The History and Mystery of the Bininger Family

and

The Search For Their Tombstones

In April of 2001 Don Keating of Rochester, New York was invited to present a talk on his collection of Bininger bottles to the Rochester Bottle Club. He thought he would spice up the program with some historical information about the Bininger family. The only information I had about the history of the Biningers at that time was an obscure book called "The Old Merchants of New York City" by Walter Barrett which Don had found in a used book store. The book, published in 1862, contains information about successful New York City merchants during the 1700's and early 1800's. (All quotes in this article are from this book.) Some of the information in the book I found to be confusing and contradictory and other information was very helpful. Not until we found the Bininger Tombstones in May of 2001 were we able to determine the exact dates of the births and deaths of the three most important Bininger men. We also found important writings on their graves. Ironically the dates and information on the gravestones also created the mystery that Don and I can not solve.

The Bininger name is now known for its wide variety of alcoholic products, which were produced in colorful and original bottles that now stand on collector's shelves. However, their main business was the grocery business or "Grocery Houses" as they were referred to in the language of the day. Thus liquor and wines were but one of their many products. The Bininger men and women in this historical overview were endowed with perseverance and industriousness. These characteristics were probably one major reason for their many years of business success.

This story begins with The Reverend Abraham Bininger, the revered patriarch of the Bininger family. Abraham Bininger was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1720 to parents of the Moravian faith. Because of the unrelenting persecution of their faith, they decided to immigrate to the American Colonies with others of their faith. At the time of the voyage Abraham was just a child. Their destination was Savannah, Georgia where there were already settlements of both Moravians and Methodists. (On the ship with the Biningers was John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church.) Tragically, two days before docking, Abraham's mother and father died leaving him an orphan in an unfamiliar land. There can be no doubt that another Moravian family took him into their home. We know that he was fortunate to receive his early education at the Methodist Orphan School in Savannah.

As he grew to manhood he either chose or was chosen by Moravian Elders to be educated in the beliefs of the Moravian Church with the intention that he should become a preacher of that faith. Also, at about that time, the Moravian settlement moved from Savannah to Nazareth, Pennsylvania. It was there that he was ordained and began to preach.

It was also at Nazareth that the Reverend Bininger married. Strangely (or not so strangely in those days) there is no mention from any source of his wife's name, nor is her tombstone next to her husband's. No doubt she probably died in Nazareth and was buried there. We know for certain that she gave birth to four boys, of which each name is listed.

There is no information as to when The Reverend Bininger stopped preaching and decided to take up the task as a missionary. He first went to minister to the slaves on the Island of St. John in the West Indies. That was no small feat, for he was told that he would have to become a slave in order to preach to slaves. Through his persistence, the King of Denmark heard the story, and taken by his devotion, allowed him to continue with his ministry. When he returned from St. John "the old pastor started off as a missionary to the Indians". His last task was to help a Methodist friend start the first Methodist Church in New York City. It was then that he "threw in the towel" so to speak. He bought land in Camden Valley near Salem, New York (an area in the northern Hudson Valley) and there built the Bininger Mansion. He lived with family members there until his death in 1811 at the age of 91 years. Quite the incredible man!

Isaac Bininger was the second child of The Reverend Abraham Bininger and was born in Nazareth, Pennsylvania in September of 1760. Isaac inherited the Bininger characteristics but chose a life that was a direct contrast to his father's.

It was Isaac's tombstone that gave us the facts of his participation in the Revolutionary war. Isaac was only 18 or 19 years old when he volunteered in 1779 to take up arms in the Revolutionary war. He took a short three-month furlough and then reinlisted in 1780. While stationed at Fort Ann in New York he was taken prisoner and marched to Canada. There he remained a prisoner of war for three years until an exchange took place. Following his return, he joined his father and family at the Mansion in Camden Valley.

Isaac probably completed his education after the war as he was referred to as "finely educated". Isaac inherited the industrious nature of his father so that once his education was complete he began a business of his own. He opened a store in Camden Valley and it soon became very successful. His establishment became the "largest most extensive store between Albany and Montreal". Another important event occurred during this time period. Isaac married a woman named Elizabeth. On December 16,1800, Abram M. Bininger was born. He was to become more commonly known to bottle collectors as the A. M. Bininger of A. M. Bininger & Co.

The country store in Camden Valley was "finally removed" to New York City "about 1778". It is my own personal belief that Isaac named the business after his son though I do not know how old each was when the New York City business started. When starting their business they soon "adopted the great modern invention of advertising" choosing to advertise extensively in newspapers. This type of advertising caused the business to grow and flourish.

