An earlier post that began the series on the Springsteen Family Bible has been revised due to further research. We have realized that the bible most likely was owned by Anna (Connor) Springsteen and her husband, Jefferson Springsteen. Please take a look at the original post, “Treasure Chest Thursday: The Springsteen Family Bible,” beginning 19 Jun 2016. Please update your information as needed.
Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2020 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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, i.e, reference this blog.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
Our Ancestors Lived through Pandemics Too: 1918 and the Springsteen-Beerbower-Helbling Family
About 1911- Edgar P. Beerbower and Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower with their grandchildren. Edgar Helbling is standing and Anna is holding baby Anna May Helbling (later Reilly).
[If you are descended from Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling (1881-1954) and Gerard W. “G.W.” Helbling (1882-1971) of St. Louis, Missouri, these are your ancestors!]
As tough as our times are today with the Covid-19 (Corona virus) pandemic, we have ancestors who lived through pandemics too. Their smart thinking, the fact that they (probably) followed the directions of the experts at that time, and their good genes as well as perseverance helped them get through those difficult times. Love of their family was probably a big factor too!
Let’s go back to 1918, and the “Spanish Flu” outbreak. There are plenty of references to learn more about this pandemic, including a PBS documentary, “Influenza 1918.” Let’s explore a bit about our family in particular.
Our Springsteen family had a number of members who were likely living in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1918. Jefferson Springsteen (1820-1909) and his wife, Anna (Conner) Springsteen (1824-1887) had lived there from about 1853. They had eight children, one of whom died as an infant and two sons who died prior to 1918. Their daughter Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower, mother of Anna May Helbling, may have been living in Indianapolis, as she had been born there and moved back a couple of times, her husband had passed away there in 1916, and we cannot find her listed in the 1920 Federal Census in any state. Anna’s sister Mary Elizabeth (Springsteen) Beckwith had been widowed- probably actually divorced- and was living with her daughter’s family in New York in 1915, but had moved back to Indianapolis by the 1920 census. Their younger brother, Abram Springsteen, “the youngest drummer boy of the Civil War” as the family lore called him, could also have been in Indianapolis, as he married there in 1912 but then was enumerated in the 1920 census in Washington, D.C. Their youngest brother, Robert E. Springsteen (1857-1931), is the only sibling that we know for sure was living in Indianapolis in 1918, but the others may have been there.
We are looking at Indianapolis, Indiana because there is an excellent article just published on the Indiana History blog about life there during the 1918 epidemic. “Coping with Quarantine in a Pre-Digital Era” is a great read that details how people spent their time during the 1918 quarantine. The information in the article would also probably apply to a large portion of the United States back then. The kids were out of school, it was a Congressional election year, and the economics and boredom of stay-at-home orders were challenging to all. The cause of the disease was unknown, there were no treatments nor vaccines for it, and the death toll in the US and around the world was staggering. (Any of this sound familiar?) The US was in the midst of World War I too, putting additional pressure on the people and government to keep going.
Anna Mae (Beerbower) Helbling and Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling, probably in St. Louis, Missouri, around 1925.
St. Louis, Missouri is another city to mention here, as Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling, daughter of Anna Missouri and Edgar P. Beerbower, lived there. With her husband Gerard William “G.W.” Helbling, she had three children living then: Edgar Bradley Helbling (1908-1994), Anna May Helbling (later Reilly) (1911-1985), and Viola Gertrude Helbling (later Carrigan) (1913-1971). Anna was expecting their fourth child, Robert Harvey Helbling (1918-2001), as the flu began, and “Bob” was born in August.
World War I was using Liberty Loan bonds to help finance the war, and a huge parade was held on September 28, 1918 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is estimated 200,000 people filled the streets to cheer on those in the parade and the war effort. Unfortunately the “Spanish Flu,” which had already attacked military bases and soldiers starting around March of 1918, was unknowingly present in the crowds as well. It only took 72 hours to fill all the beds in the city’s hospitals, and within a week, 2,600 civilians had died. One week later, the city’s death toll was 4,500. The city was short of doctors and nurses, as so many were in military service due to the War. With no antibiotics nor vaccines at that time, and health care workers using gauze facemasks that had holes large enough to allow most microorganisms through, containment was challenging. Philadelphia finally shut down schools and businesses, but they had waited too late- they could not keep the virus in check. (The 1918 flu was an H1N1 virus of avian origin, so not exactly like today’s corona virus, but still very virulent and hard to contain.)
