Cist, Jacob, 1782-1825

Jacob Cist was born on March 13, 1783 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He obtained his education at the Nazareth Boys’ School of the Moravian Church from 1794 to 1797. He lived in Philadelphia until 1808 when he was appointed United States Postmaster, serving that position until his death in 1925. Cist’s interests and skills were diverse and he worked as a merchant in Wilkes-Barre, as the treasurer of Luzerne County in 1816, as a business partner with his father-in-law Judge Matthias Hollenback (a merchant and landlord in northeastern Pennsylvania), and a co-founder of the first company for mining and marketing anthracite coal with Jacob Weiss. He was described as a “young, ambitious, and clever entrepreneur who … devote[d] his energies to the fostering of the Pennsylvania anthracite trade in order to supply the city of Philadelphia with fuel at a handsome profit,” (Binder), particularly during fuel shortages during the War of 1812. Because coal was not used in homes and businesses, at the time, he worked hard to convince people that Lehigh coal was easy to burn and a viable fuel source. He consistently wrote about the value of using coal as a fuel source, sent samples to American and European cities, created pamphlets, gathered endorsements from successful users of the fuel, and performed demonstrations.

In addition to his professional work, Cist was also deeply involved in many other aspects of his world. As a naturalist, he stressed field observations and biology of insects, illustrating the stages seen, while studying their classification. He studied under French artist, M. A. Benade, and became a skilled artist, sketching waterfalls and plants and insects of Wyoming Valley. Further using his artistic skills, he designed bank notes for the Susquehanna Bank of Wilkes-Barre. He was also an inventor and patented a mill for grinding pigment from coal in 1803. Finally, he was a co-founder of the Luzerne County Agricultural Society.

Cist died on December 30, 1823

Bibliography:

Binder, Frederick M. “Review: Philadelphia’s First Fuel Crisis: Jacab Cist and the Developing Market for Pennsylvania Anthracite by H. Benjamin Powell” Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Volume 103, No. 3 (Jul. 1979), pp. 402-404.

From the guide to the Jacob Cist correspondence and documents, 1794-1829, (Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia)