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1904 Louisiana Purchase Festival Hall. Via Wikimedia, public domain.
If you did not live in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904, but had family or friends who did, your vacation would definitely be visiting them that year. Even if you didn’t have somewhere you could stay free, St. Louis was on the agenda for 19,694,855 people between 30 April 1904 and 01 December 1904.
The nation had come out of the worst recession it had ever seen to that date- the Panic of 1893 had repercussions for many years. The economy started a rapid growth spurt after William McKinley became President in 1897 and gold was found in the Klondike. The country’s pent-up demand for good times and fun played out at the fair, and Americans had the money to spend on travel and souvenirs.
The Government Building at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Via Wikimedia, public domain.
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, as it was formally known, was to celebrate the centennial of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; opening had been delayed one year to allow more participation. It was truly an international exposition, with exhibits built by 62 foreign countries, 43 states (there were only 45 in the Union at that time), and the U. S. Government.
The fair took up 1,200 acres in prime St. Louis neighborhoods, and today those grounds are Forest Park and the Washington University campus. The ‘Flight Cage’ or Aviary (A huge bird cage in which birds fly free- very innovative for the time) is now at the St. Louis Zoo, and the Palace of Fine Art, a magnificent building, has become the St. Louis Art Museum; the statue of St. Louis on his horse is out in front.
1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition East Lagoon. Via Wikimedia, public domain.
Beautiful, expensive mansions existed alongside the 1,500+ fair buildings, with most of them constructed of “staff,” a mixture of hemp fibers and plaster of Paris, placed on a wooden frame. All but two of the buildings were only meant to last 1-2 years for the fair, but had to be continually patched throughout the seven months the fair was officially open.
With 75 miles of walkways and roads, and buildings as big as 20 acres such as the Palace of Agriculture, everything at the fair could hardly be seen in a week. A local guide, such as a family member or friend, would help visitors navigate to the very best sections of the fair.
Map of 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Via Wikimedia, public domain.
The fair offered educational exhibits including “scientific agriculture,” art, anthropological, “curious exhibits,” great inventions and discoveries, athletics and health, “electricity up to 1904,” machinery, manufacturing, mining, and “new household methods and art.” Transportation and naval battle exhibits, and even “Women’s Progress Since the World’s Fair at Chicago” were enticing to many fair visitors. The fair even exhibited the world’s largest cedar bucket- it could hold 1,556 gallons, and was about 6 ft. tall, 6 ft. in diameter at the base and 9 ft. in diameter at the top. (You can see it today at Cannonsburgh Village in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.) Music, theater, and other entertainments filled the fair with joy for all ages. The 1904 Olympics even took place on the fairgrounds!
Palace of Fine Arts, 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Via Wikimedia, public domain.
It has been claimed that the first waffle ice cream cone was created at the fair, and some say the hot dog, cotton candy, peanut butter, and iced tea were ‘invented’ at the fair. The fair actually made these products popular with the masses, but probably existed before 1904. Puffed Wheat cereal and the soft drink Dr. Pepper were introduced at the fair, however.
Pop culture got a boost with new music like the song, “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis” which was sung by many artists, but the Judy Garland version in the musical “Meet Me in St. Louis” is probably best known to current generations. Scott Joplin, a St. Louis native, wrote a song about the waterfalls in front of Festival Hall, called, “Cascades” and it helped promote ragtime as the music of the day. Jazz was popular too.
Louisiana Purchase commemorative stamp issued in 1903 for 10 cents and promoted at the fair. Via Wikimedia, public domain.
Sadly, many indigenous peoples of the world were put on display, including Geronimo, the brave Apache war chief, a pygmy from the Congo, and peoples from newly-acquired territories from the Spanish-American War, such as the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The fair did begin a conversation in America about race and ‘primitive’ peoples, and their rights. Ironically, the fair included an “educated” horse named Beautiful Jim Key, and he and his owner, a former slave who also had native-American blood, promoted humane animal treatment.
