W.W. Friend


Company Names, addresses, dates:1,2
  W.W. Friend & Co, Manchester VA (ca.1893) 3
  Friend Brothers, 1703 Hull St., Manchester VA (1898)
  Friend Brothers, 1801 Hull St., Manchester/Richmond VA (1899)
  Chas. E. Friend, 1925 Hull St., Manchester VA (1902-1904)
  William W. Friend, 1801 Hull St., Manchester/Richmond VA (1900-1920)
  William W. Friend, 2349 W Broad St., Richmond VA (1922-1923)

Notes:
 William Waverly Friend (1868-1948)4 started as a drugstore owner in Manchester on or before 1893.3

By 1898 he had teamed up with his brother, Charles E. Friend (1860-1940) 5 and the business was called the "Friend Brothers". The 1900 city directory listed them separately, with "Charles E & Co" as a seller of "seeds paint and oils etc" and "William W Friend" as a "druggist", but both of their businesses were listed at 1801 Hull Street. In later years, they each had drugstores at different addresses. 2

Charles eventually moved to Williamsburg VA, where he continued to work in the drugstore business.6

William continued his drugstore business until 1923, when he declared bankruptcy.7
His drugstore was auctioned off, and the auction notice gave details of the drugstore, including fixtures with mahogany finish and a marble soda fountain. 8

William eventually moved to Loudoun County Virginia, where he was a druggist for the Purcellville Pharmacy . 9

The city of Manchester merged with the city of Richmond in 1910. So presumably the bottle below that is embossed with "Richmond" is from after 1910, and the ones embossed with "Manchester" were from on-or-before 1910.

Bottles:
friend_02 This is a clear 3.8" bottle embossed:
vertical: W.W. FRIEND & CO / DRUGGISTS / MANCHESTER, VA.
base: PAT DEC 13 87 / C.L.G.CO. 2
friend_03 This is a clear 4.5" bottle embossed:
horizontal: 3ii
vertical: W.W. Friend / Pharmacist / MANCHESTER, VA.
base: W T CO / B / U S A
friend_04 This is a clear 4.25" bottle embossed:
vertical: W.W. Friend / PHARMACIST / MANCHESTER, VA.
base: B. R. G. Co.
friend_01 This is a clear 3.6" bottle embossed:
horizontal: 3i
vertical: W.W. Friend / Pharmacist / RICHMOND, VA.
base: G.L.C. CO.


Other Items:
friend_05 This is a cardboard pill box from 1908 that says:
W.W. Friend. / Pharmacist. / ... 1-10-08 ... / Cor Hull St & Cowardin Ave MANCHESTER, VA.


1 Book: "Bottled in Richmond 1811-1930", by Vernon Grant
2 Richmond & Manchester city directories, various years (for adjustments to Grant's book)
3 The Times (Richmond VA), 16-Jul-1893, p.5 ("Tickets may be procured from W W Friend & Co...")
4 Find-a-grave entry for William Waverly Friend
5 Find-a-grave entry for Charles Edward Friend
6 Richmond Times-Dispatch, 13-Jun-1940, p.12 (obituary for C.E. Friend)
7 News Leader, 21-Jun-1923, p.24 (West Broad St. Druggist Goes Into Bankruptcy)
8 News Leader, 31-Jun-1923, p.18 (auction details for 2349 West Broad Street drugstore)
9 Loudoun News, 18-Mar-1948, p.10 (obituary for W.W. Friend)


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This page last updated on March 9, 2025.