NOLAN’S BESSEMER
COMPOUND
Born in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota, on September 1, 1860, his father was James
Nolan, and mother, Mary McCormack. He is first noted in the 1880 U.S. Census
for San Francisco,
where he was living with his widowed mother. His first job was with Heuter
Brothers, Pioneer Varnish Works, and he quickly assumed a role as a salesman.
He apparently acquired a sense of the utility of paint as a
method of preservation of the underlying surface and became fascinated with the
concept of keeping iron and steel from rusting, without impacting the usebility
and appearance of the treated item. Nolan decided to take a big step in his
career and develop a product that could be a little better than those already
on the market. Brands such as Cosmoline and similar ‘jelled” petroleum products
were quite messy if one wanted full protection. His product would protect with
less mess, and he decided to become an entrepreneur and start his own company.
What is with the name Bessemer Compound? It was Nolan’s way
of marketing his product by tagging it onto the name of a state-of-the-art
process for producing steel from ‘pig-iron’, which was introduced by Henry
Bessemer, beginning in the mid 1850’s. Simply described, it was a method by
which oxygen was introduced to molten pig-iron, thus removing impurities from
the iron, and producing a much improved product. The impurities would rise to
the surface of the molten iron in the form of slag, which could then be
discarded. Nolan’s product had no connection with the Bessemer process, but Bessemer steel was nearly
always the product used in firearms, which would have been a primary use for
his “Bessemer Compound”.
Nolan received a utility patent for his product from the
U.S. Patent Office on January 5, 1886. The main ingredients were bi-sulphide of
carbon, beeswax, and sperm oil, combined per his specifications. The
bi-sulphide of carbon has a disagreeable ‘rotten-egg’ odor, so his patent also
included the addition of some sort of perfumed substance as well, in order to
sweeten the aromatics. Each bottle is small, just 4 5/8 inches tall and holding
slightly less than two ounces of liquid. Marketed as a rust preventer, the
small amount could only be used for small iron or steel products, as in pistols
and rifles.
A copy of Nolan’s patent document, describing the details of
his new product.
As any responsible entrepreneur would do, Nolan also
requested trademark rights for his Bessemer Compound, and received it from the
U.S. Patent Office on April 12, 1887 as number 14281. Beginning with his
arrival in San Francisco about 1880, Nolan was a
traveling salesman for several paint and varnish companies, and continued with
that line of work nearly throughout his stay in San Francisco, except for the few years from
1886 to 1888, when he focused on the sale of his compound. In 1889 he went to
work for the Pacific Varnish Co. until he left San
Francisco in 1892.There is no record of his Bessemer Compound after
that date, and it is likely that he moved to Ohio, where he is scheduled in the U.S.
Census there in 1900. In that year he was listed as a boarder in the home of
the Barron family with the occupation of traveling salesman.
The box wrapper for Nolan's Bessemer Compound accompanied his trademark application.
Nolan’s partner in the Bessemer
business was Horace Van Arsdale Scott, described as a general commission
merchant. In June 1888 he was forced to file bankruptcy, and probably no longer
became associated with Nolan. (San Jose Mercury-news, June 2, 1888). Scott
later became a traveling salesman for W.P. Fuller & Co., a large paint and
glass establishment in San Francisco.
Scott later filed his own patent for a “refilled bottle detector”. (San
Francisco Call, July 2, 1903) Patent No. 732,592. It is doubtful the patent was
a success as it appears somewhat useless.
A nearly complete label connected to the Bessemer Compound.
At age 39, Nolan married Louise C. Siehl, age 21, in Cincinnati,
Ohio, on June 20, 1900, and had three children there, Ruth May Nolan, born March
20, 1901, John Francis Nolan, born Dec 16, 1902 and Louise Christine Nolan,
born September 3, 1905. By 1920 the U.S.
census notes his residence as Ardmore,
Oklahoma, with the occupation of
paint manufacturer. By 1925, his son, John F. Nolan, jr., had established a
paint manufacturing business in Houston,
Texas. It was there, at the
William Penn Hotel, on June 8, 1931, in downtown Houston, that Henry Francis Nolan, took his
last breath. His body was transported to Cincinnati,
Ohio, where he was buried with his wife, who
joined him there upon her death on February 25, 1955, in West Palm Beach, Florida.
An interesting look at the business of J.F. Nolan and his mastic paint company. (The Daily Ardmoreite, Ardmore, Oklahoma • Jun 3, 1920)
.JPG)
.JPG)
