Back
Abraham Lengfeld was born in N.Y. around 1850, all the other children were born in California. So Louis Lengfeld must have lived in
N. Y. for a time before emigrating to California.
1870 Federal Census
Lewis Lingfeld (Lengfeld) is listed as a Dry Goods Merchant in San Francisco County, Eighth Ward of San Francisco, Calif. He gave
his age at the time as 52 years of age. Living with him were his wife Henrietta (45), a son Abraham (19), a daughter Matilda (15), a
daughter Cecilia (9), a son Felix (7), a daughter Clara (5), a daughter Isabelle (2), and a son Joseph (1).
1880 Federal Census
Louis Lengfeld is listed as a Shirt Manufacturer in San Francisco County, 12th Ward of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age as 62
years of age at the time. He was born in Germany. Living with him on Ellis Street were his wife Henrietta (54), a son Abraham (27) a
Druggist, a daughter Celia (19), a son Felix (17) a Druggist, a daughter Clara (14), a daughter Bella (12), and a son Joseph (10).
1900 Federal Census
Louis Lengfeld is listed as 'not gainfully employed' in San Francisco County, 40th District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age as
75 years of age at the time, and was a Widow. Living with him on Sutter Street were a daughter Clara (33), a daughter Belle (31),
and a son Joseph (30), a Salesman of Drugs.
Abraham Lengfeld is listed as a Druggist in San Francisco County, 39th District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age as 48 years
of age at the time. He was born December 1851 in the state of New York. Living with him on Post Street were his wife Hattie (34),
and a son Louis (7).
1910 Federal Census
Abraham D. Lengfeld is listed as a Druggist in a Drug Store in San Francisco County, 41st District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave
his age as 59 years of age at the time. Living with him on Jackson Street were his wife Hattie (44), and a son Louis (17).
Joseph L. Lengfeld is listed as a Clerk in a Drug Store in San Francisco County, 42nd District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age
as 40 years of age at the time. Living with him on Geary Street was his sister Clara (47), and his sister Belle (44).
1920 Federal Census
Felix Lengfeld is listed as a Druggist and Owner of a Drug Store in San Francisco County, 30th District of San Francisco, Calif. He
gave his age as 56 years of age at the time. Living with him on Gough ? Street were his brother Joseph L. (48) a Druggist / Clerk, a
sister Bella (52), and a sister Clara (54).
Abraham Lengfeld must have been Deceased, since his wife Hattie Lengfeld (53) is listed as a Widow living on Sacramento Street
in San Francisco County, 31st District of San Francisco, Calif.
N. Y. for a time before emigrating to California.
1870 Federal Census
Lewis Lingfeld (Lengfeld) is listed as a Dry Goods Merchant in San Francisco County, Eighth Ward of San Francisco, Calif. He gave
his age at the time as 52 years of age. Living with him were his wife Henrietta (45), a son Abraham (19), a daughter Matilda (15), a
daughter Cecilia (9), a son Felix (7), a daughter Clara (5), a daughter Isabelle (2), and a son Joseph (1).
1880 Federal Census
Louis Lengfeld is listed as a Shirt Manufacturer in San Francisco County, 12th Ward of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age as 62
years of age at the time. He was born in Germany. Living with him on Ellis Street were his wife Henrietta (54), a son Abraham (27) a
Druggist, a daughter Celia (19), a son Felix (17) a Druggist, a daughter Clara (14), a daughter Bella (12), and a son Joseph (10).
1900 Federal Census
Louis Lengfeld is listed as 'not gainfully employed' in San Francisco County, 40th District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age as
75 years of age at the time, and was a Widow. Living with him on Sutter Street were a daughter Clara (33), a daughter Belle (31),
and a son Joseph (30), a Salesman of Drugs.
Abraham Lengfeld is listed as a Druggist in San Francisco County, 39th District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age as 48 years
of age at the time. He was born December 1851 in the state of New York. Living with him on Post Street were his wife Hattie (34),
and a son Louis (7).
1910 Federal Census
Abraham D. Lengfeld is listed as a Druggist in a Drug Store in San Francisco County, 41st District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave
his age as 59 years of age at the time. Living with him on Jackson Street were his wife Hattie (44), and a son Louis (17).
Joseph L. Lengfeld is listed as a Clerk in a Drug Store in San Francisco County, 42nd District of San Francisco, Calif. He gave his age
as 40 years of age at the time. Living with him on Geary Street was his sister Clara (47), and his sister Belle (44).
1920 Federal Census
Felix Lengfeld is listed as a Druggist and Owner of a Drug Store in San Francisco County, 30th District of San Francisco, Calif. He
gave his age as 56 years of age at the time. Living with him on Gough ? Street were his brother Joseph L. (48) a Druggist / Clerk, a
sister Bella (52), and a sister Clara (54).
Abraham Lengfeld must have been Deceased, since his wife Hattie Lengfeld (53) is listed as a Widow living on Sacramento Street
in San Francisco County, 31st District of San Francisco, Calif.
W.T. & Co.
C
Lengfeld’s 202
Stockton St. S. F.
Pharmacy (CO-OP.
F. G. CO.) {small
with backwards N
in Lengfield’s}
The bottom marking
is for the Co-
Operative Flint Glass
Company of Upland,
Indiana. I don't have
much information on
the business, only
that they were
closed by 1911
Stockton St. S. F.
Pharmacy (CO-OP.
F. G. CO.) {small
with backwards N
in Lengfield’s}
The bottom marking
is for the Co-
Operative Flint Glass
Company of Upland,
Indiana. I don't have
much information on
the business, only
that they were
closed by 1911
CO-OP. F. G. CO.
