Saturday, September 20, 2014
Friday, August 15, 2014
Jacob Cist-
Summary Information
Repository Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
Creator Cist, Jacob, 1782-1825
Title Jacob Cist correspondence and documents
Call number Coll.152
Date [inclusive] 1794-1829
Extent 1.5 cubic feet
Language English
Abstract Jacob Cist (1782-1825) was an American naturalist, artist, inventor,
businessman, author, treasurer and United States Postmaster. He was also
one of the most important pioneers in the marketing of anthracite coal and
a leading authority on its economic potential. This collection includes
personal and business letters, documents, agreements, memorabilia,
clippings and records of Cist's service as United States Postmaster of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. His accounts as treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre
Bridge Co. are included, as are records of his activities as a co-founder
and officer of the Luzerne County Agricultural Society and his service as a
Commissioner from his county to the Pennsylvania Commission for
Internal Improvement. His tax accounts as County Treasurer, with
supplementary letters give details of the procedures in vogue during that
era. The collection also includes some typescript and some facsimile
copies.
Jacob Cist correspondence and documents
- Page 3 -
Cite as:
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Coll.152, Jacob Cist correspondence and
documents, 1794-1829, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
Biography/History
Jacob Cist was born on March 13, 1783 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He obtained his education at the
Nazareth Boys’ School of the Moravian Church from 1794 to 1797. He lived in Philadelphia until 1808
when he was appointed United States Postmaster, serving that position until his death in 1925. Cist’s
interests and skills were diverse and he worked as a merchant in Wilkes-Barre, as the treasurer of Luzerne
County in 1816, as a business partner with his father-in-law Judge Matthias Hollenback (a merchant and
landlord in northeastern Pennsylvania), and a co-founder of the first company for mining and marketing
anthracite coal with Jacob Weiss. He was described as a “young, ambitious, and clever entrepreneur who
… devote[d] his energies to the fostering of the Pennsylvania anthracite trade in order to supply the city
of Philadelphia with fuel at a handsome profit,” (Binder), particularly during fuel shortages during the
War of 1812. Because coal was not used in homes and businesses, at the time, he worked hard to
convince people that Lehigh coal was easy to burn and a viable fuel source. He consistently wrote about
the value of using coal as a fuel source, sent samples to American and European cities, created pamphlets,
gathered endorsements from successful users of the fuel, and performed demonstrations.
In addition to his professional work, Cist was also deeply involved in many other aspects of his world. As
a naturalist, he stressed field observations and biology of insects, illustrating the stages seen, while
studying their classification. He studied under French artist, M. A. Benade, and became a skilled artist,
sketching waterfalls and plants and insects of Wyoming Valley. Further using his artistic skills, he
designed bank notes for the Susquehanna Bank of Wilkes-Barre. He was also an inventor and patented a
mill for grinding pigment from coal in 1803. Finally, he was a co-founder of the Luzerne County
Agricultural Society.
Cist died on December 30, 1823
Bibliography:
Binder, Frederick M. “Review: Philadelphia’s First Fuel Crisis: Jacab Cist and the Developing Market
for Pennsylvania Anthracite by H. Benjamin Powell” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography,
Volume 103, No. 3 (Jul. 1979), pp. 402-404.
Scope and Contents
This collection includes personal and business letters, documents, agreements, memorabilia, clippings and
Jacob Cist
Repository Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia
Creator Cist, Jacob, 1782-1825
Title Jacob Cist correspondence and documents
Call number Coll.152
Date [inclusive] 1794-1829
Extent 1.5 cubic feet
Language English
Abstract Jacob Cist (1782-1825) was an American naturalist, artist, inventor,
businessman, author, treasurer and United States Postmaster. He was also
one of the most important pioneers in the marketing of anthracite coal and
a leading authority on its economic potential. This collection includes
personal and business letters, documents, agreements, memorabilia,
clippings and records of Cist's service as United States Postmaster of
Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. His accounts as treasurer of the Wilkes-Barre
Bridge Co. are included, as are records of his activities as a co-founder
and officer of the Luzerne County Agricultural Society and his service as a
Commissioner from his county to the Pennsylvania Commission for
Internal Improvement. His tax accounts as County Treasurer, with
supplementary letters give details of the procedures in vogue during that
era. The collection also includes some typescript and some facsimile
copies.
