R. M. Snyder, the millionaire industrialist, as he was referred to in business circles and in numerous newspaper articles was killed at age 54 in 1906 in one of the first motor car accidents in Kansas City, Missouri. The chauffer driving his Royal Tourist automobile swerved to avoid a child and lost control of the car in the newly oiled street and Robert’s head was crushed against a trolley pole. When he died a press release stated that “he did more for the residents of Kansas City than any man who ever lived there”. There was good reason for that statement since among other of his accomplishments was the piping of cheap natural gas for public consumption into Kansas City and many surrounding towns. In his drilling efforts in Kansas and Indian Territory (Oklahoma) he hit several wells among them the largest well ever found at that time, the Schoenberg. He built a million dollar gas works in Kansas City that was hailed as a boon to the city. He began as a bookkeeper and grocer and with his business talents ended life as a multi-millionaire. He was a founder of the Kansas City Life Insurance Company, the Mechanics Bank and the City National Bank in Kansas City and arranged real estate deals for the post office and bond issues for Kansas City in the 1880’s and 1890’s. He was a devoted son and generous brother to his seven siblings and to his in-laws and cousins. He employed many of his relatives in his numerous business ventures. He belonged to various civic and social clubs both in Kansas City and on the east coast and was a charitable man who was popular with his business colleagues and a wide circle of friends. On the occasion of his remarriage in Boston in 1901, the President of the United States sent a congratulatory telegram. He owned ranches and had investments nationwide and traveled in his own railroad car. His life was not without its low points. He was a widower twice and his only daughter died in infancy. He was accused and convicted of bribing an official in St Louis (a common requirement of doing business there at that time) and one of his four sons, Cary, was convicted of criminal activity and murdered in 1905 and his skeletal remains were found only a few weeks before Robert was killed. He was an avid sportsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing and, as a result, in 1903 he purchased 5,400 acres of an unspoiled wilderness with caves, a waterfall and a lake in the Missouri Ozarks that he intended to be for his retirement and the enjoyment of his family and friends. The natives called the area Ha Ha Tonka. He imported 40 stonemasons from Scotland and employed hundreds of local subsistence farmers as workers to build on a bluff on his Ozark property a splendid castle like those he had admired on his European travels. When he was killed, his family completed the unfinished castle and estate although in a less magnificent fashion than Robert had planned. Part of the property was later the object of a very expensive and long lasting lawsuit when it was condemned for Bagnell Dam and flooded by the resulting Lake of the Ozarks. Ha Ha Tonka castle burned in 1942 and the imposing shell of it remains in Ha Ha Tonka Missouri State Park. There are several references to it on the internet. It is said to be haunted. If so, I hope it is my father’s Uncle Robert enjoying his castle.

While vacationing in the Ozarks several years ago, two of our college-age children somehow found this castle and persuaded me the next day to accompany them to see it again. I have never forgotten this beautiful spot and we imagined someone building it and living there. The waterfall at that time was so powerful, we could not imagine just how and why it was there. It is one of those experiences etched in our family memory that we still reminisce when we are together. I recall at the time, my son stating that the location had been a gathering spot for Indian tribes. Not certain if that is true or someone in the local area had told him. We could not imagine just how they were able to get all that stone to the top of the bluff. It is amazing how much R. M. Snyder accomplished. Thanks, Suzee for this information as I will pass this on to my family. Until now, we never knew the history of the person owning the land or building the castle. One of the first life insurance we ever bought was from Kansas City Life Insurance Co. It may still be there. Jane Wisdom ----- Original Message ----- From: "Suzee Oberg" <suzeeoberg@gmail.com> To: <germanna_colonies@rootsweb.com>; <GeorgeWDurman@comcast.net> Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 8:35 PM Subject: [GERMANNA] Added this story to Robert MClure SNYDER 1852-1906 R. M. Snyder, the millionaire industrialist, as he was referred to in business circles and in numerous newspaper articles was killed at age 54 in 1906 in one of the first motor car accidents in Kansas City, Missouri. The chauffer driving his Royal Tourist automobile swerved to avoid a child and lost control of the car in the newly oiled street and Robert’s head was crushed against a trolley pole. When he died a press release stated that “he did more for the residents of Kansas City than any man who ever lived there”. There was good reason for that statement since among other of his accomplishments was the piping of cheap natural gas for public consumption into Kansas City and many surrounding towns. In his drilling efforts in Kansas and Indian Territory (Oklahoma) he hit several wells among them the largest well ever found at that time, the Schoenberg. He built a million dollar gas works in Kansas City that was hailed as a boon to the city. He began as a bookkeeper and grocer and with his business talents ended life as a multi-millionaire. He was a founder of the Kansas City Life Insurance Company, the Mechanics Bank and the City National Bank in Kansas City and arranged real estate deals for the post office and bond issues for Kansas City in the 1880’s and 1890’s. He was a devoted son and generous brother to his seven siblings and to his in-laws and cousins. He employed many of his relatives in his numerous business ventures. He belonged to various civic and social clubs both in Kansas City and on the east coast and was a charitable man who was popular with his business colleagues and a wide circle of friends. On the occasion of his remarriage in Boston in 1901, the President of the United States sent a congratulatory telegram. He owned ranches and had investments nationwide and traveled in his own railroad car. His life was not without its low points. He was a widower twice and his only daughter died in infancy. He was accused and convicted of bribing an official in St Louis (a common requirement of doing business there at that time) and one of his four sons, Cary, was convicted of criminal activity and murdered in 1905 and his skeletal remains were found only a few weeks before Robert was killed. He was an avid sportsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing