Walter Lee Kauffman was the second son of Levi and Ann Elizabeth Coover Kauffman, born August 9, 1860 in Mechanicsburg, PA. He was the middle of three surviving children of five. His older brother, Percival Coover Kauffman was born in 1858. His younger sister, Edith Belle Kauffman was born in 1863. Harvey and William died young.
They lived in Mechanicsburg, PA on 70 West Main Street. They were right next door to the Coover parents of Ann Elizabeth, on the left side at 74 West Main Street. There was a door between the two homes.
Levi Kauffman HomeAnn Elizabeth’s father was John Coover, a prominent member of the community who owned substantial land around the town. Coover had five daughters. Ann was in the middle. Levi owned a drug store and hardware store and later started a local bank. His father, Andrew Kauffman also lived in town, having grown up as a Mennonite on a farm outside of Lancaster.
Walt was educated at Lauderbach Academy, in Philadelphia and Cumberland Valley Institute in Mechanicsburg. He learned the trade of printing at the Thomas Printing House then entered Dickinson College, Carlisle Pa in the class of 1882.. He left college and was employed with the American Tube and Iron Company in Middletown PA from 1881 to 1886 when he moved to Youngstown Ohio to take charge of the offices of the Youngstown miss which were just then being constructed and later managed them until their sale to Youngstown Sheet and Tube and subsequently US Steel which he managed until their closure in 1908. He then became credit manager for Youngstown Sheet and Steel until he retired in 1936 at the age of 76.
Walt is fascinated with cars. I have a letter from Walt to his father, Levi from 1911. In the letter, he is discussing the benefits of the new Klaxon horn over his old Newtone horn.
“As to the horn”, he says, “I am sure you will be as enthusiastic about is I am as soon as you have used it and seen the effect it has on teams, etc. Yesterday we came up against a public horse sale which was being carried on in the middle of the street. No one paid any attention to the bulb horn so I held down the Klaxon button. The crowd ‘melted away’ at once! You have no idea how they got out of the way. If you can’t believe all I’m telling you now you will certainly see for yourself when we get it on our car.!”
His sister Edith Belle and his mother moved in with him in the 1890s following the death of his father, Levi Kauffman. Anne Elizabeth died in 1919 and was buried back in Mechanicsburg at the Chestnut Hill Cemetery.
In 1920, his nephew, Walter Lee Kauffman 2nd moved to Youngstown along with his brother, Percival Barton Kauffman and mother, Katharine Barton Kauffman. Their father, his brother, Percival Coover Kauffman had died in 1913. They remained in Youngstown until 1931 when they moved to Erie. His sister, Edith Belle died in 1933.
Walter gave his nephew the rights to a patent that he had for a Combination Handle and Strap Holder as a partial settlement for a debt. While it is not likely that any material benefit came of this patent, it might have motivated Walter 2nd towards other inventions as he went on to create over 100 patents.
Walter continued to live on his own in Youngstown. He would travel from time to time to Erie to visit the boys, Walter and Bart and their Mother, Kate. From late 1936 until Spring of 1937, Walter was courting Elizabeth Keller Wright, who would become his wife in April. During that period, as Elizabeth lived in California, they exchanged a flurry of letters. She kept them and I read every one. In one letter, Walter tells this story on Uncle Walt.
Walt is a bachelor, living in Youngstown. and now in his 70s (he lives to be 91). He has reluctantly stopped driving but has a driver, Jackson. “So, Uncle Walt wants to go out for a drive and Jackson brings the car around, all cleaned and polished and ready to go. So, Uncle Walt climbs in on the passenger side and had to tinker a bit. Try the cigarette lighter and the horn just to see if his old pal was ready to go. Then he accidently hits the starter motor. Jackson had left the car in gear, reverse. The car leapt backwards and Uncle Walt grabbed onto the steering wheel in a panic and missing the clutch petal, stomped on the gas petal in the process. Helen (housekeeper) screamed, Bozo (the dog) leapt to safety, as Walt and the car careened backwards up the street, over the curb and crashed into a tree. Gasoline leaking from the crumpled tank, the fenders and bumper wrapped closely around the tree and Uncle Walt climbed out, white and shaken but unhurt. All this from Helen under pledge of secrecy so I forwarded messages thru Helen to the various people involved.”
