Not the “Johnny Appleseed” You Were Looking For

Image from Cask

Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Aug 10, 1894

FRIDAY.

William Coughlin, familiarly known as “Johnny Appleseed,” was sentenced to two years in the penitentiary. A few weeks ago, he stole $50 from Frank Pulver, of Huntertown, and it was on this charge that he was convicted.

Fort Wayne Weekly Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Nov 12, 1896

William Coughlin, alias, “Johnny Appleseed,” was arrested for drunkenness. He was in a belligerent mood last evening and smashed Officer Romy in the face. Squire France sent him to jail for nineteen days.

The Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Jul 14, 1899

Judge Louttit had easy picking at police court this morning, having only two victims of the night force to spose. “Johnny Appleseed” protested vigorously against being called nicknames in court and insisted that his name is William Coughlin. When asked under that name to enter a plea to a charge of drunkenness, he pleaded guilty.

He says he is no appleseed, nor hayseed either, but is a retired gentleman who drinks at leisure and drinks as often as opportunity affords. The judge told him to take a leisure spell of eleven days and think the matter over.

Jack Case was the other easy mark. Jack was sent over two weeks ago to serve a term for drunkenness. There was another affidavit against him at the time of his first trial for assault and battery on his sister-in-law. On the latter charge he was brought from the jail to police court, and on his plea of guilty was given another eleven days.

The Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Aug 21, 1901

There was a large grist at police court this morning. The venerable Johnny Appleseed, the survivor of more hard fought battles with the booze king than any man in Fort Wayne, made his semi-occasional appearance. Johnny’s return engagement this time was after a shorter interval than usual and he rather hesitatingly admitted to the judge that it had been only ten days since he had faced his honor before.

“But,” said Johnny, in his most persuasive tone, “ef you’ll let me off this time I’ll git right out of town and I’ll niver come back.”

“What do you mean by never?” asked the court. “Niver so long as you’re in office an’ a sittin’ up there.”

Johnny evidently does not know that the judge will be a candidate for re-election in four years, but his story and his promise went with the court.

“I’ll just fine you ten dollars,” said the judge, “and have a mittimus made out for you and the next time the officers catch you in town they’ll take you right over for twenty days, without going to the trouble of bringing you up here. Meantime I will suspend sentence; now do you understand what I mean?”

“I doos, I doos, tank you, tank you!” and Johnny slid out.

The Fort Wayne Sentinel (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Sep 10, 1901

*     *     *     *     *

Police News.

Officer Elliott last night found Johnny Appleseed lying in front of the fire engine house on East Main street. Johnny was in a badly intoxicated condition and the officer took him to headquarters.

The Fort Wayne Journal and Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Nov 21, 1903

A sure sign of spring showed up yesterday when Johnny Coughlin, familiarly known as “Johnny Appleseed,” blew into the city. It is his wont to remain in the country during the winter and to migrate to the city in the spring. He was given shelter at the police station and, if he follows his usual custom, he will be the occupant of a cell before many days. Johnny is a queer character, of the Sunny Jim type, but his love for drink usually lands him in jail at stated intervals.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort, Wayne, Indiana) Apr 6, 1906

Police headquarters last night got a call that an old soldier was lying drunk in a yard on East Lewis street. Patrolman Elliott responded to the call and found that the supposed soldier was Johnny Coughlin, a police character, who is known as “Johnny Appleseed.”

The officer started Johnny towards his home at the county infirmary and returned to headquarters just in time to investigate a call from Clinton street that an old soldier was lying drunk in a yard.

Going to the place, the officer again found Johnny and decided to take him to the station in order to preserve  the reputation of the veterans.

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) May 22, 1907

Running Fire: A Race for Liberty

Shortly after 1 o’clock this morning John Riedmiller’s valuable pacing horse, with a mark of 2:20, was standing, hitched to a post at the corner of Wayne and Calhoun streets. Officer Bower saw the animal there and had been watching it for some time. A few minutes after 1 o’clock the policeman saw a negro step into the buggy quietly and drive away without any evidence of being in a hurry or any movement to conceal his identity. The officer watched the colored man drive the horse east on Wayne street.

Image from WHDH 7News

The carriage was about a block east of Calhoun street, when in an excited manner Mr. Reidmiller made inquiries concerning his horse.

Officer Bower informed him that a colored man whom he supposed was a stable boy taking care of the animal, had driven it east. After a hasty exchange of explanations in regard to the disappearance of the horse, both men concluded that the animal had been stolen.

The patrol wagon was called out in a few minutes and sent east over the East Wayne street pavement at a wild run, manned by Capt. Borgman, Sergt. Dasler and Officer Gallmeier.

The officers flew down the thoroughfare with the horses at breakneck speed. Near the Concordia college they met a farmer driving into the city. He have the officers a clew and the panting patrol steeds were turned south on Walton avenue. Through the drizzling rain, with mud flying in all direction, the steeds galloped in a maddened run.

Fresh tracks were noticed on the Wayne ?ace going east, and the officers turned in that direction. In the darkness a few hundred feet away they saw the outlines of a carriage. The speed of the patrol wagon never faltered, and the policemen yelled “halt.”

The vehicle in front forged ahead with unchecked speed. Several shots were fired into the air to frighten the driver of the horse in front of the patrol wagon. The running fire had no effect. After a hot chase for a quarter of a mile, with neither the police nor the fleeing horse-thief gaining or losing any ground, there was a sudden halt.

The carriage in front of the patrol wagon stopped and almost instantly the patrol wagon wheeled up beside the foaming horse.

The drive had escaped, and only a few seconds before, as the lines were warm where he had held them in his grasp.

The ditch, culvert and fences in the vicinity were searched in vain. Not a trace of the horse-thief could be found. He successfully eluded the officers and escaped. The horse and carriage were brought back to the city.

This is the wildest ride the Fort Wayne officers have experienced since the patrol wagon has been in the police service.

The thief’s daring was bold in the extreme, and his escape was miraculous.

