A few weeks ago I reported we had an unexpected visit from brother and sister David and Sharon Stute. (The Stute family had lived in this house from 1903-1973.) During that visit, Pam asked for photos, if any, of some of the Stute ancestors who had lived here. Sharon recently did mail us photos of the house and, more importantly, some of the previous occupants. This post will delve a bit more into the history of Heart House and its former family.
Heart House was built in 1894 by Edward D. Kelly at a cost of $1,500.00. He sold the house in 1903 to Denis (yes, only one “n”) R. Tierney and his wife Hannah Kane Tierney for $2,500.00. Denis died in November 1904, and Hannah became the sole owner.
The photo below was not labeled but the couple are believed to be Denis and Hannah.
The couple had two daughters, Evelyn and Gertrude.
Evelyn Bertha Tierney (1883 – 1973) is listed as living in the house in the 1910 and 1920 census reports. She trained as a teacher, moved to the East Coast, remained single and died in Morris County, New Jersey.
Gertrude Josephine Tierney (1884 – 1971) married Frederick Nickolas Stute in November of 1907. The pair, and their children, lived in the house with Hannah and paid her $20.00 a month in rent.
The Stutes had three children: Frederick Wallace, known as Wally, (1908 – 1998), Josephine Lorraine (1920 – 1993) and Francis Bernard (1928 – 2020) who was known as “Corky.”
Hannah died in 1940 and her two daughters inherited the house. Evelyn sold her half to Gertrude. When Gertrude died in 1971 her children kept the residence empty for a few years, then sold the house to Charles and Clara Boyle. We had heard that Charles died shortly after their purchase, and thereafter the house became known as “Grandma Clara’s house” by both their descendants and Elma residents.
This history illustrates an important side note: The house was titled in a female name for 70 years in an era where male property possession predominated.
After the 1990s the house’s history becomes a bit muddy and random. It went through several owners who used the property as a short and long term rental, until we bought it in September 2019, from an elderly couple who had only owned it for 18 months.
Sharon was able to send us a couple photos of the house as it appeared in February of 1993 at the time of Josephine Lorraine’s funeral. (Note that a portion of a barn is showing at the lower left-hand corner of the house.) Instead of Victorian porch spindles on the wrap around porch, the 1993 home had solid wood porch surrounds in the Farmhouse style. Where we now have shrubs planted, there were trees in the 90’s.
Sharon confirmed our suspicions that the current laundry room was once the kitchen, and the current kitchen was a living room. She did not remember a bathroom on the first floor. (Sharon and David are Corky’s children and were the only grandchildren of Gert and Fred. Neither Wally nor Lorraine had any children.)
Both David and Sharon visited Grandma Gert in their childhoods, but Sharon, being the older child, has more exact memories of the house than her younger brother. David did remember being forbidden to go into the basement due to the dirty and dark coal bin that took up most of the basement floor space.
Pam and I would like to give David and Sharon a big “Thank You” for providing the photos, history, and personal recollections of past history at Heart House. We really appreciate it — just exactly the info we have been seeking since we moved in.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Penny
Speaking of old-timey things, the Grandpa Ott morning glories blooming so prolifically on our west arbor are a variety developed in Iowa from an older German strain of morning glories. Iowa Public Television had an interesting documentary [which aired a few years ago] detailing preservation efforts of these older seed types. The Otts are smaller in size than other morning glories I’ve planted, but the deep purple with red accents is second to none in arbor color.
The white phlox has finally started to bloom; the whites seem to be always later blooming than the pinks. Whenever a breeze blows across the phlox patch a delightful-but-gentle scent wafts across the lawn.
Happy Trails.
Breaking News…
We knew a neighborhood cat Pam calls Frito had had kittens. Pam opened the catio this morning and found this…
More to come in a future post!
70 years of female property ownership – an interesting observation given the history of female property rights. By the mid-1800’s, women had some say in management of property, but not ownership. By the end of the 19th century, women could own, but not control property. By the early 20th century, women could both inherit and control property (but generally not purchase, early on).
If Hannah had a male child, or if she had remarried, she would most likely have lost both ownership and control. Additionally, her will and her daughter’s inheritance must have been well-written, to maintain ownership with the daughter.
Given that a woman couldn’t obtain a credit card without her husband cosigning until the 1970’s, and that men were still deciding on a woman’s “contribution value to the household” until about that time, without a well-written will, Fred Stute would have taken full control.
I also noted that the early male owners had it difficult, with the early death of Denis Tierney and Charles Boyle. (You’re) past the 1 year “hump”, so it should be okay!
Was the (troublesome) Tower part of Kelly’s initial build, or was it a later addition? I see nothing similar in typical “Midwest farmhouses”, and it doesn’t fit with the normal simplicity of design.
Nice to find out who has been through the house you live in. I would love to get some seeds of Grampa Ott’s morning glories if possible? Have a great week. DEB