Here is where the mystery comes in. I have just stated in the paragraph above that A.M. Bininger & Co. was established in 1778. Also the labels on the Bininger bottles state that the company was established in 1778. Yet Isaac's gravestone states he was born in 1760. That would make him 18 years old in 1778. Abram M. Bininger's gravestone gives his birth as 1800. Do gravestones lie? Would A.M. Bininger & Co. state an untruth on their label? It seems unlikely. Could the Biningers have bought out a company that was established in 1778 and kept that date? Is Mr. Barrett's book wrong with regard to when A.M. Bininger & Co. was established? We do not know the answer to this mystery but we do believe there is an answer out there somewhere.

Written by Melanie Zoller

Not being a history buff, I must confess that I have been more fascinated with the collecting of Bininger bottles, studying their colors, and dealing with the financial aspects of their purchase.

I began collecting Bininger bottles after I purchased a Bininger shot glass advertising a product called "Old Manor" at the York, Pennsylvania Bottle Festival in 1988. But my interest in these bottles was peaked after I studied a Skinner Auction Catalog, which contained a section on Bininger bottles. I became attracted to their brilliant colors and shapes; whether the shapes are plain and square, round with handles, or figural forms. Since 1988, I now have a collection of 52 Bininger bottles. I feel strongly that it is an outstanding grouping, which, by the way, includes eight bottles from the Dr. Burton Spiller collection of which I am very proud.

The Bininger business was established in 1778 in New York City and operated for over 100 years. It may be of interest that the greatest number of embossed Bininger bottles were produced from 1858 to 1865. As Melanie mentioned, the Bininger business advertised heavily in newspapers and perhaps that is one reason why advertising materials such as advertising covers (envelopes), shot glasses, corkscrews and other "go withs" are extremely rare.

Never mind that the book we had was sketchy, confusing, and contained some contradictions, it gave enough clues so that it inspired Melanie to search for more information. The book had stated that the Biningers settled in Camden Valley near Salem, New York and that lead us to write to the Library in Salem. They sent us some limited but important information, especially a pamphlet that described three cemetery plots in the Salem area. We were fairly sure that the Biningers were buried in one of the three cemeteries. Thus began of the search for the Bininger tombstones.

After attending the Herkimer Bottle Show in May of 2001, it was our intention to visit the town of Salem located in Washington County, New York. (The town was first settled in 1764) Washington County is a sparsely settled farming area located between the Hudson River and the borders of Vermont and Massachusetts. The town of Salem is not far from Saratoga, New York.

After spending the night in Amsterdam, New York we headed for Salem. Once we arrived we stopped for lunch and of course asked the waitress for directions to the three cemeteries surrounding the Salem area.

She suggested we talk to a grocer in the nearby town of Shushan who, she said, could direct us to some of the roads the cemeteries would be located on. We found the Revolutionary War Cemetery just outside of Salem. This cemetery had plus or minus 1,032 headstones and included in that number about 200 Revolutionary war soldiers. However, a search of the headstones showed no Bininger family members buried there.

It was off to the grocer in Shushan for directions to the two remaining cemeteries. He was very knowledgeable and was able to give us directions to both. Again we were off and now to the Eagleville Bininger Cemetery. Suddenly I stopped the car, for there it finally was-BINNINGER ROAD! (Note the extra "N" on the road sign.) We drove on this dirt road one and a half miles into a wooded area and located the cemetery. It had 150 headstones but ironically no Bininger family members were found.

By now I am getting a little more than anxious as we approach the Camden Valley Road where the third and last cemetery is located. This would be the Moravian Cemetery. As we pull up to the cemetery, we finally found what we have been searching for. Directly in front of us stood the very impressive headstone of Abram M Bininger. The grave marker and cross were so large it could be easily seen from the road.

We finally had the proof that these people did exist. Although there were 225 headstones in the cemetery, only 11 belonged to the Bininger family members. However, importantly three of those included the old Reverend Abraham Bininger, Isaac Bininger and his wife Elizabeth, and of course, Abram M Bininger. The last three stood in a single row, Abram and his father and mother. On A.M. Bininger's grave were the words " and to be buried by the grave of my father and mother".

After two hours of photos, writing down the inscriptions on the Bininger headstones, and doing some exploring it was back to the grocer in Shushon to thank him for his directions and to buy refreshments for Melanie and myself. Since my introduction to bottle collecting in April of 1971, I never had the experience of finding and seeing the grave sites of Patent Medicine Makers or wine or liquor merchants. Just as some bottles are unique I can only describe this particular afternoon as unique.

Ironically on this trip we each bought a Saratoga mineral water bottle but NO Bininger bottle. We had some reason to believe other members of the Bininger family may have been buried in Cambridge, New York. We explored the two large cemeteries there in August but found no Bininger family members. Most importantly, however, we were able to find the graves of Isaac and Abram Bininger who made the A.M. Bininger & Co. possible.

Written by Don Keating

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