Yo! Pigman!

I was out geocaching in rural Indiana with my frequent geocaching partner when we ran across a strange surname of "Pigman". Mark and I thought that was funny and we kept thinking of the "pig man" episode on Seinfeld where Kramer was convinced he has seen a half-man/half pig which was the result of a government genetic experiment to produce an army of pig warriors. I am a grown man and I laugh at Uranus jokes too.

"They're probably creating a whole army of pig-warriors!"
- Cosmo Kramer, in Seinfeld: "The Bris"

After the obligatory Seinfeld references were made, I snapped a pic of Jesse Pigman's grave marker because I noted he was a very young Revolutionary War veteran and thought I'd look up this Pigman warrior later. Incidentally, we were on our way to Connersville Indiana when we stopped at the Mount Garrison cemetery for a geocache find. We would later learn that this nearby community has a gigantic drug problem, mainly methamphetamine and heroin. So, I found it interesting that when I was researching, I kept getting hits on Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. Hmmm.

“Yo! What good is being an outlaw when you have responsibilities?”
- Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad: "Kafkaesque"

We saw several other Pigman's that day. Twenty are buried in the same cemetery with Jesse. I was getting confused in my online searches because there are two Jesse Pigman's. It turns out they were father and son but there aren't many online records for either. I did, however, uncover some interesting things.

The almost great state of Westylvania

Both Jesse's along with other Pigman's are listed on the petition for the proposed 14th state of Westsylvania right after the war. If successful, this state would have been carved mostly out of Virginia and Pennsylvania essentially where West Virginia is now. This would have been the first US state after the original 13 colonies. Take that Vermont! Their chief complaint? The distant government was too far removed to protect them and understand their needs. The Westsylvanian dream was short lived as the newly formed US Congress never even voted on it. A prominent Federalist named Hugh Brackenridge got the Pennsylvania Assembly to squash the idea by declaring such independence talk treasonous and punishable by death. Didn't we just finish a war over something similar?
A little more background to the proposed state. Prior to the big war of independence against Britain, the settlers along with the help of Ben Franklin tried to have that area become the 14th colony called Vandalia but it was rejected by the British Crown. The irony gets thicker. Two attempts at separation. But wait, there's more!
A third and final attempt at secession occurred in 1863 when its pro-Union residents separated successfully from Virginia to form West Virginia during the Civil War. Yo, they really seem to have secession fever in their blood!

Back to Jesse Pinkman, er Pigman. He was married at least one time to Luren Newland and had six children. Lurene died in 1805 I am assuming in or after the birth of Rachael who was born that year. We are reminded again of how hard life was back then. With Jesse being only 40 years old and having several young children to care for, I would expect that he married again but I found no record of a second marriage.

He wrote about his military service in his pension application in 1844 at the age of 79.  There is a Q&A section along with witness testimony. From this, I learned he mostly fought Indians in the Wheeling area under his father Captain Jesse Pigman beginning in March 1780 when he was drafted as a 15 year old Private. After 6 months he served as an Ensign in a "spy company" under a Captian Joseph Van Meter for just over a year until November 1781 after which he was discharged following Cornwallis' surrender at Yorktown.  The Ensign rank, by the way, was discontinued in the Army in 1815 but was equivalent to a Second Lieutenant. He states in this document that he received a commision but the paperwork was lost. He admits he was illiterate at the time but recollects it was signed by Governor Patrick Henry. Yes, that one. Per the Pension Act of 1832 veterans who served less than two years could apply for pensions at half their pay. He applied for his pension in 1834 but it was rejected for insufficient information. I wasn't able to determine if his 1844 application was successful but he died eight years later in 1852. Ensigns earned about $10 per month in the war so he would have been applying for half that which is roughly $80 today. We seem to have a history of taking veterans for granted.

Other notable burials at Mount Garrison Cemetery include English born Reverend Robert Worster (1729-1830), a Methodist Episcopal minister who allegedly preached the first sermon west of the Alleghenies and lived to 101 years old. Quite an accomplishment then and even now.
Other veterans include Revolutionary War soldiers, Amos Milner (1759-1851), Harrod Newland (1766-1848), War of 1812 veteran, Adam Pigman (1789-1876) and Civil War veterans James W Nuxum and Francis Marion.

Oh by the way. Do you know how we learned Connersville Indiana has a big drug problem? When Mark and I were geocaching, at one stop we were visited by three police cruisers. After the officer snatched up the geocache from its hiding spot and inspected it, we explained, "It's ok we are geocachers!" He had heard of geocaching so after he ran our IDs, he rolled up the log and put it back, we had a short congenial chat and we were on our way. All good. That afternoon, we were also visited by a concerned citizen who also mentioned the drug problem. Then we are positive we were photographed at another location. Jesse Pinkman wouldn't have lasted a day in this town.

