The Founders
On January 1, 1867 the job printing portion of the Cincinnati, Ohio, Enquirer newspaper was leased by Major A. O. Russell, Robert J. Morgan, James M. Armstrong and John F. Robinson. It was named the Russell, Morgan & Company. This new company printed posters and circulars for theaters, circuses, and other firms around the country. Their legacy lasts up to today and on into the future of playing cards.
Who were these people and what were they doing up till then and how did they meet? Let's find out.................
Who were these people and what were they doing up till then and how did they meet? Let's find out.................
ROBERT JAMES MORGAN (1838-1917)
Robert was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland in 1838. His farming parents, James and Catherine Morgan, left their home near Dublin and ventured to America with their four sons. They arrived in Cincinnati on May 24, 1847.
Robert's career as a printer commenced at the age of twelve with Foster & Corwin publishers of the Cincinnati Chronicle and Atlas where he served six months. His father then bound him out for five years to Caleb Clark and Company who were owners of the Ben Franklin Job Office to learn the trade of a printer.
After leaving that apprenticeship early at age 15 (1853) Morgan went to the Enquirer office, then at 88 Main Street, where he finished his training as a steam pressman under G. H. Monter. It was here that he first made the acquaintance of his future partner A. O. Russell.
Robert was born in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland in 1838. His farming parents, James and Catherine Morgan, left their home near Dublin and ventured to America with their four sons. They arrived in Cincinnati on May 24, 1847.
Robert's career as a printer commenced at the age of twelve with Foster & Corwin publishers of the Cincinnati Chronicle and Atlas where he served six months. His father then bound him out for five years to Caleb Clark and Company who were owners of the Ben Franklin Job Office to learn the trade of a printer.
After leaving that apprenticeship early at age 15 (1853) Morgan went to the Enquirer office, then at 88 Main Street, where he finished his training as a steam pressman under G. H. Monter. It was here that he first made the acquaintance of his future partner A. O. Russell.
In 1858 (age 20) he went to Memphis and took charge of Hutton & Freligh's press room and recommended Russell to his employers. Russell was then sent for to take charge of the entire establishment. They remained together in Memphis until the breaking out of the war in 1861. Selling his part of the business he headed back to Ohio to join up with the Union Army. A Southern sympathizing fellow printer in Memphis sent the local Daily Avalance newspaper a letter that Morgan should be investigated by the Vigilance Committee for running North.
Morgan's reported military career is suspect. He supposedly went to join up with Russell in the 6th Ohio Infantry which is not true. Another version was that he was supposed to have joined the 27th Ohio Infantry but had a falling out with a superior officer and quit. (His brother James was a Lt. in the 27th) No records of his service have been found. The only story that appears true is that he interacted with the Union army as a sutler and purveyor (a person who sells or deals in goods). His three other brothers all served in different Union units during the war, which left his widowed elderly father alone. Stories of Robert returning home to care for him during the war appear true.
I did discover an unknown fact about Robert. In 1862 he was living in Covington, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. But, he had a printing business (Johnson, Stephens & Morgan) in Cincinnati. It was only listed in the Cincinnati City Directory for one year.
After the war he was said to have started a business to manufacture flax in Eaton, Ohio, but that has not been proven.
Soon after he was contacted by Russell about a proposition to lease the Enquirer Job Room. Supposedly from his war year profits he had $5,000 ($100,000 today) to invest in the new business. He was now 29.
On January 2, 1866 he married Emma Armstrong, the daughter of Arthur E. Armstrong. Arthur was the brother of James Monroe Armstrong, one of the other original investors. In 1868 Robert named his first child, Arthur Russell Morgan.
ANTHONY OCTAVIUS RUSSELL (1826-1900)
A. O. Russell was born in Southington, Hartford County, Connecticutt on December 24th 1826. His paternal grandfather was a Connecticutt Revolutionary War veteran and his father was a veteran of the War of 1812. By 1835 his parents and paternal grandparents moved to McConnelsville in Southeastern Ohio.
