Frederick Coombs

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(around 1865)

Frederick C. ("Uncle Freddy") Coombs (* 1803 in London , † April 9, 1874 in New York ) was an American eccentric . Initially an inventor , phrenologist , photographer and author , he believed himself to be the reincarnation of George Washington from the 1860s and was therefore also known as George Washington II and George Washington Coombs . After a long argument with the self-proclaimed "Emperor of the United States" Joshua Norton , another eccentric known in San Francisco , Coombs left California and returned to the American east coast . There Coombs, who claims to have lost his fortune through “charity” as “The Union's great marriage sponsor”, died completely penniless.

Life

origin

Most of what is known about Coomb's early years comes from his own written autobiographical records, although these were written at a time when he was showing clear signs of mental confusion. According to this information , Coombs, who was born in England and whose parents died early, was raised by relatives. Even as a young man, he claims to have made numerous trips abroad. He visited Calcutta in his memories after 1823 and was arrested on the island of St. Helena when he tore off a willow branch at Napoleon's grave.

In 1832 he was found in the USA, where he gave up his British citizenship in Albany on September 20 . It was not until 17 years later, on November 13, 1849, that he finally became an American citizen in New York.

As an inventor

Coombs with an electric locomotive and a telegraph (drawing around 1866)

In 1838 Coombs presented a prototype he had developed for an electric locomotive weighing around 30 kilograms in front of the "Royal Gallery of Practical Science" founded by Jacob Perkins in London , where the device aroused great interest in scientific circles. In 1839 he showed the train in the New York American Museum and in Peale 's Museum ("Municipal Museum of Baltimore") in Philadelphia . At the 12th annual fair of the American Institute in 1839, he received a diploma for this development work .

In 1840 he exhibited his train again in Washington, DC, as well as a telegraph he had developed , which he claims came from his experiments with battery-powered trains. Decades later, Coombs declared that he himself was the inventor of the telegraph, not Samuel Morse . He also developed the camera obscura .

Coomb's developments did not bring about an innovative technical breakthrough in railway construction and telegraphing. They are, however, on an equal footing with the numerous other developments and inventions of the time and were recognized by Coomb's contemporaries as well as later technology historians.

As a phrenologist

Coomb's Popular Phrenoloy (1841)

Phrenology is a fringe science that tries to interpret a person's character and abilities from the shape of their head. As early as 1837, during a stay in New York, Coombs described himself as a "phrenologist from London". In the following years he traveled as a kind of "wandering phrenologist" through the USA and Canada and examined people. In order to increase the attraction of his performance, he was accompanied by the “Kentucky Giant”, a “ giant ” well over two meters tall , and a short stature . A phrenological journal felt compelled to issue a note warning against Coombs as a "quack".

In 1841, Coombs, who was practicing in Boston at the time , published his book Popular Phrenology , which appeared in numerous editions until 1865 and which contributed significantly to the popularization of phrenology in America.

In 1842 he was imprisoned in Montreal on his lecture tour, according to his own later statements for "riot". Even later, Coombs was occasionally active in phrenology. In the 1860s, he even examined the skull of the skeptical Mark Twain . And at the California Democratic Party Congress in Sacramento, Coombs applied in March 1860 to be allowed to examine the heads of the participants every evening. After a debate that was described as “humorous”, the application was postponed. In 1861 he finally invited all candidates for the US Senate to “discuss” with him their qualifications for this office. It is not known whether one of the politicians accepted this offer.

In the 1860s, Coombs also described himself as a pioneer of mesmerism , the doctrine of animal healing magnetism, which he claims to have introduced in America in 1842.

As a daguerreotype

Coombs: Male Image (around 1850)
Coombs: Montgomery Street (1850)

Sometime between 1841 and 1845 Coombs began to work with the daguerreotype . His first recorded work was in 1845 Springfield ( Illinois added). There he offered his services as a photographer and phrenologist “only for a short time” in September 1845.

