Encyclopedia Dubuque
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PLUMBE, John Jr.: Difference between revisions
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The November 10, 1838 ''Iowa News'' announced that a post office in Sinipee had been established with Plumbe as the postmaster. | The November 10, 1838 ''Iowa News'' announced that a post office in Sinipee had been established with Plumbe as the postmaster. It may have been that the railroad was part of an elaborate scheme to see his property holdings soar in value. | ||
[[JONES, George Wallace|George Wallace JONES]], the delegate from Wisconsin Territory, presented Plumbe's idea for a transcontinental railroad to Congress where it was considered a joke. It is said that another lawmaker suggested to Jones that next one of Jones' constituents would suggest the construction of a railroad to the moon. (9) | |||
Plumbe briefly lived in Washington, D.C., and became the capital's first professional photographer. He took the earliest surviving photograph of the U. S. Capitol and the earliest picture of a president in office (James K. Polk). ( | Plumbe in 1840 returned to photography to pay his bills. One of the first practitioners of daguerreotype photography, he established a national reputation by entering photographic competitions and opening a chain of over twenty galleries called the Plumbe National Daguerrean Gallery. (10) His Dubuque gallery, operated by his brother Richard, was the first photographic establishment west of the Mississippi. Plumbe manufactured and imported photographic materials, lectured to groups of new photographers at his United States Photographic Institute, and published dozens of lithographic prints of well-known Americans based on his daguerreotypes. (11) These prints were developed by a mechanical hand-engraving process Plumbe invented but unfortunately never patented. (12) He called these [[PLUMBEOTYPE]] pictures. (13) | ||
Plumbe briefly lived in Washington, D.C., and became the capital's first professional photographer. He took the earliest surviving photograph of the U. S. Capitol and the earliest picture of a president in office (James K. Polk). (14) He pioneered brand name recognition by publishing a magazine, "Plumbe's Popular Magazine," filled with illustrations based on his photographs. (15) Plumbe has been credited with being the first photographer to attempt a "famous portraits collection" and for franchising photo galleries. (16) | |||
To aid in financing the project, Plumbe not only projected the line, prepared | To aid in financing the project, Plumbe not only projected the line, prepared | ||
the petition and secured the Congressional appropriation, but in person and at his own cost began the inspection, if not the survey, of the line from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. In 1847 he proposed a grant of land from the government to aid the project; the proposal contained the following points: 1) The grant was to consist of alternate sections of land; (2) the stock to be $10 a share; (3) at the time of subscription 50 cents was to be paid on each share; (4) the railroad was to be managed by a board of directors; (5) the government would enjoy forever the free use of the road; and (6) editors, ministers, and missionaries would ride free. ( | the petition and secured the Congressional appropriation, but in person and at his own cost began the inspection, if not the survey, of the line from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. In 1847 he proposed a grant of land from the government to aid the project; the proposal contained the following points: 1) The grant was to consist of alternate sections of land; (2) the stock to be $10 a share; (3) at the time of subscription 50 cents was to be paid on each share; (4) the railroad was to be managed by a board of directors; (5) the government would enjoy forever the free use of the road; and (6) editors, ministers, and missionaries would ride free. (17) | ||
By 1848 Plumbe had suffered financial losses due to competition and mismanagement of his studios. ( | By 1848 Plumbe had suffered financial losses due to competition and mismanagement of his studios. (18) He sold his business and equipment to his employees and returned to Dubuque. | ||
It was reported in 1849 that Plumbe, at his own expense, inspected a practical route for the railroad through South Pass. While in California, he served as a surveyor and register of the Settlers Association in Sacramento. He worked as a customs inspector for the port of San Francisco in 1852, entered California state politics, and continued to lobby Congress for a Pacific railroad. ( | It was reported in 1849 that Plumbe, at his own expense, inspected a practical route for the railroad through South Pass. While in California, he served as a surveyor and register of the Settlers Association in Sacramento. He worked as a customs inspector for the port of San Francisco in 1852, entered California state politics, and continued to lobby Congress for a Pacific railroad. (19) | ||
