Henry D. Higgins was one of the earliest settlers of Mishawaka Indiana. Born on his father’s farm near Syracuse New York in 1822, Higgins was a grandchild of a Revolutionary War veteran who emigrated to America from England. His father, William Higgins, was raised by an uncle in New YorkContinue Reading
Incorporated in August 1864, the National Watch Company was founded in Chicago Illinois as a joint partnership consisting of Chicago’s Mayor and six other men. A month later, the partners began recruiting master clockmakers from throughout the country to join the new venture. Seven watchmakersContinue 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
A man of many talents and much ambition, Frederick M. Starr was born on May 1st 1799 in the dawning days of the United States. At the age of 20, Starr moved from his birthplace of Warren Connecticut to New York City, where he started work as a clerk atContinue 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
Below is a comprehensive index of Mossin & Marr’s Patriotic Civil War dies. In addition to being used as Patriotics, the dies were utilized as “stock” reverses for many of Mossin & Marr’s storecards. A total of five stock dies have been identifiedContinue Reading
Below is a comprehensive index of Mossin & Marr’s Store Card emissions and dies. In addition to being used as storecards, many of the reverse dies were also utilized as “stock” for many of Mossin & Marr’s Civil War Patriotics. Continue Reading
Being born in 1853 to an oysterman and his wife in the village of Absecon in New Jersey, John Lake Young spent his life living along the Atlantic shore. A scrappy and enterprising individualContinue Reading
Formed by Edwin P. Christy in about 1842, Wood’s Minstrels were a troupe of performers who traveled and provided musical and comedic entertainment. Sometime thereafter, the troupe settled down, and started performing regular showsContinue Reading
In 1846 Philip Reymer, a headstrong twenty-two year old with an entrepreneurial streak, partnered with Pittsburgher R.J. Anderson and opened a confectionery store in downtown part of the city. Born on June 28th 1824, Reymer had by a young age already established himselfContinue Reading
Being one of the earliest tokens on record for the State of South Carolina, during the 1850’s Bernard S. Baruc of Charleston had two varieties of store card tokens struck for his short-lived fancy goods business. Both the man and his tokens have for many years been an enigma. TheContinue Reading
Starting in the mid-1800s, New York City had a hodge-podge of companies providing transportation services throughout the city. The Atwood-Coffee Guide to Transportation Tokens lists over a dozen such hackneys and their tokens.Continue Reading
