Thomas Resin Galt's House Burned, 1898

  © Kathy Duncan, 2026

I knew my husband's grandmother, Beulah (Galt) Graham Kinsey. During visits, I peppered her with questions about her family and their history, like you do. 

Born in 1891, Beulah was the eldest child of Thomas Resin and Florence May (Brown) Galt. Once, I asked her if she had any family items that had been passed down in her family, especially from her grandparents or great-grandparents. She told me that she did not because their house burned when she was a child. She was not able to tell me exactly when the house burned, where it was, or how old she was at the time.

She did, though, talk about what happened when it burned. When the family realized that the house was on fire, they all panicked and ran outside. Apparently, they rushed out the front door. In their haste, no one grabbed the baby because everyone assumed someone else grabbed the baby. Once outside, they realized that the baby was still inside. Meanwhile, a neighbor had seen that the house was on fire. He ran into the house through the back door to see if he could help get them out. He discovered that the house was empty except for the baby in the crib. He grabbed the baby and ran out the front door with it just as the Galts were discovering that they did not have the baby. 

Beulah told this story with laughter. She said they were all running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Over the years, it had become an amusing family story. 

In trying to pinpoint the year of the fire, I asked Beulah who the baby was, but she could not remember.

I've searched through newspapers for years, trying to find a reference to the house fire. Last night, I was successful. Oddly, I was searching for "Mrs. Galt," which you don't see in this article. Instead, the article contains a reference to "Mr. Galt." A search for Mrs. always pulls up results for Mr. as well.

 

The article answered a lot of my questions. The house was in Hudson Township, Bates County, Missouri, near Appleton City. They were renting at the time, and most of their household goods and possessions were lost in the fire. The goods they carefully loaded into a boxcar for the 1893 move to Missouri were gone. There was no insurance, so the family would be starting over from scratch. The newspaper was dated 6 January 1898, so the house had probably burned within a few days before the publication. Beulah was six years old, which explains why she did not remember details.

Since the fire was caused by a faulty flue, it was no one's fault. Since high winds caused the house to burn quickly, they could not save their possessions. They were lucky a neighbor appeared and saved the baby. The baby was little sister Ruth Ann Galt, born on 4 September 1897. She was barely four months old. 

Just prior to the fire, Thomas Resin Galt was considering moving the family to Vinita in the Indian Territory. On 27 December 1897, roughly a week before the fire, Thomas and his brother-in-law A. H. "Henry" Deweese traveled by train to visit Vinita and determine if they wanted to move their families there. 

In early March 1898, Thomas Resin Galt moved his family to Vinita, 160 miles away. The fire may have been the determining factor in his decision. Since they had to start over, they could start over almost anywhere. Henry DeWeese did not move his family there.