Harry T. Shurtz

Narrative:

     Harry T. Shurtz was born on 22 Oct 1871 in Lockport, Michigan.^7,8,9
     Harry moved to Iowa about 1880 with his parents. He appeared on the 1880 Federal Census of Fisher Twp., Fremont Co., Iowa, in the household of his parents, Frederick J. Shurtz and Sarah Elizabeth Riegel.⁵ He appeared on the 1885 State Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of his parents.¹⁶
     His given name was Henry at birth, and recorded that way when he was a child. However as an adult he consistently used Harry in all contexts, including legal documents, and that name appears on his tombstone.^4,17,18,2,3
     The local newspaper in Albany, Gentry Co., Missouri, reported on 12 Jan 1894 that the Shurtz brothers had arrived from Shenandoah to open a bakery. Which brothers were included is not stated, but we know Harry was there because on 1 May it was reported that he stepped on a board with a nail that penetrated nearly thorough his foot, and on 8 June Charles was reported to be living there, as the senior member of the firm of Shurtz Bros. Harry seems to have returned home soon afterwards as he was back in Shenandoah by 1895.^19,20,21
     He appeared on the 1895 State Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of his mother.²² He appeared on the 1900 Federal Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of his mother.⁶

An Enterprising Businessman in Shenandoah --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Harry was working at a bakery in 1895, and operating a cafe and bakery in Shenandoah by 1900. His younger brothers Wilmer and Charles were also bakers in Shenandoah, and John was working in a restaurant there, all presumably working in their older brother's shop. After they moved out of town Harry continued to own the cafe and bakery for many years.^{23,24,25,26,27,28,29}
     He appeared on the 1905 State Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of his mother, at in 101 Valley Ave.^30,31,32 He appeared on the 1910 Federal Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of his mother.³³
     He appeared on the 1915 State Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa. This census does not identify households, but it appears that he was living with his mother since they appear on sequentially numbered cards.^34,35 He appeared on the 1920 Federal Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of his mother.³⁶
     Harry and his sister Elenora, with her husband and daughter, drove to Beloit, Kansas, to visit their half brother, Horace, and his family. They made the trip, in a Hudson automobile, in ten hours. According to Google Maps, the trip is now 225 miles and would take four hours.³⁷
     Harry T. Shurtz appeared on the 1925 State Census of 706 7th Ave., Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of John H. Eischeid, widower of his late sister, with their two children Mark and Sarah.³⁸ Harry appeared on the 1930 Federal Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, in the household of his late sister Elenora's husband and their two children.³⁹
     Harry married Gertrude E. Trusler, daughter of John Trusler and Mary E. Farrell, on 14 Oct 1930 in Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, with Rev. James Pearson officiating. She was the widow of Alva Floyd White.^10,11
     Harry served as councilman in Shenandoah for 16 years, a length of service not repeated by others in his lifetime. He was elected in 1898 and served until 1909, then from 1921 to 1924, and 1933 to 1935.^40,41
     In addition to the bakery and cafe, his business interests included brick yards.⁴¹ He was evidently retired from active business by 1910 as he reported his occupation as "own income." He owned many business properties, and was a director of the Security Trust and Savings Bank.^33,42 In the 1915 state census he reported his occupation as a merchant.^35,43
     By 1920 he was a proprietor of the Shenandoah Hatchery, a poultry hatchery, in partnership with Floyd F. Bloom. His brother Charles apparently worked for him there after he returned to Shenandoah about 1936. In 1940 Harry reported that he had worked 72 hours the last week of March, and 50 weeks the prior year. He later sold that business to his partner.^{44,45,46,47,48,49}
     Harry and Gertrude appeared on the 1940 Federal Census of Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa, at 511 West Valley, enumerated 18 Apr 1940, reporting that they owned a home valued at $2,500, and had lived in the same house in 1935.⁵⁰
     Harry reported his church affiliation as Congregational.³⁸ He died on 15 Sep 1941 at his home at 311 West Valley, Shenandoah, Iowa, at age 69.^12,13 He was buried on 17 Sep 1941 in Rose Hill Cemetery, Shenandoah, Page Co., Iowa.^14,15

A Troublesome Will --- Text Stolen from ReigelRidge.com !! ---

     Harry left a will which led to considerable litigation, including two suits that found their way to the Iowa Supreme Court. He left his estate in trust to his nephew, Mark Eischeid, from which his widow, Gertrude, was to received $50 per month for her lifetime from the income, and any additional amount the trustee judged needed for her comfortable support. The remaining net income was to be divided between Mark and his sister Sarah. At the death of the widow they were each to receive one-third of the estate, with the remaining third to be divided between his widow's daughters by her previous marriage, Beatrice and Audry White. However, the widow elected to take instead her widow's one-third share under the law, amounting to about $25,000.⁵¹
     The income of the trust was reduced by the one-third of the principal taken by the widow, from about $3,300 to about $2,200 annually. But since that election eliminated the monthly payments from income to the widow, Mark and his sister received only an 18½ % reduction in their share. The two step-daughters claimed some of that income should be sequestered so that all parties would receive an equal percentage reduction due to the widow's election. They filed suit to direct the trustee to do so, but the trial court denied their request. The state Supreme Court reversed that finding on 18 Oct 1949, but instead of requiring sequestration of the income directed that an additional amount be paid to the step-daughters when the trust was dissolved.⁵¹
     A separate case arose around the treatment of certain expenditures by the trustee. The will specified that taxes, assessments, and trustee's expenses were to be paid from the income, thus reducing the amount available to be paid to Mark and his sister. He contended that certain expenditures should be charged to the principal, and thus reduce the amount eventually payable to all beneficiaries, and applied to the probate court for authority to do so. The step-daughters objected, claiming all should be paid from income. The court decided only some should be and both parties appealed. The state Supreme Court decided the case on 6 Mar 1951, making some changes in the lower court ruling. Premiums of the trustee's bond, amounting to $1,406, were to be paid from income. The trustee argued that $142 in taxes on vacant lots should be paid from principal because they produced no income, but the court found that the language of the will required them to be paid from income. Likewise the court held that $460 in city assessments for curbs and gutters were to be paid from income. However the $600 cost of new furnaces for two dwellings that were untenatable when received by the trust, $85 for a new water pipe to another, and cost of installing an indoor toilet in another to meet city requirements, were all found to be payable from principal.⁵²