A History of the city of Newark, New Jersey : embracing practically two and a half centuries, 1666-1913, Volume II, Part 28

Author: Urquhart, Frank J. (Frank John), 1865- 4n; Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 4n
Publication date: 1913
Publisher: New York, N.Y. ; Chicago, Ill. : The Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 1136


USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Newark > A History of the city of Newark, New Jersey : embracing practically two and a half centuries, 1666-1913, Volume II > Part 28


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PANIC EFFECTS AND BENEFITS.


The blessing of a prosperous contentment appears to have continued up to 1837, in which year occurred the great financial crisis that affected all lines of general business throughout the country, creating a stagnation which spread disaster everywhere, partially paralyzing almost every branch of industry, crippling many of the largest establishments, and forcing the smaller ones to the wall.


A direct effect of the panic and losses incident thereto was subsequently felt in the staggering blow given to the shoe industry, from which a recovery of slow growth was made, the volume of business being absorbed by eastern manufacturers who engaged largely in making the cheaper grades, and have continued to supply the demand for this class of footwear; leaving it to the Newark worker to turn out a high class product noted as having attained a reputation worldwide for superiority in design, quality and workmanship.


A study of the statistics of the census taken in 1840 shows that a very noticeable falling off in practically all lines of industry then carried on in Newark had occurred, in some trades the loss representing fully one-third of the total annual production, in others the loss reaching as high as 50 per cent.


In the manufacture of carriages reported in 1836 as being valued at over a million of dollars, in 1840 the production had shrunk to $738,969; in jewelry from $225,060 to $158,302; and so in other lines that held prominence, the exception being in the making of hats, which showed remark- able gain, the annual volume of sales exceeding those of the most prosperous years of production.


In the manufacture of furniture and cabinet wares a serious deprecia- tion was experienced, the production falling from $180,000 in value in 1836 to less than $80,000 in 1840, while the sum total of the depreciation is represented by the difference in the aggregate value of production in all lines in the four years of $2,574,202.


No one engaged in trade escaped the effect of this panic, because all appear to have conformed to the vogue of long term credits and all suffered alike. Out of the wreck of men's fortunes due to this disaster, it would appear substantial benefit was obtained through the lessons learned, inasmuch as it instilled a policy of caution and brought about a conservative reform in the matter of credits, the old plan of long term credits to which much of the misfortune was due giving place to a safer one, under which sales were made on terms calling for quick settlement, thereby enabling manu- facturers to turn their capital more frequently, which resulted in the cheap-


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ening of prices as well as the production of a greater volume of finished products.


When the men who were engaged in industry began to recover from the effects of the panic of 1837, it may be surmised that they put aside all sentiment and set to with a grim determination to win back their losses, and, while doing so, arranging their affairs in such a way as to prevent a recurrence of the disaster through which they had passed.


While the effect of the losses incurred and the disturbance in business continued to be felt up to 1843, it is apparent that taking the city as a whole a progress of substantial character was being made, both in popula- tion and in the trades, so much so that it is cheering to find on an examina- tion of the returns made for the decade ending with the year 1850 that the population had doubled, by reason of the number of skilled workmen attracted to the city through the good reputation achieved abroad; and these, finding profitable employment in a wholesome atmosphere, surrounded by a home-loving, contented people, became permanent residents, each in turn writing to a friend in the old home urging their coming to the place where they had found the conditions under which they preferred to live.


IMPROVED TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES-1860-1900. NEW MEN AND NEW METHODS.


Why, if we must ascribe a reason for the steady progress in the building up of industry in the city of Newark, may we not believe that these men possessed the spirit of occupation which inspired men to build, and when building, to build as if forever; or, that in their work they were possessed with the spirit to do it in such a way that their descendants would forever thank them; and that the time would come when men would say as they looked upon the labor which they wrought that this work which our fathers performed had been work well done.


It is a matter of regret that the statistics of the census for the years 1840 and 1850 may not be used for comparative purposes with those for 1860 or later periods because of the fact that when taken and compiled by government officials the industries of the county as a whole were included, also because the County of Essex then included what is now Union County, of which Elizabeth, Rahway and Plainfield are a part.


