Whiskey Men and Family Feuds

Foreword:  In profiling some 750 stories of people involved in the U.S. liquor trade I have been struck by the traditional togetherness of whiskey families: sons working with fathers,  brothers working with brothers, wives assisting husbands, in-laws collaborating.  Upon occasion, however, situations arise in which family unity is shattered by situations involving internal bickering, jealousy, or apparent greed.  Profiled here are three such cases involving internecine feuds. 

On January 16, 1902, seven jurists of the Court of Appeals in Annapolis heard a case that pitted quarreling members of a wealthy family and their high powered attorneys disputing over the operation and future direction of a well known Maryland distillery. The Wight family internal feud had been the “talk” of Baltimore society for months.

John J. Wight about the time of the Civil War had co-founded a distillery in Cockeysville, Maryland, seventeen miles north of Baltimore.  He called it the Sherwood Distillery Company.  In time his brother in law, Edward Hyatt, and son, John Hyatt Wight, became part owners of the business.  The family prospered greatly from making whiskey and ranked high in Maryland business and social circles. 

Family solidarity began to unravel when John J. Wight died.  His estate transferred most of his stock to his son, John Hyatt Wight, who became secretary and treasurer of Sherwood Distilling, with Hyatt as president. In 1894, Edward Hyatt died. John Hyatt Wight became president of the company. Hyatt’s widow Charlotte, who had remarried, in 1899 filed a lawsuit against her nephew, accusing him of fraud. Daily vs. Wight became a much-watched case in the Maryland courts. 

Because considerable amounts of money were at stake, both sides hired high profile lawyers.  As Maryland’s social set looked on with intense interest, the intrafamily battle raged fiercely before a Circuit Court  judge in Baltimore.  Aunt Charlotte made a range of scurrilous charges against Wight, accusing her nephew of “cooking the corporation books,” concealing distillery profits, and lining his own pockets at her expense. When the judge disagreed and threw out her petition, she appealed. In 1902 The Maryland Appeals Court totally dismissed Charlotte’s charges, commenting that “trifles as light as air” had become for her “confirmation as strong as proofs of holy writ.”  John Hyatt Wight continued to run the distillery until the advent of National Prohibition.

Trademark disputes over liquor branding never failed to gain attention in the pre-Prohibition era.   When the conflict involved brother against brother in the distilling hotbed of Louisville, Kentucky, interest could be intense. That is the situation that faced the Bonnie brothers when one of their siblings broke away, started a completing company, and merchandised whiskey with the Bonnie name and a familiar-looking label.  

The Bonnies were four:  Frank W., born 1840;  William O., 1845;  Robert T., 1848, and Ernest S., 1860.  All of them settled in Kentucky where Frank founded a liquor wholesale house about 1872 in Louisville and brought in brothers William and Robert. In 1879 the firm reorganized and all four Bonnies, including youngest brother Ernest, were included in its operations.  The resulting “Bonnie Bros. Co.” became prosperous, thrusting the brothers into the forefront of Kentucky whiskey men.  

In 1895, Frank Bonnie, age 55, withdrew from the firm, selling his interest in the business, including the Bonnie brand names, to his remaining three brothers.  Frank’s exit was followed in four years by Ernest Bonnie, still in his 30s, wanting out.  Why he broke away has not been explained.  The remaining two brothers bought him out for $70,000, more than a million in today’s dollars.  For that compensation Ernest sold all interest in the business and in Bonnie labels.  

Unlike his brother Frank, however, Ernest Bonnie had no intention of retiring from the whiskey trade. Taking two Bonnie Bros. employees with him, he shortly thereafter went into competition with his siblings using the name, E.S. Bonnie & Company.  That  name appears on an intriguing trade card showing a boy urinating in the snow and tracing the words “Good Drink.”  Was this a symbolic gesture by a younger “breakaway” who was trying to send a message to his older brothers?  More important,  Ernest Bonnie began selling whiskey under the brand name, “Bonnie Club.”  His older siblings quickly objected that the brand pirated labels of Bonnie Bros.  After a rancorous exchange of correspondence in which court action was threatened Ernest abandoned the use of “Bonnie Club.”  But family ties had been badly ruptured.

