GREEN AND ROASTED COFFEE BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES Page 10

Boston. Among the pioneers in the coffee-roasting business in Boston were: N. Berry & Sons; Blanchard & Bro.; Carter, Mann & Co.; Noah Davis & Co.; Dyer & Co.; E. Emerson; Flint Bros. & Co.; J.T. & N. Glines; Hayward & Co.; Geo. W. Higgins & Co.; Hill, Dwinell & Co.; H.B. Newhall; Richardson & Lane; N. Robinson & Co.; Russell & Fessenden; Stickney & Poor; E.H. Swett; the Tremont Coffee & Spice Mills; Swain, Earle & Co.; and the Martin L. Hall Co.

Between 1876 and 1900 these names were among those added: Shapleigh Coffee Co.; Gilman L. Parker; W.S. Quinby & Co.; Thomas Wood & Co.

Dwinell & Co. and Hayward & Co. both engaged in the coffee roasting business about 1845. In 1876, they, James F. Dwinell, Martin Hayward, and his brother-in-law George C. Wright, joined hands under the name of Dwinell, Hayward & Co. In 1894, Mr. Hayward having previously retired, the name of the firm was changed to Dwinell, Wright & Co. Mr. Dwinell died in 1898; and in 1899, Mr. Wright formed a Massachusetts corporation under the present name, Dwinell-Wright Co. George C. Wright died, 1910, and his son, George S. Wright, who had been treasurer, became president. A grandson, Warren M. Wright, and a nephew, G. E. Crampton, together with R.O. Miller and Charles H. Holland, are active in the present conduct of the business.

Caleb Chase with Messrs. Carr and Raymond founded the firm of Carr, Chase & Raymond at 32 Broad Street in 1864. The name was changed to Chase, Raymond & Ayer in 1871. James S. Sanborn, who had formerly been in the coffee and spice trade at Lewiston, Me., with a branch office in Boston, combined with Caleb Chase to form Chase & Sanborn in 1878. Charles D. Sias was admitted to the firm in 1882. A Montreal office was opened in 1884. Charles E. Sanborn, son of James S., was admitted in 1888. James S. Sanborn died in 1903, and Charles E. Sanborn died two years later. Charles D. Sias died in 1913.

Swain, Earle & Co. were established about 1868. In the same year, Byron T. Thayer entered the employ of the firm as a bookkeeper. He was taken into partnership in 1884, and upon the death of Mr. Earle, became managing partner. In 1915, he was the sole surviving partner of the company. He died in the latter part of 1921; and the business was absorbed by Alexander H. Bill & Co. in January, 1922.

Philadelphia. The following were the most prominent Philadelphia coffee roasters in 1861: Grever & Bro.; Henry Hinkle; William Johnston; George Kelly; Thornley & Ryan; Thornley & Bro.; Vankorn, Guggenheimer & Co.; D.J. Chapman; Bohler & Weikel; Charles Kroberger; and James R. Webb & Son.

Later came: Robert J. Rule & Bro.; G. Boyd & Co.; Nutrio Mfg. Co.; C.J. Fell & Bro.; R.R. & A. Deverall; C. Thomas; William H. Cheetham, Jr.; Hill & Thornley; George Ogden & Co.; Weikel & Smith; and Alexander Sheppard.

Between 1876 and 1900 these names appear; Henry A. Fry & Co.; Robert Smith & Sons; B.S. Janney, Jr. & Co.; and Weikel & Smith Spice Co.

Robert Smith came as a country lad to Philadelphia, and drove a wagon for Jesse Thornley, a coffee roaster. In a few years, he had secured an interest in the firm; and in 1860, the name was changed to Thornley & Smith. Mr. Thornley died in 1872, and Mr. Smith bought out the Thornley interests and traded as Robert Smith until 1889. In that year, he admitted his eldest son, Robert A. Smith, into the firm, which became Robert Smith & Son. William T., another son, was admitted in 1889, the firm name being changed again to Robert Smith & Sons. Robert Smith, Sr., retired in 1902. In the same year his youngest son, George H. Smith, was admitted to the firm, and it became Robert Smith's Sons, the active members being William T. and George H. Smith.

