Budwell Pharmacal Company / Budwell & Christian


Company Names, addresses, dates:
  Roanoke
      Budwell & Christian, 101 Jefferson Street, Roanoke VA (1884-1889) 1
      Budwell Christian & Barbee, Roanoke VA (1889-1891) 1
      Christian & Barbee, Roanoke VA (1891-1896) 2,3
      Budwell Pharmacal Company, Roanoke VA 12
  Lynchburg
      Payne, Seay & Anderson, 700 Commerce St., Lynchburg VA (ca.1899) 4
      Payne, Seay & Anderson, 808 Main St., Lynchburg VA (1900-1913) 4
      Budwell Pharmacal Company, 808 Main St., Lynchburg VA (1914-1923) 4
      Budwell Pharmacal Company, 714 Main St., Lynchburg VA (ca.1924) 4

Notes:
Walter Budwell Sr. (1859-1891)5 teamed with J. Fleming Christian in July of 1884 to form the Budwell & Christian drug store in Roanoke VA. In October of 1889, John P. Barbee joined them, and the new name became "Budwell, Christian & Barbee". Budwell passed away in 1891.1

The firm then became known as "Christian & Barbee" until 1896, when they sold the drugstore to William B. and George A. Van Lear.2,3

The earliest newspaper mention of "Budwell's Emulsion" that I could find was from 1887, and it was being sold by "Budwell & Christian" in Roanoke.6
So I assume that Walter Budwell Sr. was the creator of the "Budwell's Emulsion", even though that product was sold by other companies over the years.
The last ad I could find for "Budwell's Emulsion" was from 1931.7

Budwell Pharmacal Company - Lynchburg/Roanoke
The Budwell Pharmacal Company in Lynchburg was incorporated in 19018. I've seen newspaper ads for it as late as 1926.9
I don't know what years it was in Roanoke, but one of the bottles below is embossed with "ROANOKE VA".

Payne, Seay & Anderson - Lynchburg
The Payne, Seay & Anderson wholesale druggist company in Lynchburg VA were the manufacturers of Budwell's Emulsion as early as 190210.
The firm was listed as being incorporated in 1899, with G.A.W. Payne as the president & treasurer, J.H. Seay as the vice-president, and C.G. Seay as the secretary, with $52,500 capital11.
The Budwell Pharmacal Company in Lynchburg shows up in city directories in the year 1914 at address 808 Main Street, which is the same address as the "Payne, Seay and Anderson" drugstore in previous years, so either that company changed it's name or they were bought out.


Budwell bottles from Roanoke:

budwell_06 This is a sun-colored amethyst 5.1" mouth-blown bottle from Budwell & Christian, embossed:
vertical: BUDWELL & CHRISTIAN / PHARMACISTS / ROANOKE, VA.
budwell_05 This is an amber 8.1" mouth-blown bottle from Budwell & Christian, embossed:
horizontal: BUDWELL'S / EMULSION / OF / NORWEGIAN / COD LIVER OIL / PREPARED BY / BUDWELL & CHRISTIAN/ ROANOKE / VA.
budwell_03 This is an amber 8.25" bottle embossed:
horizontal: BUDWELL'S / EMULSION / OF / NORWEGIAN / COD LIVER OIL / PREPARED BY / BUDWELL PHARMACAL CO. / ROANOKE / VA.


Budwell bottles from Lynchburg:
budwell_01 This is a cobalt-blue 8.2" bottle embossed:
vertical: BUDWELL'S / EMULSION OF COD LIVER OIL NO. 2 / WITH GUAIACOL AND CREOSOTE CARBONATE / BUDWELL PHARMACAL CO., LYNCHBURG, VA.
base: W T & CO / A / U.S.A. / PAT'D JAN 18 1898
budwell_02 This is an amber 8.3" bottles embossed:
horizontal: BUDWELL'S / EMULSION / OF / NORWEGIAN / COD LIVER OIL / PREPARED BY / BUDWELL PHARMACAL CO. / LYNCHBURG / VA.
budwell_04 This picture is just for comparison - it shows the Lynchburg & Roanoke bottles side-by-side. They seem to be identially embossed except for the city name (Lynchburg / Roanoke).


1 Roanoke Times, 29-Jan-1891, p.1 (obituary for Walter Budwell)
2 Roanoke Times, 9-May-1891, p.5 (article: "New Drug Firm")
3 Staunton Vindicator, 14-Feb-1896, p.3
4 Lynchburg City Directories for the years: 1890,97,99,1900,07,08,10,13,14,15,16,20,23,24,26,27,30
5 Find-a-grave entry for Walter Budwell Sr.
6 Clinch Valley News (Tazwell VA), 4-Feb-1887, p.4
7 Richmond Times Dispatch, 30-Sep-1931, page 4
8 Richmond VA Daily Dispatch newspaper, 15-Nov-1910, page 9
9 Richmond Times Dispatch, 13-Apr-1926, page 8
10 Richmond VA Daily Dispatch newspaper, May 2, 1902, page 7
11 Lynchburg VA city directory, 1909
12 (Budwell Pharmacal Co. located in Roanoke is based on embossing on one of the bottles in this web site)


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This page last updated on March 4, 2024.