Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Criminalia, a production of Shondaland Audio in partnership
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
According to the Vermont State Pharmacy Association in nineteen twenty one,
quote doctor Kilmer's Swamproot kidney, liver and bladder medicine is
a medicine of genuine merit. Thousands of letters we have
received from druggists indicate that this has won the confidence
of the people. We believe that the druggist who recommends
(00:35):
it thereby helps his own reputation for reliability and truthfulness,
as his customer is usually satisfied with the results obtained
from the use of swamp root. Their preparation is made
upon honor and always kept up to its high standard
of purity and excellence. They weren't wrong. Swamp root was
(00:56):
a very popular patent medicine product, but made with honor
and reputation for truthfulness. Aren't we here in snake oil season.
Let's meet doctor Kilmer and the Kilmer family and talk
about how swamp root made them a ton of money.
(01:17):
Welcome to Criminalia. I'm Maria Tremarky.
Speaker 1 (01:20):
And I'm Holly Frye. The Kilmer family was from the
village of Cobbleskill, New York. But this story takes place
in Binghamton, New York. That's about one hundred miles away.
It's been said that the family was not well liked.
It's also been said they didn't much like each other,
but we're not here to talk family dynamics. Several generations
(01:43):
of Kilmer's influence to Binghamton's economy and politics. It is
the place they left their mark. So let's begin with
Sylvester Andrew Kilmer, who was born on December nineteenth, eighteen
forty one of eleven children andrel is he was known
is the one who started this whole thing. He was
well educated in medicine. We don't see a lot of
(02:07):
that in the stories of snake oil salesmen, so that
seems like a good start. At the age of eighteen,
he entered his first apprenticeship at the office of a
man named doctor Scott, who was a prominent allopathic physician
in Skahari County. He then studied with doctor Downing, who
was considered not only a successful doctor, but also a
(02:27):
pioneer of homeopathy in New York State. When Andrew Kilmer,
doctor Kilmer started his own practice, it was as a
physician in the town of Barnerville, only about four miles
from Cobbleskill.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
But he also decided to continue his studies, hoping to
gain a broad knowledge of medicine and surgery. And he
studied well a lot of things in a lot of places.
He apprenticed in eclectic and botanic practice with doctor Patrick
of Wisconsin. He attended Bellevue Hospital and Medical College in
(03:01):
New York City, where he had specific instruction at the
Eye and Ear Infirmary on Blackwell's Island, which today is
known as Roosevelt Island. At the Philadelphia Lying In Charity Hospital,
he attended a special course of instruction in practical obstetrics
and Diseases of women. He also received similar instruction at
(03:23):
the Central Dispensary of Chicago. He studied at the Philadelphia
School of Operative Surgery under noted physician doctor D. Hayes Agnew,
and he also received a diploma from the Bennett Medical
College of Chicago. So this guy was bonafide, and after
embarking on a successful tour of medical lectures and practice,
(03:44):
he settled in Binghamton, New York.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
When he first arrived in the city, he was a
visiting physician, providing services in Binghamton and the surrounding towns
just a few days a week. His medical practice and
treatments became a huge success, and he soon began overseeing
the construction of what would be his laboratory buildings. These
were built with the intention of manufacturing the remedies that
(04:09):
he provided his patients, remedies that were in ever increasing demand.
Speaker 2 (04:15):
Sometime between eighteen seventy eight and eighteen eighty one. Records
are a little bit fuzzy on that date, but it's
likely eighteen seventy eight, Andre invited his brother, Jonas, a
businessman and graduate of the Bryanton Stratton Business College in Albany,
New York, to help build what would become the hugely
successful patent medicine company Kilmer and Company. Jonas moved to
(04:39):
Binghamton and became responsible for the company's advertising and marketing
and generally ran the facility. Their first major laboratory and
manufacturing plant was located at the corners of Chenengo and
Virgil Streets. Andre prepared many many medicines in those laboratories,
including doctor kilmer Ocean weed heart remedy, Doctor Kilmer's Indian
(05:03):
cough Cure, Doctor Kilmer's Liver Pills, Autumn Leaf extract U
and O ointment, and Doctor Kilmer's Female Remedy, which was
described as quote the great blood purifier and system regulator,
as well as quote the only herbal alternative and depurative
(05:24):
ever discovered specifically adapted to female constitutions. But the most
well known and best selling product manufactured by Kilmer and
Company was Doctor Kilmer's Swamproot Kidney, Liver and Bladder Cure.