Geronimo at 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Via Wikimedia, public domain.
Ever heard of the St. Louis Bullfight Riot? As a native St. Louisan, I never had. But yes, a bullfight had been scheduled as a fair activity for 05 June 1904. The Missouri governor halted the fight citing the anti-bullfighting laws in Missouri. (Who knew Missouri had such laws? Holdovers from Spanish possession, perhaps? Wonder if they are still on the books today.) The spectators were angry and demanded refunds, but were turned away. So the mob rioted, burning the arena to the ground. One of the bullfighters murdered another two days later when they fought over payment for the fight that never happened with weak, emaciated bulls.
This photoillustration from the front page of the June 6, 1904 issue of the “St. Louis Republic” newspaper illustrates the burning of the Norris Amusement Company arena during the St. Louis bullfight riot contemporary to the 1904 World’s Fair. Via Wikimedia, public domain. (Click to enlarge.)
Lots of our Heritage Ramblings ancestors lived in St. Louis, many during the 1904 World’s Fair. We will tell some of those stories and see some wonderful artifacts this week.
3) The Missouri History Museum has a wonderful collection of 1904 World’s Fair memorabilia. It is housed in the Jefferson Memorial Building (named in honor of Thomas Jefferson, President when the Louisiana Purchase occurred) near the park and is a very worthwhile visit.
5) Thanks to Mary Theresa Helbling, who made “Meet Me in St. Louis” with Judy Garland a perennial late movie favorite. See “The Trolley Song” excerpt at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmx1L8G25q4.
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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.
Tax list for Peter Ashenfelter in York Co., Pennsylvania, 1798. Via Ancestry.com. Note that in Colonial times, an ‘f” was often used for ‘s’ in writing/printing, especially if the word contained a double ‘s.’ (Click to enlarge.)
If you are a Beerbower descendant, you may have never heard of Peter Ashenfelter. You likely know your relationship to Anna Mae Beerbower Helbling, the wife of G.W. Helbling, however. Peter was her 3rd great-grandfather; that is five generations. Now add how many generations you are from Anna Mae, and you will see how far back this line goes. Well, actually we know Peter’s father, too: Philip Jacob Eschenfelter (German spelling), born in 1716 in Germany, so that is six generations from Anna Mae to our immigrant ancestor.
Family history and stories only tend to last 2-3 generations, so we are pretty far removed. But the documents created when our ancestors were alive can help us make them more than just names and dates- they can help to tell their stories.
In July of 1798, the Federal Government of our new country was concerned about an impending war with France due to treaty negotiations gone awry and the famous “X,Y, Z Affair” in which France tried to extort money as a bribe from the Americans. Congress therefore passed a bill in which lands and dwelling houses would be assessed a value, and slaves enumerated; that act was followed by another to collect a direct tax on citizens to generate funds for war, based on the valuations.
The tax had to be fair- it needed to be an across-the-board tax; that requirement was foremost in the minds of Congress. They had enacted the distilled spirits tax back in 1791, but it affected mostly farmers and distillers. That group in Western Pennsylvania rebelled against the tax in 1794 and the Whiskey Rebellion had to be put down by US Marshals plus the threat of a militia with President George Washington at the head, prepared to put down the rebellion. (The rebels fled as the army approached.) We had Scots-Irish ancestors in Western PA at this time- wonder if they were involved in the Rebellion? Another HeritageRambling, another research project…
Back to Peter Ashenfelter.
The 1798 House Direct Tax had three lists:
dwelling houses above the value of $100 and all their out houses (outbuildings, not the little house with the crescent moon on the door)
land lots
slaves
Owners were to provide information- there were up to 10 forms per owner!- that was current as of 01 Oct 1798. If an owner was not at home, a message would be left to provide the list within 10 days; if the owner refused to provide information, they were fined $100 plus court costs, and the assessor was allowed to enter their premises to make his own list. The information would be compiled and posted publicly in at least four places per district; individuals had 15 days to appeal. Needless to say, the populace was not happy with this tax, nor the invasion of their privacy and recording of their assets.