James R. Webb established the coffee roasting business of James R. Webb & Son in 1833. It was taken over by Alexander Sheppard in 1870. Later it became Alex. Sheppard & Sons, Inc. Mr. Sheppard died in 1916, and the business has been conducted by a corporation in which his four children are the principal stockholders.

Chicago. Some pioneers in the Chicago trade were: Alfred H. Blackall; Excelsior Mills (Downer & Co.); Huntoon & Towner;W.F. McLaughlin; Knowles, Cloyes & Co.; Thomson & Taylor; H.F. Griswold; G.M. Hall; John L. Davies & Co.; Bell, Conrad & Webster; Sprague, Warner & Co.; Lee & Murbach; A. Stephens & Co.; and Whiting, Goeble & Co.

In the period between 1876 and 1900 the following became well known: Sprague, Warner & Griswold; Reid, Murdoch & Fischer; E.B. Millar Spice Co.; Wm. M. Hoyt Co.; Franklin MacVeagh & Co.; Sherman Bros. & Co.; H.C. & C. Durand; A.H. Pratt; McNeil & Higgins Co.; J.H. Bell & Co.; J.H. Conrad & Co.; Steele-Wedeles Co.; Krag-Reynolds Co.; Arbuckle Bros., and Puhl-Webb Co.

H.C. Durand organized the wholesale grocery house of Durand & Co. in 1851. Calvin Durand entered the firm in 1879, and the name was changed to H.C. & C. Durand. Adam J. Kaspar began to work in a retail grocery. In 1875, he went with the wholesale grocery firm of James Forsythe & Co. and two years later with H.C. & C. Durand. In 1894, the name was changed to Durand & Kasper. H.C. Durand died in 1901, and Calvin Durand died in 1911. Durand & Kasper merged, 1921, with Henry Horner & Co. and McNeil & Higgins into the Wholesale Grocers Corporation.

Samuel A. Downer founded the Excelsior Mills (Downer & Co.) in 1853. Sidney O. Blair entered the employ of the company in 1871. E.B. Millar & Co. took over the business in 1878, incorporating under that name in 1882. Mr. Blair retired in 1913, and W.S. Rice was elected president. He died in 1918, and Mr. Blair was re-elected president; with W.C. Shope, vice-president; and C.S. Mauran, secretary and treasurer.

In the spring of 1862, Albert A. Sprague came to Chicago from Vermont. With Z. B. Stetson he formed the firm of Sprague & Stetson, wholesale grocers. Mr. Stetson retired the following year, and a new partnership was formed with Ezra J. Warner, under the name of Sprague & Warner. In 1864, O.S.A. Sprague, a young brother of the senior partner, was admitted to the firm, which was reorganized under the style of Sprague, Warner & Co. Under this name it has since continued. About the year 1876, machinery was installed, and the roasting of coffee began. Oscar Remmer entered the employ of the company in 1878 at the age of 16, and became manager of the mill department in 1895. In 1912, he was made a member of the board of directors, and was elected vice-president in 1919. O.S.A. Sprague died in 1909, Ezra J. Warner Sr. in 1910, and 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 1919. Since that time, his son, Jerome J., has carried on the business, which continues under the name of the Wm. Schotten Coffee Co.

The firm of David G. Evans & Co. was founded in 1856 by David G. Evans under the style of Flint, Evans & Co., changed in 1870 to David G. Evans & Co. David G. Evans died in 1916, and the name of the company was changed in 1917, to the David G. Evans Coffee Co., with Gwynne Evans, a son of David G., as president of the corporation.

The George Nash Grocery Co. bought the Eagle Coffee and Spice Mills from the estate of Mathew Hunt in 1870. About this time Michael E. Smith, who had been with the concern for a number of years, was made a partner. The firm was incorporated in 1887 as the Nash-Smith Tea & Coffee Co. George Nash, Sr., died in 1910.

Cincinnati. Among the pioneer coffee roasters in Cincinnati were: John C. Appenzeller; Blook & Varwig; J. Brock; Cincinnati Spice Mills; Eagle Spice Mills; Harrison & Wilson; Parker & Dixon; Kilgour & Taylor; J.M. Krout; Succop & Lips; and H.R. Droste.