Thankfully, Anna May and G.W. Helbling and their children were living in St. Louis at that time. It must have been frightening to have small children, including a newborn, as they read the newspapers and saw how the flu was raging across the country, and the world. (Their first child had died as an infant so they must have been very fearful.) The St. Louis city health commissioner was alarmed by the flu activity in the influenza hotspots of Boston and Philadelphia, and toward the end of September 1918, he knew that it would only be a matter of time before the “Spanish Flu” was seen in the Gateway City. He proactively set up a monitoring system, cancelled a Liberty Loan drive, educated the public through articles in the newspaper on how to prepare and avoid the flu, and once cases were being reported, he helped to get a public health emergency declared. Dr. Max C. Starkloff was then given more authority and closures of entertainment, schools, and churches were implemented by October 9th, with public gatherings banned. Those with medical knowledge worked with the city government to minimize any foothold in the community that the flu might gain. As cases of influenza increased, although at a much slower rate than in Philadelphia, St. Louis business hours were cut and then non-essential businesses and factories were closed to further protect citizens. (And yes, business owners and politicians were understandably worried about the economic impact to themselves, their city, and the country.) When restrictions were gradually lifted in mid-December because case numbers had diminished, new illnesses and deaths spiked in a second wave. Eventually, case numbers stayed low and removal of restrictions on December 28, 1918, added some joy to a difficult holiday season.
Death toll of Philadelphia vs St. Louis in 1918 Influenza Epidemic. Closures began Oct. 8th in St. Louis, and the comparison between the St. Louis curve and that of Pittsburgh, where schools, entertainment, and churches were not closed, is striking. “Public health interventions and epidemic intensity during the 1918 influenza pandemic,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Richard J. Hatchett, et al, 2007.
St. Louis is lauded as a city that looked into the future, followed medical advice, and quickly acted for the good of their citizens. What we now call “social distancing” helped to keep the city’s death toll to the sixth lowest in the country; Indianapolis was one of the five cities that had an even lower mortality rate, helping to save our family there. The graph above shows clearly the effect that physical distancing, done early and across the board, can have in an epidemic. This data has been studied by epidemiologists and will hopefully be heeded by governmental bodies and citizens to “flatten the curve” and reduce illness and deaths in our current pandemic. Implementing the 1918 tactics of St. Louis in 2020 can still buy us time for development of treatments and vaccines, and for ramping up manufacturing of materials needed for protection and treatment of patients and staff. The above graphs show that when strict measures are put in place early, the illnesses and deaths are much less than in places that have waited until the virus is rampant.
We are now experiencing in our day-to-day lives some of what our ancestors went through in those days of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. Knowing that they survived through “social distancing” and the economic pain that ensued can help us have resilience and faith that we too can make it through this.
BTW, if you have a little extra time on your hands, the references below can be interesting reading. Reference #4 and #10 are particularly good, quick, and not terrifying. They also may give some comfort knowing that a whole lot of folks got to the other side despite not having the technology and scientific advances we have today. And while you are reading, think about how the ancestors only had newspapers, neighbors, local storekeepers and postal carriers to spread news. Sadly they also carried germs, but at least we have a better understanding of that today.
Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower lived with Anna May and GW Helbling in St. Louis possibly in the 1920s, and it is known she was there in the 1930s. We do have pictures of her there before the 1920s, but do not know if she was visiting or living there.
Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling and G. W. Helbling had two more children after the pandemic: William G. “Bill” Helbling (1920-2018) and Mary Theresa Helbling (later McMurray) (1925-2008).
“Public health interventions and epidemic intensity during the 1918 influenza pandemic.” Richard J. Hatchett, et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, May 1,2007. PNAS May 1, 2007 104 (18) 7582-7587; first published April 6, 2007. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0610941104
Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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, i.e, reference this blog.Please contact us if you have any questions about copyright or use of our blog material.
Something Special to Celebrate America’s Birthday!
Originally entitled “Yankee Doodle,” this is one of several versions of a scene painted by A. M. Willard that came to be known as “The Spirit of ’76.” Public domain via Wikipedia.
Helbling/Springsteen Family, and ALL our American family!