The increase of population from 17,290, in 1840, to 38,849, in 1850, sorves to indicate the progress being made, and further surprising growth is attested in the number of residents in 1860, when the population was found to be 71,941, an increase of over 400 per cent. in twenty years. Within this cycle remarkable strides in industrial conditions had also been made, both in the introduction of new trades by men who had found it advantageous to select Newark as a safe place for the location of industry, as well as by the expansion of home concerns, influenced by the introduction of new pro- cesses of manufacture, improved means of transportation, and the opening up of new markets of trade. The industrial condition of the city is evidenced in the figures relating thereto, which show the amount of capital invested had increased from $3,170,000, in 1850, to $13,819,605, in 1860, the number of employees from 5,587 to 21,638, and that the finished product of all industries had reached the high value of $27,854,000.


THIE ADVENT OF GERMAN AND IRISH WORKERS.


That there were contributory causes to this progress and expansion of Industry goes without saying. A research shows that with prosperity good


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HISTORY OF NEWARK


profit was being realized, which served to incite men with means to invest their capital, some forming partnerships with men having a practical knowl- edge of the business and so adding another to the number of establishments, others again taking a share in the profits in return for the advancement of capital necessary to permit of increasing the capacity of the plant. The main and principal cause is, however, traceable to the advent of the refugees from Germany in the years following the revolution of 1848, many of whom settled in Newark. From the year named down to 1860, great numbers of immigrants from the German provinces began to arrive, bringing with them many of the customs of the old land, through the innocent enjoyment of which they were destined to suffer from the narrow prejudices and ill-timed raillery begot by provincialism.


Among these men there were many who had enjoyed university educa- tions and who were destined to impress their mark upon the business and social life of the city; others possessing a practical knowledge of the arts and crafts in mechanical pursuits, who were to become the leaders in manu- facture; while all were to make place and fill it with credit both to them- selves and to the city.


Side by side with these men and their families from the Rhine country, another element was making for the growth in population and in the building up of industry; the people of Ireland, forced out of their own beautiful land through the oppressive laws enacted by an alien parliament, were also arriving in great number, the men of both races working amicably at the bench, the mill, or the forge, or doing the heavy laborious work incident to the building of a modern city.


If the question were to be asked-how much did the men of these two races contributo to the building up of Newark; to the establishment of its Industries; to the making of it what it is to-day ?- it would be untruthful to say that it would have prospered as well perhaps if they had not come; the truth is indelibly imprinted on Newark in the great array of names of German and Irish origin that stand at the head of the industrial establish- ments in the city which have built up since 1850, and in the building up of which can be traced the real growth in population, the rapid increase in municipal wealth, the expansion of the financial institutions and the develop- ment in all avenues of trade and commerce.


Of course it is to be assumed that the people descended from the original settlers, as well as those of English, Scotch and French origin, were each contributing to the tide of progress, but it is nevertheless noticeable that the descendants of the earlier inhabitants, instead of continuing in the conduct of industry, were engaging in other very essential but more lucrative pursuits at the time, employing their talent in directing or managing the operation of financial institutions, or in mercantile trade, leaving it to the men of foreign origin to bear the burden of the mill and shop.


At the time of the advent of these newcomers, important changes were occurring in methods of transportation via rail and water routes, a wider application of the use of steam power was being made, and notable improve- ments in processes of manufacture and in technical equipment was taking place. in many instances producing results which were revolutionary in character-so that with the opening of the year 1860 one would expect to find the City of Newark enjoying a full tide of prosperity, its factory owners kopt busy anticipating the needs and wants of constantly expanding markets, and Its working population feellng the satisfaction and enjoymont that goes with time well occupied and labor well repaid.


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Many of the leading establishments were doing a prosperous as well as a profitable business in supplying the wants of the southern markets, especially those engaged in the manufacture of clothing, in which a trade exceeding two and one half million of dollars was being carried on annually; in harness and saddlery the annual sales amounting to one and one-half million dollars yearly; in the manufacture of gold jewelry a rapid progress was being made, alded by the skill in designing and beauty of workmanship brought to bear on this craft by many workmen among the immigrants from Germany who had taken up their abode in the city.


DIVERSITY OF INDUSTRY.


The manufacture of cotton wear and hosiery gave employ to many among the daughters of the city, approximately one thousand being employed, while in the manufacture of corsets, woolen caps, shirts and underwear, a like number were employed at remunerative wages.


