Résumé

Earlier in his career, Sumner developed a reputation as an expert in school design. A newspaper note in his hometown newspaper, the Wilkes-Barre Record, said in 1914: “Charles S. Kaiser of Berkeley, Cal., an architect, son of William Kaiser, master plumber of this city, and himself a former resident here, is the author of a pamphlet published by the State of California, bearing on the Congress of School Hygiene, which was held at Buffalo last August. Mr. Kaiser has done considerable work in school architectural designing.” (See “Local Boy Distinguishes Himself,” Wilkes-Barre Record, 03/21/1914, p. 32.)The bulk of his work, however, focused on designing single-family residences.

Carpenter / Draftsman, Edwin T. Long, Contractor / Builder, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1891-1896. Kaiser worked as a carpenter between 1891 and 1893. (See “C.S. Kaiser, Architect, Dies,” Wilkes-Barre Record, 05/27/1948, p. 17, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1891, p. 198 and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1893, p. 251.) By 1894, Kaiser was listed as a draftsman, working in Long's office at 14-16 North Fell Street. (See Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1894, p. 303 and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1895,p. 535.)

Draftsman, Peter Rudrauff and Ben Davey, Jr., Architects, Wilkes-Barre, PA, 1897. Rudrauff and Davey had an office in Room #57 of the Bennett Building in 1897. (See Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1897, p. 286 and 710.) Rudrauff died in Wilkes-Barre on 03/01/1898 in Wilkes-Barre. (See "Personal," Engineering Record, vol. XXXVII, no. 14, 03/03/1898, p. 293.)

Draftsman, McKim, Mead and White, Architects, New York, NY, c. 1900-1906. In 1902, McKim, Mead and White had an office at 160 5th Avenue. (See New York, New York, City Directory, 1902, p. 49.) Charles Sumner Kaiser worked for the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White, when they worked on renovations to the White House in Washington, DC, in 1902. A United Press International wire service story of 01/1950 indicated that a time capsule had been discovered under flooring in the White House entryway by a marble setter and his assistant: “A small marble box, believed to be an official cornerstone was found yesterday by workmen renovating the White House. The box was buried under a floor slab in the entrance hall of the executive mansion. It apparently was placed in 1902 when the White House underwent alterations. It contained, among other things, a whisky label a half-pint flask, copies of the Washington Star and the old Washington Times, some small coins and several business cards. The newspapers carried accounts of Theodore Roosevelt’s 1902 message to congress. In the box were two notes written on letterheads of McKim, Mead and White, the New York construction firm [sic] that handled the 1902 alterations. One was signed by Charles Sumner Kaiser, superintendent of the construction company. The other was signed by Glenn Brown, who identified himself as the ‘great grandson of Peter Lenox who superintended the original building from 1793 to 1830….” (See “Past Recalled, York Dispatch, 01/07/1950, p. 1, accessed 12/19/2023.)

Principal, Charles Sumner Kaiser, Architect, Berkeley, CA, 1906-1916.

Principal, Charles Kaiser Sumner, Architect, San Francisco, CA, 1917- .

Professional Activities

Member, San Francisco Society of Architects, c. 1918.

Sumner spoke on post-World War I school construction at a conference at the Stanford University School of Education in 07/1918. (See "Architect Discusses School Building," Architect and Engineer, vol. LIV, no. 2, 08/1918, p. 110.)

College

B.S., Architecture, Columbia University, New York, NY, c. 1898-c.1901. Columbia students graduated on 06/11/1902. It is not clear whether Sumner graduated in 1901 or 1902. A newspaper article discussing a student architectural exhibit at Columbia just before grsaduation in the New York Evening Post of 06/10/1902 indicated the former. (See "Architectural Exhibit," New York Evening Post, 06/10/1902, p. 2.)

In 1898, Kaiser had become a student, as per the Wilkes-Barre city directory. (See Williams' Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1898, p. 267.)

College Awards

Recipient, Columbia University, School of Architecture, Perkins Fellowship, 1902-1903. This prize was for $800 and "open for competition every four years to graduates of the School of Architecture." (See "Prizes, Fellowships and Honors for 1902," Columbia University Quarterly, vol IV, no. 4, 09/1902, p. 419.)

Relocation

Charles Sumner Kaiser was born in Wilkes-Barre, PA, on 03/21/1874. In 1870, the family resided in the WIlkes-Barre's census ward #2, which had a large number of native-born Pennsylvanians, an ample selection of immigrants from the British Isles and and good number who migrated there from Bavaria. WIlhelm Kaiser, Charles's father, like many of his immediate neighbors came from this southern German electorate and later kingdom. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1870; Census Place: Wilkes Barre Ward 2, Luzerne, Pennsylvania; Roll: M593_1369; Page: 633A, accessed 12/19/2023.) Charles's parents moved around a fair amount within Wilkes-Barre during his years at home.