and, as a result, in 1903 he purchased 5,400 acres of an unspoiled wilderness with caves, a waterfall and a lake in the Missouri Ozarks that he intended to be for his retirement and the enjoyment of his family and friends. The natives called the area Ha Ha Tonka. He imported 40 stonemasons from Scotland and employed hundreds of local subsistence farmers as workers to build on a bluff on his Ozark property a splendid castle like those he had admired on his European travels. When he was killed, his family completed the unfinished castle and estate although in a less magnificent fashion than Robert had planned. Part of the property was later the object of a very expensive and long lasting lawsuit when it was condemned for Bagnell Dam and flooded by the resulting Lake of the Ozarks. Ha Ha Tonka castle burned in 1942 and the imposing shell of it remains in Ha Ha Tonka Missouri State Park. There are several references to it on the internet. It is said to be haunted. If so, I hope it is my father’s Uncle Robert enjoying his castle. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GERMANNA_COLONIES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I have added 6 websites for the Ha Ha Tonka Castle and 5 more photos of it to Robert McClure SNYDER's overview on the Germanna Tree at Ancestry. Sarge At 9/14/2011 10:29 PM Wednesday, Jane Wisdom wrote: *********START OF ORIGINAL MESSAGE TEXT********* >While vacationing in the Ozarks several years ago, two of our college-age >children somehow found this castle and persuaded me the next day to >accompany them to see it again. I have never forgotten this beautiful spot >and we imagined someone building it and living there. The waterfall at that >time was so powerful, we could not imagine just how and why it was there. >It is one of those experiences etched in our family memory that we still >reminisce when we are together. I recall at the time, my son stating that >the location had been a gathering spot for Indian tribes. Not certain if >that is true or someone in the local area had told him. We could not >imagine just how they were able to get all that stone to the top of the >bluff. It is amazing how much R. M. Snyder accomplished. >Thanks, Suzee for this information as I will pass this on to my family. >Until now, we never knew the history of the person owning the land or >building the castle. One of the first life insurance we ever bought was >from Kansas City Life Insurance Co. It may still be there. >Jane Wisdom >----- Original Message ----- >From: "Suzee Oberg" <suzeeoberg@gmail.com> >To: <germanna_colonies@rootsweb.com>; <GeorgeWDurman@comcast.net> >Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2011 8:35 PM >Subject: [GERMANNA] Added this story to Robert MClure SNYDER 1852-1906 > > >R. M. Snyder, the millionaire industrialist, as he was referred to in >business circles and in numerous newspaper articles was killed at age 54 in >1906 in one of the first motor car accidents in Kansas City, Missouri. The >chauffer driving his Royal Tourist automobile swerved to avoid a child and >lost control of the car in the newly oiled street and Robert�s head was >crushed against a trolley pole. When he died a press release stated that �he >did more for the residents of Kansas City than any man who ever lived >there�. There was good reason for that statement since among other of his >accomplishments was the piping of cheap natural gas for public consumption >into Kansas City and many surrounding towns. In his drilling efforts in >Kansas and Indian Territory (Oklahoma) he hit several wells among them the >largest well ever found at that time, the Schoenberg. He built a million >dollar gas works in Kansas City that was hailed as a boon to the city. He >began as a bookkeeper and grocer and with his business talents ended life as >a multi-millionaire. He was a founder of the Kansas City Life Insurance >Company, the Mechanics Bank and the City National Bank in Kansas City and >arranged real estate deals for the post office and bond issues for Kansas >City in the 1880�s and 1890�s. He was a devoted son and generous brother to >his seven siblings and to his in-laws and cousins. He employed many of his >relatives in his numerous business ventures. He belonged to various civic >and social clubs both in Kansas City and on the east coast and was a >charitable man who was popular with his business colleagues and a wide >circle of friends. On the occasion of his remarriage in Boston in 1901, the >President of the United States sent a congratulatory telegram. He owned >ranches and had investments nationwide and traveled in his own railroad car. >His life was not without its low points. He was a widower twice and his only >daughter died in infancy. He was accused and convicted of bribing an >official in St Louis (a common requirement of doing business there at that >time) and one of his four sons, Cary, was convicted of criminal activity and >murdered in 1905 and his skeletal remains were found only a few weeks before >Robert was killed. > >He was an avid sportsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing and, as a result, >in 1903 he purchased 5,400 acres of an unspoiled wilderness with caves, a >waterfall and a lake in the Missouri Ozarks that he intended to be for his >retirement and the enjoyment of his family and friends. The natives called >the area Ha Ha Tonka. He imported 40 stonemasons from Scotland and employed >hundreds of local subsistence farmers as workers to build on a bluff on his >Ozark property a splendid castle like those he had admired on his European >travels. When he was killed, his family completed the unfinished castle and >estate although in a less magnificent fashion than Robert had planned. Part >of the property was later the object of a very expensive and long lasting >lawsuit when it was condemned for Bagnell Dam and flooded by the resulting >Lake of the Ozarks. Ha Ha Tonka castle burned in 1942 and the imposing shell >of it remains in Ha Ha Tonka Missouri State Park. There are several >references to it on the internet. It is said to be haunted. If so, I hope it >is my father�s Uncle Robert enjoying his castle. > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >GERMANNA_COLONIES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without >the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > >------------------------------- >To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to GERMANNA_COLONIES-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message **********END OF ORIGINAL MESSAGE TEXT*********** Germanna Database at Ancestry: http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/28427876/recent?o_iid=41125&o_lid=41125&o_sch=Web+Property My Germanna Database at Rootsweb: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=germanna My Germanna Website at Rootsweb: http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~george/index.html