Around 1846 he ran a studio in Alton (Illinois) , where he took on numerous volunteers for the Mexican-American War . At that time he kept an "Arkansas wildcat" as his mascot. Between 1846 and 1848 he ran a "Daguerreotype Institute" in St. Louis ( Missouri ). In 1848 he moved his business to Chicago .

At the height of the California gold rush , Coombs traveled by ship and across the Isthmus from Panama to San Francisco in November 1849 . There he opened a daguerreotype gallery in Portsmouth Square in April 1850 . The gallery burned down on May 5, 1850 and Coombs had to move. But his new shop was also destroyed by flames on June 14th. On October 4, 1850, the tireless Coombs reopened his shop on the corner of Clay and Montgomery Streets , but on May 4, 1851, the shop burned down again. Coombs felt that he was being followed by the “fire devil”, but continued to work at makeshift locations nearby. In October 1851 he reopened a gallery, but tried to sell it at the beginning of 1852 because he wanted to devote himself to “other interests”.

Later, with no solid evidence, Coombs, who was already mentally ill, accused fellow photographer James W. Johnston of having worked with Coomb's landlord to evict him from California. In 1866 he wrote to Senator Edwin D. Morgan trying to get compensation for the damage incurred, and in 1871 he published a short book on the fires to back up his claims.

Coombs is now considered one of the pioneers of photography in the United States. However, only a few copies of his pictures have survived.

Traveler in matters of "California"

The Spirit of Love (ca.1866)

In the early 1850s, Coombs began to show the first signs of conspicuous behavior, according to the photography historians Palmquist and Kailbourn in their brief Coombs biography. It is possible that his experiences with the fire were decisive for the outbreak of these disturbances.

Coombs saw it as his new task to act as a kind of national matchmaker and thus to remedy the shortage of women in California. But first he delighted the farmers of the Napa Valley in California in 1852 with his latest invention, a trench excavator, and proclaimed himself the "Free Ditcher of Napa". The machine broke in 1853.

In the same year he toured the states of the American east coast with a collection of 150 daguerreotype photographs with motifs of Californian curiosities and a small zoo with various animals, including a hard-to- find Californian cougar pair, to encourage women to move to California and get married move. According to Coombs later, as a self-proclaimed "matrimonial promoter" he financed marriages for numerous women from his own resources. In the following years he exhibited his collection of curiosities publicly, including in New York, Saratoga, Utica , Detroit , Cleveland , Milwaukee and Chicago. He was also the initiator of the "California Museum" founded in New York in 1853.

Coomb's activities in the next few years are unclear. Possibly he worked with the photographers Corey and Pickerill in Dubuque, Iowa from 1856-57 . According to his own later statements, he had a booth at the Mechanics' Institute fair in San Francisco in 1857 , where he offered phrenological and astrological advice.

Australian interlude

In 1858 Coombs appeared in Australia , where he opened a photo gallery in Melbourne . In February 1858 he applied for a patent for a new stereoscope he had developed that enabled so-called "3D" recordings. But that same year he was arrested and expelled from the country for allegedly preparing a prohibited lottery of works of art. Coombs himself later explained somewhat cryptically that he had become the “victim of barbaric robbery”.

George Washington II.

San Francisco "originals" including Coombs, Norton I, Bummer and Lazarus
Coombs (around 1866)

In 1859, Coombs reappeared in San Francisco and reopened a daguerreotype studio, where he exhibited pictures of Niagara Falls . Soon afterwards, however, he changed completely: He was now wearing ancient clothing from the 18th century , mostly a Continental Army uniform with knee breeches and tricorn hat, and publicly declared that he was the reincarnation of the founding father and first President of the United States, George Washington. Thus he joined a whole series of smiled at originals that populated San Francisco, and which included Coombs, Emperor Norton I and the street dogs Bummer and Lazarus .

According to legend, Coombs identified himself with his role model to such an extent that he almost starved to death during a gloomy winter because he was firmly convinced that he was in Valley Forge , a primitive barracks camp in which George Washington was exposed to severe external conditions in the war winter of 1777/78 Conditions had camped. "Washington Coombs'" combined Army Headquarters and White House was Martin and Horton's , a well-known pub on Montgomery Street that was particularly popular with journalists. There he studied maps, planned campaigns for the War of Independence and wrote appeals.

