I was searching for women that were involved with playing cards when I came across this story idea. I found a card called "Aliunde Joe" designed by Virginius C. Clayton in 1877. When I researched Virginius I was surprised by what I first thought was a mistake. The 1870 census record stated that Virginius was male and not female. I soon learned it was a boy's name of Latin origin. The meaning of Virginius is "chaste", the masculine form of Virginia. It was mainly used in old Virginia families, and as a reference to the state known as the Old Dominion rather to virginity.
Virginius was born about 1844 in Norfolk, Virginia, to a Methodist minister later turned lawyer. After the Civil War the family moved to Washington, D. C.. By 1871 his brother Joseph opened a patent agent's office there. Virginius worked there as a clerk and his father as an attorney. They lived across from the National Mall and four blocks from the Capitol Building.
When his father died in 1874 the office was closed and the Claytons moved to Brooklyn, New York. Joseph, now a lawyer, went into practice in New York City. Virginius and younger brother James went to work in the grocery business in Brooklyn.
When his father died in 1874 the office was closed and the Claytons moved to Brooklyn, New York. Joseph, now a lawyer, went into practice in New York City. Virginius and younger brother James went to work in the grocery business in Brooklyn.
In 1876 the presidential election became the most disputed one ever. Although it is not disputed that Tilden outpolled Hayes in the popular vote, after a first count of votes, Tilden had won 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes from four states unresolved: in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, each party reported its candidate had won the state, while in Oregon, one elector was replaced after being declared illegal for being an "elected or appointed official". The question of who should have been awarded these electoral votes is the source of the continued controversy. An informal deal was struck to resolve the dispute: the Compromise of 1877, which awarded all 20 electoral votes to Hayes; in return for the Democrats conceding to Hayes' election, the Republicans agreed to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.
Joseph Philo Bradley (March 14, 1813 – January 22, 1892) was an American jurist best known for his service on the United States Supreme Court, and on the Electoral Commission that decided the disputed 1876 presidential election. Bradley is best remembered as being the 15th and final member of the Electoral Commission that decided the dispute. A Republican since the early days of the party, Bradley was not an obvious first choice.
The four justices charged with selecting the fifth and final justice (who, all realized, would be the deciding vote on the commission as all 14 other members were strictly partisan) initially chose justice David Davis for the job. But Davis had just been elected to the United States Senate making him unable to join. The justices then settled on Bradley. The reasons for this are not entirely clear, though it is evident that Bradley was thought of by his colleagues to be the most politically neutral; the court overall at that time had more Republicans than Democrats.
Bradley wrote a number of opinions while on the electoral commission, and like the other members sided with his own party. The final 8-7 vote, which split along partisan lines, effectively made Hayes the president, and Bradley was characterized in the press as the "casting vote", or tiebreaker. Democrats, who had hoped that Bradley might side with their candidate, focused their anger on him rather than on his fellow Republicans on the panel. Press reports that criticized the decision singled out Bradley for vilification, and he received a number of death threats.
How did Justice Bradley come to his vote decision? It had been decided that the commission was not competent to consider evidence aliunde (Latin for "from elsewhere than") the certificates from the states. Bradley used this reasoning for making his decision. The frequent use of the word at the time associated it permanently with Justice Bradley's name and he became forever known as "Aliunde Joe".
Apparently having strong feelings about the election Virginius felt creative. He invented "Election Euchre" and a special card for it called "Aliunde Joe".
Mount Vernon (Ohio) Banner
Dec 7, 1877
"Election euchre" is a new game at cards, played with the ordinary euchre pack, to which is added a new card marked "Aliunde Joe." The game is fifteen points up, with the chances of eight to seven against its being in the pack after the deal.
The card was described in his patent as being Janus faced (having two sharply contrasting aspects or characteristics) and has many references to the 8 to 7 vote for the decision for president. It kind of makes you feel that Virginius wanted Tilden to win.
From his patent it appears it is a single card and not part of a deck. But to play a game of euchre the card backs would have to match. No advertisement of Election Euchre states where to purchase a deck, or a card, that I have found.
I did find this article, from 1908, where people played Election Euchre but no mention of Aliunde Joe;
An Election Euchre
Euchre instead of a regular military euchre. Instead of a fort, each table will represent a political party, as Republican, Democratic, Labor, Woman's Suffrage, Prohibition, etc., and posters hung around the room will give the names of the candidates, and perhaps a campaign motto or saying.
