Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
William M. Minor was a scenic artist who worked at Sosman & Landis from approximately 1890 until 1900. He painted all over the country, sporadically returning to represent the Chicago-based firm. His two younger brothers Eddie and Charlie Minor also started as scenic artists and worked for Sosman & Landis over the years too.
William M. Minor grave in Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.
The Minor Bros. were well known throughout the Midwest and West, with their scenic art featured at theaters in Kansas, Missouri, Colorado, Utah, Illinois and Minnesota. It is almost impossible to tell the story of one brother, without mentioning the lives and careers of the others. They all worked together at one time or another; the family was a close-knit one. Each artistically-gifted son was mentioned at their father’s sixty-seventh birthday celebration, so I’ll start with the family members and patriarch of the clan, J. O. Minor.
John O. Minor (1837-1912) was a Civil War Veteran and later member of the Seneca, Kansas, post of the G.A.R. In 1902 George Graham Post No. 92, G.A.R., listed Minor’s past military service as a private in Company G of the 102nd, Illinois. John married Mary A. Brown (1840-1880) on Dec. 27, 1859, in Illinois and the couple celebrated the birth of one daughter and four sons before moving from Illinois to Kansas in 1879. The Minor children included: Nora (1862) William M. Minor (1864), George Edward Minor (1866), J. Harry Minor (1869), Charles P. Minor (1870), and Bert Minor (1880). After Mary’s passing in 1880, John remarried; his second was Rosa Hasson. John and Rose were married on October 19, 1882. They celebrated the birth of two children: Dollie (1887) and Jas. (1888).
J. O. Minor’s 67th birthday was published in “The Seneca Tribune” on Sept. 15, 1904; he passed away eight years later. Here is the article in its entirety as it really sets the stage, providing a sneak peek into the boys’ professions at the time:
“A SUNDAY ANNIVERSARY.
Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Minor Celebrate Mr. Minor’s Birthday with the Family Home and Happy.
Last Sunday was J. O. Minor’s sixty-seventh birthday, and they planned to celebrate the event by inviting all the children home once more and making the day one of social and family reunion. All the children, excepting the son Bert, got home safely, and sat down to a birthday dinner – making father and mother very happy, and the children enjoyed the day too. Bert is running a show and was billed for a town in Indiana that made it impossible for him to get out to Kansas last Sunday. This gathering was the first that all these children had been together for nine years, and it was eight years previously since they had met in re-union and then in Chicago. There were twenty-two at dinner. Those outside the immediate family being Allen Kerns and family of Baileyville, Mrs. J. W. Larimer of Washington, District of Columbia, a sister-in-law of Mr. Larimer. Of the children present Mrs. G. A. Lansberry of St. Louis, the daughter was unaccompanied by the husband. The four boys had their wives along and were, W. Mansel Minor, scenic artist of New York, G. E. Minor, representing the Red Wing Advertising Co, of Kansas City; Harry Minor, with Brown & Bigelow making specialties for advertisers and Charles Minor, scenic artist of Chicago.
Mr. Minor came to Seneca twenty-two years ago from drouth-stricken Rooks county out in western Kansas – poor and with this large family then all small and mostly dependent. But they were an ambitious lot, and took to any kind of work offering a chance to earn a nickel. Mr. Minor himself was a blacksmith and worked at his trade. The boys and girls all attended the public schools in Seneca, which gave them all the educations they started out in life. Out of school the boys helped their father along with work – they set fence posts for Bassett on his farms and helped dig the cellar for Dan Firstenberger’s store. These are only sample jobs; they were up and doing, and asked if any of them graduated from our school the answer came – “No we were too busy to graduate!”
But they proved rustlers, these Minor boys did; and in their work one or the other of them have been in every state in the Union excepting California; that state comes next, and the Uncle Sam’s outlying possessions. They have been to Cuba already.
Mr. Minor and the children, sons and daughters-in-law and all, were about town Monday morning; Mr. Minor was very proud of the flock, and they were glad to see so many in Seneca once more whom they had known in the years gone by. It is a fine thing to come back to the old town to receive only glad greetings from evert one; left Seneca with a good name and never ashamed to go back to the old home!”
The Minor’s first lived in Farmington, Kansas, in the 1880 US Federal Census. In Farmington, the Minor household included John O. (43), Mary (41), William M. (16), Eddie (14), Harry (12), Charles (10) and “Bertie” (9 mths). They remained in Rooks County until 1882 when they moved Nemaha County, settling in Seneca, Kansas.
