C. K. Thomas for President! (...of the Frederick Co. Agricultural Society)

Dear Friends,

With the Great Frederick Fair open for business (Midway all the way, y'all!), I thought it might be fun to look at one of the ways our battlefield families are connected to the fair.

Wait, what? The Monocacy National Battlefield and the Fair? How is that possible?

I'm so glad you asked.

The Frederick County Agricultural Society had been hosting a county agricultural fair off and on for decades prior to the Civil War. The earliest reference I've found to the society was in 1821, when the local newspaper mentioned the organization's constitution had been approved and the candidate for President had declined the position¹. The organization hosted a fair, or "Cattle Show," the following year².

As one might imagine, those festivities stopped during the war, and after the war the society took advantage of the break to reorganize the society. In the fall of 1867, they purchased property as a permanent home for their fair and elected one C. K. Thomas as president.³ Thomas would continue to serve as president of the organization for several years. In 1868, the Society decided to renew their annual fair⁴; Thomas sent a request to William Devries, a former business partner who was serving as president of the Maryland State Agricultural and Mechanical Association, requesting an endorsement of the Frederick County's fair. Mr. Devries complied, posting about it in the Baltimore Sun⁵.

In 1869, the Frederick County Agricultural Society appointed a committee of four to visit none other than President Ulysses S. Grant and request his august presence at the annual fair⁶. The newspaper mentioned the committee used the aid of General Crewel of Frederick County to get an audience with the President; it was during that meeting that the President agreed to attend. Believe it or not, that meeting was held the day before the fair; I can't even imagine the President of the United States having that much flexibility in his calendar today.

Portrait of President Grant by Henry Ulke. 

I was going to describe his reception in town, but perhaps you'd enjoy hearing it in the words of the local newspaper⁷:

FREDERICK, MD., Oct 14--2 p.m. --The train arrived here at 11:30 o'clock a.m., amid ringing of bells and cheering. The Presidential party, in carriages, were escorted by the marshals of the occasion. President Grant was in a four-horse open carriage, accompanied by C. Keefer Thomas, President of the Society, and others. The carriage proceeded to the residence of W. H. Falconer, where the officers of the Society were introduced to the distinguished visitors, and refreshments were served.
          The principal party was then escorted to the fair grounds, where thousands were gathered who rent the air with their cheering. The President bowed his acknowledgements and the party alighted at the committee rooms, when Colonel Maulsby addressed the President, thanking him for his sympathy and patronage of the arts and sciences shown in visiting the fair, and welcoming him in the name of the citizens of Frederick. The President responded, thanking the Secretary for the reception accorded to him, and expressing his pleasure in visiting the city of which he had heard so much, and which had done nobly in the support of the Government.

Would you believe that carriage ride was not the first time C. Keefer Thomas and Ulysses S. Grant had met? It's true. While General Ulysses S. Grant was not present during the battle, he took advantage of an opportunity to see part of the battlefield a month later. On August 5th, he held a war council with his generals at the Thomas House (known at that time as Araby). Of course, the visit gave the Thomas family the opportunity to meet the famous general; in the books Fighting for Time⁸ and The History of Western Maryland⁹, neighbor Glenn Worthington and historian J. Thomas Scarf, respectively, stated that the council was held in an upstairs room of the Thomas House above the library, and then each related a different anecdote about the family entertaining the General at breakfast the following morning.

Obviously, we don't actually know how well they got along, but Thomas seems to have had a talent for recognizing opportunities to make useful connections. He flowed in and out of business partnerships while a merchant in Baltimore¹⁰, and during the war his friendships with leaders of some of the units stationed at his property is well documented. A few years after the war, he used that talent for forming relationships to get involved in various organizations, most notably the aforementioned Frederick County Agricultural Society. While I've found no evidence to suggest Thomas was part of that 4-person committee to request the President's attendance at the fair, is it possible he had influence? I'll leave that to you to decide.

