All about coffee by William H. Ukers
1878. Henry A. continued the business until 1881, when Francis Widlar
1098 words | Chapter 158
was admitted to partnership, and the name was changed to Stephens &
Widlar. Henry A. Stephens died in 1897, and A.L. Somers, H.H. Hewitt,
and D.D. Hudson, all old employees, were admitted, and the firm name was
changed to F. Widlar & Co. Carl W. Brand, a nephew of Francis Widlar,
joined the company in 1898. Upon the death of his uncle, the business
was incorporated as the Widlar Co., and Mr. Brand became president in
1910.
PITTSBURGH. Next to New York, Pittsburg was one of the first cities to
forge to the front as a coffee-roasting center. These are the firms that
were among the leaders in the period between 1860 and 1870: Arbuckles &
Co.; W.T. Bown & Bro.; Dilworth Bros.; Rinehart & Stevens; T.C. Jenkins
& Bro.; Carter Bros. & Co.; J.S. Dilworth & Co.; Jesse H. Lippincott;
Shields & Boucher; and Haworth & Dewhurst.
Samuel Young, Samuel Mahood, and E. B. Mahood formed a partnership as
Young, Mahood & Co. in 1879. E.B. Mahood withdrew in 1890. Samuel Mahood
retired in 1906, and the company was incorporated as the Young-Mahood
Company, with Samuel Young as president, and W. James Mahood as
vice-president and general manager.
PORTLAND, OREGON. Early roasters in the trade of this city were: J.F.
Jones; H. C. Hudson & Co.; Marden & Folger; Verdier & Closset; and
Closset & Devers.
Joseph and Emile Closset formed a partnership as Closset Bros, in 1880.
A.H. Devers, who had been a salesman with Folger, Schilling & Co., San
Francisco, and later with A. Schilling & Co., bought out Emile Closset
in 1883, and the firm became Closset & Devers. Joseph Closset died in
1915.
BALTIMORE. Pioneer roasters in Baltimore were: Joseph Braas; Daniel
Many; George Pearson; Sylvester Ruth; and John G. Siegman. These were
quickly followed by Barclay & Hasson; Zoller & Little; Benjamin Berry;
Jesse Lazear; and others.
Later, after 1876, came: E. Levering & Co.; the Enterprise Coffee Co.;
C.D. Kenny; J.W. Laughlin & Co., now Le Morgan Coffee Co.; and the Saxon
Coffee Company.
DETROIT. In Detroit in 1860-70 were: Evans & Walker; Farrington,
Campbell & Co.; A.R. & W.F. Linn; J.H. Riggs; and Palmer, Warner & Co.
After 1876 were added Sinclair, Evans & Elliot; Huber & Stendel; and
J.A. Parent & Co.
OTHER CITIES. Names of pioneer roasters of other towns in 1860 and 1870
were: George Boardman, Albany, N.Y.; Chubuck & Saunders, Binghamton,
N.Y.; George W. Hayward, and P.J. Ferris, Buffalo, N.Y.; Lorimore Bros.,
and George R. Forrester, Elmira, N.Y.; Hatch & Jenks, Jamestown, N.Y.;
N.B. Beede, Newburgh, N.Y.; A.F. Booth, Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; Ethridge,
Tuller & Co., Rome, N.Y.; M.N. Van Zandt & Co., L.B. Eddy & Co., and
C.T. Moore, Rochester, N.Y.; Ostrander, Loomis & Co., and Jacob Crouse &
Co., Syracuse, N.Y.; C.H. Garrison, Troy, N.Y.; Hinchman & Howard, and
J. Griffiths & Co., Utica, N.Y.; B.F. Hoopes, Bloomington, Ill.; C.P.
Farrell, and Charles Richards, Peoria, Ill.; Slemmons & Conkling,
Springfield, Ill.; Henry Wales, Bridgeport, Conn.; A.B. Gillett, Wm.