Note we've also seen it labeled as Doctor Kilmer's Swamproot Kidney,
(05:44):
liver and Bladder Remedy or medicine. Same thing.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
Swamp Root, as it was popularly known, was introduced in
the mid eighteen seventies. It was an early item and
probably the first that was developed by Andral and quick
became a household name, and when you become that popular,
it's not really a surprise that people want to get
in on your success. There were more than a few
(06:10):
counterfeit products that bore the Kilmer name. Inspired imitators and
counterfeitters produced products that looked and sounded very similar to
the Kilmer products, but could not and cannot be found
in any of the company's official advertising or records. These included,
but were not limited to, Doctor Kilmer's Wild Indian Female
(06:31):
Cancer Injection and Doctor Kilmer's Wild Indian Female Secret.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
We are going to take a break for a word
from our sponsors, and when we're back we will talk
a whole lot about swamp root, which was the key
to the Kilmer's success.
Speaker 1 (06:59):
Welcome back to Crimin Aliab. Let's begin talking about the
swamproot product. But we also have a bit of company
slash brotherly scandal to discuss too.
Speaker 2 (07:11):
Let's talk about the star of the product line first,
Doctor Kilmer's Swamproot Kidney, liver and Bladder Cure. It was
a patented mixture of quote twenty four proof and some
herbs and spices at a dollar a bottle, according to
an advertisement that also promised it was a medical cure
all according to an early ingredient list, though, swamproot was
(07:34):
actually a bit of a lot of things. It contained
quote bukou leaves, oil of juniper, oil of birch, colombo root, sassafras, balsam, copaiba, balsam, tolu,
skull cap leaves, venice, turpentine, valerian root, rhubarb, root, mandrake root, peppermint, herb,
(07:55):
cape aloes, cinnamon, and sugar, and it contained approximately nine
to ten and a half percent alcohol per dose. We
did also see some ingredient lists containing all of these
with the addition of golden seal root. It can be
hard to nail down what was really in patent medicines,
(08:15):
but this one seems to have stayed pretty consistent over
the years. The active ingredient buku has been historically used
for urinary tract infections, including those involving the kidneys, so
that's one plus for this ingredient list's benefits.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Swamproot was an exotically named product, and its name was
the kind that patent medicine marketers liked to use because
they felt it made the product more intriguing to consumers.
While it's unclear as to whether or not andral knew
of and borrowed from indigenous healing in herbal remedies, he
certainly did not mention it. There is a plant called
(08:55):
in Spanish yurbadel manzo, which translates in English to herb
of the swamp. It does grow in the United States,
mostly in Arizona. Did herb of the swamp inspire swamp roots. Somehow,
there's nothing notable to suggest that he took advantage of
an indigenous healing trope, whether in regard to his remedies, ingredients,
(09:17):
or even just the name, but it is an interesting
connection at a time when that was a very common
thing to do in proprietary medicine branding and advertising, as
suggested by those two imitator names we mentioned just a
bit ago.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Speculation, though aside. When it hit the market in the
late nineteenth century, swamp Root Packaging promised it was your
one stop remedy, but it was most heavily marketed as
a quote diuretic for the kidneys and a mild laxative.
The company claimed that quote swamproot tends to promote the
flow of urine, thereby aiding the kidneys in their necessary
(09:54):
work of eliminating waste matter. It was sold in a
screw cap bottle contained in a bright orange box bearing
an engraved portrait of s Andre Kilmer MD. In fact,
Andrel's image appeared on all product packaging, as well as labels, books,
trading cards, and other promotional materials. The distribution of his
(10:16):
products became so widespread some claimed his face was more
recognizable than that of the President of the United States,
true or not, who knows could be. In addition to
his likeness, all the Kilmer products had an outline of
its intended use on its bottle, and what we mean
by that is glass bottles of swamproot, kidney, liver and
(10:38):
bladder cure, for instance, featured an embossed kidney on each container.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
In eighteen eighty two, a fire destroyed the original Kilmer factory.
