A. Gustam
A. Gustam was the Recording Secretary of the Theosophical Society when the Founders were in New York.
Theosophical Society involvement
On May 22, 1878, he wrote a letter "To the Chiefs of the Ârya Samâja advising them that the Council of the T.S. has accepted the proposal of the Samâja to unite with them." In July of that year he resigned as Recording Secretary, and the vacancy was filled by William Quan Judge.
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky mentioned Gustam in her 1878 diary:
November 25: "O’Donovan and A. Gustam dined with us, and after dinner they two and Wim. and I measured heights of body sitting on the floor backs against wall. I never saw this curious experiment before, and was amused and surprised at the result. Wim’s legs were 5 or 6 inches longer than Gustam’s and mine, while his body was more than half a head shorter."
December 15: "Dinner. Paris, Wimb., Tom, Marbles and Gustam."
Identity of A. Gustam
Little else was written about Mr. Gustam in Theosophical Society records. However, historical and genealogical research makes it seem likely that he was Augustus Gustam of New York. The crucial piece of evidence for identifying his first name is an 1879 document of the United States Patent Office naming himself, Thomas G. Hall, and William Q. Judge as assignees of a patent for "Improvement in Adjustable-Faces Vises."[2]
Augustus Gustam does not appear in U.S. Census records, but his wife and sons do, and the name is listed in several city directories.
Notes
- ↑ "H. B. Blavatsky Collected Writings Online" Volume I, page 422, 430. Viewed at KatinkHesselink.net, February 12, 2018.
- ↑ "Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 219,719, dated September 16, 1879; application filed January 3, 1879." U.S. Patent and Tradmark Office Patents, 1790-1909. Ancestry.com