History 145

          Let me start this blog by introducing myself. My name is Tony and I have once again returned to college, at the age of 46, to continue my education. I have an A.A.S. degree in Chemical Dependency Counseling and after some time in the field decided that I would like to delve deeper into understanding the complex machine that is the human mind. I have found that I seem to have a natural instinct which often tends to aid me on this journey of learning and discovery. Having both lead a rather colorful life and a bit more life experience than the average student also seems to be a benefit, as living itself can be a great teacher if you let it.
   
     Right now, I have some rather interesting programming to view, but I will return soon to express my thoughts on what I have seen. In the meantime, try to remember the important message posted below as it could surely affect your personal history.

Below are listed a few of the topics I will be reflecting on in my upcoming blog entries. 

History Detectives -

     1- Titanic - A Rescue and Recovery Mission?

Time Team America - 

     2- New Philadelphia, Illinois

A Bill Moyers Interview -

     3- Slavery by Another Name

American Experience -

     4- The Rockefellers

A talk by historian Susan Lewis -

     5- Business Women of 19th Century Albany, New York 

A Titanic Rescue and Recovery Mission and Much More

    

In this episode of History Detectives, “Titanic Picture Frame” becomes more than just a title or a concept. It becomes a plausible reality.

The show, History Detectives, was about two cousins who wondered about the history of an old picture frame they had each come to view in their Grandmothers’ home. One thought the frame in some way originated on the Lusitania, while the other was convinced that it had somehow come from the Titanic. Two very infamous ships, both fated to end in tragedy, the Titanic and Lusitania both inspired their fair share of counterfeit relics. This meek family feud leads to quite a bit of investigative work for the detective’s.

A Brief Ship History

The Titanic – Built in Belfast Ireland, a ship of the White Star line, the Titanic has intrigued the world since she sank, taking over 1500 lives with her, on April 15^th, 1912. Memories were stirred when Dr Robert Ballard discovered the wreck in September of 1985. Built to contend with the new speed levels of competing liners and thought to be unsinkable, the Titanic was a modern day marvel. Her first class passenger list, which included John Jacob Astor, one of America's wealthiest men, was remarkable and may well be unsurpassed in the annals of ocean travel. This was the era when wealth equaled celebrity, and the Titanic's maiden voyage had clearly attracted an unusual number of the transatlantic elite. In fact, however, her greatest claim to fame seemed likely to be a brief reign as the largest ship in the world. The Titanic sank 400 miles (640 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland.

            The Lusitania - The Lusitania was carrying a healthy complement of American passengers when she departed New York for Liverpool on May 1, 1915, despite a published warning from the German authorities that appeared in U.S. newspapers the morning of her departure. The Lusitania, built in Scotland, saw 120 Americans among the 1200 who died when the British ship was torpedoed in 1915 by a German sub off the coast of Ireland. The ship had been carrying large quantities of ammunition. News of the attack and public outcries helped launch America’s entry into WW-1.

            The PBS show, History Detectives, really didn't mention the socioeconomic status of passengers and why they may have been upon these ships in the first place. They also gave a brief history on each ship and did some digging into where certain artifacts may have originated and explained how they came to these conclusions, but left out a great deal about the history of the era and why these ships came to be in existence. Perhaps a more thorough depiction of relevant information and historical background, could have added a bit more substance to a somewhat minimalist account of such historically significant events. 

            A new era of mass production arose in the United States because of technological innovations, a favorable patent system, new forms of factory organization, an abundant supply of natural resources, and foreign investment. The labor force came from both a racially and culturally diverse mix which was fashioned by millions of immigrants from around the world seeking a better way of life. This mass immigration, predominantly Italian and Irish, aided a society that needed to mass produce consumer goods. The changes brought about by industrialization and immigration, later gave rise to the labor movement and the emergence of women's organizations advocating industrial reforms. (learner.org)

         This leads us to the story of a woman named Margaret "Molly" Brown, or the Unsinkable Molly Brown.  Brown, a Titanic survivor, born July 18th, 1867, to Irish immigrants, was a prime example of what it took for a woman to succeed in society in this time period, often referred to by scholars as the Gilded Age. At age 18, Margaret relocated to Leadville, Colorado with her brother Daniel, where she found a job in a department store. Margaret met and married James Joseph Brown (1854–1922), nicknamed J.J., an enterprising, self-educated man. His parents, too, had emigrated from Ireland.