Graduates at the California College Of Pharmacy.
1880 Lengfeld-Felix 202 Stockton st San Francisco California
1895 Lengfeld-Joseph Louis 202 Stockton st San Francisco California
1880 Lengfeld-Felix 202 Stockton st San Francisco California
1895 Lengfeld-Joseph Louis 202 Stockton st San Francisco California
University of California Directory of Graduates 1864 - 1905
The pharmacy (202 Stockton St address) that was on Union Square in SF? This picture was taken just after
the 1906 earthquake as the fires began down at the wharf. The pharmacy is right in the middle below the big
structure being built. The people are standing in the square, watching…not for long I bet. The pharmacy was
destroyed in the fire. Also attaching a label I found on line..(cant buy it unfortunately) for a prescription given
during prohibition with the instruction, “wine glass as needed.” Dede
the 1906 earthquake as the fires began down at the wharf. The pharmacy is right in the middle below the big
structure being built. The people are standing in the square, watching…not for long I bet. The pharmacy was
destroyed in the fire. Also attaching a label I found on line..(cant buy it unfortunately) for a prescription given
during prohibition with the instruction, “wine glass as needed.” Dede
Courtesy of Dede Meyer: My Great Grandfather, Abraham Louis (AL) Lengfeld 1850- June 19, 1915
was the original proprietor of the pharmacy business.
Obit in "California State Journal of Medicine"
Dr. A. L. Lengfeld was born in Auburn, N. Y., in 1850, and came to San Francisco an infant in arms.
After serving apprenticeship as a druggist, he entered the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, later the Cooper Medical College,
and graduated in 1871. He never really practiced medicine, but early in 1872 opened a drug store on the corner of Geary and Stockton streets,
and up to within a year of his death was actively engaged in the practice of pharmacy, doing not a little to elevate its tone.
In 1883, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry and Materia Medica in the Medical Department of the University of California, and shortly
afterwards to the same position in the newly founded College of Dentistry in the same institution. He served for over fifteen years to the entire
satisfaction of the University authorities as well as the students. He was particularly active in promoting pure pharmacy, and besides helping to
establish the College of Pharmacy of the University of California, he was a member of the Pharmacopeia Convention of 1890, and Vice-
President of the same convention in 1900 and 1910. About a year ago his health failed to such an extent that he was compelled to withdraw
from active life and died suddenly on June 19th, being survived by a widow and one son.
AFTER THIRTY YEARS (circa 1902)
When A.L. Lengfeld opened the little drug-store on Geary and Stockton Street, on February 2, 1872, it is a question whether he ever thought that
at the end of thirty years he would be the proprietor of two of the most prosperous pharmacies in this city, employing fifteen registered
pharmacists, having over half a million prescriptions on file, and doing the largest prescription business in this city. Yet such is the case. And to
commemorate this event Mr. Lengfeld invited all his employees to a quiet little dinner at the Poodle Dog Rotisserie on the evening of February
2d, and he proved an ideal host. The dinner was excellent, the decorations tasty, and the dinner cards (gotten up by Mrs. Lengfeld) unique, each
being a take-off of some peculiar habit of the individual. With the wine and cigars came night-clerk stories, reminiscences of college days and
music. Midnight came only too quickly, the guests departing wishing the host many more anniversaries, each more prosperous than the last.
The employees presented Mr. Lengfeld with an elegant morocco-bound engrossed (sic) book containing a copy of the first and last
prescriptions dispensed in the store, together with a little history, and the names of all his employees, also a large stand of flowers and a
beautiful cut-glass bowl. The guests of the evening were: Miss E.M. McCarty, Miss G. Mowder, Felix Lengfeld, Jos. Lengfeld, J.H.McCarthy, W.H.
Farley, C.J. Dietz, E.M. Fowler, G.A. Waltenspiel, C.M.Wollenberg, L.S. Aitken, W.H.Davis, Arthur Haigh, Ed Reilly, Geo. Nakamura, Louis Harris,
Franck Lockwood, Fred Hartman, Otto A. Weihe, Will Reilly. The errand-boys and porters to the number of fourteen also banqueted at the
Cosmos on the evening of the 22d. The employees expressed their good wishes for Dr. Lengfeld by prescribing for him the following: R Spiritus
Amoenitatis, Essentia Solida Lactitiae, Extractum Fluidum Fortunae bonae, Essentia Gaudii, Sig: Cape ad libitum perpetuo. OMNI
Banquet of A.L. Lengfeld's Employees
The employees of A.L. Lengfeld's two stores were given a banquet at Zinkand's, Wed. Oct 20th, by the head clerk W.H. Weyher. To say that the
boys had a good time, would but faintly express it. The fact that soup was brought on at 11:30am, and the Cafe Noir did not arrive until 4 am
would indicate that "something was doing." The following toasts were responded to: "Our Host" - Otto Weihe; "Our Young Lady Bookkeepers,
Tho' lost to sight to memory dear,"--Geo Sutherland; "A.L. Lengfeld (Our Boss);-Jas. McCarthy. Mr. Lengfeld, while wishing the boys a good time,
thought that it would be better for all concerned to have his enjoyment in hearing about it next day. The boys "played it way down low" on Joe
Lengfeld. It seems that he has had an old suit that any Weary Waggles would be ashamed to be seen in, this he has been wearing in discharge
of dutines in the laboratory of the Stockton St. Store. Lately Joe was transferred to the Sutter St. Store, but the suit did not go with the transfer.
His former associates said, "As Joe goes, so goes the Suit," and they determined to transfer the same. They chose the night of the banquet for
their fell design. The suit was stuffed with excelsior, and-----
Serial: Overland monthly and Out West magazine.
