Jim Potter's Blog, page 3

Researching Robert



Subchasersby Jim Potter

Shortly after the US entered the World War in 1917, Robert Parks joined the US Navy. He trained as an electrician and radio operator and used his skills on a submarine chaser. The small 110-foot naval vessel was specifically intended to destroy German submarines that were creating havoc at sea after Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare that sank merchant ships.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

A Letter Homeby Jim Potter

Thanks to a McPherson, Kansas, newspaper article, an accessible personal letter from Robert Parks exists today. The correspondence, written in June 1918, gives the reader an exceptional glimpse at a moment in Robert’s life while he was in the US Navy, prior to his military service overseas as a participant in the World War.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

Great Lakes Naval Training Stationby Jim Potter

When Robert Parks, 18, left his home unannounced in McPherson County, Kansas, on October 21, 1915, he may have been looking for adventure. If so, he found it.

I’ve been unable to locate any information about Robert’s return home or any contact with his adoptive parents until June 1918.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Veterans Day: Remembrance

(To listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.)

·  Remembrance  ·

(In recognition of the men and women who have made sacrifices to their nation, I’m reposting this 2017 essay.)

Veterans Day was celebrated a few days ago.… Read the rest

The post Veterans Day: Remembrance appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

Robert’s Adoptive Parentsby Jim Potter

Robert Walter Borchart, born in Inman, Kansas, in 1897, was the second son of Richard and Anna Borchart. Richard died in 1899 of an accidental gunshot wound. In 1908, while living in Inman with her four boys, ages three to thirteen, Anna was adjudged insane for the third time and was sent to Osawatomie Insane Asylum.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

 

(To  listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.)

 

Anna’s Last Goodbyeby Jim Potter

Anna Bochart (or Borchert) had a life full of troubles. After her husband, Richard Borchart, died of an accidental gunshot in 1899, she was sent to the poor farm with her three boys, Arthur, Robert, and Willie.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

 

(To  listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.)



Improper Relationsby Jim Potter

Anna Borchart (also spelled Borchert) married her deceased husband’s brother, Robert Borchert, in Haven, Kansas, on December 3, 1901.

Nine months later, on September 11, 1902, Robert was arrested on a charge of improper relations with his fifteen-year-old daughter, Edith Borchert.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

 

(To  listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.)

Widower and Widow Wedby Jim Potter

Martha Elizabeth Zimmerman and Robert Borchert married in Hutchinson, Reno County, Kansas, in 1885. The following year they moved to Haven, Kansas, where they raised five children.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

 

(To  listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.)

The Asylum

by Jim Potter

Anna Borchart’s fall from grace after the death of Richard, her husband, was reviewed in the February 16, 1900, issue of the McPherson Weekly Republican newspaper.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.

Researching Robert

 

(To  listen to the audio of this blog post, use the purple play button.)

The Poor FarmProtect or Punish?

by Jim Potter

Within five weeks of the death of Richard Borchart, on May 7, 1899, in Inman, Kansas, his widow, Anna, and their three children moved to Haven to be closer to Anna’s in-laws.… Read the rest

The post Researching Robert appeared first on Sandhenge Publications.