After the centennial year and previous to 1900, the following names were added: Potter & Parlin; James Heekin & Co.; Flugel & Popp; Utter, Adams & Ellen; J. Henry Koenig & Co.; F.W. Hinz; and the Woolson Spice Co.

D.Y. Harrison, then thirty-five years old, came from Newark, N.J., and settled in Cincinnati in 1843, opening a coffee roasting business as Harrison & Wilson. He used an old pull-out roaster with first a negro, and then a horse-power tread-mill, for power. A few years later, W.H. Harrison, a son of the founder, was admitted to the firm, the name at that time being Parker & Harrison. D.Y. Harrison died in 1872. Fire totally destroyed the plant in 1875. W.H. Harrison then formed a partnership with J.W. Utter, and started in again. He sold out to his partner in 1883 and went in business for himself as W.H. Harrison & Co. D.Y. Harrison is said to have been the first man to roast coffee west of Pittsburg.

The Heekin Company was established in 1870 by James Heekin and Barney Corbett as a partnership under the name of Corbett & Heekin. In a short time, Corbett died; and the name of the firm was then changed to James Heekin & Co. Alexander Stuart was admitted to the partnership about 1883, and retired four years later. James J. Heekin, older son of James Heekin, was admitted to partnership in 1892. Charles Lewis, after twenty years' experience in the coffee trade in Louisville, Cincinnati, and New York, was admitted to the firm in 1895. James Heekin died in 1904. Upon his death, a corporation was formed under the name of the James Heekin Company, with Charles Lewis as president, continuing until he retired in 1919. In this year a new corporation, called the Heekin Company, was formed, taking over the business of the James Heekin Co. and the Heekin Spice Co., the latter having been organized in 1899. James J. Heekin was chosen president of the new company, with Albert E. Heekin, vice-president; and Robert E. Heekin, secretary and general manager.

PIONEER COFFEE ROASTERS OF THE SOUTHERN AND WESTERN UNITED STATES

1—J.B. Sinnot, New Orleans; 2—Julius J. Schotten, St. Louis; 3—Charles Stoffregen, St. Louis; 4—W.T. Jones, New Orleans; 5—J.A. Folger. jr., San Francisco; 6—M.E. Smith, St. Louis; 7—A.E. Forbes, St. Louis; 8—David G. Evans, St. Louis; 9—W.J. Kinsella, St. Louis; 10—James H. Forbes, St. Louis; 11—J.A. Folger, Sr., San Francisco; 12—Joseph Closset, Portland, Ore.; 13—J. Zinsmeister, Louisville; 14—Wm. Schotten, St. Louis; 15—A. Schilling, San Francisco; 16—M.J. Brandenstein, San Francisco; 17—J.O. Cheek, Nashville; 18—A.H. Devers, Portland, Ore.

Louisville. Pioneers in this early center of coffee roasting in the south were: Thornton & Hawkins; Charles J. Bouche; H.N. Gage; A. Engelhard; and Jacob Zinsmeister.

R.J. Thornton & Co. were founded in 1837 by Richard J. Thornton and Thomas Hawkins, as Thornton & Hawkins. Thornton died in 1860. His interests remained, but the firm changed to Hawkins & Thornton. Hawkins died in 1877, and Mrs. Thornton, having purchased the Hawkins interest, ran the business as R.J. Thornton & Co. until her death in 1885. John Hayes, her son-in-law, then bought the company; and when he died in 1904, his widow ran the business with Thomas A. Crawford as manager. Mrs. Hayes, the last of the Thornton family, died in 1919, and her interests were sold to Crawford and R.H. Dorn, an old employee. The firm first roasted coffee about 1846. It is interesting to note that the plant has occupied the present site since its founding, eighty-four years ago.

