Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams

 I've been going back through my posts and I'm surprised that I've not published anything specific on the candy store that my great-great aunt owned and operated in San Francisco. I've mentioned the store in other posts, but it's time to post specifically on the store. That candy store was Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams. 

The store was owned and operated by Thomas Edwin Fogalsang (1871-1928) and his wife, Frances Cleveland (Dodge) Fogalsang (1888-1955). From what I've been able to find, operations started in early 1924 and was operated out of their home on 59 Collins Street. Below is an advertisement published in The San Francisco Examiner from February 1924. The business was originally called California Pru-Nut Creams Co.

Eventually, the business was located at 669 Geary Street in San Francisco. Below is an advertisement published in the San Anselmo Herald in November of 1924. 

Below are several advertisements for employment opportunities at Fogalsang's. All were published in The San Francisco Examiner and found on the website newspapers.com. As a side note, I did several different searches using several different terms to find as many advertisements for employment as I could. I'm sure there are other employment advertisements in The San Francisco Examiner, but the search results are only as accurate as the information that is transcribed

May 19, 1925

December 8, 1926

September 30 & October 1, 1930

December 10, 1935

November 4, 1940

August 19-22, 1941

September 26-27, 1942

January 3, 1943

June 10-14, 1943

It is amazing that there are websites, such as newspapers.com (where the above clippings come from) and genealogybank.com (which contain additional newspapers from all over the United States) that are available for online perusal where this information can be found. Another website that I recently searched is the California Digital Newspaper Collection, where the following article was found. This article, published in The Healdsburg Tribune in May of 1939, describes one of the confections that was manufactured.

I'm not sure how this particular candy fared in the market.

For anyone wondering...No. We don't have any of the recipes that would have existed. As far as I know, those are all long gone. The business appears to have operated for nearly 20 years. The last mention in any of the newspapers or San Francisco directories of Fogalsang's is 1943. In 1944, the location became a beauty shop. I used google maps to look up the address of the business. The building is still there. Below is a picture of what is there today.

My grandpa remembered visiting Fogalsang's as a kid during the 1930's. His dad was Frances' brother and they traveled from Wyoming to San Francisco to visit. He remembers staying in an apartment above the store and being told to be quiet and not to make too much noise so as to not disturb the business below. Below is a picture of my great-grandfather in front of the store front.

A couple of years ago, I received an email from the proprietor of Antiques on First, an antique store in Benicia, California. They had received a box (pictured below) of Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams (minus the candy, of course 😄). While researching where the box was from and who and what Fogalsang's was, they came across my blog and reached out to me. They were kind enough to send the box to me. I am grateful that they sent this to me so that my family can enjoy this tangible piece of family history.

***UPDATE November 26, 2020 - I found three additional help wanted advertisements from the The San Francisco Examiner that were published in July of 1924. The business was located at 871 Geary Street and was called 'Pru-Nut Cream Co.'

July 15-17, 1924

2020 Colorado Trip

With 2020 going the way that it has, I haven't been able to do too much on my family history research. However, I have been able to travel with my dad to Salida this week to enjoy the scenery of the Arkansas Valley as well as take care of our ancestors' graves in Buena Vista. We had this trip planned since Christmas of last year. We're both very glad that we were able to go as there were several things that could have derailed our trip. On Tuesday morning, we went to the Mount Olivet cemetery in Buena Vista to perform some much overdue upkeep on our ancestors' graves. Below are the pics from our small project.

This is the gravestone our family had put in place when I lived in Colorado back in 2009. The story my grandpa told me was that their daughter, Ann, was supposed to have purchased and placed a gravestone following Nathaniel's death in 1926. Ann lived in Colorado Springs and lived the closest to Buena Vista. However, Ann never had a gravestone in place, and the task then fell to her daughter, Virginia, who also spent her life in Colorado Springs. After Virginia passed away (she never had any children), my Grandpa always had a desire to have a gravestone put in place. When I moved to Colorado in 2008, he told me that he would help pay for a gravestone. I took my grandpa up on the offer, and we placed the gravestone (pictured above) in 2009. 