The San Francisco address book from 1861 calls Coombs a "Professor" and gives Washington Street as the address . Later he lived in a cellar. As Coombs himself later wrote, he lived "like a beggar in order to be able to give like a prince."

For residents of San Francisco's Financial District , George Washington II quickly became a familiar image on the streets, posting posters of his messages, selling pictures of himself and describing his achievements and the injustice he suffered to anyone who would listen to him . He also gave public lectures on topics such as "Love and Patriotism", "Dating and Marriage" and of course his favorite topic, Washington. In addition, he tried again and again to persuade artists to participate in colorful evenings , the proceeds of which should benefit his activities. The daily press concisely judged that the central concern of these events was evidently to make the public aware of the equality of character between General Washington and the speaker.

From 1861 he referred to himself as "The Great Matrimonial Candidate". Coombs was quite serious about this self-designation, because although he was plump and unattractive, he considered himself a womanizer . It is said that he publicly displayed his calves for hours and beamed like a "satisfied cherub " as soon as a woman looked at him for a moment. It was believed that he wanted to impress a wealthy widow with this title. If that was his plan, it was unsuccessful, because apparently no woman wanted to become Martha Washington II. Coombs later combined this self-assessment with his women recruiting campaigns of the 1850s and traded as "The Union Matrimonial Promoter". In 1862 his attempt to subscribe to raise funds for a new book he had written entitled "Ladies' Eyes, or Love from Heaven" failed.

Over time, the self-designations used by Coombs became more numerous: "The great champagne recipient" (the origin of this designation is unknown), "The cold-water benefactor" (because he was so moderate on his crusade), "The giver of homesteads and Women ”,“ The $ 1,000 Comforter ”and“ Benjamin Franklin Jr. ”It is unclear why Coombs identified himself with Washington and suddenly with Franklin. The reason for this may have been the ironic contemporary comments, which indicated that Coomb's plump appearance would remind more of Franklin than Washington. Regardless of this, it can be proven that Coombs also publicly referred to himself as "the new Franklin" from 1864 at the latest. His surroundings and the press usually only called him "Uncle Freddy" for short.

But not all of Coomb's fellow citizens took his demeanor with humor. So 1864 was Commander in June Selim Woodworth , former leader of the local vigilantes , ordered to pay a penalty of twenty dollars because he had Washington Coombs publicly beaten. And the Sacramento Daily Union soberly stated that "Uncle Freddy" is not about "giving" to others, but about taking in your own interest.

In February 1864, Coombs was arrested on charges of "serious theft". Allegedly he stole jewels from a rancher's wife. The accusations of the couple, who were known to the police, quickly turned out to be false: Coombs had sold the woman “a kind of magic lantern exhibition” and received the jewelry as security until the purchase price was paid. The lawsuit was dismissed and Coombs was released.

The war with "Emperor Norton"

George Washington II (1866)
Norton I.

Joshua Abraham Norton was a mentally deranged ex-businessman who had lost his fortune to speculative deals and in 1859 had appointed himself "Norton I", "Emperor of the United States" and "Patron of Mexico".

According to legend, the argument between "George Washington II." And "Emperor Norton I" was short and fierce and ended with Coombs, fearing the power and intrigues of Norton, fleeing and leaving California. This construct, which the Norton biographer Drury adopted in spite of his knowledge of contemporary reporting, only came about because events that were years apart were compressed into one process and arranged in an arbitrary order in time.

In reality, the feud was a year-long war of attrition. On the one hand, the background was the fact that Montgomery Street , which was only a few hundred meters long, simply did not offer enough space for two “rulers in exile” to exercise power. On the other hand, Emperor Norton disturbed the offensive public appearance of his competitor.