So we're standing on the fair grounds, President Grant had just listened to Col. Maulsby welcome him and was getting ready to say a few words of his own. According to President Grant's papers, his speech went something like the following¹¹:

I have great pleasure in visiting for the first time the City of Frederick, of which I have heard so much during the period of the late rebellion, and which, too, stood up manfully for the maintenance of a whole Union. I expected to visit this city some years ago, but found myself unable to do so; but now that I have found so many friends, and have been so gratified with what I have seen of your fair and enjoyed of your hospitality, I hope at some future time to visit you again.

Anybody else catch that? In his speech he talks about it being the first time he visited Frederick, and yet we know he was at our battlefield in August of 1864. In addition to the two books listed above, both President Grant's and General Sheridan's memoirs specifically mention that the transfer of authority from General Hunter to Sheridan happened at Monocacy Junction (where Hunter's troops were camped along the river banks). The first time I read the President's speech it took me back a step, but I suspect the reason is because, in the last 150 years, the limits of Frederick have expanded so that we consider the properties of the battlefield to be part of Frederick city and not the separate "Monocacy Junction" or "Araby" community that it was during the war. We have no reason to believe that General Grant actually entered the city in 1864; indeed, the local newspaper is astonishingly silent on the entire visit. If he truly held his war council on the 5th in the Thomas House, and then had breakfast with the Thomas family the following morning, it seems likely that he would have spent the night there instead of venturing into town. Certainly anything the Thomas House had to offer would be more comfortable than quarters in camp with the troops.

Either way, getting the President of the United States to attend your fair is quite an accomplishment for any county society, and since it was done while C. K. Thomas was president, he gets part of the credit. That was not the only good news that our battlefield families received at the fair that year. In the list of premiums awarded at the fair¹, C. K. Thomas won about $45 total by winning in 5 different categories, while John T. Best won about $29 in 4 other categories. And Mrs. C. K. Thomas was called out by the local newspaper for donating a chair that was bottomed "handsomely with cane by a totally blind soldier" and recognized for its excellence. I like to think that Mrs. Thomas donated the chair out of support for the country's veterans, but it is perhaps an unfortunate sign of those times that Mrs. Thomas was named for donating the chair but the soldier who did the work was doomed to anonymity.

As for more current events, I haven't entered anything in this year's fair, but I will be there this Thursday in the battlefield's booth to celebrate History Day. (Also to indulge in some carnie food like funnel cake. Here's hoping I don't get confectioner's sugar all over myself.) If you're planning to be there on the same day, please stop by to say hello! I'd love to meet you.

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1 “[At a regular meeting of the Frederick County Agricultural Society]”, The (Frederick, MD) Republican Gazette and General Advertiser, 17 Mar 1821, p 3, col 1, ad 7.^↩
2 “Frederick County Cattle Show and Fair,” The (Frederick, MD) Republican Gazette and General Advertiser, 27 Apr 1822, p3, col 2, ad 4.^↩
3 ”Locals: Frederick County Agricultural Society," article, The (Frederick, MD) Examiner, 22 May 1867, p2, col 2.^↩
4 ”Agricultural Exhibition," article, The (Frederick, MD) Examiner, 17 Jun 1868, p2, col 4.^↩
5 ”Frederick City, MD," article, The (Baltimore) Sun, 14 Oct 1868, p2, col 2. ^↩
6 "Locals: Interview with President Grant," article, The (Frederick, MD) Examiner, 13 Oct 1869, p2, col 4.^↩
7 “Telegrams to the Star, This Afternoon's Dispatches,” article, Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), 14 Oct 1869, p 1, column 4, 3rd dispatches.^↩
8 Glenn H. Worthington, Fighting for Time, second revised edition (White Mane Publishing Co., 1985), first edition (Glenn H. Worthington, 1932), p204-07.^↩
9 Scharf, J. Thomas, History of Western Maryland, Vol I-II, online edition (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com, 2015), 573.^↩
10 There a number of advertisements notifying readers of the formation and dissolution of a number of partnerships, including the following:^↩
      “Notice. T. E. Hambleton…” advertisement, American and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, MD), 07 Nov 1849, p 2, col 8, advertisement 14.
      “Partnerships,” advertisement, American and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, MD), 02 Jul 1852, p 3, col 3, para 8.
      “Partnerships,” advertisement, American and Commercial Daily Advertiser (Baltimore, MD), 05 Jul 1852, p 2, col 6, advertisement 1.
      “The Copartnership [Devries, Stephens & Thomas],” advertisement, TheSun (Baltimore, MD), 02 Jul 1861, p 2, para 9, col 4.
11 Simon, John Y (ed). The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant,Volume 19: July 1, 1868-October 31, 1869, (Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale and Edwardsville), p. 548; digital images, Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library.^↩
12 “List of Premiums,” article, The (Frederick, MD) Examiner, 20 Oct 1869, p 2, column 5-6.^↩

