History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root PillsShaw, Robert B.
History
History of the Comstock Patent Medicine Business and Dr. Morse's Indian Root Pills
Shaw, Robert B.
Patent medicines -- United States; W.H. Comstock Co.
This did not mean a final move to Brockville for William H. Comstock;
for several years he must have gone back and forth and was still active
in New York City as a partner of his brother and of Judson. We have seen
that he subsequently went into partnership with Judson in the purchase
of the coffee-roasting business. In December 1866, he was a defendant in
the lawsuit initiated by his brother George, when he was still
apparently active in the New York City business. Nevertheless, he
apparently shifted the center of his activities to the Brockville area
about 1860, relinquishing primary responsibility for affairs in New York
City to his brother and to Judson.
[Illustration: FIGURE 12.--Label for Victoria Hair Gloss, Comstock &
Brother, 1855.]
We now find the Comstock business established at Brockville. Exactly why
a second plant was built at Morristown, right across the river, is again
a matter for conjecture. It is a fair assumption, however, that customs
duties or other restraints may have interfered with the ability of the
Canadian plant to supply the United States market. Thus, facilities on
the other side of the border, but still close enough to be under common
management, must have become essential. In an era of water
transportation, Morristown was a convenient place from which to supply
the important middle western territory. Ogdensburg was the eastern
terminus of lake boats, and several lines provided daily service between
that point and Buffalo. The railroad had already reached Ogdensburg
(although not yet Morristown) so that rail transportation was also
convenient. And the farms of St. Lawrence County could certainly be
counted upon to supply such labor as was necessary for the rather simple
tasks of mixing pills and elixirs and packaging them. Finally, the two
plants were directly across the river from each other--connection was
made by a ferry which on the New York side docked almost on the Comstock
property--so that both could easily be supervised by a single manager.
In fact, if it had not been for the unusual circumstance that they were
located in two different countries, they could really have been
considered as no more than separate buildings constituting a single
plant.
Surviving receipts for various goods and services show that the move to
Morristown was carried out in March or April of 1867. Although the
Morristown undertaking was obviously regarded as a continuation of the
New York business, it was operated by William Henry Comstock as the sole
proprietor for many years, and the terms of any settlement or subsequent
relationship with Judson are unknown. A "Judson Pill Co." was
subsequently established at Morristown, but this was no more than a
mailing address for one department of the Comstock business. What
happened to Judson as an individual is a mystery; like Moore, he quietly
disappears from our story.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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