Descriptive Summary
Schaefer, Martin, 1895-1966
Schaefer, Hattie Kaiser, d. 1980
Schaefer, Martin and Hattie Kaiser, Papers
1907-1980
Materials are written in English.
81-154
2 ft., 6 in.
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The
University of Texas at Austin
Comprised of correspondence, account books, ledgers, bills and receipts, manuals, inventories, deeds, recipes, scrapbooks, and memorabilia, the Martin and Hattie Kaiser Schaefer Papers, 1907-1980 document the personal lives of the Schaefers and the business of their Kenedy, Texas, bakery and Hereford cattle ranch.
Biographical Note
Born in Siegen, Westphalia, Germany, Martin Schaefer (1895-1966) worked as a baker’s apprentice before immigrating to San Antonio, Texas, in 1912, where he lived with his brother August. Shortly thereafter, he was hired as a baker in Carl Wolfmueller’s City Bakery in Kenedy. In April 1917, Schaefer married Wolfmueller’s niece, Hattie Kaiser (d. 1980), the daughter of John August Kaiser of Clifton and Karnes City. The couple had two daughters, Margaret and Lucile, and purchased the City Bakery in 1919. Martin baked while Hattie ran the front of the store, and in the 1930s, they changed the shop’s name to Schaefer’s Bakery. Frequent travelers, the Schaefers toured across the United States and Germany and Martin took hunting trips to Canada. Also owners of the Black Diamond Ranch in Karnes County, the couple sold the bakery in 1940 to concentrate on raising Hereford cattle.
Scope and Contents
Comprised of correspondence, account books, ledgers, bills and receipts, manuals, inventories, deeds, recipes, scrapbooks, and memorabilia, the Martin and Hattie Kaiser Schaefer Papers, 1907-1980 document the personal lives of the Schaefers and the business of their Kenedy, Texas, bakery and Hereford cattle ranch. The financial records, deeds, equipment manuals, and recipes chronicle the bakery’s operations from 1919 to 1940 and the Schaefers’ ranching activities. Scrapbooks and memorabilia illustrate their travel cruises to Europe in 1925, 1951, and 1959, while journals (1926-1940) detail Martin’s trips to Canada to hunt wild game.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research use.
Index Terms
Subjects (Persons)
Schaefer, Martin, 1895-1966 -- Archives
Schaefer family
Schaefer, Hattie Kaiser, d. 1980 -- Archives
Subjects (Organizations)
Black Diamond Ranch
City Bakery
Schaefer’s Bakery
Subjects
Bakeries -- Texas -- History
Baking -- Texas
Germans -- Texas.
Hunting -- Canada.
Ocean travel -- History -- 20th century
Ranching -- Texas.
Places
Germany
Karnes County (Tex.)
Kenedy (Tex.)
Preferred Citation
Martin and Hattie Kaiser Schaefer Papers, 1907-1980, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of
Texas at Austin.
Processing Information
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the
National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe
Center’s “History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light project,” 2009-2011.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Bakery records:
3N316
Baking school notebooks, 1909-1912.
3N316
Equipment and supplies, 1924-1939.
3N316
Equipment and supplies, 1923-1940.
3N316
Supplies inventories, 1923-1940, undated.
3N316
Tax papers, 1931-1938.
3N316
Recipes, ca. 1912-1938, undated.
3N316
Account book, 1920-1922.
3N316
Account book, 1923-1924.
3N317
Account books, 1926-1927.
3N317
Account books, 1928-1929.
3N317
Account books, 1930-1931.
3N318
Account books, 1932-1933.
3N318
Account books, 1934-1935.
3N318
Account books, 1936-1937.
3N318
Account book, 1938.
3N319
Account books, 1939-1940.
3S172
Ledger, 1919-1924.
Ranching records:
3N319
Book of Registered Herefords, 1925-1942.
3N319
Ledger, 1933-1939.
3N319
Expense inventories, 1933-1938, undated.
3N319
Bills and receipts, 1933-1955.
3N319
Printed material, 1947-1958, undated.
Personal records:
3N319
General correspondence, 1913-1973.
3N319
Social correspondence, 1914-1969, undated.
3N319
Deeds, 1913-1934.
3N319
Tax and miscellaneous receipts, 1917-1962.
3N319
Financial records, 1923-1941, undated.
3N320
Bank deposit slips, 1933-1940.
3N320
Insurance records, 1933-1940.
3N320
Probate materials, 1934-1946.
3N320
Church and club activities, 1934-1973, undated.
3N320
Hunting journals and expense books, 1926-1946.
3N320
Travel memorabilia, 1925.
3N320
European cruise memorabilia, 1925.
3N320
European cruise memorabilia, 1951.
3N320
European cruise memorabilia, 1959.
3N320
Miscellaneous Texas travel materials, 1921-1967, undated.
3N320
Memorabilia, 1915-1969, undated.
3N320
Obituaries, 1966, 1980.
OD1199
Map of Siegen, Germany, 1907.
OD1199
Plans of steamship, 1924.
OD1199
Map of Atlantic Ocean Cruise itinerary, 1925.
OD1199
Map of Switzerland [German], undated.
3S171
Income tax returns, 1919-1940.
3S171
Immigration materials, 1924, 1926, undated.
3S171
Printed material, 1948-1957.
3S173
Scrapbooks, European trip, 1951, 1959.
3S2
Photographs
3S119b
Postcards