Johnson's Improved Plough

Dear Friends,

The entire 19th century - starting in the 18th century, actually - was a time of innovation and technology improvements. There's little question the Civil War used many of those technology advances - the telegraph! the railroad! mass produced guns! - and certainly many Americans' lives would never be the same after the war. However, in my opinion, the "let's figure out a better way" drive toward invention defined the American character as much as the blood shed on any battlefield. From agricultural tools to the mill industry to the railroad, our battlefield families had a front-row seat. I thought I'd talk about one of those inventions today:

On 29 April 1862, patent number US000035098 was issued to Ross Johnson of Frederick, Maryland, for what he called an "Improvement in Plows."¹ If you attended the Thomas Farm open house a few weekends ago, the Johnson name may be vaguely familiar to you. I believe that Ross Johnson is a son of Worthington Johnson², who purchased the Thomas House from the McPherson family in 1844 and then sold it a few years later in 1847³.

Diagram submitted with Ross
Johnson's patent application

So what does this fancy improvement look like? Please see the diagram to the left for an idea. I'm not going to go into all the technical details of Johnson's invention (you're welcome), but his patent application promised that a plow with his invention would be lighter to handle, wouldn't clog as often, would be more steady, and would create little "channels or small drains for the running off of surplus water after heavy rains."

Those all sound to me like things that would be good to have in a plough, but would other farmers see value in his invention? Since he wanted hard-working folks to find room in their budget for his invention, he realized he needed to market and prove  its benefits. Mr. Johnson arranged to have a handful of local farmers run a trial of a plow with his invention against a plow that didn't have his invention, and then ran a series of advertisements announcing the results and having those farmers certify to those results.

 One of those farmers was our very own John T. Worthington.

The first advertisement appeared on 14 Jan 1862⁴, while the plow improvement was going through the patent office. The advertisement refers to the improvement as a "Dynamo'er," and says the trial ran on Wednesday the 14th inst., which typically means the 14th of the current month. I have some questions about that date, but it's clear is that a member of the Johnson family created this technology improvement, and a member of the Worthington family was part of the certifying committee.

This particular advertisement ran in the local newspaper until his patent was granted, and beyond:

Improvement in Ploughs.
JOHNSON'S
PATENT PLOUGH.

     The subscriber is prepared to furnish Farmers and any in want of PLOUGHS WITH JOHNSON'S IMPROVEMENT. It's superiority will be seen by a glance at the annexed certificate.
     Those who desire, can have the Improvement put on old Ploughs at a moderate cost, by McCLINTOCK YOUNG, Jr.,
                                         "Vulcan Works,"
                             E. Patrick Street, Frederick, Md.

CERTIFICATE.

     The undersigned, appointed a committee to examine and report the trail of R. Johnson's Improved Plough do hereby certify that said Improvement was thoroughly and fairly tested, in our presence on Wednesday the 14th inst., up on the farm of J. I. Jamison, Esq., with the following result: The "Dynamo'er" being attached for the purpose of ascertaining accurately the exact difference in draft up in the same Plough with and without the Roller - indicated that the average draft in a two horse Plough.
Without Mr. Johnson's Invention was 675 lbs.
With                 do.            do.        do. 515 lbs.
                                                            160 lbs
     Showing a clear and undoubted reduction, by virtue of the Improvement, of one hundred and sixty pounds.
     The implement was first drawn through a heavy Clover, and Blue Grass sode - afterwards diagonally across the fresh ploughed ground to as to test perfectly the working efficiency of the Rollers - the latter revolving freely in both kinds of earth.
                      JOHN T. WORTHINGTON,
                      SEBASTIAN G. COCKEY,
                      HOWARD SIMMONS,
                      IGNATIUS FITZSIMMONS.
   May 30, 1862 - 1y.