Title: At the Sign of the Red Cross [pp. 612-616] June 1894
Author: Redding, G. Huntington, M. D.
Collection: Making of America Journal Articles http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moajrnl/ Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary
sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS.
Among the memorable days in the life of San Francisco and of ) the State of California ~it must assuredly be recorded that day in August, 1893,
which brought together the assembled multitudes in Golden Gate Park to witness the inaugural of the California Midwinter International
Exposition. Then, as if by magic, the dream of a few sanguine Californians became a reality. The "Midwinter sun" of I894 revealed the Exposition
as an accomplished fact; a conception materialized and become a masterpiece worthy of the State and of the whole nation. The Exposition has
brought within its gates every variety and phase of American life, and mixed and jumbled these phases with the life customs of many foreign
lands. Wherever crowds are gathered and people mingle, miscellaneous accidents will happen. Frequently accidents are trifling or serious,
according to the promptness and intelligence with which the injured ones are cared for. Lives may be wasted by a little ignorance or neglect; or
saved by the quick and intelligently directed application of simple medical means and ordinary surgical apparatus. So the first duty of the Fair
managers was to look to the safety and comfort of the visiting masses, and to provide suitable attention and care for those in anywise injured,
whether they were visitors within our gates, or the busy men and women connected with the staff of employees. Few of the many objects of
attraction on the opening day of the Fair excited more curiosity, or gave rise to more surmise, than the quaint cross-shaped structure, vague in
outline, unusual in architecture, lying half hidden in the great shadows of the golden dome of the Administration Building. Nothing about the
grounds has attracted more attention, or caused more questioning, than the quick-flying ambulance, with its uniformed attendants, its general
air of completeness and comfort, and its red cross flashing as its glitters by. Many unacquainted with the history of wars, and the regulations of
that which is called "civilized warfare," have asked the meaning of the cruciform building and the red crosses on the structure, the banner
above it, on ambulance, and on the uniforms of the doctors and attendants.
The Society of the Red Cross was founded by Henri Durant, a Swiss gentleman, ably seconded by M. Gustave Moynier and Doctor Louis Appia of
Geneva, February 9, I863. The Geneva Convention, for the "relief of the wounded in war," took the matter under consideration, the result being
that the representatives from thirteen different nations signed an agreement, giving wearers of the Red Cross many rights and immunities on
battlefield and in hospital.
Those signing the agreement included the Swiss Confederation, Grand Duke of Baden, King of the Belgians, King of Denmark, King of Norway
and Sweden, Queen of Spain, Emperor of France, Grand Duke of Hesse, King of Italy, King of the Netherlands, King of Portugal, King of Prussia,
and the King of Wurtemburg.
This agreement was entered into August 22, I864. Soon afterward other powers signed, including Great Britain, Pussia, Aus tria, Greece,
Pontifical States, Turkey, Persia, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and the Ar 612 F June, At the Sign of the Red Cross. Argentine Republic. The United States
entered the list as the thirty-second nation on March 16, I882, during the Garfield administration, when Congress, through the able efforts of
Secretary of State James G. Blaine, ratified the Geneva Convention. Thus the United greatest inhumanity, that the emergency service at the Fair
took its symbol of the red cross, and began its work of relieving those in sudden distress, and caring for those who are in pain. This very useful
adjunct to the Exposition was the result of a timely sugges
THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS. States, which should have been the first in such a work, lagged reluctant, and was one of the last. Previous to
this, however, a National Association of the Red Cross in America had been formed. Of this Clara Barton was made president, a position which
she still occupies. So it was out of this one concession to common humanity in man's time of VOL. xxiii-6I. tion made at one of the meetings of
the trustees of the San Francisco Polyclinic, -a worthy charity well known to San Francisco. A committee was appointed to consider the best
way to render first aid service in case of accident or illness upon the grounds of the Exposition. This committee consisted of Doctors Matin
Regensburger, Fred. W. D'Evelyn, Geo. F. Shiels, and W. E. Hopkins. 1894.1 613 At the Sign of the Red Cross. These gentlemen convened, and
interviewed the Executive Committee of the Exposition; were gladly received, and were appointed as Medical Directors, with Doctor
Regensburger as Medical Director in Chief, to organize and conduct the Emergency Service. The assistance of Doctors F. F. Knorp, S. J. Fraser,
J. C. Seymour, B. F. Fleming, J. M. Macdonald, P. Collishom, F. W. Browning, E. Johansen, H. Lagan, C. S. Maguire, S. E. Barrett, H. Partridge, and
myself, was solicited, and we ON DUTY. Consented to remain on duty each day at stated hours. Trained nurses were also secured through the
courtesy of the managers of St. Luke's and the Children's Hospitals. Communication was opened with Doctor Owens, General Medical Director
of the Emergency Service of the recent Columbian Exposition, and with Messrs. Studebaker & Co. of Chicago and San Francisco, who kindly
furnished the ambulance. The guards of the Exposition were detailed by Captain G. B. Baldwin, and were instructed in the various systems of
the stretcher drill by Medical Director D'Evelyn, who has had previous experience in the Zulu and Boer campaigns of South Africa, and this
influence has been frequently felt in the rapid and careful handling of patients. To the constant labors of the doctors I must add great praise for
the trained nurses, as their onerous duties have always been performed with devoted ability. Upon entering the hospital, the visitor passes
through the drug-store, a room filled with drugs of every description, including dressings, bandages, and everything necessary in case of
emergency. These were donated by Messrs. A. L. Lengfeld, Clinton Worden, and Johnson & Johnson. Here the visitor is kindly met, and
conducted by the druggist in charge to the operating room, a spacious apartment, well lighted by a large skylight. This fine room presents as
cheerful a picture as is possible. Its modern operating table and also the fracture bed were presented by the Duncombe Surgical Supply
Company of San Francisco. The antiseptics are at hand upon a shelf upon the wall, ready at a moment's notice, and connected by tubes running
to the operating table by an overhead trolley system. The instruments for operations call for a close inspection, as they include all that is
modern, and were donated by Dr. D'Evelyn, and the Executive Committee of the Exposition. From this room one can readily look into the wards,
both male and female, placed at right angles to the operating room. Each contains five beds and every convenience for the comfort of patients.