Jacob Cist correspondence and documents
- Page 3 -
Cite as:
[Description and date of item], [Box/folder number], Coll.152, Jacob Cist correspondence and
documents, 1794-1829, Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
Biography/History
Jacob Cist was born on March 13, 1783 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He obtained his education at the
Nazareth Boys’ School of the Moravian Church from 1794 to 1797. He lived in Philadelphia until 1808
when he was appointed United States Postmaster, serving that position until his death in 1925. Cist’s
interests and skills were diverse and he worked as a merchant in Wilkes-Barre, as the treasurer of Luzerne
County in 1816, as a business partner with his father-in-law Judge Matthias Hollenback (a merchant and
landlord in northeastern Pennsylvania), and a co-founder of the first company for mining and marketing
anthracite coal with Jacob Weiss. He was described as a “young, ambitious, and clever entrepreneur who
… devote[d] his energies to the fostering of the Pennsylvania anthracite trade in order to supply the city
of Philadelphia with fuel at a handsome profit,” (Binder), particularly during fuel shortages during the
War of 1812. Because coal was not used in homes and businesses, at the time, he worked hard to
convince people that Lehigh coal was easy to burn and a viable fuel source. He consistently wrote about
the value of using coal as a fuel source, sent samples to American and European cities, created pamphlets,
gathered endorsements from successful users of the fuel, and performed demonstrations.
In addition to his professional work, Cist was also deeply involved in many other aspects of his world. As
a naturalist, he stressed field observations and biology of insects, illustrating the stages seen, while
studying their classification. He studied under French artist, M. A. Benade, and became a skilled artist,
sketching waterfalls and plants and insects of Wyoming Valley. Further using his artistic skills, he
designed bank notes for the Susquehanna Bank of Wilkes-Barre. He was also an inventor and patented a
mill for grinding pigment from coal in 1803. Finally, he was a co-founder of the Luzerne County
Agricultural Society.
Cist died on December 30, 1823
Bibliography:
Binder, Frederick M. “Review: Philadelphia’s First Fuel Crisis: Jacab Cist and the Developing Market
for Pennsylvania Anthracite by H. Benjamin Powell” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography,
Volume 103, No. 3 (Jul. 1979), pp. 402-404.
Scope and Contents
This collection includes personal and business letters, documents, agreements, memorabilia, clippings and
Jacob Cist
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Charles Cist, editor from Cincinnati
Charles Cist (editor)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Cist (born in Philadelphia, 24 April 1792; died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 5 September 1868)[1] was a United States editor.
During the winter of 1827/8 he moved to Cincinnati, where he opened and superintended the first Sunday school in Cincinnati, and continued it until it grew beyond his control, when it was divided among the churches. Cist also worked for the success of free schools.
In 1843 Cist established The Western Weekly Advertiser, a family journal devoted to the early history of the First Nations of the west, and to statistics relating to Cincinnati and the state of Ohio. A few years later the name became Cist's Weekly Advertiser, and it continued until 1853. He prepared and published Cincinnati in 1841 (drawing largely on an 1815 work by Daniel Drake), Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1851, Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1859, and The Cincinnati Miscellany, the last composed largely of incidents in the early settlements, with many of his own writings (2 vols., 1845 and 1846).[1]
Contents
[hide]Biography[edit]
He was the son of printer Charles Cist. He was educated in Philadelphia, and during the War of 1812 was engaged in garrison duty in the eastern forts. After the war, he settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and a few years later moved to Harmony, Pennsylvania, where he opened a store, and was for a time postmaster.During the winter of 1827/8 he moved to Cincinnati, where he opened and superintended the first Sunday school in Cincinnati, and continued it until it grew beyond his control, when it was divided among the churches. Cist also worked for the success of free schools.
In 1843 Cist established The Western Weekly Advertiser, a family journal devoted to the early history of the First Nations of the west, and to statistics relating to Cincinnati and the state of Ohio. A few years later the name became Cist's Weekly Advertiser, and it continued until 1853. He prepared and published Cincinnati in 1841 (drawing largely on an 1815 work by Daniel Drake), Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1851, Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1859, and The Cincinnati Miscellany, the last composed largely of incidents in the early settlements, with many of his own writings (2 vols., 1845 and 1846).[1]
Family[edit]
He married Janet White in 1817. They had 13 children.[1] Their son Henry M. Cist was noted for his history of the Army of the Cumberland. Another son, Lewis Jacob Cist (born in Harmony, Pennsylvania, 20 November 1818; died in Cincinnati, Ohio, 30 March 1885), worked in banking, and was noted for his verses and his large collection of autographs and old portraits. His collection was sold in New York City in 1886 and 1887.Notes[edit]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Reginald C. McGrane (1930). "Cist, Charles (Apr. 24, 1792-Sept. 5, 1868)". Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
References[edit]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilson, James Grant; Fiske, John, eds. (1900). "Cist, Charles". Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Poetry Book by Lewis J. Cist
Trifles in Verse: A Collection of Fugitive Poems
Cist contributed poetry to the Western Monthly Review and The Hesperian before he went into banking in 1850. Thomson 226; Ex-Libris.
