Call Number:

1999.001

Repository:

Old York Road Historical Society

Extent:

3.0 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1848-1925 (inclusive)

Creator:

Comfort, Charles L., 1835-1913

Abstract:

Charles L. Comfort (1835-1913) was a Confederate Civil War veteran who settled in Philadelphia and opened a business in botanical preparations and flavoring extracts. His second wife was Ellen Lister Dern. The Comfort-Dern family papers, 1848-1925, are a miscellaneous accumulation of papers primarily relating to Charles L. Comfort and his father-in-law Conrad Dern. It includes receipted bills, family correspondence, photographs, business accounts, Badger/Comfort family genealogical notes, and various family documents and ephemera. There are also small amounts of records from two clubs in which family members were involved: the Utah Club and the Men's Chapter of the Guild of the Church of Our Savior (Jenkintown).

Charles L. Comfort (1835-1913) was a Confederate Civil War veteran who eventually settled in Philadelphia, engaged in business that evolved from "Thomsonian and Botanical Preparations, and dealer in roots, herbs, and barks" (1875) to "Manufacturer of fine flavoring extracts, liquid rennet, etc." (1893) to "Flavoring Extracts, dairy crème, etc." (1910s). His father, a Philadelphia physician who moved to Minnesota in 1855, was a proponent of the Thomasonian system of medicine.

Comfort’s second wife was Ellen Lister Dern, daughter of Conrad Dern.

This collection is an accumulation of papers of the Comfort and Dern families, primarily relating to Charles L. Comfort and his father-in-law Conrad Dern. There are also family photographs, many unidentified.

Charles L. Comfort (1835-1913) papers include receipted bills, 1873-1910 (bulk 1893-1910), concerning domestic expenses, with some accounts of his business interests. A small series of correspondence gives a glimpse of Comfort's activities. An 1877 letter to his father laments the decline of interest in the Thomasonian system of medicine of which his father, a Philadelphia physician who moved to Minnesota in 1855, was a proponent. Other miscellaneous family material includes: a Utah Club (Philadelphia) minutebook, 1853, with few entries reporting on fines for swearing; The Men's Chapter of the Guild of the Church of Our Savior (Jenkintown) Treasurer's Book, 1891-1897; a discourse on educational methods for boys and girls, 1888; job descriptions for a children’s home and children’s school exercise and drawing books; a pressed flower album; and ephemera.

Comfort’s second wife was Ellen Lister Dern, and there are receipted bills, 1853-1916 (bulk 1871-1914), of her father Conrad, also for domestic expenses with some accounts for his tailoring business, 1864-1883, and as tax collector for Jenkintown Borough, 1881-1883. There is correspondence and miscellaneous material concerning in part his other daughters, who were teachers, and relatives' travel in Europe.

Comfort was descended from the Badger family and there is a series of Badger genealogical notes.

Following is a box level inventory of the collection:

Box 1: Comfort family receipted bills, 1873-1923 (bulk 1893-1910)

Box 2: Comfort family correspondence, ephemera, miscellaneous

Box 3: Comfort family Utah Club minutebook, 1853; business accounts and memoranda, 1866, 1869 (Ohio), 1870-1872 (Philadelphia); receipt books and other accounts, 1880’s-1890’s; The Men's Chapter of the Guild of the Church of Our Savior (Jenkintown) Treasurer's Book, 1891-1897; discourse on educational methods for boys and girls, 1888; job descriptions for children’s home; children’s exercise and drawing books.

Box 4: Dern family receipted bills, 1853-1916 (bulk 1871-1914), receipt book, 1857-1898, tailor account book, 1864-1883, tax collection accounts, 1881-1883, and other correspondence

Box 5: Badger/Comfort family notes and correspondence

Box 6: Photographs

Box 7: School certificates, marriage certificates, photograph

Box 8: Pressed flower album

Box 9: Oil painting of cottage