Lucien Tartière

Patrick Hoggard June, 2020

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Introduction Jean Francois Tartière was born in Paris in 1794. He joined the young imperial guard in 1815, just in time to fight in the Battle of Waterloo.

Jean was part of the 6th Regiment de Chasseurs-à-Cheval (hunters on horseback), and was a voltigeur, an elite soldier used for lightning strikes.

Sometime after he was discharged in 1815, he married (date, place, and name of wife unknown), and in about 1822, had a son, Lucien Alphonse Tartière.1 It would seem that Lucien’s mother died in childbirth or not long afterwards.

In 1827 Jean Francois Tartière was entrusted by the French government with a sizeable cargo of arms to deliver to Chile. The relocation to Chile was intended to be permanent, and Lucien accompanied his father. Though the ship was bound for Chile, passage through the Straits of Magellan proved to be impossible, so it docked in Buenos Aires, and Mssr. Tartière organized a mule caravan across the Andes to reach Valparaiso.2

1 With no birth record, there is that Jean Francois Tartiére was married at this time, or that he had a son, or that the son was named Lucien. 2 Brigitte Denis, DENIS-GENET-BONAFANS-PITARD family tree, geneanet.org.

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Once there Jean married Ludivine Chatel,3 whom he had met on the ship and who had accompanied him from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso.

Jean Francois Tartière and Ludivine moved to Santiago. remained there for many years. There is a record, for example, of their daughter Luisa’s baptism at the Iglesia El Sagrario in Santiago on September 29, 1839.4

In 1865, Jean Francois Tartiére he returned to France, dying within the year at Nancy.5

Of Lucien’s early endeavors we know nothing, but it appears that his business affairs took him away from his family in Santiago. Around 1850, he married Augustina Portela or Portila,6 from Buenos Aires.

3 Full name Chérie-Ludivine Chatel, born 1797 in Blâmont, department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. 4 Chile Baptisms, 1585-1932, familysearch.org, Film No. 797305. 5 Brigitte Denis, DENIS-GENET-BONAFANS-PITARD family tree, geneanet.org. 6 Augustina was probably part of a French immigrant family, originally named Portille. She may have been a sister of the Augustin Portela recorded on the 1855 census of Argentina, a resident of Buenos Aires.

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California

News reached Lucien Tartière that gold had been discovered in California, and he wasted little time in getting there. He arranged transportation to Peru, where he embarked on the ship Mason in the port of Callao. He arrived in San Francisco on September 18, 1850.7 The only record we have of his arrival is a poorly printed, or poorly reproduced, newspaper announcement.8

In Spanish-speaking countries the wife does not take her husband’s surname, thus Augustina Portela is on the list with her own name, though it is quite difficult to read and, at best, misspelled as Partila.9

Lucien set out for the Sierras to find gold, along with thousands of other prospectors.10

By 1852, when a California state census was taken, Lucien Tartière was back in San Francisco, living with Augustine. The census form does not reveal where they were in San Francisco.11

7 Daily Alta California, 19 Sep 1850, p 4. 8 Ibid. 9 There is nothing to prove that they were already married; they might have met on the ship and married later. 10 We have no documentation for this either, but it would be strange if he did not. 11 Ancestry.com, California State Census, 1852.

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According to the census form, Lucien was 25 years old,12 and Augustina, listed only as “Mrs. Tartier”, was 20, born in “Buenos Ayres” and last a resident of “Buenos Ayres”. Lucien was born in France, and is listed incorrectly as having been a resident of France. Lucien’s occupation was written as “Gent”, or gentleman, meaning that he was not employed, but had the financial resources to support his family. We might deduce from this that Lucien had been successful as a prospector to some degree.

In December, 1853, Lucien and Augustina had a child, whom they named P. Henry Tartière.

In January, 1854, Lucien Tartière purchased a 25-acre piece of land in the southeastern corner of San Francisco, which had been cultivated as a truck farm. The price was $2,000, more evidence of Lucien’s success in finding gold. The deed recorded in San Francisco was one of the few to survive the fire following the 1906 earthquake, and is shown below.13

12 He was actually at least five years older than that, and maybe more. 13 San Francisco Deed Book 38, pp 61-62.

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The writing being somewhat difficult to read, a transcription follows.