Albert Engelhard, Sr., founded in 1855 a wholesale grocery house which later became A. Engelhard & Sons, Inc. In 1879, George; in 1882, Victor H.; and in 1883, Albert, Jr.; all sons of the founder, entered the business. Upon moving into larger quarters in 1890, all of the sons were taken in as partners. Albert Engelhard, Sr., retired in 1892, and the management was assumed by Victor H. The business increased rapidly, and in 1897 the firm moved to its present location. Incorporated in 1901, the wholesale grocery end was abandoned in 1903, and the concern became a strictly coffee, tea, and spice house. Victor H. Engelhard died in 1918; and his sons, Victor, Jr., and R.W. Engelhard, who had been in the business for several years, assumed active management. Victor Engelhard, Sr., was prominent in coffee affairs and in the early work of the National Coffee Roasters Association.

Jacob Zinsmeister, of J. Zinsmeister & Sons, was another old-time Louisville coffee man. Before he started roasting, he was a big factor in the green coffee trade. The business was established in 1866 at New Albany, Ind., by Frank Zinsmeister, Sr., but was later moved to Louisville. Jacob Zinsmeister was taken into the business in 1872, and the name was changed to Frank Zinsmeister & Son. He is still active in business, although he has turned the management over to his three sons.

New Orleans. Men and firms active in early coffee roasting in New Orleans were: Shaw's Louisiana Coffee and Spice Mills; Ruliff, Clark & Co.; R. Poursini & Co.; and Smith & McKenna.

Between 1876 and 1900 were added: New Orleans Coffee Co.; Smith Bros. & Co.; Southern Coffee Polishing Mills; and Cage & Drew.

Smith Bros. & Co. were organized in 1863 as Smith & McKenna. Mr. McKenna died in 1872, and the firm name was changed to Smith Bros. & Co. The two Smith brothers died in 1891, and 1892. About 1900, the name became Smith Bros. & Co., Ltd., and J.B. Sinnot, who had been employed for a number of years by the firm, gained control. The company failed in 1913. Mr. Sinnot then entered the coffee brokerage business, in which he remained until his death in 1917.

Born in New Orleans in 1865, Daniel H. Hoffman started work as a sample clerk in the office of E.P. Cottraux, who was at that time the only coffee broker in New Orleans. In 1887, Mr. Hoffman started in business for himself. In 1894, he opened the Southern Coffee Polishing Mills, which have since become the Southern Coffee Mills, Inc.

W.T. Jones, for many years in business as a coffee broker in Keokuk, Iowa, founded the New Orleans Coffee Co. in 1890. He died in 1919.

R.H. Cage and J.C. Drew organized in 1898 the firm of Cage & Drew. In 1900, they established the Louisiana Coffee Mills, under the name and style of Cage, Drew & Co., Ltd.

Ben C. Casanas joined the New Orleans Coffee Co. as a city salesman, and later became a road salesman. He withdrew in 1901 to organize the Merchants Coffee Co. of New Orleans, Ltd.

San Francisco. Pioneer coffee roasters in San Francisco were: J.A. Folger & Co.; Charles Berhard; H. Gates; D. Ghirardelli & Co.; E. Loeven & Co.; Marden & Myrick; Maine & Eckerenkotter; G. Venard; and Charles Zwick.

Between 1876 and 1900 the following were added: A. Schilling & Co.; W.H. Miner; Siegfried & Brandenstein; George W. Caswell.

J.A. Folger & Co. were established in 1850 as Wm. H. Bovee & Co. A few years later, the name became Marden & Folger, Mr. Folger having been connected with the old firm. In the early sixties the name was changed to J.A. Folger & Co. Two employees were taken into the firm in 1878. These were A. Schilling and a Mr. Lamb. The company was now called Folger, Schilling & Co. This partnership was dissolved in 1881, and the business continued as J. A. Folger & Co. Mr. Folger died in 1890, and the firm was then incorporated under the same name.

Shortly after Folger, Schilling & Co. was dissolved, A. Schilling and George Volkman formed the firm of A. Schilling & Co. Mr. Schilling began his career as an office boy with J.A. Folger in 1871.

M.J. Brandenstein and John C. Siegfried formed a co-partnership under the name of Siegfried & Brandenstein in 1880. Mr. Brandenstein bought out his partner in 1894, and took in his brothers, Manfred and Edward, the firm name becoming M. J. Brandenstein & Co.

