Appendix: Castle Family Documents

Percy, Ann

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Appendix: Castle Family Documents

Ann Percy (Editor)

James Castle: A Retrospective

Appendix: Castle Family Documents

Author

Ann Percy (Editor)

PublisherPhiladelphia Museum of Art

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-23025

Appendix: Castle Family Documents

Castle Family Land and Estate Records, 1894–1952

Boise County Clerk, Auditor, and Recorder Department

The following transactions were condensed from handwritten documents held in the Boise County Clerk, Auditor, and Recorder Department, Idaho City, Idaho.

October 26, 1894
(Book 3 of Miscellaneous Records, p. 4)

Bill of Sale
Recorded December 24, 1894

Francis J. Castle and Mary N. Castle sold to Thomas Scanlon* for $250:

“20 tons hay
10 milch cows
7 calves
4 pigs”

*Thomas Scanlon is most likely Mary Castle’s father.

April 18, 1898
(Book 23 of Deeds, pp. 365–66)

Land Grant
Homestead Certificate 1342 Application 2450
Drawn up April 18, 1898, in Washington, D.C. Filed for record in the General Land office at Boise County, Idaho, September 30, 1902

“Whereas there has been deposited in the General Land office of the United States a certificate of The Register of the Land Office at Boise City Idaho whereby it appears that pursuant to the Act of Congress approved 20th May, 1862, to secure homesteads to actual settlers on the public domain, and the acts supplemental thereto, the claim of Francis J. Castle has been established and duly consumated [sic], in conformity to law, for the west half of the north west quarter and the west half of the south [overwritten] of section ten in Township Nine North of Range four East of Boise Meridian in Idaho, containing one hundred and sixty acres according to the official Plat of the survey of the said Land returned to the General Land Office by the Surveyor General. Know ye, that there is therefore granted by the United States unto the said Francis J. Castle the tract of Land above described . . . subject to any Vested and [illegible] water rights for Mining, agricultural, Manufacturing, or other purposes, and rights to ditches and reservoirs used in connection with such water rights, as may be recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and decisions of courts and also subject to the right of the Proprietor of a Vein or Lode to extract and remove his ore therefrom, should the same be found to penetrate or intersect the premises hereby granted, as provided by law. And there is reserved from the lands hereby granted, a right of way thereon for ditches or canals constructed by the authority of the United States.”

September 18, 1902
(Book 23 of Deeds, pp. 367–69)

Indenture
Recorded September 18, 1902 Filed September 30, 1902

Francis J. Castle of Garden Valley bought from George and Missouri Van Winkle of Centerville for $975:

“The following described real estate, situated in Boise County, State of Idaho to wit: the north half (N½) of the northwest quarter (NW¼) and the northwest quarter (NW¼) of the northeast quarter (NW¼) of section fifteen (15) and the southeast quarter (SE¼) of the southwest quarter (SW¼) of section ten (10) in township nine (9) north of range four (4) east of Boise Meridian in Idaho containing one hundred and sixty (160) acres, also an undivided interest in and to that certain ditch and water right conveying the waters of Pauscet[?] and Scanlon creek upon the above described land for the purpose of irrigating the same, all in Garden Valley, Idaho, together with all and singular the tenements, hereditaments and appurtenances.”

October 28, 1902
(Book 7 of Mortgages, pp. 239[8?]ff.)

Mortgage
Drawn up October 28, 1902
Recorded October 29, 1902, at Centerville, Idaho, in Boise County
Filed November 22, 1902

Francis J. Castle and Mary N. Castle mortgaged to the State of Idaho for a loan of $800:

“[A] tract of land situate [sic] in Garden Valley Precinct in the County of Boise and State of Idaho to wit: [there follow descriptions of the tracts of land granted April 18, 1898, and purchased September 18, 1902] containing 320 acres according to the government survey thereof. Also one half (½) interest in a certain irrigating canal known as the Scanlon and Pauncet[?] ditch, together with all water rights.”

The loan commenced October 28, 1902, and was payable October 28, 1907, at the office of the State Board of Land Commissioners in Boise City, at the rate of 7 percent interest per year due on the 1st day of November.

Ada County Assessor’s Office

The following transactions were condensed from typed forms held in the Ada County Assessor’s Office, Boise, Idaho.

June 25, 1923
(Instrument numbered 106381)

Indenture
Recorded June 25, 1923

Francis J. Castle and Mary N. Castle of Garden Valley, Boise County, bought from F. D. and Rose E. James of Star, Ada County, for $1,000:

“The following described real estate situated in Star, Ada County, State of Idaho, to-wit: Commencing 40 feet North and 300 feet East of the South-west corner of Section Eight (8). Twp Four (4) North. Range One (1) West of Boise Meridian, Ada County, Idaho, and thence running North 120 feet, thence East 49 feet; thence South 120 feet; thence West 49 feet to the place of beginning.