This indenture made the twenty third day of January in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty four between Alfred Wheeler and William H Clark, the former of San Francisco, the latter of Columbia, Tolumne County, parties of the first part, and Lucien Tartière of San Francisco, party of the second part. Witnesseth that the said parties of the first part, for and in consideration of the sum of two thousand dollars lawful money of the United States of America to them in hand paid by the party of the second part, at or before the unsealing and delivery of these presents, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have granted, bargained, sold, aliened, remised, released, conveyed and confirmed, and by these presents do grant, bargain, sell, alien, remise, release, convey and confirm unto the said party of the second part and to his heirs and assigns forever all the right, title, interest, property, possession, claim and demand whatsoever of the said parties of the first part, in and to all that certain piece or parcel of ground in the County of San Francisco, being part of the Rancho or tract of land known as the Visitación y Cañada de Guadalupe y Rodeo Viejo originally granted by Juan B. Alvarado, Governor of California, to Jacob P Leese, said parcel being more particularly described as follows, to wit! Commencing at a point distant 294 feet south, 85⁰ 20’ west from the northeasterly corner of a piece of land now owned and occupied by Phillip Vallet, thence north 14⁰ 20’ east 858 feet, thence at right angle north 75° 40’ west 1269 feet, thence south 14° 20’ west 858 feet, thence south 75° 40’ east 1269 feet to the place of beginning. Containing twenty five acres of land together with all and singular the tenements, hereditaments and appurtenances thereunto belonging or in any wise appertaining, and the reversion and reversions, remainder and remainders, rents, issues and profits thereof, to have and to hold all and singular the above mentioned and described premises, together with the appurtenances, unto the party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, and the said parties of the first part do covenant that their

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right, title and interest in the above premises they will warrant and defend against all persons lawfully claiming or to claim the same by, from, or under them. In witness whereof the said parties of the first part have hereunto set their hands and seals, the day and year first above written.

This 25-acre piece of land acquired some minor notoriety as the “Somps Tract”. It was sold to the city in 1919 for a reservoir that was never built, and is now part of the Crocker-Amazon Park.

The problem is, there appears that no deed was ever recorded for the sale of this tract by Lucien Tartière, or by Augustina. As a best guess, Lucien engaged another Frenchman, Pierre Somps, to run the farm. By 1861, when a detailed map of the area was drawn, the farm had the Somps name.14

The boundary line on this map is the border with San Mateo County.

14 V. Wackenreuder, City and County of San Francisco, Henry Langley, 1861. Published to accompany the 1861 San Francisco city directory and several thereafter. David Rumsey Map Collection (davidrumsey.com).

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Lucien returned to Valparaiso sometime in the late 1850s. We know nothing of Lucien’s business affairs, and it may be that he traveled regularly between Chile and San Francisco, but in any case, after one trip he did not return, and Augustina and Henry were left alone.

Henry died on January 4, 1859. Whether Lucien divorced Augustina or just deserted her is unknown, but Augustina, now Augustine, remarried. Her husband, Sylvain Roy, was French, and worked as a gold cutter in San Francisco.

That marriage was short lived, because Augustine died on August 8, 1863. Augustine and Henry were buried together at the Mission San Dolores cemetery, with the headstone shown here.

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The inscription can be difficult to read. There are actually two inscriptions, in French, one for Henry, on the top, and another for Augustine, on the bottom. They are reproduced below, with a translation.

CI GIT P. HENRY TARTIERE

decide le 4 Janvier 1859 age de 5 ans et un mois

Here lies P. Henry Tartiere

died January 4, 1859 age 5 years and 1 month

& sa mere AUGUSTINE PORTILLE

Epouse de S. Roy Decedee le 8 Aout 1863

age de 32 Ans

and his mother Augustine Portille

wife of S. Roy died August 8, 1863

age 32

The headstone was probably commissioned by Augustine’s husband, Sylvain Roy, hence Augustine’s surname was written as Portille. That she married two Frenchmen may be taken as evidence that her family in Buenos Aires were French immigrants.

