James Irwin (or Erwin) Pneuman was born 8 January 1889 in Meshoppen, Pennsylvania, the third child of William and Crissie Pneuman. William was a miller. James seems to have dropped out of high school after his second year. At the time of World War I, he was married, with a child, and lived in Montana, where he worked as a farm laborer, I believe, at least according to a draft card, but it does not fit exactly with later census data. In 1930, he was back in Pennsylvania with his family; his father had died, and a brother was now the family head. James worked as a toolmaker, which was also the job of two brothers. His son also lived with him, but there is no wife listed on the census.
Pneuman also seems to have had some connection to New York. His obituary said he’d been in central New York since the early 1910s, which I do not have evidence for, but in 1931 he had an address in Camillus, New York. It was there, on 29 May, that he applied for a patent on an animal trap. In 1940, according to the census, he was in Oneida with a sister and his mother; he was still listed as married, but there was no wife enumerated. Pneuman was a machinist. He owned his home. In 1949, Pneuman (with James Foote) applied for another patent, this one a machine for printing on spherical objects.
Pneuman’s connection to Forteanism is slender. I can find only two points of contact, though one suggests the connection might have been more meaningful than the available evidence records. The name Pneuman appeared once in Doubt, issue 27, in late 1949. This reference is what put me on the track. He sent in a report from Outdoor Life that mentioned a rain of salamanders in North Dakota—salamanders that locals did not recognize. Although Pneuman is a relatively unusual spelling, that wasn’t enough to identify the sender of the clipping, and so this Fortean name was filed away by me.
Pneuman also seems to have had some connection to New York. His obituary said he’d been in central New York since the early 1910s, which I do not have evidence for, but in 1931 he had an address in Camillus, New York. It was there, on 29 May, that he applied for a patent on an animal trap. In 1940, according to the census, he was in Oneida with a sister and his mother; he was still listed as married, but there was no wife enumerated. Pneuman was a machinist. He owned his home. In 1949, Pneuman (with James Foote) applied for another patent, this one a machine for printing on spherical objects.
Pneuman’s connection to Forteanism is slender. I can find only two points of contact, though one suggests the connection might have been more meaningful than the available evidence records. The name Pneuman appeared once in Doubt, issue 27, in late 1949. This reference is what put me on the track. He sent in a report from Outdoor Life that mentioned a rain of salamanders in North Dakota—salamanders that locals did not recognize. Although Pneuman is a relatively unusual spelling, that wasn’t enough to identify the sender of the clipping, and so this Fortean name was filed away by me.