Auction offers chance to find piece of history

By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Karen Alcott remembers visiting the Red Gate Farm on Leffingwell Road as a child.
Red roses climbed up the fencing and a dog named Queenie scared her.
Alcott, of Findlay, returned to the farm Saturday. This time, she was hoping to take something home to help her always remember the farm and Anne Kilcawley Christman.
Kilcawley Christman's belongings, including family heirlooms dating back to the Civil War, were auctioned off at her home Saturday.
By midmorning, Alcott had purchased a set of gold-rimmed plates with daisies. Also going home with her was a girl's gold confirmation ring engraved with the initials M.K. for Mattie Kilcawley, Anne Kilcawley Christman's mother.
Memories
"It's very hard," Alcott said as she watched items being auctioned off and remarked on Kilcawley Christman's wonderful sense of humor and generosity. "It's a lot of good memories as a child. We used to come out here with our mom and dad. They were so very kind to us, and our children well later in life.
"She was a very special lady -- a real lady, there aren't too many of those left."
Kilcawley Christman, who was married to Byron Christman, was a friend of Alcott's family. She died in April at 92, leaving no children.
Alcott's father worked 47 years for Standard Slag Co., co-founded by William H. Kilcawley, Kilcawley Christman's father and a well-known philanthropist. Kilcawley Christman was an only child.
"I grew up coming out to the farm with [my father]," said Ken Leonard of Canfield, Alcott's brother. "I think the odd part of it is that it's the end of a family, and I hate to see it go."
He said he was looking for pictures of the family and the farm.
About 1,000 attended
About 1,000 people came out in the damp weather to attend the auction, said Jay Basinger of Basinger Auction Service in North Lima. Before them passed Civil War memorabilia, collectibles, jewelry, dinnerware, coins, artwork, furniture, clocks, books, furs, lamps, quilts and table linens.
Basinger said Kilcawley Christman's diamond and platinum engagement ring sold for $3,600. A grandfather clock pulled in $1,600 and a set of Limoges China went for $1,500. One American brilliant-cut vase sold for $700.
Among the historical items were letters from Civil war soldier John Webb to his sister Elizabeth. In one, written from a camp in 1861, he said he expected to return home in six months, "after we beat the rebel forces."
Another letter -- it went for $230 -- spoke of the death of a soldier who was hit in the head with a cannonball. Still another was written on the day before Webb died at the Battle of Vicksburg (Miss.).
His obituary
Another auctioned item was Webb's obituary, reading "There is no monument that marks his resting place but his memory lies within each patriot breast." Accompanied by a framed photograph of the soldier, it sold for $100.
Other items included a soldier's sweetheart picture, watch fob and carved pipe; photo albums (one with soldiers sold for $900); and Confederate money, including $50 and $10 notes, a 50-cent paper piece and a paper 5-cent George Washington Presidential Currency piece.
Ed and Virginia Mannion of Poland said they came to the auction "because of who it is."
"It's nice to see how the other half lives," Ed Mannion said.
As the couple left, he carried an 1866 Grand Army of the Republic medal that had been awarded to G.M Martin. The medal was accompanied by a photograph of the soldier wearing the pin. Mannion purchased it for $200. "That's all I wanted," he said.
Bruce Neff of Canfield went out to the auction with his wife, Clare, and daughter Helen, 3.
Clare's great-grandmother, Eleanor Tate Manchester, was an early settler in Canfield who knew Kilcawley Christman and had made her some of the quilts that were up for auction.
"We want to support the auction," Bruce Neff said, "and maybe pick up a part of history."
Close inspections
Linda Ference of Mineral Ridge was interested in a sterling silver spoon. She examined initials on various pieces of dinnerware using a magnifying glass. She also had her eye on paperweights and Civil War items.
"Some of my relatives were early founders in Poland," she said, "and I was always interested in history."
Adele Gacse of Canfield went to the auction with her husband, Tom. "It's exciting," she said, "to see history being sold." Gacse said she had always admired the farm and was interested in going on the property to see it. She was hoping to walk away with some rugs.
Mary Jane Beeghly of Bessemer, Pa., said Kilcawley Christman was "almost like family." Her husband's grandfather, L.A. Beeghly, also had been a co-founder of Standard Slag Co.
"She was really spirited," Beeghly said. "She was interested in a lot of things even in her later years. She just cared about her community."
The proceeds of the auction will go to surviving relatives.
viviano@vindy.com