The building also contains rooms for offices, lavatories, etc., thus making a neat and well furnished hospital, in which the ill and injured aret
skilfully and kindly taken care of. Those who have been treated include representatives of all nations. from the June, 614
25 August 1930 SHUMATE'S PHARMACIES AND LENGFELD'S CONSOLIDATE
To our patrons:
It is of great significance to the people of San Francisco that the Lengfeld Pharmacy will consolidate with our organization on September 1,
1930. Their prescription books will be transferred to the Shumate's Pharmacy, Store No. 7, northwest corner Powell and Sutter Streets, and
this store will be known as the Lengfeld Unit. Your prescriptions may be refilled at this location or at any one of the Shumate's Pharmacies,
conveniently located in your neighborhood. Also, a full line of Lengfeld specialties will be carried at all the Shumate stores. We take pleasure in
informing you that we have opened a charge account for you at the Lengfeld Unit, Powell and Sutter Streets, and trust we will be allowed to
serve you in the future as we have in the past. Telephone numbers Garfield 1177 and Sutter 000. You may continue your charge account at this
location, or you may have your account at any one of the other Shumate Pharmacies; a list of our stores is enclosed so that you may select the
store in your district, if you so desire.
As we have served San Francisco for years, you are no doubt familiar with the reputation of the Shumate stores for dependability and correct
prices. Realizing the need of quick delivery, we maintain a delivery service unsurpassed by any in the city, which your telephone places at your
instant command. Trusting for the continuance of your valued patronage, and assuring you we will at all times put forth our best efforts to merit
your loyal support, we are Sincerely yours Shumate's Prescription Pharmacies
CHRONOLOGY OF LENGFELD PHARMACY, SAN FRANCISCO,
CALIFORNIA by Nina Stull
1872/00/00 Newspaper article Abraham Lengfeld established Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
1886/00/00 Newspaper article Felix Lengfeld joined his brother at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
1891/00/00 Newspaper article Establishment of Lengfeld Pharmacy by A.L. Lengfeld; corner of Geary & Stockton
1895/00/00 Directory 202 Stockton; A.L. Lengfeld proprietor
1901/00/00 Newspaper article Felix re-joined his brother at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy after eyesight degeneration
1902/00/00 Gen Info Description of two celebrations/ parties celebrating 30 years in business
1906/00/00 Newspaper article Moved from Geary & Stockton to 202 Stockton due to increase in rent at Geary location.
1909/00/00 Newspaper article Earthquake demolished 202 Stockton and store reopened temporarily at corner of Fillmore and Jackson Sts.
1915/00/00 Newspaper article Felix assumed management of Lengfeld’s Pharmacy after death of Abraham Louis (AL) Lengfeld June 19, 1915
1919/00/00 Newspaper article Business transferred to 272 Post Street after down-town reconstruction completed
1930/09/01 Newspaper article 216 Stockton Street, SF – moved due to need for larger quarters
1930/00/00 Newspaper article Joseph in charge of manufacturing at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
Felix Lengfeld (AL’s brother) was a published inorganic chemist who taught at UC Berkeley and the University of Chicago until his eyesight
began to fail him and he returned to work with AL at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
DR. Felix Lengfeld, of San Francisco, died on February 22. A correspondent writes: "Dr. Lengfeld received the degree of Ph.D. in chemistry
for his work with Remsen at Johns Hopkins in 1888, and a little later spent eight or ten years in the University of Chicago with Nef and Stieglitz,
having the rank of associate professor of chemistry. Shortly after the turn of the century his eye-sight failed him and he had to retire from active
work. He was a man of remarkable mind and a fine sense of humor." from Industrial and Engineering Chemistry,Vol 21, No. 11, pg 1148,
“American Contemporaries: Felix Lengfeld.”
There were ten of us in Felix Lengfeld’s first (and only) class in organic chemistry at Berkeley in the fall of 1891. He still says that, with the
exception of one cantankerous individual (whose name is here modestly omitted), it was the best class he ever taught. We may have been
bright young lads in the lecture hall and laboratory, but we were darn poor judges of human qualities. For Lengfeld was quite unanimously
unpopular among us, and we couldn’t understand what Eddie O’Neill liked about him.
Lengfeld was cold and distant; he stalked around the work benches with a painfully stiff vertebral column; he sniffed audible at some of our
best theories; and occasionally he so far forgot himself as to wax eloquently sarcastic. Of course we felt we were in the hands of a man who
knew his stuff; but nobody among us wept when we learned that he was leaving at the end of that year to go to the newly opened University of
Chicago.
I now know that the beggar actually liked us, and that his frigid aloofness was merely a pose, a self-defense reaction to maintain his dignity as
our mentor. He probably had to pinch himself at times to keep from kissing us. From that, at least, we were saved by his stern conception of
his duty. There were no co-eds in the class.
