THE HISTORY OF JOHN GRUBER AND HIS FAMOUS HAGERSTOWN ALMANACK
John Gruber’s name still appears on the cover of his best-known publication, The Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack that first made its appearance in the Hagerstown, Maryland area in 1797. It is the second oldest almanac in the United States and in fact, the oldest almanac that is still published today by heirs of its founder. The first almanac of record was established by Robert Bailey Thomas in 1792 and was first printed in Boston. Today, The Old Farmer’s Almanac (the name was changed in 1942) is published by Rob Sagendorph in Dublin, New Hampshire.
Gruber’s Hagerstown Almanack has been a mainstay tradition in the Mid-Atlantic Region for well over two centuries, providing farmers with seasonal weather forecasts as well as critically important astronomical information considered to be vital to agricultural success in the region.
THE EARLY YEARS
John (or Johann) Gruber was born on October 31, 1768 in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the eldest son of Dr. John Eberhard Gruber (1736-1814) and grandson of Johann Adam Gruber (1693-1763), born in Kempten, Bavaria and who had emigrated to America in 1726 (or 1724 according to some sources) and settled in the Germantown area of Philadelphia.
Against his father’s wishes, the young Gruber choose a mechanical trade rather than the medical profession and at age 15 was apprenticed to Charles Grist of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to learn the printing trade. During his apprenticeship in Philadelphia, he had the rare privilege of following in the funeral procession of Benjamin Franklin.
Gruber's health was feeble at the termination of his apprenticeship and on July 2, 1791, under the advice of his physician father, he embarked on an extended sea voyage bound for Hispaniola (now San Domingo). Sailing on the sloop, "Charming Sally," commandeered by Captain Robert Lillibridge, he reached port safely, but the young Gruber arrived amidst the violent uprising of 1793 that would eventually lead to the West India island’s independence from French rule. He soon secured a position as compositor for a French paper. Over time, his health vastly improved, but as the rebellion reached its height, Gruber began to fear for his life. Disguised as a sailor, he quickly fled the island "amid scenes of the most terrible bloodshed and carnage, ever recorded in history."
Gruber’s voyage home was just as eventful. A violent storm arose and when the ship neared Cape May, New Jersey, its was continuously blown back to sea. For several weeks, the passengers and crew were in peril of their lives from both the storm and threatening starvation. The ship finally made the port of Philadelphia where Gruber soon found printing work for a short period of time.
In 1793, he moved to Reading, Berks County, Pennsylvania, and on June 26th, entered into a partnership with Gotlob Jungman. Under the firm name of Jungman and Gruber, he printed the publication, Neue Unpartheyischa Readinger Zeitung und Anzeigs-Hachrichten (literal translation: ‘New Candid Reading Newspaper and Advertising Messages’). This is believed to be the very first newspaper published in Reading. It was during his stay in Reading that he married Catherine Alles (1777-1859), daughter of Captain Henry Alles, a prominent officer in the First United States Continental Army during the American Revolution.
On November 10, 1794, his mentor, Charles Cist, wrote Gruber urging him to accept a proposal to establish a newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. Some sources claim that in the spring of 1795, General Daniel Heister, a Congressional Representative from Washington County, Maryland, proposed that he instead establish a German newspaper in Hagerstown, Maryland. Some claim that it was actually Maryland politician, General Samuel Ringgold (1770-1829) who persuaded Gruber to settle in the county seat of Washington County for the purpose of founding a German language newspaper with the sole purpose of supporting Thomas Jefferson's Republican-Democratic Party. In any case, Gruber accepted the offer and retired from the Reading newspaper at the end of the year and set up a new printing office in a small, modest one-story house on South Potomac Street, on the corner of an alley near the Public Square in Hagerstown, Maryland. There he set up his hand press, (made and purchased in Philadelphia) and in June of 1795 (judging from the date of the first issue located), started the publication, Die Westliche Correspondenz (translation: ‘The Western Correspondence’). The original Gruber’s house was later torn down in 1873 to make way for a more modern building.
Later that year, he severed his connection with that paper and in 1796, began publishing Der Neue Nord-Americanische Stadt und Land Calender, (translation: ‘The New North American Urban and Country Calendar’). It was briefly changed to the New Hagers-town Town and Country Almanack and in 1797, it was to become J. Gruber's Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack. For 25 years, it was published exclusively in German, at a time when most of the church services were conducted in that language. In 1822, due to an ever-increasingly English-speaking readership, it became necessary to publish an English version as well. The publication of bilingual editions continued for almost one hundred years. For a number of years, the English version carried the name American Farmer's Almanack and was published under the name of Gruber and May, Daniel May, printer and bookbinder by trade and also Gruber's partner and son-in-law through his marriage to Rebecca, the second Gruber daughter. In 1918, the German edition of The Almanack was discontinued due to the widespread negative sentiment toward Germans at the outset of World War I. It is the English version of the original publication that has continued until the present day.
