My husband in 1994 traveled to Montana to be present at the funeral of his father while I remained home to care for our 3 young children. When my husband returned home 10 days later, he had in his possession an additional suitcase. He commented that it contained items his dad had left for him and our boys. As he was unpacking, the look on my face should have been filmed, since I’m positive I was appearing shocked. My first thought was: ”Why did you bring home the urn and the ashes of your father?” When I voice my concerns out loud, Bob laughed and kept unpacking. It wasn’t until I held and reviewed the items more closely that I realized, it wasn’t his father’s remains, but instead pieces of unique family history. The two silver urns were trophies won as a US Billiards champion by my husband’s grandfather, Halbert Armine Coleman. The third item was a picture taken along with a newspaper article, about a billiards tournament in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the tournament and trophy honored Halbert. My husband knew little about Halbert, because his grandparents divorced before he was born. He only met Halbert once. This story about Halbert and his billiard days that follows is an excerpt of a longer piece I’ve written about the family.
Born on 13 October 1868, to William Werner Coleman (1835-1880 ) and Clara Valeria Metzel (1838-1924). In the 1870 Census, Halbert is shown as the 4th child of William and Clara Coleman. In the 1880 census he is listed with his parents and 4 siblings, his younger brother, Henry Harrison (“Harry”) having joined the family in 1873, Halbert, Clara and Anna are listed as “at school.” Additional records including obituary notices, historical stories and travel papers give information that Edgar, Anna and Clara all studied in Europe, and it is believed that Halbert did also. In the probate papers of William Werner Coleman, Clara is listed as studying in “Cassel, Germany” which was the spelling for Kassel until 1928, which is located in northern Germany., An arrival on 10 December 1887 with his father and mother from Bremen Germany does demonstrate that he traveled abroad at 19. Just 10 months later, his father William Werner Coleman passed on 26 October,1888. In the Milwaukee Elite Directory for 1891/1892 he is listed living with his mother, and sister Clara, at 244 Biddle Street. His brother Edgar is married and is also listed in the directory living at the Plankingn House. In 1894, Halbert met and married Zillah Louise Barney on 27 March 1894 in Albert Lea, Minnesota. In 1895, Halbert and Louise are living in Milwaukee, and are listed in the 1895 Wisconsin State Census. The 1900 census for Milwaukee Ward 18, offers more information about the family at that time. Their two daughters, Clara Alice and Zillah Louise have been born and are ages 4 and 2 respectively. Halbert is listed as a publisher. Their address is 349 Prospect Avenue. Louise’s brother, John Willis Barney is living with them at the time of the census, and they have a servant as part of their household. They are at the bottom of sheet 6, while at the top are Clara and Thomas Manville, and their family. Clara is Halbert’s older sister, and Thomas Franklin Manville is the heir for the Manville Covering Company, which held the patent for asbestos. In 1904 an H.A. Coleman representing Milwaukee is seen in the book Modern Billiards as participating in Chicago, Illinois in the Mussey’s Handicap event. Coleman divided the fourth and fifth prizes with another man. By October of 1904, H.A. Coleman is part of the Amateur Handicap on October 3-10th at Maurice Daly’s. It ends up being Coleman’s first victory in the East. At this point H.A. Coleman’s name becomes common in the billiards world, playing in the following games as reported in a book, Modern Billiards, A complete Test-book of the game, that was produced in 1909. Maurice Daly’s Class B, December 5, 1904 Maurice Daly’s Class B Amateur Championship beginning January 23, 1905 Maurice Daly’s Class B, May 22- 26th Maurice Daly’s Class A Handicap at 18.2, October 2-7th, H.A. Coleman was first Maurice Daly’s Phenomenally Close and Uniform play, December 11 – 22nd, 1905 Maurice Daly’s Class B, closing on May23rd, 1906 The smaller silver urn shows the Championship Trophy won by H.A. Coleman in 1905 at Maurice Daly’s. In addition the New York Herald, on Saturday, February 4, 1905 provided a full-length article and picture of H.A. Coleman making a jump shot to win the tournament. According to the History of the Sherin Family, Louise and Halbert divorced in 1907. We do know that Louise did spend time in New York with Halbert during the billiards tournaments, and spent time with Clara and Thomas Franklin Manville who were living in the Savoy Hotel in 1905. We don’t know what caused the split, but Louise headed back to her family in Clear Lake after 1907. In 1908, in Modern Billiards, there is a Championship of Wisconsin held at Coleman & Perrigo’s Room in Milwaukee Wisconsin in February. H.A. Coleman is not playing, but instead a co-owner of the billiards parlor, that is listed in the 1909 and 1910 City Directories. Halbert however, is back in New York City, beginning in February 1913, where he participates in the Class B Amateur championship tournament at Paul’s Riverside Billiard Academy, which is discussed in The New York Times. This was the beginning of a tournament that continued through March 11, 1913, when H.A. Coleman defeats C.P. Conway to become the Class B Billiard winner. Coleman won the same tournament in 1915, and the larger trophy lists his name twice in the 5-year span of 1911 to 1915. Citations 1870 U.S. Census, Milwaukee, WI, pop. sch., Milwaukee Ward 7, p. 60, dwell. 