2:17 PM
Welcome back to my blog….and I am continuing to find any leads for finding a name for my St. Louis Clay Salesman.
As I posted yesterday, I received some disappointing info from the National Archives learning that the records I seeked were arranged by name.
Mr. Gene Morris did give me a great Google Beta Site http://www.google.com/patents for finding Patent info and I did find two patents for William Bevard. Bevard’s. The earliest patent on file dated May 1857 shows a Shingle Machine and Bevard is listed as, “Bevard of St. Louis” - while the later patent in 1858 shows he has moved to Muscatine, Iowa. I found him on ancestory.com in the1860 census occupation of a cooper [a person who makes barrels].
By know you are asking me, “Why am I laboring so much on Bevard and this isn't related to the Steamboat Arabia!” Be patient, historians do lots of looking around and just enjoy the ride. Don’t be like a little kid and ask, “Are we there yet?”
I have no idea if anything I research is connected with the Steamboat Arabia until I have turned over every stone. Regardless, this exercise is never a waste of time because I am building a base of knowledge that might help me to understand something else down the road.
Now for the Lighting bolt
In this case I realized that our salesman mentions both of Bevard’s patents in his journal. Our unknown man is leasing the rights for the shingle machine, making him the agent (I assume in St. Louis) and he is pulling filing all the documents, models, drawing the patent that will eventually be approved in 1858 for the barrel cutter. This section of the journal continues for some pages, yet to betranscribed. However, knowing what I learned in the last two days, re-reading it today has much more meaning to me now.
The Missouri Digital Heritage has a web page for a Mechanic’s Lien for shingles (dated July 1858) between William Bevard and William Cooper and testifying for Bevard is his St Louis agent Curtis Cooliage….so possibly could that be my unknown salesman?
Above is one of the advertisements in my St Louis Sketch Book [1858] for a Saw Mill Manufacturer which opened in 1845. The Steamboat Arabia Museum does have one saw mill- lots of building.
Arabia Connection
This journalist leaps ahead some pages and begins another section titled ,
"July 10, 1856 Memorandum of disposition of the Shingle Cutters made by S. Jackson. He continues writing, “The first one of these made I sold to Bevard….” The journal continues listing sales/orders but the inked entry that counts is, “July 9, 1856- The fifth one I sent to H M Pomeroy of Florence, Nebraska Territory. He agrees to pay me #1 per 1,000 he cuts. $500 to be paid soon. He owes me $33.64 for belt leather and saw sent him [paid is written in pencil].
September 16, 1856- I received a note from him on the above note for $1,000 due in 12 months. The note I sold to Bradley.”
Pomeroy is a partner with Stutsman (one of Arabia’s consignees and President of the Florence Land Co). If you recall aboard the Arabia was 20,000 feet of lumber going to Florence for Keller who might be informally part of this start up group. One invoice in my collection shows Keller moving further west. Stutsman & Donnel were to receive 202 packages at their warehouse in Omaha (nearby Florence), but since the Arabia sank with their freight- Florence Land Company was in big trouble. Money is suddenly tight. , As you can see below, attachments are filed in 1858 for debts incurred in 1856- Pomeroy and others in the Florence Land Company are listed.
Florence needs lumber for building and his partner makes a huge order on September 24, 1856 under the name of their chain store Donnel & Saxton in St Joseph to Hardy’s Sawmill (near St. Joseph Missouri). How do I know this you ask? I have one of Hardy’s sawmill ledger and besides the great treasure it contains about Arabia’s consignees - it shows St. Joseph’s merchants building the town- one store at a time.
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