HomeMy WebLinkAboutAC298_HERBERT_HERMAN_FIEDLER_PHOTOGRAPH_COLLECTIONTyrrell Historical Library
Finding Aid for the Herbert Herman Fiedler
Photograph Collection, 1909-1920
Accession AC -298
Finding aid created by
Tyrrell Historical Library staff
Summary I nformafion
Title: Herbert Herman Fiedler Photograph Collection, 1909-1920
Creator: Fiedler, Herbert Herman, 1886-1982.
Inclusive dates: 1909-1920.
Extent: 2 boxes; approximately (.75) cubic feet
Abstract
Herbert Herman Fiedler was the personal chauffeur of Mrs. Frances Ann Lutcher of
Orange, Texas. The Lutcher family owned vast tracks of timber in and around the
Orange area and ran the Lutcher Moore Lumber Company. As prominent citizens of
Orange, the Lutcher family owned two Pierce -Arrow touring automobiles and traveled
extensively on sight-seeing trips throughout the United States, Canada, and western
Europe. Many of these early road trips were documented in photographs by Mr.
Fiedler. The photographic images depict the lack of good roads during the early 1900s
and the difficult terrain and conditions that automobile drivers faced in cross-country
excursions. One photograph of particular importance is Mr. Fiedler as the honorary
chauffeur driving President William Howard Taft in a Houston (Texas) parade on the
date of October 24, 1909.
Call number: 11-2-G; AC -298.
Language: The material is in English.
Repository: Tyrrell Historical Library
695 N. Pearl St
Beaumont, TX 77701
Phone: 409-833-2759
Home Page: http://www.beaumontlibrary.org/tyrrell_historical_library.htm
Access and Use
Acquisition Information:
This collection was donated by C. L. (Larry) Manley of Beaumont, Texas.
Arrangement:
This collection is organized into 25 folders in 2 flat boxes with photographs numbered
consecutively.
Access Restrictions:
There are no restrictions.
Copyright:
The Tyrrell Historical Library does not hold copyright for many of its collections. The
researcher must secure permission to publish. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted to the Tyrrell Historical Library. The
researcher assumes full responsibility for complying with copyright, literary property
rights, and libel laws.
Related Material:
No known related archival collections; only a Lutcher-Stark Museum booklet with
history remarks and an article in the Tyrrell Historical Library Association "Journal'
about Francis Ann Lutcher.
Separated Material:
This collection has no separated material.
Preferred Citation:
[item], folder, box, Herbert Herman Fiedler Photograph Collection, Tyrrell Historical
Library.
Biographical/ Historical Note
Herbert Herman Fiedler was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, October 26, 1886, son of
Herman and Pauline Fiedler, German immigrants of twelve years at the time of his
birth. At the age of thirteen he had the occupation of messenger while living with his
family in New York. His father was a night watchman at one of the New York factories.
By 1910, Fiedler, age 23, had gained employment as a chauffeur and his younger
brother was a delivery boy for a drug store. By 1920, Fiedler had made his way to
Orange, Orange County, Texas. At this time, he gave his occupation as machinist or
mechanic at a private home. He had met and married Ruth, a Texas born woman, in
about 1915.
In 1909, Fiedler was chosen to drive President William Howard Taft during his visit to
Houston, Texas. Then, shortly after that, Herbert Herman Fiedler was hired by Frances
Ann Lutcher to drive her and her friends from Orange to Austin, Texas, to visit her
grandson Lutcher Stark, graduating from the University of Texas. After Henry Lutcher's
death in 1912, Herbert drove Mrs. Lutcher on several trips including the cross country
trip in the United States which he photographed.
(1900 United States Census.)
(1910 United States Census.)
(1920 United States Census.)
(World War I, Draft Registration Card, 1917.)
(The Orchid Lady, Frances Ann Lutcher, 1841-1924 / Ellen Rienstra and Jo Ann Stiles,
The Journal; newsletter of the Tyrrell Historical Library Association, Inc., Beaumont,
Texas.)
Collection Scope and Content Note
This collection contains the photographs taken by Herbert Herman Fiedler during his
automobile travels across several states, from Orange, Texas, to Denver, Colorado, to
New York, New York, and then back to Texas again. As he drove Mrs. Francis Ann
Lutcher of Orange, Texas, and her companions, he made contact with city and town
newspapers who reported of the road travel hardships and advertised the reliability of
the Pierce -Arrow automobile. His photography includes diverse scenery and documents
the difficult travel of the automobile in the early 1900s. The accompanying newspaper
articles report Mr. Fiedler's route progress and road conditions encountered.
Subject Terms
Subjects:
• Automobile travel.
• Automobiles—Pierce- Arrow.
• Mountain bears.
• National parks and reserves.
• Roads.