Lengfeld remained at Chicago for about ten years. He must have softened his heart while in that mellow atmosphere. Some of his students
from that period still speak affectionately of him. And he kicked R.W. Wood out of the chemistry department, telling him that he would never
amount to anything in experimental science.
It is not given to every man to accomplish great things, not even to do justice to his own abilities. Luck plays a part, and many handicaps are
imposed. In Lengfeld’s case greatly impaired vision put an end to a promising career as scholar and scientist. His greatest discovery was
Julius Stieglitz. When that now distinguished chemist joined Lengfeld at Chicago in 1892, fresh from Berlin, he didn’t know that difference
between an ion and an eye-opener, and it was Lengfeld who first awakened in him an appreciation of the new trend in the science. The first
papers in the series of brilliant studies in molecular rearrangements which has made Stieglitz famous were joint publications with Lengfeld as
senior author.
Lengfeld will probably be the last specimen of a fast-vanishing species, the all-round chemist (chemicus rotundus). Most species disappear
from Jack of fodder; the all-round chemist is being choked off by too much abundance. Our friend has wide knowledge of inorganic, organic,
physical, analytical, and biochemistry, and he is an expert pharmacologist. They don’t grow them that way anymore.
Joseph Lengfeld was another brother who worked at the pharmacies:
Joseph L. Lengfeld, for many years associated with his brothers in the operation of the Lengfeld Pharmacies, SF, died at his home in that city,
on March 29, after several months of ill health. A graduate of the California College of Pharmacy, now a unit of the Univ of California, he joined
his brother, the later A.L. Lengfeld, in the conduct of the store he had established, taking charge of the manufacturing department of the
business. Shortly afterward, the third brother, Dr. Felix Lengfeld, joined the firm and upon the death of A.L. Lengfeld, became the active head.
The business was sold in 1930 to Shumate’s Pharmacies and Mr. Lengfeld retired from active work. For many years he had been an active
member of the California Pharmaceutical Association, and rarely missed attending the annual conventions. He was also active in the work of
the Alumni Association of the College of Pharmacy, and was one of the organizers of the San Francisco Veteran Druggists Association and for
the past year had served as secretary of that organization. He is survived by his brother, Dr. Felix Lengfeld, and his sister Miss Belle Lengfeld.
Funeral services were held on Thursday, March 31, and were attended by many of his friends in the drug line....
was the original proprietor of the pharmacy business.
Obit in "California State Journal of Medicine"
Dr. A. L. Lengfeld was born in Auburn, N. Y., in 1850, and came to San Francisco an infant in arms.
After serving apprenticeship as a druggist, he entered the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, later the Cooper Medical College,
and graduated in 1871. He never really practiced medicine, but early in 1872 opened a drug store on the corner of Geary and Stockton streets,
and up to within a year of his death was actively engaged in the practice of pharmacy, doing not a little to elevate its tone.
In 1883, he was appointed Professor of Chemistry and Materia Medica in the Medical Department of the University of California, and shortly
afterwards to the same position in the newly founded College of Dentistry in the same institution. He served for over fifteen years to the entire
satisfaction of the University authorities as well as the students. He was particularly active in promoting pure pharmacy, and besides helping to
establish the College of Pharmacy of the University of California, he was a member of the Pharmacopeia Convention of 1890, and Vice-
President of the same convention in 1900 and 1910. About a year ago his health failed to such an extent that he was compelled to withdraw
from active life and died suddenly on June 19th, being survived by a widow and one son.
AFTER THIRTY YEARS (circa 1902)
When A.L. Lengfeld opened the little drug-store on Geary and Stockton Street, on February 2, 1872, it is a question whether he ever thought that
at the end of thirty years he would be the proprietor of two of the most prosperous pharmacies in this city, employing fifteen registered
pharmacists, having over half a million prescriptions on file, and doing the largest prescription business in this city. Yet such is the case. And to
commemorate this event Mr. Lengfeld invited all his employees to a quiet little dinner at the Poodle Dog Rotisserie on the evening of February
2d, and he proved an ideal host. The dinner was excellent, the decorations tasty, and the dinner cards (gotten up by Mrs. Lengfeld) unique, each
being a take-off of some peculiar habit of the individual. With the wine and cigars came night-clerk stories, reminiscences of college days and
music. Midnight came only too quickly, the guests departing wishing the host many more anniversaries, each more prosperous than the last.
The employees presented Mr. Lengfeld with an elegant morocco-bound engrossed (sic) book containing a copy of the first and last
prescriptions dispensed in the store, together with a little history, and the names of all his employees, also a large stand of flowers and a
beautiful cut-glass bowl. The guests of the evening were: Miss E.M. McCarty, Miss G. Mowder, Felix Lengfeld, Jos. Lengfeld, J.H.McCarthy, W.H.
Farley, C.J. Dietz, E.M. Fowler, G.A. Waltenspiel, C.M.Wollenberg, L.S. Aitken, W.H.Davis, Arthur Haigh, Ed Reilly, Geo. Nakamura, Louis Harris,
Franck Lockwood, Fred Hartman, Otto A. Weihe, Will Reilly. The errand-boys and porters to the number of fourteen also banqueted at the
Cosmos on the evening of the 22d. The employees expressed their good wishes for Dr. Lengfeld by prescribing for him the following: R Spiritus
Amoenitatis, Essentia Solida Lactitiae, Extractum Fluidum Fortunae bonae, Essentia Gaudii, Sig: Cape ad libitum perpetuo. OMNI
Banquet of A.L. Lengfeld's Employees
The employees of A.L. Lengfeld's two stores were given a banquet at Zinkand's, Wed. Oct 20th, by the head clerk W.H. Weyher. To say that the
boys had a good time, would but faintly express it. The fact that soup was brought on at 11:30am, and the Cafe Noir did not arrive until 4 am
would indicate that "something was doing." The following toasts were responded to: "Our Host" - Otto Weihe; "Our Young Lady Bookkeepers,
Tho' lost to sight to memory dear,"--Geo Sutherland; "A.L. Lengfeld (Our Boss);-Jas. McCarthy. Mr. Lengfeld, while wishing the boys a good time,
thought that it would be better for all concerned to have his enjoyment in hearing about it next day. The boys "played it way down low" on Joe
Lengfeld. It seems that he has had an old suit that any Weary Waggles would be ashamed to be seen in, this he has been wearing in discharge
of dutines in the laboratory of the Stockton St. Store. Lately Joe was transferred to the Sutter St. Store, but the suit did not go with the transfer.