Price: $200.00
- See more at: http://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/pages/books/50092/lewis-j-cist/trifles-in-verse-a-collection-of-fugitive-poems#sthash.XFJfUWmT.dpufI was at my family's house in Lexington, KY talking with a cousin of mine. He showed me the old Cist family photo album. At the back of the book was this gentleman playing a guitar, smiling and singing. He was an middle-aged African- American. Could this be the same gentleman that Lewis J. Cist was writing about in his Collection of Fugitive Poems. Did the unnamed African- American in the photo really wrote the book and let Cist put his name on it? I believe there is a story here. I am going to keep you posted. I have placed on the scanning agenda to download the Cist family photo album.
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Grave site for Henry M. Cist
Gen Henry Martyn Cist
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Notes on Henry M. Cist
Henry Martyn Cist (February 20, 1839 – December 16, 1902) was an American soldier, lawyer, and author who became a brevet brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He is most noted for his classic and oft-referenced 1882 book The Army of the Cumberland. In addition, Cist led pioneering efforts to preserve and interpret the sites of the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga.
Early life and career
Henry Cist was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the younger of two sons of Philadelphia-born author Charles Cist and his wife Janet. His paternal grandfather, also named Charles Cist, was an immigrant from St. Petersburg, Russia, and a printer and publisher in Philadelphia.[1]
Cist graduated from Farmers College in 1858, and then studied law. He passed his bar exam and became a practicing attorney.[2]
Civil War service
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Cist enlisted as a private in the three-month 6th Ohio Infantry. When his term of enlistment expired, he was promoted to second lieutenant in the 52nd Ohio Infantry. He later served as post adjutant of Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, after the prisoners of war captured at Fort Donelson were transported there following Ulysses S. Grant's victory in February 1862.[3]
In April 1862, Cist joined the 74th Ohio Infantry as a first lieutenant and became its regimental adjutant, serving under Colonel Granville Moody. He later served as the assistant adjutant general with the rank of captain on the staff of Major General William S. Rosecrans in the Army of the Cumberland. Later he was on the staff of Major General George H. Thomas.[4]
In the omnibus promotions issued by the War Department following the end of the Civil War, Cist received three brevet promotions dating from March 13, 1865, to the ranks of major, colonel, and brigadier general of U. S. Volunteers. At Gen. Thomas's request, he remained in the service after the close of hostilities to give the necessary orders and to arrange the details providing for the mustering out and disbanding of over 100,000 troops.[5]
Postbellum career
After mustering out of the army in January 1866, Cist returned to Cincinnati, and established a successful legal practice in that city. He briefly entered politics and lost a hotly contested election for mayor of College Hill, Ohio, that required court action to declare a winner.