And Lot Eight (8) in Block number One (1) of the McDowell’s Addition to Star, in Ada County, Idaho, Together with all water rights and ditches belonging and pertaining thereto.”

August 2, 1928
(Instrument numbered 132275)

Decree of settlement of accounts and final distribution of the estate of Francis J. Castle
Filed in Probate Court of Canyon County, State of Idaho, August 2, 1928

Mary N. Castle, “administratrix of the estate,” filed the settlement report on July 21, 1928, and paid administrative expenses of $494. The estate contained no cash but consisted entirely of personal property and real estate, as follows:

“Cattle on the home place, Horses on the home place, Pigs on the home place, Household goods on the home place. Real estate situated in Canyon County, Idaho [:] The Southwest Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (SSW¼ SW¼) of Section 1, Township 4 North, Range 2 West, B.M. together with . . . water rights and ditches. (Referred to above as the home place.) Real estate situated in Ada County, Idaho [described in previous record].”

December 5, 1931
(Instrument numbered 147363)

Indenture
Recorded December 5, 1931

Mary N. Castle of Eagle bought from Harry B. and Edna B. Buchanan of Boise for $10:

“Lot 5 of Elmer Davis’ First Subdivision, Southeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (SE¼ SW¼) of Section Nineteen (19), Township Four (4) North, Range Two (2) East, B. M., . . . including water rights and ditches.”

This land remained in Mary Castle’s estate at her death in 1948.

November 16, 1932
(Instrument numbered 150915)

Indenture
Recorded November 16, 1932

Mary N. Castle bought from Vara A. Kuehl of Boise for $10:

“Lots 7 and 8, Block 8, . . . of Ellis Addition to said city of Boise, subject to the amount remaining unpaid on a mortgage dated May 1, 1925. . . . The party of the second part [Mary Castle] shall be entitled to the possession of said premises on or before December 1, 1932. Taxes and assessments for the year 1932 and subsequent years should be paid by the party of the second part.”

December 30, 1932
(Instrument numbered 151386)

Indenture
Recorded December 30, 1932

Mary N. Castle of Boise bought from Emily Stewart of Boise for $10 “and other valuable consideration”:

“The West Half (W½) of Lot Twelve (12) in Hall’s Addition, adjacent to Boise City, in Ada County, State of Idaho, together with two and one half shares of water stock in the Boise Valley Irrigation Ditch Company. This Deed is given subject to the 1932 taxes and assessments, all of which the party of the second part [Mary Castle] agrees to pay.”

This parcel of land was granted to Nellie McCulley on May 28, 1940.

December 30, 1932
(Instrument numbered 151388)

Indenture
Recorded December 30, 1932

Mary N. Castle of Boise sold to Emily Stewart of Boise for $10 “and other valuable consideration”:

“Lots 7 and 8 in Block 8 of the amended plat of Ellis Addition to Boise City, Ada County, Idaho . . . subject to one certain mortgage . . . with the balance of principal due in the amount of $229.39, and also subject to the 1932 taxes and assessments.”

March 5, 1934
(Instrument numbered 156814)

Indenture
Recorded March 5, 1934

Mary N. Castle of Boise sold to Wilma Davis of Star for $10:

“All of lot 8 in Block 1 of McDowell’s Addition to the Village of Star [bought June 25, 1923], in said Ada County; also the following lot, piece, or parcel of land: Commencing 40 feet North and 300 feet East of the Southwest corner of Section 8, Township 4 North, B.M., and running thence North 120 feet; thence East 49 feet; thence South 130 feet; thence West 49 feet to the place of beginning, subject to the unpaid portion of 1933 taxes and special assessments and all of 1934 taxes and special assessments, . . . including water rights and ditches.”

These parcels of land were purchased on June 25, 1923 (see above).

May 28, 1940
(Instrument numbered 197773)

Indenture
Recorded May 28, 1940

Mary N. Castle of Boise granted to Nellie McCulley of Boise, her widowed daughter:

“The following lot, piece, or parcel of land situated in the county of Ada, State of Idaho, to-wit: Commencing at the southeasterly corner of the westerly half of Lot 12 in Hall’s addition, adjacent to Boise City in said Ada County, and running in a northerly direction along the easterly side of the westerly half of said lot a distance of 435 feet; thence in a westerly direction parallel with the northerly line of said lot a distance of 50 feet; thence in a southerly direction parallel with the easterly line of said lot a distance of 435 feet; thence in an easterly direction along the southerly line of said lot a distance of 50 feet to the place of beginning . . . including water rights and ditches.”

