Photos: Bill Hickman

Fred married the last known child of William "Bill" Adams Hickman, Mary Ella Hickman. Ella's mother, Minerva Wade Hickman, left Bill and moved to Ogden, Utah, to live near her family shortly after Ella was born, so Ella never really knew her father. She heard tales from her brothers and mother, read letters of his, but did not have the personal relationship that other of her siblings had with her father.

The LDS Christian Church's historical archives have some great photos of Bill, of a quality I haven't seen anywhere else. Both were taken by Charles Williams Carter. Carter was a British immigrant who learned photography while serving as a soldier in the British Army. He converted to Mormonism and relocated to Salt Lake City in 1859, thereafter joining the studio of Charles Roscoe Savage. He opened Carter's View Emporium, and took photos of Mormons in the community. The Church Archives' photo has a pencil notation of the photo having been taken in 1874; this is incorrect for a couple reasons: (a) Bill would have been 59 years old; this is not the photo of a man of that age. He looks at least a decade younger. (b) Bill wasn't living near Salt Lake City at that time to have a photo taken of him.

The second is from Carter's glass negative collection, and contains incredible detail in how Bill looked. A much lower quality version of this photograph was used for the cover of Hope Hilton's Wild Bill Hickman and the Mormon Frontier. It shows how light Bill eyes must have been against his frontier leathered skin and dark hair. There is no claim of a date with this photo, although I suspect it was fairly close in time with the prior photo. The text on the right states "Bill Hickman," with some number below it.

In another post, I'll write about how when goings were tough for the Kohlhepp's, Ella offered to give some lectures on her father Bill Hickman to set the record straight while also gunning for some financial compensation.

Amelia, Gus & Fred Piquet -- Idaho Sojourns

Fred's sister, Amelia, joined the LDS Christian Church, and moved out to Idaho with her children, Augustus (Gus) and Fred. She spent two major periods of time in Idaho, moving temporarily back to Boston to care for her and Fred's father, Johann Friedrich, prior to his passing. Afterwards, she returned once more to Idaho. During her first residence in Idaho, Amelia didn't live near Fred in American Falls or Rockland, choosing instead to make it in the vicinity of Blackfoot, over in Rich, Idaho, over the southwest, on the other side of the Snake River. Some information about Amelia and her sons is available in the Blackfoot, Idaho, newspaper, The Idaho Republican.

Besides building a home and improving land for a farm (described as being below the Watson Ranch), the Piquets got involved in other matter. Amelia's son Gus was made in 1905 the constable for the Rich precinct, which he served in that capacity through 1907. He served in other county positions -- as a polling judge, and as a clerk for the Bingham County school district.

When Amelia moved exactly back to Boston is unclear. In June 1907, Gus got married and moved over to Blackfoot.

Shortly after Gus moving out, and no doubt struggling to think of how to manage the farm without him, Amelia put her farm up for lease. In August 1907, we see notices in the 16th and 23rd newspapers:

We see notes sharing Amelia was in Boston (back at her father's place on Brookside Avenue), the earliest of which started on December 25, 1908.

We see others later in November 1909 and June 1911:

Amelia kept subscribing with and corresponding with the newspaper to get updates on her Idaho friends, as well as her boys. Some of this correspondence was published and contained interesting notes. One such letter from January 18, 1910 (and published in the February 11, 1910 IR issue) stated:

"Mrs. Amelia Piquet

Mrs. Piquet, who formerly lived a short distance south of Thomas and near the old Watson ranch, writes from the suburbs of Boston as follows:

Jamaica Plains, Jan. 18, 1910.