Plumbe returned to Dubuque in 1856 and with his brother Richard established a steam-powered mill near Cottage Hill, Iowa. They also opened a patent agency in Dubuque. ( | Plumbe returned to Dubuque in 1856 and with his brother Richard established a steam-powered mill near Cottage Hill, Iowa. They also opened a patent agency in Dubuque. (20) Besides writing five articles for the ''San Francisco Placer Times'' about transcontinental railroads, Plumbe lived quietly with his brother on the corner of Iowa and 14th [[STREETS]]. He was financially ruined by the [[PANIC OF 1857]]. | ||
The 1855 publication of the '''Pacific Railroad Surveys''' by the Secretary of War, reporting the same route Plumbe had originally described may have led Plumbe into depression and later suicide. ( | The 1855 publication of the '''Pacific Railroad Surveys''' by the Secretary of War, reporting the same route Plumbe had originally described may have led Plumbe into depression and later suicide. (21) | ||
The May 30, 1857 edition of the ''Dubuque Daily Express and Herald'' contained a story entitled, "Melancholy Suicide." The story told of how Plumbe had slashed his throat from ear to ear at the home of his younger brother, Richard, at 14th and Iowa. The story related that Richard felt his brother had been "despondent" but did not suggest a cause. While it is true that Plumbe had lost money in the | The May 30, 1857 edition of the ''Dubuque Daily Express and Herald'' contained a story entitled, "Melancholy Suicide." The story told of how Plumbe had slashed his throat from ear to ear at the home of his younger brother, Richard, at 14th and Iowa. The story related that Richard felt his brother had been "despondent" but did not suggest a cause. While it is true that Plumbe had lost money in the Panic of 1857 and when competitor photographers drove the price of pictures down, the lost dream of being recognized "the" proponent of a transcontinental railroad may have been the final blow. Railroads had been the center of his life. He even referred to his once far-flung string of photographic studios as "photographic depots." (22) | ||
[[Image:plumbe2.jpg|left|thumb|150px|]]The location of Plumbe's grave was not known until 1975 because of the loss of burial records from 1857, the year of Plumbe's death. A distant relative produced documents showing that he had been buried in an unmarked grave in the Plumbe family plot at [[LINWOOD CEMETERY]]. Through efforts of Cliff Krainik of Arlington Heights, Illinois, the founder of the John Plumbe, Jr. Memorial Association and the [[DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY]] a five hundred dollar gravestone was dedicated at Plumbe's grave on Memorial Day in 1977. ( | [[Image:plumbe2.jpg|left|thumb|150px|]]The location of Plumbe's grave was not known until 1975 because of the loss of burial records from 1857, the year of Plumbe's death. A distant relative produced documents showing that he had been buried in an unmarked grave in the Plumbe family plot at [[LINWOOD CEMETERY]]. Through efforts of Cliff Krainik of Arlington Heights, Illinois, the founder of the John Plumbe, Jr. Memorial Association and the [[DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY]] a five hundred dollar gravestone was dedicated at Plumbe's grave on Memorial Day in 1977. (23) | ||
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8. Tigges, John, p. 27 | 8. Tigges, John, p. 27 | ||
9. | 9. Jerde, Lyn. "Snapshot of History," ''Telegraph Herald'', February 16, 1998, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19980216&printsec=frontpage&hl=en | ||
10. | 10. The J. Paul Getty Museum, "John Plumb, Jr." http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1979 | ||
11. | 11. Palmquist, p. 444 | ||
12. | 12. Tigges, John and Jacobson, Jon. '''Milwaukee Road Narrow Gauge: The Chicago, Bellevue, Cascade and Western'''. Pruett Publishing Company, 1985, p. 3 | ||
13. | 13. Alphonse Gallery, "Daguerreotypes: John Plumbe, Jr." http://alphonsegallery.zenfolio.com/plumbe | ||
14. | 14. Hudson, P. 412 | ||
15. | 15. Oldt. p. 240 | ||
16. | 16. Longden, Tom, "John Plumbe, Jr.," ''Des Moines Register'', http://data.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/famous-iowans/john-plumbe-jr | ||
17. | 17. Alphonse Gallery, http://alphonsegallery.zenfolio.com/plumbe | ||
18. | 18. Hudson, p. 412 | ||
19. Ibid. | 19. Ibid. | ||
20. Tigges, John., p. 28 | 20. Ibid. | ||
21. Tigges, John., p. 28 | |||
22. Jerde, p. 2 | |||
23. Hudson, p. 41 | |||
Revision as of 01:56, 9 April 2016
PLUMBE, John, Jr. (Wales, 1809-Dubuque, IA, May 29, 1857). Father of the transcontinental railroad. Plumbe emigrated to the United States in 1821 and settled in Dubuque in 1836 as a land speculator. (1) He purchased and sold several downtown lots by November of that year and the following year advertised property along the MISSISSIPPI RIVER. He later established the Wisconsin General Land Office in Dubuque. (2)