This is part of the upkeep that me and dad did on their graves. Above is a picture of Fannie's grave. Her grave was outlined with stones that have become covered up over the past 100 years. We took some time to uncover and place the stones above ground as well as add a few additional stones. 

This is the other part of the upkeep that we performed on their gravesite. Above is a picture of Nathaniel's grave, which was unmarked and was a settled depression in the ground where he is buried. We purchased and placed paver stones to outline where Nathaniel is buried.

Above is a picture of the final product.

This morning, we stopped at the Salida Public Library to look up the local newspapers to see if there were any additional death notices for Nathaniel. Back in 2016, I had found a death notice in 'The Salida Mail' published May 4, 1926. I was hoping to see if the other Salida Newspaper, 'The Salida Record' would have published anything regarding his death. The Salida Library was very helpful in helping us locate what we were looking for. They have original newspapers for both 'The Salida Record' and 'The Salida Mail', and we were able to find death notices for Nathaniel in both newspapers. They are pictured below.

'The Salida Mail', May 4, 1926. I had found this article back in 2016, but was happy to find it again. This article details his funeral and lists his children that attended his funeral. Along with Ann, who was living in Colorado Springs, another daughter, Rachel (Ray), was there. She moved to Grand Junction in 1920 and had actually buried a daughter just one month previous to Nathaniel's passing away. Ray and her family moved to Tacoma, Washington in 1931. Also there was one of his sons, Ed Dodge, who was living in Avon. Ed (his full name was John Edward Dodge), was the only son who stayed in Colorado. He lived in an around Buena Vista for most of his life. He lived in Avon for a time during the 1920's, but was back in Buena Vista by 1928. He later lived in Fairplay, where he passed away in 1934.

'The Salida Record', May 4, 1926. This is what I was hoping to find this morning. I cannot tell how excited I am to have another piece of information on Nathaniel. Reading this death notice, I think there is one line that is missing. The middle sentence should probably read: 'He was born at Augusta Maine, [and came to Colorado] in the eighties.' He was elected Justice of the Peace in 1906 & 1924. Each was a two-year term. He resigned from his position in January of 1926. He also ran for Justice of the Peace in 1908, 1910, 1914 & 1920, losing each time. He was also a Judge in Buena Vista during much of the 1880's.

It is interesting how each newspaper published different information on Nathaniel. One focused on his funeral, the other reported on his death and gave a brief obituary on his life. Each article helps paint a picture on his life and add to the information and research I am able to share.

There are several other editions of 'The Salida Record' that I would like to come back and look through. Because of the articles I have found in 'The Salida Mail', I would hope that looking through 'The Salida Record' would someday be possible. Because of the current status of everything that is going on, the librarian was only able to allow me to search through a specific edition of the available newspapers. If conditions were normal, I would be able to take the time to search through 'The Salida Record' and compare them to the articles that I have already found in 'The Salida Mail'. At any rate, the librarians at the Salida Library were very helpful in our search today.

James Dodge - 19th Century Financial Troubles

          This weekend, I came across several court records from 19th Century Maine; in particular, court records from the counties of Somerset and Franklin, where my Dodge ancestors lived during the 19th Century. James Dodge, my third great-grandfather, was a farmer and settler and purchased land in the area of Rangeley, Maine in October of 1832. The court records that I found indicate that this area was an unincorporated part of the county where he lived and was known as Lake Plantation. James Dodge and his brothers each set out to establish themselves during the 1830's and 1840's, and most of them ran into financial trouble during this time and faced financial judgments for failure to pay their debts. At least three of James' brothers filed for bankruptcy during the early 1840's, in the wake of the financial panic that crippled the American economy and wreaked havoc on financial and banking institutions.

When James purchased his property in Rangeley in October of 1832, he signed several promissory notes to pay back the loan in equal payments that were due annually over a period of five years. The loan called for five equal payments of $60.00 per year for five years, with interest. The first four notes promising payment were endorsed to Stephen C. Syford of Belknap, New Hampshire at the time the loan was secured. The fifth note was endorsed to Daniel Burnham of Portland, Maine. Danie Burnham sued for payment in October of 1842 and was awarded $101.40 (approximately $3,250.00 in today's dollars) and an additional $10.32 in court costs. Stephen C. Syford didn’t seek any damages for non-payment until March of 1849 for his four outstanding notes of payment. By the time this suit was brought against James Dodge, he was living in Dallas Plantation (next to Rangeley), according to court records. In September of 1850, Stephen C. Syford was awarded $460.66 (over $15,000.00 today) and $11.37 for court costs.