Mr. Trego,

Dear sir: I have received your hearty greetings of the 10th and I can understand the spirit of it, we do indeed need to gain a little fun from one another once in a while to keep life sweet and while dull care away. But I have not much of an account to give of myself since I left Blackfoot. I am keeping house and taking care of my father, who is all alone and is now eighty-four years old. He has been living in the same house for the last 44 years. Our house is within three minutes walk of the Franklin park, which is very beautiful with lots of wood land. I love the wood, and I missed it so much while I lived in Blackfoot, and then we have the beautiful Charles river near us where we can go boating in the summer. Still I often tell my friends here of the wonderful Snake river in Idaho just back of where I use to live and the lively trout we use to have from that river, and some how I am always praising up Idaho. I have met a number of Mormon elders here this winter from near Blackfoot, they say they are doing well at their mission work, and have a good attendance at their meetings and like Boston, but would not like to live here always. Well Mr. Trego I don't know if you can make any use of this letter, but you have all my good wishes for the success of your paper and can be sure that I enjoy reading it. Yours truly,

Amelia Piquet

P.S. If you have any Free Masons among your readers of your paper perhaps they will be interested to know that the Morning Stare lodge No. 13 of Woonsocket, R.I., are celebrating their one hundredth anniversary this month from the 23[rd] to the 27th. My good father has been a member of this lodge over 50 years."

After her father's passing in 1912, Amelia returned the summer of 1913 to Idaho. An article on July 11, 1913 captured some of the detail:

"Mrs. Piquet Returns

Mrs. Amelia Piquet who left here seven years ago take up her home with her aged father in Boston, returned to Blackfoot the first of the week, and expects to remain a couple of months or more.

Mrs. Piquet once owned some land near the original Watson ranch at Thomas, and now she has some other property in this locality. Her son Augustus who lived in the Kennedy addition has removed his family to Bates in the southeast corner of Madison county, near Driggs, and she will visit there for a while during the hot weather.

Mrs. Piquet related an incident of what an awful shock she received three or four years ago when she received her copy of the Idaho Republican and thought her son was dead. Augustus was driving the delivery wagon for the Blackfoot Stream laundry and the paper came to her with an article head, "Laundryman Fell Dead," and went on to say that a very unexpected thing happened to the driver a few days ago. He went to the Trego house for a sack of clothes as usual and Mrs. Trego told him how well pleased she and her husband were with the way they were finishing off the linen since they installed their new machine. That so much of their work was equal to that done in Salt Lake, it was the duty of the home people to have their work done at Blackfoot and stand by the man who was developing  this home industry.

Mr. Piquet was so surprised at receiving an acknowledge in lieu of more or less complaining which are always freely given, that he figuratively fell dead. His mother nearly collapsed at the introduction, but regained her strength while she finished reading the article."

 I found the article that rightfully gave Amelia such a scare:

As well as another discussing Gus' duties:

 In 1914, an article noted how Amelia moved closer to where Fred resided in American Falls:

Johann Friedrich - Dye House Business Card

I discovered a business card of Johann Friedrich's Jamaica Plains Dye House, which has circulated on Family Search. Posted by Nola Bryan, it's a fancy card with an illustration of the Dye House.

There are fairly interesting details about this card.

- It names both the "Office" (the building on the right), and the "Dye House" (the building on the left) for directing vistors of the business. The office would have been Johann Friedrich's house.
- You can see the train in between these two structures, in reference both to the Green Street Station mentioned, along with the railroad, which would have been visible from the dye works, of the Boston and Providence division. Indeed, this illustration (which I speculate may have been a work of lithography done by Fred's brother-in-law, Ernst Wetzler), look like it is from the vantage point of Brookside Avenue, looking towards the dye works and railroad. You can see from the prior maps the Dye House with the 3 section structure, and the office building also to the right.

- You don't see Stony Brook in the business card, and it looks like the artist also ignored Joseph P. Shaw's structures which would have been in visibility of the Dye House. But you can understand for advertising the Dye House that those structures would have been artistically removed.
- Based on what we know of the land, this card would have been made prior to December 1884.