Among the industries of 1860 there were six distinct branches turning out a finished product yearly in excess of a million dollars, viz .: Clothing, harness, hats, jewelry, leather; rubber, oil, and enameled cloth; there were also eight other branches producing between five hundred thousand and one million of value annually-boots and shoes, carriages, cotton and woolen goods, iron and steel, machinery, ales and porter, saddlery hardware, and trunks and bags, while in more than twenty other industries the value of the goods made annually, principally for export, aggregated in each line between one hundred thousand and a half million dollars.


The era of progress and prosperity, which had set in about the year 1843, continued down to the commencement of hostilities between the South and the North, when the firing of the first gun at Fort Sumter carried greater losses to many among the leaders in industry in Newark than any previous disaster. A number were compelled to suspend operations, while others, availing themselves of the opportunity to adapt their machinery or work- shops to new uses, were quick to do so, and commenced to turn out army supplies, adding for the time new features to the industries of the city in the making of swords, pistols, guns, knapsacks, saddles, tents, blankets and utensils of various kinds.


The end of the long strife found much for men to do in building up what for years was being neglected or destroyed. How this was accomplished and how a country torn asunder in civil strife for so many years could successfully take up the pursuits of life, each man fitting in where his services could be utilized, furnished a marvel which amazed the civilized world, and the history of Newark if comprehensively written from that period down to the present would serve as an index.


To give definite value for reference purposes it is desirable to include a summary of the returns of the census of 1860 containing a list in alphabetical order of the industries carried on at that period, giving the amount invested as capital in each, the number of operatives employed, the sum total of the wage roll paid annually, and the value of manufactures when turned into a finished product. The following table shows all returns for all industries in the city of Newark, collated by the Census Department of the United States for the year 1860:


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HISTORY OF NEWARK


NAME OF BUSINESS


No. of Establish- ments


Capital Invested in Business


Total No. of Handy Employed


Total Amount of Wages Paid


Total Valile of Products


Agricultural Implements.


1


$ 2,950


5


$ 1,980


$ 6,000


Bakers' Products


18


64,500


87


27,180


271,720


Blacksmithing


7


10,800


23


8,004


18,260


Boots and Shoes


77


274,740


1,394


400,440


970,811


Brass and Brassware


8


25,660


31


12,480


68,750


Brushes


1


4,000


9


2,880


6,500


Building


11


56,740


95


48,864


162,300


Carriages and Wagons


2


400


3


720


2,100


Clothing, Men's.


12


1,149,000


4,604


814,104


2,628,352


Coffee and Spices


3


28,500


14


6,420


92,200


Cutlery


5


28,000


46


18,876


61,000


Cooperage


9


16,700


62


21,324


52,800


Chemicals


8


1,358,000


181


71,700


476,000


Corsets and Hoop-skirts.


1


40,000


136


16,764


225,000


Cigars and Tobacco.


16


120,800


174


47,196


299,760


Coffins


3


13,000


12


5,040


13,500


Cotton,


Woolen


and


Silk


Goods


10


416,000


966


244,872


846,400


Edge Tools, Axes and Ham- mers


13


118,700


233


102,960


275,725


Engraving


1,550


4


1,920


2,950


Fertilizers


1


12,000


4


1,248


18,000


Furniture


11


109,200


139


49,644


128,186


Files and Rasps


3


4,800


28


8,412


20,000


Furriers


2


10,000


13


3,744


12,000


Flour and Grain


1


1,300 350,000


30


16,200


111,470


Glass (Bent and Stained)


4


16,000


23


8,390


41,700


Harness


28


1,232,400


1,100


438,108


1,446,700


Hats and Caps.


25


383,950


1,369


442,816


2,029,514


Hubs, Wheels, Spokes, etc.


7


87,500


101


40,980


139,142


Hardware


12


148,000


202


76,052


220,400


Hat Blocks


2


4,000


7


3,036


7,000


Iron and Steel


17


325,000


490


176,424


507,700


Jewelry


27


785,600


808


369,528


1,525,000


Kindling Wood


1


13,000


15


4,800


10,000


Lamps and Lanterns


26,000


39


15,936


57,000


Lumber


12


144,000


128


49,344


276,100


Leather ( Patent and Enam- eled, Tanned and Curried)


30


1,250,300


1,064


386,100


2,880,022


Machinery


21


435,800


424


216,468


841,450


Malt Liquors.


