By John Panella and Joe Widman
HOUSE of FAHRNEY, PART 3
The business is “a-movin and a-shakin” The Evolution of his Grandfather’s Traditional Practice In the year 1864, Peter Fahrney returned to Waynesboro from Blair County. He was twenty-four, equipped with his degree and ready to work with his uncle, John Burkholder. This may be when he began to think about mass producing his grandfather’s recipes. The Blood Medicine was already being bottled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, per advertising from 1868. His brother, Jacob Jr., was at least twenty years Peter’s senior and had been practicing in Philadelphia. This product may have been available for sale in Waynesboro. At some point in time prior to 1870 there was a labeled bottle from Waynesboro, “Dr. J. Fahrney’s Panacea,” that was incorporated into Peter and the Brothers company. Another piece of advertising shows a date of 1869, the time that Jacob Jr. decides to come home to Quincy and work in the Fahrney and Brothers company with Peter. One of the David Burkholders worked out west in some capacity as a co-traveler or a point of contact/companion when Peter in Chicago starts his move west. They tried first working in Ogle County, Ill. There was John’s son, David, and his brother, David, who both practiced in Boonsboro with Daniel Sr. and Old Peter. John Burkholder eventually steps down and sells his interest to Fahrney and the Brothers. He and his brother David were the last of the second generation who practiced with Old Peter, practicing after Daniel senior’s death.
Waynesboro postal advertising envelope for Dr. Fahrney's Celebrated Blood Cleanser.
Waynesboro and Times of Change The postage stamp used on the envelope above was discontinued in 1868, so it may give a clue as to when Jacob and Peter were in charge in Waynesboro. It was clearly in use during a transitional time as far as the Fahrneys go. Before this, Waynesboro Peter lived away from that part of his family, away from the Fahrneys, until he was old enough to learn about practicing and came back to an unfamiliar place that was being run by the Burkholders. He never had much contact with his namesakes, meeting his brothers upon return when he was fifteen, and only hearing about the Boonesboro part of the family. Daniel, on the other hand, grew up with his father and mother in charge of the large practice created by his grandfather, at the original Fahrney homestead in Maryland. Nothing much had changed and they doctored about the same way as Peter Sr. had. Jacob and Peter built a new laboratory in Waynesboro to produce the medicine. After this was completed, Waynesboro Peter moved out west in quick order
to peddle medicine. There was the attempt in Ogle County, Ill., before he decided to move on to Chicago, a grand metropolis. Here, Peter would sell to a much larger market for greater sales and profitability.
Moving Around, Competing Interests, and Exploring New Horizons As far as doctoring, it was probably the same situation in Waynesboro. Jacob Jr. was doctoring with the patent medicine in Philadelphia around the time his father died. He tried selling his son’s bottled product rather than the dry herbal teas. Burkholder was hesitant about selling Jacob’s boozy concoctions and stuck with the teas he had been selling for decades. The addition of alcohol to the mix created a new group of “patients” almost overnight. There was a considerable age difference between the two groups in Waynesboro and Boonsboro, which is significant and helps to establish a timeline during the embossed bottle era. Fitting them in as to age and ability was a straightforward comparison. Peter D. Fahrney, born in 1843, was twenty-four in 1867. Daniel Jr. born in 1851, was only fifteen. June 2021
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