While living in Rangeley, James incurred numerous debts (in addition to his mortgage) that he ultimately was unable to repay. This is indicated by the court records that are available which show his creditors sued for financial remuneration. It is unknown whether his inability to repay his debts was due to financial reverses, economic hardships, or an unwillingness to pay back his debts. On March 10, 1834, James, along with his brother Samuel, borrowed $25.45 from Jonathan Wright (more than $700.00 in 2020 dollars). They were to pay him back, with interest, by June of 1834. They failed to do so, and in November of 1834 were ordered to pay Jonathan Wright $26.47, and an additional $10.27 in court costs. According to the court records, Rangeley was also known as Lake Settlement and was an unincorporated part of Oxford (now Franklin) County.

Also, in March of 1834, James borrowed $64.51 (nearly $2,000.00 today) from Thomas Hunter and was to pay him back, with interest, by June of 1834. He again failed to do so, and judgment was entered against James Dodge for $66.44, in addition to $10.01 in court costs, in November of 1835. 

On July 8, 1835, James borrowed $36.19 (nearly $1,000.00 in today’s money) from Benjamin F. Eastman of Strong. James was to pay back the money, with interest. Another judgment was entered against James on July 4, 1836, in the amount of $38.32, with an additional $13.08 in court costs.

On May 4, 1837, James Dodge once again borrowed money. This time, he borrowed $61.82 (more than $1,700.00 today) from Francis Butler, who later passed away. His son, Francis G. Butler, as administrator of his father’s estate, sued for $150.00 repayment. James Dodge made the plea to the court that he did not have enough funds or possessions to pay back the amount that was sued for. It was discovered that he deposited into the possession of Benjamin Hunter and George Hunter his goods and possessions amounting to the money that was being sued for. They had volunteered this information when called upon to testify. It was ordered that they surrender the possessions belonging to James Dodge in order to repay the final amount of $99.97 (more than $3,000.00 today), along with court costs of $9.12, which was awarded by the Court in April of 1849.

On October 21, 1837, James, along with his brother Samuel, and one Daniel Dodge (no relation), borrowed $136.00 (over $3,500.00 today) from Samuel Belcher, to be paid back within one year, with interest. The money that was owed was payable to his widow, Hannah A. Belcher, following his death. She sued in court, and on September 13, 1839, was awarded $151.30 (over $4,000.00 today), along with $9.27 in court costs.

          Even after moving to Perkins Plantation, James Dodge was not clear of his financial troubles. In October of 1861, James Dodge was again the subject of financial judgment. In January of 1849, Joseph Dow, a Justice of the Peace, obtained judgment against James Dodge in the amount of $17.09 (nearly $600.00 today), including interest. James never paid this judgment and the judgment was ordered recovered. 

           While it is easy to think that these amounts do not seem like much to us today, these were small fortunes during the 1830's and 1840's, especially to a small farmer seeking to establish himself with a growing family to care for. While I can't imagine not paying off my debts and taking financial responsibility for myself, there are numerous reasons why my ancestor didn't meet his financial obligations. It is likely that there was the hope that investing in land and establishing himself and his family would provide financial means to meet his monetary obligations. However, when things didn't turn out as expected, especially with the financial reverses experienced across the United States in the late 1830's, he wasn't able to pay off his debts and probably decided that they were no longer worth recognizing. It would be interesting to find out the entire story behind these judgments, as well as if there are still original pleadings in existence, which would help add to the story behind this chapter in my ancestor's life.

