Walkabout: The Druggist's Tale, Part 3

At the end of our story, last time, the trial of the philandering druggist had ended. William C. Bolton’s quickie divorce in South Dakota from his wife Charlotte Louise was upheld, and his second marriage to Lillian Shuler was declared legal. However, Charlotte was granted a healthy alimony and William ordered to pay court costs. The trial was over, and yes, it was a bit of a non-event. A definite let-down to an eager reading public. Though not nearly as good as the buildup, which was rife with juicy tales of illicit excursions on yachts, and an erratic and demanding wife. So what happened to them after that? And what kind of business was Bolton Drugs, anyway? It seems like a lot of money could be made in Brooklyn, selling medicines to an eager public.

Contrary to what he told the papers and the courts that they were going to do, William Bolton and his wife Lillian Shuler Bolton did not settle down in South Dakota after the bigamy and abandonment trial in 1892. They appear in the society pages of the Eagle in 1896, where it is noted that the couple and their sons, Willy and Ralph, were summering in the Poconos. A couple of years later, they have another son, Donald, and the Mr. and Mrs. were a part of a Brooklyn Eagle sponsored trip to California and Yellowstone Park. The family now lived at 261 Stuyvesant Avenue, a large brownstone in the upscale Stuyvesant Heights neighborhood. William was still highly involved in his drug business, with at least 6 branches of the Bolton Drug Company in various locations around Brooklyn. He was still a social animal, listed in the Eagle as on the board of several clubs and societies, and a founding board member of the newly expanded Brooklyn Yacht Club. Apparently he did not get rid of his yacht, Destiny, after all. And, like any good Brooklynite, he started to invest in real estate.

He partnered in at least two or three different companies, at the turn of the century. In 1899, he and his partner, James Burke, and two other men started the Burke-Bolton Company. As the Eagle noted in an article, they would be the first developers to buy up unfinished and failed projects, eyesores the paper called them, complete them, and re-sell them. Apparently, no one had thought of this before. They also paired up with another company that was buying up residential hotels in Brooklyn Heights, and converting them to apartments. They bought the Montague Apartments on Montague Street, in 1901, and turned the large suites into smaller 2 and three room bachelor apartments. They also bought the Florence, on Hicks and Pierrepont, as well as other Brooklyn Heights buildings. In 1902, William Bolton was a major stockholder and officer in a company called the Brooklyn Amusement Company. It was their desire to own and build theatres, and they started by building the Watson’s Theatre, on Willoughby and Pearl Streets. William had always loved the theatre.

Perhaps this was just a rich man diversifying, but it could also be that the lucrative drug business was not what it once was. Mixing medicines for people and selling quack remedies may make you wealthy, but it could also lead to mistakes and big trouble. In 1899, a customer went into the Bolton Drug Store and asked for a packet of licorice compound. When he arrived home, he took two teaspoons of it, and was immediately sick. He looked at the packet, and discovered he had ingested Genuine Persian Insect Powder, for the destruction of bugs, roaches, ants, moths, etc. He rushed back to the store, was given an emetic and an apology. The man filed suit.

It seems that the bigamy trial was not the first time William had landed in jail. He was arrested, and immediately released on bail, in 1886, and sued by Duffy’s Malt Powder, for substituting inferior malt in Duffy’s packaging, and selling it for a higher price, and reselling the real stuff to someone else. The evidence for this case was provided by a disgruntled ex-employee, and the case was eventually settled. He had a couple of accidents with chemicals exploding, and problems with disgruntled employees. But the worst case involved the death of a Miss Templeton from an overdose of cough medicine.

In January of 1897, Miss Lillie Templeton of 100 St. Marks Avenue died suddenly from an overdose of cough medicine, which was mixed together and purchased at the Bolton Drug Company. She was only 25, and in otherwise good health. An autopsy and investigation ensued, and it was discovered that the medicine consisted of equal parts of spirits of camphor, peppermint, balsam of fir, and laudanum, which contains opium. Laudanum was a common ingredient in many medicines of the time. The medicine was ingested by having ten drops of it dropped onto a lump of sugar. The mixture was seen as a common one, and Bolton’s had been selling it to the Templeton’s for over two years. William Bolton testified to the safety of the prescription, and several doctors did as well, saying the strength of the laudanum was not enough to cause a problem, and that the medicine would have been safe enough for a child. However, several doctors testified that drug stores did not mix medicines with the same care that a doctor would have, and new standards were needed. In the end, the investigation concluded that Miss Templeton was overly sensitive to narcotics, and her death was an accident. Bolton Drug Company celebrated fifty years of business, and launched an new series of ads in the paper.

In 1904, the New York Times reports that the Bolton Drug Company was merging with the Riker Drug Company, which was a much larger company, with many more branches, all in New England, and one in Buffalo. The intent was to open many more new branches in Manhattan and Brooklyn. William Bolton retired to pursue his real estate interests. Riker-Bolton merged with the Hegeman Company, becoming Riker and Hegeman, and by 1915, they had 105 stores in the Eastern US, and even more when they were bought out by Standard Oil’s United Drug Company. But that is another story. The Bolton’s drop off the radar, and disappear.

So what happens to Charlotte? She basically disappears, as well, except for one little tidbit in the Eagle in 1895. Charlotte Bolton became the first woman in the country to head a bicycle riding club, and became known as an expert wheelwoman. She was extremely popular with fellow clubbers and worked to raise money for a new Coney Island cycle path. She was also the first president of the Pioneer Club and a staunch Republican. Best of all, she invented a bicycle skirt that by means of a set of straps, can be lengthened or shortened just as the wearer may desire to wear it at a reception or on her wheel. The article also quoted Charlotte as saying that she was just past the half century mark, but had made several century (100 mile) rides. She was, however, very much opposed to bloomers. She and her fellow cyclists said, We ride wheels, but we are still women, and think the skirt the proper thing for cycling. Charlotte Bolton must have been some lady.
Photo: Turn of the century Pharmacy – Illinoistimes.com
Walkabout: The Druggist’s Tale, part 2
Walkabout: The Druggist’s Tale, part 1