Job Hamer. Travels to Mexico 1865/6

In 1865 Job Hamer was 34 years old. He had married Mary Moseley in 1860, and by 1865 they had two children, Thurston and Alice. It is probable that they were living at in Gorton, a suburb to the east of Manchester, although by then they may have been living at Sherfin House in Henheads. Job would have been a member of growing mercantile middle class in England. On his marriage certificate his father’s rank is given as ‘Gentleman’ and we know that his father’s occupation as listed in the 1851 census is ‘tea merchant’.

Job was a ‘Manchester warehouseman’, a job which meant that he was a wholesaler of textiles, and of course Manchester was at the heart of the English textile industry. He had been working for a company called A&I Lt [Ltd],[1] but it seems that in 1864 or 1865 he and a partner set up in business for themselves. A&I Lt sold textiles and probably other ‘dry goods’ to importers Mexico, and almost certainly in Cuba and other Latin American countries too. It is likely that both Job and his partner had already travelled to Cuba and Mexico.

In late 1865 Job set off on a trip to Mexico with the intention of ‘doing business’ there. We have a collection of 14 letters which he wrote to his partner back in Manchester which describe his journey. These letters are mostly concerned with business and with the business relationships he was endeavouring to set up, not just in Mexico, but at every opportunity that presented itself. They also make reference to places and events along the way. They say very little about his private or personal life, though.

A Manifold Writer

The letters are in fact one set of two copies which he wrote using an early form of carbon paper called a ‘Manifold writer.’ It involved writing with a stylus. Job would have sent the ‘originals’ to his partner and retained a copy both for his own information and to be used in case the originals went astray, given the vicissitudes of the mail service. He complains about using the Manifold: “I hope you can read what I have written for I can assure you it has given me a great deal of trouble to write with a manifold writer.”[2] There is a broad margin on the left of every page, and this margin functions as a kind of ‘index’ to what is being said in the letter. It draws attention to salient features.

His journey took him by steamer from Liverpool to Halifax and then to Boston and on to New York. From New York he took another steamer to Havana, where he spent several weeks. From there he went to Veracruz where he spent some time looking for business opportunities before going on to Mexcio City by diligence (the train was too expensive, it seems!).

Cunard’s ‘China’

Steamers represented the latest form of sea travel at the time, and were faster and more reliable than the sailing ships they were rapidly replacing. From a business point of view, it was expensive to send goods by steamer, and if they were not urgently required, transport by sail was a more economical option.[3] The steamer taken by Job across the Atlantic was the “China”, a Cunard line ship designed for transatlantic postal service and launched in 1862, so she was still relatively new at the time. Despite this, the crossing was a rough one. He writes just before reaching Halifax on Nov 20th, 1865: “The passage up to now has been rough & most awfully disagreeable in every sense of the word.”[4] The voyage apparently had not been without incident: “… we had to stop for a short time on a/c of the machinery getting overheated on some account – I did not learn the particulars and am satisfied as we are now going on again all right.”[5]

Job arrived in Halifax at 3am and went ashore, but was back on the steamer at 8am bound for Boston. The journey to Boston was even worse than the journey across the Atlantic, apparently. “Between Halifax and Boston we had a fearful time and I can tell you many thought we should be food for fishes.”[6] In Boston he had a nasty experience: he seems to have been mugged by a man who presented himself as connected with the carriage to the hotel. Job doesn’t say how much he lost, but clearly money and other things were stolen from him. He says “I however fared better than one who went to the same hotel – for he was absolutely stripped. So much for the country of freedom.”[7]

The USA at the time was recovering from the American Civil War, which had ended with the collapse of the Confederate government in the spring of 1865. At the time Job was in Boston and New York there were still a lot of soldiers around who had fought in the war and were now at a loose end. Job comments that “there are a lot of people – not very good – thrown at a loose end by the close of the war who will be ready for anything for the sake of plunder and just now both at Boston and here a lot have turned their attention to burglaries garrotting &c and some gentlemen I was with the other night had small revolvers in their pockets which they thought necessary for their safety.”[8]