Like most printers of the time, Gruber advertised and like many other printers in remote places, he either made his own paper, or collected rags from which it was to be made. For the first few years, Gruber worked alone, setting the type for his publications himself, assisted in later years by Daniel May, husband of his second daughter, Rebecca.
During his long career as a printer, Gruber trained many young men in the printing business. Among the persons that learned the trade of printing under his tutelage was Ambrose Henkel, the founder of the Henkel printery at New Market, Virginia. The most famous was probably Adam Glossbrenner, Sergeant-at-Arms in the House of Representatives from 1850 through 1860
It is probable that Gruber was one of the first equipped to print in both English and German however, no English issue of his press appeared prior to 1801, when he published A Catalogue of Jacob D. Dietrick's Circulating Library. At the solicitation of General Samuel Ringgold, he published, for a short time, an English newspaper, The Sentinel of Liberty, to advance the cause of the Republican Party. The date of publication is not certain but it was probably after 1800. However, the Maryland Herald, published by Thomas Grieves, soon became the organ of that party, and the Sentinel of Liberty was discontinued.
Gruber's religious background was apparent in his first published book - besides his almanacs – the Apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus and the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, published in 1796 or probably early in 1797. In 1831, he published the Psalms and Hymns of the German Reformed Church, under supervision of the Synod of that church.
Gruber engaged actively in the printing trade until about 1855, when the infirmities of age forced him to stop. At that time, he appointed William Stewart of Indianapolis to take over the business for the western market, and Thomas R. Robertson of Hagerstown, the eastern trade. In 1927, over 200,000 copies were circulated in forty states; and in 1938, as many as fifty copies went to one news dealer alone in the fairly distant city of Cleveland.
John Gruber died on December 29, 1857 at 89 and was buried on the last day of the year in the graveyard of the Zion Reformed Church in Hagerstown, Maryland by the Reverend Samuel H. Giesy. It has been said that he never had an enemy, formed his own political opinions, and adhered to them religiously. He voted in every Presidential election from Washington to Buchanan and was never a volatile politician. In spite of his youthful adventures, he scarcely ever left his family in later years, either for business or pleasure. He was reserved in conversation, attended to his affairs with industry and attentiveness, and was never known to speak ill of anyone.
His almanac changed little after his death, becoming more and more like a stereotyped work, but it still flourishes under the John Gruber name and is its founder’s best-known monument. It has been said that J. Gruber's Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack has done more than anything else to make the name of Hagerstown familiar throughout the United States. Millions have been printed and sold, circulating mainly in Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. Gruber's old motto, 'By Industry We Thrive,' still appears on its cover.
BUY THE GENUINE-TAKE NO OTHER
It is interesting to note that during the early years of The Almanack, following the death of its founder, various booksellers around Hagerstown and later, in Baltimore, many who were among the first advertisers also acted as agents for the publication. Sometimes this representation went too far. Self-promoters saw the opportunity to benefit from The Almanack’s growing popularity and soon, several unauthorized versions of The Almanack started appearing across the region, many with the exact same cover graphics and content. After many years of negotiation without reaching agreement with any of the parties, The Gruber Almanack Company finally resorted to legal action. Favorable court decisions provided that all publishers of unauthorized versions shall cease and desist (as an example, see Court of Appeals of Maryland, April Term, 1906, The Gruber Almanack Company vs. Otho Swingley, prohibiting publication or sale of any almanac calculated to deceive an individual into believing that it was an original J. Gruber’s Hagerstown Town & Country Almanack). John Gruber’s original almanac maintained its integrity and established its authenticity and to this day, still directs its readers to always “Buy The Genuine-Take No Other”.
THE GRUBER LEGACY
Gruber was the father of six daughters: Charlotte, Rebecca, Theresia, Mathilda, Louisa, and Frederica. A great number if his descendants are still living in Maryland and other states. In 1811, Daniel May, who had married Gruber's daughter Rebecca, joined his father-in-law as a partner in the printing business. It is not certain just when this business partnership was discontinued but in 1840, May became the editor of the Republican Herald of York, Pennsylvania.