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Costa Rica

It is exceedingly difficult to follow Lucien into and through his next phase, after he left California and before he returned to the United States in 1866. We can say that he must have lived in Costa Rica for some or all of that time. What we do know rests on these facts:

1. In censuses taken after returning to the U.S., he had a wife named Eleonora who was born in Germany.15 Her birth date was quite inconsistent on census returns, varying from 1817 to 1830, but her death certificate said 1822, and we might as well accept that.

2. On the same census forms, he had a daughter named Chepita, born around 1861 in Costa Rica, confirmed by additional census forms after Chepita was married. Chepita is a nickname for Josefa.

3. Eleonora’s death certificate states that her parents were Paul and Julia Matchmann.

4. A baptismal record for Chepita in Costa Rica establishes that she was born in July, 1861; her parents’ names were recorded as Luciano Tartière and Eleonora Mateman.

The big problem is, when and how did he get from his family and farm (though he probably did not run it himself) in San Francisco to a different family in Costa Rica? Who was Eleonora? Where did Lucien encounter her?

We don’t even know Eleanor’s surname. Mateman is presumably an attempt to make it more pronounceable in Spanish. But it

15 Of course, there was no Germany at the time, just German-speaking principalities.

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seems unlikely to be Matchmann, which is not a normal combination of letters in German.16 There are a number of other possibilities, but none of them standout a priori.17

Several possible scenarios present themselves:

1. Lucien Tartière had business dealings in Costa Rica, where he met Eleonora. I have not found records for anyone else named Mateman in Costa Rica, nor any similar name.

2. Lucien Tartière traveled to Chile on business and/or to visit his family and met Eleonora there. I have found no records of any Mateman in Chile. The name most similar that appears in Chilean records is Mafsmann, which belonged to a family that wae part of a German colony in the city of Los Ángeles, in the interior of Chile, about 300 miles from Santiago. A business opportunity then took Lucien to Costa Rica.

3. Lucien could have met Eleonora almost anywhere in South or Central America, if his business took him there. At some point thereafter they would have moved to Costa Rica. I have not located any family with a name similar to Matschmann or Mateman anywhere.

None of these scenarios is very convincing. Here is one more.

4. Lucien Tartière met Eleonora in San Francisco. A relationship developed. Lucien and Eleonora, who may also have been married, run off together to Costa Rica, possibly getting married somewhere in between. I cannot find any supporting records for this hypothesis, but it has a certain degree of plausibility.

16 Matschmann is a possibility, but it is rare. Maschmann is more common, but would probably not be altered to Mateman in Spanish. 17 A survey of individuals in the 1850, 1860, and 1870 U.S. censuses who were born in Germany revealed 10 with the name Maschmann, 1 Maschman, 1 Mattman and none of the following: Matchmann, Matchman, Mattmann, Matmann, Matman, Mathmann, Mathman, Mathemann, Matheman, Mattemann, Matteman, Matemann, or Mateman.

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Here is the record of Chepita’s baptism on January 29, 1862, at the Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Carmen in San José, Costa Rica.18

Transcribed, it reads

En la Ciudad de San José á veintinueve de Enero de mil ochocientos sesenta y dos, yo, el presbítero Don Juan Pablo Salazar, Teniente Cura de esta Parroquia, bauticé solemnemente á Lorenza Francisca Rafaela Josefa, que nació en el mes de Julio del año proximo pasado: es hija legítima de Don Luciano Tartière y Doña Eleonora Mateman. Padrinos Don Ramon Castro y Doña Josefa Bolandi. Lo que firmo

Juan P. Salazar

From this document, we see that Chepita was born in July, 1861, and baptized six months later. According to U.S. census returns, she was born in Costa Rica, so we can assume that the parents were residents for at least the six months between birth and baptism.