His former associates said, "As Joe goes, so goes the Suit," and they determined to transfer the same. They chose the night of the banquet for
their fell design. The suit was stuffed with excelsior, and-----
Serial: Overland monthly and Out West magazine.
Title: At the Sign of the Red Cross [pp. 612-616] June 1894
Author: Redding, G. Huntington, M. D.
Collection: Making of America Journal Articles http://www.hti.umich.edu/m/moajrnl/ Making of America (MOA) is a digital library of primary
sources in American social history primarily from the antebellum period through reconstruction.
AT THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS.
Among the memorable days in the life of San Francisco and of ) the State of California ~it must assuredly be recorded that day in August, 1893,
which brought together the assembled multitudes in Golden Gate Park to witness the inaugural of the California Midwinter International
Exposition. Then, as if by magic, the dream of a few sanguine Californians became a reality. The "Midwinter sun" of I894 revealed the Exposition
as an accomplished fact; a conception materialized and become a masterpiece worthy of the State and of the whole nation. The Exposition has
brought within its gates every variety and phase of American life, and mixed and jumbled these phases with the life customs of many foreign
lands. Wherever crowds are gathered and people mingle, miscellaneous accidents will happen. Frequently accidents are trifling or serious,
according to the promptness and intelligence with which the injured ones are cared for. Lives may be wasted by a little ignorance or neglect; or
saved by the quick and intelligently directed application of simple medical means and ordinary surgical apparatus. So the first duty of the Fair
managers was to look to the safety and comfort of the visiting masses, and to provide suitable attention and care for those in anywise injured,
whether they were visitors within our gates, or the busy men and women connected with the staff of employees. Few of the many objects of
attraction on the opening day of the Fair excited more curiosity, or gave rise to more surmise, than the quaint cross-shaped structure, vague in
outline, unusual in architecture, lying half hidden in the great shadows of the golden dome of the Administration Building. Nothing about the
grounds has attracted more attention, or caused more questioning, than the quick-flying ambulance, with its uniformed attendants, its general
air of completeness and comfort, and its red cross flashing as its glitters by. Many unacquainted with the history of wars, and the regulations of
that which is called "civilized warfare," have asked the meaning of the cruciform building and the red crosses on the structure, the banner
above it, on ambulance, and on the uniforms of the doctors and attendants.
The Society of the Red Cross was founded by Henri Durant, a Swiss gentleman, ably seconded by M. Gustave Moynier and Doctor Louis Appia of
Geneva, February 9, I863. The Geneva Convention, for the "relief of the wounded in war," took the matter under consideration, the result being
that the representatives from thirteen different nations signed an agreement, giving wearers of the Red Cross many rights and immunities on
battlefield and in hospital.
Those signing the agreement included the Swiss Confederation, Grand Duke of Baden, King of the Belgians, King of Denmark, King of Norway
and Sweden, Queen of Spain, Emperor of France, Grand Duke of Hesse, King of Italy, King of the Netherlands, King of Portugal, King of Prussia,
and the King of Wurtemburg.
This agreement was entered into August 22, I864. Soon afterward other powers signed, including Great Britain, Pussia, Aus tria, Greece,
Pontifical States, Turkey, Persia, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, and the Ar 612 F June, At the Sign of the Red Cross. Argentine Republic. The United States
entered the list as the thirty-second nation on March 16, I882, during the Garfield administration, when Congress, through the able efforts of
Secretary of State James G. Blaine, ratified the Geneva Convention. Thus the United greatest inhumanity, that the emergency service at the Fair
took its symbol of the red cross, and began its work of relieving those in sudden distress, and caring for those who are in pain. This very useful
adjunct to the Exposition was the result of a timely sugges
THE SIGN OF THE RED CROSS. States, which should have been the first in such a work, lagged reluctant, and was one of the last. Previous to
this, however, a National Association of the Red Cross in America had been formed. Of this Clara Barton was made president, a position which
she still occupies. So it was out of this one concession to common humanity in man's time of VOL. xxiii-6I. tion made at one of the meetings of
the trustees of the San Francisco Polyclinic, -a worthy charity well known to San Francisco. A committee was appointed to consider the best
way to render first aid service in case of accident or illness upon the grounds of the Exposition. This committee consisted of Doctors Matin
Regensburger, Fred. W. D'Evelyn, Geo. F. Shiels, and W. E. Hopkins. 1894.1 613 At the Sign of the Red Cross. These gentlemen convened, and
interviewed the Executive Committee of the Exposition; were gladly received, and were appointed as Medical Directors, with Doctor
Regensburger as Medical Director in Chief, to organize and conduct the Emergency Service. The assistance of Doctors F. F. Knorp, S. J. Fraser,
J. C. Seymour, B. F. Fleming, J. M. Macdonald, P. Collishom, F. W. Browning, E. Johansen, H. Lagan, C. S. Maguire, S. E. Barrett, H. Partridge, and
myself, was solicited, and we ON DUTY. Consented to remain on duty each day at stated hours. Trained nurses were also secured through the
courtesy of the managers of St. Luke's and the Children's Hospitals. Communication was opened with Doctor Owens, General Medical Director