What if we knew of an object that was 243 years old, had been an active part of making America free, and had a connection to our family? Would that make you even more proud to be an American? Would that make you even more proud to have the DNA of such ancestors that used the artifact? Would you feel more connected to history?
Would you also be amazed???
Those were some of my emotions when I saw the following treasure on the website, AmericanPowderHorns.com:
A powder horn that belonged to Capt. Abraham Remsen, who commanded a Revolutionary War militia from Newtown, Long Island, New York, which had been a Dutch Colony that was then owned by the British. Image posted with the very kind permission of Rich Nardi, owner of the powder horn and the website, AmericanPowderHorns.com.
Incredibly, this fragile piece of animal horn has survived 243 years thanks to the wonderful care of collectors like Rich Nardi. If you are a descendant, this is really special, but in the U.S., we are all beneficiaries of the persons who used these horns and settled this country, and who fought for our freedoms.
This horn originally belonged to Capt. Abraham Remsen (1730-1807), who is a 6th great-uncle to the grandchildren of Anna May (Beerbower) Helbling and her husband Gerard William “G. W.” Helbling of St. Louis, MO. (To know your relationship to Capt. Remsen, figure the number of generations you are removed from the grandchildren of Anna May & G.W., and add 6 to know the number of generations between yourself and this Revolutionary War hero.) We cannot know if Capt. Remsen carved it himself, if his troops did the work and gave it to him, or if it was professionally carved, but it is a fantastic artifact, whatever its origin.
So what is a powder horn? Yes, it is just what it sounds like- a horn-shaped object which is hollow and used to store powder for the guns of an earlier time. Cow and ox horns were typically used in the Eastern US. Oxen were plentiful as they were used in farming to pull a plow or to help remove felled trees, drag barges against the current in a canal, or pull heavy loads such as pioneer wagons or military cannon across mountains and plains. Cows were even more plentiful and kept on farms (and even on city lots!) for milk but also for butter, which was often traded for other goods at the general store, and when they were no longer good milk producers, the cows became a source of meat. There were also powder horns made from a variety of animal horns, like bison or water buffalo; powder horns were even made of ivory, wood, or tin.
As Rich states on his website, “The powder horn was the companion to every musket and rifle in early America.” If you didn’t keep your powder dry, your rifle would not fire properly and you would miss the shot of the animal that was to be your family’s dinner… or the shot that would save your child from the attack of a mountain lion… or the shot that would protect the safety of your family and property from nefarious individuals or soldiers coming to take your freedoms. You could even be injured or killed when the gun misfired due to wet powder.
Battle of Springfield New Jersey, 1780. Just an example- we do not know if our Capt. was there, but note man with outstretched arm- the round object on his right with a strap may be his powder horn. Image via Wikipedia, public domain.
A powder horn was closed at the larger end by a metal or wood plug, and it generally would have a knob on which a strap was attached, as in the right of the powder horn above. The other end often had a metal spout with a cover. In the Remsen horn, the pouring spout is tin that is threaded and pegs made of wood hold the spout to the horn. The cap was also made of tin, and open at both ends to be used like a funnel in filling the horn from the smaller end. A wooden or cork stopper would have been inserted into the spout to keep the gunpowder from spilling out, but that piece has been lost to time. The spout end would be carried toward the front of the soldier or hunter, or when worn cross-body, often slung to the back when marching. When needed, the horn could be quickly grabbed and pulled forward, then cap removed and powder poured into the pan or muzzle, setting up another shot as quickly as possible.
Tip of the Abraham Remsen powder horn owned by Rich Nardi, posted with his generous permission, via AmericanPowderHorns.com.
Many- or most?- early Americans, especially those on the frontier, created their own powder horns- its preparation was a good evening or winter activity, or, for a soldier, something to keep the mind and hands busy during the interminable, worrisome, boring hours of waiting for battle. Some polished their horns, both inside and out, as that would make the horn translucent and the amount of powder left inside was easily visible. (“Do I have enough for one more shot at the bear running toward me or should I run?”*) Most horns were probably very utilitarian, but many became beautiful pieces of folk art, with scrimshaw-like carvings that showed what was important to the owner- perhaps a place, a battle, a date, bible verse or saying, or images of nature or people. Some, like Abraham’s horn, give us the gift of their name, too.
