Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
In 1919, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “The Madam and I started for a river trip down into Alabama by way of St. Louis. I have written this trip in detail in my travelogues. It was a most enjoyable trip, during which I made pencil sketches. We had a nice time in St. Louis at Kirke Moses’ home, and at P. J. Toomey’s new home…Brother Kirke and family paid us a visit in July, driving up from St. Louis.”
Previously this year I was contacted by a descendent of Kirke Moses who wrote, “Thank you for this. Thomas Gibbs Moses was my Great Uncle. His brother Kirke White Moses was my Great Grandfather whose daughter was my beloved Grandma, Ruth Moses McNulty! Our family still has a few paintings from Thomas Gibbs Moses and his brother, Walter Farrington Moses! Periodically, I search for information on my ancestors and I was happy to find this. Thanks again.”
My first thought was, “Who is Kirke?” I never stopped to consider the children born after the death of Moses’ mother, as I have remained so focused on his career. Moses’ father re-married. and I knew very little of the second family; never really looking for more familial information.
Of the first family, Moses wrote, “Father and Mother had a family of seven children. Kate, the eldest, was accidentally killed at sea. Lucius was the first boy and died at sea. Sister Lucia was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, July 23rd, 1853. I was the third child. Frank was born in 1858. Illie was born in Sterling, Illinois, December 25th, 1860. Little Kate (named for the first child) born in Sterling; died shortly after my mother’s death in 1862… It was here [Sterling] that mother passed away and left four children for Father to bring up. I remember every detail and incident of her death. I can see each dear friend of Mother’s grouped about. I crawled upon the bed to kiss her good-bye. One of her last bequests was to give her watch to “Tommy,” which I received after I had passed middle age. Among the many little keepsakes of Mother’s, I have a drawing book that she used in school in 1835. The pencil drawings show considerable talent. If she had only lived, what a wonderful Art companion I would have had.” His mother was Mary W. Titcomb Moses.
Moses later wrote, “One housekeeper we had was Mary Planthofer. She was awfully good to me – almost like a real Mother. She saved me a good many whippings. She remained with us after our new Mother arrived…When the new Mother took charge of affairs, there were many radical changes made. Many of them made my young life a burden, and had a strong influence on my whole life, and also kept my nose to the grindstone.” Not much of his new mother was recorded, including a name. Moses’ only description of her at all was when he wrote, “A good novel had a great deal of interest for my new Mother, much more that our garden, so why should we worry when the garden went wild. It was even more artistic.” His second mother was Adeline Gowen, sometimes spelled Adaline.
About the time that Kirke was born, Moses’ life at home was quite miserable and all he wanted to do was become and artist in Chicago. By the time When Kirke was just a toddler, Moses wrote, “My wild career as an Artist started in April. Father would not help me, so I started for Chicago with 10¢ in my pocket and a new pair of boots, red leather tops and copper toes; some heavy clothes and a lot of pluck.” Upon arriving in Chicago, he immediately started working for the decorative firm ran by P. M. Almini. From this point onward, Moses’ career took off, and there is little said of his family.
Kirke was born on November 8, 1871. By 1880, the US Federal census listed Lucius and Adeline Moses living in Chicago. Lucius’ occupation was that of harness maker, in line with the tannery and harness shop he ran in Sterling Illinois. In Chicago, the Lucius Moses family include his wife Adeline, daughter Illie Kirke W. and Walter D. were listed as two sons, with Walter being three years younger than Kirke. I have briefly explored he life of actress Illinois “Illie” Moses in past post 174 (https://drypigment.net2017/08/15/tales-from-a-scenic-artist-and-scholar-acquiring-the-fort-scott-scenery-collection-for-the-minnesota-masonic-heritage-center-part-178-illie-moses-sister-and-actress/).
Although both Moses and his sister Illie worked in the theatre Industry, little is mentioned of their relationship. Moses seems to have remained closest with his brother Frank Demming Moses. This is understandable as Moses’ eldest son Pitt went to work with Frank in the gas industry, so the family remained quite close over the years. Kirke ended up in St. Louis, Missouri as a contractor.
On April 4, 1929, Kirke E. Moses was featured in the “St. Louis Star” (page 24). The article announced, “Kirke Moses to Build Residences in Ivanhoe Park….Associated with the building industry for over twenty years, Moses has built more than 600 fine residences in various parts of the city. The son of a Chicago contractor, he began building and construction work shortly before the World’s Fair. Before coming to St. Louis he gained distinction in the field of building through his work in construction of the University of Texas buildings at Galveston and the Illinois Central car shops at Memphis. One of his first commissions in St. Louis was the reconstruction of the Philippine Building at the World’s Fair. Since that time, he has confined his activities to the building of fine homes. It was thoroughly in line with the policy of the St. Louis Better Built Homes Movement, that he was selected to build these model homes. The executive committee realized the importance of selecting a reputable builder. It is well known regardless of the fine materials used no home can be well built if poor construction methods are employed. The fact that his record as home builder was beyond reproach led to Moses’ selection.”
Newspaper articles are seldom 100% correct, so you have to take what they say with a grain of salt. I have never encountered any mention that Lucius Moses was not a contractor, other than the article above. He was initially a sea captain who moved inland and established a tannery in Sterling, Illinois. Lucius Moses’ occupation was listed as a harness maker. After Lucius Moses moved to Chicago, Moses recorded that his father ran a grocery store. That being said, I haven’t really looked to see if he was ever listed as a Chicago contractor.
The other interesting bit of information I encountered was on Kirke Moses’ marriage certificate. He listed his occupation as “painter.”
To be continued…