of the Emergency Service of the recent Columbian Exposition, and with Messrs. Studebaker & Co. of Chicago and San Francisco, who kindly
furnished the ambulance. The guards of the Exposition were detailed by Captain G. B. Baldwin, and were instructed in the various systems of
the stretcher drill by Medical Director D'Evelyn, who has had previous experience in the Zulu and Boer campaigns of South Africa, and this
influence has been frequently felt in the rapid and careful handling of patients. To the constant labors of the doctors I must add great praise for
the trained nurses, as their onerous duties have always been performed with devoted ability. Upon entering the hospital, the visitor passes
through the drug-store, a room filled with drugs of every description, including dressings, bandages, and everything necessary in case of
emergency. These were donated by Messrs. A. L. Lengfeld, Clinton Worden, and Johnson & Johnson. Here the visitor is kindly met, and
conducted by the druggist in charge to the operating room, a spacious apartment, well lighted by a large skylight. This fine room presents as
cheerful a picture as is possible. Its modern operating table and also the fracture bed were presented by the Duncombe Surgical Supply
Company of San Francisco. The antiseptics are at hand upon a shelf upon the wall, ready at a moment's notice, and connected by tubes running
to the operating table by an overhead trolley system. The instruments for operations call for a close inspection, as they include all that is
modern, and were donated by Dr. D'Evelyn, and the Executive Committee of the Exposition. From this room one can readily look into the wards,
both male and female, placed at right angles to the operating room. Each contains five beds and every convenience for the comfort of patients.
The building also contains rooms for offices, lavatories, etc., thus making a neat and well furnished hospital, in which the ill and injured aret
skilfully and kindly taken care of. Those who have been treated include representatives of all nations. from the June, 614
25 August 1930 SHUMATE'S PHARMACIES AND LENGFELD'S CONSOLIDATE
To our patrons:
It is of great significance to the people of San Francisco that the Lengfeld Pharmacy will consolidate with our organization on September 1,
1930. Their prescription books will be transferred to the Shumate's Pharmacy, Store No. 7, northwest corner Powell and Sutter Streets, and
this store will be known as the Lengfeld Unit. Your prescriptions may be refilled at this location or at any one of the Shumate's Pharmacies,
conveniently located in your neighborhood. Also, a full line of Lengfeld specialties will be carried at all the Shumate stores. We take pleasure in
informing you that we have opened a charge account for you at the Lengfeld Unit, Powell and Sutter Streets, and trust we will be allowed to
serve you in the future as we have in the past. Telephone numbers Garfield 1177 and Sutter 000. You may continue your charge account at this
location, or you may have your account at any one of the other Shumate Pharmacies; a list of our stores is enclosed so that you may select the
store in your district, if you so desire.
As we have served San Francisco for years, you are no doubt familiar with the reputation of the Shumate stores for dependability and correct
prices. Realizing the need of quick delivery, we maintain a delivery service unsurpassed by any in the city, which your telephone places at your
instant command. Trusting for the continuance of your valued patronage, and assuring you we will at all times put forth our best efforts to merit
your loyal support, we are Sincerely yours Shumate's Prescription Pharmacies
CHRONOLOGY OF LENGFELD PHARMACY, SAN FRANCISCO,
CALIFORNIA by Nina Stull
1872/00/00 Newspaper article Abraham Lengfeld established Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
1886/00/00 Newspaper article Felix Lengfeld joined his brother at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
1891/00/00 Newspaper article Establishment of Lengfeld Pharmacy by A.L. Lengfeld; corner of Geary & Stockton
1895/00/00 Directory 202 Stockton; A.L. Lengfeld proprietor
1901/00/00 Newspaper article Felix re-joined his brother at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy after eyesight degeneration
1902/00/00 Gen Info Description of two celebrations/ parties celebrating 30 years in business
1906/00/00 Newspaper article Moved from Geary & Stockton to 202 Stockton due to increase in rent at Geary location.
1909/00/00 Newspaper article Earthquake demolished 202 Stockton and store reopened temporarily at corner of Fillmore and Jackson Sts.
1915/00/00 Newspaper article Felix assumed management of Lengfeld’s Pharmacy after death of Abraham Louis (AL) Lengfeld June 19, 1915
1919/00/00 Newspaper article Business transferred to 272 Post Street after down-town reconstruction completed
1930/09/01 Newspaper article 216 Stockton Street, SF – moved due to need for larger quarters
1930/00/00 Newspaper article Joseph in charge of manufacturing at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
Felix Lengfeld (AL’s brother) was a published inorganic chemist who taught at UC Berkeley and the University of Chicago until his eyesight
began to fail him and he returned to work with AL at Lengfeld’s Pharmacy
DR. Felix Lengfeld, of San Francisco, died on February 22. A correspondent writes: "Dr. Lengfeld received the degree of Ph.D. in chemistry
for his work with Remsen at Johns Hopkins in 1888, and a little later spent eight or ten years in the University of Chicago with Nef and Stieglitz,
having the rank of associate professor of chemistry. Shortly after the turn of the century his eye-sight failed him and he had to retire from active
work. He was a man of remarkable mind and a fine sense of humor." from Industrial and Engineering Chemistry,Vol 21, No. 11, pg 1148,
“American Contemporaries: Felix Lengfeld.”