The war of "rulers" began when Norton ordered the San Francisco Police Department in August 1862, by imperial order, to "seize the person of Prof. Coombs, falsely named Washington No. 2, as a seditious and impetuous person and immediately admit it to be sent to the state madhouse for at least 30 days for his own safety and that of the public. "

The press gratefully received this dispute. End of August 1862 was published in the newspaper Daily Alta California the fictitious report of a court case in which it comes in a dispute allegedly by Artemus Ward operated waxworks went. In the article, G. Washington Coombs traded as "ballet dancer and tightrope artist" and Norton I. as "chief bouncer and manager". It was also reported that Washington Coombs had emphasized in a speech before the court that it was "necessary to equip the negroes in Africa with red woolen night caps in order to achieve a proper spread of the gospel". The competitive behavior of the two was also fueled by a newspaper article in which Norton was described as "more dignified", but Washington Coombs as "happier" and in addition, Norton's big nose was poked at.

The absurd argument reached its climax when a stranger tore down Coomb's posters hanging in town. This accused Norton of the culprit. The police refused to take a complaint and referred Coombs to the civil action. But since he had no money for a lawyer, he turned to the press. When asked why he suspected Norton, Washington II said: "Because he is jealous of my reputation with the fair sex." When a newspaper article appeared in February 1865 about the dispute, in which the two opponents were described as nuts and the unnamed author described the "shine of madness" in Washington's eyes, this furious stormed the editorial office of the Daily Alta California . Coombs declared that he was not mad and forbade being named in the same article as Norton. Emperor Norton also appeared and had similar reservations. The newspaper apologized carefully to the two "rulers".

In May 1865, Coombs finally left California and moved to the east coast. According to his own statements, this move was not a reaction to his argument with Norton, but only followed the invitation of a family he had supported during his own prosperity. "He left us with extreme disgust at our city's decline," wrote the Daily Alta California in farewell.

Last years

Frederick Coombs (around 1865)

For the next few years Coombs lived in Washington, DC , and later in New York. There, too, he retained his eccentric appearance, continued to make public speeches and made a poor living from selling his books and photos. At his own request "Uncle Freddy Coombs" received official approval, his "patriotic books" and developed by him in Washington DC galvanic - battery offer sold on the street. It is also known that Coombs was once a spectator in an amateur theater performance in Washington's Lincoln Hall , but the other visitors thought he was an actor and applauded him. When asked to say a few words, Coombs did not say "no", of course, but climbed the stage and made one of his familiar speeches.

When the demolition of George Washington's old seat of government in Philadelphia, the so-called Penn Mansion , was being considered, Coombs petitioned to let him have the building for life because of its resemblance to Washington and Franklin. When his petition was unsuccessful, rumors arose that Coombs was now considering asking Congress for the Washington Monument , reported Mark Twain from Washington in February 1868.

Also in 1868 Coombs published his "Biography" entitled The Dawn of the Millenium! Splendid Discovery! , in which he described his inventions, "charitable" activities and times of suffering. He said he had spent at least $ 116,000 on charitable causes. From this he calculated that the government should actually owe him $ 17 trillion . He also tried to enforce his claims as a now penniless "benefactor" by petitioning Congress and the President of the United States and at the same time suggested sending him to the Court of St James’s , the seat of government of the British monarch, as an American representative , but vain. At the same time, Coombs offered with his book the California state government (also in vain) to act as its representative at the next world exhibition . In 1870 Coombs therefore visited California again, where he offered photographs and copies of his biography for sale.

In April 1872, after a long attempt, Freddy Coombs made his first and last appearance on the big political stage. In the District of Columbia he managed to get into conversation as a presidential candidate for the newly formed Liberal Republican Party . After consulting with Liberal leaders in Washington, including Jim Ashley , Colonel William Mason Grosvenor (1835–1900), and George Alfred Townsend (1841–1914), Townsend Coombs declared that if he won the primary he would give him to the party congress “ when the opportunity arises "to propose" as a "reserve candidate". After that there was no more news of this belated April Fool's joke.

When Coombs died in a small rented room in Manhattan in New York in 1874 , all he left behind was a small cloth bag, a tin hatbox for his three-cornered hat, and a folder with papers and photographs. Since no cash could be found, the funeral was paid for by his landlady. Coombs was on the Cypress Hills Cemetery in the district of Brooklyn buried. His body may have been reburied after the 1913 San Francisco Bulletin stated that Coomb's grave was in the local Lone Mountain Cemetery . No trace of Coombs can be found in either cemetery today.

