 2515 Q Street, Fall 2019 2515 Q Street's first residents were newlyweds Tullis S. and Letha Menefee (Voorhees) The bungalow, built on the East 1/2 of Lot 7 in the block bound by P and Q, 25th and 26th. Building started in the Spring of 1907, and was certainly finished by May, 1908. Wright & Kimbrough had built 12 bungalows on the block by this time, 11 of which stand today, looking much the same as they did in 1908. The Menefee's had purchased the home by May, 1908 and moved in by November, 1908.  The Sacramento Bee, April 20, 1907 We know the home was purchased by May, 1908 because of the Wright & Kimbrough advertisement printed in May, 1908, marketing 2505 Q street as "Absolutely THE LAST ONE out of 12" We know that the Menefee's lived in the Bungalow by November, 1908, because the names of many neighbors appeared in the paper. Before we get into the story of this particular bungalow and her residents, let's take a survey of the block, in 1908. Below, we've made our best attempt to piece together the names in the paper with their residence addresses in 1908. We could not have done this research without the precious resource that is the Sacramento Public Library.
2515 Q- The First ResidentsBack to the story of the clinker brick beauty at 2515 Q Street. The Menefees- Tullis Stephen and Letha Menefee (Voorhees) were the first couple to call the house a home. Tullis Stephen Menefee was a decorator who owned a papering, tinting, frescoing, and picture framing business with his brother, Joseph J. Menefee.
 The Sacramento Bee, April 28, 1906 In 1905, Tullis had recently purchased a home in Highland Park (now Curtis Park), located at 2331 Bonita Avenue (present-day 2nd avenue). He lived there with his wife Nellie (Maud), and three children, Eva, Stephen & Myrtle. Things were not going well for Tullis and Nellie, who had wed in 1893, about a month before Nellie's 18th birthday. Just over a decade into their marriage, it seemed that Nellie had lost interest in home life. We do wonder about Nellie's side of the story (she was married at 17 and had her first child at 18), but Tullis filed for divorce in December, 1905, on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. Nellie reportedly was going out with other men to saloons, leaving the children to their own devices. She sold the household furniture for a pittance, and when confronted by Mr. Menefee, she said she would "do as she damn pleased" and she "hated him".
Whatever the back story of Nellie's revolt was, the divorce wasn't finalized until nearly a year later. In the meantime, I'm sure the split was tough for the children. Still, the broken home didn't stop Eva Queen Menefee, their eldest, from winning a beautiful French doll as a prize for her rendering of "Sleep, My Dolly, Sleep" at a "doll music" recital she performed at in June, 1906.  The Sacramento Star, June 24th, 1905 Tullis was also keeping himself busy, with a new companion, Miss Letha Voorhees. She worked as an operator for the Sacramento Telephone Company. By February, 1906, Tullis was spending Sundays with Letha in her hometown of Woodland.  Woodland Daily Democrat, February 19, 1906 (either a misprint, or Tullis was playing games to avoid detection of his soon to be "ex" wife)
Tullis didn't waste any time marrying Letha when his divorce was finalized. The decree of final divorce was issued on December 31, 1906 and the couple wed on January 1, 1907. (It never takes long)  The Sacramento Star, December 31, 1906  Woodland Daily Democrat, January 2, 1907 Sometime after their wedding in January 1907, and prior to November 1908, the Menefee's moved into the newly built Bungalow at 2515 Q Street. They could have possibly moved in as it was being finished, since he was a decorator. Nellie Maud Menefee, the ex-wife of Tullis, did not even have time to assume her maiden name again before she died in a drowning accident, at the age of 31, in March 1907.
Tullis and Letha lived at 2515 Q until 1911, when they sold the home to the Hauser family.   Tullis was experiencing troubles collecting on debts, and eventually had to file for bankruptcy.
2nd Owners- A Retired Rancher, The Hauser HomeIn October, 1911, Catherine & Valentine Hauser, a rancher and meat merchant, purchased the bungalow at 2515 Q from The Menefee's. The Hauser family had previously resided in Broderick, present-day West Sacramento. Valentine and Catherine (Kate) Hauser had a son, Fred A. Hauser, and a daughter, Gertrude Regina Hauser, who were grown. Fred was 25 years old, employed as a machinist and Gertrude was 23 years old, working in a millinery shop. Valentine was already slowing down by the time they purchased Q Street, and had finalized his will in 1910. He passed away in 1918, but the Hauser family continued to live there for many years.