James Robert Dodge in World War I - Additional Information

Recently, while looking through the monthly Muster & Roster Rolls for World War One on Family Search, I found three additional monthly Muster & Roster rolls for my great-grandfather, James Robert Dodge. Grandpa Jim was inducted on August 6, 1918 in Salida, Colorado. The next day, he was accepted for induction at For Logan, Colorado. For the couple of days at For Logan, he was assigned to the 19th Recruiting Company, General Service Infantry. He was transferred from Fort Logan on August 9th to Camp MacArthur, Texas, (at Waco, Texas) where he arrived on the 11th. Grandpa Jim was assigned to Co. K, 3rd Replacement Battalion. He spent the next month at Camp MacArthur, proceeding through basic training until September 16th, when he was transferred, this time to Hoboken, New Jersey, where he would be shipped over to St. Nazaine, France. He left Hoboken on September 23, 1918, just one week after leaving Camp MacArthur.

Below are the Muster & Roster Rolls for Grandpa Jim at Fort Logan, Colorado and Camp MacArthur, Texas. I'm glad that these records exist and help fill in the holes that exist in my great-grandfather's military service as well as help replace information that was lost in the 1973 National Archives fire at St. Louis.

August 1918 - Fort Logan, Colorado - 19th Recruiting Co., General Service Infantry

August 1918 - Camp MacArthur, Texas; Co. K, 3rd Replacement Battalion

September 1918 - Camp MacArthur, Texas; Co. K, 3rd Replacement Battalion

Additional Military Records for David Nemetzky

This year, I was hoping to build on what I had found for David Nemetzky. Last Autumn, I found many of the monthly muster & roster lists for David Nemetzky on Family Search from the end of 1912 to the end of his military career in January of 1931. They detail where he served, his rank and give insights into his military service that have been lost with the destruction of his official military record which was housed in the National Archives in St. Louis. My previous post lists the locations where he served within the Medical Department in the U.S. Army from the end of 1912 to January of 1931. He served in a number of locations in the United States, and also served two tours in China; the first from 1912 to early 1914, and the second during 1924 and 1925. These come from the the muster & roster lists that I found. 

Family Search also has available an index of general correspondence of the Adjutant General's Office through 1916. In this record, I found additional records relating to David Nemetzky. These records are an index of correspondence that relate to his service, including transfers, discharges, re-enlistments and promotions. 

I have also gone back through the military records that I have previously obtained. In particular, his enlistment records from the 1900's and early 1910's as well as monthly returns for the units that he served with, particularly the 7th Cavalry, 99th Coast Artillery Corps and the 12th Infantry. In addition, there are monthly returns for the camps and forts he was stationed at that provide additional insights into his early military service. These records provide additional information related to his service. His first enlistment was in January of 1904 in New York City. He was first assigned to Troop A, 7th Cavalry and served with the Cavalry until September of 1904. While with the Cavalry, he was stationed at Fort Thomas, Georgia. He deserted in April of 1904 and turned himself in to local authorities at New Orleans, Louisiana in May of 1904. He was returned to his unit in June following confinement at Jackson Barracks, Louisiana for 30 days.

In September of 1904, he transferred over to the 99th Company of the Coast Artillery Corps and was stationed at Fort Morgan, Alabama. His time in the Coast Artillery Corps appears to have been somewhat more productive and somewhat less eventful and turbulent. However, he was called as a witness to a general court martial of another soldier in January of 1906, which was held at Fort Barrancas, Florida. He was also sick and in the Army Hospital in Washington, D.C., between May & July of 1905. In April of 1906, he transferred over to the Medical Corps, where he served until his first discharge in May of 1907 at Fort Moultrie, South Carolina, as he had finished his term of service.

David re-enlisted in June of 1907 and this time was assigned to Co. B, 12th Infantry stationed at Fort Porter, New York. He served with this unit until February of 1909, when he again transferred to the Hospital Corps. He served until September of 1909, when he was again discharged while serving at Fort Howard, Maryland. He received his first promotion, from Private to Private First Class, sometime during 1909. This time, this discharge was ordered for convenience of the government.

He again re-enlisted in March of 1911, and this time was assigned directly to the Hospital Corps, serving at Fort Wadsworth, New York, until late 1911, when he was transferred overseas. He arrived at Manila in the Philippines in January of 1912 and was at the Hospital there until mid-June, when he was stationed in China. While in China, he was stationed in Tientsin, Wali, Kuyeh and Kaiping before returning to the United States and being discharged at Fort McDowell, California in March of 1914. He was once again promoted from Private to Private First Class in 1912 during his time in China.