When the Russells arrived in Morgan County, Ohio, the Muskingham River, passing through McConnelsville, was having locks built to make it passable for steamboat traffic. When completed in 1841 the Ohio River would be connected across Ohio to the Erie Canal. Towns along this river would flourish.
In March 1837, at the age of eleven, Anthony went to learn the printing trade with Hiram H. Robinson, who was then editor and proprietor of The Muskingum Valley newspaper in McConnelsville. He left there in the fall of 1841 and went with Robinson to Cincinnati (age 15) and finished his apprenticeship in March 1844 at the Enquirer office then on Fifth Street between Main and Sycamore.
Hiram H. Robinson had purchased half interest in the Enquirer in 1840. He would be a long time editor of the newspaper and at this time was a principle owner. Robinson had lived in McConnelsville when the Russells did. He may have even moved there with them. (I was not able to prove any connection between Hiram H. Robinson and the Russell, Morgan Company investor John F. Robinson Jr..)
In 1845 (age 19) Russell left for New Orleans and worked as a journeyman for the newspapers there until Christmas day 1848. Owing to the prevalence of cholera in that city he returned to Cincinnati. The next year (age 23) he was made foreman of the Enquirer Job Room.
Then in 1850 he went to Louisville and was in charge of the Courier Job Office for Walter N. Haldeman, but was recalled to Cincinnati in 1851 (age 25) to take charge the entire Enquirer newspaper and job printing establishment, then on Third street where he remained until 1854. Robert J. Morgan was one of his employees.
Between 1854 and 1857 Russell decided on a career change and went to learn about piloting river boats on the Ohio river to the Mississippi. After getting his pilot's license in late 1857 he returned to his job at the Enquirer.
The next year A. O. went to Memphis and was in charge of the Bulletin Job Office and again worked with Robert J. Morgan.
He remained there one year and then returned to the Enquirer for a few months to work under James Willis Wilmington who was a close friend, part owner of the Enquirer and 15 years his junior.
The next year A. O. went to Memphis and was in charge of the Bulletin Job Office and again worked with Robert J. Morgan.
He remained there one year and then returned to the Enquirer for a few months to work under James Willis Wilmington who was a close friend, part owner of the Enquirer and 15 years his junior.
Soon after Anthony went to manage the job rooms of the Memphis Picayune newspaper. It was through this connection he got the nickname of "Pick" which clung to him the rest of his life. At the commencement of hostilities of the Civil War, he went back to Cincinnati, where he quickly entered the service of the United States. In August 1861 (age 34) he joined and served with distinction for over two years with the 6th Ohio Infantry known as the "Guthrie Grays". Anthony went into service as a Captain of Company G. The next year, after proving himself at the battles of Shiloh and Perrysville he was promoted to Major and joined the regiment's Field Staff.
His last battle was fought near Murfeesboro, Tennessee, between December 31, 1862 and January 3, 1863. It was called the battle of Stones River and involved almost 80,000 soldiers. 25,000 of which were either killed, captured or missing by the end of the battle. After the last day of fighting the armies were bivouacked only 700 yards from each other, and their bands started a musical battle. The Union Army musicians played "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail, Columbia" and were then answered by "Dixie" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" by the Confederates. Finally, one band started playing "Home! Sweet Home!". Thousands of Northern and Southern soldiers joined in and sang the sentimental song together across the battlefield.
His last battle was fought near Murfeesboro, Tennessee, between December 31, 1862 and January 3, 1863. It was called the battle of Stones River and involved almost 80,000 soldiers. 25,000 of which were either killed, captured or missing by the end of the battle. After the last day of fighting the armies were bivouacked only 700 yards from each other, and their bands started a musical battle. The Union Army musicians played "Yankee Doodle" and "Hail, Columbia" and were then answered by "Dixie" and "The Bonnie Blue Flag" by the Confederates. Finally, one band started playing "Home! Sweet Home!". Thousands of Northern and Southern soldiers joined in and sang the sentimental song together across the battlefield.