It is not clear how Job travelled from Boston to New York, but it was probably by train. He complains about the cost: “The fare to N York for me $6 extra luggage $2. From the station to the hotel $3 & because the hotel I went to first was full, & I went to another perhaps 200 yds off, he wanted 75 cents more which I did not pay & had a row about. My room is $3 a day and I expect that my breakfast and dinner will cost $3 or 4 more and that for only very plain living. As I find travelling in this country so expensive & I cannot think of any good that could come of my going via Cincinatti & then to N Orleans… I find everything very dear indeed – my supper in Boston the night I arrived – which was a steak and a glass of beer – cost a dollar and a half.”[9]

Job spends several days in New York, and meets with some business contacts. He is impressed by the city in many ways, and feels that there are major commercial opportunities there. “The ladies dress very expensively and with good taste – and the children and men and I should say a deal of money is wanted to keep it up – I cannot attempt to give you any idea of the city – it is a fine place – there are lots of conveniences in the shape of cars buses &c to get from one part to another & also for sending parcels, luggage &c to any part of the Union, but you have to pay for it much more than in England. The hotels are fine but for anything like comfort you have to pay high.”[10] He is also disparaging about some aspects of the city. He says that there are fears of a cholera outbreak in the spring and comments: “I don’t profess to know much about sanitary arrangements but when I find such abominable stenches as are to be met with in the streets here I think improvement is wanted & I think the cholera will find out the weak places.”[11] He also complains of the cold: “I find NY very cold though dry just now and I shall be glad to get into warmer regions.”[12]

He had been advised by some of his contacts to travel overland by rail to New Orleans, and then on by boat from there. This route would not have been open a year before, because of the American Civil War. Job decides however that it would be too expensive and decides to take the steamboat “Corsica” to Havana, his next destination. He says he will “risk the sea passage which I am told by many is very dangerous & worse just now than it has been for many years.”[13] It is not clear why it is so dangerous, but interestingly the ship he travelled on, the Corsica, had experienced an accident and fire on board earlier that year, resulting in the loss of two lives.[14]

Job expected to leave for Havana on Dec 2nd, having spent four days in New York, but the sailing was delayed by fog. “We could not start on our appointed day of sailing on account of the fog which I can tell you I did not relish, having to cross the river from N York to Jersey to go on board & not being prepossessed in favour of the American style of doing things. I however escaped any collision though there were a few during the day.”[15] However, he seems to have had a “fine passage” and arrived in Havana on Dec 11th, where he stayed until Dec 24th, when he took a ship to Veracruz.

There was some business to do in Havana, and Job seems to have spent a lot of his time meeting people and generally networking for the business. He tried to generate some orders, but reports that “Business here is very dull, large stocks, low prices, and not any disposition to give orders. The weather very hot for the season & some sickness about and a general expectation of the arrival of the Cholera.”[16] He does take some orders for samples and sets up some meetings for later in the year in England. He says “All in the houses are exceedingly friendly and kindly disposed towards us & I regret that I have arrived at so unfortunate a time … I am sorry, but I could not do better and shall try to keep up under the disappointment.”[17]

One of his main objectives was to gather intelligence about Mexico and the state of things there. He says “The news from Mexico so far is very unfavourable for business & for travellers and if half be true that is reported in the papers it would be as well to turn back but I feel disposed to try and shall unless something happens.”[18] A little later he writes “I quite expect I shall not get beyond the City of Mexico. I have just seen some people who have lately returned and they represent and give instances of the great dangers on the roads and some of the most barbarous and villainous atrocities ever committed. The Railway trains from Vera Cruz have even been stopped several times and in one case about a dozen men were mutilated in a most shocking manner (castrated &c) before being put to death not content with robbing. But as I have said before I shall see on the spot and if it be at all possible I shall go on – & you may expect that I am gone along unless you hear to the contrary soon after the Str arrives at V Cruz.”[19]

