{"id":8388,"date":"2014-09-30T16:18:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T16:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=8388"},"modified":"2023-03-27T15:46:22","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T19:46:22","slug":"your-uncle-my-uncle-every-americans-uncle-uncle-sam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/your-uncle-my-uncle-every-americans-uncle-uncle-sam.html","title":{"rendered":"Your Uncle, My Uncle, Every American\u2019s Uncle: Uncle Sam!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article, Scott Phillips searches old newspapers to learn more about the origins and history of an American icon: Uncle Sam. Scott is a genealogical historian and owner of Onward To Our Past\u00ae genealogy services.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

All of us who love genealogy and family history know that every family member seems to have their own \u201cfavorite uncle.\u201d I have two favorite uncles: Uncle Chuck Clark and Uncle Jim Vanek. I bet you have a favorite uncle or two as well, so it is only fitting that the entire United States should also have a favorite uncle. And who should that be but \u201cUncle Sam,\u201d of course!<\/p>\n

\"World<\/a>
Illustration: World War I recruiting poster featuring Uncle Sam, by James Montgomery Flagg, 1916-1917. Source: Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September is the month to celebrate Uncle Sam. For the past 25 years, every September 13th<\/sup> has been the National Day of the country\u2019s favorite uncle. And while Uncle Sam Day has only been official since 1989, Uncle Sam has been with us a lot longer than that\u2014and he makes for a colorful story.<\/p>\n

Origins of Uncle Sam<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article from a 1910 Michigan newspaper begins with an Uncle Sam truism when it says: \u201cThere are nicknames and nicknames, but the most popular and best understood one in the United States is Uncle Sam.\u201d Interestingly, this article also says that there are other national nicknames such as \u201cJohn Bull\u201d for the English and \u201cJohnny Crapand\u201d (crapand means a toad) for the French. I have to admit that while I do recall a rare use of \u201cJohn Bull\u201d now and again, the use of \u201cJohnny Crapand\u201d was a new one to me. But Uncle Sam still reverberates with national pride and recognition, even as these other nicknames have fallen out of fashion.<\/p>\n

\"How<\/a>
Grand Rapids Press (Grand Rapids, Michigan), 23 July 1910, page 4<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So where did the famous patriotic persona Uncle Sam come from? Was he just a figment of some talented artist somewhere or is he rooted in someone\u2019s real history?<\/p>\n

If you access the above article in GenealogyBank\u2019s Historical Newspaper Archives<\/a> and read it fully, it gives an account of the possible origin of Uncle Sam:<\/p>\n

One story is that at the time of the war of 1812 there lived at Troy, N.Y., a man named Samuel Wilson, familiarly known thereabouts as Uncle Sam, who was employed as an inspector of pork and beef bought by the government.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, the article goes on to say: \u201cThe story is so clumsy and improbable that it may safely be classed as untrue.\u201d So I decided to continue looking.<\/p>\n

As I continued searching the old newspapers, I did note that there were no references to Uncle Sam prior to 1812. An article from an 1814 New York newspaper caught my eye. This article contrasts how soldiers were paid by the U.S. (\u201cUncle Sam\u201d) and British (\u201cJohn Bull\u201d) governments. Although it was interesting to learn about \u201cChequer Bills\u201d and the phrase \u201cReady Rhino,\u201d there was nothing in the article about Uncle Sam\u2019s origins.<\/p>\n

\"Uncle<\/a>
New-York Gazette (New York, New York), 6 December 1814, page 2<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This 1817 Rhode Island newspaper article says the expression \u201cUncle Sam\u201d began during the War of 1812 based on the initials \u201cU.S.\u201d stamped on soldiers\u2019 knapsacks\u2014and goes on to tell this amusing story:<\/p>\n

The Indians at the west, from hearing it [Uncle Sam] often used, have imbibed the idea that it is actually the name of the President; and while at Sackett\u2019s Harbor, a considerable number of Indians and Squaws crowded around the President, wishing, as they expressed it, \u2018to shake hands with Uncle Sam.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"article<\/a>
Providence Patriot (Providence, Rhode Island), 23 August 1817, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Thirteen years later, this Pennsylvania newspaper ran an article about the origins of Uncle Sam. This story relates the earlier story from the War of 1812 and the inspector of meat for the U.S. Army, Samuel Wilson, looking over meat purchased by a government contractor, one Elbert Anderson. On the barrels of these provisions was stamped \u201cE.A. \u2013 U. S.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old newspaper article goes on:<\/p>\n

This work [hauling the meat] fell to the lot of a facetious fellow in the employ [of Samuel Wilson] who, on being asked by some of his fellow workmen the meaning of the mark (for the letters U.S. for United States, was almost then entirely new to them) said \u2018he did not know, unless it meant Elbert Anderson, and Uncle Sam\u2019\u2014alluding, exclusively, then to the said \u2018Uncle Sam\u2019 Wilson. The joke took among the workmen, and passed currently; and Uncle Sam himself being present, was occasionally rallied by them on the increasing extent of his possessions.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The 1800s news article concludes:<\/p>\n

