The trademarked design on this Kenton Baking Powder trade card seems to fit the fall season with the weather having turned chilly. Notice the red-tipped nose on the man in the moon. And we hope the owl has seen the shooting star and made a wish! 😉

The oval stamp on the back of this one says:   “W. W. Hough, Dealer In Groceries & Crockery. Empire Block, Boonville, N. Y.”

The 1880 Federal Census for Boonville shows William W. Hough, grocer, born about 1846; his wife Nancy M. born about 1850; and their sons Clinton W., born about 1877 and William D., born about 1879. All are native to New York.

According to online city directories, Hough was a grocer in Boonville at least as early as 1878 and up until at least 1884. However, he more likely operated until about 1904, according to the ad below for H. B. Belknap, successor to W. W. Hough, from the Boonville Herald, dated January 26, 1905.

As to Potter, Parlin & Co., of Cincinnati – they were the manufacturer of Kenton Baking Powder, here advertised as 20 cents for a 1 lb. can, 10 cents for a 1/2 lb. can and 5 cents for a 1/4 lb. can. (Hmmm, got me wondering what size I have in my cupboard. For the record, 7 oz. – which translates to a little less than a 1/2 lb. The Calumet brand I have currently costs about $5.00 for 7 oz. $5.00 – funny, coincidentally the price of the Williams’ Utica city directory for 1894 per below.)

As an aside….the politics of city directories

The above page is from Williams’ Utica City Directory and Williams’ Street and Block Directory, 1894 – including Boonville and other towns. Check out the  “convicted pirates”  reference. In general city directories contain wonderful information for researchers and historians, and this particular directory was a great one, with items such as a breakdown of the total length of paved (27.09 miles) and unpaved (74.05 miles) streets in Utica in 1894;  a historical listing of appointed and elected mayors year by year; a list of fire alarm signal boxes (of which there were many) and their locations; a table of wages; and an official death register (the first we’ve come across in city directories) for those over age eighteen and excluding state hospital deaths. In short, $5.00, the price for this particular directory, bought you a lot!

Sources:  Year: 1880; Census Place: Boonville, Oneida, New York; Roll: 902; Family History Film: 1254902; Page: 71B; Enumeration District: 083; Image: 0145. (Ancestry.com)

Kimball’s Oneida County Directory, 1878. p. 308. (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989.)

C.N. Gaffney’s Gazeteer & Directory of the County of Oneida, 1884. p. 422. (Ancestry.com. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1989.)

H. B. Belknap advertisment. Boonville Herald, 26 Jan. 1905. (FultonHistory.com)

Morrison, Abraham Cressy. (1907) The Baking Powder Controversy, Vol. 2. New York:  The American Baking Powder Association.

Trade Card. Kenton Baking Powder. Circa 1878 – 1884.

Price:  $7.00     Size:  3 x 2 and 3/4″