1. Joseph Walter Bandhauer, b. 1877
2. Florence Bertha Bandhauer, b. 1879
3. Robert John Bandhauer, b. 1881
4. Mildred E. Bandhauer, b. 1882
5. Clara Ellen Bandhauer, b. 1884
6. Fannie Bandhauer, b. 1886
7. Mary Henrietta Bandhauer, b. 1888
8. Katherine Ruth Bandhauer, b. 1892

Robert Frank Bandhauer was born in the village of Grafenhainichen, Prussia which is about 20 miles north of Leipzig, in what is now northeastern Germany.  Robert, along with his mother and siblings, emigrated to the United States when he was about six years old on the ship "Thyen" arriving in New Orleans on June 2, 1857, his father having arrived in 1855.  According to family tradition, Robert's father, Johann (later changing his name to John), was a nobleman although I've yet to confirm this.  In a letter written in 1941 by Robert's son, Bob, it says:

"John Bandhauer was born in Saxony, Prussia.  He was a Count and opposed to the government under King William (father of the Kaiser).  He, with other noblemen, were invited by the King to a banquet where the King planned to trap and kill them.  John Bandhauer escaped to America in 1848.  His family came three years later and settled at Canton, Missouri."

The dates don't quite match the immigration records but 1848 was the year of a great uprising in Prussia which probably played a significant part in this story.  It is easy to imagine how the dates could get interchanged in the telling of the tale.

In 1871, Robert, who had become a blacksmith, and his brother Gus, a wagonmaker, moved to Denver, Colorado where they set up business.  Robert then met Mary Elizabeth Fager whom he married in Denver in 1876.

From historic notes on the City of Denver: "Mr. Bandhauer is not only a good mechanic, but an ingenious one, and may refer, with pardonable pride, to an invention of his own which has been patented and very generally adopted by the trade.  It is called the Improved Combined Tire Up-Setter, Shears and Punch, designed to simplify and facilitate what have been hitherto slow and tedious operations [used for repairing wagon wheels].... in the election of city officers in 1879, was chosen by nearly a unanimous vote to represent the Sixth Ward in the Board of Aldermen."

In addition to Robert's patented invention, he also invented two other un-patented items which we all know — the ice/rollerskate key and the meat hook.  The family tradition has it that with five daughters Robert became weary of using a wrench to fasten their skates to their shoes and so went to his forge and created a skate key with which they could do it themselves.  Robert's blacksmith shop was in a commercial part of Denver, and he frequently observed men struggling to unload and haul beef carcasses which were heavy and unwieldy.  So he set about fashioning the meat hook with which they could sling a carcass over their shoulder to be carried on their back.  This same meat hook design is still in use today.

Robert also constructed a huge swing for his children which was also never patented but which is visible in several family photos.  A drawing of the swing survives.

In 1894 Robert took a homestead near the town of Daffodil (now Deckers) about 40 miles southwest of Denver.  In addition to a home, Robert constructed a dance hall where his daughters could enjoy social occasions with the local young men while under Robert's supervision. This is, no doubt, where Kate Bandhauer met Jim Phelps.  The home and dance hall survive today and are now part of Camp Shady Brook which is owned by the YMCA.

Comments, additions or corrections to these stories? Please click here.
Return to Top