Get Your Portrait on a Stamp 1860's Style!

The first friction matches were invented in 1826. by John Walker, an English chemist and apothecary. They quickly caught on in the United States as an easy way to light lamps fueled by whale oil, which were much more reliable and neater than candles. Different chemicals were used to provide a surface that would catch fire when struck along a rough surface.

White phosphorus was commonly used in matches during much of the 19th century but it posed a danger because of a tendency to ignite when exposed to air. The discovery of red phosphorus (which is actually white phosphorus that has degraded) in the 1850's provided an alternative but white phosphorus continued to be used for much of the 19th century.

White phosphorus posed health risks for employees at match factories. In 1888 the London match girls strike raised awareness of the health risks to women working in match factories.

American entrepreneurs, looking to make a profit from the need for matches, invested in the industry and the race was on.

Matches were one of the proprietary products taxed by the Federal government, along with patent medicines, playing cards, and legal documents. Because of the proliferation of match manufacturers the government allowed for proprietary stamps to be designed and produced by manufacturers with the official approval of designs.

In typical grandiose 19th century style manufacturers of matches put their engraved portraits on the proprietary stamps to mimic U.S. postal stamps. The heroic portrait stamps of match manufacturers, posing as if they were U.S. presidents or war heroes, creates a small but colorful subset of U.S. postal history. They took advantage of the tax requirement and turned it into a way to enhance their advertising. Below is a sampling of these stamps.

E. K Smith used Benjamin Franklin's portrait with his own name!

1923: The Rise of Fascism, Economic Collapse and Hyperinflation in Germany

 At the end of World War I in 1918 Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated and in November 1918 a new republic was established in Weimar  it was not the capital but historians generally refer to it as the Weimar Republic  one of the biggest challenges the new government faced was organizing its gargantuan war debt. The debt was burdened further because the Kaiser's government had released the mark from the gold standard, making it free floating. The government also decided to entirely fund the war effort by borrowing. By the end of the war the war debt came to 156 billion marks. To add to Germany's financial woes the war reparations due in 1921, totaling 112 billion marks. The Weimar government tried to finance this debt by buying international currency at any price, accelerating the beginning inflation. In 1918 the value of the mark had fallen to 7.9 marks per dollar. By the beginning of 1922 it was at 320 marks per dollar.

A loaf of bread in Berlin that cost about 160 marks at the end of 1922 cost 200,000,000,000 marks by late 1923. By late 1923 the dollar was worth 4,210,500,000,000 marks.  

It is not difficult to imagine the devastation this wrought. Unemployment soared and families found themselves destitute with their savings wiped out. Employers would pay their employees several times a day so that they could go out and buy food before the price escalated later in the day.

On November 16, 1923 the government stabilized the situation by issuing the new Rentenmark, dropping twelve zeros off prices to create a new base. The hyperinflation was over. However, the old marks continued to circulate, but offered no competition to the new Rentenmark.

Stamps from 1922 show the developing crisis

The first inflationary overprint from 1923

Stamps from an early 1923 series showing there was some time for anticipation.

As 1923 progressed and inflation got worse there was no time to create new designs and the government resorted to overprinting on any old stock that was available.

 

Stamps from later in 1923 had new designs but values kept going up.

“Milliarden” means “billion” in German

A letter mailed late in 1923 illustrates the depth of the crisis.

Taking into account several stamps that are missing, it cost 176,000,000M to mail this letter.

By November, 1923 the crisis had come under control

In mid-1923 it cost 100,000 to buy this one stamp!

The implications of this crisis still impact the world today. During this time political unrest and economic desperation in Weimar Germany provided an opportunity for a new political party, the National Socialist German Worker’s Party, to flex its muscle. An unknown political operative and the leader of the party, Adolph Hitler, staged an attempted coup in a beer hall in Munich in August, 1923. In the short term all he succeeded in doing was firing a pistol into the ceiling of the hall and gaining national attention, and he was sentenced to four years in prison, during which time he began his political manifesto, Mein Kampf (My Struggle). After his release he published his book and set about the task of making his party the majority party in the Reichstag, the German Parliament.

You wouldn't think that overstamped postage stamps and valueless paper money could impact us a century later, but in this case they do. The economic collapse of 1923 in Germany led to the rise of the monster to the left.

The Empty Chair, Part 2A: The Allure of Prosperity

 I'm putting up  this installment on my gr. gr. gr. grandfather Partrick Lewis' trip to Iowa (then Wisconsin Territory) in 1837 because it provides some additional perspective on what motivated people to move west. A primary source for this post will be A New Guide for Emigrants to the West (1836) by Rev. John Mason Peck. Peck originally published A Guide for Emigrants to the West in 1831 but published the expanded edition in 1836 to include the new Wisconsin Territory that was rapidly growing. At the time of publication Burlington had a population of seven hundred.

