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Singiser Family The
Immigrant Genealogy Society's First Immigrant Ancestor's List, indexing
the head-of-household of an emigrant family first entering the United
States. The index lists Johann Ludwig Singiser, immigrating in 1749 from Rotterdam,
the second largest city in the Netherlands in the province of
South Holland. In 1720 a dam was constructed in the Rott River
"muddy water",after which people settled around it for safety.
Rotterdam is Europe's largest port. James Arthur Singiser was born November 18, 1887 at McCune, Kansas, the son of Albert G. (1848 Pennsylvania -1901) and Nannie Singiser, born 1850 in Fleming Co., Kentucky. Alfred, aged 34, and Nannie Masterson Bell, aged 32, married on Wednesday, October 4, 1882 in Mound Valley, Labette Co., Kansas, at the bride's parents' home. Two daughters, Fannie E,. and Florence B. were born and died before James Arthur's birth in 1887. The family moved about 15 miles due west to Parsons, Kansas, a major hub for several railroads including the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas Railroad about 1896, when Arthur was 9 years old.  Parsons, Labette County, Kansas An 1898 obituary for Miss Frances E. Willard,
President of the World's Womans Christian Temperance Union, was
held in McCune, Kansas, indicates that Arthur and his mother both
particiated in the memorial service, Mrs. Singhiser [sic]
presenting a reading, "Our Beloved Leader" and Arthur presenting
a recitation. Either Arthur and his mother returned to their old
home of McCune to attend the funeral or possibly the Singiser family
didn't move to Parsons, Kansas until Arthur was 10 years of age. Alfred G. Singiser, a grain merchant, died in 1901 from "paralysis." 14-year-old Arthur and his mother, the only surviving members of the family, roomed at 1703 Corning Avenue. Arthur began working for the MKT Railroad before the end by September 1902 in which The Sun credited young Arthur with a quick-thinking reaction to a situation that arose on the train. He may have dropped out of school to support himself and his mother or he may have worked for the railroad part-time while going to school. After several years of courtship 22-year-old, Arthur married 19-year-old Dorothy Bernice "Dora" Kennedy, daughter of James L. Kennedy, at the Catholic Church in Parsons, Kansas, in June 1909. The bride was the daughter of James L. Kennedy, a railway conductor. After a 10-days trip to Colorado, the young couple made their home in Parsons, Kansas. From 1913 to 1916 Arthur was a ticket agent for the MKT Railroad. In January 1916 was reelected correspondent for the Katy Employees' Magazine; as correspondent he was responsible for providing the magazine with news items about his fellow employees in and around Parsons.  In 1915 an article in Parsons Daily Eclipse noted that Dora Singiser was traveling back and forth to Coffeyville, a distance of about 40 miles, to take violoncello lessons from an artist in that city; the violoncello, which can be played as a solo instrument or with accompaniment, often plays the bass in chamber music and in the orchestra's string section. By the end of 1916 she was accomplished enough to perform with the Kennedy Orchestra at a meeting of the Knights of Columbus. In the fall of 1916 Arthur resigned from the Katy to go to work for Standard Oil in Independence, Missouri. Less than a year later, in July 1917, Arthur returned to Parsons to take the position of chief dispatcher with the Katy Railroad, in the place of J.B. McCaffrey, who transferred to "the South." Arthur had received his training in the telegraph service with the Katy in Parsons, Kansas, starting as a caller, later a telegrapher, and later as the Ticket Agent. Three months later in mid-October 1917 Arthur moved to Wichita Falls, Texas to be the chief dispatcher. Newspaper reports reported that Dora traveled back and forth between Wichita Falls and Parsons, Kansas. In the 1920 census, taken in January, she is listed in the home of her parents in Parons. Sometime in 1920 Arthur and Dora moved to Denison, Grayson Co., Texas, where he once again took the position as chief dispatcher. From 1920 to the early 1930s Dora and Arthur lived at 3 different addresses on Gandy Street. The International Musician, official journal of the American Federation of Musicians, reported in the March 1922 issue that Dorothy Singiser resigned her membership in Local No. 250 in Parsons; by that time she had been in Denison for 2 years. By 1934 they had moved to 1301 W. Main St. From 1922 to 1957, Arthur and Dora lived at 1306 W. Woodard Street in Denison, Grayson Co., Texas. On August 1, 1935 Nora Odle sold her family home located at 1306 W. Woodard to James Arthur Singiser and his wife, Dora, for $3,500. The house sits on "lot, 2, block 52, Miller's Second Addition." According to the 1934 Denison City Directory the Sinisers lived at 1301 W. Main Street. The Singisers moved across the alley to their recently acquired hom at 1306 W. Woodard St. Altogether they lived in Denison for about 37 years, the last 21 of them were at their home on W. Woodard St.  J.A.
and Dora were golf enthusiasts; Dallas, Ft. Worth, Corsicana, and other
city newspapers frequently mentioned the couple in the sports section
of the papers. Not long before moving to 1306 W. Woodard St.,
J.A. became the director of the Katy Golf course. In 1937 he was
named Chairman. A trophy for the city championship was named the
J.A. Singiser Cup. By 1942 it had become the Mr. and Mrs. J.A.
Singiser Cup. The Singisers were not championship-caliber
players, but they both won tournaments in their respective skill-level
groups. In 1947 J.A., age 60, and Dora, age 57, began to take an active interest in baseball, specifically the Sherman-Denison Twins, minor league team. In fact, J.A., along with several Sherman and Denison men who formed a corporation to acquire the team. Three years later he was still active in the management of the team. A story in the Abilene-Reporter-News, dated March 28, 1950, said he was on the Twins' bus that traveled to Miami to pick up a group of Cuban pitchers. The Singiser left Denison in 1957, selling their home at 1306 W. Woodard Street to J.M. & Roberta Daniels, and returned to Parsons, Kansas. A 1961 issue of The Train Dispatcher included a letter from Arthur that said he retired on November 2, 1954. Earlier that year he had undergone eye surgery in Dallas. The 1957 Parsons, Kansas City Directory lists James and Dora living at 1519 Grand. James Arthur Singiser died October 11, 1969 and is buried in the McCune Cemetery, McCune, Crawford Co., Kansas, along with his father and his two infant sisters. Only a graveside service was held because Dora, 79, was an invalid. Research has not provided a death notice or burial information for Dora.  Biography Index Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |