In the MOOD to learn about a silversmith?

A belt buckle made by Peter Mood Sr.
Photo from The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts

I'm sure you've heard the expression 'born with a silver spoon in your mouth.' However, when Reverend John Mood was born on January 11th, 1792, he took the expression a little more literally. American silversmiths lists his father, Peter Mood Sr., as a silver smith in Charleston South Carolina. Peter would serve as a master to John when he decided to apprentice as a silver smith. John would eventually join his father as a partner at Peter Mood & Son and then Peter Mood & Sons.

A photo of a silver ladle made by John Mood and Peter Jr. Mood
from The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts website

The Reverend was not the only silver smith in the family; his brother Peter Jr. was also a member of the long line of German silver smiths. The three men, father and both sons, worked together until Peter Sr. died in 1821 and the business dissolved. According to The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts the boys had several short lived partnerships before joining back up in business together in 1834. This partnership was dissolved by financial issues and a robbery by an employee. John decided to go into business for himself while his brother moved to New York.

A slave badge from 1835, made by John and Peter Mood Jr.
Photo from Greenwood

At the time the brothers were living in Charleston, the city required all slaves who were hired out by their owners to wear and carry a slave badge at all times. In 1832, John and Peter Mood Jr. won the contract to make all of the slave badges for the city. The badges, however, were not made of silver, instead they were made of copper or tin. They received the bid for this contract several times over the years.

Photo of John Mood
Courtesy of Patrick Harwood's blog

Greenwood  claims that John Mood was born as a Lutheran but later converted to Methodism and became a Methodist minister. Despite making the badges that marked African Americans as slaves, Mood joined Methodism at a time when many members of the faith was opposed to slavery. He decided to violate strict South Carolina laws by teaching black Methodist ministers to read and write. He also established a Sunday school for black children that he ran by himself. 

Photo of Mood's stamp courtesy of American Silver Smiths

A photo of Mood's grave courtesy of Find A Grave

John Mood lived out his life in Charleston and died on March 1st, 1792 at age 72. He is buried at Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery in Charleston. Mood's work can be traced by his stamp on the silver works he created. In addition to slavery badges and silver creations, John Mood also produced Calvary and weapons for The American Civil War. In the book, American Silver-Hilted, Revolutionary and Early Federal Swords, Mood's products are advertised as "silver or gilt hilted sabersscabbards."

William Benjamin Durm: Oysterpreneur

William (on the left) with his two brothers

My great grandfather William Benjamin Durm Junior was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland until later in life when he bought a summer home in Annapolis, Maryland where my family has been residing ever since. He was born in 1895 to William Benjamin Durm Senior and Annie M. Goldeisen who were both German immigrants. He had three siblings, John, Oremalee, and Cornelius.

William's house in Baltimore.

William as a young boy

A can from William B. Durm's Oyster packing company

William began his working career as a bookkeeper and it wasn't until 1950 when he went into business for himself that his life really began. He opened an oyster packing business in Baltimore, however during the summer they did not have refrigerated storage on trains, so he was unable to ship oysters.


His clever solution was to convert the business into produce distribution. This switch proved to be incredibly lucrative and he shipped most of his produce all the way to Ohio by train, turning his small company into a multi-state business.

A photo of the summer home William owned in Whitehall Beach

There is a single road leading back to Whitehall Beach, the community where William bought his summer home in Annapolis. William would make long treks from Baltimore to Annapolis on the weekend and became frustrated with the dirt road.

To solve this frustration he brought large quantities of oyster shells by boat with him to Whitehall and lined the dirt road. Broken oyster shells at the time were a similar equivalent to gravel. This was a huge benefit to the community that would later become his permanent home after he retired. 

A portrait of a young William B. Durm Jr.

Prior to the Great Depression, William received a call from a friend warning him of the closing of banks across the country. William was able to retrieve some of his savings, but not all and like many other Americans, he lost a great deal. He became extremely despondent.

A photo of the young couple: William and Mary "Agnes"

Long before he made his dive into business, William was married to Mary Agnes Veihmyer in 1915. They had three children together.

William's three children later in life (middle three)
Noel, Oremalee "Lee", and William III

His first son was William B. Durm III, was born in 1919. William III died of colon cancer on Saturday, June 6th, his 74th birthday.

His daughter, Oremalee was named after William Junior's sister, also named Oremalee and was born on January 20th, 1930.

Noel Elson Durm, the youngest son and my grandfather was born November 23rd, 1931. My grandfather, Noel E. Durm described his father as "a tyrant in strictness but a good family provider."

William (left) on a cruise to Cuba

William was not only adventurous in his career endeavors but also in his personal life where he loved to travel and was able to visit Cuba several times before Castro began his reign.

A picture of one of William's boats,
The "Will-Lee-No" named after
his children.

Proving to be a daredevil, my great grandfather fell in a motorcycle accident and lost his eye which was replaced with a glass eye. An avid boater, He once replaced a boat engine with one from  an airplane.                   

A picture of the
grave of William B. Durm III.
The grave also includes the graves of
William B. Durm Jr. and his wife, Agnes.

After living a long and prosperous life, William died in 1965 at age 70 from an intestinal blockage. He is buried beside his wife, his
brother, Cornelius and his sister, Oremalee at Parkwood Cemetery in Parkville, Maryland.

His grave, originally a small footstone was added to a large die in socket when his son, William B. Junior III died. The new die on socket grave has William Jr. and his wife Agnes' graves added at the bottom. A large portion of the Durm family is also buried at Parkwood
Cemetery.

The front entrance of Parkwood Cemetery
in Baltimore.

The original Mausoleum at the back of
Parkwood.

A view of some graves along a hill in
Parkwood.

Parkwood Cemetery and Mausoleum is a private cemetery established in 1919 and is 

home to famous professional baseball player,

Albert William Rubeling.