16


578,000


165


62,796


833,875


Marble and Stone Work


6


25,500


58


24,540


68,000


Mineral Waters


6,500


10


2,940


11,400


Lime, Cement and Brick


303,600


259


64,620


263,400


Plumbing


12


27,500


40


17,172


107,650


Photographs


1


1,600


2


1,020


3,000


News, Book and Job Printing


10


47,900


117


42.516


109,754


Medicines and Extracts


1


1,000


540


1,600


Patterns and Models.


1


2,700


6


3,000


5,000


Painting


1


17,100


41


18,660


40,400


Potteryware


7,000


18


7,200


12,500


Paper Boxes.


8


20,800


148


35,988


97,400


Picture Frames


5


38,100


37


13,224


69,000


2


864


9,000


Gas


1


366,125


755


297,744


771,715


Carpets


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HISTORY OF NEWARK


NAME OF BUSINESS


No. of Establish- ments


Capital Invested in Business


Total No. of Hands Employed


Total Amount of Wages Paid


Total Value of Products


Rubber,


Oil and Enameled


Cloth


10


630,200


532


197,868


1,515,150


Sash, Blinds and Doors.


6


73,200


126


52,224


143,350


Soap and Candles


2


65,000


20


6,504


117,000


Shirts and Underwear


4


75,800


477


62,400


225,000


Springs and Axles


6


67,000


88


37,260


127,200


Saddlery Hardware


34


288,600


848


274,956


698,150


Trunks, Bags and Frames


16


343,000


947


245,748


982,500


Tin and Tinware


22


156,600


283


89,244


345,450


Umbrellas and Canes


1


1,040


2


768


5,000


Varnishes


8


155,250


24


12,948


347,000


Wood Turning


8


28,150


48


19,692


44,000


Miscellaneous


52


693,200


849


228,552


1,361,793


Totals


765


$13,819,605


21,638


$6,588,408


$27,854,214


THE SPIRIT OF INVENTION-NEW PROCESSES AND MODERN MACHINERY-1800-1875-SETH BOYDEN, THE INVENTOR.


That the spirit of imagination has existed within the minds of men who have lived and worked in Newark requires no story of pen to substantiate, because it is a self-evident fact, amply attested to in the records of the patent office since the establishment of government. That it is inherit in the tem- perament of the workers within this city is evidenced in the many blessings conferred upon humanity in the new processes, the new methods of mechanism, and the new articles of utility added to the commerce of the world, which have been fashioned out of the thought and shaped by the hands of these men. They have demonstrated that they were endowed with a gift such as the immortal Shakespeare reflects, of a man "who was possessed of a foolish, extravagant spirit, full of forms, shapes, figures, objects, appre- hensions, notions and resolutions, that are begot in the ventricle of memory, and delivered upon the mellowing of occasion." If it had been given to the Bard of Avon to have known one such, who contributed in greater proportion, with more cheerfulness and actual desire to confer benefit upon mankind than from any other motive, he would have found his ideal in Seth Boyden, whose memory, and talent, and worth, are suitably commemorated in a statue of bronze which stands in Washington Park, attesting the fact that of all the men who have lived in Newark he stands the peer because of his benefactions.


It can truthfully be said that the work commenced by Seth Boyden in the early years of the century has been continued from generation to gen- eration, but it is not possible to detract any of the credit due to him, as being the one individual who contributed more than any other to the progress of the city, or, to the building up of its industries.


Of Seth Boyden it can be sald that if he had supplied only the cut-off valve attached to the governor of engines used on our railways, conserving and directing the power and strength of the machine, he would have con- ferred a benefit of inestimable value, as has been testified to by John Charl- ton, one of the men who assisted Stevenson in the building of the first loco-


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HISTORY OF NEWARK


motive, and who later became a citizen of Newark; or, if his discovery of the process for the manufacture of malleable iron which opened up a new and wider use for this material, were his only contribution to commerce, it would have entitled him to everlasting gratitude; but when, after years of experiment and at great cost, he found the process for the glazing of leather -then known only to French manufacturers-the use of which he freely gave to those engaged in the industry in Newark, without thought of gain, he added to his benefactions.