April 12, 1945
(Instrument numbered 235436)

Indenture

Recorded April 12, 1945

Mary N. Castle of Boise bought from Nellie McCulley of Boise for $10 “and other good and valuable consideration”:

“All the following described real estate, situated in County of Ada, State of Idaho, to-wit: [the portion of Lot 12 in Hall’s Addition described in the previous record].”

April 12, 1945
(Instrument numbered 321440)

Indenture
Recorded April 12, 1945

Mary N. Castle of Boise sold to Vinson S. and Mildred R. Leavell of Boise for $10 “and other good and valuable consideration”:

“All the following described real estate, situated in County of Ada, State of Idaho, to-wit: The West half (W½) of Lot twelve (12) in HALL’S ADDITION, adjacent to Boise City, in Ada County, State of Idaho, together with any and all water and ditch rights belonging thereto or in anywise appertaining.”

April 18, 1952
(Instrument Number 330534)

Decree of settlement of final account and final distribution of the estate of Mary N. Castle
Petition filed for final distribution of the estate on April 4, 1952, by Agnes Catherine Wade, executrix Executed April 15, 1952
Filed in Probate Court, Ada County, Idaho, April 18, 1952

$1,042.55 cash remained in the estate after expenses of $1,069.76 were paid.

“Mary N. Castle died testate in Ada County, State of Idaho, on January 20, 1948, leaving surviving the following children:

Agnes Catherine Wade
Julia Hayes Brockett
Emma M. Beach
Blanche M. Hayford, and
Nellie N. McCulley, daughters; and
James C. Castle and
Thomas Joseph Castle, sons.

That the said Agnes Catherine Wade, Julia Hayes Brockett, Emma M. Beach, Blanche M. Hayford, Nellie N. McCulley, and Thomas Joseph Castle, children of deceased, and each of them, are entitled to the sum of One Dollar, lawful money of the United States, under the will of the deceased.

That the said Agnes Catherine Wade, Julia Hayes Brockett, and Emma M. Beach are entitled to all the rest, residue, and remainder of said estate, real, personal, and mixed, as trustees of and for said James C. Castle, son of deceased; that all of said estate is the separate property of deceased.

. . . That the residue of said estate of Mary N. Castle, deceased, hereinafter particularly described and now remaining in the hands of said Agnes Catherine Wade, described as follows, to-wit:

Cash $1,042.55

REAL ESTATE:
Lot 5 of Elmer Davis’ First subdivision of the Southeast Quarter of the Southwest Quarter (SE¼ SW¼) of Sec. 19, Twp. 4 North, of Range 2 East, B. M. in Ada County, State of Idaho, according to the official plat thereof on file in the office of the county recorder of said Ada County; subject to a mortgage dated March 23, 1931, wherein Harry B. Buchanan and Edna B. Buchanan, his wife, are mortgagors, and P. Albert Hultgren and Anna E. Hultgren, his wife, are mortgagees, . . . together with tenements, hereditaments, and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining, including a water right . . . for 5 shares in Boise Valley Irrigation Ditch Company.”

The Castle Family in the U.S. Census for Garden Valley, Idaho, 1900

~

Records for James and Nellie Casde’s Mail at the Idaho State School for the Deaf and the Blind, Gooding

Evidence of James Castle’s attendance at the Idaho State School for the Deaf and the Blind in Gooding comes largely from a small handwritten ledger that records when students picked up mail or packages during the school years from September 1910 to June 1916. The records begin at the back of the book and move forward, skipping the school year 1911–12. For this missing year evidence of Castle’s attendance comes from the school’s third bienneal report (1911–12), which records student names, including that of James and his sister. (This is the only biennial report from the years of Castle’s attendance at the school that lists student names.) Castle’s first mail pickup is recorded in the ledger on March 4, 1911, and his last is on April 1, 1915.

The school year at the Idaho State School for the Deaf and the Blind started, according to the school’s third biennial report (pp. 42–43), on the second Wednesday in September and ended on the second Wednesday in June. There was no summer school, but students were in attendance continually from fall to spring, staying at the school even during the holidays, when the school made an effort to provide “a pleasant time . . . for the children, just as would be done at home” (p. 43).

The combined records indicate that Castle attended the school from at least March 1911, when he was eleven and a half years old, until the spring of 1915, when he was sixteen (he is absent from the mail records for the 1915–16 school year). Although there are no records of James’s attendance earlier in the year, he may well have arrived at the school in September 1910, along with his sister Nellie, when he was just shy of eleven years old (his birthday was September 25); the school’s policy, stated in the third biennial report (p. 43), was that students begin promptly at the opening of the school year.