• Views.
Persons:
• Achenbach, Helen.
• Achenbach,lda.
• Fiedler, Herbert Herman (1886-1982).
• Lutcher, Frances Ann Robinson (1841-1924).
• Sorgo [Sorgi], Charles.
• Taft, William Howard (1857-1930).
Locations:
• Buffalo, N. Y.
• Denver, Colo.
• Emporia, [Kans.]
• Europe.
• Houston, Tex.
• Mineral Wells, Tex.
• New York, N. Y.
• Orange, Tex.
• Syracuse, N. Y.
• United State of America.
Genres:
• Newspaper clippings.
• Photograph.
• Picture postcard.
• Scrapbook, loose-leaf.
Contents List
Box/ Folder Title
Box
Folder
Title / Description
1
1
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (automobile, automobile wreckage, small town
buildings, cistern, grassy prairie, dirt roads, stick -em -up
scene, "101 Ranch Store", crossing the river, "The
Texas traveler seeing America" canopy, church or
Mexican mission, snow)(AC298.001.001 to
AC298.001.021)(see Tyrrell digitized images).
1
2
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (automobile, leaf -less trees, grassy prairie, dirt
roads, city and Oriental Drug Store, Texas city and city
people, [Fiedler] in automobile, "Orange Texas to New
York via Denver Colorado", crossing bridge, crossing
river, automobile wreckage, large wagon "from Death
Valley 20 mule team Borax Soap and Soap Powder",
valley snow, city people gathered around automobile,
buildings, hill -side writing) (AC298.001 .022 to
AC298.001.040)(see Tyrrell digitized images).
1
3
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (automobile, building with ivy growth, dirt roads
and wooded terrain, Fiedler and his boots, rock
terrain, river white water, rocky cliffs, automobile stuck
in mud, railroad track building, [Fiedler] posing with
"Death Valley" wagon, petrified tree trunks, "Cedar
Rapids, Iowa." sign) AC298.001.041 to AC298.001.057)
see Ty rrell digitized images).
1
4
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (Death Valley.. two wagon, automobile on cliff
ledge bird's eye, [Fiedler] and automobile on hilltop,
underpass, wooded terrain, automobile wreckage,
beside park, grassy prairie, dirt roads, automobile stuck
in mud, rocky cliffs, mountain roads, water
falls)(AC298.001.058 to AC298.001.078)(see Tyrrell
di itized ima es).
1
5
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (mountain roads, rocky terrain, hot springs,
geyser, cars passing on narrow mountain road, cliffs,
mountain range, water fall, [Fiedler] in chauffeur driving
apparel, [Fiedler] in western clothes,
cabins)(AC298.001.079 to AC298.001.099)(see Tyrrell
di itized images)
1
6
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (automobile in pieces in dirt terrain, geyser, dirt
road beside river, crossing bridge, beside a park, dirt
road in grassy prairie, wooded terrain, [Francis Ann
Lutcher] in passenger car seat, [Fiedler] in mechanic
clothing, wooded hillside, man on burrow (mule), man
on burrow with mule team and dogs, mountain cliff
road, man beside automobile before tunnel, tunnel and
white water river, cabin)(AC298.001. 100 to
AC298.001.119)(see Tyrrell digitized images).
1
7
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (automobile , dirt road in open prairie, cliff and
white water river, Carrizozo New Mexico town buildings,
railroad train, [Fiedler] and three ladies, valley roads,
river and [hot water springs?], canyon, [Fiedler]
photographed in suit with hat and coat, geyser, [Fiedler]
in mechanic clothing, rocky hill terrain, shady country
road, city people gathered around automobiles,
automobiles on barge or ferry on
waterway) (AC298.001.120 to AC298.001.139)(see
T rrell di itized images).
1
8
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. ([Fiedler] driving automobile in desert past "I.E.
Carter Groceries" store, horse team and covered wagon,
"Ross Dollarhide, on Tracy, Elk's Rodeo. c. Miller Photo
Company", petrified tree trunks, cabin, waterway in
mountain cliffs, crossing stream, horse team and buggy
with automobiles, grassy prairie, town people gathered
around automobile, railroad bridge crossing waterway,
road bridge, automobiles on narrow mountain
road) (AC298.001 .140 to AC298.001.158)(see Tyrrell
di itized images).
1
9
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (automobiles, dirt road with open grassy prairie
and telegraph poles, brick city street and buildings,
[Fiedler] in automobile on ferry crossing waterway, rock
structures, dirt road on open prairie, automobile
wreckage, family in automobile, "Orange Texas to New
York via Denver-Omaha and Chicago. Return via
Cincinnati-St. Louis and Oklahoma City. 10,000 miles
complete", crossing bridge, crossing stream, snow,
stuck in mud "to Raton, New Mexico,
1918")(AC298.001.159 to AC298.001.179)(see Tyrrell
di itized ima es).