         Margaret Brown, an innovative and resourceful woman, was often characterized as a brash and tough as nails lady, Brown was quoted as saying “I wanted a rich man, but I loved Jim Brown. I thought about how I wanted comfort for my father and how I had determined to stay single until a man presented himself who could give to the tired old man the things I longed for him. Jim was as poor as we were, and had no better chance in life. I struggled hard with myself in those days. I loved Jim, but he was poor. Finally, I decided that I'd be better off with a poor man whom I loved than with a wealthy one whose money had attracted me. So I married Jim Brown.” (Kristen Iversen, 1999)

         In a lecture given at the University at Albany by Susan Lewis on Businesswomen in Albany, New York, 1830-1885, Lewis tells the tales of many women who’s stories differ greatly, yet whom all encountered similar societal obstacles primarily brought on by living within a rapidly industrializing and patriarchal society. More than once, Susan Lewis spoke of the manner in which women of this era were judged and what it took to be rated as “A good business man” in city credit entries. Also noted in these entries, women were commonly referred to as shrewd, clever, cunning, sly, a worthy widow, and of good stock. This made them sound a bit more like cattle than resourceful business women. One of the most common ways for a woman to gain/earn status in this era was to marry well. 

The Brown family acquired great wealth when J.J.'s mining engineering efforts proved instrumental in the production of a substantial ore seam (Coal appears in long, linear underground deposits referred to as seams.) at the Little Jonny Mine of his employers, Ibex Mining Company, and he was awarded 12,500 shares of stock and a seat on the board. In Leadville, Margaret helped by working in soup kitchens to assist miners' families.

         Margaret became a charter member of the Denver Woman's Club, whose mission was the improvement of women's lives by continuing education and philanthropy. Adjusting to the trappings of a society lady, Brown became well-immersed in the arts and fluent in French, German, and Italian. Brown co-founded a branch in Denver of the Alliance Française to promote her love of French culture. Margaret assisted in the fund-raising for Denver's 

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception which was completed in 1911.

        As I noted earlier, this was the era when wealth equaled celebrity, and the Titanic's maiden voyage had clearly attracted an unusual number of the transatlantic elite. In fact, the Titanic’s greatest claim to fame seemed likely to be a brief reign as the largest ship in the world. The passenger list, which included Margaret (Molly) Brow and John Jacob Astor, A close personal friend of Brown and one of America's wealthiest men, was remarkable and may well, be unsurpassed in the annals of ocean travel.

Astor’s presence aboard the ship certainly helped to reinforce that which was the legendary luxury which adorned the Titanic. Astor, a real-estate magnate, i.e. the Waldorf-Astoria hotel, an inventor and a bit of an entrepreneur, was a perfect example of the capitalism that had taken hold through America’s rapidly increasing urbanization.

The Titanic itself was a perfect example of the world’s rapidly expanding industrialization. At 882.5 feet, she was identical in length to the Olympic, the previous record holder, but the prize for size would soon pass to Hamburg-Amerika's 909-foot-long Imperator, due to enter service the following year.