Fort Wayne News (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Oct 5, 1894

Step Lively

THE STREET CAR.

The car stopped comfortably filled,
Then four men got on.
At the next corner seven edged in,
And sixteen got on after that;
Afterward two boys swung on;
Soon a red-faced woman beckoned,
And she go on.
In the midst of the glad revelry
A party of serenaders trooped on.
By and by a colored gemmen,
Redolent of old-mown hay,
He got on.
Then five giggling school girls registered.
A hard-faced mother, with a squalling kid,
Mounted the platform.
Did she? She did?
Then a pompous police officer,
With girth for several.
Ripped in.
There little maids from school
Didn’t do anything but get on.
After a while a street sweeper pushed in,
Then a bricklayer
And a hod carrier.
Three tinsmiths, four stonemasons,
Also a printer,
Two Sunday school teachers,
And a prizefighter.
They got on.
But the “con” didn’t mind — he did his stunt,
And furiously bellowed: “Move up  to the front!”

— St. Paul Dispatch.

The Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) Feb 8, 1902

Image from The Historical Museum at Fort Missoula

Dazed a Conductor.

A Western woman who is on a visit to New York was boarding a street car in that city the other day. She had just placed her foot upon the step and was preparing to take another step to the upper platform when, with a furious “Step lively,” the conductor pulled the strap. The car jerked forward and the Western woman swayed back for a minutes, then just caught herself in time to prevent a bad fall upon the cobbles.

She confronted the conductor with angry eyes — eyes that had looked undismayed into those of mighty horned monsters of the prairies.

“What do you mean by starting the car before I was on?” she asked.

“Can’t wait all day for you, lady,” the conductor snarled. “Just step inside there.”

In a moment the Western woman, with a backward golf sweep of the arm, lunged for the conductor’s head. He dodged. The blow sent his hat spinning back into the track. The woman entered the car and sat down. She was flushed, but dignified. While the other women passengers were rather startled, they all knew just how she felt. Then the car stopped while the conductor went back for his hat. The Western woman rode free that time.

The Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana) Jul 23, 1900

Mrs. Stelling has Eloped with a Streetcar Conductor.

Fort Wayne News (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Oct 4, 1894

A PUBLIC EVIL.

You very often notice, as you’re riding in the car,
There’s one distressing feature all our peace of mind to mar,
It’s the fellow right in front of us who holds his paper so,
We’re forced to read the headlines, but the villain seems to know
Just when we get an inkling of a thrilling bit of news,
For he turns the paper over and thereafter he’ll refuse
To let us finish out the line, and so, with soul distressed,
We feel like smiting him because we cannot read the rest.

There’s nothing suits him better than to tantalize our view
With some big headline till he’s sure we’ve caught a word or two,
But just before we’re quite aware of what it’s all about,
He flops the paper upside down or yanks it inside out
And every time we seek to get a fact within our grasp
He upsets all our purposes and leaves us with a gasp,
Until at last we swear it, in a law and rasping tone,
That if we had the price we’d buy a paper of our own.

— Nixon Waterman, in L.A.W. Bulletin.

Middletown Daily Argus (Middletown, New York) Mar 31, 1898

Street-Car Crushed by Train

Nevada State Journal (Reno, Nevada) Oct 6, 1883

Deadly Fire at Keenan & Jahn’s

Image of Detroit Hook & Ladder Co. No.8 from Detroit Historical Society   (not the firemen in this article)

SAD FATALITY.

Several Lives Lost in a Fire at Detroit This Morning.

FIVE FIREMEN KILLED.

And Quite a Number of Others are Seriously Injured.

CRUSHED BY A WALL.

One Bystander Killed and Several Injured — Loss About $60,000.

Image from the Burton Historical Collection

DETROIT,. Oct. 5. — Fire at 7:45 o’clock this morning completely gutted Keenan & Jahn’s furniture store at No. 213, 215 and 217 Woodward Avenue, entailing a loss of $60,000 on the stock and $25,000 on the building. The fire started in the boiler room and shot up the freight elevator shaft, obtaining such headway that the firemen were unable to save any portion of the building contents.

Six men were killed and four or five were severely injured by the falling of the walls.

The name of the dead are:

MICHAEL DONAGHUE, chemical engine No. 1.

PIPEMAN RICHARD DELY, engine No. 9.

PIPEMAN JOHN PAGEL, engine No. 9.

MARTIN BALL, engine company No. 9.

JULIE G. CUMMINGS, truck No. 8.

FREDERICK BUSSEY, a clerk.

The injured are:

FRED DRAHEIM, engine No. 8, badly injured.

E.E. STEVENS, chemical engine No. 1, badly injured.

MICHAEL C. GRAY, badly hurt about head and body.

LIEUT. PATRICK O’ROURKE, engine No. 8, badly injured.

F.E. STOCKS, pipeman engine No. 8.

BARTHOLOMEW CRONIN, pipeman engine No. 8.

JOHN B. NEWELL, truck No. 2.

LESLIE E. McELMURRAY, fireman.

THOMAS GURRY, fireman.

HENRY HERIG, inspector.

None of the last six maned are badly injured.

The floors of the building fell in at 9:15 o’clock, and the front and rear walls immediately collapsed. The men of Engine company No. 9, chemical No. 1 and truck No. 2 were working in the windows and doors of the ground floor in front. In the rear the men of engine No. 8 were playing on the fire from a bridge that spanned the alley. The men wee working close to the rear walls when they collapsed and they were completely imbedded in the debris. Every man in the company except the captain was more or less injured, and Frederick A. Bussey, an inspector who was standing beneath the bridge, was killed.

The work of rescue was immediately begun, and in fifteen minutes the men who had been working in the alley had been taken out.

The firemen working in the front of the building did not fare so well, however. When the first cract of the falling floors was heard the men started to run, but the walls came down on them so swiftly that all were buried under tons of brick and mortar. The walls did not fall outside of the middle of the sidewalk, and the last brick had scarcely touched the walk before the work of rescue in front began.