George W. Caswell started in the retail tea and coffee business in San Francisco under his own name in 1885. In 1898, the business became wholesale only. It was incorporated in 1901 as the George W. Caswell Co. The company took over the brands and travelling organization of Lievre, Frick & Co., which went into a dissolution of partnership in 1902.

Milwaukee. Prominent among early coffee roasters of Milwaukee were: W. & J. G. Flint; James Ryan & Co.; J.B. Reynolds; Jewett & Sherman; and C.E. Andrews & Co. Later we find added the Wm. Grossman Co.

J.G. Flint and Wyman Flint founded the business known as W. & J.G. Flint in 1858. J.G. Flint bought out his brother in 1880 and continued as the J.G. Flint Co., owner of the Star Coffee and Spice Mills. He died in 1896. The business was incorporated in 1901 as the J.G. Flint Co., with W.K. Flint, a son of J.G., as president. The Jewett & Sherman Co. took control in 1911.

Professor Milo P. Jewett, Professor S.S. Sherman, and his brother, William Sherman, founded the firm of Jewett, Sherman & Co. in 1867, and continued under that name until 1875, when it was incorporated as Jewett & Sherman Co., with Milo P. Jewett as president, and Henry B. Sherman, secretary and treasurer. Professor S.S. Sherman and his sons, Fred and Henry B., sold out their interests in 1878 and formed a new business in Chicago under the name of Sherman Bros. & Co. William M. Sherman then became president of Jewett & Sherman Co., and Charles A. Murdock, a nephew of S.S. and William Sherman, was made secretary and treasurer. Mr. Murdock withdrew in 1881 and established the C.A. Murdock Mfg. Co. in Kansas City. In that same year, William H. Sherman, another nephew, became a stockholder and one of the directors of Jewett & Sherman Co. Dr. Lewis Sherman succeeded his father as president of the company in 1891, and served in that capacity until his death in 1915, when he was succeeded by his son, Lewis Sherman, who is president of the company at the present time (1922). John Horter, who is now secretary, joined the business in 1877.

William Grossman started in the wholesale grocery business in 1886. John and Henry Dahlman were admitted to partnership in 1889. About three years later, the latter closed out his interests to J.F.W. Imbusch. The present corporation was established in 1892 as Wm. Grossman & Co. The firm was incorporated August 1, 1916, as the Wm. Grossman Co., with Wm. Grossman as president, George A. Grossman as vice-president, and Paul E. Apel as secretary and treasurer.

Another old-time coffee man of Milwaukee was Charles A. Clark, who had been in the coffee business for nearly twenty years before he organized the present business of Clark & Host Co.

Toledo. The pioneer roasting firms here seem to have been: Warren & Bedwell; and J.B. Baldy & Co. Later, after 1876, we find added the Bour Company, and the Woolson Spice Co.

The latter company was founded in 1882 by A.M. Woolson, who up to that time had conducted a successful retail grocery business for several years. The Woolson Spice Co. was sold to H.O. Havemeyer of New York in 1896, the reputed sale price being $2,000,000. A.M. Woolson retired from business at that time. Upon the death of Mr. Havemeyer, the company passed into the hands of Hermann Sielcken; and when he died, an American company secured control.

Ground Coffee Price list of 1862

The Bour Company was incorporated in 1892, following a partnership which had succeeded to a small business concern under the name of the Eagle Spice Company. The principal stockholders were: J.M. Bour, F.G. Kendrick, and Albro Blodgett. Mr. Blodgett bought the Bour interests in 1909 and with S.W. Beckley, who had been sales manager for a number of years, acquired practically all the other outside interests. The name was changed in 1921 to the Blodgett-Beckley Co., the officers being Albro Blodgett, president, S.W. Beckley, vice-president and manager, and Henry P. Blodgett, secretary and treasurer.

Cleveland. Pioneers in Cleveland were: Smith & Curtis; A. Stephens & Sons; John H. Ganse; and W.D. Drake & Co. In 1870, we find Edwards, Townsend & Co.; Knight, Eberman & Co.; Talbot, Winslow & Co.; Williams & Tait; and Lemmon & Son, added.