This 1798 tax was also known as the “Window Tax” or “Glass Tax.” Because glass in a home was one of the most expensive building materials back in 1798, the number of windows were counted and the number of ‘lights’ or individual panes of glass were listed on the tax form. The material used to build the house and the size of the dwelling were also recorded, as they all affected the valuation of a house.
The tax rate for a dwelling house with out houses and land less than two acres was taxed at .02% for valuations between $100 and $499, and .03% for >$500 and <$1,000; for those with valuations greater than $30,000, the tax rate was 1%. The owners of slaves were taxed 50 cents for each slave.
Our ancestor, Peter Ashenfelter and his family of ten, had a home that was one story and made of stone. It was 36 x 24 feet- just 828 sq. ft. of living space, half the size of a small house today, with ten people in it vs. today’s average of 2.63 persons. The house did have 7 windows, though, and a total of 84 ‘lights’- that would make an average of 12 panes per window. Peter owned 2 acres of land, and thus the Assistant Assessor calculated a valuation of $434, which would incur 9 cents tax. The Principal Assessor, however, calculated $578, so the tax rate was increased and would be 17 cents. We are still looking for more documentation of what Peter actually paid.
The Glass Tax was repealed one year later, when relations with France had calmed down and there was no anticipated need to fund a war. It was also repealed because the German-Americans of Pennsylvania vigorously opposed the law because they did not view it as fair, and it probably wasn’t fair for most northerners- because Pennsylvania had few slaves, there was increased taxation on homes and lands, and thus small farmers paid more than they would have in states with large slave populations. The tax resisters marched, protested, refused to pay, participated in armed rallies, and even captured assessors. Federal warrants were issued, the militia called out, and 30 men were arrested and put on trial. Three of these men, including John Fries, an auctioneer who traveled the state and stirred up the rebellion, were accused of treason, convicted, and sentenced to hang. President John Adams pardoned them, stating that the true definition of treason was narrower, and that those who resisted the tax were, “as ignorant of our language as they were of our laws.” Adams felt the German-Americans were being used by the the opposition party who incited the rebellion, making his Federalist party unpopular, and indeed that was the end result of “Fries Rebellion”, AKA the House Tax Rebellion; it was called the “Heesses-Wasser Uffschtand” by the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Learning more about the politics of the time helps us to have a better understanding of how our German-American ancestors lived. Adams’ quote tells us that our German ancestors probably spoke mostly German in their communities, and likely were not very educated. Germans were looked down upon at the time, especially since the memories of the horrible Hessian troops were still fresh in the minds of many English-turned-American citizens. It would be interesting to know if Peter Eschenfelter/Ashenfelter participated in this rebellion, and what he actually paid in taxes. We may never know, but it is interesting to realize that our nation was divided and in chaos at times even at the beginning, but we have survived united, somehow.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) “The Massachusetts and Maine 1798 Direct Tax” by Michael J. Leclerc. New England Ancestors. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2000-2009. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009.) (Volume 4.2, Spring 2003, pages 13-17.)
2) “Taxing Window Glass in 1798” by Stephen H. Smith, 10 Aug 2012, on York’s Past website-
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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.
Caspar Bierbaur- Oath of Allegiance Record, 16 May 1778. From “House of Bierbauer- Two Hundred Years of Family History” by JC Culver and CW Beerbower, 1942, page 47.
Two hundred and thirty seven years plus one month ago today, in York County, Pennsylvania, Caspar J. Bierbaur (Bierbauer/Beerbower) stepped in front of an official and pledged his Oath of Allegiance to the new state. The General Assembly of Pennsylvania had passed an Act on 13 June 1777, requiring citizens to give the Oath, and the above record of that oath included Caspar’s name and residence.
Oath of Allegiance Transcription:
York County in Pennsylvania, ss.
