Monday, February 21, 2022

Collection of Early 1900s Invoices/Letters to S. B. Cummings & Son of West Jonesport, Maine

Reprinted, with permission, from the Heirlooms Reunited blog

Collection of early 1900s invoices and correspondence from Maine and other New England companies to S. B. Cummings & Son of West Jonesport, Maine.

Two of the invoices were from the McLean Jones Oil & Supply Company who used a swastika in their logo, in an era before this wouldn't have been seen as a poor business practice.

Images of all of the papers appear at the end of this post.

S. B. Cummings was Samuel Bowden Cummings (1844-1916), a merchant as well as mariner, lighthouse keeper and postmaster.

Papers:
  • Williams Stove Lining Company, stove linings and bricks; Taunton, Massachusetts
    • July 3, 1902
    • September 30, 1902
  • Portland Stove Foundry, stoves; Portland, Maine
    • January 18, 1910
    • May 11, 1910
    • July 6, 1910
    • August 8, 1910
    • September 22, 1910
    • November 11, 1910
    • November 17, 1910
    • November 25, 1910
    • July 27, 1916
  • Brien Heater Company, stoves; Westfield, Massachusetts
    • October 22, 1912
    • November 7, 1912
    • November 23, 1912
    • May 23, 1917 - T. R. Brien
  • Frye Phipps & Co., hardware and cutlery; Boston, Massachusetts
    • April 24, 1908
    • May 17, 1907 - two invoices
    • October 9, 1907
  • McLean Jones Oil & Supply Co., steamship, mill and railway supplies; Boston, Massachusetts
    • dated September 16, 1912
    • dated September 27, 1912
  • L. N. Littlehale, dealer in flour, corn, oats, cotton seed meal and mill feeds, of Rockland, Maine; December 21, 1906
  • Winslow & Co., Inc., Portland Stoneware Co., Portland, Maine; May 26, 1914
  • James Bailey Company of Portland, Maine, saddlery and horse furnishings; July 1, 1913 - stamp of W. F. Boyce - presumably William Francis Boyce, born 8 December 1877 in Quebec, according to his naturalization papers; possibly this William F. Boyce with a birth date of 8 December 1876
  • Boston, Massachusetts, Office of Quaker City Varnish Company; September 8, 1910 - John Weingartner - presumably John S. Weingartner, Jr. (1865 or 1866-1944) [MA Mason card gives birth year as 1865; grave marker as 1866]
  • W. L. Blake & Co., Portland, Maine, steam fitting and plumbing supplies; November 21, 1913 - signed with the stamp of A. W. Blake, Sales Manager - presumably Arthur W. Blake 
  • Northfield Knife Company of Northfield, Connecticut; April 1, 1903 - J. K. ?, possibly Oatley - but also possibly Cutlery, not a person.

If you have information to share on Samuel Bowden Cummings or any of the other names that appear, please leave a comment for the benefit of other researchers.

Click on any image to enlarge it.