Following this discharge, he again re-enlisted in April of 1914 at San Francisco and was assigned to the the Hospital Corps at the Presidio of San Francisco. This would be his first of several tours in San Francisco. My previous post goes into detail, provided by the monthly roster & muster rolls, regarding his service and the places where he was stationed, as well as promotions he received, from 1914 onward. One interesting thing to note is that he was assigned to temporary duty with the Hospital Corps aboard the US Army Transport ship Buford between June and August of 1914, which traveled from San Francisco to Alaska, and the US Army Transport ship Logan from May to August 1915, which traveled from San Francisco to the Philippines and back. While stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco in early 1918, he was issued his service number - 850422.

He was promoted to Sergeant in May of 1916. Shortly after his promotion, he was transferred to Fort Baker, California, just north of the Presidio of San Francisco. He was only there until August, when he was transferred to Fort Bliss, Texas for training and instruction. He was stationed at Fort Bliss until February of 1917, when he was transferred to Nogales, Arizona. He only spent two months at Nogales before being transferred back to the Presidio of San Francisco in late April.

One surprise that I found in these muster and roster rolls was that he faced a general court martial in February of 1918. By this time, he was a Sergeant First Class. I was able to obtain a copy of the court martial file from the National Archives in St. Louis is early March. The file shows that he was charged with misappropriation of goods intended for military use. The goods were food that he had purchased for the hospital mess (kitchen) while stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco. The charges were made by a subordinate  non-commissioned officer (a recently promoted Sergeant First Class) who was known to cause problems with other soldiers. The charges stemmed from Sergeant First Class Nemetzky conducting personal transactions while transacting official military business. While in the official record he made it clear that he did not deprive the military of any goods he purchased for the military, he was warned not to intermingle personal business while on official military business. He was found not guilty of the charges and allowed to resume his military duties. The official record also makes it clear that the charging subordinate non-commissioned officer held animosity against his superior (possibly because David Nemetzky was a Jew) and that the subordinate witnesses (both Privates) were following the lead of the charging subordinate non-commissioned officer in an attempted frame-up of their superior non-commissioned officer. It was also found that the investigation into the charges was not sufficiently thorough given the testimony proffered by the defense, the statement of David Nemetzky, and the extent of the record of the trial.

Even with the court martial now part of his record, it did not adversely affect his military career. He continued to climb the promotion ladder, earning promotion to Hospital Sergeant in July of 1918 and attaining the rank of Master Hospital Sergeant in January of 1919. In February of 1919, he was transferred to the Army Supply Bast Post Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. In May, he was transferred to USA Embarkation Hospital #4 in New York City. In June of 1919, he was furloughed to the reserves, as he had been on continual active since his enlistment in April of 1914. While on reserves, he was discharged in August of 1919.

(Update April 25, 2020). I have found four additional monthly muster and roster rolls for David Nemetzky. The first two are from November & December of 1918, when he was transferred to Camp Lewis, Washington. He was initially stationed at Base Hospital #162 from November 15th until December 23rd, when it was demobilized. He was then transferred to the USA Base Hospital on the 24th of December. The other two muster and roster rolls I found are from September & October of 1919. He re-enlisted on September 9, 1919 in New York City. He was assigned to USA General Hospital #2 at Fort McHenry, Maryland, where he arrived on the 13th of September. He was there until November, when he was transferred, very likely to USA General Hospital #41 (later Hoff General Hospital) at Staten Island, New York, where he is found in January of 1920 (The rolls for both General Hospitals from November 1919 are not available online, but this is a likely conclusion as GH #2 had six Master Hospital Sergeants and GH #41 only had one in October of 1919).