The whole bent and inclination of this man's life was to find a new process, to discover a new application, to evolve a theory into an actuality, at no time being mindful of personal profit or gain, and apparently satisfied when once the desired result was secured. He contributed to the building-up of the zinc industry which, for a period of seventy- five years up to within a recent date, continued to be one of the important industries of Newark, through a formula for the smelting of ores that produced a revolution in the business. The invention of a machine to manufacture brads and tacks would have earned a fortune in itself for any man, and yet he merely turned it over to the machinery manufacturers of the city to obtain such benefit as they might from the sale of the machine. In his invention of a machine for the splitting of leather, he doubled the value of the hide, and gave the manufacturers of this product an advantage which enabled them to outstrip competitors.


Many other remarkable and valuable processes and inventions were produced by his genius, and of these he failed to take any advantage in the sense of personal profit. So with Hallock it may be said of him, "One of the few, the immortal names, that were not born to die." If the generations from the days of Boyden have not produced such another, or, if the men to whom fortune has come with success beyond their dreams have failed to emulate him, nevertheless there has lived among the workers in the hive of industry men who in their own way have contributed to the progress of industry and the prosperity of its people who should ever be kept in grateful remembrance.


INDUSTRIAL LEADERS.


One such of whose methods mention may well be made is Edward Bal- bach, whose improved methods for the smelting and reducing of mineral ores enabled him to build up a plant, commenced in a small frame shed located on the river front at the foot of Merchant street to one of gigantic proportion, occupying several hundred feet frontage on the river and covering two or more city blocks, in whichi an army of men are now engaged; the value of the annual output having developed from a few thousand dollars yearly to approximately forty millions.


Another among the industrial leaders who has contributed to the development of Newark, adding to its prestige as a centre and becoming a benefactor by contributing a new product to the world's commerce, was I. Smith Hyatt, the discoverer and inventor of celluloid, the manufacture of which is peculiar to Newark. This industry has been phenomenal in its development; from a small, hazardous beginning, employing a nominal force of workers, it has grown to be one of the great industrial plants of the nation, engaging millions of dollars of capital, producing a thousand varieties of articles, employing several thousand workers in its numerous processes which require separate groups of buildings covering many acres of land.


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What a rival the town of Celluloid would have been if Newark had to depend upon this one article of commerce to achieve a distinction instead of the thousands of articles its workshops and workers are producing and furnishing to aid in supplying the wants of a world!


Other men whose inventive genius and business ability should be men- tioned as having played a part successfully in the building-up of Newark as a centre of industry are Lysander Wright, George Watts, Ezra Gould, Charles T. Sloan and Ulrich Eberhardt, each of whom in the designing and building of improved machinery and in the invention of improvements sus- tained the reputation of the city and attracted orders from all parts of the world, enabling them to build up substantial establishments which gave employ to large numbers of workers from whose ranks there developed men, year by year, who in turn have become employers and who are now the builders among the present generation.


When the bank of the Passaic river was selected as a site for the loca- tion of a mill to manufacture cotton thread, by George A. Clark and William Clark, of Paisley, Scotland, a new industry, important at the time, was brought to Newark, and from its advent it has been one of the factors in giving employment to a large force of women. If it were not that so great a diversity of industry always existed in Newark, the magnitude of the Clark Thread Company plant itself might have made the name of the city known the world over; it would have at least served to advertise the name of New- ark in like manner to that of Waltham, Elgin, Fall River, and other like places that have become household words because of the manufacture of a single product in each.


With the evolution in processes and the introduction of new formulas in manufactures, those engaged in the production of chemicals were busy in their laboratories, and, if success stands for ability, then it is a certainty that the brains of those who have contributed in the building up of the great color and chemical establishments in Newark have also added to the tide of progress, and Henry Merz, John B. Stobaeus, Ellis R. Carhuff, and others among the chemists of Newark, must be considered as having shared in this work.


DESIGN AND TECHNIQUE.


Wherever artistic worth in technique and design is known, there the searcher will find the names of Newark craftsmen, especially so if the place of manufacture of some unique, bizarre, or fanciful article of gold or silver workmanship, or setting of precious stones in some piece of jewelry, should be the quest.


From the days of Hinsdale and Carrington, Taylor, Baldwin and Down- ing, down to those of Carter, Krementz, Allsop, Larter, Richardson, Alling and Tiffany, Newark has maintained a reputation for the best in the manu- facture of rings, ornaments, chains, bracelets, pins, and the thousand and one articles fashioned from gold for personal adornment as well as for articles made of silver for household use.




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