Each table has a ballot box for the votes won, and also a supply of colored slips to give out as votes when it loses; four people are at & table, and play for the party represented by their table.
As in military euchre, one couple from each table goes to play each game at another table, and the remaining couple stays at their own table to play their visitors. Arrange it so that the same couples do not play against each other more than once.
Regular bid euchre is played, and the losing couple must give one of their votes to the winners, which the latter will place in the ballot box on their own table. The length of time of each game is optional, but ought not to be more than seven or eight minutes. A regular schedule should be made for each table, which will tell the table to be visited each game, so that there will be no conflicts.
Anyone who has played at a military euchre can do this.
I did find this article, from 1908, where people played Election Euchre but no mention of Aliunde Joe;
An Election Euchre
Euchre instead of a regular military euchre. Instead of a fort, each table will represent a political party, as Republican, Democratic, Labor, Woman's Suffrage, Prohibition, etc., and posters hung around the room will give the names of the candidates, and perhaps a campaign motto or saying.
Each table has a ballot box for the votes won, and also a supply of colored slips to give out as votes when it loses; four people are at & table, and play for the party represented by their table.
As in military euchre, one couple from each table goes to play each game at another table, and the remaining couple stays at their own table to play their visitors. Arrange it so that the same couples do not play against each other more than once.
Regular bid euchre is played, and the losing couple must give one of their votes to the winners, which the latter will place in the ballot box on their own table. The length of time of each game is optional, but ought not to be more than seven or eight minutes. A regular schedule should be made for each table, which will tell the table to be visited each game, so that there will be no conflicts.
Anyone who has played at a military euchre can do this.
Was Virginius's idea a hit? Do his cards exist in a collection somewhere? I could not locate any. Maybe a reader has more information.
In January 1879 Virginius took his sleigh, driven by his two new bay trotters, out for a spin after a recent snow storm. He contracted pneumonia and had a hard time recovering. In February he traveled 1,300 miles to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to regain his health.
Hot Springs, Arkansas, In The Late 1800s
The hot spring water has been popularly believed for centuries to possess healing properties, and was a subject of legend among several Native American tribes. Following federal protection in 1832, the city developed into a successful spa town. After the Civil War, extensive rebuilding of bathhouses and hotels took place at Hot Springs. The year-round population soared to 1,200 inhabitants by 1870. By 1873 six bathhouses and 24 hotels and boarding houses stood near the springs. In 1874, Joseph Reynolds announced his decision to construct a narrow-gauge railroad from Malvern to Hot Springs; completion in 1875 resulted in the growth of visitation to the springs. Samuel W. Fordyce and two other entrepreneurs financed the construction of the first luxury hotel in the area, the first Arlington Hotel, which opened in 1875.
Returning to Brooklyn healthy again, he went back to work in the grocery trade. In in 1890 he changed careers and became a commercial agent for R. G. Dun & Company in New York City.
On July 20, 1841, the formation of The Mercantile Agency in New York City by Lewis Tappan, later called R. G. Dun & Company began. Recognizing the need for a centralized credit reporting system, Tappan formed the company to create a network of correspondents who would provide reliable, objective credit information to subscribers. As an advocate for civil rights, Tappan used his abolitionist connections to expand and update the company's credit information.
Despite accusations of personal privacy invasion, by 1844 the Mercantile Agency had over 280 clients. The agency continued to expand, opening offices in Boston, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. By 1849, Tappan retired, allowing Benjamin Douglass to take over the booming business.
In 1859, Douglass transferred the company to Robert Graham Dun, who immediately changed the firm's name to R. G. Dun & Company. Over the next 40 years, Graham Dun continued to expand the business across international boundaries. In March 1933, Dun merged with competitor John M. Bradstreet to form today's Dun & Bradstreet.
In 1893 Virginius moves to Savannah, Georgia, to cover that part of the country for the company. While there he also worked for the Chatham County Daily Recorder. For the newspaper he would write the daily recordings of deeds, mortgages and court cases.
On the evening of February 9, 1899, when leaving work he fell down the stairs and struck his head. Receiving a bad concussion he was rushed to the hospital. Two weeks later he passed away.
On the evening of February 9, 1899, when leaving work he fell down the stairs and struck his head. Receiving a bad concussion he was rushed to the hospital. Two weeks later he passed away.