The first body recovered was that of Lieut. Donaghue. Then the bodies of Pagel, Dely, Cummings and Ball were taken out in succession. Michael Gray was badly injured, as was also E.E. Stevens.

The building was a five story brick with 12-inch filled walls, and it is said that it had been condemned as being unsafe. The insurance on the building foots up $10,000 and on the stock about $50,000.

Fort Wayne News (Fort Wayne, Indiana) Oct 4, 1894

Image from Shorpy (click link for huge, very detailed and awesome image)

This is Woodward Avenue in 1910. Keenan & Jahn still have a furniture store located there, but according to the following information posted at DetroitYES!, it is not on the same block as it was at the time of the fire. I am not sure if the  Keenan & Jahn Furniture store in the smaller picture above is pre-fire or post-fire, but it in the big image from Shorpy, the store is located in a corner building, while the other appears to be sandwiched between two buildings.

From DetroitYES!:

One of the persons who already commented on Shorpy about this photo has provided the wrong location for it. He apparently did not know that Detroit renumbered all of their street addresses in 1920 because he used the old 260 address on the building at the far left to provide the Google Street Views.

Using the 1910 Detroit City Directory, I’ve confirmed that that this photo was actually taken from Grand Circus Park where Park Ave. (foreground) intersects with Woodward. [Google Street View]

According to the 1910 Directory, the building on the right was the Grand Circus Bldg. at 261-271 Woodward. Its tenants included “Keenan & Jahn Furniture” (261-263), “Goodyear Raincoat Co. and Rubber Store” (265), “H.R. Leonard Furniture” (267-269) and “T.C. Mau Furrier” (269). Sharing the 271 address were “A.L. Le Gro, Dentist” and “Frederick W. MacDonald, Dentist”.

Hot Day Hints

HOT DAY HINTS.

Suggestions For Those Who Become Warm and Weary at This Season.

When tired, warm and weary after a day’s outing, do not plunge the face in cold water expecting to be refreshed, or you will be more than disappointed. After the first cooling contact with the water the flesh will smart and burn more uncomfortably than ever. Instead of soothing the overheated skin cold water acts as an irritant, whereas tepid or hot water produces a contrary and desirable effect. After removing the dust and cleansing the pores thoroughly a buttermilk rub will heal, whiten and keep the skin tissues in a healthy condition.

The sun glaring on hot brick and mortar and hot, dusty pavements is very hard on the eyes. Bathing the eyes in tepid rainwater and epsom salts or diluted extract of witch hazel will allay inflammation and rest them wonderfully. A linen cloth moistened in either of these lotions and laid upon the eyes while taking a short siesta will give relief and induce nature’s doctor, “balmy sleep,” to woo the weary brain and tired eyes in restful repose. The same result is obtained by using crushed plantain leaves in a similar manner.

The clammy moisture so annoying may be alleviated by dropping a half teaspoonful of dissolved alum in the water or a few drops of sulphuric acid to render it sour. Lemon juice is also very excellent, removing stains and discolorations as well, and frequent use, with an occasional application of glycerin and rosewater mixed, gives a velvety whiteness to the skin. — Philadelphia Times.

Middletown Daily Argus (Middletown, New York) Jul 10, 1894

The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck

Image from The Battle of the Nile

CASA BY ANCHOR.

BY SLOWCUS.

The boy stood on the burning deck,
There isn’t any doubt;
And yet who saw him on the wreck?
Who really heard him shout?

Would he have stood and roasted there
With jolly-boats so near,
And bragged about his fierce despair
Nor walked off on his ear?

Why not give one good roar for oars
Assail his pa for sail
To wait him toward the fishing shores?
Why stay aboard and wail?

What wonder standing there he seemed
So beautiful and bright?
Who couldn’t while around him beamed
That lovely Titian light?

His pow-wow with his father I
Regard as tempting fate;
If he declined to early die,
Why stay there and dilate?

“Pa, can’t you speak — a little please?
Just try a sneeze or cough,
My nearest kin, kin you release,
Or are you, father, off?”

And while his father slept below
The boy, he never stirred;
One of a “race” who never “go”
Unless they “get the word.”

He called aloud, “Am I allowed
Your leave to leave? Your son
Stands fire, you now, but don’t you crowd
The thing; I’m toasted done.

“Of course I’ll do what you desire,
If you’re laid on the shelf;
I burn with ardor — but, this fire!
You know how ’tis yourself.

“Speak father, I would be released?
I list your loving tones,”
He knew not that he pa, deceased,
Had gone to Davy Jones.

Upon his brow he felt the heat,
Yet stood serene and calm.
With only now and then a bleat,
Like Mary’s little lamb.

The yards and spars did burn and snap
All in the wildest way;
Not e’en a shroud was left the chap,
And he the only stay.

There came a bursting thunder peal —
Good gracious! Pretty soon
Boy, ship, and anchor, flag and keel,
Went up in a balloon.

And when this sound burst o’er the tide,
The boy! oh, where was he?
Ask of the winds, or none beside
Stayed long enough to see.

With mast and helm and pennon fair,
That acted well enough,
The sickest thing that perished there
Was that young sailor muff.

Now, boys, don’t take a cent of stock
In Cas-a-bi-an-ca;
The spots from such a son they’d knock,
Our Young A-mer-i-ca.

Cambridge City Tribune (Cambridge City, Indiana) Oct 26, 1871

Image from 80 Plus – an octogenarian’s blog

*****

The original poem, from the All Poetry website:

Casabianca

The boy stood on the burning deck
Whence all but he had fled;
The flame that lit the battle’s wreck
Shone round him o’er the dead.

Yet beautiful and bright he stood,
As born to rule the storm;
A creature of heroic blood,
A proud, though childlike form.

The flames roll’d on…he would not go
Without his father’s word;
That father, faint in death below,
His voice no longer heard.

