Sunday Paper: Medicinal Purposes

In 1869, George W. Grader, Jr. found it difficult to sell his wares.

02 October 1869, Boston Herald

Sunday Paper: Fortune Missing

Almost six months after the untimely death of George W. Grader I, there was a problem with his paperwork.

4 March 1896, Boston Journal

Sunday Paper: Grader Drops Dead

On 15 October 1895, George W. Grader I passed away with a flair befitting his colorful life. A fight over the boundaries of a cemetery plot ended in court. Although he was acquitted of assault charges, he didn't make it home to celebrate. Grader was a prominent citizen and inventor; news of his death was found in several papers, including The Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), Knoxville Journal (Tennessee), and the Enterprise (Ohio).

16 October 1895, Boston Herald

Family Photo Friday

Top Row: Caroline Klinck Kinney, Carrie Chapman Grader
Bottom Row: Mary Klinck Grader, Hazel Grader, George W. Grader III

Klinck & Grader: Together on Paper

	This document shows the distribution of almost $6,000 to various individuals (including one woman!) in May, 1862. Memphis is scratched out for Columbus, Mississippi. Such edits are seen on Many of these documents.
Some significant discoveries have been made in the past week regarding the Civil War service of our ancestors. With luck (and more research), it will lead to more VA-supplied headstones. Cross all fingers and toes! While documents are analyzed, transcribed, and restored, I wanted to share this historic document. It reveals two things we've never seen before: Proof that John Graham Klinck (typically signed "JG Klinck") was an Ordnance Officer for the Confederacy. Further proof that George W. Grader, John Klinck's son-in-law, was a fellow Ordnance Officer, as seen by both of their signatures on this document. You can also see the stamp of the CSA Archive office. The oval stamp reads, "Record Division, War Department. Rebel Archives." Awesome!
At left, George W. Grader. Highlighted at right are both men's signatures.

Frank Grader Dies

Seven weeks of stories have all been leading up to this: Frank Grader died in an unusual way. Two years ago, when I first began researching my ancestors, I found Frank’s death certificate and was intrigued. It wasn’t the standard “yellow fever,” or “pulmonary embolism.” The document reads, “accident (fell from trestle).” Following a hunch that such an odd death would be mentioned in the newspaper, I found the three articles shown. Generally, they describe Frank’s drunken evening at Wallace’s Saloon where he was seen breaking beer bottles. He later wandered off and, at some point, fell from the Illinois Central Rail Road trestle at the foot of Beale Street. While this is oceans more than we knew before, the articles open up many questions: The papers say he lived on Mosby Street, but he isn’t listed in city directories as a resident. Did he have family on Mosby? Did he tell police he was from Scotland or is this a reporting error? On a related note, it’s sad to learn that he was well enough (externally anyway) to visit the police station before he was admitted to City Hospital. Who put forth the suicide / murder theory? Was there an investigation? Is there a record? According to Buddy Plunk at the Shelby County Archives, “There are no homicide or investigatory records prior to 1915, and even now investigations are not always open to the public if it did not result in a conviction.  As such, what you have in the newspaper articles is all there will be.” A job selling Coke Dandruff Cure seems more in his swim lane (as a druggist), but how long had he been working for them and why out of Chicago? Finally – Heartbreak! – his mammy visited his body in the morgue?!  I tried to find her but to no avail. I shall keep her on my radar. Special thanks to Knox Martin and the Shelby County Archives!	Memphis Commercial Appeal, 5 April 1905
Memphis Commercial Appeal, 2 April 1905
Memphis News Scimitar, 2 April 1905
Frank Grader's Memphis death certificate	1901 ad for Coke Dandruff Cure
ICRR trestle Grader fell from, as photographed in 1950.

The New England Newspaper League

Frank Grader is "Advance Man" This week, Francis H. Grader took me on an unexpected 10-week ride in a palatial train car! In 1899, eleven prominent New England newspapers joined forces to tour the South and write about their findings.  Their goal was to “show the advancement and unbounded resources and material progress of the South …  to show its exact condition … to present accurate information concerning industrial conditions in the South from the merchant’s and the investor’s point of view.” After the tour, the group was to publish a 24-page Special Industrial Edition revealing their findings. C.F. King, the general manager of the league, said the edition would be “unprecedented and without parallel in the history of journalism.” Oy. To match their lofty goals, the group traveled in style! Most of the articles began by mentioning the Wagner palace car they roughed-it in. The car boasted chandeliers, lush carpeting and came with a French chef, waiter, and porter. Then there was the royal treatment each city doled out upon their arrival. Most were determined to make the best possible impression; city commerce groups formed committees to arrange each moment of the league’s visit, which not only showed off their mines and factories but also their best restaurants and hotels. During a one-hour stop in Charlotte, the palace car was boarded by a “party of typical Southern belles” who presented Mr. King with a bouquet of violets. Unlike many genealogical searches, the New England Newspaper League netted hundreds of 1899 newspaper articles. What it did not net, was their promised 24-page special edition report. Additionally, while I can follow much of their trip on the map, I’m unsure if Frank Grader took the same trip. As the “advance man,” Frank’s job was to visit each city ahead of the journalists to set things up. As such, it’s unknown if he was ever a passenger on the fancy Wagner car. I’m also unclear as to how Frank found himself in this position. He was born in Memphis, so his connection to the South is clear – but as a druggist, he isn’t a clear choice to work with the newspapers. Unfortunately, since the 1890 census was almost entirely lost in a fire in 1921, I can’t verify his profession leading up to 1899.	Map of the Southern Rail, which the league traveled.
	The Charlotte Observer, 28Feb1899
The Columbus Daily Inquirer, 29March1899	A Wagner palace train car

For more information on the Wagner Palace Car Company:
I Ride the Harlem Line
Wagner Palace

For more information on the Southern Rail.