Below is an enlargement of Eleonora’s name in the baptismal register.

18 Costa Rica, Catholic Church Records, 1595-1992, San José, El Carmen, Bautismos 1862-1868, p 5, familysearch.org.

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The name runs into the dark shadow, possibly hiding another ‘n’, in which case we would have Eleonora Matemann.

Chepita Tartière, whose full name was Lorenza Francisca Rafaela Josefa Tartière, was legitimate, so we can confirm that Lucien and Eleonora were already married by July, 1861. But we have no idea where.

When Eleonora died in 1901, newspaper announcements included the advice to Central American newspapers to publish it.

With nothing else to go on, I will just assume that Lucien, Eleonora, and Chepita remained in Costa Rica until 1866, when Lucien returned to the United States.’’

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New York

In 1866,19 Lucien, Eleonora, and Chepita moved to the state of New York. From this point it is easier to follow Lucien’s actions. The family settled in Quogue, a village in Suffolk County, on the south side of Long Island.

Apparently a jack of all trades, Lucien partnered with another Frenchman, Jules Fougerat, on the production of iodine from mussels. They were granted a patent for their process in 1868.20 They sold the patent to the Alga Chemical Works in New York City.21

In 1869, Lucien acquired for a nominal sum

the sole and exclusive right and privilege to cart and use for his own use and benefit the black sand or ore from the several premises owned by the said parties of the first part on the south beach in the said town of Southampton, between the bath station at Quogue and west to opposite Potunk Point.22

It would appear that Lucien’s use for the black sand was as iron ore. On the 1870 census, Lucien was listed in a household with two other men, all three identified as manufacturers of iron and steel. It is difficult to imagine how they could have competed with the large steel mills that were just starting to be built in the

19 As stated on Chepita’s 1930 census return. On the 1930 return, the year of immigration was 1864. 20 Jules Fougerat and Lucien A. Tartiere, Improved Process for the Manufacture of Iodine, U.S. Patent 83,372, 27 Oct 1868. 21 Ibid. 22 Suffolk County, New York, Deed Book 164, pp 409-410.

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United States, but making iron was certainly feasible on a small scale. Small forges had been the norm for centuries.

Although Lucien appeared on the 1870 census in Quogue, he also was listed with Eleonora and Chepita in Brooklyn. Quogue was now a second home.

On the 1870 Brooklyn census form, Lucien’s occupation was reported to be iron worker. He was listed in the 1871 Brooklyn city directory, living at 289 Pacific Street, with an occupation of iron founder.

Smelting iron ore requires a very high temperature. Practically speaking, at the time this could only be achieved by burning coke, a high-carbon solid produced by heating coal to a high temperature in the absence of air. The apparatus in which this was accomplished was called a gas retort, an example of which is shown in this diagram.

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The gas retort yielded two products – the gases that were given off as the coal was heated, and the coke that was left over. The gases (especially when mixed with steam) came to be called “town gas”, which was piped through cities to be ignited for light. It contained a large proportion of carbon monoxide, with obvious consequences, and was eventually replaced by natural gas. Many companies came into being with “Gas Light and Coke Company” in their names, as for example

Note the brickwork surrounding the coke ovens in the gas retort. These bricks were especially formulated to withstand decomposition, to the extent possible, when exposed to the high temperatures in the gas retorts, and were referred to as fire brick. Fire brick was also required to line the furnaces used to smelt iron or other metals from ore.

One of the few suppliers of gas retorts and fire bricks in New York was Balthasar Kreischer, whose New York Fire Brick and Clay Retort Works on Staten Island is a designated New York City landmark. It is very likely that Lucien established a relationship with Balthasar Kreischer that led to the end of Lucien’s foundry days.

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Chicago

In December, 1870, an advertisement appeared in several issues of the Chicago Tribune, under the heading of Patents, offering to sell fire brick manufacturing technology.23

Edward H. Castle… has been appointed agent for the Patent Brick Kilns by Balthasar Kreischer of New York city, who has made one million dollars burning bricks in his kilns, and offers to manufacturers of bricks an opportunity of greatly improving the style and quality of goods at greatly reduced expenses.