When Ernest died in 1907 on 47 years old, his employees, now the owners, attempted to market a “Bonnie & Co. Rye” with a label that was very similar in its features to the original firm.  William and Robert Bonnie had had enough and in 1914 took their competitor to court for trademark infringement.  Kentucky courts asserted that Bonnie & Co. Rye had been labeled in a way to confuse and deceive consumers, represented “unfair competition” under the trademark laws, and issued a “cease and desist order.”  The Bonnies won.

Henry, Seligman, David, and Theodore — the Netter boys — founded a liquor store in Philadelphia about 1886 that almost immediately prospered.  Within three years the brothers moved to larger quarters at 732 Third Street, near Brown Street.  This address is memorialized on an amber flask shown below.  The trade mark, in detail, is an enigmatic one:  a woman standing next to a shield inside the Man in the Moon.  The company used the brand name “Golden Gate All Rye.”  Their Netter Bros. Company became one of the premier liquor houses of Philadelphia.  After seven years of prosperity, however, family ties began to unravel.  

The first brother to defect appears to have been Henry.  In 1893 directories Henry H. Netter & Co. was noted as: “Producers of California and Ohio wines and brandies and Pennsylvania rye whiskies.” The next Netter to break away was David in 1898, opening a separate store on Market Street.  He was listed in business directories as a wine & liquor dealer, importer, distiller and proprietor of “Telegram Rye.”  Seligman, perhaps about 1900, opened his own liquor outlet under the name “S. Netter.”  He located at several addresses on North Third Street until 1911 when he moved to 736 Arch Street.  

Although Theodore Netter was listed with Netter Bros. until 1900, at least one author, rightly or wrongly, has blamed him for the breakup, citing him for fueling intra-family tensions and causing his brothers to depart. Sometime in the late 1890’s Theodore, with his wife, Hilda, established their own liquor business.  After initially locating at 54 North 13th Street, the firm moved to its permanent base on Market Street, next to Philadelphia’s Savoy Theater.  Theodore's purple barrel bottle is a favorite of collectors. 

Was Theodore the problem child who broke up the Netter Brothers?  He had a penchant for running afoul of the Pure Food and Drug laws, being fined at least twice for adulterating his wines.  Nevertheless, this Netter claimed that his was, “the largest and leading liquor store” in Philly.  In his advertising Theodore also constantly emphasized that he had only one store -- indicating that he saw his brothers in definite competition.  Because the Netters never took their differences into court and aired them publicly, however, the reason why the brothers all went their separate ways remains unanswered.

Note:  More complete vignettes on each of these families can be found elsewhere on this blog:  Sherwood Distilling and the Wights, July 17, 1911;  Bonnie Brothers, April 29, 2014, and Netter Brothers, January 2, 2013.

The Netters: “Wherefore Art Thou, Brother?”

The Netter boys were successful in the liquor trade in Philadelphia for a very long time as a band of brothers. Over time, however, each brother broke with the family business and set up on his own.   What caused the Netter brothers breakup has been lost in the mists of time.  Left to us are the bottles that defined the businesses.

The Netters were born of German immigrants who settled initially in California, possibly as participants in one of the gold rushes that regularly swept over Western landscapes.  Eventually the family migrated East.  There were four brothers:  Henry H., Seligman, David and Theodore. Theodore gave his birth year as 1865 in California. Their liquor store first shows up in city directories in 1886, located at 2323 N. Second Street in Philadelphia.  They called it Netter Bros. Company.  Within three years they had moved to larger quarters at 732 Third Street, near Brown Street.  This address is memorialized on an amber flask shown here.  The trade mark, in detail, is an enigmatic one:  a woman standing next to a shield inside the Man in the Moon.  The company used the brand name “Golden Gate All Rye,” perhaps reflecting the brothers’ West Coast origins.