The Kilmer brothers rebuilt, and in just a few years,
the new eight story plant in Binghamton was filling more
than two thousand bottles an hour. The economic impact on
the area was significant too. The new, larger factory employed
(11:05):
hundreds of people in the city.
Speaker 2 (11:07):
But then in eighteen ninety two, Jonas ousted Andrel and
some suggest that he may likely have swindled his brother
out of the business. However it really went down. He
bought out Andrel and brought his own son, Willis, fresh
out of Cornell University, on as marketing director. And when
(11:27):
Willis joined the company, he embraced the idea of mass
marketing to make his uncle's name and remedies a nationally
known brand. When asked what swamp root was good for
he famously answered, quote about a million dollars a year.
By eighteen ninety five, the Kilmer company product line had
grown and consisted of eighteen patent medicines. None of the
(11:51):
new products were created by Andrel and none, as you
can guess, we're worth spending your money on. Willis took
control of the company in nighte teen twelve when his
father Jonas died.
Speaker 1 (12:03):
Now we've talked at length this season about how certain
popular medicines manufactured by the Kilmers and by others that
are in the same game, claimed to be remedies for
anything and everything, from dandrift to cancer and sometimes both.
Patent medicines were popular period, but they were especially popular
(12:24):
among pioneers traveling westward during the American expansion in the
mid to late eighteen hundreds. These were people and families
leaving cities, leaving behind civilized society, and they did not
know if they would have access to the care of
a medical doctor, even one with dubious credentials, or even
a druggist. Traveling west was a very dangerous adventure. Coincidentally,
(12:50):
it happened at the same time early mass marketing of
patent medicines was beginning on the East Coast, and Americans
who were looking for something to help ease the unci
certainty of their health as they crossed the United States
often brought along an assortment of various patent medicines. Swamp
Route was an important part of many kits, not for
(13:12):
its advertised laxative properties. Necessarily, people often used it as
an antiseptic, an important product to have for infection control
when you're in the wild West, for shure.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
In contrast to those families, the Kilmer family lived on
a palatial estate in Binghamton, New York. They had four
mansions and eventually owned a lodge, a yacht, and a
stable of racehorses, including Kentucky Derby Winter Exterminator, and they
could thank the overwhelming sales of Antrel's swamp Root for
(13:47):
those trappings. The depression of the eighteen nineties, which was
caused by several factors converging at once in the country,
didn't really put a dent in their sales, nor did
growing unemployment in the way of nationwide business failures diminished
their profits. And that was lucky for them, but not
so lucky for the city's residents. They employed. When sales
(14:10):
numbers did fall slightly, Jonas and Willis unfortunately chose to
take the difference out of their employees pay, allowing the
company then to continue to bottle and package products without
any impact, and when it came to lowering pay, one
more thing caught ri Everyone took a hit, but women
(14:31):
were penalized the most. Records note female employees had been
making ten cents per every one thousand units bottled at
the factory before eighteen ninety five, but after only seven
cents per one thousand units.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
As the peak patent medicine days wound down, swamp Root
actually held strong well. Eventually, the Pure Food and Drug
Act of nineteen oh six forced the company to change
the wording on their products, as they had banned the
use of the word cure on bottles or advertising in
the United States. Swamp Root, with its revised labeling, was
(15:08):
still on the market into the mid twentieth century, roughly
until the nineteen forties after the Second World War. After
Willis's death in nineteen forty, his second wife, Sarah Jane Wells,
sold the rights to make and manufacture swamp Route to
Medtech Laboratories of Cody, Wyoming.
Speaker 2 (15:28):
We are going to take a break for a word
from our sponsors. But this isn't the end of the
Kilmer story. When we're back, we'll bring Andrel back into
this picture.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Welcome back to crimin Ilia. Let's not forget Andrel, the
real doctor who started this whole story.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
Shortly before On sold his interest in Kilmer and Company
to Jonas, he was already scouting for the right place
to start another company, and he found it in Osborne Hollow,
approximately ten miles or so east of Binghamton and right
on the DNH railroad. And yes, that is foreshadowing. He
(16:19):
convinced the town's residents to rename the area as Sanitarius
Springs and for about one hundred thousand dollars, which today
you could probably estimate that that's more than three and
a half million dollars, he built a sanitarium and hydrotherapium.