Several newspapers reported in January 1863 that Russell was killed at Stone River
The next month Russell resigned his commission and headed home to his wife and two young children. He again took charge of the Enquirer Job Office.
What doesn't show up in Russell's biographies was his close friendship with James Willis Wilmington. Records show that A. O. knew him before they worked together at the Enquirer. By 1860 Wilmington, his wife and baby were living with the Russells. Wilmington also served as an officer with Russell in the 6th Ohio Infantry. A. O. even named his firstborn son Willis Wilmington Russell after him. (More commonly known as W. W. Russell, he would also become well known in playing card history) When Wilmington died searching for gold and silver in the West in 1866 the Russells took his widow and child back into their home for years.
What doesn't show up in Russell's biographies was his close friendship with James Willis Wilmington. Records show that A. O. knew him before they worked together at the Enquirer. By 1860 Wilmington, his wife and baby were living with the Russells. Wilmington also served as an officer with Russell in the 6th Ohio Infantry. A. O. even named his firstborn son Willis Wilmington Russell after him. (More commonly known as W. W. Russell, he would also become well known in playing card history) When Wilmington died searching for gold and silver in the West in 1866 the Russells took his widow and child back into their home for years.
JOHN FRANKLIN ROBINSON JR. (1843-1921)
Circus blood ran deep in John F. Robinson's veins. His father, at age 15 (1822), ran away from his Albany, New York home to join Colonel Page’s Menagerie. He worked four years with with Page and McCracken, where he became a performer. In the years that followed, he was with Turner's Circus, Stewart's Amphitheater, Hawkin's Circus, Benedict and Haddoch Circus and the Zoological Institute. After perfecting his preforming and circus management skills he then organized a circus for the "American Theatre" of New Orleans, which toured the U. S. and Cuba. It is during this period that John Sr. began gaining his wealth.
In 1840 Robinson opened the "National Theatre" in New Orleans. He also married his second wife, a fellow circus performer, there in 1841. (He was 34 and she was 16) Then in 1842 he sold the theatre for a great profit and started the "John Robinson Circus". While touring in Alabama the next year his first child, John Franklin, was born just a few feet from the circus's main tent. It was said his mother had just finished her act in the main tent before giving birth.
When still a small child John Jr. was carried by with his father on a pony in the ring. A few years later he was preforming riding two ponies, then four and by the age of 14 years he was one of the main features with his four-pony riding act. He also did tumbling. As he got older he performed less and started to manage the circus more.
The circus had toured mainly in the South and stopped for a couple years when the war broke out. According to one of his 1921 obituaries at the outbreak of the Civil War John Jr. was said to have become a member of a Union Army gunboat squadron. He supposedly participated in several Mississippi River battles and in the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. Unfortunately, I was not able to locate any records of his service.
By July 1863 the circus had started touring again in Ohio and Kentucky and John was listed as performing. This was also the time of the siege of Vicksburg. He couldn't have been in both places at the same time.
By July 1863 the circus had started touring again in Ohio and Kentucky and John was listed as performing. This was also the time of the siege of Vicksburg. He couldn't have been in both places at the same time.
On April 24, 1866 the circus was touring in Crittenden, Kentucky, when a group of "ruffians" demanded entry without paying. John, his brother James and their cousin "Big Jim" blocked their entry.
A fight broke out as the group (reported as between 10 to 25 ruffians) attempted to enter and then finally to shoot their way in. Most newspapers reported "Big Jim" dying after being was shot through the body. He was actually taken back to Cincinnati (25 miles) for better care and died a couple days later. The Robinson brothers were both shot in their legs and had the bullets removed by a doctor in Cincinnati.
There were several reports that John wounded three of the attackers with a hatchet. Fortunately, John had survived, which was great news to his new bride of three weeks. On April 4th he had married Caroline Heyward in Cincinnati. (Caroline was born in Charleston, South Carolina and some sources stated that her father was a Confederate Colonel. This was not true. He died in New York 16 years before the war started when Caroline, his only child, was two years old.)