He call’d aloud…”Say, father,say
If yet my task is done!”
He knew not that the chieftain lay
Unconscious of his son.

“Speak, father!” once again he cried
“If I may yet be gone!”
And but the booming shots replied,
And fast the flames roll’d on.

Upon his brow he felt their breath,
And in his waving hair,
And looked from that lone post of death,
In still yet brave despair;

And shouted but one more aloud,
“My father, must I stay?”
While o’er him fast, through sail and shroud
The wreathing fires made way,

They wrapt the ship in splendour wild,
They caught the flag on high,
And stream’d above the gallant child,
Like banners in the sky.

There came a burst of thunder sound…
The boy-oh! where was he?
Ask of the winds that far around
With fragments strewed the sea.

With mast, and helm, and pennon fair,
That well had borne their part;
But the noblest thing which perished there
Was that young faithful heart.

By Felicia Dorothea Hemans, © 1809, All rights reserved.

Editor notes

Casabianca, It tells the story of Giocante Casabianca, a 12-year old boy, who was the son of Luce Julien Joseph Casabianca. Casabianca was the commander of Admiral de Brueys’ flagship, l’Orient , Giocante Casabianca stayed at his post aboard the flagship L’Orient during the Battle of the Nile. Giocante Casabianca and his father both died in an explosion when the fire reached the gunpowder store.

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Jul 21, 1894

*****

Evidently, this was a popular poem to parody – From The Guardian

“Casabianca” was soon taken up by the parodists. As we’ve recently discussed on this forum, a good parody demands such close reading it might almost be thought an ironical act of love. But most of the anonymous parodists of “Casabianca” didn’t get beyond the first verse. “The boy stood on the burning deck./ His feet were covered in blisters./ He’d burnt the socks right off his feet/ And had to wear his sister’s” was the version I heard as a child.

A few more:

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Jun 24, 1895

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Feb 2, 1913

Syracuse Herald (Syracuse, New York) Sep 25, 1920

Syracuse Herald (Syracuse, New York) Jul 7, 1912

CASABIANCA.

THE BOY stood on the burning deck — an orator was he,
and in that scene of fire and wreck he spoke quite fluently,
“The men who hold the public scaps should all be fired,” he cried;
“they should make room for worthy chaps who wait their turn outside.
True virtue always stands without, and vainly yearns and tolls,
while wickedness in office shouts, and passes round the spoils.
One rule should govern our fair land — a rule that’s bound to win
all office holders should be canned, to let some new ones in.
All people usefully employed at forge, in mill or shop,
should know that labor’s null and void — man’s duty is to yawp.
The farmer should forsake his play, the harness man his straps;
the blacksmith should get busy now, and look around for snaps.
Why should the carpenter perform, when we have homes enough;
why should producers round us swarm, when statesmen are the stuff?
Why should we put up ice or hay, or deal in clothes or meat,
when politicians point the way that leads to Easy street?”
There came a burst of thunder sound; the boy — O where was he?
Ask of the winds that all around with lungs bestrewed the sea.

Walt Mason

Syracuse Herald (Syracuse, New York) Jun 14, 1911

THE SPENDING SPREE

The boy stood on the burning deck and soaked his aching head;
he wrote a million dollar check, then cheerily he said:
“My friends, I’ve never made a move one honest cent to earn,
but here’s where I start out to prove that I have wealth to burn.”
They called aloud, he would not go; heroic were his words:
“I’ve still got money left to throw at insects and at birds.”
And calmly midst the awful wreck while billows played wild games
he wrote another million check and fed it to the flames.
You say if you had such a boy you’d bend him o’er your knee,
and many shingles you’d deploy to curb his spending spree;
and yet you’re strutting ’round the deck as lordly as a jay
and spending money by the peck and throwing it away.
It seems that men cannot withstand the siren lure of debt;
the things their appetites demand they buy, already yet.
When times of stress and panic come they’ll utter naughty words
and wish they had the goodly sum they pelted at the birds.

CLEM BRADSHAW.

Reno Evening Gazette (Reno, Nevada) May 31, 1920

Georgia’s Traitor and the Patriots of Liberty

John Zubly, the American Patriot Who Turned Traitor

“A REPUBLIC is little better than a government of devils!” So declared John Joachim Zubly, a man on  whom our country had relied, and whom the Revolutionists had trusted. He was a patriot who suddenly turned traitor at a time when America and liberty needed every true man’s aid.

The colonies had long groaned under British oppression. When they rose against England, in 1775, it was less with an idea of breaking loose from the mother country than of showing resentment by force of arms where argument and appeal had failed. They simply wished to bring England to her senses and to obtain relief from injustice. Even George Washington in later years confessed: “The idea of independence was at first abhorrent to me.”

But soon he and all the rest of the patriots realized that the time for half-way measures had passed. There must be either dumb submission or open defiance. And, should they choose defiance, they must free the colonies wholly from the British yoke and declare our country free and independent.

It was to discuss this that the continental congress met at Philadelphia in 1776.

We are apt to think that congress was a collection of ardent patriots, panting for liberty at any price. This was not wholly true. While the majority of the delegates were firm in their resolve to declare for independence, several of them threatened to balk at so rash a step.

Nor can they be severely blamed for hesitating. They were men of property and importance. They had more to lose than had most Americans. Should the Revolution fail their goods would doubtless be seized by the British government and they themselves would be hanged. As Benjamin Franklin said, in grim jest:

“We must hang together or we’ll hang separately!”

But, to their eternal credit, these wary delegates at last yielded to the popular voice. The Declaration of Independence was drawn up, and on July 4, 1776, was adopted (although it was not signed until the next month). The grave step was taken. The congressmen stood committed. They had “crossed the Rubicon” and were ready to take the consequences.

There was one exception to this band of patriots. He was John Joachim Zubly, a Swiss, who had emigrated to America in early life and had settled in Georgia. Zubly was not only prominent as a scholar and a statesman, but was a preacher as well. He had shown great indignation at the colonists’ wrongs and had both written and spoken in protest against tyranny.