Located on an east bank of the sinuous Susquehanna River, Wilkes-Barre had grown rich during the course of the 19th century mining anthracite coal. Initially, anthracite was used to heat buildings, but other uses for it expanded during the course of the century. The local iron industry began to use it by about 1840 to smelt iron ore. River barges plying the Susquehanna, canals and later railroads carried local coal to major East Coast markets. Initially, the mining workforce had come from Northern Europe, but this changed by the late century to include lower-wage miners from Eastern and Southern Europe. At the time of Charles's youth, between 1874 and 1894, the city prospered, and was a major industrial center in the state.

Between 1882 and 1886, they dwelled at 51 Ross Street in that city. (See Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1882, p. 134 and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1886, p.150.) The Kaisers lived at 108 South River Street in Wilkes-Barre in 1888, relocating to 18 Terrace Street by 1889. (See Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1888, p. 218 and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1889, p. 207.)

A significant tornado descended on Wilkes-Barre on 05/19/1890, when Charles was 16, killing 16, injuring 15 and destroying 260 buildings. The destruction wrought by this F3 twister would have created a lot of work in town for architects, builders, and tradespeople, and its impact may have influenced his decision to choose a career in the building trades. A year later, the Wilkes-Barre City Directory, 1891, indicated that he was employed as a carpenter.

Between at least 1890 and 1898, at least, Charles worked in his hometown and lived at home at 48 Dana Place in Wilkes-Barre. (See Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1890, p. 193 and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1898, p. 267.) He was listed as a student in the Williams' Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1898, (p. 267) and not listed in the city directory of 1899.

Between c. 1898 and 1906, Charles S. Kaiser resided in Manhattan in New York City. He married in 1902 to Alice Holly.

The architect moved across the US to Berkeley, CA, in 1906, and remained living here until 1916. Between 1910 and 1912, he and his family resided in a dwelling at 60 The Uplands in Berkeley, CA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Berkely, Alameda, California; Roll: T624_72; Page: 4b; Enumeration District: 0054; FHL microfilm: 1374085, accessed 12/15/2023 and Oakland, California, City Directory, 1912, p. 147.) He operated his own architectural practice in Berkeley, a college town often attracting wealthy and well-educated people, who commissioned architects to design houses in its rapidly developing tracts. These tracts were either in the flat western part of the city or in the foothills on the city's eastern fringe. The foothills particularly offered great opportunities to design for views and indoor-outdoor living.

He legally changed his surname to "Charles Kaiser Sumner" in 1917, just after Germany's sinking of the Cunard liner R.M.S. Lusitania on 05/07/1915, creating a storm of anti-German and anti-Kaiser sentiment in the US. (One hundred twenty eight passengers aboard the ship were American.) The architect's name was Sumner as noted in the 1920 US Census. In total, he was known as "Charles Sumner Kaiser" between 1874 and 1917, and "Charles Kaiser Sumner" between 1917 and 1948.

In that year, he and his family owned a residence at 760 University Avenue in Palo Alto, CA. Palo Alto was, like Berkeley, another college town, located next to Stanford University. Living at this address were Charles and Alice, and their children Catherine, Francis, William, Elizabeth and Robert. The San Francisco architect Henry Minton, Sr., and his family resided nearby in a rented house at 533 Middlefield Road. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1920; Census Place: Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California; Roll: T625_147; Page: 17B; Enumeration District: 137, accessed 12/15/2023.)

The Sumners remained at 760 University Avenue in 1930. According to the US Census, the household included Charles and Alice, and their children Katherine A. Sumner, Francis M. Sumner, WIlliam H. Sumner, Elizabeth S. Sumner, and Robert W. Sumner. In addition, a lodger, Frank Ingersoll, (born c. 1913 in the Philippines) and a servant, Edith Ecklund (born c. 1910 in WA), also inhabited the house. The house had an approximate value of $50,000 in 1930, about five or six times the neighborhood average. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1930; Census Place: Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0018; FHL microfilm: 2339952, accessed 12/18/2023.)

In 1940, the Sumners lived at 535 Fulton Street in Palo Alto, the same corner location as at 760 University. The house had a value of about $7,000 at the time, meaning that the 1930 house valuation was far too high or the family had sold off some of the land surrounding the house during the 1930s. Only their son Robert remained at home just before World War II. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Palo Alto, Santa Clara, California; Roll: m-t0627-00336; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 43-32, accessed 12/18/2023.

The architect died in Santa Clara County, CA, at the age of 74 and was buried at the Alta Mesa Memorial Park in Palo Alto, CA.

Parents

His father was trained as a tinsmith, Wilhelm (William) Kaiser (born 01/22/1841 in Eisenberg, Bavaria-d. 11/09/1914 in Wilkes-Barre, PA). Eisenberg, Bavaria, was a town in southern Bavaria nearby to the Austrian border, about 118 km from Innsbruck to the southeast and 125 km to Munich to the northeast. William immigrated to the US with his parents--Andreas Kaiser (born 08/12/1808 in Eisenberg, Germany-d. 05/03/1856 in Wilkes-Barre, PA) and Charlotta Francesca Christiana Schelb (born 12/31/1807 in Eisenberg, Bavaria-d. 05/05/1884 in Wilkes-Barre, PA)--in about 1851, settling in Wilkes-Barre, PA, in the east-central part of the state. He attended to Wilkes-Barre public schools and enlisted in the US Army early during the Civil War.