Beards & Cummings, coffee roasters of New York City, established a branch in Cleveland under the management of Alvan Stephens in 1855. Later, Stephens took over the business for himself and changed the name to Frisbie & Stephens. In 1861 Alvan's sons, Henry A. and Samuel R., were admitted and the firm became A. Stephens & Sons. Alvan Stephens died in 1873, and Samuel moved to Chicago to open a branch. He died in 1878. Henry A. continued the business until 1881, when Francis Widlar 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 1921. The firm first roasted coffee in 1891. Prior to that time it had been in the wholesale grocery business.

The William S. Scull Co., Camden, N.J., was established in 1858 by William S. Scull, whose father had been in the retail tea and coffee business. William Scull died in 1916. H. Newmark founded H. Newmark & Co. in Los Angeles in 1865. He retired in 1886, and Maurice H. Newmark was made a full partner. The present name is M.A. Newmark & Co.

In 1868, Major David B. Hamill entered, as junior partner, the firm of S. Hamill & Co., Keokuk, Iowa, of which his father, Smith Hamill, was the head. Smith Hamill died in 1890, and David B. became head of the firm. He died in 1916.

William Tackaberry was a junior partner in the firm of S. Hamill & Co., Keokuk, Iowa. He began a business of his own in the same city in 1868. Ten years later, he moved the company to Sioux City, and continued there as the Wm. Tackaberry Co.

Joel O. Cheek began traveling for the wholesale grocery house of Webb, Hughes & Co., Nashville, Tenn., in 1873. Later, he was admitted to partnership, the firm becoming Webb, Cheek & Co., and then Cheek, Norton & Neal. He formed the Nashville Coffee & Mfg. Co., in 1899. It was merged in 1901 into the Cheek-Neal Coffee Co.

Jekiel and Isaac E. Tone began the business of Tone Bros. at Des Moines, Iowa, in March, 1873, with one roaster and one spice mill. The business was incorporated in 1897. Jekiel Tone died in 1900, and Isaac E. Tone in 1916. The business is now (1922) carried on by W.E. and Jay E. Tone.

Edward Canby began business in Dayton, Ohio, in 1875, succeeding the firm of J.D. Beach & Co. He retired in 1886, and the business was left in charge of Frank L. Canby and P.J. Ach. The latter had entered the employ of Canby in 1877. He secured an interest in the business in 1882, and became a partner in 1890. When the company was incorporated as Canby, Ach & Canby in 1904, he was elected president. Mr. Ach has been very prominent in the affairs of the National Coffee Roasters Association since its organization.

Frank J. Geiger began in the tea, coffee, and spice business in Lafayette, Ind., under the name of Culver & Geiger. Mr. Culver, who had never been active, died in 1889, and in 1892 the Geiger-Tinney Company was formed with F.J. Geiger as president. The plant was moved to Indianapolis in 1901 with William L. Horn as vice-president, and Henry C. Tinney as secretary and treasurer. The name was changed to the Geiger-Fishback Co. in 1912, and Mr. Geiger retired. Frank S. Fishback acquired all the stock of the company in 1918, and the name was changed to the Fishback Co. with F.S. Fishback, president; John S. Fishback, treasurer; and F. C. Fishback, secretary.

S. Holstad joined the Thomson & Taylor Spice Co of Chicago in 1892. He left in 1901 and went to Minneapolis, where he became a member of the firm of Atwood & Hoisted. He withdrew in 1908 to form the firm of S. Holstad & Co., with Charles Ekelund and Alexander W. Kreiser as partners. After the withdrawal of Mr. Holstad from Atwood & Holstad, Mr. Atwood continued as Atwood & Co.

F.P. Atha began work as a coffee salesman with Holman & Co., Terre Haute, Ind. He went to San Francisco in 1899 and entered the employ of J.A. Folger & Co., and introduced Folger products east of the Rockies. He opened the Kansas City branch in 1907; and a year later, he was admitted to the firm and made vice-president and general manager.

The National Coffee Roasters Association

The first effort to organize the coffee roasters of the United States dates back to 1885, when several St. Louis coffee roasters came together in a kind of gentlemen's agreement not to cut the price of roasting green coffee, which had declined, owing to ruthless competition, from $1.00 to 10 cents a bag. The various parties to the agreement posted $500 checks each as forfeits, not to violate the price as fixed. After one year, a check was cashed; but the principal claimed his lapse was clerical and not in violation of the agreement. However, as a result of the argument that followed, the organization was disbanded.