It would seem that Job was feeling quite discouraged. In a rare mention of things other than business he says towards the end of his letter of Dec 22nd “I have been in good health so far and with care hope to continue so. I dare not trust myself to begin writing about my children.”[20]

He travels by steamer on the 24th to Veracruz (he spent Christmas day at sea but makes no mention of it as having being marked in any way). The ship reached Veracruz on the 28th but was unable to put into the harbour until the following day because a severe ‘Norther’ was blowing. He reports that hotels in Veracruz are not up to much: “The hotels here are miserable in the extreme & it is quite impossible to shew my samples in any of the rooms in any of them altho you would pay 30 dollars a day. I have therefore spoken with Mr Miron about taking a place somewhere for the few days I shall be here for the purpose of shewing my patterns & I expect to have one in a day or two…”[21] We can conclude that Mr Miron, who was the local managing partner for the house of deViga Hermanos of Mexico City, put him up because when he leaves Veracruz he writes “I have experienced very great kindness from all in the house here besides being a saving of hotel expenses & I should like to return it in some way, & I shall look to you to look out for a first rate Cheshire Cheese and also a Stilton and have them packed in tin and sent to the House as a present. You may either send them at once or wait my return but I should like them to be ready to send soon after my return and to be of the best quality. Will you see after this.”[22]

Mexico at this time was in state close to civil war. In 1861 the government of Benito Juarez defaulted on its debts, and the three main creditor nations, France, Britain and Spain agreed at the Treaty of London 1861 to take joint military action. Almost exactly four years before Job arrived on this visit, in December 1861, the British, French and Spanish fleets arrived in Veracruz and began a military action. The British and Spanish soon dropped out, but the French went on and eventually captured Mexico City. The government of Benito Juarez escaped and moved to the north of the country. The French installed Maximilian II as Emperor of Mexico. The USA was not in a position to intervene because of the American Civil War, but continued to recognise the government of Benito Juarez and gave it some aid. Once the Civil War was over, the USA stepped up its support of the Juarez government and threatened direct intervention. The French, deciding that good relations with the USA were preferable to their colonial ambitions, started to withdraw in April 1866.[23]

Job’s letters don’t say much about the wider political picture, but there are references in many of them to the situation. He writes from New York: “According to the news we get here Mexico is anything but a desirable place to visit & especially in the North, but one does not know what to believe of it as given by these people [i.e. the Americans]. Some think this country will not disturb [Maximillian] while others assert he will be driven out. I fancy as far as I am able to judge he will be let alone though…”[24] From Veracruz on the 3rd of January he writes “You have heard of the vote of Congress ‘that the US shall send the French out of this’[25] and I dare say a deal will depend on this as to trade &c here & it may make somewhat unpleasant travelling or being in the north part of Mexico & it may cause me to change my plans… I don’t hear much said generally about the news but so far as there has been any talking the opinion has been that the French are bound to leave and the Yankees to come in but I fancy its is a decided case of ‘quien sabe’.”[26] He has clearly had the objective of visiting the north of Mexico, and in particular Tampico, Matamoros and Monterrey. On January 9th he writes “The last news from [Matamoros] is very discouraging. It is said that Bagdad[27] (or the mouth of the river) is in possession of the liberals & that the whole of the Imperial Forces with the assistance of some Americans have been taken prisoners & the communication is cut off from Matamoros & it is also said that the Merchants & principal people have all left Matamoros. There is no doubt a deal of trouble there & the truth is not published here & unless there is an improvement by March it is useless my attempting to go. I think it would be throwing money away.”[28]

Job took some time deciding how best to travel from Veracruz to Mexico City. On Dec 29th he writes “I am sorry to say it will be very expensive getting to the city – the diligence fare is $30 & I think the railway the same altogether $60 with 25lbs only of luggage allowed $5 for every 25lbs over & then there is the feeding on the way.