Shortly after his patent was granted, another advertisement⁵ began running in the Frederick Examiner in addition to this one. It was written to read as an article, but it's an advertisement. This new one is much longer than the one that began running in January, and it provides more information about how this new-fangled invention produces such impressive results. Check this out:

     NEW PATENT--IMPORTANT TO FARMERS.--Letters Patent have lately been issued to Ross Johnson, of this county, for certain Improvements in Ploughs--which we understand from competent judges will prove of great interest to the farming community throughout the country. The Invention consists in part as follows:--One or more Case Iron Friction Rollers--with chilled journals--are inserted into the face of the 'Mould Boards'--working in close chilled Boxes which are firmly bolted onto the under side of the latter, and so disposed and secured centrally and longitudinally as that their working surface shall be in the direct line of the impact and present flush contact with the bottom of the furrow slice as it rises upon--passes over, and is thrown off from the face of the Mould Board--thus of necessity relieving the same from the severe pressure now incident to the employment of the ordinary Mould.
     The effect of the Rollers arranged as aboved described is obvious, and we will here merely state that the Invention has for its object:
     1st and chiefly.--The dimunition of the Draft or labour otherwise inseparably connected with the operation of Ploughing.
     2nd. The speedy and effectual clearing of the Mould Board without the necessity of halting the team--when it has "filled"--whilst passing through certain kinds of earth.
     3rd. The increased durability of the Mould Board--it being estimated by machinists that the implement constructed after Mr. J's. improvement will last much longer than those now in use.
    There are other features of the invention which we have no space to enumerate and explain in detail, but which persons interested in the matter can witness by calling upon the Inventor.
    We understand that M. Johnson has just associated with him--J. I. Jamison, Esq.,--a gentleman of long experience and standing in Agricultural matters--who has, during the present spring ploughing, thoroughly tested and proved the practical value of Mr. Johnson's discovery--and we further learn it to be the intention of these gentlemen to manufacture immediately in this city their Improved Implement, so that farmers may at an early day avail themselves of its use--the additional cost being trifling, whilst the saving in the item of feed alone in a single season, it is thought by farmers, will be far more than double this amount.
     A trial of the above was made on the 13th inst,. at the farm of J. Lewis, Esq, in the presence of Col. John McPherson, Michael Keefer, B. G. Fizhugh, C. Thomas, J. Staley and other gentlemen, who all concur in pronouncing the Invention a highly valuable Improvement upon the old mode of ploughing.
    We cordially invite the attention of our readers to it--being of opinion, so far as we can judge, that in point of utility it is entirely unequaled by any of the numerous Improvements heretofore made, in this first and decidedly most important Implement upon the farm.
    The following tests were made since the above and speak for themselves:
    Certificate.--The undersigned, appointed a committee to examine and report the trial of R. Johnson's Improved Plough do hereby certify that said Improvement was thoroughly and fairly tested, in our presence on Wednesday the 14th inst., upon the farm of J. I. Jamison, Esq., with the following result: The "Dynanometer" being attached for the purpose of ascertaining acurately the exact difference in draft upon the same Plough with and without the Roller--indicated that the average Draft in a two-horse Plough.
  Without Mr. Johnson's Invention was 675 lbs.
  With           do.                   do.       do. 515 lbs.
                                                              160
    Showing a clear and undoubted reduction, by virtue of the Improvement, of one hundred and sixty pounds.
     The implement was first drawn through a heavy Clover, and Blue Grass sod--afterwards diagonally across the fresh ploughed ground so as to test perfectly the working efficiency of the Rollers--the latter revolving freely in both kinds of earth.
                                           JOHN T. WORTHINGTON,
                                           SEBASTIAN G. COCKEY,
                                           HOWARD SIMMONS,
                                           IGNATIUS FITZSIMMONS. 

