Charles Henry Fletcher
Encyclopedia
The Centaur Company
The Centaur Company, founded in 1871, owned and marketed proprietary medicines, notably, the stimulant laxative Fletcher's Castoria and the ointment Centaur Liniment...
, makers of the eponymous "Fletcher's Castoria", serving as President and General Manager.
Birth and relatives
He was born December 25, 1837 (according to most records) in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, New York. He married Jemima Elizabeth Bright (10 September 1848, England - 8 May 1932, Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, NY) (New York Times, p15, Col 4, May 9, 1932) in 1866 (according to 1890 Census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
records). He had three female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
children who lived to adulthood, Mymie (My-me) (16 May 1868 in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
- 28 May 1958 in Pasadena, CA) who married the Reverend William Morrison (5 October 1863 - 4 January 1915) who was the priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
at Trinity Church in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Lucille (16 December 1873 in Brooklyn, New York - 29 February 1956 in East Orange, New Jersey) who married George Howard Betts (5 August 1871, Brooklyn, NY - 8 Jul 1940 in Pinehurst, North Carolina) who was a cosmetics manufacturer (New York Times, July 9, 1940, p21, Col 2), Ettye (Et-E)(25 November 1870 in Brooklyn, New York - 7 December 1929 in Orange, New Jersey) who married Albert Bryant also had large roles in the Centaur Company and Sterling Products later known Sterling Drug
Sterling Drug
Sterling Drug was a global pharmaceutical company based in the United States, known as Sterling-Winthrop, Inc. after the merger with Winthrop-Stearns Inc. and then as Sterling Winthrop Pharmaceuticals, whose primary product lines included diagnostic imaging...
. Albert Bryant's sister, Sara Cone Bryant
Sara Cone Bryant
Sara Cone Bryant was the author of various children's book in the early 20th century, including*How to Tell Stories To Children*Stories to tell the littlest ones*Epaminondas and His Auntie*I am an American...
, was a well-known children's book author. Records indicated he had one daughter, Eva born about 1869 who died young and another child who is believed to have died at birth and was un-named.
He had one sister, Catherine Gale Fletcher and two half-sisters, Fanny Fletcher and Lucille Bennett.
His house still stands and is privately owned on Berkeley Ave in Orange, New Jersey. The house has seven full bathrooms.
Business career
As a boy of 13, Fletcher went to work for a proprietary medicine company. In 1872 he managed to save enough to buy from a physician, Dr. Samuel Pitcher, the formula of the laxativeLaxative
Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements or to loosen the stool, most often taken to treat constipation. Certain stimulant, lubricant, and saline laxatives are used to evacuate the colon for rectal and/or bowel examinations, and may be supplemented by enemas under...
Castoria
Castoria
Fletcher's Castoria, now known as Fletcher's Laxative, is an oral syrup containing a stimulant laxative and ingredients to soothe the stomach.-Pharmacology:*Active laxative ingredient: senna, 33.3 mg/ml...
. With this formula, he made a fortune.
Originally marketed as Pitcher's Castoria, the product has had several names, notably Fletcher's own.
A little known fact is that he was sent South before the Civil War to collect debts by Demas Barnes. He returned (successfully) just before Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
was attacked (so shortly before April 12, 1861 he returned north). Partly due to this success (and others both before and after), Demas Barnes
Demas Barnes
Demas Barnes was a United States Representative from New York.-Accomplishments:...
backed him in forming The Centaur Company
The Centaur Company
The Centaur Company, founded in 1871, owned and marketed proprietary medicines, notably, the stimulant laxative Fletcher's Castoria and the ointment Centaur Liniment...
.
Testimonials
"[The Centaur Company is] probably the largest proprietary medicine concern in the country, if not in the world. Mr. Fletcher's name has become so identified with the product of the company that it is known all over the civilized world.""Charles H. Fletcher['s] ... signature is perhaps better known that that of any other man of his day..." The signature is shown here
Obituary
Charles Henry Fletcher died Sunday April 9, 1922 in Orange, N.J. He was interred in Greenwood CemeteryGreen-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
, Brooklyn, New York. See New York Times, April 10, 1924, p46,C8.
Related Facts
- In 1884, The Centaur Company offered to pay for the pedestal for the Statue of LibertyStatue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, designed by Frédéric Bartholdi and dedicated on October 28, 1886...
when the Pedestal Fund Committee found itself short of money in return for placing "Castoria" on the base for one year. The offer was declined.
- Demas BarnesDemas BarnesDemas Barnes was a United States Representative from New York.-Accomplishments:...
, a United States Representative from New York, was one of the initial backers of Fletcher's Castoria and his daughter Mildred Barnes BlissMildred Barnes BlissMildred Barnes Bliss was an American art collector, philanthropist, and one of the cofounders of the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection in Washington, D.C....
used portions of their share to build Dumbarton OaksDumbarton OaksDumbarton Oaks is the conventional name for the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, situated on a historic property in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. The institution is administered by the Trustees for Harvard University. Its founders, Robert Woods Bliss and his wife...
, in Georgetown, DC.
- Charles Henry Fletcher's son-in-law Albert Bryant began working for The Centaur Company (and later Sterling Products) in 1899 and retired from the company November 8, 1937.