Peck describes the allure of the West in his preface:

...such are its admirable facilities for commerce by its numerous navigable rivers, and its lines of canals, some of which are finished, and many others commenced or projected,—such the richness of its soil, and the variety of its productions,—such the genial nature of its climate,—the enterprise of its population,—and the influence it must soon wield in directing the destinies of the whole United States, as to render the great West an object of the deepest interest to the American patriot. To the philanthropist and christian, the character and manners,—the institutions, literature and religion of so wide a portion of our country, whose mighty energies are soon to exert a controlling influence over the character of the whole nation, and in some measure, of the world, are not less matters of momentous concern. (p. v1)

In this long passage Peck outlines a number of reasons why he saw great potential for settlement in the West. This is a long excerpt but well worth the read. Bear in mind that Peck shared the commonly held view that the native peoples of the region were wild and uncivilized, and that the best thing that could be done for them was to relocate them in Western style communities, and teach them English and the Protestant faith. The implications of this laid the foundations for an attitude of genocide and the theft of territorial land on an industrial scale:

1. That the most perfect security is now enjoyed by all emigrants, both for their families and property.

By the wise and beneficent arrangement of government, the Indian tribes have nearly all removed to the Territory specially allotted for their occupancy west of Missouri and Arkansas. The grand error committed in past times in relation to the Indians, and which has been the source of incalculable evils to both races, has been the want of definite, fixed and permanent lines of demarcation betwixt them. It will be seen under the proper head, that a system of measures is now in operation that will not only preserve peace between the frontier settlements and the Indian tribes, but that to a great extent, they are becoming initiated into the habits of civilized life. There is now no more danger to the population of these states and territories from Indian depredations, than to the people of the Atlantic states.

2. The increased facilities of emigration, and the advantage of sure and certain markets [Pg 50]for every species of production, furnishes a second reason why population will increase in the western Valley beyond any former period.

Before the purchase of Louisiana, the western people had no outlet for their produce, and the chief mode of obtaining every description of merchandize,—even salt and iron,—was by the slow and expensive method of transportation by wagons and pack-horses, across almost impassible mountains and extremely difficult roads. Now, every convenience and luxury of life is carried with comparative ease, to every town and settlement throughout the Valley, and every species of produce is sent off in various directions, to every port on earth if necessary. And these facilities are multiplying and increasing every hour: Turnpike roads, rail roads, canals, and steamboat navigation have already provided such facilities for removing from the Atlantic to the Western States, that no family desirous of removing, need hesitate or make a single inquiry as to facilities of getting to this country.

The Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa

3. The facilities of trade and intercourse between the different sections of the Valley, are now superior to most countries on earth, and are increasing every year. And no country on earth admits of such indefinite improvement either by land or water. More than twenty thousand miles of actual steamboat navigation, with several hundred miles of canal navigation, constructed or commenced, attest the truth of this statement. The first [Pg 51]steamboat on the western waters was built at Pittsburg in 1811, and not more than seven or eight had been built, when the writer emigrated to this country in 1817. At this period, (January 1836,) there are several hundred boats on the western waters, and some of the largest size. In 1817, about twenty barges, averaging about one hundred tons each, performed the whole commercial business of transporting merchandize from New Orleans to Louisville and Cincinnati. Each performed one trip, going and returning within the year. About 150 keel boats performed the business on the Upper Ohio to Pittsburg. These averaged about 30 tons each, and were employed one month in making the voyage from Louisville to Pittsburg. Three days, or three days and a half is now the usual time occupied by the steam packets between the two places, and from seven to twelve days between Louisville and New Orleans. Four days is the time of passing from the former place to St. Louis.

4. A fourth reason why population will increase in future in a greater ratio than the past is derived from the increase of population in the Atlantic states, and the greater desire for removal to the west. At the close of the revolutionary war the population of the whole Union but little exceeded two millions. Vast tracts of wilderness then existed in the old states, which have since been subdued, and from whence thousands of enterprising citizens are pressing their way into the Great Valley. [Pg 52]Two thirds of the territory of New York, large portions of New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, an extensive district in middle Pennsylvania, to say nothing of wide regions in the southern states, were comprised in this wilderness. These extensive regions have become populous, and are sending out vast numbers of emigrants to the west. Europe is in commotion, and the emigration to North America, in 1832, reached 200,000, a due proportion of which settle in the Western Valley.

