Prior to the passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act of June 30th 1906, there existed many merchants and purveyors who foisted various toxic preparations and other snake oils on the American public. Charles G. Lennon was one of them…Continue Reading
Born in Appomattox Virginia in 1834, Charles John Raine arrived in Lynchburg Virginia sometime in the mid-1850s. Shortly after his arrival, he formed a partnership with Robert Henry Glass, and the two men opened a clothing store…Continue Reading
Johns Hopkins, a Quaker and a strong proponent of abolition, was a Baltimore businessman who made his fortune in business as well as in the railroads. Upon his death, it was Hopkins’ intent that the bulk of his fortune be used to establish a Baltimore hospital and university. In addition,Continue Reading
George Kunkel was one of the first promoters of the 19th century genre of Minstrelsy in the United States. Born in Greencastle PA in 1821, Kunkel first arrived in Baltimore in 1855. There he became associated with three prominent places of theatrical entertainment in the city. Minstrelsy were acts andContinue Reading
Die Sozial-Demokratische Turngemeide was founded in 1849 in Baltimore Maryland. Among several German organizations in mid-18th century Baltimore, the club served as a social outlet for German emigrants who lived in the cityContinue Reading
German-Americans living in 19th century Baltimore, many of whom had just recently emigrated to the United States, pooled their resources, raised funds, and established a Schuetzen Verein just outside the city’s border in the 1850s.Continue Reading
Born in Reutlingen in the Kingdom of Wurtemburg in 1809, John “Jacob” Seeger emigrated to the United States when he was about 22 years old. Raised by a father who was an accomplished silver-plater in what became part of the German EmpireContinue Reading
Very little is known about the enigmatic John Burns token of Staunton Virginia. Schenkman lists no such token in his Virginia Tokens book, and there exists no Miller number. Rulau has but one scant listing in his Volume 4 editionContinue Reading
Referred to as the first Confederate Cent by historians and numismatists alike, cent-sized tokens issued by a hotel in Alexandria Virginia began appearing in transactions throughout the Commonwealth. Originating from the Marshall House Hotel in 1859Continue Reading
A bookseller and stationer in Norfolk Virginia, R. C. Barclay was in business during the middle part of the 19th century. As a means to advertise his business, Barclay had one-cent store card tokens struck. He would issue them to customers as changeContinue Reading
James E. Wolff, a proprietor of hats, caps, and furs in Petersburg Virginia, issued his circulating tokens in the 1850s before the American Civil War. Born on October 4th 1812, Wolff grew up in Petersburg, spending all of his childhood and adult life in the southern Virginia city. As aContinue Reading
During the closing days of the Civil War, Washington’s Schuetzen Park was opened. Schuetzen Parks were quite popular with German-American citizens at the time, and many cities throughout the U.S. had them.Continue Reading