So patriotic was he that Georgia chose him as one of its five delegates to congress in 1775. There he worked hard for the people’s cause and even drew up a petition to King George III, “upon the present unhappy situation of affairs.” Altogether, he was looked upon as an ardent patriot. Indeed, it is hard to understand the sudden and terrible change in the man.

As soon as Zubly found congress was determined to adopt the Declaration, he fought the proposition most bitterly and utterly refused any part in it. He denounced the idea of a republic and did everything in his power to stem the tide of opinion. Had this been all he did no great shame need to have been attached to him. But he was not content with refusing to vote for the Declaration. He actually entered into secret correspondence with the enemy, betraying to the British the patriots’ private plans and giving warning that the Declaration was about to be adopted. What further harm he might have done the cause of liberty cannot be guessed, for a fellow congressman (Samuel Chase of Maryland) found reason to suspect him. A treasonable letter from Zubly was intercepted. Chase exposed the man’s whole black treachery to congress.

Zubly fled in hot haste from Philadelphia to escape punishment. He went at once to Georgia. There, utterly casting away his cloak of patriotism, he sided openly with America’s foes. For this he was banished from Georgia and half of his property was declared forfeit. He rushed to the British for protection.

After a few years of misery and disgrace he died, in 1781, while the Revolutionary war was still at its height.

Adams County News (Gettyburg, Pennsylvania) Aug 10, 1912

The colonial ball, which was given at the Kimball house last Friday evening, has developed the amusing fact that nearly everybody in Atlanta is provided with a great ancestor.

To the strains of old colonial music, which might have soothed the ear of George Washington, when that distinguished patriot was a dashing cavalier, these ancestors in their knee breeches, powdered wigs and fluted shirts, marched out in gay procession before the assembled lookers-on. The customs in vogue before the revolution were revived in all of their quaint and amusing comedy and not a few of the old ancestors, as they skipped about the ballroom, gave refreshing evidence of the fact that age and long imprisonment in their respective places of abode had not impaired their ease of locomotion. In fact, their long retirement had seemingly lubricated their joints and prepared them, as it were, for greater exhibitions of agility.

This ball will serve a beneficial purpose if it kindles a renewed interest in the old colonial era. It is a foolish idea which many have acquired, because of the rapid growth which has characterized this country during the present century, that our fathers were very simple men. There are many respects in which they far surpass us, and we could set at their feet, so to speak, and drink in many valuable lessons of social and political wisdom. After all, we only surpass them in the enlarged development of the inventive faculty, as applied to the practical aspect of life. We have steam engines, electric telegraph and sewing machines, all of which our fathers might have given us had they lived in an age of peace and tranquility, but they had no time for such thinking. From the science of war they emerged, without a moment’s rest, into the science of government, and began to study the problems that would shape the destiny of the new world and promote the happiness of their posterity.

There is much to be gained from the study of past events, for wisdom lies in review as well as in progression, and the prophet’s vision is often clarified by looking backward. Americans have no reason to be ashamed of their simple and patriotic ancestry. A grander federation never met in solemn caucus than the continental congress of 1776, which proclaimed the principles of the American declaration and in the streets of Philadelphia kindled the flaming bonfires of liberty.

An Old Story Reviewed.

To widen the retrospective area thus opened by the social events of the week, it may be of interest to the readers of The Constitution to know that Georgia was entitled to five signers of the declaration.

Instead of this number, however, only three names appear in her behalf on the scroll of independence. The other two have been omitted from the document, which is still preserved in Washington city.

Behind the apparent oversight there hangs an interesting story and one with which only a very few, at this time, are familiar.

The declaration of independence was signed by the members of the continental congress, which met in the spring of 1776. In this congress Georgia was represented by a delegation of five representatives. These were Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton, John Houston and Rev. John Zubly.

The latter member, although a wearer of the sacred cloth, was guilty of an act of perfidy which has eternally blighted his reputation.

Why Mr. Zubly Fled.

During the early part of the session of congress a few of the members had privately discussed the subject of drawing up a declaration of independence, Zubly opposed the efforts of the delegation, on account of the strong political affinity which bound him to the English government.

Although a member of the continental congress and Georgia’s accredited representative, he was not as ardent in his championship of liberty as the other members of the delegation. He was not in favor of any radical measure by which the colonies would be wholly separated from England.

Finding, however, that his ardor was unavailing, he secretly dispatched a letter to the British governor, acquainting him with the nature of the situation and advising him to adopt, in Georgia, a speedy measure of prevention.

A copy of this letter, by a fortunate accident, was obtained from one of the clerks, and Mr. Chase, a representative from Maryland, openly brought against Mr. Zubly the charge of improper conduct in betraying the interests of liberty. Seeing that his perfidy had been discovered and apprehending the action of congress, which he knew would blight his reputation, he cowardly betook himself to flight.

Mr. Houston, a member of the Georgia delegation and a colleague of the clergyman, who had thus violated the sanctity of his high oath, was appointed by congress to go in search of him and to counteract any evil that might result from his disclosure of the situation.

In addition to the search for Mr. Zubly, which occupied a considerable portion of his time, other important business detained Mr. Houston in Georgia for several weeks, and for that reason he was not present when the document of liberty was signed. There were only three of the Georgia members in their places, at this time, and these were Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall and George Walton.

The protest of Georgia, therefore, against the tyranny of England and her solemn declaration in favor of a total severance, was couched in the strong, manly and characteristic signatures of this illustrious trinity.

In Augusta, Ga., a handsome granite monument has been erected to the signers, and three counties have been named for them, as a tribute to their exalted memory. A braver, bolder or more devoted trio never served the cause of liberty, and their glory, like Orion’s belt, illuminates the misty background of our colonial history.

Button Gwinnett

Image from The New Georgia Encyclopedia website

On the Field of Honor.

The first of these signers, Mr. Gwinnett, was the unfortunate victim of the code of honor.