Despite there being no further mention of this in the newspapers, we have reason to believe that in 1871 Kreischer set up an office in Chicago to act as his agent in selling fire brick technology, and in that office were his son, George F. Kreischer, and Lucien Tartiére.

It is doubtful that Lucien’s family went with him. Apparently the market for gas retort and fire brick technology was exhausted after a few months in Chicago, and by April, 1872, Lucien had returned to New York. However, he continued with some work he had been doing with George Kreischer on improving the formulation of materials for gas retorts, and they patented their idea in 1873.24 Their formulation added clay, carbon, and lime to ground firebrick. Water would be added to make a slurry, which was poured into molds.

23 Chicago Tribune, 21 Dec 1870, p 1. 24 George F. Kreischer and Lucien A. Tartiere, Improvement in Compounds for Gas-Retorts, U.S. Patent 137,934, 15 Apr 1873.

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The Fire-Proof Building Company

Lucien never went back to his foundry, except perhaps to dismantle it. After returning to New York he joined a new company, established by Leonard and Arthur Beckwith, the Fire-Proof Building Company of New York. Lucien, having worked on bricks for gas retorts, was in a good position to make a contribution.

Fireproofing buildings had been a topic of considerable interest for many decades, without much progress. The Great Chicago Fire of October, 1871,25 caused hundreds of articles on fireproofing to appear in newspapers, most lamenting that there were but a handful of buildings in the entire United States that were truly able to withstand a fire.26

The company began immediately in 1872 to design and manufacture hollow blocks of concrete in various forms, capable of being used structurally, a process that would eventually lead to the construction of skyscrapers. They were by no means the only manufacturers of hollow concrete blocks, but they did compete to design what would be needed for various construction tasks. Their initial designs are pictured here.27

25 Which may have induced Balthasar Kreischer to advertise his technology in that city. 26 Chicago Tribune, 26 Nov 1871, p 2. 27 Sara E. Wermiel, “Leonard and Arthur Beckwith”, Centraliens, La revue des Arts et manufactures, No. 627, July 2013, pp 53-60.

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Lucien Tartière was the superintendent of the company. Though the Beckwith brothers founded the firm, Lucien contributed to the design of products as well as to their manufacture. He acquired four patents, one for materials used to make moldable fire-proof blocks,28 one for clamps and hangers to hold hollow concrete blocks in buildings,29 one for spikes and brackets to hold concrete blocks in such a way as to protect floor beams against fire,30 and a method of casting a concrete block around a core that can be removed to leave a hollow block.31

The company had some immediate success. The Tribune Building, by some considered to be the first skyscraper,32 was designed, in 1873, to use hollow blocks from the Fire-Proof Building Company. The building was completed in 1875.33

28 William T. Van Zandt and Lucien A. Tartière, Improvement in Fire-Proof Building-Blocks, U.S. Patent 136,684, 11 Mar 1873. 29 Lucien A. Tartière, Improvement in Fire-Proof Buildings, U.S. Patent 143,196, 23 Sep 1873. 30 Lucien A. Tartière, Improvement in Fire-Proof Buildings, U.S. Patent 143,197, 23 Sep 1873. 31 Lucien A. Tartière, Improvement in Apparatus for Casting Hollow Articles of Cement, U.S. Patent 164,057, 1 Jun 1875. 32 Though just nine stories tall, its spire reached 260 feet, and when built it was the tallest office building in New York City. 33 See old.skyscraper.org.

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The Fire-Proof Building Company was in downtown Manhattan, at 111 Broadway. Lucien took an apartment at 52 University Place, in midtown Manhattan, two miles from the work site. I assume that the family moved there too.

The apartment at 52 University Place, as it turns out, was not the only residence Lucien maintained in New York.