Frank Grader the Lumberjack?

Four years after his temperance movement troubles and DNC delegate run, we find Frank Grader in what seems like a completely different walk of life: encouraging Massachusetts capitalists to invest in the Arkansas lumber industry. Reader says, “Whaaat?!” Although I’m still trying to pin him down from one year to the next, Frank seems to have spent a lot of time in Memphis, especially around the turn of the century. So he would’ve been in the area during Reconstruction to see the various opportunities available to a man (sigh) with an entrepreneurial spirit and a little cash. Meanwhile, he’s right on about the opportunity Arkansas’s unique geography offered – the forests were ripe with timber ready to be trimmed, felled, sawed, and loaded onto the blossoming new rail system. For more information on the Southern lumber boom that followed the Civil War, visit The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture.

The Boston Journal, 26June1895

Loggers in Calhoun County, AR - circa 1890

Rabid Dog Bites Frank's Bulldog

On 16May1892 a rabid fox hound tore through the city of Lynn, attacking citizens and canines alike before finally being caught. Unfortunately, one of his victims was Dave, the "valuable brindle bulldog" of Frank Grader. Rabies, a deadly virus typically transmitted by bites from an infected animal, results in a laundry list of heartbreaking symptoms including paralysis, hallucinations, confusion, agitation, and depression - just to name a few. Although Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux developed a vaccine in 1885, the first mass vaccination of dogs didn't occur until 1919. So, unfortunately, this random run-in probably ended Dave's life. At the end of the article, the police order all dogs who were attacked to be killed. :( For more information on rabies, see The Natural History of Rabies, 2nd Edition.

The Boston Herald - May 16, 1892

A Brindle Bulldog

Chicago or Bust! Grader is DNC Delegate

18Sep1891 – The Boston Journal announced the democratic delegates for “various conventions,” which included our very own Frank H. Grader for Ward 4. That means it is highly likely that he attended the Democratic National Convention held in Chicago June 21-23. The convention was held in a temporary structure they called the “Wigwam” that was built specifically for this event. Unfortunately, heavy rains penetrated the roof and many delegates were forced to raise their umbrellas indoors. After many long nights (sometimes going until 4:00 in the morning!), the convention finally nominated Grover Cleveland as their candidate.  When actual convention work was finished, delegates received special invitations to the grounds of the Chicago World’s Fair, which would open two years later. For more information on the Democratic National Conventions, visit The Library of Congress.

The Boston Herald, 18Sep1891

The Wigwam

Frank Grader Busted in Sting

Boston Journal, 28Mar1891	Lynn, MA 1891 – Horace D. King, former city marshal and agent of the Tolman Temperance Fund, set up a sting operation to bust local druggists. Their crime was breaking Massachusetts state liquor sale laws – most prominently by selling alcohol on Sundays and by failing to document the sales. King had been working for years to rid the city of liquor. On March 27, he declared war on druggists and produced a list of 17 apothecaries who had violated the law. Later, like a scene from a movie, a packed courtroom watched as King filled an entire table with whiskey bottles purchased illegally from druggists. “The great variety of liquor caused some merriment among the spectators!” While I found several articles about the initial arrest, I found very few on the outcome. I believe Frank and 9 others pled guilty, paid a $50 fine, and lost their liquor license. On top of that, another May article notes that under public statutes, the guilty druggists’ leases should be voided. If they were allowed to remain, their landlord could be prosecuted as an accessory. In Frank’s case, his landlord was also his father: George W. Grader. Research Note: I find this fascinating – especially considering 14 years after this event, Frank (who was no longer a druggist) will lose his life in an alcohol-related accident! But many questions remain: What exactly happened in the appeal? How long did Frank continue to run his apothecary after this? Was liquor revenue vital to his financial success? Was his reputation ruined? Who was running the Tolman Temperance Fund? And what happened to Horace D. King? All fun things to add to the list!
	Boston Daily Advisor, 06May1891
	The Harrisburg Patriot, 30Mar1891
	Boston Daily Advisor, 05May1891

Spooked Horse Breaks Frank's Window

This is the second in a series of articles I discovered about Francis H. Grader (1832-1905), my 1st cousin, 3x removed on the Klinck side. This piece is from the December 5, 1890 Boston Herald. In it, a runaway horse, spooked by an electric car, causes damage to the town - including the window of Frank's apothecary.

Frank Grader Badly Burned (1889)

Francis H. Grader (1832-1905)is my 1st cousin, 3x removed on the Klinck side. Last week, while researching another Grader, I instead discovered one dozen articles about Frank! Today I'll begin a series sharing what I found. This piece is from the March 23, 1889 edition of the Boston Journal. In 1889, Frank was a druggist who owned his own store. The article notes that Frank was badly burnt with sulfuric acid from a soda generator, which apparently wasn't uncommon. The fountain consisted of a lead lined chamber where sulphuric acid and powdered marble were mixed to produce carbon dioxide. The generated gas was purified and then sent to a tank of cool water. The tank was manually sloshed around to help the gas dissolve and then piped to the dispensing tap. It wasn’t uncommon for soda fountains to explode as the process for making carbonated water was not particularly safe. The biggest threat was when the pressure vessel holding the carbonated water failed. When this happened, metal, glass and people were sent flying about the store.  (From ArtOfDrink.com, History of the Soda Fountain)