Carving on the Abraham Remsen powder horn owned by Rich Nardi, posted with his generous permission. AmericanPowderHorns.com
Transcription:
“CAPT. ABRAH
AM REMSE
N. NEWT
ON LONG
ISLAND
MILITIA
JUN 1776″
We have so few artifacts that bring us down to the month and day they were created, and even provide the owner’s name. He was “Capt. Abraham Remsen” in June of 1776- the month before he heard the Declaration of Independence! By July, Abraham had been promoted to Major. Abraham was in charge of a section of Long Island, New York militia that were already fighting to gain our freedom from British tyranny, even though the Declaration of Independence had not yet been signed or circulated in June of 1776, the date on the horn.
(There is a lot of story to tell about this family and Capt. Remsen- that will be done in upcoming blogs.)
Speaking of the British, you may have heard them called “Redcoats” as in the iconic ride of Paul Revere, “The Redcoats are coming!”
The British forces at the “Battle of Bunker Hill” (1909) by E. Percy Moran, public domain via Wikimedia.
“Redcoat” definitely described the British uniform, but it was also a derogatory term for the king’s soldiers. In the psychological war that always plays a part in any international or civil conflict, the American patriots had yet another name for the highly trained, professional British army, a name that was even worse. Probably spoken most often with a sneer and a spit, (and maybe some fear), they called the British soldiers, “Lobsters.”
We know that our (some number) great uncle Capt. Abraham Remsen, definitely used the term, “Lobsters” for the British:
Abraham Remsen powder horn owned by Rich Nardi, posted with his generous permission, via AmericanPowderHorns.com.Abraham Remsen powder horn owned by Rich Nardi, posted with his generous permission, via AmericanPowderHorns.com.Abraham Remsen powder horn owned by Rich Nardi, posted with his generous permission, via AmericanPowderHorns.com.
(Love that New York accent in the spelling!)
Abraham Remsen powder horn owned by Rich Nardi, posted with his generous permission, via AmericanPowderHorns.com.
“MY POWDER MAKES LOBSTARS FLEE”
What delightful words to put on the object that holds the powder for his rifle or musket!
In those days, it was thought that the local red lobsters mainly lived on ocean detritus (remains of dead creatures). Lobsters were thus sometimes called “the cockroaches of the sea.” Did the patriots think that was how low the British were- cockroaches? After a storm, lobsters would wash up on the New England coastline, sometimes in piles two feet high! It was a great source of protein, but went bad quickly after the lobster died. Because it was so plentiful, lobster became a food for the poor. Living on Long Island so near the sea, the Remsen family may have eaten red lobster, but they were certainly familiar with piles of lobster rotting on the beach, and the accompanying stench. The Captain and his troops would have been as eager to finish off the British as they would have been for having piles of rotting lobster on the beach just disappear!
One other fun wordplay on this beautiful powder horn- certain powders make fleas jump off mangy dogs. Was the maker of this horn implying that the British soldiers were as unwelcome in America as fleas??
The other side of the powder horn has two ships, full masted, in a harbor, probably New York Harbor. Abraham would have seen them there frequently as the British mustered their forces by land as well as sea to put down the insurrection of British citizens against their king. These carvings have become very worn and hard to photograph over the years, so we currently do not have images of them, but that is in the works.
The bold images and words on Abraham’s horn have brought us into the trenches with him to feel the hatred, the anger, and the emotions of a soldier risking it all for the lives of family, friends, property, and freedom. Now, take a closer look at the rest of this powder horn, and the beautiful, fine-line carving behind the bolder words. There are trees and flowers, graphic bars dividing sections and the cartouche framing his name and information, ‘wingdings’- small graphics use to separate words, etc. And then there are the two rows of houses and a band that states “Newtown,” the town he lived in on Long Island, in what was called “New Netherland” when his Dutch ancestors helped settle it. That image was a good reminder for even the really bad times (which were to come- soon) of why he he had left home and family to take the life of others. Perhaps Abraham could momentarily escape into the images of the houses and trees and be removed from the mundane, often miserable, scenes of camp life and battle that he was living, no matter how brief the sweet reverie. Abraham’s beautiful powder horn would have kept him going, both mentally and militarily, for the long series of battles that was just beginning.
There is much more to come on Abraham Remsen and our Dutch Colonial ancestors of the Springsteen family. In the meantime, please visit Rich Nardi’s website, AmericanPowderHorns.com, for more information about this horn, and other fantastic artifacts from our early history as a country.