- Jesse Pigman listing on the Roster of Soldiers and Patriots of the American Revolution Buried in Indiana, page 292

Heart(land) of Glass

 Over the last several years I've collected various history-related trinkets and ephemera. I think they gain an insight into the culture of the time and what folks in the past thought was important to emphasize. Sometimes they just look nice on a shelf.

I have three glass tumblers that were part of several series of US State drinking glass sets in the 1950s. Naturally, I am drawn to the ones that depict Ohio. I found these at Ohio Valley Antique Mall. Let me say that despite my interest in Ohio history, I never thought I'd be writing a blog post about drinking glasses. I've since discovered that these have a bigger connection to the Buckeye State than just the name on the tumbler. Did you know that Ohio was once a leader in the US glass industry and several museums are devoted to that fact? Before plastic was invented and in widespread use, glass was used for many items. Over 70 glass companies operated in Ohio between 1880 and 1920.

Hazel-Atlas marking

The first two glasses are from a major glass manufacturer called Hazel-Atlas based in Wheeling WV since 1885. The company operated under that name until 1964. Hazel-Atlas made everything from medicine bottles to food jars and lamps to dinnerware, and of course drinking glasses. By the 1920s most American homes had something made by Hazel-Atlas. By the 1930s they had 15 plants, one of which was in Zanesville OH. They were most famous for so-called Depression Glass items. This was low-cost Depression-era glassware, much of which was made in the Ohio River Valley and is highly collectible now.

The blue and mostly clear Ohio glass pictured on the left is 5 1/4" tall. A map of Ohio depicts the Columbus State House, Fort Meigs near Toledo, and the Cleveland Terminal Tower. The music and lyrics of "Down By The Ohio", composed in 1920 and popularized in 1940 by the Andrew Sisters are on the reverse.
These glasses sold as promotional items by Big Top Peanut Butter of Lexington KY. They were originally filled with delicious peanut butter and sold in grocery stores. Not a bad deal. Buy peanut butter for the kids, get a free highball glass for Dad! Big Top Peanut Butter was bought out by Proctor & Gamble of Cincinnati OH in 1955 and re-sold as Jif Peanut Butter. I am uncertain if the glass painting was outsourced or done by the glass company itself. I do know that a lot of Hazel-Atlas glassware was painted by Gay Fad Studios of Lancaster OH like the next item.

The yellow painted and frosted "Ohio The Buckeye State" glass tumbler was also made by Hazel-Atlas. This glass measures 5 inches tall. A large map depicts 20+ Ohio cities, the State Flag, and a compass.
This was sold in roadside souvenir shops. During the post-WWII boom, the turnpikes and Interstate Highways developed. The middle class grew and more Americans were now driving around the country on vacations. Collecting the glasses was a way to show your friends back home were you've been. Think of it like t-shirts, refrigerator magnets, and bumper stickers today.
The glass decorating itself was sometimes done by another company, which was the case here. Fran Taylor’s Gay Fad Studios in Lancaster OH was the most famous of the glass decorating companies.

The red painted and frosted "OHIO Buckeye State" glass tumbler was made by The Federal Glass Company of Columbus OH and operated between 1900 and 1979.  The glass stands at 4 3/4" tall. Supposedly Federal Glass Co. items were faked over the years. In this case, the Federal Glass Co logo, a capital F inside a shield is on the bottom so it's the real deal. This was likely painted by an in-house decorating department.
This glass illustrates cities along an Ohio Turnpike map at the top. Also represented are Terminal Tower in Cleveland, Perry's Monument, Schoenbrunn Village, the State Bird, the State Flower, the Ohio River, the State Capitol, and Fountain Square/Carew Tower in Cincinnati.
The Federal Glass Co state glasses were also sold at souvenir shops across the nation during the 1940's through 1960's.

Federal Glass marking

All of these tumblers depict important Ohio connections to the past. Pioneer villages, War of 1812 sites, monuments and such. They also feature state symbols, maps, and city landmarks. Aside from the song, after 50 years, these references remain relevant. I wonder what song a modern glass-maker would choose? Several prominent "Ohio" songs in the rock era exist but highlight unfortunate turns in Ohio history such as "Ohio" by Crosby Stills and Nash or "My City Was Gone" by The Pretenders. Otherwise both fine songs, but I nominate O-H-I-O by the Ohio Players. The lyrics are also easy to remember if you can spell Ohio.


Now if this were Antiques Roadshow, here is where I would reveal my estimate at auction. If this were Pawn Stars maybe Rick would call an Ohio glass buddy he knows. The truth is, they aren't worth much money. On eBay, I've seen people try to sell these for inflated prices. Someone listed the yellow one for nearly $70 and described the paint as a decal. Needless to say, it didn't sell.  The reality is, I don't think I've ever seen any of these types of glasses sell for more than $10. With shipping.
I only paid five bucks.

other sources:
- Santa Fe Trading Post
- Hazel-Atlas Glass Database
- Federal Glass Company Database