It [the joke about Uncle Sam] originated precisely as above stated; and the writer of this article distinctly recollects remarking, at the time when it first appeared in print, to a person who was equally aware of its origin, how odd it would be should this joke eventually become a national cognomen.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Origin<\/a>
Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), 15 May 1830, page 1<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iconic Artwork of James Flagg<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the decades, Uncle Sam flourished as a symbol of the United States of America. Perhaps the most memorable image of our Uncle Sam was drawn by the famous pen-and-ink artist James Montgomery Flagg for a recruiting poster during World War I, with a stern-faced Uncle Sam pointing his finger and saying \u201cI want you for U.S. Army!\u201d You can see this famous image above, and also reprinted in this 1992 Alabama newspaper article, along with the attribution of the name to \u201cUncle Sam\u201d Wilson again.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Mobile Register (Mobile, Alabama), 29 June 1992, page 40<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1960 James Flagg passed away, and his obituary stated:<\/p>\n

His greatest work was his World War I recruiting poster of Uncle Sam pointing his finger and saying, \u2018I want you.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"obituary<\/a>
Dallas Morning News (Dallas, Texas), 28 May 1960, page 13<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brief Biography of Uncle Sam<\/strong><\/p>\n

This 1961 article from a Massachusetts newspaper gives us further background on \u201cUncle Sam\u201d Wilson. It says that he was born in 1766 and died in 1854. He ran away from home to fight in the Revolutionary War. After the war he became a successful merchant and meat packer in Troy, New York, was quite a popular fellow and was universally known as \u201cUncle Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tribute<\/a>
Springfield Union (Springfield, Massachusetts), 9 July 1961, page 47<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Who\u2019s the Real Uncle Sam?<\/strong><\/p>\n

An article written by Blake Ehrlich in a 1961 Massachusetts newspaper brings to light the role of one Thomas Gerson in the life of Uncle Sam. Calling from his hospital bed to a reporter for the newspaper, Mr. Gerson explained he was the \u201cOfficial Uncle Sam Historian and Director of Education for the Troy Area Committee for Uncle Sam.\u201d It seems that Gerson, also \u201can editorial writer and feature man,\u201d was on a mission to get the United States Congress to recognize his hometown hero, Samuel Wilson, as the \u201creal\u201d Uncle Sam. Interestingly, in this article we are introduced to yet another option for Uncle Sam\u2019s origin. It seems Gerson was working to \u201ctriumph over the forces of evil from the state of Indiana, which tried to block the resolution with claims for its own Sam Wilson.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
Boston Traveler (Boston, Massachusetts), 3 November 1961, page 16<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It seems that the image of Uncle Sam has changed over the years, according to writer Ehrlich, having first appeared as a cartoon character in The Lantern<\/em>, a comic weekly drawn by a fellow named Bellew in 1852. That Uncle Sam was dressed in a beaver hat, boots, and striped pants and was \u201ctall, thin, with a clean-shaven hatchet face, much like Sam Wilson.\u201d\u00a0 In the 1860s, cartoonist Thomas Nast added whiskers and a starry vest.<\/p>\n

This 1961 Massachusetts newspaper article reported that historians in Indiana were still fighting Mr. Gerson\u2019s efforts to recognize Troy\u2019s Samuel Wilson as the one, true Uncle Sam, saying: \u201cIndiana historians disagree, claiming the Troy meat packer was born in Wilmington, Del., and later moved to Merriam, Ind.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Troy<\/a>
Boston Herald (Boston, Massachusetts), 30 October 1961, page 18<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This 1961 New Jersey newspaper reprinted an article from the Congressional Quarterly<\/em> in Washington, D.C. This article, headlined \u201cInterest Increasing in National Shrine,\u201d tells us that the quibble over the \u201creal\u201d Uncle Sam continued even as \u201cThe nation also is about to doff its hat to \u2018Uncle Sam,\u2019 although it isn\u2019t quite sure who \u2018Uncle Sam\u2019 was.\u201d The article goes on to explain that the dust-up between New York and Indiana continued, reporting:<\/p>\n

The New York Congressional delegation backs Samuel Wilson, a meat dealer who supplied the troops during the War of 1812 and who died in New York. The Indiana delegation backs a Samuel Wilson who earned the title of \u2018Uncle Sam\u2019 in Troy, but who is buried in Merriam, Ind.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And for good measure Connecticut was now in the act, believing:<\/p>\n

the original \u2018Uncle Sam\u2019 was Sam Huntington of Connecticut, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and President of the Continental Congress.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And finally, there\u2019s this:<\/p>\n

The Texans are touting for \u2018Uncle Sam\u2019 none other than Sam Houston, beard and all.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"article<\/a>
Trenton Evening Times (Trenton, New Jersey), 6 September 1961, page 11<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Indiana, Texas, and Connecticut were touting their Uncle Sam versions, New York was fast at work. This 1959 Washington newspaper article reported that then-Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller was declaring September 13th<\/sup> as \u201cUncle Sam Day\u201d following a resolution passed by the State Legislature.<\/p>\n

\"N.Y.<\/a>
Seattle Daily Times (Seattle, Washington), 27 March 1959, page 5<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This 1988 Alabama newspaper published a sarcastic article by well-known columnist James J. Kilpatrick, in which he excoriated the recently-adjourned 100th U.S. Congress for accomplishing almost nothing, saying: \u201cWe are well rid of this Congress. Be gone! And don\u2019t come back any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n

To drive home his point, Kilpatrick pointed to the creation of Uncle Sam Day as one of the very few things the Congress did manage to do.<\/p>\n

\"article<\/a>
Mobile Register (Mobile, Alabama), 6 November 1988, page 9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While it seems that Congress, in their infinite wisdom, decided for us who the \u201creal\u201d Uncle Sam was, I am now thinking I should really have some fun and start researching National Jukebox Week!<\/p>\n

Related Articles about Famous American Icons:<\/strong><\/p>\n