Fred and Ella - Move to Lehi (Mesa) in 1911

It isn't clear exactly when Fred and Ella moved to Lehi, Arizona. Frederick Kohlhepp Nash reported that his family and his grandparents (Fred and Ella) moved there in the Springtime of 1911. However, there are records that question this timeframe by at least a few months. In 1911, there are a few notes about the Kohlhepp's. One of the Kohlhepp girls was noted as playing in the position of Center for her basketball team. They got shut out by the Pocatello team in February 1911:

Most importantly, a notice appeared in the June 22, 1911 issue of the American Falls Press regarding the timing of the move:

"Mrs. F. J. Kohlhepp left for Los Angeles the first of the week for a short visit, after which she will go to Mesa, Nevada, to make her home. She has been advised to seek a lower altitude on account of failing health. Mr. Kohlhepp will be here for some time yet. Mr. and Mrs. Kohlhepp have resided in this locality for many years, and are classed among the early settlers. It is to be hoped that the change will prove beneficial."

The following is of note:

(a) What would have taken Ella out to Los Angeles?
(b) This places Ella moving down to Mesa in the early summer of 1911, not the spring time.
(c) The move for Ella sounds motivated by personal health reasons. Was this the rheumatism that was often referred to?
(d) Fred is described as still being there (in American Falls) for some time yet, suggesting he perhaps did not go down with Ella at the same time. Yet it's hard to imagine Fred taking the trip himself?

We do see a sales notice in the American Falls Press the next week for items owned by Fred:

Old American Falls -- Locating the Kohlhepp Building/Block at the Old Town Site

The town of American Falls, Idaho, is not located today where it was founded. Referred to at times as "America's Pompeii," American Falls' original town site now lies buried, not underneath volcanic ash, but underneath the waters of a manmade reservoir resulting from a dam. Many other homes were flooded as a result of this project approved by the Department of Interior, including my great grandparents' (Herman and Minerva Kohlhepp Teichert) cabin at the Snake River bottoms. Minerva wrote of the flooded area in her short book, Drowned Memories.

The idea for the dam had been discussed, but was formally proposed in 1919, the year Fred died. It was approved in 1920, and over 6 years plans were put in place and executed for the compensation of businesses (OSL, electric), raising of the railroad bridge, and the relocation of residences from the old town site to nearby higher altitude land. It cost the government $2.85 million to execute this migration and compensation project. If we account for inflation, that's $40,993,098.50 in 2019. Not a cheap endeavor.

The migration chiefly happened between 1925 to 1926, and involved homes being transported on steam powered engines, while some smaller structures were transported by horse teams. Imagine church buildings, large agricultural buildings, and so on, being carted away on wheels to new locations. That's what happened. Of course, not every structure could be (or was practical) to move. Some were demolished, others left simply to be flooded by the reservoir. The drowned town site, while typically submerged, is sometimes visible when the water levels of the reservoir recede. They can be seen in some videos, like the one below.

Given the relocation of the town in its young age, it is hard to document and imagine American Falls in its original town site. Yes, there are some pictures, but they do not exist aplenty. The records I've come to appreciate the most are the Sanborn fire insurance maps that were conducted in 1907 and 1911 respectively. The 1911 maps, in particular, give a fair layout of the town, with the railroad bisecting old American Falls:

The task I took upon myself was to determine if I could locate the Kohlhepp's commercial building, where they leased space, Fred worked for a while as a real estate agent, and where the second hand store was located. I believe the answer, surprisingly, is yes. There are enough documents giving the location of the Kohlhepp building relative to other businesses and buildings that its location can be fairly affixed. Here's the general section of town (section 4 in the Index above) to which the Sanborn fire insurance maps cover where Fred's building resided:

I'm actually quite lucky that it existed in a region that was indeed covered. Several key data elements helped me zero in on the location:

(a) Several ads mentioning it was off of Railroad Avenue:

(b): Several ads mentioning it was south of the railroad depot by 1.5 blocks:

(c): An article noting that it was adjacent to 1 lodging house (only 2 feet away), very close to another lodging house (with a vacant lot separating the buildings), and near the Cottage Hotel:

(d) The Cottage Hotel had burnt down in May 1911, just six months prior to the 1911 Sanborn fire insurance maps being made, suggesting that some indicator of burnt down structures should exist.