After moving to Seneca, 18-yrs. old William became a scenic artist, with Eddie soon following suit. By 1884, William M. Minor was listed in the “Kansas City Directory” as a scenic artist, boarding at the Morgan House. He was only listed in the directory for a year, and soon returned to the family home in Seneca, taking small painting jobs in the area. On Dec. 11, 1884, the “Sabetha Weekly Herald” reported, “William Minor and Son, of Seneca, scenic artists, painted the most artistic sign filled with cards which hangs in the post office building, Go in and examine it. It is a daisy. These gentlemen make it a specialty of this business” (page 3). The “son” was obviously a misprint; he was working with his younger brother Eddie. The 1885 Kansas State Census listed both William and Ed as painters; they were primarily working in Junction City, Kansas, at the time.
That year, William and Ed were primarily known for their sign painting. On Feb. 7, 1885, the “Carbondalian” of Carbondale, Kansas reported, “Minor Bros. (William and Edward) of Kansas City, have painted a very fine business directory for our business men. It is on canvas background with a large moulded frame, about 5×7 feet in size and will hang in the post office. We can recommend then to the business men of other places as good and reliable workmen” (page 4).
The two expanded their business enterprise, leasing the Seneca Skating Rink. On March 19, 1885, the “Junction City Tribune” reported. The Minor Bros, of Seneca, have leased the Skating Rink for one year of Mr. Shull, and are making extensive changes in the appearance of the interior. It is really wonderful what changes a little paint makes when skillfully applied, and these Minor brothers are real artists in this line. Wednesday evening for the first time under new management. The decorations, though quite incomplete as yet, are quite tasty” (page 3). This did not last for long and soon the two were solely painting signs again.
On Jan. 29, 1886, the “Smith Bulletin” of Smith Centre, Kansas, reported, “The Chicago Lumber Co. has had a neat, new sign painted on the north side of its large lumber shed. The work was done by the Minor Bros. the boys who painted the scenery for the tabernacle” (page 3).
From March until June of 1887, the Minor brothers posted a series of advertisements in the Junction City Daily Junction. Their advertisements were briefly worded, including:
“Minor Bros. for signs”; “Minor Bros. for skillful and tasty sign painting”; “Gilt-edged and artistic lettering by Minor Bros.”; “Minor Bros are literally bespangling the town with gorgeous signs”; and “Minor Bros. will make all styles of numbers at one-third less price than anyone else.”
Charlie Minor began joining his older brothers on projects, accompanying his brother William to Denver, Colorado, in 1890. The 1890 “Denver City Directory” listed William M. Minor as an artist, living at 1827 Glenarm. In Denver, both William and Charlie were hired as scenic artists by Sosman & Landis for the Broadway Theatre scenery project.
Thomas G. Moses was responsible for all of the scenic designs and on-site supervision of painting. The drop curtain, entitled “A Glimpse of India,” was considered a local masterpiece and was the focal point of the auditorium. The on-site Sosman & Landis painting crew included Moses, William Minor, Charlie Minor, Ed Loitz, and Billie Martin. The team not only delivered the drop curtain, but also the entire stock scenery collection. The project included a massive cyclorama. Of the project Moses wrote, “The job was an ideal one. I made new models and we put in a cyclorama drop, 36 feet high and 250 feet long. It ran on a track and we could make three distinct skies: a plain, a cloudy and a moonlight. No borders. We trimmed the front stuff down to low enough to mask. All rows were profiled; very effective.”
The Broadway Theatre was part of the new Metropole Hotel, designed by Chicago architect Col. J. W. Wood. Wood had worked with Sosman & Landis on many theater projects prior to this one. The building was advertised as one of the first “fireproof” hotels in the country; the construction employed hollow clay fired tile units for all partition, floors, ceilings, and walls. By this time, Sosman & Landis were also fireproofing much their scenery. They continued to advertise asbestos curtains and fireproof scenery, even placing newspaper advertisements over the years.
The Broadway Theatre opened August 18th, with “Bohemian Girl” by Look’s Opera Company, but this did not mean the project was completed. Moses was called back to the studio in early September, with the Minor Bros. and Loitz remaining to finish the interiors. The contract was not completed until November, 1890. Shortly after the project ended, William Minor married Minnie Hill on Dec. 12, 1890, in Denver, Colorado. The couple soon moved east to Chicago, where William remained a scenic artist at Sosman & Landis, before joining the Chicago Scenic Co. They continued to visit family in Kansas, with reports of their travels published in local newspapers.