370, fam. 368, Werner W. Coleman, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com :accessed 28 August 2016), citing NARA microfilm publication, M593, roll 1728. 1880 U.S. census, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Milwaukee, enumeration district (ED) 122, dwelling 460, family 202, William Coleman head of household, Halbert A (line 44), digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com :accessed 28 August 2016), citing NARA microfilm publication T9, Roll 1437. Coleman Family “The Record of Family Faculties,” published 1884 by Macmillan & Co., information written in the book appears to be done by Zillah Louise Barney Coleman, Coleman Family Collection, privately held by Emily C. Richardson, Charlotte, NC. New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, Halbert Coleman, 10 DEC 1887, Microfilm Publication M237, 675 rolls. NAI: 6256867. Records of the U.S. Customs Service, Record Group 36. National Archives at Washington, D.C. Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. Wisconsin Vital Record Index, pre-1907. Madison, WI, USA: Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services Vital Records Division, Werner Coleman, 26 Oct 1888. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89080478134;view=1up;seq=99 Minnesota, County of Freeborn, marriage certificate 144 (1894), Halbert Coleman and Lulu Barney, County Recorder, Albert Lea. 1895 Wisconsin State Census, Milwaukee County, population schedule, City of Milwaukee, p. 17, Halbert A. Coleman, digital image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com :accessed 27 February 2017), citing “Wisconsin State Census”, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin. 1900 U.S. Census, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, population schedule, Milwaukee City Ward 18, enumeration district (ED) 160, p. 6, dwelling 112, family 130, Halbert A. Coleman, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com :accessed 28 August 2016), citing NARA Microfilm publication T623, roll 1805 “Mrs. Manville Passes Away in New York,” The Dallas Morning News, 25 August 1941, page 6, digital image, GenealogyBank.com (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 22 November 2017). Modern Billiards, A Complete Text-Book of the Game, published 1904 by Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co., 1904 (p. 284, 299), 1905 (300-305), 1906 (310), “Mussey’s Handicap”, online image, Archive.org (https://archive.org/details/modernbilliardsc01garn :accessed 27 August 2016). Trophy for Class B Amateur Billiards Championship, in possession of author Gilbert W. Sherin, The Sherin Family (Wilmington, self-published, 1936), 20, privately held by Emily Coffman Richardson, Charlotte, NC. “H.A. Coleman wins Class B Tourney,” New York Herald, 4 February 1905, original copy framed, privately held by Emily C. Richardson, Charlotte, NC. New York, Department of Health, marriage record, 5754 (1914), Halbert A. Coleman and Mabel German, Vital Records Office, Manhattan. 1915 Census, New York State, state population schedules, New York City, election district: 21, assembly district (AD) 19, p. 24, line 5, Broadway 3115, Halbert Coleman, digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 July 2017), citing State population census schedules, New York State Archives; Albany, New York. 1920 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule Borough of Manhattan, enumeration district (ED) 1496, p. 1, family 18, Halbert Coleman, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com :accessed 28 August 2016), citing NARA Microfilm publication, T625, Roll 1226. 1930 U.S. Census, Richmond County, New York, Stapleton Township, enumeration district (ED) 43, sheet 9, dwelling 50, family 18, Halbert Coleman, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com :accessed 26 August 2016), citing NARA microfilm publication, T626, Roll 1613 1940 U.S. Census, Ramsey County, Minnesota, population schedule, St. Paul City, enumeration district (ED) 90, dwelling “Brinsmeade Hotel”, line 10, Halbert A Colman, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com :accessed 26 August 2016), citing NARA microfilm publication T627, roll 1996. Pennsylvania, Department of Health, “Pennsylvania, Death Certificates, 1906-1963,” Mabel German,digital image, Ancestry.com, (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 10 July 2017), birth date 1 FEB 1875, unlisted source. Wisconsin Department of Health Services, death certificate, (1943), Halbert A. Coleman, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Madison, uncertified copy, no certificate number. Findagrave.com, database and images, photograph, gravestone for Halbert A. Coleman (1869-1943), , Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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