(e) The Cottage Hotel was off of Chestnut Avenue:

(f) A meat market was near the Cottage Hotel:

I was able to account for all of these facts. So here is a detailed shot of the Kohlhepp building with the surrounding businesses that I identified (notice the vacant lot in between the Iowa Rooming House and the Kohlhepp building too), which was indeed 1.5 blocks south of the railroad depot:

If you go back to the 1907 Sanborn fire insurance maps, you can see the Cottage Hotel was still around then as would be expected. You can also see a restaurant that had been in business before shutting down in the 1911 vacant spot next to the Kohlhepp building.

It's fun to locate my ancestors' building in this map of the drowned town. I am curious if the building was relocated or left to be flooded when the American Falls dam was built. If left to be submerged, could its foundation be found amongst those that appear when the water recedes? See this fun video of the exposed old town site:

Fred & Ella -- Businesses Part 3 (1915 - 1919)

This is my third post in a series on Fred and Ella's employment following the return from Fred's mission in Germany and Switzerland. We looked at Fred's work in real estate and land location, the leasing of commercial property, Fred's run for Power County assessor, and the beginnings of the first and second hand goods store in the end of 1914. This store was run out of the property they owned off of Railroad Avenue. I've successfully determined where this property would have been located in old American Falls (prior to the relocation of the town with the flooding of the land by the dam), which I'll cover in my next post. From 1915 to 1919 when Fred dies, the Kohlhepp's primary enterprise was in collecting from the property they owned (which included a rooming house), and the sales made from their store.

1915.

This year marked many different ads appearing, showing the ups and downs of the clothing and goods business. An ad on April 15 stated, "We have bought at bankrupt sale a stock of Clothing, Millinery and Household goods, which we can offer at from one-half to one-third regular price." What follows is a list of price ranges for goods including suits, dresses, waists, hats, mop sticks, china plates, and clothes pins. They also sold stoves and furniture. Here the business is called F. J. Kohlhepp & Co., suggesting Fred's participation in the business.

General ads for the store appear in the March 11, April 1, April 15, April 22, April 29, May 6, May 13, May 20, May 27, June 3, June 24, July 1, July 8, July 15, July 22, July 29, August 5, August 12, August 19, August 26, September 2, September 9, September 16, September 23, October 7, October 14, October 21, October 28, November 11, November 25, December 9, and December 16.

In June came an ad for a 4th of July promotion, where men and boys could get a new hat, suit, and shoes all for $10. They also noted prices for women's and children's shoes. Another business decision is also called out here; they have a big supply of second hand goods as they "bought out the Updike business."

The Updike business would have been a reference to C. R. Updike's second hand store, which focused on second hand furniture and ran out of a building next door to the courthouse. Ads ran earlier in the year (from April to May 1915) where Updike solicited second hand furniture. He and E. M. Wagner had come in from Pocatello to sell furniture, and apparently did not have a good go at it.

But the Kohlhepp business also struggled in American Falls. In September they posted notice of a closing out sale where "all our new goods will be sold or given away during the Fair week." Price ranges for clothes are given, including "Ladies' clothes at your own price. Never such bargains before at American Falls. Call and get a share of the spoils."

1916.

The closing out sale would make one think this was the end of the Kohlhepp business, but it persisted through the following years. A notice appeared in March 1916 that, "Mrs. F. J. Kohlhepp [Ella] announces that for the first ten days of March she will sell more second hand goods for a less amount of money than can be had anywhere in the state. If in need of anything in the second hand line, don't forget to look up the Kohlhepp second hand store." Ads for the store appear in the January 6, January 13, February 10, February 17, February 24, March 16, and March 23 issues of the AFP.

An ad noting "Bargains" appeared in June and throughout July. It listed prices for a gasoline engine, a garden cultivator, an incubator and brooder, and prices for clothes. A new service offering is stated, "furnished rooms for housekeeping and batching from $5.00 to $10 per month."