There were ten of us in Felix Lengfeld’s first (and only) class in organic chemistry at Berkeley in the fall of 1891. He still says that, with the
exception of one cantankerous individual (whose name is here modestly omitted), it was the best class he ever taught. We may have been
bright young lads in the lecture hall and laboratory, but we were darn poor judges of human qualities. For Lengfeld was quite unanimously
unpopular among us, and we couldn’t understand what Eddie O’Neill liked about him.
Lengfeld was cold and distant; he stalked around the work benches with a painfully stiff vertebral column; he sniffed audible at some of our
best theories; and occasionally he so far forgot himself as to wax eloquently sarcastic. Of course we felt we were in the hands of a man who
knew his stuff; but nobody among us wept when we learned that he was leaving at the end of that year to go to the newly opened University of
Chicago.
I now know that the beggar actually liked us, and that his frigid aloofness was merely a pose, a self-defense reaction to maintain his dignity as
our mentor. He probably had to pinch himself at times to keep from kissing us. From that, at least, we were saved by his stern conception of
his duty. There were no co-eds in the class.
Lengfeld remained at Chicago for about ten years. He must have softened his heart while in that mellow atmosphere. Some of his students
from that period still speak affectionately of him. And he kicked R.W. Wood out of the chemistry department, telling him that he would never
amount to anything in experimental science.
It is not given to every man to accomplish great things, not even to do justice to his own abilities. Luck plays a part, and many handicaps are
imposed. In Lengfeld’s case greatly impaired vision put an end to a promising career as scholar and scientist. His greatest discovery was
Julius Stieglitz. When that now distinguished chemist joined Lengfeld at Chicago in 1892, fresh from Berlin, he didn’t know that difference
between an ion and an eye-opener, and it was Lengfeld who first awakened in him an appreciation of the new trend in the science. The first
papers in the series of brilliant studies in molecular rearrangements which has made Stieglitz famous were joint publications with Lengfeld as
senior author.
Lengfeld will probably be the last specimen of a fast-vanishing species, the all-round chemist (chemicus rotundus). Most species disappear
from Jack of fodder; the all-round chemist is being choked off by too much abundance. Our friend has wide knowledge of inorganic, organic,
physical, analytical, and biochemistry, and he is an expert pharmacologist. They don’t grow them that way anymore.
Joseph Lengfeld was another brother who worked at the pharmacies:
Joseph L. Lengfeld, for many years associated with his brothers in the operation of the Lengfeld Pharmacies, SF, died at his home in that city,
on March 29, after several months of ill health. A graduate of the California College of Pharmacy, now a unit of the Univ of California, he joined
his brother, the later A.L. Lengfeld, in the conduct of the store he had established, taking charge of the manufacturing department of the
business. Shortly afterward, the third brother, Dr. Felix Lengfeld, joined the firm and upon the death of A.L. Lengfeld, became the active head.
The business was sold in 1930 to Shumate’s Pharmacies and Mr. Lengfeld retired from active work. For many years he had been an active
member of the California Pharmaceutical Association, and rarely missed attending the annual conventions. He was also active in the work of
the Alumni Association of the College of Pharmacy, and was one of the organizers of the San Francisco Veteran Druggists Association and for
the past year had served as secretary of that organization. He is survived by his brother, Dr. Felix Lengfeld, and his sister Miss Belle Lengfeld.
Funeral services were held on Thursday, March 31, and were attended by many of his friends in the drug line....
Click on image to enlarge
Here’s the whole story not the Census transcribers version:
Lewis (also known as Louis) Lengfeld arrived in NY from Zechandorf, Germany, in 1844, along with several of his siblings. He
seems to have gone between NY and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, near his siblings, for the first few years. For many years, both in
NY and SF, Lewis’s occupation was listed as shirt manufacturer. Abraham Louis Lengfeld (my GGrandfather) was born 25 Dec 1850
in Auburn, NY. By 1854, Lewis and Hattie were living in CA where their daughter, Mathilda, was the first Jewish female born in
Alameda county. It seems Lewis and Hattie mostly reside in SF though. They had 10 children, 3 of whom died at a very young age.
Of those living, neither Clara, Felix, Belle, nor Joseph ever married. AL, my GGrandfather, married another Hattie, Hattie Cahn. They
are parents of my grandfather (my mother’s father), Louis Lengfeld. A daughter, Mathilda, married Moritz Sharman, Nina Stull’s
grandparents ( I see, by her accounts, that she has interacted with you in the past. She is my third cousin and we just connected 8
years ago!). Another daughter, Celia, married Jacob Bauml.
Lewis (also known as Louis) Lengfeld arrived in NY from Zechandorf, Germany, in 1844, along with several of his siblings. He
seems to have gone between NY and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, near his siblings, for the first few years. For many years, both in
NY and SF, Lewis’s occupation was listed as shirt manufacturer. Abraham Louis Lengfeld (my GGrandfather) was born 25 Dec 1850
in Auburn, NY. By 1854, Lewis and Hattie were living in CA where their daughter, Mathilda, was the first Jewish female born in
Alameda county. It seems Lewis and Hattie mostly reside in SF though. They had 10 children, 3 of whom died at a very young age.
Of those living, neither Clara, Felix, Belle, nor Joseph ever married. AL, my GGrandfather, married another Hattie, Hattie Cahn. They
are parents of my grandfather (my mother’s father), Louis Lengfeld. A daughter, Mathilda, married Moritz Sharman, Nina Stull’s
grandparents ( I see, by her accounts, that she has interacted with you in the past. She is my third cousin and we just connected 8
years ago!). Another daughter, Celia, married Jacob Bauml.