YORK Pullman’s at The White House
I promoted putting more historical pieces in family history books while attending the 4-day National Genealogical Society 2013 Family History Conference in Las Vegas. I told attendees to checkout YorksPast for a series on how to research the place of business where an ancestor worked. This is part 5, the other posts in this series include:
- The First PULLMAN Company in York made Ventilators; Part 1
- The First PULLMAN Company in York made Ventilators; Part 2
- Patented by Pullman in 1901 and Made in York
- Made in YORK, Pullman Automatic Ventilators; How they Worked
- York made 1901 Pullman Ventilators installed in White House
I selected Pullman Ventilators because of local interest. The Pullman identity ties into my post on Albert P. Broomell, he was responsible for the fabrication of the first motorcar in York, Pennsylvania. The 1903 six-wheel Pullman Motor Car however was not the first Pullman named product in York; those honors go to products of The Pullman Automatic Ventilator Company.
The White House is shown on page 16 of a 1902 Pullman Automatic Ventilator Company Catalogue that contains a long list of places and testimonials from prominent users. The White House has got to be the most prominent user of the new Pullman System of Natural Ventilation; whose patent was applied for only two years earlier. This catalogue is in the collection of the Hagley Museum & Library in Wilmington, Delaware.
In part 1, I discovered that the trade publication The Iron Age, issue of April 20, 1922, noted that (my distant relative) Walter B. Gilbert & Co., York, Pa. took title to the plant and business of the Pullman Automatic Ventilator & Mfg. Co. The construction buyers-guide National Builder, issue of December 1922, lists the address of this company as 201 Roosevelt Ave., York, Pa.
In part 2, I used another trade publication, The Metal Worker, issue of January 10, 1903. An article in that issue provided evidence that The Pullman Automatic Ventilator Company in York was a well-established company by January 10, 1903; making it easy to conclude, at the very least, they were in business during 1902 in York, PA.
In part 3, I revealed how the Pullman name of the ventilator company originated with Charles Lewis Pullman, the younger brother of the principal developer of the Pullman Palace Railroad Cars; George M. Pullman.
In part 4, I determined the Pullman Automatic Ventilator owned by reader Patrick Spinks appears to be a Model “A.” I also showed how the Pullman System of Natural Ventilation worked automatically without motors or control wiring.
In this part 5, I discuss finding the 32-page catalogue that contained a long list of places and testimonials from prominent users of the patented Pullman System of Natural Ventilation. Recall from part 2 of this series, a 1902 catalogue was discussed in the trade publication The Metal Worker, issue of January 10, 1903.
Per this article, by January 10, 1903, The Pullman Automatic Ventilator Company of York, Pa. already had a 32-page catalogue that contained a long list of places and testimonials from prominent users of the system. I knew that the Hagley Museum & Library in Wilmington, Delaware has a nice collection of early industrial literature; their holdings included a 32-page Pullman Automatic Ventilator Company book from 1902.
I was almost certain this “book” at Hagley was the 32-page catalogue noted in the 1903 article. It was!
The Hagley staff allowed me to take a few photos of the 32-page catalogue. In this view, I’ve combined photos of the Front Cover and First Page of the Pullman Automatic Ventilator Company Catalogue of 1902. Note the Factory is in York, Pennsylvania.
The White House, shown on page 16 of the 1902 Catalogue, has got to be the most prominent user of the new Pullman System of Natural Ventilation; whose patent was applied for only two years earlier. One can see the Pullman Ventilators at the bottom of the windows. Also notice that the flag is at half-staff. In the fall of 1901, President McKinley dies from infections after taking an assassin’s bullet and Vice President Theodore Roosevelt is sworn in as President.
Besides these additional Washington D. C. users of the Pullman System of Natural Ventilation, the catalogue includes lists of users from primarily major cities around the country. A few places in York, PA are nevertheless listed:
- J. A. Dempwolf
- Security, Title and Trust Co.
- York National Bank
- Burroughs School Building
- Martin Carriage Co.