For nine years after his death, Gruber’s widow, Catherine assumed the role of editor and publisher, carrying on the publication’s traditions set forth by her husband. She was, in fact, the very first woman to edit and publish an almanac in the United States (several years ago, The Old Farmer’s Almanac named a woman as editor for the first time in its history but The Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack can claim having had a woman as editor over 150 years prior to that!). In fact, a woman has edited and/or published The Almanack for 148 of its 215 years!
Gruber’s daughters, Mathilda and Frederica then continued as editors from 1866 to 1885. Frederica continued (with Rebecca’s assistance) until 1906. At that time, the Gruber interest in The Almanack was passed to Charles Gutzlaf Fisher, son of Samuel Reed Fisher and Ellen Catharine May, Rebecca’s daughter. Charles, born in Emmitsburg, Maryland in 1837 and a long-time resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was Assistant Superintendent and later Superintendent of the Publication Board of the Reformed Church of the United States. He also served as the editor of Reformed Church Messenger from 1888 until his death in February, 1896.
Though never directly involved with The Almanack, Fisher later passed over his interest to his wife, Margaret Hay Fisher. Margaret became the editor-of record in 1907, though it is believed she had assumed that role several years prior to it being made official. Her son, Charles Worley Fisher continued the tradition from 1926 until his untimely death in 1934 when his wife, Emily Kohler Fisher became editor, continuing in that role for 38 years until her death in 1973. Her only son, Charles Worley Fisher, Jr then became editor. Charles (having dropped the Jr. after his father’s passing) was editor until his retirement in 2000. His son, Charles W. Fisher, Jr., the great-great-great-great great grandson of John Gruber, now edits The Almanack from his home in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The Almanack is therefore most unique in that it is the oldest publication of its kind in America still in the same family.
Business management for the Gruber Almanack, Company was also was a responsibility that had been handed down from generation to generation within the same family. In 1910, Mr. W. H. McCardell became the Business Manager for The Almanack, continuing in that capacity for many years until his death. At that time, the responsibility passed to his brother, O.D., who served until 1934. In 1935, Mr. O.D.’s son-in-law, Mr. Frank .S. Leiter handled the business affairs until his retirement in 1959, when his son, Franklin S. Leiter, Jr. and son-in-law, John Hershey, Jr., took over as Sales Manager and Business Manager respectively. John Hershey’s son-in-law, Gerald Spessard then took over as Business Manager in the early 1970s, running only the business operation at first and then handling sales and distribution after the retirement of Mr. Leiter in 2002). Once again, The Hagers-Town Town and Country Almanack is truly most unique in that it is the oldest publication of its kind in America still in the same families of its founder and management!
The Almanack has always relied on individuals who used traditional methods of the day when calculating and conjecturing the weather. Each has used basically the same fundamentals and information with an amazing degree of accuracy, which is all the more astounding when it is considered that their predictions were done over a year in advance. There have been a total of seven Calculators over the past 215 years, the first being Charles Flack (1797-1824). Charles was known locally as the ‘Blacksmith Astronomer’. Other Calculators were Charles F. Egelmann (1825-1861) Lawrence J. Ibach (1862-1888), his son, Will R. Ibach (1889-1918), W.M. Kopenhaver (1919-1929), and W. Shoemaker (1930-1969). In 1970, Prof. William E. O'Toole, III, Professor of Computer Science at Mount St. Mary’s College, Emmitsburg, Maryland began predicting upcoming weather and preparing all of The Almanack’s astronomical calculations. O’Toole attributes his uncanny accuracy to a combination of elements that include using specialized software and computer power to precisely calculate phases of the Moon, close analysis of sunspot activity, and the tracking and noting of El Nino/La Nina cycles. His methods have produced impressive results year after year, even
outscoring Old Farmer’s, Almanac and even the National Weather Service!
THE NEW GRUBER ALMANACK, LLC
In 2005, the heirs and shareholders of the Gruber Almanack Company were faced with many challenges. Together with rising costs, major distribution issues, and a declining readership, it was uncertain whether or not The Almanack could continue its centuries-old tradition. In mid-2005, long-time partner and former Business Manager of The Almanack, Mr. Jack Hershey, decided to liquidate his holdings in The Gruber Almanack Company and he urged the other heirs and partners to do the same. This action would have, in effect, dissolved the company. Faced with ending a long-standing tradition (and 210 years of continuous publication of your favorite almanac!), a decision had to be made whether to accept this as our fate or figure a way to somehow continue.
