Christmas Card Collection
By Nettie Oliver
Genealogical Specialist
 |
About |
In December of 1988, Mrs. B. Irby Moore of Louisville gave to The Filson Historical a small white box containing
twenty-seven pencil and ink hand drawn Christmas cards created by W. Harold Frantz. After I had examined the contents of this box, I realized that these were no ordinary
cards but full of unusual artistic talent and nostalgic sentiments on behalf of the artist.
The cards date from 1919 to 1948, and
represent Frantz’ family home, Christmases past, his
mother, outbuildings, a grape arbor, a family dog named
Scottie and a cow named Lily. Each of these were no doubt
pleasant memories for Frantz. The rooms drawn in these
Christmas greetings reveal a Victorian lifestyle as well,
and 
give us a glimpse of what the interior of this important
dwelling looked like.
The Frantz Christmas cards that are now in the possession of The Filson Historical were sent to Mrs. Estelle Hays in Baltimore, Maryland. Estelle had been married to W. Harold’s brother, Walter L. Frantz, and after his early death, Estelle continued to live with the Frantz family at the home in Clifton. Estelle remarried a few years later to a Mr. Hays and moved to Baltimore. It was through her that the cards became the possession of Mr. B. Irby Moore, who gave them to The Filson.
So who is this man, W. Harold Frantz, and
where is his place in Louisville history? Where was this
house so beautifully illustrated in these cards? So begins
the search.
The house that was depicted in the cards
was the Frantz home at 2143 Sycamore Street in the Clifton
neighborhood of Louisville. George W. Frantz purchased the
house and property from Margaretta Bowles in 1883. The
original portion of the house was built in the early
l800’s by Joshua Bowles, the father of Margaretta. Bowles
was born in 1795 in Virginia and came to Louisville in 1816.
By 1842, Bowles had removed himself from the city and
purchased the tract of land between Frankfort Avenue and
Brownsboro Road. Joshua Bowles was President of the 1st Bank 
of Louisville serving from 1840 until his death in 1869. On
the 1859 Bergmann map of Jefferson County, Bowles is listed
on the large tract of land, which is now Clifton
neighborhood. When Bowles died he left in his will the house
and property to his daughter Margaretta. In 1883, the house
and eighteen acres were sold to the Frantz family. After
George W. Frantz bought the property, he began to enlarge
the house. He raised the ceilings to twelve feet and added a
third floor with a ballroom and more bedrooms.
George W. Frantz, father of W. Harold, was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1844, to David and Christine Staebler who had immigrated to the United States in 1829. David was born in Alsace Lorraine on August 30, 1810, and Christine Staebler was born in Marbach, Wurtenberg Germany, November 8th, 1805. David Frantz died in Louisville, Sept. 13, 1881 and Christine died in Louisville on Nov. 3, 1878. A large Obelisk stands in Cave Hill on the David Frantz lot.
George W. Frantz married Mary
Magdelene Enderlin, daughter of Joseph Enderlin, in 1866 in
Jefferson County. The children of George and Mary were:
George W. Jr., born May 7, 1867, Walter L., born 1871,
David W., born 1873, Edwin A., born 1876, W. Harold born
April 1879 and one daughter, Emma Eugenia.
David Frantz, the grandfather of W.
Harold Frantz, operated a large tannery in partnership with
A.M. Taylor at the corner of Franklin and Buchanan Streets.
David was known as one of the best and most industrious
citizens of Louisville and was very successful. After David
died in 1881, George W. took over his 
father’s business
with help of two of his sons: George W. Jr., and Edwin A.
The Frantz family was responsible for Louisville tanneries
being known throughout the country as the largest
manufactures of oak tanned leather in the United States.
However, W. Harold did not follow in his father’s footsteps and chose other pursuits. Harold was most likely educated in the public school system and had some degree of musical training, as he was known to have played classical piano and also the organ for churches in the Crescent Hill area. Frantz worked as a draftsman for the Southern Bell and Telegraph Company for many of his adult years until his retirement. He never married and lived his entire life in the house on Sycamore.
Frantz kept his home just as it had been
for many years. Gas fixtures lighted many of the rooms. The
26-room house contained 19 fireplaces, two of which were
made from white marble. A bathroom included a wooden copper
lined tub. There were four pairs of ten feet tall paneled
walnut doors adorned with brass ornamental hinges and eighty
pairs of paneled walnut shutters and three gold leaf and
walnut window cornices.
Mr. Randy Fox of Louisville who grew up
in the Clifton area says he recalls Mr. Frantz as a slight
built, polite 
gentleman who in his later years lived alone
in the back portion of the house. Fox says that in the
evenings Mr.
Frantz would
place a white
card in a certain
window of the
house and in the
morning would
remove it to let
the neighbors know that he was all
right. Often on Sundays a lady friend
would arrive in a Model T. Ford and
they would go for a Sunday drive
returning like clock work to the house
on Sycamore.
Mrs. Jane Arnold, long time
member of The Crescent Hill United
Methodist Church on Peterson Ave.,
who is a first cousin once removed of
Sarah Moore, Mrs. B. Irby Moore,
remembers Mr. Frantz well. Mrs.
Arnold says that he was a very
meticulous well-groomed man. She
recalls that he was a 
good friend
of Ms. Higgins, the organist
at the Crescent Hill Methodist
Church, and he would often
bring to her one of his homemade
rhubarb pies.
Before Frantz died in 1959, he recorded his will leaving provisions for many of his family members and friends. In his will, he left a pair of Heubach bisque dancing figures to his niece Emma, daughter of his brother George. Emma had married Charles Reed Lawes, and Mrs. Judy Bradshaw of Shelbyville, mother, was a Lawes and she inherited the figures through her mother. The beautiful bisque statues once belonged to Uncle Harry as she fondly referred to Frantz.
It was not long after he died
that a public auction was held.
Antique dealers turned out in droves
to purchase marble statues, bisque
figures, marble top tables, mirrors
and hand carved beds. Mr. George
W. Frantz, while on trips to Italy,
supposedly purchased many of these
treasured contents. Mr. Arnold also
remembers going to the auction after
the death of Mr. Frantz and remembers
seeing Frantz’ socks still hanging on a
line near the old open pit stone stove
where he hung them to dry. After the
auction, the property was sold to Mr.
Gilbert Westerfield for $75,000
and in 1962, the old home was
demolished to make way for
the Mount Holly Nursing home
which is located on the site
today.
Many of the ancestors
of Mr. Frantz, as well as his
descendants, are now in the
Frantz file at The Filson.
The Merckes, Enderlins and Bauers, are some of the families
represented.
When Mr. Frantz died, Mr. Robert Peege of Anchorage, a close friend of his, and who worked with him for many years, made the arrangements for his funeral. He died in the Pewee Valley Hospital, and is buried in the Frantz lot in Cave Hill.
The Filson Historical Society
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