Looking through his available military records, nearly every term of service for David Nemetzky was for three years. His term of service was almost completed in April of 1917 when the United States entered World War One, so it is very likely that his term of service was changed from three years to serve for the duration of the war (I don't have any record to back this up, but this seems to be a possible scenario). It is also interesting to note that while serving in the Army during World War One, he did not serve overseas. Even though he was in the Medical Department and there were a number of base hospitals in France, he was stationed stateside during the war and served at a number of base hospitals during this time (Nogales, Az. (Feb-April 1917), Vancouver Barracks (March-September 1918); Camp Lewis, Washington (November 1918-February 1919), and the Presidio of San Francisco (April 1917-March 1918 & September-November 1918). Following his discharge in August of 1919, he again re-enlisted on September 9, 1919 at New York City, and continued his military career. His service number was altered to R-850422; the 'R' prefix indicating that he was Regular Army. This remained his service number for the remainder of his military career.

By 1920, the ranking system in the U.S. Army had become unwieldy. There were hundreds of different ranks and insignias used to identify each classification and specialization within the U.S. Army.  The Army took major steps to streamline the ranking system within the U.S. Army. For David Nemetzky, this meant that his rank of Master Hospital Sergeant (which was a specialized rank within the Medical Department) would be done away with. For him, and all enlisted personnel within the U.S. Army, the new rank he would receive would be based on a combination of his previous rank, service and pay grade. With the realignment of ranks in the U.S. Army effective July 1, 1920, his new rank was that of Sergeant. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant in December of 1920 (the same rank that exists in the U.S. Army today) and remained a Staff Sergeant for the rest of his Army career.

At the beginning of this year, I was hoping to add to the information that I have found for David Nemetzky. However, with the current worldwide pandemic, this pursuit has been placed on hold. The National Archives in Washington, D.C., and at College Park, Maryland hold several additional records that will help piece together additional information and records regarding David Nemetzky's military service. These records include:

Record Group 94.12.4 - Muster and Pay Rolls of the Hospital Corps 1886-1912
- Fort Morgan, Alabama - 1906
- Fort Moultrie, South Carolina - 1906-1907
- Fort Porter, New York - 1909
- Fort Howard, Maryland - 1909
- Fort Wadsworth, New York - 1911
- Division Hospital, Manila, Philippines - 1912
- Tientsin, China & Wali, China - 1912

Record Group 94.2.2 - Muster rolls of Regular Army Organizations 1784-1912

- Troop A, 7th Cavalry - 1904
- 99th Coast Artillery Corps - 1904-1906
- Co. B, 12th Infantry - 1907-1909

Record Group 94.2.3 Cards Containing Medical Records-Regular Army: 1894-1912

Record Group 94.2.3 – Enlistment papers/Orders, discharges, medical and burial records, and other records concerning regular army personnel ("Personal Papers"): 1812-1912 

Record Group 407.2.1 - Records of the Adjutant General's Office - Decimal Correspondence: Name and Subject Index: 1917-1947

Record Group 407.4.2 - Records relating to recruiting, transfers, furloughs, pay allotments, & discharges: 1916-1922

Record Group 94 is housed at Washington, D.C. The muster rolls, housed in Washington, D.C., are similar to the ones that I have found on Family Search, giving additional notes and details on his military service, including transfers and promotions. These ones go from the beginning of his military career in 1904 and go through 1912.

(Update April 25, 2020). I recently reached out to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., asking about the availability of searching through the Muster Rolls for the Regular Army Organizations. I was told that because of the fragile condition of these records, as well as the availability of other records, that the Muster Rolls were not available to search through. I asked about the possibility of these records being digitized, and basically that there are no plans to digitize or otherwise preserve these records. I didn't ask about the Muster Rolls for the Hospital Corps, but I imagine that the same restrictions are in place as well. (It breaks my heart that these records are just sitting there in a continual state of deterioration. Even though I have found additional records for David Nemetzky, the fact that the Muster Rolls are not available for searching is tragic as there is information in these records that is not to be had in the other records that are presently available).

Record Group 407 is housed at College Park, Maryland. The correspondence index from 1917 onward, housed at College Park, Maryland, will add additional correspondence information into his service, including promotions, enlistments, transfers and discharges, adding to the correspondence index that I have found on Family Search.

I'm hoping that I can resume this research and finish piecing together the military record for David Nemetzky.