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The Andrie Murder Trial

In 1872, Lucien Tartière was part of a trial for a murder in which he had played a significant, if unintended, role. The story made page one news with the headline34

Lucien’s part in the affair was in the last subhead – Awful Domestic Disclosures. An account of the crime itself appeared in the Chicago Tribune:35

At half past 11 o;clock this morning Emile Andrie, a Frenchman, residing at 339 East 21st street, shot and instantly killed his wife, Leonie Andrie, in First avenue. The murderer is about forty years of age. He for some time past suspected his wife of infidelity with a Frenchman named Lucien Tartiere, and six weeks ago she left her husband and took a room with Tartiere on 21st street. The husband tried to induce her to return, but in vain. She also refused to surrender two children to their father, or sign a paper he drew up for a complete separation. Andrie sought his false wife again this morning to demand her signature. Mrs.

34 The World (New York), 14 Jun 1872, p 1. 35 Chicago Tribune, 14 Jun 1872, p 1. The name Andre was changed to the correct name, Andrie. The article is dated June 13, 1872.

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Andrie was sitting with her friend, Mrs. Vacher, at the storeroom of the latter, 415 East 15th street. Her little daughter, Josephine, aged 8, and son, Leon, aged 5, were with her. Mrs. Vacher’s husband sells bottled French and Rhine wines at the place. Mrs. Vacher had just gone back to her room to arrange her hair, when Andrie entered. At his first hostile manifestations his wife endeavored to avoid him, and succeeded in getting out on the sidewalk. He pursued her toward First avenue, and overtook her at the corner, just as she was crossing 15th street. Seizing her by the hair he place the pistol at her neck and fired. Mrs. Andre fell to the ground and expired soon after. Andre started down 15th street, walking along with apparent unconcern. Two citizens arrested him and gave him into custody.

Another article goes into more detail about Lucien’s part in this grim story.36

Andrie is 40 years old, while his wife is ten years younger, of a lively and vivacious temperament, and fond of the attentions of the opposite sex. Upon many occasions Andrie had found fault with her on this account, and having reason to believe her unfaithful to him, had occasionally quarreled with her, and beaten her. Among the acquaintances of the family was Lucien Tartiere, a manufacturer of bricks, recently of Chicago. He had corresponded with husband and wife, and professed a strong friendship for both. Andrie became convinced that during his absence in the hospital,37 his wife and Tartiere had been criminally intimate, and he charged her with it. She denied the accusation, and angry words followed. As a consequence of this quarrel, the wife, in the absence of her husband, about six weeks ago, taking with her the two children, came to this city, and hired

36 New York Tribune, 14 Jun 1872, p 1. Andre corrected to Andrie. 37 He had smallpox.

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apartments adjoining those of Tartiere, at No. 339 East 21st street. Andrie visited her on several occasions and endeavored to induce her to return and live with him, promising forgiveness for the past if she would do so. She steadfastly refused, however, and Andrie believed that she was incited to this course by Tartiere. Moreover, he was convinced that this criminal intercourse was kept up. Their rooms communicated, and on several occasions Andrie had seen Tartiere in his wife’s apartment. On Wednesday morning Andrie found the two taking coffee together…

Among the letters [found in Andrie’s apartment] was one from his wife, dated June 8, which set forth that she could not understand how it was that he should cherish the slightest hope that she could ever be reconciled to him, and that the more she thought of the past the more she repented of having patiently endured his barbarous treatment.

Later in the day, Tartiere called at the station house, and denied most emphatically that he had ever had any criminal intercourse with the woman, or that he even lived in the same house with her. He claims to live at 52 University place.

According to the New York World, Lucien’s statements were contradicted by those of Mr. and Mrs. Douanneau,38

who state that Tartiere’s conduct was the talk of all his friends and those of M. Andrie, and that the prisoner was a hard-working, honest man, more sinned against than sinning… the sympathy of the entire French colony appears to be with the unfortunate prisoner.

38 New York World, 14 Jun 1872, p 1.

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It is true that the French-language newspaper described Mme. Andrie thusly,39 rather ignoring the fact that Andrie beat his wife violently.

