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Charles H. Barnheisel (b. 1861) and Frederick
"Freddie" R. Barnheisel (1858-1959) lived at their
mother's home in Chicago, 4400 Grand Blvd. Their
parents were Pennsylvania natives, Henrietta "Mamie"
Barnheisel (1830-1918*) and the late Harry H.
Barnheisel (1830-1883). They had two sisters: Mary
L. Barnheisel (1865-1951) and Katie Barnheisel
(1856-1918).
Frederick was a $10/week clerk in a cigar store who became
Herman Kohlsaat's right-hand man and president of
his company. Owner of a large bakery and chain of lunch rooms, Kohlsaat
was a friend and advisor to President McKinley and
became co-publisher of the Inter-Ocean newspaper.
When Kohlsaat became busy with politics and
publishing, Freddie Barnheisel assumed management of
Kohlsaat's business interests and advanced his
brother Charles Barnheisel within the company.
Charles served in the sales department and was a
corporate officer.
Reportedly, Charles's mother and sisters did not know he had attended the
matinee and their first knowledge of his death was
when they saw his name listed in the newspaper.
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Since Freddie would presumably have contacted his
mother with news of Charles's death, perhaps Freddie
was injured and hospitalized. Supporting that theory
is that Charles's body was located and identified by
Ernest I. Dresher rather than by Freddie. Dresher
was a bookkeeper at Kohlsaat who had demonstrated
his company loyalty the previous May. He called the
police on strikers.
Charles's body was transported to Logansport, IN
where the Barnheisel boys grew up. Their father had
been a prominent entrepreneur and dry goods merchant
in Logansport, in partnership with Samuel Tanguy.
The pair operated a store at 405-7 E. Broadway.
The funeral was led by Reverend Hill on January 1,
1904 at the Presbyterian church in Logansport and
burial was at the Mount Hope Cemetery.
In the years after the fire
1918 was another bad year for the Barnheisel's. It
brought the deaths of Freddie's mother and sister,
Henrietta and Katie, and for Freddie a scandalous
divorce from his wife, Margaret Doyle Barnheisel
(1868-1935).
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