Thank you so much, Rich, for preserving and so generously sharing these treasures!
Notes and Sources:
*Running is not necessarily the best tactic for dealing with a bear- please learn what is currently recommended before you go out into the woods.
Please contact us if you would like higher resolution images. Click to enlarge images. We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2019 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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 or use of our blog material.
Tuesday’s Tip: Assess Accuracy of Photo Captions-Springsteen-Beerbower and Helbling Families
Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower holding her granddaughters Viola G. Helbling on left in picture, and Anna “May” Helbing on right in picture. Grandson Edgar B. Helbling stands at attention in front of his grandmother. From same page as “Easter 1914” pictures in Helbling family album.
Tuesday’s Tip:Assess the accuracy of photo captions by looking at clothes, backgrounds, hairstyles, age of subjects, etc. in all the pictures on one page. Images that have too many differences may not actually be ‘attached’ to a date or caption nearby.
Yesterday’s post, “Matrilineal Monday: Easter, 1914 with the Helblings,” included an image that had “Easter 1914” written on it by Anna “May” (Beerbower) Helbling. The scan of the whole page is important to see how /where the date is written and the relationship to other photos.
“Easter 1914” page, from Helbling Family Album.
Unless the little ones changed out of their Easter best clothes, the picture of Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower with her grandchildren may have been taken on another date. The children look a bit older, too.
Those ‘of an age’ to remember putting pictures in a photo album, may also recall just adding a picture in here and there, if there was space.
Anna Missouri (Springsteen) Beerbower holding the hands of her granddaughters Viola G. Helbling (second from left in picture), and Anna “May” Helbing (on right in picture). Grandson Edgar B. Helbling stands at far left. From same page as “Easter 1914” pictures in Helbling family album.
This second picture was possibly on another page, but does seem to be the same time as the first picture of Anna Missouri and her grandchildren. Her clothing looks more like a robe than a dress, so it does seem to be a different day than Easter Sunday.
Knowing a bit of history helps- or muddies the analysis- when assessing a photo too. In April of 1914, the world still had some of the innocence seen in the Easter Sunday images of yesterday’s post. By August of that year, Europe had become embroiled in World War I; the United States would join the fight in 1917. Were Edgar’s homemade ‘swords,’ wooden ‘rifle,’ and play reflecting the world at war in later 1914? Or was it typical boy’s play? If we knew the answer, it would help us to better date the photos.
Three more important tips:
When scanning photo albums, it is important to scan the whole page, in addition to individual photos, in order to maintain the context.
Look critically at all that is on the page to ensure that any date or caption is truly attached to any one picture.
When writing about the image, or adding a caption to the photo, be careful about the wording if there is a question as to the date. Note the above captions do not actually state the date, but only the date listed on the page where they were found.
Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2017 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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 or use of our blog material.
SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSaveSaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave
Tuesday’s Tip: Context- The 1888 Presidential Election
Leominster, Massachusetts Politics during the 1888 Presidential Election. “Fitchburg Sentinel,” Fitchburg, Massachusetts, 18 October 1888, page 2, column 3.
from community happenings to the style of their house.
Thankfully most family historians have moved away from being collectors of names and dates, and now want to tell the stories of their ancestors lives. Without detailed daily diaries or bundles of old letters, how do we learn about their lives? Newspapers are a great way to learn what was happening in a community, and an ancestor might be mentioned in a story or obituary. Also, browsing the pages around where one finds an ancestor article can help us to fill in the blanks about the little things in their lives- or even the big things.
Politics can be messy, as we all have experienced these last two years of this what seems to be a never-ending election. (In Great Britain, they only have a certain number of WEEKS they are allowed to campaign- that seems much more sensible.) Elections in our country’s history have been just as bad, maybe even worse than this one, but learning about them will help us to understand our ancestors a bit more.
Edward B.Payne (1847-1923) and his wife, Nanie M. (Burnell) Payne (1847-1898), lived in Leominster, Massachusetts in 1888, the year of this article. Their only child, Lynette Payne (who later married William Elmer McMurray), was about to turn nine years old just eight days after this article was published. Rev. Payne was the pastor of the First Congregational Unitarian Church in Leominster. Further down this newspaper column about Leominster happenings was a report of the Porter-Davis wedding at which he officiated, but a few moments of browsing the paper turned up this nugget of context.
