All about coffee by William H. Ukers
1919. O.S.A. Sprague died in 1909, Ezra J. Warner Sr. in 1910, and
570 words | Chapter 154
Albert A. Sprague in 1915.
In 1865, A.M. Thomson, at that time a salesman for A.H. Blackall, owner
of the American Mills, arranged with a Mr. Berg and a Mr. Davis to go in
the coffee-roasting business with him as Berg, Thomson & Davis. After a
year, however, the name became A.M. Thomson. James Thomson, a brother,
came into the firm in 1868, and it was then called A.M. & James Thomson.
A year later, it became A.M. Thomson again. In 1872, immediately after
the fire, Mr. Taylor, a member of the firm of Whiting & Taylor, joined
Mr. Thomson under the firm name of Thomson & Taylor. They continued the
business under this name about ten years, until it was incorporated in
1883 under the name of Thomson & Taylor Spice Co. Among the wholesale
grocers who became stockholders at that time was W.S. Warfield, of
Quincy, Ill., who, in 1901, with his son, John D. Warfield, bought most
of Mr. Thomson's holdings and obtained a controlling interest. The name
was changed in 1920 to the Thomson & Taylor Co.
William F. McLaughlin founded the firm of W.F. McLaughlin & Co. in 1865.
He died in 1905; and the business was incorporated with his son, George
D., as president, and another son, Frederick, as secretary and
treasurer.
The Puhl-Webb Company, founded, 1882, as a partnership by Thomas J. Webb
and John Puhl, was incorporated in 1896.
ST. LOUIS. The following were among the pioneer coffee firms of St.
Louis, dating back to the 1860-70 decade: James H. Forbes; Flint, Evans
& Co.; Wm. Schotten & Co.; Fred W. Meyer; H. & J. Menown; Cavanaugh,
Rearick & Co.; and Frederick A. Churchill & Co.
From 1876 to 1900 there were added: Nash, Smith & Co.; Fink & Nasse Co.;
Hanley & Kinsella Coffee & Spice Co.; Flugel & Popp; C.F. Blanke Tea &
Coffee Co.; Steinwender, Stoffregen & Co.; David G. Evans & Co.; and the
Aroma Coffee & Spice Co.
David Nicholson established a tea and coffee business under the name of
the Franklin Tea Warehouse in 1853. A year later, James H. Forbes, born
in Kinross, Scotland, bought out Nicholson. In 1857, A.E. Forbes, his
son, came into the store after school hours, and was admitted to
partnership in 1870. The retail end of the business was dropped in 1880.
Robert M., the younger son of James H., was taken into the firm a few
years after A.E. Forbes. James H. Forbes died in 1890, and the business
has since been carried on by his sons as the James H. Forbes Tea &
Coffee Co. James H. Forbes installed the first Burns roaster in St.
Louis, and always claimed to have been the first man to roast coffee in
the middle west.
William Schotten began his roasting business in 1862, although he had
been in the grocery business since 1847. A short time later, a brother,
Christian Schotten, came to the United States from Germany and was
admitted to partnership, the firm becoming William Schotten & Bro.
Christian died in 1866, and a brother-in-law, Henry Verborg, was
admitted, the name being changed to William Schotten & Co. William died
in 1874, and the business devolved upon his eldest son, Hubertus. In
1878, another son, Julius J., was taken in at the age of 17. Hubertus
died in 1897, and Julius became manager and sole proprietor. He died in
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