1
10
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. ([Fiedler] in western clothes, cabins, automobile
stuck in mud, open prairie road, town, large automobile
with smaller circa 1905 "roadster" beside, posing with
American flag on automobile, hard-top automobile at
"Pahaska, Buffalo Bill's Hotel in the Rockies", muddy
terrain, automobiles at "Seabee" [hotel?], [Fiedler] with
woman and dog [Collie], cistern atop [living quarters?],
open prairie, rocky cliffs and river, rock structure, white
water and water fall) (AC298.001.180 to
AC298.001.200)(see Tyrrell digitized images).
1
11
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (black bear in wooded area, geyser or hot
springs, rocky terrain and underpass, automobiles,
rocky cliffs, [Fiedler] posing on boulder, open prairie,
[Fiedler] older circa 1920s, automobiles at "City
Garage", [Fiedler] in Pierce Arrow shirt, "The Road in
Shoshone Canyon. c. 1922 by F. J. Hiscock-Cody.",
automobile wreckage)(AC298.001.201 to
AC298.001.218)(see Tyrrell digitized images).
1
12
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (railroad station "Texline" F. W. & D [Fort Worth
& Dallas?], automobile crossing stream, "Cedar Rapids
Iowa" sign, [Fiedler] beside automobile, automobile
wreckage, posing with automobile "Herb" and "Me",
[Fiedler], automobile stuck in mud, [Fiedler] drinking
water in desert terrain, shooting pistol, [Fiedler] on
horse, cabin) (AC298.001.219 to AC298.001.238)(see
T rrell di itized images).
1
13
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (men on horses, making preparations at [ferry?]
on waterway, automobile, automobile stuck in mud,
petrified tree, men posing in automobile, [Francis Ann
Lutcher] with binoculars at [canyon edge] with others,
[Fiedler] photographed in western clothes, cabin,
[Fiedlerl on ferry boat or pier looking over water, black
bear in [National Park], rocky terrain) (AC298.001 .239
to AC298.001.257)(see Tyrrell digitized images).
1
14
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (rocky cliffs, rocky terrain, tunnel, hot springs,
canyon river and [electric power station?], rock
structures, geyser, wooded terrain, automobile at
tunnel, open prairie, [Fiedler] and second man posing
on rock cliff)(AC298.001.258 to AC298.001.278)(see
T rrell di itized images).
1
15
Photographs, cross country road trip of the United
States. (automobiles on train flatbed car, cliff river, rock
formation, automobile wreckage, automobile without
tire, open prairie, automobile lodged in dirt, [Fiedler] in
western clothes holster and pistol, man on horse
herding cattle, crossing bridge, distant town with canal
and railroad tracks and electricity poles, river dammed
in rocky cliffs, dammed river at "Shoshone Canyon. by
F. J. Hiscock. Cody, Wyoming.", cottage in town
[Orange, Texas?])(AC298.001.279 to
AC298.001.303)(see Tyrrell digitized images).
2
1
Newspaper article copies, circa 1912. (Herbert Fiedler
and Charles Sorgo trip Denver to New York; Herbert
Fiedler and Charles Sorgi stop off in Syracuse on the
way to New York; Mrs. Lutcher's [traveling] party
returns to Orange with 1600 miles on the odometer;
Touring Europe in Pierce -Arrow, traveled over 21,000
miles since purchased in 1911, Fiedler chosen in 1910
over all [chauffeurs] in Texas to drive President Taft in
Houston;
2
2
Biographical information. (Fiedler and Lutcher
information: obituary, census pages, draft registration,
etc.).
2
3
Scrapbook page, circa 1912. (news article: Santa Fe
Trail to Emporia; photographs: [Fiedler] posing in [San
Antonio? , rapids, Pierce -Arrow).
2
4
News and magazine original articles, circa 1912. (stop-
over in Mineral Wells, [Texas], sandy terrain Pierce -
Arrow endures; The Pierce -Arrow Salesman, "Seeing
American First: An Account of One of the Recent Lutcher
Tours").
2
5
Scrapbook page (oversize), circa 1912. (Fiedler's
snaps t images on page in a ublication).
2
6
Scrapbook page (oversize), circa 1912. (Buffalo New
York newspaper with Fiedler's images of the Pierce -
Arrow on its tri
2
7
Photograph, 1909. (W. H. Taft being driven by Herbert
Fiedler in Houston).
2
8
Photograph (oversize), circa 1912. ([Fiedler and second
man posing in automobile on city street).
�2
9
1 News article (original), circa 1912.
2
10
News articles (original),
circa 1930s.
(Mrs.
Lutcher's
travels).