He saw Civil War duty with three units, including the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry, the 8th Infantry and ended the war as a sergeant in the 48th Pennsylvania Militia. The militia was formed in 1863 to protect the state following early Confederate victories at Fredericksburg, VA, (12/1862) and Chancellorsville, VA, (05/1863). (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; U.s., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934; NAI Title: General Index to Civil War and Later Pension Files, Ca. 1949-Ca. 1949; NAI Number: 563268; Record Group Title: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007; Record Group Number: 15; Series Number: T288; Roll: 252, accessed 12/19/2023.) In all, 360,000 Pennsyvanians served on the Union side, the largest state contingent next to that of NY.

After 1868, William Kaiser worked in the plumbing business, William Kaiser and Son, in Wilkes-Barre. (This firm had its office at 80 South Main Street in Wilkes-Barre in 1892. [See Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1892, p. 239.]) Both of William's brothers also went into tin smithing, so this line of work may have been a family specialty in Bavaria. According to an obituary, William Kaiser had a US patent for a fire hydrant design--the Kaiser Iron Hydrant--that gained some popularity by 1914. (See “William Kaiser, A Civil War Veteran, Dead,” Wilkes-Barre Evening News, 11/10/1914, p. 1, accessed 12/19/2023.) He patented three hydrant-related inventions that likely provided the family with some tangible royalty money. (See the EvaAnne Johnson, Family History Librarian.com, "Andrew Kaiser, tinner and tinker," published 02/09/2019, accessed 12/19/2023.) It also appears that Kaiser's Iron Hydrant was patented in Canada, as well.

William's wife Sarah Ann "Sallie" Meixell (born 08/01/1844 in PA-d. 07/07/1922 in Nuangola, PA) was native born. Sallie, who lived in Stroudsburg, PA, when she wed William in 1864, had at least eight children, including Clara Kaiser Meyer (born c. 1866 in PA-d/ 03/15/1947 in Garden City, NY), Martin Luther Kaiser, Sr., (born 01/11/1868 in Wilkes-Barre, PA-d. 09/08/1950 in Nuangola, PA), Saidee E. Kaiser (born 03/30/1870 in Wilkes-Barre, PA-d. 10/30/1934 in Wilkes-Barre, PA), Franklin Andrew Kaiser (born 05/12/1876 in Wilkes-Barre, PA-d. 09/06/1969 in Scranton, PA), William Emory Kaiser (born 03/15/1879 in Wilkes-Barre, PA-d. 05/21/1953 in Wilkes-Barre, PA), John C. Kaiser (born c. 04/1882 in Wilkes-Barre, PA), and Paul Christian Kaiser (born 06/20/1888 in Wilkes-Barre, PA-d. 06/03/1951 in Abington, PA).

Martin worked as a plumber with his father. (See Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, City Directory, 1892, p. 239.)

In Wilkes-Barre, the Kaiser Family lived at 486 South River Street, c. 1914.

Spouse

He wed Alice Maud Holly (born 04/17/1871 in Greenwich, CT-d. 03/08/1959 in Santa Clara County, CA) on 12/17/1902 in Greenwich, CT. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Connecticut State Department of Health; Hartford, CT; Connecticut Vital Records — Index of Marriages, 1897-1968, accessed 12/15/2023.)

Her parents were Adeline Eliza Wilson (born 04/1843 in Greenwich, CT-d. 1901 in Greenwich, CT) and Francis Manton Holly (born 03/28/1833 in Manhattan, NY-d. 04/07/1916 in Greenwich, CT). Francis was a Yale-educated (Class of 1855) physician working for many years in Greenwich, CT. He and Adeline had four daughters, Alice being the second oldest.

Children

Alice and Charles had the following children: Charles Hawley Sumner (born 08/27/1904 in Manhattan, NY), Catherine A. Sumner (born c. 1905 in Manhattan, NY), Francis Holly Manton Sumner (born 04/20/1907 in Alameda County, CA), William Hobart Sumner (born 01/03/1909 in Berkeley, CA-d. 09/10/1999 in Miami, FL), Elizabeth Sarah Sumner (born 11/26/1911 in CA-d. 04/03/1995 in Monterey County, CA) and Robert Ware Sumner (born 06/29/1914 in Berkeley, CA-d. 09/30/1976 in San Diego County, CA).

Elizabeth attended Palo Alto High School (c. 1928) and Stanford University (c. 1932).

In 1950, Robert worked as a service engineer in a Los Angeled aircraft factory. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 2146; Page: 66a; Enumeration District: 66-128, accessed 12/18/2023.)

Biographical Notes

Prior to 12/15/2023, PCAD erroneously recorded Kaiser's birthdate as 1874-05-23.

In 12/1902 at age 28, Kaiser stood 5-feet 10-and-1/2-inches tall. His US Passport application of 12/11/1902 listed him as having blue eyes and brown hair. It described him as having a high forehead, straight nose, medium mouth, oval chin, light complexion and oval face. He required a passport as he was to take a European "grand tour" during the year 1903 and he planned to return by 02/1904.

Member, Cosmos Club, Washington, DC, c. 1948.