His intention well Andrel had a plan to cure cancer.
(16:39):
The buildings were fitted with every modern convenience of the time,
including things like electric lighting, steam heaters, and elevators. But
what made the property perfect for him was that there
was a sulfo phosphate spring on the grounds, soaking in
or drinking the mineral water of these alleged healing springs
(16:59):
was believe to be a cure for everything from rheumatism,
to obesity, to skin ailments and asthma. Think of the
longest list of health conditions you can and these springs
were going to heal every single item on your list.
There were also ten other springs on the property. A
few to mention included the blue lithia, red iron, black, magnetic,
(17:23):
and ferro manganese. In addition, sulfur, Turkish, Russian, and electric
baths were used all year round.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Andrew began formally treating cancer patients in the eighteen nineties,
both at the sanitarium outside the city and also what
was known as the Cancertorium, which he'd built at two
fifty four Conklin Avenue in Binghamton. Andrew's son Ulysses was
employed as associate superintendent, and his daughter Edith was the librarian,
(17:54):
another of the Kilmer brothers. Andrew quit his successful career
as an educator to work in the business office of
the sanitarium and Hydrotherapium. Later he would become the assistant superintendent.
Speaker 2 (18:07):
Andre advertised his cancer cure nationally and offered to pay
train fare to the sanitarium for anyone who would commit
to a stay of three to six months. This wasn't
a quick treatment. Also, remember the DNH was super convenient
and close to the sanitarium, so this would have been
a good perk to get patients to his facility, and.
Speaker 1 (18:29):
He attracted patients with this homeopathic approach to treating cancer.
His method is not too surprising though. We talked about
his education in both conventional and homeopathic medicine earlier in
the episode, and his practice involved a controlled diet, but
the hard hitter was treatment with the different springs. He
(18:51):
administered a medicine as well, but we have no record
of an ingredients list. It was supposed to expel the
cancer from the body after all ongoing treatment. If you
had an ulcerating cancer, for instance, which is when a
tumor breaks through the skin, allegedly, this medicine would cause
that tumor to fall off. He did not use radium
(19:14):
X rays or surgeries for two main reasons. First, he
considered those treatments injurious to the patient, and second, he
felt those treatments could cause some cancers to actually spread
or become difficult to treat.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
Doctors practicing traditional medicine of the time, not homeopathy, considered
Andre's former ties to proprietary medicine to be suspicious, and
because of it, they did not support his cancer facility
or his practices. They called his methods dubious, and though
he was a well educated physician and surgeon who had
(19:51):
gotten out of the patent medicine game, they began to
ridicule him for not performing surgeries as they would have performed,
or daring to use techniques on his patients that weren't
conventional treatment techniques. Despite how his peers saw him, his patience,
it's well reported, held him and his cancer treatments in
(20:12):
high regard. While we don't know how effective those therapies
actually were, he was clearly serious about the care his
patients received. In fact, we know he was giving treatments
just three days before he died at his home in
nineteen twenty four.
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Oh so that is, would you like a little sip
of something cozy to cure what ails you?
Speaker 2 (20:38):
Yes, as long as it's not some sort of off
brand doctor Kilmer's female cancer. And you can't make that promise,
I'll try it anyway.
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Not entirely. You'll see in the ingredients list that we
read of what was in the swamp rut treatment. And
of course I fixated on cinnamon and sugar, and I
got to thinking about those flavors and how they're often
like cinnamon in particular is often used in autumnal drinks.
(21:16):
But we are in the middle, not even the middle.
We're at the early stages of what seems like a
brutal summer here in the Northern Hemisphere. And I thought,
what if we could figure out a drink that had
those flavors, but it was a good summer sip. You
could also sip it in autumn, but it is made
as an iced light drink. And I got to think
about another thing associated with summer, at least in the US,
(21:39):
and that is apple pie.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
I love these warm spices. I can't wait. This is
already sounding great.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
We're gonna make something refreshing and not too warm. I
will also say that I'm gonna pull back the curtain
on Criminalia for a minute, because we had to last
minute move our recording this week, and I had made
a drink for it that we would have talked if
we recorded a couple of days ago, but I was
never one hundred percent happy with it, and I'm glad
(22:06):
we ended up delaying because I got to reworkshop it
and now I like it heaps like it wasn't bad
at all, but it wasn't what I wanted.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
And now it has come out in the end, and now.
