C.H. Wheadon & Son

by Erin Doane, Senior Curator

An April 27, 1893 article in the Elmira Star-Gazette describes the embarrassing business troubles of Henry G. Wheadon, owner of C.H. Wheadon & Son. The shameful news was that Henry had filed not one but two chattel mortgages in the county clerk’s office. It was with “sincere regret and surprise” that Elmirans learned this humiliating news, according to the reporter. As a modern reader, I didn’t understand how taking out a mortgage was newsworthy or brought such public shame. So, I went looking for historical context.

C.H. Wheadon & Son label inside travel trunk, c. 1878

I first became interested in C.H. Wheadon & Son earlier this year when the museum received the donation of a lovely travel trunk from around 1878. Inside the trunk was a label showing that it was originally purchased from C.H. Wheadon & Son at 206 East Water Street in Elmira.

Trunk sold by C.H. Wheadon & Son, closed and open

Charles H. Wheadon, the company’s founder, was born in Hebron, New York in 1812. Charles married Cordelia Short and they had six children together, four of whom survived into adulthood – Frances, Mary, Charles F., and Henry. After years as a successful businessman in Homer, New York, Charles and his family came to Elmira in 1874. Two years later, he opened a new harness shop on Water Street across the street from the Rathbun House.

C.H. Wheadon & Son dvertisement, The Wellsboro Agitator, May 8, 1877

C.H. Wheadon & Son originally manufactured and sold coaches and harnesses. They sold road, track, and farm harnesses, sporting and tack goods, ladies and gentlemen’s riding saddles, trunks, traveling bags, and valises. The business became so successful that it expanded into the storefront next door and occupied 204-206 East Water Street.

C.H. Wheadon & Son advertisement listing all the types of bells available at the store – “All the latest styles. Largest line in the city”
Originally published in the Evening Star, December 1, 1888; reprinted by the Star-Gazette, May 24, 1953

Henry G. Wheadon was the younger of Charles H.’s sons and was the “son” in his father’s company. Henry’s older brother, Charles F., was already in business for himself when Charles H. opened his store on Water Street. He came to Elmira two years before the rest of the family to work for the Richardson Shoe Company. He started his own wholesale produce business before eventually partnering with Robert W. Barton in Barton & Wheadon, wholesale grocers and tea merchants.

Advertising calendar from Barton & Wheadon, 1908

By 1893, Charles H. had gone into retirement and Henry owned and operated C.H. Wheadon & Son. It was under his management that the business foundered. Henry was forced to give his father a chattel mortgage for the sum of $7,700 that covered all goods, wares, and merchandise in the store, including harnesses, leather goods, trunks, satchels, and handbags. He also gave a second chattel mortgage for the sum of $255 to L.M. Baldwin of Montrose, Pennsylvania covering one carriage and one set of coupe harness. A chattel mortgage is a loan secured by moveable personal property rather than real property. This type of mortgage was seen as a sign of poor financial management and was considered an act of desperation. Henry needed the money to pay off creditors in New York and Philadelphia. Many at the time thought it was a character flaw to be so far in debt and Henry certainly would have been looked down upon and pitied for it.  

Henry blamed this great business embarrassment on competition in his trade. C.H. Wheadon & Son sold goods at retail prices but there were jobbers (wholesale dealers) who sold the same things for less. He also lamented his general bad luck in the business. The G.E.S.S. medical company that occupied rooms above C.H. Wheadon & Son reportedly had seven fires in one year. Each time, the store below suffered water damage. The building’s basement had also flooded several times, damaging merchandise. 

Larger, national economic issues were also at play. The Panic of 1893, one of the most severe economic depressions in the U.S. to that time, began in February. The panic was caused by complex, nationwide issues but here’s a very brief, sweeping explanation: Overbuilding and speculation led to financial collapse of major industries including railroads and banks. The stock market crashed, leading to panic and a credit crisis. This all resulted in mass unemployment (up to 20% in some places), farm foreclosures, and more than 15,000 businesses going bankrupt. The failure of C.H. Wheadon & Son was most likely due to Henry’s poor business decisions but by the time he filed the chattel mortgages, the national economy was on the verge of collapse. 

Henry told the reporter that he planned to accept a position as a travelling salesman, something he had done before joining his father’s business. A week later, in early May 1893, the newspaper reported that Henry had left town. I don’t know if he ever came back to Elmira. On August 16, 1903, the Star-Gazette reported that word had been received that Henry G. Wheadon had died in Los Angeles, California at the age of 44. While the report stated that his remains would be taken to Homer, New York for burial with his family, he was actually interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Los Angeles. 

After Henry left town in 1893, his father announced that he would be coming out of retirement to reopen the harness and trunk shop and resume business. This does not appear to have happened. Charles H. Wheadon, one of Elmira’s oldest citizens at nearly 81 years old, passed away on August 24, 1893 after a protracted illness.