His antagonist was Colonel Lackland McIntosh. A feud of long standing was the cause of their fatal meeting. The failure of Mr. Gwinnett, in 1777, to be re-elected to the continental congress, after a warm fight, exasperated him no little and the taunts of Colonel McIntosh, who was greatly pleased with the result, prompted him to send a challenge to that gentleman.

The challenge was accepted. They agreed to fight with pistols at a distance of only twelve paces. In exhange of bullets both principals were wounded. Colonel McIntosh however, recovered, while Mr. Gwinnett was mortally wounded and died on the 7th of May, 1777, in the forty-fifth year of his age.

Mr. Gwinnett was an Englishman by birth and for several years was engaged in mercantile pursuits in Bristol. After his marriage he came to America, in 1770, and settled on St. Catherine’s island, near the coast of Georgia.

At first Mr. Gwinnett was not an ardent friend of liberty, because of the exposure of his property. He doubted the ability of the colonial government to cope with England in a fight for independence. When he was afterwards convinced, however, that independence was a possibility, he entered into the revolutionary protest with great enthusiasm. His property was seized and totally destroyed by the British and yet he was loyal in affliction to the cause which he espoused.

Dr. Lyman Hall was a devoted patriot from the beginning of the movement which resulted in the overthrow of English tyranny.

The remaining signer, George Walton, was the most distinguished of this colonial group. He was six times a member of the continental congress, a soldier of the revolution, the first governor of the young commonwealth, the chief justice of the supreme court, and for nearly fifteen years prior to his death a stainless wearer of the judicial ermine. His home is yet standing near the city of Augusta, in plain view of the Carolina hills. Here he entertained Washington and LaFayette, during the days of the revolution, and dispensed his lavish hospitality. Colonel Walton was a man of great genius and his memory is the precious heritage of all Georgians. A subsequent article may touch upon his services at greater length. His grave is on the Sand Hills, near Augusta, Ga., where he has slept, under the overhanging foliage, since the first faint glimmering of the century.

L.L. KNIGHT.

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) May 20, 1894

A Brave Woman on the Ship

Image posted by H20man on the Cruisers Forum

A TALE OF HARDSHIPS
Fearful Sufferings of Sailors In a Storm
———
A BRAVE WOMAN ON THE SHIP
———
Helped Man the Pumps and Steered to Give the Helmsman Relief — She and the Captain Kept Up the Hopes of the Despairing Seamen.
———

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 14. — A most thrilling tale of sailors’ hardships from shipwreck and starvation is told by Captain Joseph J. James of the Philadelphia schooner Kate E. Rich, whose vessel foundered near Fire Island. After six days’ drifting around at the mercy of wind and sea, shorn of all sails, decks burst open, topmasts gone and lower masts sprung, Captain James and his crew and one passenger, Mrs. Maggie Crossman, were rescued by the New York pilot boat E.F. Williams and landed at Staten island, whence Captain James took passage for this city. Captain James says that words fail him in attempting to describe their experiences. They were all battered and bruised and their limbs were swollen to twice their normal size through exposure to the salt water, which constantly swept over the vessel fore and aft.

Mrs. Crossman, the mate’s wife, worked with the sailors, helping to man the pumps and even steered while the helmsman got relief. Terrific snowstorms, rain and hail added to the horrors and the sailors became so completely exhausted from the battle with the elements that they prayed that death might come as a relief. Their every hope had vanished. All this time but one vessel was seen. She was a large steamship, apparently one of the National line. She came almost within hailing distance, but paid no attention to the distress signals and held her course. With her disappearance faded out the last ray of hope of the unfortunates, but through the courage of Captain James and Mrs. Crossman they were persuaded not to abandon their efforts.

Captain James, when he arrived in this city, was a pitiable sight. He is badly crippled and his face and hands are severely frost bitten. For nearly 20 years he has followed the sea and this is the second experience of shipwreck through which he has gone.

The Indiana Democrat (Indiana, Pennsylvania) Nov 15, 1894

Image from Terry Elkins Posters and Original Artwork

 

ANNUAL REPORT of the COMMISSIONERS OF PILOTS.

7b the Governor and Legislature of the State of New York:

The Board of Commissioners of Pilots respectfully report that daring the year just ended they have continued to administer the pilotage laws of this port, as also the several laws for the preservation of the harbor of New York.

The pilotage service is in excellent condition, both as to the pilots themselves and the boats needed to prosecute the business.

There are 22 boats (schooners) in service, two new ones, the “Herman Oelrichs,” No. 1 and “Joseph Pulitzer,” No. 20, having been admitted during the year…

…On the 10th of November, pilot boat No. 14 fell in with the schooner “Kate E. Rich” off Fire Island. The crew were worn out with their exertions to keep her afloat, and she was then in a sinking condition.

Although the risk was great, the pilots succeeded in rescuing all hands, and the schooner goon after went down. Suitable recognition of this praiseworthy act was made by the Board.

 

Title: Documents of the Assembly of the State of New York, Volume 12
Author: New York (State). Legislature. Assembly
Published: 1895
Page 5

Der Baby Takes Flight

“Play ‘Ofer der Garden Vall’ feer der baby, Fritzy.”

All right. “Toot!”

The Atlanta Constitution (Atlanta, Georgia) Jan 14, 1894

Pearline – Don’t Wear Yourself Out Over the Washtub

Sandusky Daily Register –  Jan 30, 1891

As stated in this 1891 Pearline advertisement, the produce came into being about 1877. They seemed to have kept their illustrator pretty busy producing a wide variety of advertisements.

Since I ran across some “Hints for Housekeepers,” while looking for the Pearline ads, I am including them. Some are entertaining, some might be useful, and some are rather dangerous, and come with a cautionary warning:

Galveston Daily News – Jul 13, 1888

***

Can you tell it was election season when this next one ran?

Daily Northwestern – Nov 27, 1888

***

These hints don’t appear to be serious:

Handy Hints for the Housekeeper.