Speaker 1 (22:18):
It's I think, a more appropriate and delicious drink for
what we're doing. Excellent day. So into your shaking tin,
you will put a half ounce of simple syrup, a
quarter of an ounce, just a little doubledo you of
cinnamon liqueur. That can be something like a gold Schlogger.
But if you have a cinnamon liqueur without gold flakes,
the flakes make no difference on this one. Three quarters
(22:41):
of an ounce of lemon juice and an ounce and
a half of like a good dark spiced drum. And
then to that you're also going to add three ounces
of apple juice. I always suggest a low sugar apple juice,
because otherwise it gets real overwhelming and cloying. And then
you will shake that and get it nice and cold
(23:03):
before you strain it over ice. You're gonna take your
serving glass dip one half of the rim in water
or lemon juice and then into a mix of cinnamon
and sugar. The reason you're only doing half of the glass.
If you are making this just for yourself and you
know you love cinnamon and sugar, dip the whole thing,
(23:24):
that's fine. But I have started, and I know a
lot of other folks that make drinks and even places
that serve alcohol as like their business has started doing
like a half rim. And that's because not everybody wants
the stuff that's on the rim. Some people just like
to take a sip of the drink. That's my little thing.
Cinnamon and sugar, throw in your ice, strain your drink
(23:45):
over that so good and refreshing. It tastes like summer.
But I bet if we were sitting here in October,
I'd be like, this tastes like autumn. Sprinkle a little
cinnamon on top if you want to give it a
little more cinnamonosity me notorium.
Speaker 2 (24:01):
That's the manufacturing plant when we make this beverage.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Yes, and it's just delightful. And I'm just calling this
sugared swamproot. It's part of an imitation of swamp fruit,
but it's its own thing. Also, if you want to
make the mocktail here. Since we're doing a dark spiced drum,
this is one where I would suggest subbing that out with.
I would do like a like a chai tea spicy,
(24:26):
yummy warmed, not warmed to the temperature you're gonna cool it,
but warm in terms of its flavor profile tea. If
you want to give that a little more body, you
can also drop a little bit of like a white
grape juice in there, but I think with the apple
juice you don't have to do that, So in that
case it would be the exact same. You're just using
an ounce and a half of a brood and then
(24:49):
cooled chai to throw in there. Delicious, and then you
can have sugared swamprut all the time. Also, obviously, in
that case, if you're doing a mocktail, you're not gonna
use cinnamon liqueur. You'll just use a little dollup of
cinnamon syrup. Whatever delights you. If you have some one
hand easy to make, throw your sugar and your water
in a pan with a few cinnamon sticks to let
(25:11):
that simmer for a bit, cool off and strain. You
got cinnamon syrup, easy peasy. I'm going to drink these
all summer long.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
I know that recently I was like, ah, this drink
sounds like it's gonna whatever. I forget which episode it was,
but the drink inspired me to say such things as
this might be my favorite drink of the season, but
we'll see. And now I have this drink in competition.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
I'm just gonna say, if we had recorded two days ago,
that would not have been the case.
Speaker 2 (25:37):
But we didn't, and now we have some things changed.
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Originally this thing had like a heavy cream topper on it,
and it was a different There were different ingredients and
it was fine, but it wasn't quite what I wanted.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
You and your patent medicine drink ingredients list right. We
can't give them straight.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Can't do it, can't do it. We hope if you
make this that you find it a delightful sip, whether
in it's alcoholic or non alcoholic version. We are so
thankful that you spent this time with us talking about
Andrew and his brother and their various sons and all
of the family drama. And we will be right here
next week again with a tale of snake oil and
(26:15):
a drink to go with it. Criminalia is a production
of Shondaland Audio in partnership with iHeartRadio. For more podcasts
from Shondaland Audio, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.