How did John Jr. become associated with the other investors? The story goes that around 1853 his father needed eye care and he thought the best doctors were in Cincinnati. True or not he did establish his home and circus there about that time. He also started using the Enquirer Job Room to have his circus posters and handbills made. This association would continue for decades. At that time Morgan was just beginning his career there and Russell was already established there. The deal to lease this business made good sense.
By 1867 John Sr. was a millionaire by today's standards and his son, now running the circus, was almost one. The other investors were not as wealthy. John Jr. was very likely the "money man" behind the lease deal. Over the years he gave financial help but never involved himself in the day to day operation, he had a circus to run. The Russell & Morgan Company just provided him with more money to operate.
A side note here about John Jr.'s name. A lot of records refer to him as John Jr. but his full name was John Franklin Robinson. His father was never officially recorded as having a middle name of any kind, so technically he was not a John Franklin Robinson Junior. But with two Johns someone had to be the Junior. (Maybe this is just the genealogist side of me complaining here.). Over time he would be called: John Jr., John Franklin, John Frank, J. Frank, John, Jack and John F.. With his father being a John Robinson and John Jr. having a son named John this search was sometimes confusing.
By 1867 John Sr. was a millionaire by today's standards and his son, now running the circus, was almost one. The other investors were not as wealthy. John Jr. was very likely the "money man" behind the lease deal. Over the years he gave financial help but never involved himself in the day to day operation, he had a circus to run. The Russell & Morgan Company just provided him with more money to operate.
A side note here about John Jr.'s name. A lot of records refer to him as John Jr. but his full name was John Franklin Robinson. His father was never officially recorded as having a middle name of any kind, so technically he was not a John Franklin Robinson Junior. But with two Johns someone had to be the Junior. (Maybe this is just the genealogist side of me complaining here.). Over time he would be called: John Jr., John Franklin, John Frank, J. Frank, John, Jack and John F.. With his father being a John Robinson and John Jr. having a son named John this search was sometimes confusing.
People also often confused John with James Robinson, a world renown horse rider in the Robinson Circus at the same time. This man's name was actually Michael James Fitzgerald. He was an orphan that ran away at a young age and ended up with the Robinson Circus. Because of John Robinson Sr.'s affection for him, he changed his name to sound like he was a member of the Robinson family. He would later start his own circus.
JAMES MONROE ARMSTRONG (1812-1895)
The Armstrong family, originally from Maryland, moved to Virginia and then to Ohio. The family would settle in what is now Plainville on the Little Miami River east of Cincinnati in 1800. The family's six sons were millers and they established a number of mills along the river. It was here that son James was born in 1812.
Becoming a miller was not for him. In 1828 (age 16) James went west to the big city of Cincinnati, now over 20,000 residents, with his father and apprenticed as a coach maker. His father had been appointed flour inspector for the city.
After finishing his five year apprenticeship he went back to school for a while. This school would have been the Woodward School that opened October 1831 in a two story brick building on Franklin Street in the Bond Hill community of Cincinnati. It was the first high school west of the Allegheny Mountains. The school's thorough education caused trustee's to apply for collegiate powers, which were granted. Woodward's College Department opened January 1836, in the same building as the high school, and alumni of the school earned degrees at graduation.
During most of the 1830s James honed his coach making skills at the fast growing carriage company of George C. Miller. At the time it was becoming the largest carriage maker in the West and would last until the automobile age.
In 1838 James formed a partnership with Samuel Barnes under the firm name of Armstrong & Barnes. This new carriage firm established a factory at the corner of Vine and Twelfth streets in competition with his old employer. By 1850 he split with Barnes and went back to the family business in flour. James formed a partnership with Herman Krafeldt dealing in flour and produce. But, that was short lived before he teamed up with his brother Arthur in his flour business. (The same Arthur that would become Robert J. Morgan's father-in-law) This was what James was doing when he became involved with the formation of Russell, Morgan & Company.
After the new company was formed James dedicated his time to helping run it and gave up on the flour business. But, he and his brother, Arthur, were both very involved in Cincinnati politics. In 1877 James would leave the company and become an Ohio State Senator representing the Cincinnati area.