5. A fifth reason will be founded upon the immense amount of land for the occupancy of an indefinite number of emigrants, much of which will not cost the purchaser over one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre. Without giving the extravagant estimates that have been made by many writers of the wide and uninhabitable desert between the Indian Territory west of Missouri and Arkansas, and the Rocky mountains, nor swampy and frozen regions at the heads of the Mississippi river, and around lake Superior, I will merely exhibit the amount of lands admitting of immediate settlement and cultivation, within the boundaries of the new States and organized Territories.  (pp. 49-52)

 The promise of flat, fertile land, deep topsoil, and no stony soil must have been impossible to resist. Peck's paean to the arable land sings:

Probably there is no portion of the globe, of equal extent, that contains as much of soil fit for cultivation, and which is capable of sustaining and supplying with all the necessaries and conveniences, and most of the luxuries of life, so dense a population as this great Valley. Deducting one third of its surface for water and desert, which is a very liberal allowance, and there remains 866,667 square miles, or 554,666,880 acres of arable land. (p. 15)

In addition to arable land Peck described the region's wealth in minerals such as iron, copper, lead, and coal, and huge stands of native woods. He predicted that tens of millions could eventually populate the region.

The prospect of inexpensive land ($1.25/acre, $40 in 2023) drew much interest. By the 1830's much of New England had been cultivated for two centuries. Generation after generation of families divided up estates to the point that it was sometimes difficult to operate a farm on a single uninterrupted tract of land. To have a farm of many acres of open land that was easy to cultivate would draw many, including my ancestor.

 

The Empty Chair, Part 3: Death and Burial in Burlington, Iowa

 It is not possible to determine exactly when Partrick Lewis arrived in Burlington, Iowa in the spring of 1837. He may have been there for a few weeks before he became and ill and died around June 5. He travelled by coach from Connecticut through New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, before reaching either Gulfport, Illinois, (across from Burlington) where he could have taken a ferry across the Mississippi River, or to St. Louis, Missouri, where he could have reached Burlington via steamship. The trip would have taken several weeks and would have been arduous at best. Much has been written about the condition of roads on that route, and the ever-present possibility of a breakdown or accident along the way. It would not have been a smooth ride, either. A passenger would have been exhausted by the time he or she arrived at their destination.

In addition to an uncomfortable ride and the possibility of accidents, disease was a constant threat. In Lewis’ case, if he didn’t catch smallpox on the trip, in close proximity to total strangers, he could easily have gotten it in Burlington. A smallpox epidemic was raging at the time, presumably brought by infected passengers aboard the SS St. Peter, a steamboat owned by the American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor. The ship left St. Louis up the Missouri River with infected passengers, leaving infected people along the way. Burlington is not near the Missouri River but it’s not much of a stretch to think of the epidemic racing up the Mississippi River valley. The American Fur Company later denied any culpability in the matter, denying knowledge of sick passengers. Regardless of who was responsible, the epidemic raged among the tribes of the region, killing at least 17,000 people. There were also periodic outbreaks of cholera.  The Smith Cemetery referred to below was often the final destination for those who were passing through and got sick.  It seems as though Burlington, along with the rest of the Wisconsin Territory, was an excellent place to get really sick if that was your plan. 

Perhaps in an effort to assure readers that Burlington was past the epidemic, the Wisconsin Territorial Gazett published an article on August 31, 1837:

Health—It is exceedingly gratifying to us to state that health generally prevails in this section of country. There is no such thing, so far as we have learned, and we have made frequent enquiry as an epidemic prevailing either in this Territory, or on the Illinois side of the river.  Heretofore, it must [ ] be admitted, the towns generally on the Mississippi, have been more or less affected in the summer and fall months with ague and fever, and intermittent fevers but this season, thus far, and the season is now far advanced, there has been no such thing. That there has been isolated cases of ague and fever, remittent fevers, and dysentery, we do not pretend to conceal; but there has been no prevalent disease, no epidemic of any sort.

It seems likely that smallpox probably killed Lewis, but there is no record of his death save a brief obituary in the Alton Telegraph of Alton, Illinois on June 21:

DIED A few days on at Burlington, Wisconsin Territory PATRICK LEWIS Esq Formerly of Meriden Conn

An obituary also appears in the Columbian Register, a New Haven, Connecticut newspaper, on July 15:

In Wisconsin Territory, about the 5th of June last, Patrick Lewis Esq. of Meriden, Ct. aged about 35.

 
In the family plot in the East Main Street Cemetery in Meriden there are two family plots for the Lewis family in two generations. There is a memorial stone for Partrick and the grave of his wife Mary, who died in 1861 along with a son and daughter. The other stone is for their son, George Hallam Lewis and his family. George died in the Civil War in 1863. The stones were set up in the 1860's, decades after Partrick's death.