The certain and unchallenged fact that emerges from all the testimonies gathered is that Mrs. Andrie was a woman of deplorable immorality, and that since the first day she set foot in America, she has not ceased to drown her husband with shame and pain.

We learn a few particulars about Lucien Tartière from the French-language newspaper.40 In 1871, Andrie had several jobs, one of which was at a pottery factory for construction, which is not identified but may have been Kreischer’s fire brick factory on Staten Island.

At last he was about to leave for Chicago, where he thought he would find a job with M. Lucien Tartière, whom he had known for a long time, and who was planning to carry out important reconstruction work after the fire.

Tartière had already gone and Andrie was preparing to follow him when, in January he was afflicted with smallpox. He was taken to the hospital and remained there until April…

When Andrie was in the hospital, Tartière was in Chicago. There is no indication that until then he had a blameworthy relationship with Mme. Andrie, to whom he sent letters merely marked with affectionate concern for her and her children…

If the letters were of a nonamorous nature, that did not continue. In March Mme. Andre informed Lucien that her husband was in the hospital. Responding rapidly, Lucien wrote

You know that I am alone and that I need someone to love me as I would love you, if you wanted. We can live happily

39 Courrier des Etats-Unis, 15 Jun 1872, p 1. Google Translate applied and refined. 40 Ibid.

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with your children. We can come together under one roof and form one family. I will help you raise your children as if they were mine, and I will teach them, in evening or in my free time, to read, to write, and what little I know. You see that I am being frank and I hope you will do the same. If you don’t believe me and don’t think I can ensure our mutual happiness, write to me.

Well, that is certainly unambiguous.

All of the lurid details were exposed at length in the New York newspapers, then, in July, and again in November, when Andrie’s trial took place. Andrie was convicted of third degree manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.

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Brazil

Lucien Tartière became an American citizen in 1875, naturalized on March 11.41

One might imagine that the proceedings involving the murder of Mme. Andrie would have a deleterious effect on Lucien’s family. At least according to the New York state census in 1875, they were recorded together, living in Brooklyn, on Atlantic Avenue. Eleonora was using the name Laura, which she seems to have preferred in later years, except for the most official documents.

Despite the family picture delivered by the 1875 New York census, there is good reason to think that they were separated and living apart. Lucien was listed in all the New York (Manhattan) city directories from 1875 through 1878, as a superintendent at 111 Broadway,42 i.e., at the Fire-Proof Building Company, with a notation that his residence was in New Jersey.

In fact, Lucien appeared in the 1876 directory of Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he was listed in the Elizabeth city directory, living at 221 Elizabeth Ave.43 His occupation, as listed in that directory, was brickmaker.

Eleonora, meanwhile, can be found in the 1876 Brooklyn directory, listed thusly:

41 Court of Common Pleas, New York County, Volume 449, record no. 70. 42 Except in 1878, because the company moved to a different address. 43 Elizabeth, New Jersey, City Directory, 1876.

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This announcement of Lucien’s demise was premature, but I think we can take this as confirmation that they no longer lived together, and may even have been divorced.

Eleonora was not found by the canvasser for the 1877 Brooklyn city directory, but she was in the 1878 edition, again with the premature news of Lucien’s death.44

Chepita finished 12 years of school,45 which had to be done privately at that time, before the first public high schools were authorized. There was one less than a mile away, see adverstisement below,46 and it is a good bet that Chepita completed her education here.

There is also good reason to believe that Lucien Tartière visited Brazil frequently, and probably had a residence in Rio de Janeiro. In Brazil he worked on yet another invention, this one to dry coffee, evidently building on Lucien’s long experience with ovens. He received a patent in 1876, with exclusive rights for eight years.47

44 George T. Lain, The Brooklyn City Directory for They Year Ending May 1st, 1878, Lain & Company, p 906. 45 According to her 1940 census return. 46 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 23 Sep 1879, p 1. 47 Coleção das leis do Imperio do Brazil de 1876, Volume 2, Typographia nacional, 1877, p 906.

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Lucien Tartière was nominated for full membership (as a “sócio efectivo”) of the influential Sociedade Auxiliadora da Industria Nacional.48 One of the duties of this society was to read patent applications, which they would reject or recommend.

