116 
Memoir  of  Samuel  F.  Troth. 
/  Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
I      March,  1887. 
This  was  said  to  be  the  first  five  story  store  on  Market  street  used  ex- 
clusively by  one  firm  in  their  business,  and  although  soon  surpassed 
by  buildings  of  greater  pretentions,  it  created  much  comment  at  the  time. 
The  character  of  the  drug  business  then  was  very  different  from  its 
present  condition ;  for  the  greater  part  of  manufactured  articles  the 
market  was  dependant  upon  importations,  chiefly  from  Great  Britain. 
He  took  great  interest  in  the  progress  of  chemical  manufacturing 
in  Philadelphia,  and  often  referred  to  his  satisfaction  in  being  able  to 
obtain  these  products  from  the  laboratories  of  our  own  city,  then  in 
their  infancy,  but  afterwards  to  become  so  well  renowned  for  the 
excellence  of  their  preparations. 
The  firm  of  Henry  Troth  &  Co.,  received  the  first  large  shipment  of 
petroleum,  called  at  that  time  Seneca  Oil,  made  to  this  city;  this  consign- 
ment of  eight  or  ten  barrels  was  considered  by  their  friends  as  a  venture- 
some risk ;  they  were,  however,  able  to  dispose  of  it  for  use  as  a  medicinal 
agent,  its  value  for  other  purposes  remaining  for  future  discovery. 
In  the  spring  of  1842,  Samuel  F.  Troth  met  with  a  severe  afflic- 
tion in  the  death  of  his  brother  Henry.  For  himself  he  had  not  an- 
ticipated a  long  life,  and  the  decease  of  his  brother  so  much  more 
active  and  vigorous  than  himself,  was  unexpected.  Sorrow  and  the 
anxieties  connected  with  the  business  which  now  rested  alone  on  him, 
were  telling  upon  his  health  which  was  not  robust ;  his  medical  adviser, 
Dr.  Theophilus  Beesley,  to  whom  he  applied  for  advice,  informed  him 
that  he  had  no  physical  ailment  needing  medicine,  and  advised  him  to 
endeavor  to  throw  aside  the  depression  of  spirit,  and  the  care  of  busi- 
ness on  leaving  his  store,  by  having  at  home  some  interesting  book 
from  which  to  read  aloud  to  his  family  during  the  evenings.  This 
moral  treatment  was  found  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  his  health,  and 
proved  a  lasting  pleasure  to  the  home  circle  where  it  was  continued 
for  more  than  forty  years. 
A  few  years  after  the  death  of  his  brother,  he  took  into  partner- 
ship his  nephew,  William  P.  Troth,  and  afterwards,  Henry  M.  Troth, 
both  sons  of  his  brother  Henry. 
In  1853  his  health  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  retire  from  active 
participation  in  business,  and  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  his  family 
he  relinquished  the  drug  business  to  his  nephews. 
His  active  mind  could  not  settle  down  into  inactivity,  and  as  far  as 
his  strength  would  permit,  he  exerted  himself  in  works  designed  for 
the  benefit  of  others. 