In 1888, the Democratic incumbent President, Grover Cleveland, desired a second term. The Republican nominee was Benjamin Harrison, and US tariffs were the biggest issue of the campaign. Tariffs are a tax on imported goods, paid by the importer, and until the Federal Income Tax began in 1913, tariffs were the main source of federal income- up to 95% of the total at times.
1888 Presidential Election- Tariff Reform poster for Grover Cleveland, via Wikipedia; public domain.
Since high tariffs, paid by foreign manufacturers and importers, provided income to our federal government, they reduced the need for taxes to be paid by our citizens. Sounds good- make the other country pay, right? Well, the bad part is that U.S. tariffs make the cost of imported goods higher to the consumer in this country- the cost just gets passed through to the buyer, of course.
Tariffs that are high make domestic products more affordable than imports, and thus more desirable. Therefore those in U.S. industries, including factory workers, preferred high tariffs so that their own production had a lower comparative cost, and they could sell more. Our own citizens would be in high demand as workers, too.
Since the country was prospering and there were no wars going on in 1888, tariffs became THE issue. Grover Cleveland was adamant that high U.S. tariffs were hurting the consumer. He knew that our citizens felt it every time that they bought an imported item, and it hurt their pocketbook. Cleveland thus proposed a large tariff reduction to Congress.
(But then would personal taxes go up? The money has to come from somewhere…)
Harrison, however, felt that high tariffs protected our workers and manufacturers.
Grover Cleveland-Benjamin Harrison presidential (1888) campaign poster about the trade policy of the two candidates. The map supports the work of the Harrison campaign. via Wikipedia, public domain.
Benjamin Harrison was a Republican from Indiana, and he gave speeches from his front porch in Indianapolis- our Springsteen ancestors, such as Jefferson Springsteen and his son Abram Furman Springsteen, may have been a part of those crowds. The Springsteens were Democrats, so may have been part of the hecklers, although they may have had divided loyalties. Their party’s man, President Cleveland, was against military pensions. Since Jeff had at least 2 sons who had served in the Civil War, one of which was Abram, the Springsteens may not have been so happy with Cleveland, either.
Back in Leominster, Massachusetts, where Edward B.Payne and family were living, the factory workers, as expected, were supporting Harrison with his views of keeping tariffs high. It is interesting that the shirt factory ladies were going to “unfurl one of the finest flags in town, bearing the names of Harrison and Morton.” (Morton was the V.P. nominee.) Since women in most states could not legally vote in a Presidential election until 32 years later, it was one small way they could voice their political opinions and help influence the outcome.
Rev. Payne was a Christian Socialist in his later years, and surely, with his devotion to the poor, he exemplified that philosophy even earlier in life. He most likely would have favored a candidate who had the middle and lower classes in mind. (Later in California, he registered as a Socialist; we have found no other documentation of his political leanings.) He worked quite a lot with factory workers though, so he too may have had a difficult time deciding between candidates when he was ready to cast his ballot in the Cleveland-Harrison contest. Although just 41 years old in 1888, he also was a Civil War veteran, thus probably liked the idea of a military pension in his future- after all, preachers really do not make very much income.
In 1888, America still was one of the biggest manufacturers in the world, and the costs for our products were among the lowest in the world. So the tariff issue may not have been of such importance after all, but it was the loudest of the campaign.
Harrison carried Indiana as well as Massachusetts, and received the majority of electoral votes. Cleveland, however, received the majority of the popular votes. It was a close election, but as one of only four elections when the popular vote did not match the Electoral College vote, the Republican Benjamin Harrison became the next President of the United States.
The context of our ancestor’s lives in 1888 included tariffs; today, ours include trade agreements, which can affect prices and demand in similar ways.
Our ancestors needed to educate themselves well before they voted, just as we need to do today.
Click to enlarge any image. Please contact us if you would like an image in higher resolution.
We would love to read your thoughts and comments about this post (see form below), and thank you for your time! All comments are moderated, however, due to the high intelligence and persistence of spammers/hackers who really should be putting their smarts to use for the public good instead of spamming our little blog.
Original content copyright 2013-2016 by Heritage Ramblings Blog and pmm.
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 or use of our blog material.