Lucien was granted a second patent two years later for an improved version of the same coffee-drying device.49 Lucien commercialized these patents and, as we shall see, spent some time traveling to promote his coffee-drying machine.

48 Auxiliador da Industria Nacional, Periodo da Sociedade Auxiliadora da Industria Nacional, Volume 45, 1877, p 563. 49 Decreto 6941, 6 Jul 1878, Coleção das leis do Imperio do Brazil de 1878, Typographia Nacional, 1879, p 374.

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On April 1, 1878, Lucien Tartière submitted an application for a third Brazilian patent, this one for an apparatus that could dry coffee, but also other beans and cereal grains. It was reviewed, of course, by members of the Sociedade Auxiliadora da Industria Nacional. A reviewer stated that the apparatus could be expected to be of great usefulness, especially to farmers with small crops,50 and Lucien’s petition was approved, granting him exclusive rights for 20 years.

Lucien submitted yet another the petition on August 29, 1878, for an improved version of his coffee- and grain-drying apparatus, but he died on September 3, a very brief notice appearing almost two months later in the French-language newspaper of New York.51

The Sociedade Auxiliadora da Industria Nacional met in late September and granted Lucien’s petition, with exclusive rights for 20 years. One of the society members, João Franklin de Alencar Lima, added a tribute:52

The Machines and Devices Section has the sad duty of informing the board of the Sociedade Auxiliadora da Industria Nacional that this petition was signed by our illustrious member, Lucien A. Tartiére, on his deathbed.

On September 3, 1878, he passed to a better world. He was one of the most devoted promoters of progress in national agriculture that we have known.

50 Auxiliador da Industria Nacional, Periodo da Sociedade Auxiliadora da Industria Nacional, Volume 46, 1878, p 126. 51 Courrier des Etats-Unis, 18 Oct 1878, p 3. 52 Auxiliador da Industria Nacional, Periodo da Sociedade Auxiliadora da Industria Nacional, Volume 46, 1878, p 225. Translated with Google Translate and refined.

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He died of malarial poisoning,53 which struck him when he began promoting in rural areas his excellent mechanism for drying coffee and making flour…

I present these nostalgic words of modest tribute in gratitude to the memory of Lucien A. Tartiére, who bequeathed three Brazilian inventions to Brazilian farmers, the importance of which only posterity will know how to evaluate.

One particular paragraph was omitted from this speech to the membership, because it gives us a reason for additional speculation.

The inventions of Lucien A. Tartiére today constitute the only legacy that this great worker left to his widow, an admirable companion of his works and his cruel sufferings.

Lucien having been separated, or possibly even divorced, from Eleonora for several years, and Eleonora having stated that he was dead to city directory canvassers since 1876, this seems a peculiar statement if made by a friend of Lucien.

Unless…

Unless the friend knew Lucien’s wife in Rio de Janeiro, and it wasn’t Eleonora.

53 At the time there was no way of distinguishing malaria from other conditions with similar symptoms. The term “malarial poisoning” was in general use, because of the conviction that it was the noxious fumes from swamps and stagnant water that brought on the malady.

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A Few Loose Ends

Eleonora Tartiére, née Mateman or Matschmann, or something like that, died in Brooklyn on June 7, 1901. Eleonora and Lucien’s daughter, Chepita,54 married Jesse S. Barker in 1884. Jesse was a clerk in a newspaper office.

Jesse and Chepita one child, Emeline, born in 1884. Jesse died in 1925, and Jennie (Chepita) died in Brooklyn in 1951, at the age of 90. She outlived her daughter, and consequently notices appeared in the newspaper searching for relatives who might be eligible heirs.55 I don’t know what the outcome was, but I would imagine that one would have to look in South America to find relatives, and I wonder if the administrator was capable of finding them.

54 Chepita used the name Jennie from this point on. 55 Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 25 May 1951, p 19.

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Appendix The U.S. Patents of Lucien Tartiére

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