Initially, according to Philadelphia business directories, three Netters were proprietors:  Henry H., David and Theodore.   Four years later they had been joined by a fourth sibling,
Seligman.  The first brother to defect appears to have been Henry.  In 1893 he appears in directories as Henry H. Netter & Co.  There his firm was noted as: “Producers of California and Ohio wines and brandies and Pennsylvania rye whiskies.”  Henry’s brands included "Del Monte Rye Whiskey,”"Highground,” “Roxana” and "Pen & Pencil.”  The last was his flagship brand, trademarked in 1905.

The next Netter to open his own business apparently was David in 1898. In partnership with Jacob Marcus he opened a store at 441-445 Market Street.  He was shown as a a wine & liquor dealer, importer, distiller and proprietor of “Telegram Rye.” David issued a series of shot glasses advertising that brand and on a cobalt bottle, both shown here.  The bottle claimed David Netter to have won a 1900 prize in Paris for his whiskey.

Seligman, perhaps as early as 1900,  opened his own liquor store under the name “S. Netter.”  Although several address are given, he appears to have located at several addresses on North Third Street until 1911 when he moved to 736 Arch Street. Seligman’s company used the brand name “Ryvalley Whiskey, for which it issued a shot glass, shown here. Seligman also continued to be listed as running Netter Bros., which he shut down in 1907 after a 21 year business life.

Although Theodore Netter was listed with Netter Bros. until 1900,  at least one author, rightly or wrongly, has blamed him for the breakup, citing intra-family tensions. Sometime in the late 1890’s Theodore, with his wife, Hilda,  established their own liquor business.  After initial beginning at 54 North 13th Street,  the firm moved to its permanent base at 1232 Market Street, next to Philadelphia’s Savoy Theater.  From 1907 to 1914 Theodore also had a branch office in Chicago.

The 1910 Census found him and Hilda living with his brother-in-law,  Benjamin Lyons and family, in Philadelphia 37th Ward.  Theodore was 45 and listed his occupation as “merchant, liquor.   Lyons is listed as a “salesman, liquor,” leading to the conclusion that the two also had a business relationship.  The Theodore Netter firm used a number of brand names, including "American Perfection,” "Crystal Creek Rye,” "Juniper Leaf Gin,” "Lord Cecil Gin",”"Netters Famous No. 10 Rye, "Netter’s Silver Label", and "Old Phillie."

Although Theodore packaged his whiskey in the usual quart size, he also became known for issuing his whiskey in unusual glass containers   Among them was a barrel shaped bottle that said “Greetings.”  It may have been a giveaway at holiday times. Theodore’s barrel came in clear, as the one shown, aqua and cobalt.  Even more unusual were Theodore Netter’s pigs, issued in clear and amber.  They may have held rum.  Some pigs bore the practical message that after draining the whiskey,  the porker should be filled with sand and used as a paperweight.

When Prohibition arrived, all four brothers were forced to shut down.  By 1919 Seligman had moved to 818 North Broad Street and was running an auto supply store, according to Philadelphia directories.  David remained at his address but his firm became “merchandise brokers.” Theodore seems to have gone into the cigar business,  advertising in 1920 that he was selling Havana cigars for $3.50 a box of 50.  A 1921 listing shows him involved in “dining.” Apparently he died not long afterward as Hilda Netter was listed as a widow in 1925.

Not withstanding Theodore’s death, after Repeal his firm’s name reemerged in the whiskey business, advertising liquor in regional newspapers and selling Crystal Creek whiskey for $1.15 a fifth.
Whether any of the family members were involved is unclear.  Shown here is a post-Prohibition Netter bottle,  identified by the requirement to list “proof” on the label.

Was Theodore the problem child who broke up the Netter Brothers? He had a penchant for running afoul of the pure food and drug laws, being fined twice for adulterating his wines. In his advertising he continually emphasized that this Netter had only one store -- indicating that  he saw his brothers in definite competition.  His was, Theodore claimed, “the largest and leading liquor store.”  As to why the brothers all went their separate ways, however, the story remains untold.

Note:  Telling the Netter Bros story in a few paragraphs is not easy because of difference among sources as to dates and addresses.   I have tried to use the most likely information, but suspect that there are important gaps here.