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| Dr. M.M. Townsend | Rev. Moss Martin stained glass window with his daughter Carrie O. Johnson. |
ANOTHER "PATENT MEDICINE ARTICLE" FROM THE PAGES OF ANTIQUE BOTTLE AND GLASS COLLECTOR MAGAZINE THE MAGAZINE OF THE ANTIQUE BOTTLE COLLECTING HOBBY |
Some make it big, some don't. I want to present two individuals who must not have, because their bimal, embossed medicine bottles are scarce. Only Townsend's Specific, registered July 19, 1881, is listed in Bottled Products and the U.S. Patent Office by Eric McGuire.
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| Dr. M.M. Townsend | Rev. Moss Martin stained glass window with his daughter Carrie O. Johnson. |
The first is Reverend Moss Martin, 1848-1896, of Coleman in central Texas. Coleman is about fifty miles north of my hometown, Menard, and at last count had 5,410 people. Martin moved from Fort Griffin, a Texas frontier fort two countries north, to Coleman in 1887, and served as minister of the First Baptist Church through 1890. He had gotten an old Indian remedy from the Tonkawa Indians, who were encamped at Fort Griffin and served as scouts for the U.S. Army, and prepared his medicine in large vats here in Coleman. Martin named it Tonkoway. My bottle is amber, 9 1/8 inches tall, rectangular, 3 1/8 by 2 _ inches, and embossed Tonkoway / Trade- a series of 3 Ms stacked with radiating lines as from the sun –Mark / Moss Martin / Medicine Co. / Coleman / Tex. There is a partial front and side label with the following readable: Bro. Moss Martin Medicine Co. / ? / Tonkoway / ? / Consumption / La Gripp, Bronchitis / Asthma, Croup, and Colds / And First Class Tonic to Build the System / Something about Tonkoway discovered – consumption – He is now in vigorous health having been restored by use of Tonkoway. He challenges any medicine in the world to show a greater percent of – according to amount of medicine used. / Directions / For Consumption and bronchitis-take wine glass half full after each meal / For asthma-take a small dram every 30 minutes until breathing is easy / For croup-give as for asthma and saturate a flannel cloth with Tonkoway thoroughly and apply cold to the chest which will produce immediate relief. / M.M.M. Co. / Coleman, Tex. The side label reads: Price $1 per bottle. No where was the alcohol content listed or readable.
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| Geo. C.
Goodwin // Indian Vegetable / and / Sarsaparilla // Bitters // Boston |
Tonkoway,
Trademark, Moss Martin Medicine Co. Coleman, Tex. |
Trademark
1880 A Specific for Hay Fever, Asthma & Autumnal Catarrh, Dr. M.M. Towsend Frostburg, MD. |
Martin made “Quite a bit of money” from the sales of this remedy, and soon bought the old McCord House in Coleman, which was a “show place of its day”. The Coleman Democrat – Voice on April 6, 1971, features a local citizen Wayne Thompson holding an old medicine bottle bearing the inscription “Moss Martin Medicine Co., Coleman, Tex.” Apparently he had found one of these bottles.
Martin and his wife Virginia,
1854-1932, had seven children. He was one of the founders of
Howard Payne College in 1889, a Baptist institution one county
east at Brownwood. The First Baptist Church of Coleman has a
building named the Moss Martin Cottage, which has a stained glass
window showing the bust of the Reverend Martin. He lost most of
his financial status prior to his death, which ironically was
caused by tuberculosis or consumption. I wonder how many bottles
of Tonkoway he tried?
Countermarked 1824 large cent
Morris Miller Townsend, 1825-1895,
was born in Clarenceville, Quebec, to the Reverend Micajah and
Anne Davidson Towsend. He graduated from the University of
Vermont in 1844, and chose
to enter the medical profession. He attended McGill
College in Montreal and the College of Physicians and Surgeons in
New York City, and became qualified to practice medicine in 1847.
Goodwin's / Grand / Greese Juice // Quintessence / Of Fat
Townsend's Uncle M.O. Davidson, who was Superintendent of the Eckhart Mines for the Maryland Mining Company, offered him a position to practice medicine there. Dr. Townsend accepted, and for over thirty years, provided medical care to the inhabitants of Eckhart Mines and other nearby communities of Allegany County in the coal region of Western Maryland. His practice was located in Frostburg, population 8,075 in 1990, and his home was in Eckhart, which is no longer listed as a town. Dr. Townsend became a trusted and loved physician, and through his scientific studies and investigations perfected a remedy for respiratory disorders, which was marketed as Dr. M.M. Townsend's Remedy for Hay Fever, Asthma, and Catarrh. Coal miners must lead the population for respiratory problems. My bottle is clear, 6 5/8 inches tall, oval with strap sides, and embossed inside a circle M.M. Townsend, Trade Mark 1880, plus a monogram of H.F., A., & A.C. plus the word Catarrh / A Specific / For / Hay Fever / Asthma / and / Autumnal Catarrh / Prepared Only By / Dr. M.M. Townsend / Frostburg, MD. The medicine was said to eventually have large sales throughout the United States, but the scarcity of these bottles makes me question this statement.
Townsend married Mary E. Calkins, and they had four children, one of which became a civil mining engineer in the area.
Name the Townsend of proprietary medicine fame that may never have existed? Old Dr. Jacob Townsend who was associated with Old Dr. Townsend's Sarsaparilla. The same group who were agents for the earlier product S.P. Townsend's Sarsaparilla, Thompson, Skillman and Co., may have created Old Dr. Townsend's Sarsaparilla to increase sarsaparilla sales. I can find no relationship between S.P. Townsend and M.M. Townsend.....
References:
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