Although Coombs had declared several times in the last years of his life that he had had a wife and a child in the western United States, nothing is known about a possible family.

Publications

  • Popular Phrenology. Exhibiting the Phrenological Admeasurements of Above Fifty Distinguished and Extraordinary Personages of Both Sexes. With Skulls of the Various Nations of the World. Boston: Coombs, 1841 et al.
  • The Spirit of Love, or 1776 in Limbo, or in the Damp Cellar! undated .: Coombs, undated [1866?]
  • Splendid Discovery! Howes IN: F. Coombs, 1868; Reissued as: The Dawn of the Millenium! Splendid Discovery! A Beautiful Plan to Give Every Man (and Woman Also) a Nice House and Lot, and a Nice Little Wife or Husband for All, with Nearly One Hundred Pictorial Illustrations of Some Passages in the Life and Thrilling Adventures of the Author, Pioneer and Missionary of Science and Beneficence Around the World. New York: F. Coombs, undated [approx. 1869]
  • Read, read, read. Wonderful and Astonishing Mental and Physical Resemblances of Fred Coombs, the Modern Franklin. New York: Coombs, 1869
  • Part 1, Love, Love, Love. The Great Champagne Runner Arrived. o. O. 1871
  • "Matrimonial Union Promoter" Has Given the World Another Proof of His Boundless Patriotism and Benevolence. no date no date [1872?]
  • Highly Important Discovery. How to Laugh and Grow Fat on Two Bits (33 1/3 cts.) A Day. o. O. o. J. (as: F. Coombs, the Modern Franklin)

literature

  • Peter E. Palmquist, Thomas R. Kailbourn: Pioneer Photographers of the Far West. A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press, 2000; edit New edition as: Pioneer Photographers From The Mississippi To The Continental Divide. A Biographical Dictionary, 1839-1865. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press, 2005 ISBN 0-80474-057-7