Using his pen name "Iowaian," Plumbe soon began promoting a railroad link to the Pacific coast. (3) As early as 1836 he began the preliminaries for the construction of such a line. In Dubuque on March 26, 1838, a committee of five, including Plumbe, wrote a petition to Congress describing their plan for a transcontinental railroad and giving reasons for its construction. Plumbe's booklet entitled Sketches of Iowa and Wisconsin described the potential of western lands. Today only twenty-one copies of this one hundred-three book exist. (4) It began as follows:
"The connection of Lake Michigan with the Mississippi River,
at or near the Borough of Dubuque, by means of a railroad
to be located upon the most eligible ground within the
territory is a subject of such importance, etc. The entire
length of the Lake Michigan and Dubuque railroad would be
only about one hundred and fifty miles * * * Within little
more than eight months of last year (1837) the total number
of steamboat arrivals and departures at the port of Dubuque
amounted to no less than 717." (5)
The citizens of Dubuque, in 1838-9, supported this proposed Lake Michigan and Mississippi railroad, which was projected westward from Milwaukee, presumably to the Mississippi at Dubuque. A bill for a survey of this road was defeated in the Iowa Territorial Legislature, however, on the grounds that it was outside of the territory. It was further stated that such a road should not be designed for Dubuque County alone, but for the whole territory; and as Dubuque county and town were the only parts to be benefited, the bill should not pass. (6)
Using his skills as a surveyor, cartographer, writer and speaker, Plumbe convinced audiences throughout the Midwest of the potential of RAILROADS in the West, while his brother ran their photography business. Plumbe also served as president of the Board of Trustees for the Village of Dubuque in 1837 and secretary of the Dubuque Literacy Association and the Temperance Society. In 1838 he drafted a resolution to Congress for improved postal routes.
Sinipee, Wisconsin Territory, was a town along the Mississippi River that existed only on paper, although the land belonged to Plumbe. (7) In August 1838 the IOWA NEWS carried the following advertisement: (8)
The Sinipee Company is now prepared to furnish town
lots to purchasers on the most liberal terms. The very
favorable conditions upon which the company has resolved
to dispose of a limited portion of the lots, render it
important that early application be made by those wishing
to avail themselves thereof.
The November 10, 1838 Iowa News announced that a post office in Sinipee had been established with Plumbe as the postmaster. It may have been that the railroad was part of an elaborate scheme to see his property holdings soar in value.
George Wallace JONES, the delegate from Wisconsin Territory, presented Plumbe's idea for a transcontinental railroad to Congress where it was considered a joke. It is said that another lawmaker suggested to Jones that next one of Jones' constituents would suggest the construction of a railroad to the moon. (9)
Plumbe in 1840 returned to photography to pay his bills. One of the first practitioners of daguerreotype photography, he established a national reputation by entering photographic competitions and opening a chain of over twenty galleries called the Plumbe National Daguerrean Gallery. (10) His Dubuque gallery, operated by his brother Richard, was the first photographic establishment west of the Mississippi. Plumbe manufactured and imported photographic materials, lectured to groups of new photographers at his United States Photographic Institute, and published dozens of lithographic prints of well-known Americans based on his daguerreotypes. (11) These prints were developed by a mechanical hand-engraving process Plumbe invented but unfortunately never patented. (12) He called these PLUMBEOTYPE pictures. (13)
Plumbe briefly lived in Washington, D.C., and became the capital's first professional photographer. He took the earliest surviving photograph of the U. S. Capitol and the earliest picture of a president in office (James K. Polk). (14) He pioneered brand name recognition by publishing a magazine, "Plumbe's Popular Magazine," filled with illustrations based on his photographs. (15) Plumbe has been credited with being the first photographer to attempt a "famous portraits collection" and for franchising photo galleries. (16)
To aid in financing the project, Plumbe not only projected the line, prepared the petition and secured the Congressional appropriation, but in person and at his own cost began the inspection, if not the survey, of the line from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi. In 1847 he proposed a grant of land from the government to aid the project; the proposal contained the following points: 1) The grant was to consist of alternate sections of land; (2) the stock to be $10 a share; (3) at the time of subscription 50 cents was to be paid on each share; (4) the railroad was to be managed by a board of directors; (5) the government would enjoy forever the free use of the road; and (6) editors, ministers, and missionaries would ride free. (17)
By 1848 Plumbe had suffered financial losses due to competition and mismanagement of his studios. (18) He sold his business and equipment to his employees and returned to Dubuque.
