Foreword: As regular patrons of this website know, from time to time I feature the work of other writers on whiskey-related subjects. The following guest post is by David Rakes of Belleview, Florida, with Corey Lee, from the new book, “Florida Advertising Jugs: The Proprietors and their Jugs,” to which I contributed a foreword. An impressive example of historical research, the volume contains 53 articles on the producers of Florida’s 19th and early 20th Century whiskey jugs and other ceramics.
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| Saloonkeeper Fred |
Frederick G. Wilhelm was first a career postal clerk for the railroad in Columbus, Ga. and then later a saloon keeper in Apalachicola, Fla. He was a literate Civil War veteran who was very active in veterans affairs and wrote numerous obituaries for veterans of the war.
Fred was born June 10, 1839 in Columbus, Muscogee County, Georgia, the son of Frederick George Wilhelm and Esther Wiseman Wilhelm. Fred’s parents were from Pennsylvania and had moved to Columbus sometime before Fred was born, his father having been employed as a tailor.
In 1862, Fred enlisted as a private in the 3rd Georgia Cavalry in the Confederates States Army. He was said to have gained the rank of sergeant in Colonel Joseph Wheeler’s army. However, he may have been mustered out as a captain since several Confederate Veteran articles addressed him as captain. Colonel Joseph Wheeler, also known as Fighting Joe, was a native of Augusta, Ga. Not only was he active as a cavalry leader in the Civil War, but he also fought during the Spanish-American War. The last war was where he got his nickname. He was only 5-foot-1 or 2, but you didn’t mess with Joe.
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| Postal Fred |
After the war Fred stayed in Columbus and became a well-known postal clerk. He appears to have never married. Around 1883 he was a postal clerk on the Macon & Brunswick Railroad. He was a pretty good agent according to the newspapers that reported in 1885, “In an examination he handled 585 cards in forty minutes without a single error, making an average of 100. This record has never been reached by any other route in the state.” In 1889, his work required him to change his route, the newspapers announcing, “a former experienced and efficient postal clerk, has been reappointed to the Macon and Birmingham route.”
Sometime after 1890 Fred moved to Apalachicola, Fla. and opened a saloon. According to the 1900 census of Apalachicola he was 60 years old employed as a saloon keeper and living with his younger brother George and his family. It’s no coincidence that Fred and his brother had moved to Apalachicola as the sleepy little town of Apalachicola was waking up.
In fact, one newspaper as far away in Bradford County said, “Captain Fred G. Wilhelm, a prominent citizen of the town, says Apalachicola is booming.” Fred was reported to have told the newspapers of how things were changing in town, like “laying cable and dredging the channel.” Mobile had a steamer that made two monthly trips that needed additional trips to handle the loads. Fred said the two canning factories in town were extremely busy shipping oysters all over the country: “Shipping fish from Apalachicola to the west. Shipping catfish to Kansas City in great quantities. The fish are skinned, and their heads are cut off. Mr. Freer also ships great quantities of sturgeon.”
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| Fire Damage |
In 1900, a big fire destroyed much of downtown Apalachicola. The fire broke out in the residence of Mrs. Broughton, spread to the Methodist Church and “from there to the business portion of the town. In less than three hours three blocks were entirely consumed, resulting in seventy-one buildings in the business section being burned.”
It is not known if Fred’s saloon was burned. If it was, he was not deterred because city directories show him with a saloon in 1903, 1907 and 1908. A rare whiskey jug of only four known was made for Fred. The one-gallon stoneware stenciled jug is off white in color with a dome top and says, “FRED G. WILHELM (arched) / APALACHICOLA / FLA.”
Fred does not show up on city directories with the saloon after 1908. It is unclear if he continued the saloon business or retired. The 1910 census for Apalachicola shows he is still a boarder and making his “own income.” Since he is still employed it is likely he is continuing to sell liquor.
However, Fred likely retired from the saloon business by 1915 when Franklin County had voted to go dry. The prohibition movement was gaining momentum and many saloon and liquor dealers were forced out of their jobs.
In 1920, Fred declares on a passport application that he is a “retired merchant,” and his age given is 81. The passport for Fred shows he was leaving the country for a trip to Cuba for “sightseeing and recreation.”
After his trip to Cuba, Fred became very active in veterans affairs and as an adjutant of Camp Tom Moore, No.556, Apalachicola. Fred wrote many obituaries for the “Confederate Veteran” magazine. In 1923, in one issue of the magazine, he wrote about himself saying, “I am now in my eighty-fifth year, read and write without the aid of glasses, no corns or bunions, no bad teeth, steady nerves, as you will note by my writing, and I expect to continue my subscription probably till 1948, as I feel youthful enough for at least twenty-five more years.”
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| Old Veteran Fred |
A picture was taken of Fred in 1923 in his United Confederate Veterans (UCV) uniform adorned with a couple of badges. UCV uniforms were not war time uniforms, they were uniforms made after the Civil War for reunions. The picture of Fred at age 85 shows he’s in good physical shape and health.
However, Fred’s prophecy of living to 1948, or the age of 109 came up short by some nineteen years. In 1929, Fred died in Apalachicola and was buried in Linwood Cemetery in Columbus, Ga.
Note: David Rake’s 174-page large format book from Peachridge Collections publishing is lavishly and professionally illustrated, and well referenced. The price is $50 plus $4 for shipping. Check or money orders can be sent to David Kyle Rakes, P.O. Box 2706, Belleview, Florida 34421. Questions may be addressed to his email: Barakes123@gmail.com. Phone: 352-817-5136.
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