A diligence

I think of sending my trunks by mules which will cost less but the soonest they can arrive will be 10 days or more likely 15.”[29] On the 11th of January he writes: “My trunks cannot get away from here till the 15th. & will arrive by express … on the 27th or 28th inst. I expect to go a few days later & shall arrive there before them.”[30] On the 17th he writes “I have fixed to go to the City on the 19th where my trunks have already gone, along with all my writing materials so that I have not them to refer to.”[31] He has some worries about the journey: “I hope I as well as my trunks may be allowed to go along in safety”[32] and earlier he wrote “I don’t want to have more money on me in the journey than I can help on a/c of the “ladrones”, though I hope I shall escape them.”[33] It seems that Job finally travelled up to the City on the 20th or shortly after that, presumably by diligence. Before leaving Veracruz he writes in a PS that he has met somebody called McCormack. “He tells me that business is very bad in the City and that he has not taken any orders there or here & he did not go beyond the city as it is quite unsafe to do so. The Guerillas 300 in number had a fight yesterday with with the ‘Contra Guerillas’ on the road between [Veracruz] and Paso del Macho (the terminus of the Railway) & two of the CGs were wounded. I understand it was a tremendous affair but I cannot get at the full particulars.”[34]

The next letter is from Mexico City, and he makes no mention of the journey up. He said in an earlier letter that the journey would take three days.[35] From his letter of 28th January we can infer that his trunks with the samples have not arrived yet, although he was ‘expecting them daily.’ The pessimistic reports he had received about the opportunities for business in Mexico City seem to be born out. On 9th February he writes “In the meantime I have called round and seen the houses here … I may say I found all in the same tune as regards business – all say it is very dull large stocks and only very low prices can be got so that my calls generally have only led to improving the acquaintance so far & it is well to keep this up & perhaps some business may follow later. Patience & perseverance are very necessary here.”[36] One of his more promising contacts is somebody called Haghenbeck who starts off by placing an order for umbrellas. This seems to be the first substantial order which Job has obtained, although a Mr Rueda of Puebla seems to have placed a small order when Job was in Veracruz.[37] He perseveres, and within a week Haghenbeck has ordered 36 bedsteads and 4 reclining chairs. On the 27th of February he writes “Since my last I have been going the rounds of the houses here but not with much success as regards orders for people generally are in the same dull mood … I had intended to have left this place ere this but I have been detained by Mr Haghenbeck who promised to make up a further trial order and he has been so far occupied that he did not do so as soon as he led me to expect. I however thought it better to wait for his order than go without although I might be delayed in consequence & have nothing else to wait for.”[38] Mr Heghenbeck finally comes through with an order for textiles and wallpaper, so it looks as if Job’s patience paid off.

During his time in Mexico City Job has been deliberating on the pros and cons of a visit to Matamoros. We are not sure why he is so keen to go there, although he hints earlier that he has previously made good contacts there.[39] We know that one of these contacts was called Walsh and that he was afraid a competing house was going to tempt him away. In the letter of 31st January he says “The news from Matamoros is such that I don’t think it will be of any use going there at present 10,000 troops (French under Gen Doury or some such name) are going and others to Monterey, so that it appears to be it would be throwing money away to go there. I am however anxious to go & if I see the slightest hope later I shall go or perish in the attempt.”[40] On the 17th February he writes: “ I think just now it is useless going to Matamoros – the place is in such a state I would advise as better a special trip end of this or early next year…”[41] On the 4th of March, in the last sentence of the letters which have survived he says “So far the news is not such as to induce a visit to Matamoros – but I shall see more when I get to V Cruz.”[42]