1917.

It doesn't appear that Fred and Ella wanted to stay in business with the new and second hand store. An ad appeared in August 1917's Classified Ads "FOR SALE--or trade, a good business. Inquire at F. J. Kohlhepp's New and Second-hand store, half block south of depot."

1918.

Misfortune hit the Kohlhepp's in 1918, and this time it was fire to their real estate. In April, a notice appeared that "Iowa Rooming House Burned Last night. The Iowa Rooming House, conducted by Mrs. O. C. Hall, was destroyed by fire last night with all its contents. It was a two story frame building in the center of the block south of the depot, and has been operated as a rooming house for the past ten years. During the early days of the development of American Falls it was conducted by Mrs. M. A. Alvard, and was a popular place. It has always been well conducted and enjoyed a liberal patronage. The property has changed hands several times within the past few years, and is said to be owned by F. J. Kohlhepp. The loss is complete. The amount of insurance could not be learned." If not insured, this would have been a devastating financial loss for Fred. The Iowa rooming house had parlors in which couples were married.

Fire posed another issue later that same year, when the Virginia Rooming House was also destroyed by fire. This property was owned by James Hearne instead of Fred, but the fire at this rooming house caused a challenge for Fred's property as well. A newspaper article in September stated, "The firemen were slow in arriving, due to the earliness of the hour and the fact that they had to be called from their homes by phone, and by the time of their arrival the only thing that could be done was to save adjoining property. Fortunately there was no wind at the time. This enabled the fireman to save the Kohlhepp building, which stood about two feet away from the burning structure. A few months ago the Iowa rooming house, on the other side of the Kohlhepp building, was taken by fire."

The fire of the Virginia rooming house was nerve wracking, but the Kohlhepps received help. In the paper it noted, "Mrs. Ella Kohlhepp is very appreciative of the efforts of friends who carried her stock of goods to places of safety during the fire which destroyed the Virginia rooming house early Sunday morning. This is the third time her pace has been in danger of destruction from fire, the first time when the Cottage hotel burned; the second, when the Iowa rooming house was destroyed a few months ago, and again Sunday morning. The call was very close the last time, a space of only two feet separating the buildings, and it seemed certain that both would burn. The danger was not so great when the Iowa house was destroyed, as a vacant lot intervened, but both fires were very hot while they lasted."

Following the Virginia Rooming house fire, Ella posted another sales ad, as some of their goods were damaged. "Just before the Virginia rooming house burned Mrs. Kohlhepp bought out a stock of clothing of the best material made. Owing to the fire much was slightly damaged and will be sold at 1/3 regular price. Ladies all wool coas and suits from $5.00 up. We also have a good line of Stoves, Ranges, etc in our 2nd hand department and will grealty appreciate your trade."

The Kohlhepp's were not successful in selling the business as they continued to post ads in the paper to stimulate business. One such in September was for a sale, which stated, "a big line of new goods will be on sale at Kohlhepp's New and Second Hand Store." Price ranges are given for wool coats, dresses, and shoes. The business is noted simply as "south side." This time Ella's involvement in the business is called out distinctly -- "Mrs. Ella Kohlhepp, Prop." Ella seems to have been the focus and primary person running the business, at least by this time. We know Fred suffered much in his last couple years of life, and may not have been involved for health reasons, at least not as the main business contact.

1919.

Despite setbacks from the fires, the Kohlhepp business continued. An ad for a sale in the paper on June 20 noted, "We bought Bradshaw's Summer Hats and have a few left at bargain prices, best quality. Also leadies' white waists from 50c up. Our second hand department has been lately replenished and we are prepared to buy and sell everything."

Bradshaw's was a new clothing business in American Falls, which advertised frequently large sales.

This was the last ad in the paper for the Kohlhepp's store. Fred passed away only months later. Ella got in her accident. Given Minerva Wade Hickman had passed away earlier in the year and Annalee's baby too, it was a year of loss for Ella and the Kohlhepp's.