Nellie picked up mail nine times that year before James’s first pickup in March 1911 and only twice afterward. It is possible that she was initially picking up mail and packages meant for the two of them, given that she was older than James and familiar with the school, which she had presumably been attending since the fall of 1907, having applied in February of that year. She graduated at the end of the 1911–12 school year, when she was approaching the school’s maximum age limit of twenty-one.

Judging from the handwriting of the signatures, it seems that various adults among the school’s staff signed for the mail and package pickups rather than the students themselves.

James Castle is recorded as picking up mail and/or packages on the following days:

March 4, 1911 (mail and package)
March 23, 1911 (mail and package)
November 14, 1912 (mail and package)
December 23, 1912 (mail and package)
January 30, 1913 (mail and package)
February 17, 1913 (mail and package)
December 21, 1913 (twice)
March 14, 1914
September 17, 1914
November 26, 1914 (package)
December 21, 1914 (package)
March 3, 1915 April 1, 1915

Nellie Castle is recorded as picking up mail and/or packages on the following days:

October 20, 1910 (mail and package)
November 13, 1910 (mail and package)
November 21, 1910 (mail and package)
November 27, 1910 (mail and package)
December 19, 1910 (mail and package)
December 20, 1910 (mail and package)
December 21, 1910
December 23, 1910 (mail and package)
January 2, 1911 (mail and package)
April 4, 1911 (mail and package)
May 20, 1911 (mail and package)

James Castle’s Death Certificate

~

Letter from Castle’s Nephew Robert Beach to A. Kenneth Yost

In 1950 James Castle’s nephew Robert Beach, who was then an art student at the Museum Art School of the Portland Art Association (now the Pacific Northwest College of Art), brought his uncle’s art to the attention of some of his professors, leading to Castle’s first exhibition, at the school’s gallery in 1951. In October 1960, when Bob Beach was working as a newspaper artist in Portland, he was apparently still promoting his uncle’s work. He sent the following letter to A. Kenneth Yost, a professor of art at Oregon College of Education (now Western Oregon University) in Monmouth, in response to a request for more information, just prior to the college’s exhibition of Castle’s work.

The location of the original letter is unknown. The following is based on a typescript of the letter in the archives of the J Crist Gallery in Boise, Idaho.

Portland, Oregon
October 26, 1960

Mr. A. Kenneth Yost
Art Department
Oregon College of Education
Monmouth, Oregon

Dear Mr. Yost:

I am writing in regard to your letter on October 10th in which you ask for more information about James Castle. The following will be in answer to the questions you ask about his drawing and working habits.

I would say that the drawings you have now, cover a period of about thirty years. Often you can find a date on a calendar or a letter on which he has superimposed a drawing. Most of the things I have run across date back to the early Thirties. From his birthplace in Garden Valley, Idaho, he has moved twice. Once to Star, Idaho, and the last move was to Boise, where he has lived for the past thirty years. Both times the family moved, little interest was given to his drawings, so they were left behind.

The drawings which I have shown you are just a small amount of what he has. The drawings stored away in the barn would almost fill the back of a pick-up truck. What he has left behind and thrown away would probably be this much again.

To protect his drawings from the weather he takes extra care to see that they are stored properly. He packs them in old cardboard boxes and secures them with strips of rag. He then piles them in the corner of the barn covering them with cardboard, burlap and boards.

Although we have provided him with all kinds of commercial supplies, he still insists on using rejected material. He is continually collecting pieces of used paper and cardboard and storing them away for future use.

The old stove which provided him with soot has been replaced with an electric one. The supply of soot he gets now is furnished to him by my uncle from the Veterans Hospital in Boise.

The materials he uses are natural for drawing on. The soft toned cardboard and the dullness of the soot are very handsome together. It takes a lot of courage for most of us, when faced with a clean sheet of stark white paper, to make a mark on it. In some of his work I have seen him make drawings over the text of a book or the classified section of a newspaper. The total type coverage of these surfaces creates a toned effect which makes it very inviting for him to draw on.

He works very rapidly on a drawing with a controlled and direct type of action. The pointed stick he uses for a drawing tool, holds a very small amount of the soot and water mixture so after making a stroke of about one or two inches, he has to reload. He works as if he was very sure of himself without any fumbling or redrawing.

The time he would spend on a landscape drawing would not be more than one and one-half hours and perhaps less than one-half hour on one of the calendar pages. The bulk of his drawings have been done from memory. He has made many drawings on location. He will sit on a box in the middle of the pasture and draw the surrounding barn yard objects. I have posed for him and he has made a drawing of me. He also copies or interprets things he has seen in magazines, newspapers and books.

I hope the preceding information will be of value in helping you get a better understanding of his background and drawings.

Sincerely yours,

Robert L. Beach
9610 N.Woolsey Ave.
Portland 3, Oregon

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