A perplexed housekeeper wants to know what she shall do with the tin cans that from day to day accumulate about the house — fruit cans, meat cans — of all kinds cans, cans, and a thousand cans. Well, if you keep a boarding house, you might throw them into the street, right in front of the house as a bait for the homeless man seeking a boarding house, If you have a home, however, you might utilize the cans in many ways.

You might take the tomato cans, fill them with soft, rich earth, and plant them, and by and by a whole handful of all sorts of weeks would come up. Then you could take the can to the pottery and have the potter twist a nice terra cotta vase about it so as to completely hid the can, and thus at a trifling expense, not over a few dollars, you could utilize your old tomato can as a garden vase.

Or you could take a lobster can, and bore three holes at equal distances in the sides, close to the open end. Then cover the can as thickly as you need with fine plastic material used in the manufacture of cheap statuettes, and employ some good artist to fashion ?? in graceful shape and beautiful designs. Then fasten bright brass chains in the three holes and hang it in a hook in the porch roof, and you will have a handsome hanging basket that need not cost you more than $5.

If you should break a kerosene lamp, save the foot of it, and with a bit of red flannel and merino and some white crochet make a pin cushion of it, stuffing the flannel and merino out in a large, irregular shaped sphere and with the crochet cotton work “lOve thE giVEr” on it. Then set it in the spare room on the dresser, care being taken to have the cushion fastened on so loosely that it will cant a little to one side. Then, when the guest wakes up in the night and sees that awful apparition in the moonlight, he will confess all his sins, put on his clothes hindside foremost, and dropping himself out of the window will flee in terror into the wilderness and never come back to spoil your best pillow shams with his bear’s oily head again.

“It isn’t what you get,” they say down in West Virginia, “that makes you rich, it’s what you save.” A few cents here and there in household expenses are not noticed at the time, but at the end of a year they aggregate enough to pay the for a steam thresher.

Fort Wayne Daily Gazette (Fort Wayne, Indiana) May 7, 1881

Sandusky Daily Register – Aug 8, 1889

Sandusky Daily Register – Mar 3, 1890

***

This one even mentions Pearline in its hints:

Hints for the Housekeeper.

If you think the kitchen is a hot place be easy on the cook.

Lard applied at once will remove the discoloration after a bruise.

A rug under one’s feet is restful when long standing is necessary, as in ironing or washing dishes.

Whites of eggs may be beaten to a stiff froth by an open window when it would be impossible in a steamy kitchen.

Mrs. Emma Ewing avers that not book knowledge alone but cook knowledge is needed in this broad nation of dyspeptics.

Cistern water that has become foul may be purified with powdered borax or alum. A quarter of a pound of each will cleanse twenty-five or more barrels.

Put a little pearline in the greasy pots and roasting pans and it will greatly facilitate cleaning them, especially if you stand them on the range to heat the water.

Most vegetables are better cooked fast, excepting potatoes, beans, peas, cauliflower and others which contain starch. Cabbage should be boiled rapidly in plenty of water; so should onions, young beets and turnips.

William Galvani learned from experiments that by cooking most fruits and vegetables lose their natural flavor, which he says in “Food, Home and Garden,” is after all, more delicious than any that can be artificially supplied.

You can prevent your pretty new ginghams from fading if you let them lie for several hours in water in which has been dissolved a goodly quantity of salt. Put the dress in it while it is hot, and after several hours wring it out dry and wash and usual.

The pretty woman fades with the roses on her cheeks and the girlhood that lasts and hour; the beautiful woman finds her fullness of bloom only when a past has written itself on her, and her power is then most irresistible when it seems going.

When a warm bath is taken, if the whole body from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet is instantly sponged with cold water there will not be danger of taking cold. The cold water closed the pores naturally. They are left open unnaturally after a warm bath.

Commonplace but important is the suggestion, “Be careful of fire.” Never take risk of lighting fire in stove or furnace not known to be ready and safe. In building or repairing see that the pipe holes in the chimney are tight and well protected from lath and siding by use of clay pots made for the purpose.

The Mountain Democrat (Placerville, California) Jan 2, 1892

Sandusky Daily Register – Jul 21, 1890

Sandusky Daily Register – Dec 12, 1890

***

PLAIN TALK.

Every Day Hints for the Practical Housekeeper.

The oil of white birch bark, which gives to Russia leather its peculiar aromatic and lasting qualities, when dissolved in alcohol is said to be excellent for preserving and waterproofing various fabrics. It renders them both acid and insect proof, and in no way destroys their pliability.

Tea and coffee stains will usually come out of linen if put into water at once or if soon washed. IF the yare of long standing rub pure glycerine on them, and then after washing this out, wash the linen in the usual way.

Prick potatoes before baking so that the air can escape. This will prevent their bursting in the oven.

Bad breath or offensive breath may be removed by taking a teaspoonful of the following mixture after each meal. One ounce liquor of potash, one ounce chloride of soda, one and one-half ounces phosphate of soda, and three ounces of water.

A good formula for layer cakes is as follows: One cupful of sugar, one-half cup of butter, one-half cup of sweet milk, the beaten whites of four eggs, two cupfuls of flour and a heaping teaspoonful of baking powder.

The Housekeeper gives the following hints: To take ink out of linen, dip the spotted parts immediately in pure melted tallow, the wash out the tallow and the ink will have disappeared.

Lima Daily Times (Lima, Ohio) Aug 16, 1892

Sandusky Daily Register – Jul 15, 1892

***

This next one is kind of creepy:

Sandusky Daily Register – Oct 11, 1892

***

Let the men wash!

Fort Wayne Gazette – Apr 30, 1895

***

Here are the household hints that come with the warning. The dangerous hints are mostly at the end of the list:

HINTS FOR THE HOUSEKEEPER.

The following directions for removing stains, spots, etc., must be used with exceeding caution, Chloroform, benzine, turpentine, kerosene and gasoline are all dangerous substances unless handled with extreme care.