Job’s objectives on the trip were certainly to land some orders if at all possible, but in addition to this he was doing extensive networking, renewing acquaintances and establishing contacts. He refers many of the people he mentions to his partner in England, and follow-up will be done when these people travel to Europe later in the year. He is also looking out for agents, and in Veracruz seems to have been successful in identifying a Mr Fitzmaurice as a possible agent, and discusses terms with him.[43] It seems that Fitzmaurice was keen: “I saw Mr Fitzmaurice this a.m. according to appointment & he seems willing in fact glad to undertake the business.”[44] He tells his partner that communication with Fitzmaurice must be done in Spanish: “Fitzmaurice is an Irish name but he does not understand English.”[45] By the time Job leaves Veracruz, Fitzmaurice is already dealing with an order from a contact of his in Puebla. Job is less lucky in finding an agent in the City. On Mr de Viga’s recommendation he approaches someone called Mauricio de Maria Campos, who declines the offer saying that he has too much other business to attend to.

The last letter is written from Mexico City and is dated 3rd March (with a PS on the 4th). In it he writes “My No 13 was dated 27th ulto – I expect my trunks will be on the road to V Cruz in a day or two (they are now out of my possession) & I shall quit this city in about a week, but I have my doubts as to whether my trunks can arrive in time for me to go by the American Str of the 21st from V Cruz & if I am detained till the RM [Royal Mail?] Str of the 10th prox I think I shall go straight on to England without staying at Havana so you need not write me again unless I write you advising a different arrangement. I shall try hard for a week in Havana.” He left England in the middle of November and is expecting to be back at some point in April, so the length of the trip has been between five and six months in total. This kind of life must have been hard on his family as well as on him.

Afterword

‘Job’s diary’ is a set of 72 hand-written pages, made up of 14 letters written between 20th November 1865 and 3rd March 1866. They were written using an instrument called a ‘Manifold Writer’ which allowed a copy to be made simultaneously with the original, in effect an early form of carbon paper. There is a fairly wide margin on the left side, in which captions are written which provide an over-view of the subject being discussed in the adjacent paragraph. Beginning with letter no. 2 we find the date of the letter at the top, and also another date showing when the letter was received. The letter dated 13th December 1865 from Havana was received, presumably in Manchester, on 3rd January 1866. Letter no. 14 dated 3rd March 1866 from Mexico City was received 2nd April 1866.

The ‘diary’ was in the possession of Walter Hamer, a grandson of Job Hamer (Walter was a son of Geoffrey Hamer, ninth of Job’s ten children) and was inherited by Nina Hamer, who still has the original in her possession.  A copy was obtained by Thurston Hamer III and he kindly furnished me with scanned copies. It has always been the understanding of the family that these are letters sent by Job to his partner in Manchester.

I have written the narrative above on this assumption, placing Job squarely as the author of these letters. However, it is possible that he was not the author, in which case he was almost certainly the recipient. It is the case that the letters never make mention of the names of either the sender or the recipient, and none of them mention family matters which might help to resolve the issue.

The case for the author being Job’s partner could be made on the following basis.

  • If these were copies of the letters which were sent, it would be less likely (although by no means impossible) that they would be marked with the date on which they were received.
  • The marginal notes could have been made by either the sender or the recipient. The handwriting is remarkably similar to the writing in the body of the letters. However, there is room for doubt. Compare, for example, the marginal ‘Lasa’ and ‘Merino’ in folio 63 with the adjacent words. This of course doesn’t prove which was sender and which was recipient.
  • There is a perplexing marginal note in folio in folio 65. The writer gives an account of his possible itinerary on his return journey to England. The marginal note says “Mr R’s probable movements”. This is very interesting, since it doesn’t say ‘My probable movements’ nor does it say ‘Mr H’s probable movements’. The tone of the letters is fairly informal, so the ‘Mr’ is a bit strange, but it may be a product of the times. This would also suggest that the likely name of their company would be H&R Lt or R&H Lt, and this could help future research.

None of these things is conclusive, and even if Job was not the one making the journey, it is almost certain that he made very similar journeys.

