Charlotte Malone Menger
Charlotte Malone Menger (? – 1936, per Nancy Draves’s 30 May 2026 email; the 1925-marriage / 1935-death version in the 28 May 2026 reading of Gus Menger’s narrative “Great Oaks from Little Acorns Grow” and the family genealogy worksheet photographed the same session disagree on the death year — see § Death year discrepancy).
Nancy Draves’s maternal grandmother; second wife (or possibly first marriage on his side) of Rudolph W. Menger. Mother of Nancy’s mother Charlotte (Belcher) and of John Menger (died at 301 Primera).
Identity
- Maiden surname: Malone
- Previously divorced with three sons from her first marriage when she married Rudolph W. Menger — Nancy Draves (Jun 2015 email) spells the first-husband surname Steed and names sons Robert, Steve, and Johnny Steed (KB otherwise uses Malone maiden only; marriage records open)
- Painter — early bluebonnet painter; took lessons at the Witte Museum (instructor unidentified — Nancy describes a man with a small house/studio in the park who wore a little hat; Jun 2015 email). In the 12 June 2026 Draves session (Rec11 / 27:18–28:33) Nancy added detail: the instructor was “a little man who wore tan” who had a small building in Brackenridge Park (near the Mexican Village / a historical-marker dedication site), and Rudolph drove Charlotte, the instructor, and Nancy’s mother out to find places to paint bluebonnets — e.g. around the Stubing Ranch. Chris M. Jasso cartoon of Charlotte as hunting/fishing partner survives in Nancy’s papers. Her paintings remained on the walls of 301 Primera after her death; Rudolph kept the collection in place for the next 49 years of his life. Surviving canvases remain in the family home and are split among Nancy’s sisters (12 June 2026 session). eBay find: Tim Draves bought a small Charlotte Menger painting on eBay for $9.99 — the listing had misread the signature as “Chax Menger” (12 June 2026 session, Rec12 / 28:25)
- Worked downtown before her marriage — venue undocumented; the office she worked at was visited by Rudolph “for sales purposes” per Nancy’s family narrative
- Mother — Mrs. Malone (“Great Grandma Malone” in Nancy’s account) — moved into 301 Primera after Charlotte’s death to care for the children, and also died in the house; first names of either Malone woman not yet documented
Marriage and how it happened
Per Nancy’s 30 May 2026 email reply:
She had been divorced and had 3 boys when they married. She worked downtown while her mother; my Great Grandmother Malone watched the boys. Apparently, Rudolph frequented the office she worked in, I guess for sales purposes. 🙂 Later, they fell in love, etc.
Gus’s narrative as read aloud 28 May 2026 places the Rudolph–Charlotte marriage at 1925. If 1925 is the marriage year and 1935/1936 the death year, the marriage lasted 10–11 years.
Death year discrepancy
| Source | Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nancy Draves email, 30 May 2026 | 1936 | ”My Grandma, Charlotte Malone Menger died in 1936.” |
| Menger genealogy worksheet, 2026-05-28 photo 01 | 1935 | Printed sheet: “Rudolph William 1893–1985 m. Charlotte Malone (d. 1935)“ |
| 2015 Nancy Draves BKB research notes | 1935 | Per Gus’s narrative — “m. Charlotte Malone in 1925; she died 1935” |
| Nancy/Tim Draves session, 12 June 2026 | 1936 | Oral, Rec11 ~27:18–28:33 — “the painter died in 1936” / “two months after the 1936 picnic.” Repeats the 30 May 2026 letter’s year; discrepancy with the 1935 written sources stands, to be reconciled (not overwriting the existing record) |
The written sources say 1935; Nancy’s two most recent oral/personal statements (the 30 May 2026 letter and the 12 June 2026 session) both say 1936. Resolution path: Bexar County death records 1935–1936 for “Charlotte Malone Menger” / “Charlotte M. Menger.” A six-month-off year may also reflect calendar-vs-recollection error — e.g., the death in late December 1935 vs. early January 1936.
Children
| Child | Notes |
|---|---|
| Three sons from her first marriage | Surnames not Menger (first husband’s). Raised by Great Grandma Malone in the Primera house after their mother’s death. “Got older and moved away” per Nancy. Names and dates undocumented. |
| Charlotte (Belcher) | 1927–2011. Nancy’s mother. Married William Belcher (1928–2014). Inherited 301 Primera after Rudolph’s 1985 death. Dates confirmed by Menger family genealogy document shared by Tim and Nancy Draves, June 2026 (2026-06-01-menger-family-genealogy-draves). |
| Steve / Stephen G. Menger | Survived Rudolph’s August 1985 death and was still living in Canyon Lake at Ted’s March 1987 death (per Ted’s 1987 Express-News feature, where he is named as a nephew). The 1985-obituary form “Steve G.” and the 1987 form “Stephen G.” are almost certainly the same person. Otherwise undocumented in the KB. |
| John Menger | Date unknown. Described as having a long illness; died at 301 Primera before Rudolph. The bedroom-rail rig Ted built (see 301 Primera § Ted Menger ceiling rails) may have been to assist with his end-of-life care alongside Great Grandma Malone’s. Otherwise undocumented in the KB. |
Posthumous presence
Rudolph “never let her spirit pass” — he talked as if her death had been recent, kept all her paintings on the walls of 301 Primera, and “kept her memory alive” until his own death in August 1985 (49 years after Charlotte’s).
Open questions
- Death year — 1935 or 1936? Bexar County records would resolve
- First husband’s surname — names the three half-uncles’ surname; SA marriage records 1910s–early-1920s would resolve
- First names of Charlotte herself and of her mother (Great Grandma Malone)
- Where she worked downtown before marriage — the office Rudolph “frequented for sales purposes”
- John Menger’s birth year, illness, and death date — he is otherwise undocumented in the KB
See also
People
- Rudolph W. Menger — husband
- Nancy Draves — granddaughter
- Theodore J. Menger — brother-in-law; later lived at 301 Primera with Rudolph
- Menger Family
Places
- 301 Primera — primary residence; where she lived, where her paintings stayed, where her mother and son later died
Sources
- Nancy Draves email archive (2014–2026)
- Nancy Draves email — Re: Lemons (30 May 2026)
- Listening session digest (28 May 2026)
- Session digest — Nancy and Tim Draves (12 June 2026)