On May 3, 1895, “The Courier-Tribune” of Seneca, Kansas, reported, “Charles, W. M. and G. E. Minor, of Chicago, are in this city visiting their many old friend and acquaintances. They are the sons of Jno. O. Minor and formerly lived in Seneca, but the parents of the boys, Mr. and Mrs. J. O. Minor, now live in Baileyville. The three young men above mentioned are now with the Chicago Scenic Co., and are doing a nice business. They are working on the Crawford circuit and doing jobs at St. Joseph, Atchison and Topeka. Will painted the first drop curtain for the Grand Opera House. He picked up his trade while living here, and now all three are recognized as experts in this line. Will also painted the drop curtain for Sabetha and Hiawatha G. A. R. Halls. They are a nice lot of boys who have come right to the front” (page 3).
Their visits and projects continued to make Kansas newspapers in the 1890s. On May 9, 1895, the “Junction City Tribune” reported, “Will, Charlie and G. E. Minor of Chicago are visiting friends and will renew the old and paint some new scenery for the opera house while here” (page 5). On May 4, 1896, the “Stevens Point Daily Journal” in Wisconsin, reported, “Minor Bros. of the Chicago Scenic Co. have finished painting a handsome advertising drop curtain for the Opera House. The curtain will be used between acts. The gentlemen are also painting curtains in Waupaca and Grand Rapids” (page 4).
They also remained connected to the western theater scene in Colorado and Utah. On August 19, 1897, the Avalanche-Echo of Glenwood Springs, Colorado, (Vol X Number 33, page 4) announced the hotel arrival of William and Charles Minor at the Kudrick. By 1910 William relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he would become the scenic artist at the Salta Lake City Theatre. Prior to that, however, he continued to work with his brothers all over the country.
On Feb 24, 1899, “The Courier-Tribune” of Seneca, Kansas, reported, “The Minor Bros. have taken the contract to paint the stage scenery for the Catholic school hall. They are at work on it now and doing a fine job. The Minor boys have the reputation of being as fine scenic painters as there are in the country and have done work in all the large cities from Chicago to the Pacific coast. They started to paint in Seneca years ago under the tutelage of J. Y. Benfer.”
That year, William M. Minor was listed in the 1899 “Minneapolis City Directory,” living at 621 7th Ave S. He was listed for just the year, as the 1900 US Federal Census listed William Minor living in Chicago at 161 Winchester Avenue. His household at the time included wife Minnie (36) and sister-in-law Grace Swickard (16).
In Chicago he was again representing Sosman & Landis. On July 20, 1900, the “Marengo Republican” of Marengo, Illinois, reported:
“New Scenery in the Opera House. William Minor, representing the firm of Sosman & Landis, the great scenic artists if Chicago, has been for the past two weeks painting new scenery and redecorating the old at the local playhouse. A new drop curtain has been added which is a beautiful marine view from the coast of Maine. It is extremely handsome, and the completion of the work shows Mr. Minor to be an artist of unquestionable ability and keen perception of nature. The coloring, from deep sea blue to the light grey of the surf, is exquisite and the dash of the rising spray adds life and vigor to the scene. A handsome new interior scene is also being added, far superior to anything ever seen here, besides several other new sets. The opening for the coming season will be Wednesday evening, August 1st, Bartlet & May’s, “A Woman in the Case” being the play” (page 5).
From Chicago he moved west again, setting in Utah. His name first appears in a “Salt Lake City Tribune” want ad on Dec. 24, 1906 (page 9): “WANTED – INFORMATION OF THE present residence of William Minor, a scenic artist. Address X 49. Tribune” (page 8). He disappears from print for a while and it is not until 1910 that he is included in the “Salt Lake City Directory.”
In 1910, William was listed as a scenic artist living at 235 E 4th S. in Salt Lake City. His household includes wife Minnie and lodger F. V. Ogle, a dressmaker. At the time, he is working at the Salt Lake Theatre.
On September 18, 1910, “The Salt Lake Herald-Republican” reported, “After thirty years of almost continuous service, the drop curtain at the Salt Lake theatre is to be replaced by a new one which Manager George D. Pyper expects to have in place in time for the engagement of Henry Miller, beginning Sept 29. The subject of the new curtain will be the Salt Lake valley in the days of the pioneers, and it will be copied from a painting by William M. Minor, scenic artist at the theatre.
