, and a little more on the myth.
Herbert Fisher was a machinist who lived in Brooklyn, and worked as a pattern and model maker in hard rubber and brass. For at least a year or two, around 1883, he ran a company, along with Olin H. Dolbeare. Notice the fateful year. His company made fountain pen and stylograph parts for other penmakers, perhaps even for his own pens, and his company was listed in the business section of the Brooklyn directory as a maker of “Stylographic Pens”.
He was born in Connecticut about 1841 or 1846, and shows up in the 1855 New York State Census, b.1846, and the 1860 US Federal Census, b.1841. He was in his late teens or early twenties in 1861-65, and he may have fought in the Civil War. Here are all the Herbert Fisher entries from the volumes of the Brooklyn business directories on Ancestry.com, along with some information from other sources.
1878, p.294, no listing for Herbert.
1879-80, p.321, Herbert, shooting gallery, 381 Fulton St.
1881, p.342, Herbert, rubber, 57 Boerum Place, h 87 Schermerhorn Ave.,
p.1316, also under the “India Rubber Goods” heading in the business directory section.
1882, p.347, Herbert, hard rubber, 57 Boerum Place, h 641 Warren St.,
p.1334, also under the “India Rubber Goods” heading in the business directory section.
Herbert Fisher & Co., “stylographic pens”, 1883, p.359.
1883, p.359, Herbert, stylographic pens, 225 State St., h 73 3rd Pl.,
p.359, Herbert Fisher & Co. (Olin H. Dolbeare), stylographic pens, 225 State St.,
p.284, Olin H. Dolbeare, stylographic pens, 225 State St, h 184 Skillman St.,
p.1482, under the “Stylographic Pens” heading in the business directory section.
The “Stylographic Pens” heading in the business directory listing, 1883, p.1482.
1884, p.388, Herbert, rubber goods, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.,
p.307, Olin H. Dolbeare, hard rubber goods, h 668 Prospect Place, hereafter in other occupations.
No more “stylographic pens” listing for Herbert Fisher, he went back to what he knew.
1885, p.411, Herbert, rubber, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.
1886, p.328, Herbert, brass goods, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.,
p.328, his wife is listed, Mary E., brass goods, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.
1887, p.362, Herbert, brass goods, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.,
p.362, Mary E., brass goods, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.
1888, p.357, Herbert, manufacturing, 57 Boerum Place cor State St., h 313 11th St.,
p.358, Mary E., brass goods, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.
1889, p.372, Herbert, pattern maker, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.
1890, p.392, Herbert, model maker, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.
1891, p.368, Herbert, manufacturer brass goods, 225 State St., h 313 11th St.
1892, no business directory in Ancestry, but the 1892 New York State Census lists Herbert, manufacturer, 45 years old, and wife Mary E., 40.
1893, no business directory in Ancestry.
1894, p.389, Herbert, brass goods manufacturer, 48 Boerum Place, h 467 11th St.
1895, p.415, Herbert, models, 48 Boerum Place, h 467 11th St.
1896, no business directory in Ancestry, but the New York Death Index lists Herbert Fisher, birth date about 1846, age 50, death Sept 1, 1896, probably from inhalation of too many heavy metals.
1897, p.456, Herbert still listed, model maker, 467 11th St., Mary E., dressmaker, h 834 Quincy.
No more listings for Herbert Fisher in the volumes hereafter.
1898, p.472, Mary E., widow of Herbert, h 459 11th St.
1899, p.417, Mary E., widow of Herbert, h 459 11th St.
1900, p.445, Mary E., widow of Herbert, h 459 11th St.
No more listings for Mary E. Fisher in the volumes hereafter.
After a short career in the pen business in 1883-84, as the head of Herbert Fisher & Co. and making stylographs and fountain pens, and a much longer career as a machinist of hard rubber and brass goods, Herbert Fisher died in 1896, just 50-55 years old.
George Kovalenko.
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