            Hamburg American Packet-shipping Joint-stock company was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany, in 1847. Among the founders were prominent citizens such as Albert Ballin (Director General), Adolph Godeffroy, Ferdinand Laeisz, Carl Woermann, August Bolten and others, and its main financial backers were Berenberg Bank and H. J. Merck & Co. It soon developed into the largest German, and at times, the world's largest, shipping company, serving the market created by the German immigration to the United States and later immigration from Eastern Europe. TheShipsList®™ - (Swiggum)

A sign of the arrogance that was implemented in the manufacture of the Titanic was the notorious shortage of lifeboats aboard. Although she had the capacity to hold up to 64, 48 was the number of lifeboats originally planned for Titanic by the chief designer Alexander Carlisle. The number was reduced to 20 in order to make the decks look less cluttered. Even at the maximum capacity of 65 people per lifeboat, only 1,300 people could have been saved. 

The power, ego and arrogance of these rapidly expanding companies and manufacturer’s was not unique only in European Countries. It had spread to the west bring with it the monopolies which soon overtook America as well.

In 1870, John Rockefeller - Formed the Standard Oil Company. He himself tried to flatter and sway independents to join his company before then using more shrewd tactics like making sure there was a shortage of railroad tank transports (He had secret deals with the railroads.) or perhaps he would go out and buy up all of the barrels on the market so his competitors would have no place to store or a way to ship their oil. He might even buy up all of the chemicals needed to refine the oil. Once he made his mind up, you either sold or went under. By 1879 he controls 90% of the oil refineries in the world and a third of all of the oil in the world. He formed the first real monopoly. A brilliant yet harsh reality for others.

Rockefeller was a rich man; however he believed that he was given the gift of prosperity and the ability to earn great sums of money by God. He thought that like those given the gift of a beautiful voice or the ability to create great works of art, that he too had been given a gift. He did not just cling to his great wealth however, but donated a great deal to charities and the church, which he thought of as one and the same.

The Rockefeller’s continued to live in a modest and simple style. Although well off, John and his wife Laura believed that a lack frugality would be sinful and that to live a decadent lifestyle would bring evil down upon their family. John Junior wore his sisters’ restyled hand-me-downs until he was 8 years old. His mother was quoted as saying “I’m so glad that John Jr. has told me what he wants for Christmas, so that it can be denied him.” 

Now that you have a more clear understanding of the era and its unique and rapidly evolving history and values system, we can get back to the story of the feuding cousins. 

Their Great Grandfather, as it turned out, worked in the early 1900s out of Halifax Nova-Scotia, laying and repairing communications cable between Canada and England. Most of the cables laid during this era were used to send telegraph messages. The History Detectives soon learned that Cable laying ships were some of the first on the scene after Both the Titanic and Lusitania disasters. It just so happened that the cousins Grandfather had in fact been an Engineer on the cable ship Minia. One of the ships sent to recover bodies from the Titanic disaster. 

            It turned out that the old picture frame in question was in fact a genuine artifact of the Titanic. A bow in the wooden frame helped the Detectives to figure this out. The frame was actually a piece of the Titanic’s grand staircase.

            One cousin may have had to concede, but both were happy to finally know the true origin of the old antique picture frame, and what an origin it was. 

Bibliography –

Industrializing America - http://www.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/units/14/

Lusitania - http://www.pbs.org/lostliners/lusitania.html

RMS Lusitania - http://www.titanicandco.com/lusitania.html

Titanic - http://www.pbs.org/lostliners/titanic.html

Titanic - The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, (E.D. Hersch, JR, Joseph F. Kett, James Trefil) 1991

Titanic Facts - http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-lifeboats.html

Titanic Newspaper Archives - 

http://thechronicleherald.ca/titanic/archive/82763-the-cable-ship-minia-arrived-early-this-morning-with-fifteen-bodies-from-scene

VIDEOS -

History Detectives -

     1- Titanic - A Rescue and Recovery Mission?

Time Team America - 

     2- New Philadelphia, Illinois

A Bill Moyers Interview -

     3- Slavery by Another Name

American Experience -

     4- The Rockefellers

A talk by historian Susan Lewis -

     5- Business Women of 19th Century Albany, New York