Fred Schroeder came to Kiowa in 1896 from Ellinwood, Kansas, where his
     parents settled after arriving from Germany in 1882. He married Frances
     Kessler in 1899. Frances came with her parents to Barber County around
     1899 from New York State and settled in Moore Township. Her father
     homesteaded land in the Cherokee Strip.
       Fred first worked for the J.W. Mercantile Company as a hardware man,
     eventually purchasing the hardware division in 1908. Fred and Frances
     worked hard to make Schroeder's Hardware the most complete stock of
     hardware and fine dishes to be found in surrounding territory. He was 
     a member of the Board of Education during the construction of the first
     Kiowa High School. The Schroeders sold the business to the firm of Fisher-
     Wood in 1941, and Fred retired to look after his farming interests.
       Fred died in 1949 at the age of 75, and Frances died in 1967 at the 
     age of 88.
       The Schroeders had two daughtes, Helen and Freda, and one son, Fred Jr.,
     who died shortly after birth. They also took into their home Katie Anna
     (Kathryn) White. Katie was left homeless when her aunt, Alice Kessler
     White, along with Katie's sister, Elizabeth were drowned in the Pueblo 
     Flood. Alice was Frances's sister.
       Helen Schroeder attended Kiowa schools and graduated from Kansas
     University with a degree in Pharmacy. She was employed as pharmacist at
     Wesley Hospital for 20 years. After 1946 she made her home in Kiowa,
     working as a pharmacist at several drug stores in Kiowa until shortly
     before her death in 1977. Helen was active in BPW, Garden Club, and
     Pilgram Daughters.
       Freda Schroeder Tillotson attended Kiowa Schools and graduated from
     Kansas State University with a degree in Dietetics. She worked in a
     hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, until she married Ted Johnson. After
     his death from a heart attack, she went to work at Fitzsimmons General
     Hospital, Denver, and during World War II she was commissioned a First
     Lieutenant in charge of Mess Halls at Lowry Field. At the close of the
     war she married Joe Tillitson and lived in Denver until his death. She
     returned home to Kiowa where she lived until her death in 1968.
       Katie (Kathryn) White Merritt attended Kiowa schools and graduated 
     from Wichita Business College and worked as a secretary until World
     War II, when she enlisted in the Women Reserves of the United States
     Marines. While in the Marines, she met and married Arnold Merritt from
     Anniston, Alabama. After the war they returned to Wichita where Ray
     worked as a glazier until he was shot and wounded by a sniper on August
     11, 1976. Ray is now retired, and he and Katie plan to move to Florida
     sometime in the near future. They have two sons, Charles Gregory and
     Robert William. Greg is married, has three children, and is employed
     as Sales Manager with Coca Cola Company in Omaha, Nebraska. Robert will
     graduate this spring from Kansas University with a degree in Geology.
                
     Source:Chosen Land - Barber County, Kansas, pg. 406 
     Submitted by: Katie Merritt