It will be difficult to exceed beauty of the old curtain, whose artistic coloring and good drawing have made it a favorite for years, “The Return of the Victorious Fleet” was painted by Henry C. Tryon [also a Sosman & Landis artist], one of the best artists in this line who ever came to Salt Lake, Those who have studied the stately ships coming into harbor may have wondered at the absence of life in the picture. The original, which is in the possession of Mr. Pyper, contained a crowd of people on the steps of the buildings, but Mr. Tryon was not a figure painter, and rather than mar his painting by inferior work, left them out altogether.
Except for short intervals, “The Return of the Victorious Fleet” has hung in the theatre nearly thirty years. Some years ago, an attempt was made to replace it by a picture of the chariot race in “Ben Hur.” The artist made the horses of heroic size, and so near the edge of the curtain that they sat close. One critic of the day said that a certain scene in a play created a strong effect until “Pyper’s horses came clattering down.”
The artist attempted to remedy the defect by drawing them smaller, when Le Grand Young, a regular patron of the theatre, objected to sitting in front of a horse that had one shoulder out of joint. That finished the curtain, and the same artist painted a second, an evening scene in Venice, which was hung for about a year. Another curtain which will be remembered was a field of carnations. This was secured from the Tremont theatre in Boston, but, though it was kept for nearly three years, did not prove to be popular, “The Return of the Victorious Fleet” was rehung, and has continued in place until now. With the closing performance of “The Spendthrift,” it was rung down forever” (page 26).
While working at the Salt Lake Theatre, Minor takes an interest in early movie screen development. On Sept. 14, 1910, the “Salt-Lake Herald-Republican” reported:
“Moving Picture Screen.
William M Minor, scenic artist at the Salt Lake Theatre, has applied for a patent on an invention which he calls Minor’s Wonder Moving Picture Screen. It is a cloth screen with a burnished metallic surface that adds distinctness to the picture that is thrown upon it. Last evening at the Orpheum theatre, preceding the regular performance, a test was made of the invention which impressed a score of invited spectators favorably. Seven by twelve feet of the entire scene was of the new material, and the remainder was the usual cotton cloth. This arrangement afforded opportunity for comparison between the two surfaces, and the mirror-like distinctness of the pictures on the metallic surface argued well for the success of the invention. Mr. Minor has experimented with the screen for about three months and since he received a receipt from the patent office, on Saturday last, has been testing the invention before private audiences. On Monday night it was tried at the Murray opera house.”
From 1910 to 1915, William M. Minor was listed as an artist in the Salt Lake City Directory. In 1912, William’s occupation was listed as a “scenic artist and float building;” this designation was listed upon admittance to the Salt Lake City Commercial Club (“Salt Lake Tribune”7 Dec. 1912, page 16). By 1913 Minor was also working as the scenic artist at the Colonial Theatre.
And then there is a slight career shift. In 1916, he was listed as the president of “Secret M & M Co.”,” still residing at the same home address, 235 E 4th South.” At this time, I have no information about the Secret M & M Co., but am hazarding a guess that it was mining or oil.
In 1918, Minor moved from Salta Lake City to Kansas City, changing his profession entirely. Like his brother Ed, William became a broker at this time and was listed in the “Kansas City Directory” as such. I will explore the life and career of Ed tomorrow, but need to point out something for context. Over the years Ed had managed to convince each one of his brothers to participate in some sort of business scheme, often a non-theatre related one with potential of enormous profits. Ed was the stereotypical “wheeler and dealer.”
By 1920, the “Kansas City Directory” listed William M. Minor as broker in the Oil Co., living with his wife Minnie at 3343 Forest Street in Kansas City, Missouri. Williams’ newfound career did not last for long; he died the next year. On May 12, 1921, “The Courier-Tribune” published William’s obituary (page 3):
“William M. Minor, stepson of Mrs. J. O. Minor, died suddenly Friday afternoon at his home, 3348 Forest Ave. Kansas City, Mo. Mr. Minor was fifty-seven years of age and was the eldest son of the late J. O. Minor. When a boy he lived in Seneca. He is survived by his widow, Mrs. Minnie Minor; four brothers, George E. Minor, J. Harry Minor, Charles P. Minor and B. A. Minor and a sister Mrs. G. A. Lansberry of Topeka, a half-sister, Mrs. Balie [sic.] Keith of Seneca and a half brother, James Minor of Sabetha. Mrs. J. O. Minor went to Kansas City Saturday morning to attend the funeral.”
To be continued…