I DO hereby certify, that Casper Bierbaur
hath voluntarily taken and subscribed the oath
of Allegiance and Fidelity, as directed
by an ACT of GENERAL ASSEMBLY
of Pennsylvania, passed the 13th Day of June, A. D.
1777, Witness my Hand and Seal, the Sixteenth
Day of May A. D. 1778
N127 Danial Messerly [“L.S. in circle”]
These are the words that Caspar would have said on 16 May 1778:
1777 Pennsylvania Oath of Allegiance given by Caspar J. Bierbaur on 16 May 1778.
It was important for each of the states during the revolution to make sure that none of their citizens still gave their allegiance to Great Britain. Since Caspar was born in Germany, it might be thought that he was a Hessian soldier, or had been one, so it was especially important for Caspar to remind his neighbors about his political allegiance. He likely had been in America for many years with his family, but it has been challenging to find that documentation. (The year 1752 is what many researchers agree upon as his immigration date.)
Just before Caspar uttered his Oath of Allegiance, on 05 Feb 1778, the Articles of Confederation were ratified by South Carolina, the first state to do so. One day later, on 06 Feb, Britain declared war on its age-old enemy, France, and France signed the Treaty of Alliance in Paris, the first foreign power to recognize the United States as a sovereign state. George Washington and his troops were struggling through a horribly cold winter at Valley Forge, and Baron von Steuben, a Prussian, arrived to train and drill the Continental soldiers in tactics and military discipline. His training of our troops was invaluable in helping to win the war.
Additionally, York, Pennsylvania, became the headquarters of the Continental Congress after the British invaded Philadelphia in September of 1777. Philadelphia was occupied for ten months, and the Continental Congress stayed in York until July, 1778. Our ancestor, Caspar J. Beerbower was there, while history was being made. I wonder if he knew our country’s founders, socialized with them, called them, ‘friend’? Or possibly he only saw them as he moved about the town.
An interesting note: Benedict Arnold signed his Oath of Allegiance just 2 weeks after Caspar, but at Valley Forge. Within a year Arnold was plotting to change his allegiance to the British. Caspar, however, would enlist one year later in the Continental Army, at age 45, proving his allegiance to his new country.
Notes, Sources, and References:
1) House of Bierbauer. Two Hundred Years of Family History, 1742-1942 compiled by James Culver Bierbower and Charles William Beerbower. Published under the direction of Beerbower History Committee, 1942.
This Oath was given in 1778, however this book begins the list of names on 11 Dec 1778, so Caspar Bierbauer is not listed in it.
4) Transcription by the author. Note that a double f- “ff” – stands for a double s in colonial writing, both handwritten and printed. In some documents the ‘s’ may also be written with an ‘f’ after to signify a double ‘s’- ‘sf.’
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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.
Harold Broida’s hobby show entry of stamps. Young Men and Women’s Hebrew Association Weekly, 15 October 1937, Vol. 12, No. 7, Page 2. Posted with the kind permission of the Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project. (Click to enlarge.)
Harold Broida was the baby of the seven surviving children of John and Sarah Gitel Frank Broida. He married but never had children, so when this article popped up while searching for John Broida in Palestine, we felt we had to post it. It is sad that he had no children to carry on his legacy, so we will do that for him here at HeritageRamblings.net.
Too bad Harold did not patent his unique way of displaying his stamp collection! In subsequent years, maps with coins, rocks, and all sorts of collectibles have made a tidy profit for their inventors.
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Family history is meant to be shared, but the original content of this site may NOT be used for any commercial purposes unless explicit written permission is received from both the blog owner and author. Blogs or websites with ads and/or any income-generating components are included under “commercial purposes,” as are the large genealogy database websites. Sites that republish original HeritageRamblings.net content as their own are in violation of copyright as well, and use of full content is not permitted.Descendants and researchers MAY download images and posts to share with their families, and use the information on their family trees or in family history books with a small number of reprints. Please make sure to credit and cite the information properly.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright of our blog material.