Now we have a second trial, this time in the presence of Col. John McPherson, Michael Keefer, B. G. Fitzhugh, C. Thomas, and J. Staley. These are all pretty prominent families in the county, so this advertisement is a slick way of implying their endorsement without actually getting it. (Think how much a t-shirt store's sales are going to go up when someone like Beyonce shops there.) More importantly for my purposes, a number of these families are connected to our battlefield, even if they didn't live on the land within our park boundaries.

• The McPherson family owned the Thomas Farm (plus the Worthington Farm, the Gambrill Mill tract, the Lewis Farm, the Baker Farm, and more) before the Johnson family.⁶
• Michael Keefer owned (and would have recently sold) the near-by Arcadia, which neighbored the Best Farm. ⁷
• C. Thomas is not our Christian Keefer Thomas, although he may or may not be related.
• I haven't done  nearly enough research into the Staley family to know the connection with J. Staley, specifically, but James H. Gambrill married Antoinette Staley⁸, and Alice Thomas named "my old friend" Charles M. Staley as the executor of her will⁹.

What I love most about these two advertisements - and the patent application - is how easily they demonstrate that life didn't stop because of the war. The first advertisement was published almost exactly nine months after Confederate forces fired upon Fort Sumpter, President Lincoln called for troops, and closer to home, Baltimore lived through the Pratt Street Riot. By the time of that first advertisement, Frederick had raised - or helped to raise - several units to send to war to defend the Union. Other sons of Frederick scooted across the Potomac to fight for the Confederacy. U.S. Army General Hospital site #1 had already been established at the Hessian Barracks. General Banks had made Frederick his army's winter quarters, and the city of Frederick was under Provost Martial law.

And yet...farmers were still tilling their fields, planting and harvesting crops. Business men were still conducting business. The entrepreneurial spirit that so encapsulates America was still thriving, and - in spite of the stories we've all heard about friends, neighbors, and families turning on each other - people still had to work together.

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1 "USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database," digital images, United States Patent and Trademark Office (http://www.uspto.gov : accessed 02 May 2016), Ross Johnson of Frederick, plow moldboard, patent file no. 35098 (1862); original file location not cited. Photograph used according to permissions and restrictions on this page of the USPTO website.^↩
2 Because the Johnson family name is fairly common, tracing the Worthington Johnson family is a complex undertaking requiring more than one artifact to prove and disprove a number of theoretical connections. I hope to do a blog post - or several - outlining this family at some point in the future.^↩
3 Joy Beasley, editor, Archeological Overview, Assessment, Identification, and Evaluation Study of the Thomas Farm(Report submitted to the National Park Service, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 2010), p. 31.^↩
4 "Improvement in Ploughs. Johnson's Patent Plough," image article, The (Frederick, Maryland) Examiner, 14 Jan 1862, p 1, col 6, ad 2.^↩
5 "New Patent-Important to Farmers," article image, The (Frederick, MD) Examiner, 21 May 1862, p 2.^↩
6 Joy Beasley, editor, Archeological Overview, Assessment, Identification, and Evaluation Study of the Thomas Farm(Report submitted to the National Park Service, National Capital Region, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C., 2010), p. 31.^↩
7 “Valuable Real Estate at Trustee Sale,” advertisement image, The (Frederick, MD) Examiner, 15 Sep 1858, p3, col 3, ad 1.^↩
8 Identifying an accurate family tree for the Staley family requires more than a single artifact. I hope to do a blog post - or several - in the future that will more fully outline this family tree.^↩
9 "Maryland Register of Wills Records, 1629-1999," images, FamilySearch (http://www.familysearch.org : accessed 18 December 2015), Frederick > Wills 1904-1910 vol 25-26 > image 440 of 467, entry for Alice Thomas Anderson; Hall of Records, Annapolis.^↩