In 1869 Cist was elected corresponding secretary of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, to which office he was re-elected every year for some years afterward. He edited all but volumes ii and iii of Reports of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland (Cincinnati, 17 vols., 1868–85).[5] In 1882, he wrote The Army of the Cumberland (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons), which was considered one of the best first-person accounts of that army. He wrote one of the earliest biographies of Union leader "Pap" Thomas, The Life of Gen. George H. Thomas. He also wrote several magazine articles related to Cincinnati during wartime. Among his article titles were “Cincinnati with the War Fever” and “The Romance of Shiloh.”[5]
Cist turned his interest in history to working to have battlefield sites preserved. He served as director of the Chickamauga Memorial Association in 1889, helping gain Congressional authorization in 1890 for the first military park, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.[6] In 1892 Cist served as president of the Ohio Society, Sons of the American Revolution. It is a heritage organization devoted to celebrating the history of the US and especially the meaning of the American Revolution.[7]
After contracting pneumonia while touring Italy, Cist died at the age of 63. He died at Rome, Italy.[8] His body was returned to Ohio and buried in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery.[9]
Early life and career
Henry Cist was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, the younger of two sons of Philadelphia-born author Charles Cist and his wife Janet. His paternal grandfather, also named Charles Cist, was an immigrant from St. Petersburg, Russia, and a printer and publisher in Philadelphia.[1]
Cist graduated from Farmers College in 1858, and then studied law. He passed his bar exam and became a practicing attorney.[2]
Civil War service
With the outbreak of the Civil War, Cist enlisted as a private in the three-month 6th Ohio Infantry. When his term of enlistment expired, he was promoted to second lieutenant in the 52nd Ohio Infantry. He later served as post adjutant of Camp Chase in Columbus, Ohio, after the prisoners of war captured at Fort Donelson were transported there following Ulysses S. Grant's victory in February 1862.[3]
In April 1862, Cist joined the 74th Ohio Infantry as a first lieutenant and became its regimental adjutant, serving under Colonel Granville Moody. He later served as the assistant adjutant general with the rank of captain on the staff of Major General William S. Rosecrans in the Army of the Cumberland. Later he was on the staff of Major General George H. Thomas.[4]
In the omnibus promotions issued by the War Department following the end of the Civil War, Cist received three brevet promotions dating from March 13, 1865, to the ranks of major, colonel, and brigadier general of U. S. Volunteers. At Gen. Thomas's request, he remained in the service after the close of hostilities to give the necessary orders and to arrange the details providing for the mustering out and disbanding of over 100,000 troops.[5]
Postbellum career
After mustering out of the army in January 1866, Cist returned to Cincinnati, and established a successful legal practice in that city. He briefly entered politics and lost a hotly contested election for mayor of College Hill, Ohio, that required court action to declare a winner.
In 1869 Cist was elected corresponding secretary of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland, to which office he was re-elected every year for some years afterward. He edited all but volumes ii and iii of Reports of the Society of the Army of the Cumberland (Cincinnati, 17 vols., 1868–85).[5] In 1882, he wrote The Army of the Cumberland (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons), which was considered one of the best first-person accounts of that army. He wrote one of the earliest biographies of Union leader "Pap" Thomas, The Life of Gen. George H. Thomas. He also wrote several magazine articles related to Cincinnati during wartime. Among his article titles were “Cincinnati with the War Fever” and “The Romance of Shiloh.”[5]
Cist turned his interest in history to working to have battlefield sites preserved. He served as director of the Chickamauga Memorial Association in 1889, helping gain Congressional authorization in 1890 for the first military park, the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.[6] In 1892 Cist served as president of the Ohio Society, Sons of the American Revolution. It is a heritage organization devoted to celebrating the history of the US and especially the meaning of the American Revolution.[7]
After contracting pneumonia while touring Italy, Cist died at the age of 63. He died at Rome, Italy.[8] His body was returned to Ohio and buried in Cincinnati's Spring Grove Cemetery.[9]
General Cist, like Generals J. D. Cox, Lytle, Mitchel and Force, mingled scholarship with their military experience, indeed they were scholars before they were soldiers. In this work we have a skilled and thorough history of the Army of the Cumberland from its formation to the end of the battles at Chattanooga, in November, 1863.
—Daniel J. Ryan, 1911[8]
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Lewis Jacob Cist autograph collection
More information is being posted on the world wide web. There are times that I periodically check certain names, places, dates etc. on the web. Years ago, not much was listed for the Lewis j. Cist autograph collection, but my most recent Google search yielded much information.
A family story that has been passed down through the years was the fact the the world acclaimed autographed collection was dispersed. If a person saw a particular item from Lewis J. Cist collection was in a historical rare books department at a college, university, or other collection, it would not bring much attention to the audience, but if an audience looked at many different collections, and saw the same recurring name of Lewis J. Cist they would notice that the over all collection was of Americana significance.
After the autograph collection was auctioned off in New York in 1880's some of the later auctions in the 1890's and early 1900's came from the Lewis J. Cist collections. I have looked at my reference guide and compared it to other auction labels from their auction descriptions to that of the Lewis J. Cist collection. It was the same.
My goal is not to bring the Lewis J. Cist autograph collections together again ( cost prohibitive), but to show a side of Americana history that may have been overlooked. It would be exciting to find a different side of history and bring it to life.
I shall keep you posted.
A family story that has been passed down through the years was the fact the the world acclaimed autographed collection was dispersed. If a person saw a particular item from Lewis J. Cist collection was in a historical rare books department at a college, university, or other collection, it would not bring much attention to the audience, but if an audience looked at many different collections, and saw the same recurring name of Lewis J. Cist they would notice that the over all collection was of Americana significance.