Sponge a grease spot with four tablespoonsful of alcohol to one of salt.

Sprinkle salt over the spot on a carpet and sweep all up together.

Rub finger marks from furniture with a little sweet oil.

Put a lump of camphor in an air-tight case with silverware to keep it from discoloration.

Remove paint spots from a window by rubbing a copper cent over them.

Sprinkle salt over fresh claret stains.

Wash ink stains in strong brine and then sponge with lemon juice.

Hold a fruit stained article over a bowl and pour boiling water through the cloth.

Rub egg stains on silver with salt on a damp cloth.

Use wood ashes on discolored tableware.

Clean steel knives with raw potato dipped in fine brick dust.

Rub brass with hot vinegar and salt and scour with fine ashes.

Clean a carpet with a broom dipped in a very weak solution of turpentine in hot water.

Cleanse grained woodwork with cold tea.

Scour ironware with finely sifted coal ashes.

Soak mildewed clothes in buttermilk and spread on the grass in the sun.

Wash rusty gilt frames in spirits of wine.

Wash oilcloth with a flannel and warm water; dry thoroughly and rub with a little skimmed milk.

Purify jars by soaking hem in strong sodawater.

Wash blackened ceilings with sodawater.

Rub white spots on furniture with camphor.

Rub a stove zinc with kerosene.

Cleanse bottles with hot water and fine ????s.

Remove fruit stains from hands with weak oxalic acid.

Clean jewelry with prepared chalk.

Wash hair brushes in weak ammonia water.

Rub stained hands with salt and lemon juice.

Remove ink from wood with muriatic acid, after rinsing with water.

Wash japanned ware with a little warm soda.

Rub mirrors with spirits of wine.

Apply spirits of salt to ink stained mahogany.

Use sulphuric acid, wash off with suds, for medicine stains on silver.

Remove all stains from wall paper by powdered pipe clay moistened.

Use gasoline for removing paint.

Use jewelers’ rouge and lard for rubbing nickel plating.

Wash willow ware with salt water.

Clean hard finished walls with ammonia water.

Rub whitewash spots with strong vinegar.

Rub soft grease over tar and then wash in warm soda water.

Dip a soft cloth in vinegar and rub on smoky mica.

Sponge faded plush with chloroform.

Take paint out of clothing by equal parts of ammonia and turpentine.

To remove machine oil from satin use benzine. Be careful about having a light in the room as it is very explosive.

Galveston Daily News (Galveston, Texas) May 27, 1894

Fort Wayne Gazette – Dec 30, 1895

***

Pearline gets violent:

Fort Wayne Gazette – Jun 12, 1896

***

HINTS FOR THE HOUSEKEEPER

A PAN of borax and sugar, kept under the sink, will discourage roaches.

Plenty of hot water and washing soda put down the sink pipes will keep them clear, and lessen the plumber’s bill.

A piece of lime or charcoal in the new refrigerator will prevent the “new” odor and taste from clinging to eatables.

To successfully bake a piecrust without its filling, line it with paraffin paper and fill it with uncooked rice.

Enameled ware that has become burned or discolored may be cleaned by rubbing with coarse salt and vinegar.

A teaspoonful of lemon juice to a quart of water will make rice very white and keep the grains separate when boiled.

A tablespoonful of borax is an agreeable addition to the dishwasher, and helps to keep the hands soft instead of irritating them, as soda does.

The Anaconda Standard (Anaconda, Montana) Dec 1, 1907

***

Curse Monday, Wash Day:

Nebraska State Journal – Oct 25, 1897

***

The late 1890s must have been desperate times; this  woman is slashing with a dagger:

Eau Claire Leader – Jul 6, 1898

***

Hints for the Housekeeper.

A soft clean cloth dipped in melted paraffin will give the stove a smooth, attractive surface. Kerosene-oil on a soft lintless cloth may be used on the nickel afterward to effect a polish.

Put two worn blankets together, cover with silkolene and stitch with worsted. Thsi makes an attractive comforter, if you choose the silkolene and worsted to harmonize with the color scheme of the bedroom.

Brushes should be hung up. They should never be allowed to stand on their bristles as this mats them and tends to make the bristles fall out. In using a broom, sometimes use one side and sometimes the other; this will make it wear evenly and so last longer. An oil mop will wear longer if it is not hung too near the heat after washing it. The bristles of a carpet sweeper or a vacuum cleaner can be well cleaned of hairs with a buttonhook or a pair of scissors.

Fine china nicks particularly easily when it is warm. A towel in the bottom of the dish pan will save much danger of chipping. Use a mild soap in washing painted or gilt-edged china and wash one piece at a time. Avoid using water that is too hot, in washing dishes and put plates into it edgewise so that both sides will expand with the heat alike. Much fine china, especially that which is made in China, is rough on the bottom. When the dishes are stacked in the closet, soft paper, or flannel pads should be kept between them to prevent the decoration on the front from being scratched, worn or chipped.

— Delineator.

The Nebraska State Journal (Lincoln, Nebraska) May 27, 1922

Nebraska State Journal – Aug 16, 1897

***

Hints For The Housekeeper

A Model Floor Waxer

I haven’t a floor waxer, so will tell how I wax my floors. I lay down a piece of cloth, put on the middle of it the amount of wax it will take, then place a warm flatiron on the wax, gather the cloth all up on the handle of the iron and proceed to iron the floor. As the iron cools change for a warmer iron. The wax goes go much faster this way and soaks in better, because it is warm. I wait about half an hour, then put a large piece of old woolen goods in the mop and then polish the floor. Try it on your Congoleum rugs and see how much brighter they are.

Save On Cleaning Candlesticks

Instead of scraping the wax from brass or silver candlesticks, plunge the metal part in hot water and thus melt the wax. Candlesticks are often scratched when the wax is scraped off. By melting off the wax much time is saved and you will not run the risk of marring the candlesticks.

Sheboygan Press (Shepoygan, Wisconsin) Jan 7, 1927