An 1891 Missing Person - Using Library Resources to Learn More

The Dick Smith Library serves as a Regional Historical Resources Depository for original and microfilmed records for a number of Texas counties, including Coleman.  Recently, another library transferred to us a fascinating Coleman County Sheriff's ledger from 1887 to 1892 that contained notices about stolen and stray animals, and wanted and missing persons.  This one caught my eye:

I decided to use library resources to try to find out what happened.  First, I used the Archive of Americana database to search old newspapers for articles on Hanchette from 1891 or later. 

Mr. Hanchette arrived in Chicago from Los Angeles by March 31, 1891, to organize an exhibit of California fruit in the Windy City.  After the exposition closed in May, Hanchette was supposed to return home via train, but instead disappeared.  About the time the missing person notice went out, articles started appearing in Chicago and other newspapers:

from The Chicago Herald, May 19, 1891, page 3, via Archive of Americana database 

This was followed by speculation and supposed sightings. Hanchette was spotted at the end of May 1891 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on a "big spree;" and near Flandreau, South Dakota, in June 1891, "selling organs for a Chicago firm." Speculations included that he'd sailed for South America in late June 1891, and that he'd been located with another woman (not his wife) in July 1891.

The story resurfaced in August 1897 in Chicago, when Los Angeles newspaperman Robert J. Farrell "said Hanchette told him he [Hanchette] had concluded to drop out of sight and cautioned him [Farrell] to say nothing of having met him [Hanchette]."

Thirteen months later, Hanchette's wife Emma died, and nine months after that, his son Earl, and newspaper articles on those deaths mentioned Hanchette's disappearance.  He still had not turned up.

I wondered if anyone else had tried to solve this mystery, so I also searched another library database, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Full-Text for "Hanchette."  A promising result out of 116 was Charles Dwight Willard: Los Angeles City Booster and Professional Reformer, 1888-1914, written by Donald Ray Culton at the University of Southern California in 1971. The Los Angeles city booster part made me think Willard might have a connection with Hanchette, and I was right (pages 44-47).

Willard was on the staff of the Los Angeles Herald while Hanchette was its city editor in 1888, and he later joined Hanchette on the staff of the Chamber of Commerce.  The two were good friends. When Hanchette disappeared, Willard took over his duties as Chamber secretary, and was later elected to the post.  According to Culton, Willard had to deal with snarled financial records, careless meeting minutes, an overdrawn bank account, uncollected membership dues, and a debt of $2,300.

Although publicly Willard spoke positively of Hanchette, in private (a letter to his father in June 1891), he said, "He was not a bad man, but he was hopelessly weak," and that some of Hanchette's actions had been "dishonorable."

My research mentioned another book about Willard that mentioned Hanchette, Suffering in the Land of Sunshine, by Emily Abel.  I requested this 2006 book through interlibrary loan and found it supported Culton's findings.  Another letter Willard wrote to his father in July 1891 stated that Hanchette had been "in secret a spend thrift, and a fool about money matters...When he went away things were in a hopeless snarl with him and he had not the courage to come back and face them" (page 49).

By the way - Hanchette was on the board of directors for the Los Angeles Public Library from 1889 until his disappearance.

Celebrate Texas History RHRD Style

The Dick Smith Library is one of twenty four depositories in the Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) program located throughout the state at academic and other institutions that meet requirements of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission to house historical records of local governments. The purpose of the Regional Historical Resource Depository (RHRD) program is to collect, preserve, and make available the historic records of local governments to the public. The majority of the records have fulfilled their administrative, fiscal, and legal values and are permanent only because of their historical value. Without the RHRD program many of these records would not be publicly accessible if the local government still possessed them.

The Dick Smith Library holds records for the following counties: Brown, Callahan, Coleman, Comanche, Eastland, Erath, Shackelford, and Stephens Counties. The records are either microfilm or actual textual records. Records of Erath County can be found in both microfilm and textual format (sometimes both for the same record). While Coleman, Comanche, and Eastland counties are available only as textual records, Brown, Callahan, Shackelford, and Stephens counties records are on microfilm.

The different types of records, which may not be available for all time periods or counties, include tax records, probate, civil and criminal court minutes, birth and death records, deed records, marriage, naturalization, marks and brands, school records, and sheriff's jail dockets, to name a few. Records on microfilm can be borrowed using the Interlibrary Loan system. For a list of county records that are available on microfilm, see  https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/local/index.html.  For a list of institutions that hold records and what counties they hold, see, https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/arc/local/depositories.html . For information on the microfilm and textual holdings of the Dick Smith Library and how to use them, contact either Gary Spurr, spurr@tarleton.edu, or Amanda Pape, pape@tarleton.edu.

Free i Pod 1908 Style

The Dick Smith Library has in its collections textual county records for Erath, Eastland, Coleman, and Comanche counties. These are large leather bound volumes. While the majority of the volumes are records of county activities there are a few "strange" volumes. One such is an account book for a store in either Dublin or Harbin, Texas. The account part of the volume dates from 1908, then in the middle there are court records from 1915, then it goes back to an account book dated from 1908. Perhaps the county clerk need a book one day and also worked at the store and grabbed one from the store. Tucked in this volume was the ad you see here offering a $25.00 natural tone talking & singing machine absolutely free, with $50.00 cash purchase. Or for $5.00 with a $25.00 cash purchase. 

In 1908 this was the latest in recorded sound technology. The customer is invited to come by the store to hear specially prepared records of bands, instrumental music, songs, and stories. "The best talent in the country is brought right to your fireside to while away the long evenings with comical recitations and songs."It is pointed out that the machine also has educational uses as well. The ad continues further that the graphophone represents the latest achievements of the largest and best equipped talking machine industry in the world. The machine has a "handsome flower horn, noiseless motor, an adjustable speed screw, and oil tempered bearings that will last a lifetime. The machine required no electricity to run it, it was a hand cranked machine. One can only imagine what the people of 1908 would think of mp 3 players and all of the other ways we have to carry our music with us.