It was reported in 1849 that Plumbe, at his own expense, inspected a practical route for the railroad through South Pass. While in California, he served as a surveyor and register of the Settlers Association in Sacramento. He worked as a customs inspector for the port of San Francisco in 1852, entered California state politics, and continued to lobby Congress for a Pacific railroad. (19)
Plumbe returned to Dubuque in 1856 and with his brother Richard established a steam-powered mill near Cottage Hill, Iowa. They also opened a patent agency in Dubuque. (20) Besides writing five articles for the San Francisco Placer Times about transcontinental railroads, Plumbe lived quietly with his brother on the corner of Iowa and 14th STREETS. He was financially ruined by the PANIC OF 1857.
The 1855 publication of the Pacific Railroad Surveys by the Secretary of War, reporting the same route Plumbe had originally described may have led Plumbe into depression and later suicide. (21)
The May 30, 1857 edition of the Dubuque Daily Express and Herald contained a story entitled, "Melancholy Suicide." The story told of how Plumbe had slashed his throat from ear to ear at the home of his younger brother, Richard, at 14th and Iowa. The story related that Richard felt his brother had been "despondent" but did not suggest a cause. While it is true that Plumbe had lost money in the Panic of 1857 and when competitor photographers drove the price of pictures down, the lost dream of being recognized "the" proponent of a transcontinental railroad may have been the final blow. Railroads had been the center of his life. He even referred to his once far-flung string of photographic studios as "photographic depots." (22)
The location of Plumbe's grave was not known until 1975 because of the loss of burial records from 1857, the year of Plumbe's death. A distant relative produced documents showing that he had been buried in an unmarked grave in the Plumbe family plot at LINWOOD CEMETERY. Through efforts of Cliff Krainik of Arlington Heights, Illinois, the founder of the John Plumbe, Jr. Memorial Association and the DUBUQUE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY a five hundred dollar gravestone was dedicated at Plumbe's grave on Memorial Day in 1977. (23)
---
Source:
1. Palmquist, Peter E. and Kailbourn, Thomas R. Pioneer Photographers of the Far West: A Biographical Dictionary, 1840-1865, p. 444
2. Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin; Horton, Loren. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2008, p. 411
3. Tigges, John. They Came From Dubuque, Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1983, p. 23
4. Hudson, David et. al.
5. Oldt, Franklin T. History of Dubuque County, Iowa, Chicago: Goodspeed Historical Association, 1891, p. 240
6. Ibid.
7. Krainik, Clifford, "Sinipee, Atlantis on the Mississippi," http://www.geocities.com/old_lead/sinipee.htm
8. Tigges, John, p. 27
9. Jerde, Lyn. "Snapshot of History," Telegraph Herald, February 16, 1998, p. 1. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=aEyKTaVlRPYC&dat=19980216&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
10. The J. Paul Getty Museum, "John Plumb, Jr." http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artMakerDetails?maker=1979
11. Palmquist, p. 444
12. Tigges, John and Jacobson, Jon. Milwaukee Road Narrow Gauge: The Chicago, Bellevue, Cascade and Western. Pruett Publishing Company, 1985, p. 3
13. Alphonse Gallery, "Daguerreotypes: John Plumbe, Jr." http://alphonsegallery.zenfolio.com/plumbe
14. Hudson, P. 412
15. Oldt. p. 240
16. Longden, Tom, "John Plumbe, Jr.," Des Moines Register, http://data.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/famous-iowans/john-plumbe-jr
17. Alphonse Gallery, http://alphonsegallery.zenfolio.com/plumbe
18. Hudson, p. 412
19. Ibid.
20. Ibid.
21. Tigges, John., p. 28
22. Jerde, p. 2
23. Hudson, p. 41