Web links

Commons : Frederick Coombs  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Death of an Eccentric Character. In: The New York Times v. April 11, 1874 ( PDF ).
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Peter E. Palmquist, Thomas R. Kailbourn: Pioneer Photographers of the Far West. A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford CA 2000, pp. 181-183; This: Pioneer Photographers From The Mississippi To The Continental Divide. A Biographical Dictionary, 1839-1865. Stanford CA 2005, pp. 176-178.
  3. ^ Artist data from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art .
  4. ^ Electricity in Daily Life. New York 1890, p. 38.
  5. ↑ Journal of the American Institute 4 (1840), p. 669; Death of Frederick Coombs. In: Journal of the Telegraph 7 (1874), p. 120.
  6. ↑ Frederick Coombs: Popular phrenology. New York 1848, p. 125.
  7. ↑ The name was borne by several tall people; it was probably the 2.33 m tall Jim Porter (1810-1859).
  8. ↑ George Combe: Notes on the United States of North America during a phrenological visit in 1838-39-40. Vol. 2. Edinburgh 1841, p. 296 f .; The Phrenological Journal and Miscellany 11 (1838), p. 221; Evangelical Magazine and Gospel Advocate 8 (1837), p. 318.
  9. ^ Boston Medical and Surgical Journal 24 (1841), p. 130.
  10. ^ Sarah E. Chinn: Technology and the Logic of American Racism. London 2000, p. 183.
  11. ^ A b Thirty Years Ago: The Lively Democratic State Convention in 1860. In: Sacramento Daily Union , March 9, 1890.
  12. ^ Daily Alta California , March 15, 1861; s. a. Sacramento Daily Union , April 1, 1861.
  13. ↑ a b c d Business card “ The Union matrimonial promoter ” (1866) in the holdings of the “Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division” Washington, DC
  14. ^ Register (Springfield) v. September 19, 1845.
  15. ^ Daily Alta California v. July 26, 1850, October 3, 1850 & May 14, 1851; Morning Post (San Francisco) v. July 14, 1851 & October 1, 1851.
  16. ↑ Frederick Coombs: Letter to Senator Edwin D. Morgan 1866 May 22. Yale University, Sterling Memorial Library, OCLC No. 122542119; Ders .: Part 1, Love, love, love. The great champagne runner arrived. o. O. 1871.
  17. ^ Peter E. Palmquist, Thomas R. Kailbourn: Pioneer Photographers of the Far West. A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865. Stanford CA 2000, p. 376.
  18. ^ Peter E. Palmquist, Thomas R. Kailbourn: Pioneer Photographers From The Mississippi To The Continental Divide. A Biographical Dictionary, 1839-1865. Stanford CA 2005, p. 669.
  19. ^ The Dictionary of Australian Artists Online ; Victoria Government Gazette 27 (1858), p. 371.
  20. ^ Daily Alta California , July 26, 1859 ( PDF ).
  21. ↑ Westways Magazine 60 (1968), p. 29.
  22. ^ Langley's San Francisco Directory and Business Guide 1861-1862 , p. 105.
  23. ^ Daily Alta California , March 1, 1861, August 30, 1861, November 28, 1863, December 7, 1863; Sacramento Daily Union , February 28, 1861, March 23, 1861.
  24. ^ The Great West. In: The New York Times , January 9, 1866 ( PDF ).
  25. ^ A b William Drury: Norton I, Emperor of the United States. New York 1986, p. 81.
  26. ^ Daily Alta California , February 18, 1862.
  27. ↑ a b Uncle Freddy. In: Sacramento Daily Union , February 3, 1865.
  28. ^ Daily Alta California , February 6, 1864; Frederick Coombs: Read, Read, Read. Wonderful and Astonishing Mental and Physical Resemblances of Fred Coombs, the Modern Franklin. New York 1869; F. Coombs, the Modern Franklin: Highly Important Discovery. How to Laugh and Grow Fat on Bwo Bits (33 1/3 cts.) A Day. o. o. o. J.
  29. ^ Sacramento Daily Union , June 29, 1864.
  30. ↑ Uncle Freddy in Trouble. In: Daily Alta California , February 6, 10, 17, 1862, March 26, 1862.
  31. ↑ Approaching a Crisis. In: Daily Alta California v. August 27, 1862.
  32. ^ Artemus Ward's Wax Figures in Court. In: Daily Alta California v. August 29, 1862.
  33. ↑ Characters. In: Daily Alta California v. November 16, 1864.
  34. ^ William Drury: Norton I, Emperor of the United States. New York 1986, p. 116.
  35. ↑ Fuwiy Things Seen in San Francisco. In: The New York Sun v. February 8, 1865; Camden Democrat v. February 11, 1865; Daily Alta California v. April 3rd & 4th, 1865.
  36. ^ Daily Alta California v. December 26, 1864 ( PDF ) & June 13, 1865 ( PDF ).
  37. ↑ Our Letter from Washington DC In: Daily Alta California v. July 21, 1866; Uncle Freddy. In: Brooklyn Eagle v. January 7, 1868.
  38. ^ Daily National Republican (Washington) v. May 9, 1872.
  39. ^ Daily National Republican (Washington) v. June 4, 1872.
  40. ^ Mark Twain: Washington II. In: Daily Alta California v. February 14, 1868 ( PDF ).
  41. ↑ Frederick Coombs: To the Honorable the President and Members of Both Houses of Congress Assembled at Washington, DC [Petition] Washington DC, April 10, 1869.
  42. ^ Sacramento Daily Union v. June 23, 1870.
  43. ^ Daily National Republican (Washington) v. April 22nd & 23rd, 1872.
personal data
SURNAME Coombs, Frederick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Coombs, Frederick C .; Uncle Freddy; Washington, George II .; Franklin, Benjamin Junior
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American eccentric, inventor, phrenologist, daguerreotypist, photographer, and author
DATE OF BIRTH 1803
PLACE OF BIRTH London
DATE OF DEATH April 9, 1874
Place of death New York City