Note that the cenotaph for Partrick notes his death date as June 13. It is impossible to say why there is a discrepancy. It may be that the exact date is not known and the family settled on June 13 to give some finality to his death. The two newspaper obituaries quoted above are vague, presumably because they did not know the exact date. This adds to the probability that Partrick died alone and his death date either was not known or was not recorded.

The story doesn't end with Partrick's death. Even in death he still moved around some. For this part of my search I am indebted to Julie at the Des Moines County Heritage Center in Burlington and to Paul French, a lifelong resident of Burlington and a local historian. Paul in particular was extremely helpful in tracking down information about the earliest cemetery in Burlington.

In 1833 a Jeremiah Smith established a private cemetery on the western edge of Burlington on Boundary Street, now Central Street. Families had to pay to have their loved ones buried there. The burials accumulated rather quickly. Major Smith's grandson. C. E. Smith, wrote in the September 16, 1908 issue of the Burlington Evening Gazette about his grandfather's cemetery:

In a more recent issue of your paper, reference was made to the discovery of eight skeletons where excavations are now in progress for the new High school building. The facts you give are correct, but here is the earliest history of that plat of ground. That entire block where the Burlington university stood and where the old High school stands to-day, was given to the city of Burlington in the 40’s by my grandfather, the late Major Jeremiah Smith, Jr., “the ground to be used for a burying ground and no other purpose.” At this time, Fourth street was about the western limit of the town. In a few years it was noticed that the little cemetery would soon be inadequate for the growing town, and Aspen Grove and other cemeteries were established.

In 1852, Rev. G.J. Johnson, pastor of the Baptist church, succeeded in gaining, very reluctantly, the consent of my grandfather (who was at the time on his death bed) to remove the dead and build on the spot the Burlington university, or Baptist college, as it was sometimes called.

Many of the old settlers were highly indignant over the disturbing of the bones of the pioneers and others laid to rest there. One old settler named Chas. Cloutman published a pamphlet expressing his indignation over the matter, and he saw to it that one of his pamphlets found its way to every door in Burlington.

The removal of the dead to other cemeteries continued for some time. Many were past being removed, while others were the remains of emigrants who were on their way to the Far West, their relatives stopping long enough to inter them, and then abandoning them to their fate of disinterment over a half century later.

image courtesy of Paul French

In the image to the left, taken from an 1846 plat of Burlington, is shown the Smith cemetery after it had been turned over to the town. If you look closely you can see horizontal lines, some dark and some lighter, that probably represent burials. The cemetery quickly absorbed the burials of people who were passing through and died for various reasons. Aspen Grove Cemetery was established in 1844 to provide more room out of the center of town. The City of Burlington declared the Smith cemetery a nuisance in 1852 and passed an ordinance requiring families to remove their loved ones' remains to Aspen Grove or another cemetery of their choice, giving them a year to do so. The city was hoping to attract a Baptist college to town and felt that the cemetery site would be a good place for it. Some removed their loved ones' remains, and the earliest gravestones in Aspen Grove originally came from the Smith cemetery. But, many were not moved, suggesting a rather hasty removal of anything above ground with little regard to who or what was buried below ground. Evidence of this is found in periodic reports of human remains turning up in construction. The site of the cemetery, since the cemetery's removal, has been host to three successive large school buildings and some homes. On December 3, 1872 the Burlington Hawk Eye Gazette reported that forty-six skeletons had been discovered on the site and were reburied in the Potter's Field in Aspen Grove.

I visited Aspen Grove and the Potter's Field which is presumably the current burial place of Partrick Lewis. The Potter's Field is a section of the cemetery set aside for those families who did not have the means to pay for a burial.  Many of the graves are for small children whose families could not afford a burial. A number of adults are buried there as well. The photograph to the right is of several rows of gravestones from the Smith Cemetery. Considering the close proximity of the stones to one another it doesn't seem likely that the bodies are with the stones as placed. These gravestones are believed to be the oldest gravestones in the state of Iowa.

I stayed in the cemetery for quite awhile. In a sense I didn't want to leave him behind after taking so long to find him. I left something behind, though--a small sliver of chestnut from a beam from the 1830 house, that imposing mansion that was their home for only four years, and a chip of Connecticut brownstone, so ubiquitous here.

So that's the end of the story. My family and I now know what happened to Partrick Lewis and where he is buried. Those were my two goals in the lifelong search for my gr. gr. gr. grandfather.  We don't have to accept the cover story created to cover up the pain of a bankruptcy and a tragic death. I promised my father I'd find him. The chair isn't empty any more.

I found him, Dad. For you.