 Valentine Hauser's Will- California, Wills and Probate Records, 1850-1953 Valentine's Will stipulated that $2,000 should go to Gertrude and $500 to Fred. In modern day spending power, that's about $54,000 for Gertrude and $13,000 for Fred. The rest was left to his wife, Catherine (Katie). In June, 1912, Valentine's daughter, Gertrude was married to Charles Y. Brown at the home on Q Street, with over 50 guests attending. The newlywed Browns lived with the Hausers. Valentine, Catherine, Fred, Charles, and Gertrude all lived together in the bungalow for a time.  Sacramento Star, June 22, 1912   Sacramento Bee, June 22, 1912 After Gertrude Brown's father, Valentine Hauser, passed away in 1918, her Uncle (Mother Catherine Hauser's Brother), Fred Kast, moved in with the Browns. Fred had been a Rancher in the nearby delta town of Courtland, California, before joining his sister and niece in Sacramento.  Valentine's extended family were also involved in the meat business. It was a very meaty, German family. Julius Hauser, Valentine's Brother, was a pioneer Los Angeles meat packer, founding the Hauser Meat Packing Company there. Many of the Hauser family were ranchers, farmers, and meat packers. Meanwhile, Uncle Fred's namesake, Fred Hauser, Gertrude's brother, had moved back to Broderick and was farming grain in Yolo County. He became a partner in the Yolo Meat Packing Company, then the Washington Water and Light Company.  The San Francisco Examiner, June 9, 1929 Catherine Hauser passed away in 1931.  The Sacramento Bee, November 23, 1931 Uncle Fred Kast, Catherine's brother, passed away in 1938, at the age of 79.  The Sacramento Bee, November 15, 1938 Gertrude and Charles Y. Brown continued to live in the home. In 1941, Gertrude gave her opinion on SPAM for $2. It makes sense that the Hormel Girls would knock on her door, and that she would have both SPAM and Chili on hand, since she was from such a meaty family. "Spam is so convenient to have on hand when that unexpected guest drops in" - Gertrude Brown (For $2)  The Sacramento Bee, February 12, 1941 Gertrude passed away on March 8, 1944, well before both her husband, Charles and her brother, Fred.  The Sacramento Bee, March 9, 1944 Charles stayed on at 2515 Q Street for years, and became very active in the Sacramento Kennel Club, serving as President, showing, and breeding dogs. He was also remarried in 1947, to a widow named Maud Weule. I think 3 years is a more acceptable turnaround time for a new wife, but the Browns did not have any children to care for at home, so Charles had the leisure of taking his time. Did he really take his time, though? Maude Weule was listed in the Sacramento City Directory, residing at 2515 Q Street, in 1945. Perhaps she rented rooms from Charles prior to their marriage? Hmmmm 
Sometime in 1954-1955, Charles and Maude purchased a nearly new (built in 1953) home at 1411 Carrousel Lane, in the elite South Land Park Estates neighborhood, built by Ruben Weber as his own home in an area that he built up. We will have to take a detour to Land Park and check out these Weber homes soon.
Fred A. Hauser passed away in 1957, and Charles Y. Brown passed away in 1964. His estate made the papers. $189,348 was over $1.5 million in today's purchasing power.
Elizabeth Short, the widow of Elmer Short, moved into the home when the Browns moved to Land Park in 1954-1955. Elizabeth was Betty Lauchert, daughter of Alphons and Elizabeth Lauchert. Elizabeth Lauchert, Betty's mother, was Elizabeth Hauser, the sister of Valentine Hauser. So, Valentine Hauser's widowed niece, Elizabeth Short, lived in the house for the next 20 years or so. She was deeply religious, and very involved in the Catholic Church. Elizabeth had met her husband, Elmer, in the choir of St. Francis Church, located at 26th and K Streets. Elizabeth sang soprano, and Elmer sang tenor. They were married in 1930. Elmer passed suddenly of a heart attack in 1949, at the age of 42. Elizabeth moved to the Hauser family home on Q Street between 1954-1955. She went on to perform secretarial and bookkeeping work for the St. Francis High School, then the Lyon-Darwin Hardware Co. before she retired.
Elizabeth passed away in 1989, at the age of 83. The home on Q Street was listed for sale in 1974, when Elizabeth was retiring, and likely downsizing or moving in with others. She moved into a duplex in the South City Farms Neighborhood of Sacramento. Maude Brown, Charles Y. Brown's widow, had passed away in 1971. When Charles Y. Brown passed in 1964, I presume that the home at 2515 Q Street was part of the "other real estate" holdings that were all passed on to Maude. Or, the home could have been seperately owned by the family. Perhaps the home was sold in 1974 as a part of Maude's estate liquidation, or perhaps Elizabeth or another family member owned it by the time. Either way, the home stayed in the family for over 60 years, which is pretty amazing. Valentine Hauser's late life purchase of this pretty, clinker brick bungalow on Q Street paid off in dividends, as his family grew and thrived there for many years after his passing.  The Sacramento Bee, February 23, 1974 This 1974 Ad is the first known advertisement for sale of the home since it was built, between 1907-1908. The Hauser family owned and lived in the home for over 60 years.  
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