Early Fond du Lac Street

Dr. Warren’s Universal Tonic Bitters

Stiles & Givens Co.

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

23 October 2013

Earlier in the month we visited Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and looked at the Indian Blood Bitters and earlier today I posted on the Ritz’s Juniper & Wild Lemon Bitters from Milwaukee. Now we can look at another extremely rare bitters from Wisconsin, the Dr. Warren’s Universal Tonic Bitters from Fond du Lac. *This post was inspired by Mark Nelson who posted a subject example on Facebook.

The story here really revolves around Silas Burrell Stiles and Frank M. Givens who were born in New York and ended up in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and opened a drug store in 1873. I suspect they were life-long friends as their wives, Caroline and Isabel, appear together on social listings during the same time period. Silas was the main driving force in the initial drug business. Much more information including a few pictures of their products are noted below. There is also a great article on those who sold drugs and medicines in the early days of Fond du Lac. As to who Dr. Warren was, I have no clue.

The Carlyn Ring and W.C. Ham listing in Bitters Bottles is as follows:

W 50 DR. WARREN’S UNIVERSAL TONIC BITTERS

DR. WARREN’S ( au ) / UNIVERSAL / TONIC / Bitters (update) / f // STILES & GIVENS ( au ) / COMPANY ( ad ) / FOND DU LAC / WIS. // f //
8 5/8 x 2 1/2 (6) 1/4
Square, Amber, 1 sp. LTC, Tooled lip, Extremely rare

Dr. Warren’s Universal Tonic Bitters – picture Mark Nelson

Dr. Warren’s Universal Tonic Bitters – MrBottles.com

Silas Burrell Stiles & Frank M. Givens Timeline

about 1800 – Silas and Polly (Colfax) Stiles (grandparents), emigrated from Connecticut, to Vermont to Essex County, New York.

1828 – Silas Burrell Stiles born in Upper Jay, Essex County, New York on September 24, 1828. Lived seven years in Canada West.

1843 – Stiles family arrives in July in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Engaged in farming. Silas worked later in lumbering for two years until 1852.

1852 – Stiles takes an overland trip to California. Spent five years mining.

1857 – Stiles returns to Fond du Lac from California with $5,000 as the proceeds from his labor in mining. Spends 12 years being a farmer in Byron.

1859 – Married in Byron, February 16, 1859 to Caroline C. Lewis, daughter of George W. Lewis; they have three children – Clara A., Vesta L. and Guy L.

1871 – Stiles opens a drug store in Jefferson, Wisconsin.

1873 – Stiles returns to Fond du Lac and opens a drug business that thrives until at least 1902.

1876 – Stiles & Givens, Druggists, Opposite American House, Fond du Lac, 1876, Fond du Lac Centennial City Directory

1884 – Frank M. Givens (wife Isabel), pres. Stiles & Givens Co., 1884 Fond du Lac City Cirectory

1898 – Frank M. Givens appointed as Fond du Lac U.S. Postmaster, 14 January 1898

1902 – S. B. Stiles, Proceedings of the Wisconsin Pharmaceutical Association – Annual Meeting

Dr. Baxter’s Celery Bitters Fond Du lac, Wisconsin. Square, ‘Hostetter’ style bitters’, amber 8.5 high. No embossing. Company is Stiles and Givens, Fond du Lac – MrBottles.com

Silas Burrell Stiles notice – Portrait and Biographical Album of Fond Du Lac County, Wisconsin – Acme Publishing Company, 1889

Drugs and Medicines in early Fond du Lac – Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond Du Lac from Early Times to the Present – A. T. Glaze, P.B. Haber Print. Company, 1905

Drugs and Medicines in early Fond du Lac – Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond Du Lac from Early Times to the Present – A. T. Glaze, P.B. Haber Print. Company, 1905 * A little ambitious placing Stiles & Givens as druggists together in 1846. See timeline above.

Drugs and Medicines in early Fond du Lac – Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond Du Lac from Early Times to the Present – A. T. Glaze, P.B. Haber Print. Company, 1905

Drugs and Medicines in early Fond du Lac – Incidents and Anecdotes of Early Days and History of Business in the City and County of Fond Du Lac from Early Times to the Present – A. T. Glaze, P.B. Haber Print. Company, 1905

Early street scene in Ripon, Wisconsin, a town near Fond du Lac. If you look carefully, you can see a typical retail drug store in the middle of the block. What is interesting to me is that new urban town center design attempts to re-create this same look architecturally.