First, our current Business Manager, Mr. Jerry Spessard took on the Herculean Task of dissolving the old company and as a result of his tireless efforts, The Gruber Almanack Company was officially dissolved in early 2006 and all of its financial responsibilities to Mr. Hershey and to the many shareholders who owned small shares in the company were met.
Then, together with Mary McCain Wilcox Fisher, widow of the late Charles W. Fisher, editor from 1973 to 2000, a direct descendant of John Gruber, Prof. William O’Toole, III, The Almanack’s weather prognosticator extraordinaire, Mr. Spessard formed a three-way partnership. In July of 2006, The Gruber Almanack, Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) was officially registered in the State of Maryland.
Not stopping there, Mr. Spessard took a major step to increase our readership by crafting an arrangement with Orgill, Inc., the nation's largest and fastest growing, independently-owned hardware and building supplies distributor (https://www.orgill.com/) to offer The Almanack for sale at many of the retail locations it services across the country. That was soon followed by national distribution agreements with True Value Hardware and CVS. To provide our new readers with weather forecasts that were appropriate for their region, the new partners agreed to include 12-region national weather forecasting for the “Lower Forty Eight”.
Finally, Mr. Spessard suggested to the partners and gained their agreement to publish multiple editions of The Almanack, the first in the Fall (as it has been for many years), one in Winter (December), and then one in the Spring (March), thus making it available for purchase throughout most of the coming year.
THE ALMANACK OVER THE YEARS
Perhaps the longevity and appeal enjoyed by this humble publication is due to the fact that the Hagers-town Town and Country Almanack has remained basically unchanged since its first edition in 1797. Since then, the responsibility for carrying on this tradition has been continued by John Gruber's descendants, being handed down from generation to generation, so that this current issue has been prepared by the sixth generation.
Originally, the German edition had quite an elaborately engraved cover, and the first few English editions duplicated it; in 1826, however, Mr. Gruber first introduced Miss Columbia with the ship, butter churn, and spinning wheel which readers of The Almanack have become familiar with ever since. The only slight change in this cover has been when a red over-print was added to the old-fashioned grape vine border in 1963. Occasionally a small hole has been punched in the upper left hand corner for easy hanging by a string to a convenient hook or nail.
From 1797 until 1965, the size of The Almanack remained the same familiar quarto size instituted by the founder, but in 1966 a slightly smaller more convenient-to-handle format was introduced. Whereas the original publication ran to twenty-nine pages, over the years it has grown to 64 pages. It was further expanded to 80 pages in 2011.
On the inside, very little has changed from the explanation of the constellation characters and astronomical signs, which still appears on the inside front cover, to the frontispiece containing much of the original language of the first edition. The monthly calculation pages are identical to those that appeared in 1797 except that they are in English.
The Almanack continued to feature the monthly calendar pages containing a listing of "Remarkable Days," place and age and other pertinent astronomical information such as "Aspects of the Planets" and the times for sunrise and sunset, all of which were important to farmers and rural folk. The publication also listed the Phases of the Moon and monthly conjecture of the weather. Remarkable events in our nation's history, philosophical considerations of mankind's problems and informative articles offering solutions and suggestions for various preparations to help in the running of the farm and household and its maintenance and repair were also noted.
The now familiar quotations that close out the bottom of the monthly calendar pages made occasional appearances during the early years but were not included under each of the twelve months and on the back cover on any regular basis until the 1944 issue.
In 1836 the almanac appeared with a set of woodcuts depicting activities of the farm for every month in the year. These have never been changed. Even the back cover has seen very little change since the introduction of The Long Multiplication Table, an invention of Mr. Gruber's, which first appeared as early as the 1841 issue. Many generations have cut their mathematical eyeteeth on this tree of numbers, as they will continue to do so in the future.
The Almanack’s weather predictions, with a high degree of accuracy, have come to be main reason for our popularity. As a regional publication, readers could count on dead-on forecasts that were, at times, even more accurate then ones from Old Farmer’s, and the National Weather Service. One amusing anecdote comes to mind regarding the weather forecast for the inauguration of President Taft in 1909. While all the other forecasters predicted fair weather for that date, The Almanack's expert called for "Rough Weather"; The Almanack won by a blizzard. We have even predicted snow on Easter in 1924, and, sure enough, there were hailstones the size of walnuts. The story about our predicting snow for the Fourth of July one year and its actually snowing has so far proved apocryphal, but we're still digging back into the records for verification as of this publication date.
