Augusta Historical Society and Museum

10/12/2026

Join us for a beautiful fall evening...find out some information about some early Augustans buried in Elmwood...and finish up with a demonstration by Vince Marshall, local cemetery dowser!

10/12/2026

Charles C. Jamison was born in White County in 1859 to William and Eliza (Gill) Jamison. Charles was one of ten children. He was reared and educated in Indiana and in 1875 he came to Kansas with his parents. They first located to Hutchinson and later to Pratt. In 1879 they relocated to Augusta. William was a mechanic and worked on the construction of our Opera House and the Ettenson building along with other buildings in downtown Augusta.

Charles began his career as a contractor and builder when he was about 24 years of age, his first work being a 40-foot stone arch bridge across Dry Creek between Bruno and Augusta. Prior to that, he supervised the construction of the electric light building in ElDorado. Among the most important works that Charles did as a contractor and builder were more than 50 county bridges in Butler County and 200 township bridges.

Charles was married on April 7, 1892 to Miss Lucy Rayburn of ElDorado. Charles and Lucy had 3 children, Rayburn (who entered the contracting and building business with his father), Mary and Sarah. Charles and Lucy are buried in ElDorado.

Photos: Charles, one of the bridges that Charles built, and the Jamison home in ElDorado.

10/09/2026

Join us for an evening of fun on Saturday, October 24th. We'll be featuring 8 early Augustans...most were Civil War veterans! We'll end with a demonstration by Vince Marshall who will show his craft of cemetery dowsing! First tour begins at 5pm...meet you at the Mausoleum!

10/09/2026

Join us tomorrow for our fall Fun Shoot. We'll be at Murphy and Sons around 9:30!

10/05/2026

Charles W. Hawes was born on May 3, 1852 in Logan County, Illinois to Peter J. and Julia A. (Bowles) Hawes. Peter and Julia came to Butler County in 1876, bringing with them their family of 8 children, Jesse, Isabella, Mary, Charles, Louisa, Joseph, Nancy and Marion. Prior to leaving Illinois, he served for two years in the Illinois legislature. He was considered as one of the pioneer members and elders in the Christian Church.

Charles was 26 when he came to Butler County, having married Emily Melrose on September 15, 1872 in Logan County, Illinois. They had seven children; however, only three were listed on the 1910 Federal Census: Josephine, Earl and Anna.

From 1876 through 1880, Charles was a harness maker in ElDorado. In 1880 he and the family moved to Augusta and he joined Andrew Ryan in his harness-making business. He continued working with Andy until 1904 when he was appointed to the position of Augusta Postmaster. Interestingly, Andy was also Postmaster just prior to Charles being appointed. Our photos of 1904 merchants of Augusta show both Charles and daughter, Anna. Anna was appointed as Clerk for the Augusta Post Office. Their family lived in the 600 block of Santa Fe across from the hospital.

Anna married Michael Merten and they had one son, Charles. At the time of her death in 1963, she lived in New York. Her son, Charles, had her remains brought back to Augusta and she is buried in Elmwood Cemetery next to her husband, Matthew, who died in 1949.

Josephine did not marry and upon her death in 1971 while living in Colorado, her body was returned to be buried in Elmwood Cemetery. Earl married three times, had three children, and became a druggist in the Kansas City area. He passed away in 1949 and is buried in Kansas City.

In Laroux Gillespie’s Merchants of Augusta, Kansas: 1870-1880, he notes that in a 1900 newspaper an ad reflects: ‘The firm buys no goods whatever from the factories, everything in the harness and saddler line being made at their own establishment, under the personal supervision of Messrs. Ryan & Hawes, who are both practical harness makers.’

Burl Allison in Augusta, Kansas 1868-1990 indicated that around 1916 Andy Ryan and Charles Hawes had sold their harness shop to John Gibson, who had bought the Arnsteen harness shop too. Mr. Ryan planned to work with the Mutual Telephone Company and Mr. Hawes was campaigning for the position of County Treasurer. Charles served for 11 years on the Board of Education as well as the City Council. He was a prominent Mason, serving for two years as Master of the Masonic Lodge. He was a member of the Christian Church.

Charles died on March 1, 1918 and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. His wife, Emily, died on June 18, 1935 and is also buried in Elmwood Cemetery.

Photos include: Family photo of Charles, Emily, Anna, Earl and Josephine; individual photos of Charles and daughter, Anna; Anna’s husband, Matthew; and, a photo of Charles’ father, Peter Hawes.

09/30/2026

09/28/2026

Frank A. Gonzales, Jr. was born on January 30, 1919 to Frank and Lupe Gonzales. Frank Sr. was a railroad worker and he and his wife immigrated here from Mexico. They worked hard to provide a home for their eight children. Frank Jr. grew up in Augusta, graduating with the class of 1937 from AHS. In 1940 he left Augusta with the National Guard and was a member of the 35th Infantry Division which landed in Normandy, France in July 1944.

After Frank’s platoon sergeant was killed during the Battle of St. Lo, Technical Sgt. Gonzales assumed command of the platoon which was under heavy mortar and machine gun fire. He took command of a tank destroyer and directed an attack which demolished enemy gun positions. He then emptied machine guns into other enemy emplacements and finally using hand grenades, he destroyed an enemy mortar section. Later that same day, he repeated his actions and when the tank destroyer mired down, Frank went to the rear and directed another tank destroyer to tow the first to a position of safety.

Frank was killed in action in a subsequent engagement. He became a commissioned officer the hard way, and received a battlefield promotion to second lieutenant. Lt. Gonzales was killed in action on August 2, 1944. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for heroism. Lieutenant Gonzales was the first Hispanic American to be inducted into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Kansas City in the fall of 2017.

Frank’s brother, Sus Gonzales, football player for the Orioles, also grew up in Augusta. Sgt. Gonzales joined the 82nd Airborne Division in 1941 and participated in combat operations in North Africa, Sicily, France, Holland and then was deployed to Belgium during The Battle of the Bulge. Sgt. Gonzales earned a completely different type of medal. Sus was a part of Operation Market Garden, which involved a large parachute drop in Holland. Sus got lost during the tumultuous time, but was later connected with a group from Great Britain. While he was with them, he came across a conflict during which he shot down two dozen German soldiers.

For his actions, Sus posthumously received the Distinguished Conduct Medal. This decoration was instituted by Queen Victoria on December 4, 1854, during the Crimean War, as a means of recognition for acts of gallantry in actions performed by Warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men. The decoration was recommended by the Commander in Chief and the D.C.M. was the second highest award for gallantry in action, following after the Victoria Cross, for all ranks below commissioned officers. It is the equivalent of the United States Distinguished Cross.

Sus was wounded during combat January 24, 1945. He died in Belgium from his wounds six days later on January 30th, five months after his older brother, Frank, was killed in action. Family members shared that the death of Frank in August 1944, and then Sus the following January landed a crushing blow to Frank, Sr. and Lupe. The Augusta heroes are buried side by side in Elmwood Cemetery in Augusta.

09/25/2026