If it is not Job doing the writing, then there is an interesting light which might be shed on something the writer says. In letter no. 7 written from Veracruz the writer is mulling over the matter of appointing an agent as opposed to finding a clerk to open a local house. He says: “I think this plan may be the best for we shall by this means get hold of a connexion and afterwards if it suits us we can or rather you can come out here and follow the thing up with a foundation laid. It is the nearest I can think of to your pet idea & I fancy the best & from this may loom in the distance a house established on this soil & I hope if F [Fitzmaurice?] & I agree in the matter it may meet your views. I think V Cruz may be a better place than the city for the purpose… I don’t think you would like to live in V Cruz & you would have to go through the yellow fever before you would be safe.”[46] We know that Job did in fact move to Mexico, although it was not until probably 20 years later (the Linera was founded in 1887). When he did, it was not to establish a house importing dry goods, but to establish a linen mill in Mexico City (La Linera). If however this is being addressed to Job it shows that as early as 1866 he was already thinking about personally moving to Mexico (his ‘pet idea’ perhaps?).

Michael Johnson

December 2016

  1. See folio 39 ↑
  2. Folio 8 ↑
  3. See folio 29: “The complete set of paper hangings for this house will be too great a bulk to send by Steamer & Mr E would prefer it being send by Sailing Ship.” See also folio 11: “… and now all goods go by steamer.” ↑
  4. Folio 1 ↑
  5. Folio 1 ↑
  6. Folio 3 ↑
  7. Folio 4 ↑
  8. Folio 7 ↑
  9. Folio 4 ↑
  10. Folio 5 ↑
  11. Folio 7 ↑
  12. Folio 7 ↑
  13. Folio 2 ↑
  14. http://www.nytimes.com/1865/04/15/news/fatal-accident-on-board-the-steamship-corsica.html ↑
  15. Folio 8 ↑
  16. Folio 16 ↑
  17. Folio 20 ↑
  18. Folio 16 ↑
  19. Folio 18 ↑
  20. Folio 24 ↑
  21. Folio 27 ↑
  22. Folios 50, 51 ↑
  23. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_intervention_in_Mexico (as at 25/11/2016) ↑
  24. Folio 7 ↑
  25. Congress had resolved in April 1864: “Resolved, &c., That the Congress of the United States are unwilling, by silence, to leave the nations of the world under the impression that they are indifferent spectators of the deplorable events now transpiring in the Republic of Mexico; and they therefore think fit to declare that it does not accord with the policy of the United States to acknowledge a monarchical government, erected on the ruins of any republican government in America, under the auspices of any European power.” There may have been a further resolution which had come to Job’s attention. ↑
  26. Folios 37, 38 ↑
  27. “During the French intervention, the port of Baghdad [sic] was the scene for the Battle of Baghdad, where the Mexican army defeated the French army and its conservative allies.” (Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matamoros,_Tamaulipas as at 06/12/16) ↑
  28. Folio 49 ↑
  29. Folios 31, 32 ↑
  30. Folios 44, 45 ↑
  31. Folio 47 ↑
  32. Folio 45 ↑
  33. Folio 40 ↑
  34. Folio 50. The railway was still very new, and the line was incomplete. In fact it is odd that at this early date it was functioning at all. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_Mexico. ↑
  35. See top of Folio 37 ↑
  36. Folio 54 ↑
  37. Folios 42-46 ↑
  38. Folios 65, 66 ↑
  39. Folio 8: “… I met with Henry B Hart whom you will perhaps remember I met with in Matamoros …” ↑
  40. Folio 53 ↑
  41. Folio 64 ↑
  42. Folio 72 ↑
  43. Folio 43 ↑
  44. Letter of 12th January, Folio 45 ↑
  45. Folio 43 ↑
  46. Folio 44. The yellow fever and malaria which Veracruz is famous for are mentioned in Desmond Young’s book Member for Mexico (Cassell 1966), pages 90-91. ↑