In 1962, local Hagerstown practical nurse, Lydia Kline (fondly referred to as “Aunt Lydia”), began offering prospective parents with remarkable accuracy, what the gender of their expected offspring would most likely be. This ‘service was based upon past astrological signs and was frequently requested for a number of years until medicine’s advances and the use of ultrasound were actually able to show on a screen an image of the unborn child, thus removing any doubt as to whether it would be a boy or a girl. . And so Aunt Lydia gave way to progress and was discontinued. However, ‘she’ was brought back due to popular demand and has been appearing in every issue since 1999.
The year 1963 saw introduction of contests in which readers competed for various humorous prizes such as "suitcases full of money," or "buckets of cash," for the best letters on various subjects of interest…. when to trim toe nails or have the haircut. Cures for dyspepsia, toothache, hives, and both dog and snakebite were also submitted for consideration as well as the cultivation of vineyards, the making of cidar (sic) and wine, plus antidotes for the warding off or dealing with the effects of excessive imbibing of the same.
Most recently, our readers have submitted pieces of beautiful original poetry, amusing personal anecdotes, and expressions of inspiration, for publication under what is titled "Our Readers Write" column.
At the request of a reader we began listing the names of the Vice-presidents and with whom they served to accompany our long- time honored "Presidents' Poem" that debuted in 1851.
1974 was the year in which our esteemed Weather Prognosticator, Professor William O’Toole, contributed summaries of the year past and what could be expected in the year ahead with his informative "Conjecturers’ Column"
In 1976, The Zodiac began appearing, extolling the virtues of being born under the twelve various signs.
Three years later, in 1979, an identification of State Birds and State Flowers was included.
A "Table of Weights and Measures" was next added in 1981 along with a listing of various Anniversaries and their significant flowers, gems, etc., joining a new section "Design for Living," to aid readers in their pursuit of happiness.
Anglers were given suggested good dates for greatest success with rod and reel in "Gone Fishing' " in 1982 and two years later, our fuzzy friends the "Woolly Bears" were welcomed, when October was named National Annual Woolly Bear Month with entries encouraged to compete for the titles of "Cuddliest" and "Biggest" with appropriate prizes for their sponsors. The following year these crown "bearers" were given a name: "Alma," for the cuddliest and "Hairy Hager" for the Grand Champion, Alma being short for Almanack and Hairy Hager, short for Hagers-town. For 28 years now, youngsters, especially, have eagerly searched for and brought in their prize specimens to Woolly Bear Headquarters in Hagerstown. In 2011, the Woolly Bear Contest was conducted on the Internet for the first time. Entries were photographed against a visible measure and submitted for judging via Facebook or by email.
The noting of Harvest Moon and Hunters Moon in September and October respectively was brought to our reader's attention in 1985 and we also reprised the Moon's Phases and Weather Conjecture for the last four months of the preceding year in each issue in case our readers had inadvertently misplaced that issue.
In the 2007 edition, the calendar pages were streamlined to make reading easier and eliminating old or unpopular information. Opposite the calendar pages, regional weather forecasts were provided for that month (in 2007, regional weather forecasts were placed in the center-most pages making them hard to find).
In 2011, it was decided to return to regional distribution of the Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack and create a entirely separate, new publication exclusively for national distribution. Entitled, J. Gruber’s Garden and Farm Almanac containing the same dead-on accurate weather regional forecasts, astronomical data, and useful information as its sister publication.
IN CONCLUSION
In many respects, the publication of J. Gruber Hagerstown Town and Country Almanack is a family tradition, one that our readers have come to rely on for generations and generations. As we move forward into the next century, we trust that that our stewardship of this Gruber heritage will continue to live up to the founder’s motto, “By Industry We Thrive”. It is our mission to continue the tradition that our founder started so long ago by providing useful information and inspiration for everyday living, survival tactics for the 21st Century, and entertaining articles and original poetry. It is our hope that he can look down upon each new issue of both his beloved Hagers-town Town and Country Almanack and the new J. Gruber’s Garden and Farm Almanac and smile approvingly!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Gruber Almanack, LLC wishes to thank the following for providing significant historical content for this chronology:
- The National Genealogical Society of America
- The Maryland State Archives
- “The History of Washington County, Maryland”, by Thomas J.C. Williams, originally published in Hagerstown, Maryland, 1906 and reprinted by The Regional Publishing Company, Baltimore, 1968.
- The private genealogical research of Kathryn McIntosh, descendant of John Gruber’s eldest daughter, Charlotte and former Director of Constitution Island, West Point, New York.
- Article from The Herald of Freedom, January 6, 1858, purportedly prepared by the Reverend Samuel H. Giesy, then pastor of Zion Reformed Church