Boardman & Sons, Hartford Steam Coffee & Spice Mills, and Park, Fellowes
& Co., Hartford, Conn.; Benj. Peck & Kellum, and Steele & Emery, New
Haven, Conn.; W.S. Scull & Co., Camden, N.J.; Theo. F. Johnson & Co.,
and the Pioneer Mills, Newark, N.J.; Charles A. Dunham, New Brunswick,
N.J.; James Ronan and Wm. Dolton & Co., Trenton, N.J.; Butler, Earhart &
Co., Columbus, Ohio; C.A. Trentman & Bro., and J.D. Beach & Co., Dayton,
Ohio; W. & S. Stevens, and F.C. Dietz, Zanesville, Ohio; J.E. Tone, Des
Moines, Iowa; H.P. Hess, Cornell & Smith, and E. Warne, Easton, Pa.;
E.S. Forster, Erie, Pa.; Haehnlen Bros., Harrisburg, Pa.; D.G.
Yuengling, Pottsville, Pa.; A. G. Zilmore & Co., Scranton, Pa.; Granger
& Co., Titusville, Pa.; Huestis & Hamilton, and B. Trentman & Son, Ft.
Wayne, Ind.; S. Hamill & Co., Keokuk, Ia.; H.H. Lee, and Maguire &
Gillespie, Indianapolis, Ind.; Joseph Strong, Terre Haute, Ind.; Curtis
& Burnham, Leavenworth, Kan.; Yates & Dudley, Lexington, Ky.; A. Turner,
Wheeling, W. Va.; Granger & Hodge, and Nathaniel Crocker, St. Paul,
Minn.; W.W. Totten & Bro., Nashville, Tenn.; Henry Burns, Savannah, Ga.;
A. McFarland, Springfield, Mass.; Alexander Wills & Co., Montreal,
Canada; and Peter Hendershot, St. Catherine, Canada.
Between 1876 and 1900, many other names came into prominence, and among
them mention should be made of: H. Hulman, Terre Haute, Ind.; A.B. Gates
& Co., and Schnull & Krag, Indianapolis, Ind.; O.W. Pierce Co., and
Geiger-Tinney Co., Lafayette, Ind.; Twitchell, Champlin & Co., Portland,
Me.; Nave-McCord Mfg. Co., Mokaska Mfg. Co., and the Midland Spice Co.,
St. Joseph, Mo.; Beaham-Moffatt Mfg. Co., and C.A. Murdock & Co., Kansas
City, Mo.; Clarke Bros. & Co., T. S. Grigor & Co., Consolidated Coffee
Co., and McCord, Brady Co., Omaha, Neb.; Dayton Spice Mills Co., and
Canby, Ach & Canby, Dayton, Ohio; Ohio Coffee & Spice Co., and Butler,
Crawford & Co., Columbus, Ohio; Bacon, Stickney & Co., Albany, N.Y.;
Charles R. Groff Co., St. Paul, Minn.; John G. Schuler, Covington, Ky.;
J.W. Thomas & Son, Nashville, Tenn.; Geo. F. Hanley & Co., Los Angeles,
Cal.; C.S. Morey Mercantile Co., Denver, Col.; and W.G. Lown Coffee Co.,
Washington, D.C.
William Boardman, founder of Wm. Boardman & Sons Co., Hartford, Conn.,
began roasting coffee at Wethersfield in 1841 with a hand-power roaster,
using wood for fuel. He moved his plant to Hartford in 1850. In the same
year, his son Thomas J., after serving a fifteen-year apprenticeship in
a country store, entered his father's employ. Three years later, he and
his brother, William F.J. Boardman, were admitted to the firm, the name
being changed to Wm. Boardman & Sons. Howard F. Boardman, a son of
Thomas J., began working in the business in 1880, and was admitted to
partnership in 1888. The same year, the founder died and William F.J.
retired. The business has since been conducted by Thomas J. and Howard
F. Boardman.
The company was incorporated in 1898, and John Pepion was admitted. The
president of the company, Thomas J. Boardman, is at the time of writing
ninety years old. He still takes a very active interest in the
business, and his "cup sense" is as acute as ever.
The O.W. Pierce Company, Lafayette, Ind. was founded in 1847 by Oliver
Webster Pierce, Sr. Except for three years in the fifties, when the firm
was known as Reynolds, Hatcher & Pierce, it has been known as the O.W.
Pierce Company since it was established. The company was incorporated in
1905 with O.W. Pierce, Jr. as its head. The senior Mr. Pierce died in
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