Leesburg has a long tradition of silversmiths beginning with Stephen Donaldson in the late 1760's. His cabin, preserved at 14 W. Loudoun Street as part of Loudoun Museum, is the cornerstone of a legacy that include such names as Cordell, McGowat, Klein and Evard. They frequently worked in a media we now know as "Southern Coin Silver" where silver coins were melted and formed into ingots, from which practical items like spoons, forks and cups were hammered out. Pieces from Leesburg silversmiths are quite rare. The Loudoun Museum maintains a small collection and occasionally a piece shows up at auction (such as the teaspoon above).
Edward Francis practiced his trades of silversmithing and watchmaking on King Street from the fall of 1828 to sometime in 1835. Fortunately for us he was a prolific advertiser in Leesburg's newpaper of the day, "The Genius of Liberty". From his ads one can see that he was quite the entrepreneurial small businessman. During his time in business there were two national recessions, 1828-29 and 1833-34. How that may have affected a purveyor of luxury goods can be surmised by our current experience, now in our third year of a small business recession.
Born to Enoch Francis, a Loudoun miller in 1807, Mr. Francis would leave Leesburg in the fall of 1836. He went to Mississippi for a time, then on to Texas where he would die in 1878 or '79. Follow me through some of the ads he published while he was in business in Leesburg. If you are a small businessman you'll probably be able to relate to his efforts though they are now 180 years old.
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In his very first ad (left) from Sept 6, 1828, Mr. Francis announced the opening of his business, actually the transfer/continuation of a business owned by Samuel Sterrett. Much like Caulkins or Ketterman's Jewelers of today, antebellum silversmiths where highly diversified offering clock/watch sales & repair, eyeglasses and as you'll see later, much more!.
The ads of the day were very detailed and wordy, practically stories in themselves. With no other competing media, "The Genuis of Liberty" had your full attention every week.
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His second ad (right) from the spring of 1829 was simply a listing of goods just brought in from Philadephia, a practice he would continue through his time in business. These ads would typically run 4-6 weeks. |
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(Ad direct left) Location is everything when you have a retail/service business. What better place to be than across from the Post Office? I've not been able to locate an 1830's map of King St but the Yardley Taylor map of 1853 shows the Post Office on the corner of King & Loudoun, where the Leesburg Vintner is today. (June 6, 1829)
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(Ad lower left) Make yourself convenient to your out-of-town customers. Mr. Francis offered pick-up & return of watches needing repair in Middleburg and in later ads, throughout Loudoun. (April 24, 1830) |
In this ad (right) from July 8, 1830 Mr. Francis advertises that he will buy your old gold or silver coins (doesn't that sound familiar?) for the purpose for making jewelry and silverware. Hence the term "Southern Coin Silver". Woodcut images of a watch & tall case clock make their first appearance. |
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He opens 1831 with a unusual, extremely long ad (both lf & rt sides). He thanks his friends and "citizens of Leesburg", " inhabitants of Old Virginia", "the ladies in particular", "The Friends" (Quakers) and "Germans" (towards Lovettsville?) "and the people called Irishmen, and all those who pertain to the canal" (I presume numerous Irish were working on the C&O Canal?). Fascinating, what if today we were to thank our clientele in such a segregated manor?
He describes himself as a rather ordinary servant of the people "a mechanic", "Not like the rich merchant" who woouldn't bother to pick up the quarter they had dropped.
He again lists his inventory and then finishes the ad with all the locations in Loudoun one might drop off a watch or place an order.
Mr. Francis would place one more ad in 1831 (Apr 23) stating that he'd returned from Philadelphia with new goods.
(go to page 2)
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