guests, George and three other waiters sat down to enjoy their own meal in the dining room of the Commercial Hotel.  They were apparently talking and joking among themselves when the hotel’s Chinese cook, Wong Lee, passed by.  Thinking that they were making fun of him, he made some profane remarks, to which George took exception.

George and the cook took their dispute outdoors, where they probably exchanged a blow or two.  Evidently George considered the incident resolved, for he came back to the dining room and resumed his seat.  But the cook’s anger had not been appeased, for he followed George and, drawing a knife, stabbed him.

George exclaimed, “He’s knifed me; look out for him!” and ran into the bar where he seized a pistol and went after his assailant.  However, Constable McDonald caught George as he collapsed and carried him back to the dining room.  Dr. McGlasson was summoned, but the knife had penetrated to the heart.  George lingered for two or three hours, remaining conscious long enough to bid farewell to his grief-stricken mother.

Wong Lee, George’s assailant, was swiftly apprehended and jailed amid muttered threats of lynching.  Nevertheless, he stood trial in early February before Judge DeForest Porter and was adjudged guilty of manslaughter.  Late in May, 1889, Wong Lee was conveyed to the penitentiary in Yuma to serve a six-year sentence.

George F. Parks was initially buried in City Loosley Cemetery.  Scarcely a year later, his mother passed away and was buried next to him.  In 1918, their remains, as well as those of George Patterson, were removed to Greenwood Cemetery.

- by Donna L. Carr

  

Dr. Carl Wormser (1856 - 1905) - A Trip for Naught

Dr. Wormser
 PCA Archives

Dr. Carl P. Wormser was born August 21, 1856, in Nijverdal, Overijse'll, the Netherlands. He was the son of Hendrik Wormser and M. Arends. He arrived in the United States September 9, 1874, whereupon he became a resident of Michigan. Although two of his half-brothers entered the ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church, Carl Wormser attended Columbia College’s School of Medicine, graduating with the class of 1878-1879. Following graduation, he returned to Michigan, where he married Helena Hoedemaker on March 8, 1881. Dr. Wormser then returned to New York to practice medicine.

Around 1883 he removed to Orange City, Iowa, and set up practice. There was a significant Dutch community in Orange City and other members of the Wormser family had come to the area several years prior to his arrival. Dr. Wormser’s practice proved prosperous, and he invested some of the proceeds in real estate.

Dr. Wormser was an avid fisherman and, like a true Dutchman, enjoyed being near water. In 1892, he and three other businessmen from Orange City pooled their resources to purchase a summer cottage on Miller’s Bay, where they and their families could vacation.

According to a local newspaper, by 1903 Dr. Wormser was suffering from Bright’s disease. Having disposed of his real estate holdings in Iowa, he hired a private rail car and left for Phoenix on November 25, 1903, in hopes that a warmer climate might prolong his life. The rental of the private rail car alone cost $1195. Because his condition was so grave, he was accompanied by his wife, his three daughters, and two of his colleagues, Dr. De Lespinasse and Professor Soulen. Unfortunately, the trip was for naught as Wormser died in Phoenix of asthma on December 24th. He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery.

His widow and daughters moved on to California, where Mrs. Helena Wormser died May 28, 1904. Her remains were returned to Phoenix for burial next to her husband.

By Patty G.

Dr. Carl Wormser (1856 - 1905) - A Trip for Naught

Dr. Wormser - Photo from Pioneers' Cemetery Association

Dr. Carl P. Wormser was born August 21, 1856, in Nijverdal, Overijssel, the Netherlands. He was the son of Hendrik Wormser and M. Arends. He arrived in the United States September 9, 1874, whereupon he became a resident of Michigan. Although two of his half-brothers entered the ministry of the Dutch Reformed Church, Carl Wormser attended Columbia College’s School of Medicine, graduating with the class of 1878-1879. Following graduation he returned to Michigan, where he married Helena Hoedemaker on March 8, 1881. Dr. Wormser then returned to New York to practice medicine.

Around 1883 he removed to Orange City, Iowa, and set up practice. There was a significant Dutch community in Orange City and other members of the Wormser family had come to the area several years prior to his arrival. Dr. Wormser’s practice proved prosperous and he invested some of the proceeds in real estate.

Dr. Wormser was an avid fisherman and, like a true Dutchman, enjoyed being near water. In 1892, he and three other businessmen from Orange City pooled their resources to purchase a summer cottage on Miller’s Bay, where they and their families could vacation.

According to a local newspaper, by 1903 Dr. Wormser was suffering from Bright’s disease. Having disposed of his real estate holdings in Iowa, he hired a private rail car and left for Phoenix on November 25, 1903, in hopes that a warmer climate might prolong his life. The rental of the private rail car alone cost $1195. Because his condition was so grave, he was accompanied by his wife, his three daughters, and two of his colleagues, Dr. De Lespinasse and Professor Soulen. Unfortunately, the trip was for naught as Wormser died in Phoenix of asthma on December 24th. He was buried in Rosedale Cemetery.

His widow and daughters moved on to California, where Mrs. Helena Wormser died May 28, 1904. Her remains were returned to Phoenix for burial next to her husband. -PG