After the autograph collection was auctioned off in New York in 1880's some of the later auctions in the 1890's and early 1900's came from the Lewis J. Cist collections. I have looked at my reference guide and compared it to other auction labels from their auction descriptions to that of the Lewis J. Cist collection. It was the same.
My goal is not to bring the Lewis J. Cist autograph collections together again ( cost prohibitive), but to show a side of Americana history that may have been overlooked. It would be exciting to find a different side of history and bring it to life.
I shall keep you posted.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Cincinnati Business Courier Cist Article
Hi Andrew,
I saw this article in last week’s Cincinnati Business Courier. He is referring to ‘your’ Charles Cist, correct?
-Jennifer
GUEST COMMENTARY: Telling Cincinnati's story across 175 years
By Dan Hurley, director of Leadership Cincinnati for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber and host of the weekly “Local 12 Newsmakers” program.
Editor's note: Hurley will contribute these columns periodically throughout the year in recognition of the chamber's 175th anniversary.
One of the most creative initiatives launched by the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber in recent years is the Story Project. Like so many efforts of the modern chamber, the Story Project is a regional collaboration, led by Agenda 360 in Ohio and Vision 2015 in Northern Kentucky.
The Story Project grew out of the insights gained by CEOs who traveled to Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Denver on chamber sponsored Leadership Exchanges to benchmark against other cities. Leaders in other metropolitan communities seemed to have common narratives to tell about their communities. The Story Project was born to create a master narrative that is built around five themes, as well as a collection of images and tools that anyone responsible for telling our story can find on the web This need to tell our story is very old, and was especially strong at the very time that local business owners formed the original Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trade on Oct. 15, 1839.
Like so many other new settlements in the vast American West, early Cincinnatians wanted to believe that they lived in one of the future great cities of the continent. In reality, for half a century after its founding in 1788, Cincinnati was little more than one more scruffy river town with promise.
That began to change in the mid-1830s when the combination of its central location on one of America’s great navigable inland rivers, the development of steamboats and the beginning of a great wave of immigration from Europe propelled Cincinnati past other inland cities both in terms of population size and economic vitality.
Residents of every little town and city bragged about the real and imagined assets of their community. That’s the best explanation of the origin of Cincinnati’s first, and most enduring, nickname, “the Queen City of the West.”
That image was used in print (and seemingly already popular in conversation) on May 4, 1819 in an article written by Ed. B. Cooke in the Inquisitor and Cincinnati Advertiser. Cooke wrote that, "The City is, indeed, justly styled the fair Queen of the West: distinguished for order, enterprise, public spirit, and liberality, she stands the wonder of an admiring world." Most people think is was the creation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in 1854 when he employed the phrase in his poem, “Catawba Wine.” In fact, Longfellow was simply utilizing an image already in wide circulation for at least 35 years.
When the city’s population began two decades of explosive growth around 1835, Cincinnati became a good city for people with big dreams. Some boosters imagined Cincinnati in terms of national and even world leadership. In 1841 Jacob Scott predicted “that within one hundred years from this time, Cincinnati will be the greatest city in America; and in the year of our Lord two thousand, the greatest city in the world.” Another booster insisted that the nation’s capital would eventually be relocated from the east coast to the center of the country and Cincinnati would be the logical new location.
More restrained, but more insightful, was the work of Charles Cist, the editor of Cist’s Weekly Advertiser and collector of the census in 1840 and 1850. Because of this latter role, he commanded a vast array of data. His three book length volumes, Cincinnati in 1841: It’s Early Annals and Future Prospects; Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1851 and Sketches and Statistics of Cincinnati in 1859 provided the members of the early Chamber a rich source of data about the growth of the local economy.
It is fascinating today to read the chapters on “Manufactures and Industrial Products” and glimpse the local economy long before it was clear that Procter & Gamble would survive, much less emerge as an important company a century before anyone thought a grocer might own anything more than a corner store.
In the last five years, the creators of Story Project used all of the modern tools to develop their product. They assembled focus groups to gather insights and develop consensus around the five themes. They employed the internet and Facebook to distribute project materials and grow additional resources (see the “Share Your Story” component).
But underneath, the need to understand the dynamics of the community and develop coherent narratives that drove Jacob Scott, Charles Cistand those early members of the Chamber of Commerce in the 1840s and 50s are very similar to what drives the directors and staff of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber 175 years later.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
Henry M. Cist Lincoln Presidential Seal
This is a photo of a Presidential Seal signed by Abraham Lincoln for Henry M. Cist.
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