Members of the Organization Convention of the National Coffee Roasters Association, St. Louis, May 26, 1911

Reading from left to right: W.B. Johnson, St. Louis; W.T. Jones, New Orleans; George Schulte, St. Louis; C.F. Blanke, St. Louis; Ben Casanas, New Orleans; Carl Stoffregen, St. Louis; Edward D. Hanly, Kansas City; H.C. Grote, St. Louis; James Menown, St. Louis; Frank P. Atha, Kansas City; Henry Petring, St. Louis; J.M. McFadden, Dubuque, Iowa; Joseph Maury, Memphis; T.F. Halligan, Davenport; F.J. Ach, Dayton; Carl Brand, Cleveland; Wm. Fisher, St. Louis; M.H. Gasser, Toledo; Julius J. Schotten, St. Louis; E.W. Bockman, Paducah, Ky.; Louis Christopherson, St. Louis; Felix Coste, St. Louis; W.E. Tone, Des Moines; Robert Meyer, St. Louis; Fred Roth, St. Louis; M.E. Smith. St. Louis; J.B. Dubrouilett, St. Louis; Floyd Norwine, St. Louis

As early as 1900, leaders of the trade's best thought began to urge the need of a national organization among coffee roasters.

As a result of informal meetings between men like Robert M. Forbes, Julius J. Schotten, Robert Meyer, and Messrs. Roth and Homeyer, around the luncheon table in St. Louis, to discuss trade abuses and bring about better trade co-operation, the subject of a St. Louis organization of coffee roasters began to be agitated about 1906. It was not until four years later, however, that the idea took definite form.

On September 14, 1910, the Traffic Association of St. Louis Coffee Importers was organized, starting out with a membership of ten firms, its chief object being to obtain an adjustment of freight rates to and from St. Louis as advantageous as those prevailing for Chicago and New York.

This association—of which Robert Meyer was the first president, and H.L. Homeyer, vice-president, J.S. Hartman, secretary, and G.H. Petring, treasurer—was the forerunner of the National Coffee Roasters Traffic and Pure Food Association organized in 1911 and now known as the National Coffee Roasters Association.

At the organization meeting of the national association twenty-six coffee-roasting establishments in the Mississippi Valley were represented at the conference held May 26–27 in the Planters Hotel, St. Louis. The objects of the new body were announced in the constitution, as:

First: To foster and promote a feeling of fellowship and good will among its members, and on broad and equitable lines to advance the welfare of the coffee trade and the consumer.

Second: To eliminate or minimize abuses, methods and practises inimical to the proper conduct of business.

Third: To assist in the enactment and enforcement of uniform pure food laws which in their operations shall deal justly and equitably with the rights of the consumer and the trade.

The association started with these officers: Julius J. Schotten, St. Louis, President; M.H. Gasser, Toledo, vice-president; W.E. Tone, Des Moines, treasurer, and W.J.H. Bown, St. Louis, secretary.

Meanwhile, as a result of an agitation started by The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal, a meeting of New York and eastern coffee roasters was called at the Fulton Club, New York, October 27, 1911, to discuss plans for a national organization. M. H. Gasser attended this meeting, and told of the plan of the western roasters to organize such an organization at a meeting called for Chicago the following month. The promoters of the eastern organization subsequently abandoned their efforts in favor of the western group.

Robert Meyer, St. Louis
First president of the Coffee Roasters' original organization

At the first convention of the National Coffee Roasters Traffic and Pure Food Association, held in Chicago, November 16–17, 1911, all the foregoing officers were retained, the office of second vice-president was created, and Frank R. Seelye was selected to fill it.

That the organization idea was popular among the roasters was evident from the fact that at the close of the convention it was announced that the membership was then seventy-one firms in cities as far east as Virginia and as far west as Kansas City. The convention demonstrated that the association was really a national organization, which quieted suspicions prevalent in some quarters of the trade in the east that it was chiefly a Mississippi Valley unit.