USA > New Jersey > Passaic County > Paterson > History of Paterson and its environs (the silk city); historical- genealogical - biographical > Part 42
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to Connecticut, he was chosen treasurer of that State, and it was while hold- ing that office that he was induced to come to Paterson at the solicitation of Dr. Elias Boudinot, one of the founders of the Society for Establishing Use- ful Manufactures, the two men having met some years previous at Boonton, New Jersey. His connection with Paterson's early ventures in the field of manufacturing have been told of in preceding pages of this chapter.
John Colt was a son of Peter, and shared in his father's labors. His son, E. Boudinot Colt, was engaged in the manufacture of duck in the Duck Mill on Van Houten street and the Essex Mill on Mill street, as late as 1865, the output of his looms enjoying a nation-wide reputation on account of their superiority.
Samuel Colt, a cousin of the foregoing, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, July 19, 1814, and died there January 10, 1862. In 1827 he ran away from school and shipped as a boy before the mast on a voyage to the East Indies. While so employed he conceived the idea of the revolving firearm which was to make his name familiar in all parts of the habitable globe. Upon his return home he was employed in the bleaching and dyeing department of his father's cotton mill, and was taught chemistry by the superintendent, William T. Smith. After pursuing his studies for some time, he delivered lectures on chemistry in the United States and British America under the name of Dr. Coult. Having accumulated a few hundred dollars, he perfected a model of a revolving firearm he had made in 1829, and secured a patent in 1835. In the same year he formed the Patent Arms Company with a capital of $300,000, and began the manufacture of revolvers in a building in Paterson known to the present day as the Gun Mill. Army officers regarded the in- vention with distrust, but the advantages of the weapon were shown in the Seminole War in Florida, and the employees of the Gun Mill were working overtime for some months. With the end of the Seminole War came a cessa- tion of orders, and in 1842 the company suspended operations. In 1847 Gen- eral Taylor demanded from the United States ordnance department a supply of Colt's revolvers, and the inventor was ordered to supply one thousand, the price fixed being $28,000. Colt had sold the last of his revolvers to an Indian trader, and was compelled to make a new model to fill the order. The thousand revolvers supplied to General Taylor were made in Whitneyville, Connecticut, after which the factory was removed to Hartford.
Roswell L. Colt, "the greatest of all the Colts," as far as Colt activities in Paterson are concerned, was a younger son of Peter Colt. Early in life he acquired considerable interests in the shipping trade. In the course of this business he became acquainted with Robert Oliver, of Baltimore, one of the wealthiest men in the country, and shortly afterwards married his daugh- ter. After a number of years of residence in Connecticut and subsequently in New York City, Mr. Colt determined to remove to Paterson. He looked the ground over, and then borrowed $150,000 from his father-in-law, with which he acquired large real estate holdings in what is at present day Pater- son and its vicinity. His family had increased by the addition of ten sons and daughters, and the question arose as to a proper home for all. Mr. Colt
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favored the small hill on Main street, between Grand and Ward, the same point which Major L'Enfant had looked upon as the proper central point for Paterson, from which streets and avenues were to radiate or circle. Mrs. Colt objected to this selection, expressing a decided preference for the top of Garret Mountain, from which a magnificent view could be had of all the surrounding country. Their differences were irreconcilable and resulted in a separation. When it came to a division of the progeny, Mrs. Colt insisted that she ought to have first choice and be permitted to take six of the ten, basing her arguments on the proportionate difference between her fortune and that of her husband. Mr. Colt agreed to this, and Mrs. Colt and the six oldest children sailed for Europe. An attempt at reconcilation some years later was in a fair way to a successful termination when the death of Mrs. 1 Colt put a stop to all negotiations.
Mr. Colt had in the meantime carried out his original plan for a resi- dence. For many months numerous laborers were employed carting soil to the small sandhill which formed the nucleus of what was in after years known as Colt's Hill. Trees and shubbery were removed from the mountain, and exotic plants of all kinds were crowded into the spacious hothouses. On the plateau on the top, a large mansion was erected in the Colonial style, and for years the mansion rivalled in social affairs the best known homes in New York, the large stocks of foreign wines in the cellar doing their share towards promoting sociability. Nearly all the prominent men of the day at some time or other were the guests of Roswell L. Colt. Among the more frequent visitors was Daniel Webster, who in one of his letters speaks in enthusiastic terms of the present of a fine bull he had received from Mr. Colt. There is an interesting story-with no better foundation, however, than tradition- connected with what followed one of Webster's visits. Webster had tarried longer than had been expected in the genial companionship of Roswell L. Colt, and it was late when he arrived in New York, where he had promised to escort Mrs. Webster to Castle Garden to attend a concert in which Jenny Lind was the bright particular star. But Webster got there with Mrs. Web- ster. When Jenny Lind sang "The Star Spangled Banner," Webster's en- thusiastic patriotism asserted itself. He arose in his seat and joined in the chorus. Remonstrances on the part of Mrs. Webster were not heeded. Web- ster urged the audience to join him, which they did, all rising in their seats. It is a fond belief deeply rooted in the hearts of many people of Paterson and elsewhere that it was this occasion which established the custom of audi- ences rising at the rendition of the national hymn and joining in the chorus.
The mansion on Colt's Hill was for many years the home of Roswell L. Colt and his four children-Thomas, Roswell, Jr., Morgan G. and Julia, the last named subsequently the wife of DeGrasse B. Fowler. During all these years, Roswell L. Colt practically directed the future of Paterson. His name is attached to numerous deeds of real estate donated for churches, cemeteries and educational purposes ; although his principles were thoroughly democratic, he ruled Paterson as an autocrat, for little was done without his consent and assistance and frequently his initiative.
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A photograph of Colt's Hill, from which was made the accompanying illustration, was taken from the top of St. John's Catholic Church, when that edifice was in course of construction. Two roads led to the mansion, one from what is now DeGrasse street, the other from the corner of Main and Ward streets; the dwelling of the keeper and the hothouses show in the illustration. The building, of brown sandstone from the Little Falls quarries, still stands on the corner of Main and Ward streets; the hill itself and the other buildings belong to the past.
In the circle in the illustration appear two statues, and these are also visible in the main picture; and from a date shortly after the completion of the mansion to the day when Colt's Hill was razed in order that it might no longer retard the march of improvement, these statues stood guard, one on each side of the main entrance to the building. The history of these statues is one of interest. James Thom was born near the birthplace of Robert Burns, April 19, 1802. His parents were poor, and he was set to work in a factory when he was a mere child. He was fond of whittling objects out of wood and, encouraged by the approbation of his fellows, essayed some carv- ing in stone. His talent having been recognized, he was induced to attempt a heroic statue of "Tam O'Shanter," an aged employee in the factory serving as a model. The committee in charge of the erection of the Burns monu- ment at Alloway induced him to make a companion piece, a statue of "Souter Johnnie." The committee exhibited the statues throughout Scotland, Eng- land and Ireland, netting the sum of two thousand pounds, of which Thom received one-half. In a short time Thom had orders for sixteen replicas of the two statues, and soon the population of the British Isles was considerably increased by numerous editions of "Tams and Johnnies" in wood, plaster and various kinds of metals. Thom tried his hand at other subjects, but the re- sult seemed to indicate that he had exhausted the fertility of his genius by his productions of the Burns characters. A pair of the statues had been on exhibition for some months in England, when the agent in charge thereof de- camped to America. Thom took the next vessel for these shores, and was successful in recovering most of the money due him. His fame as a sculptor had preceded him, and he was offered the contract for making the ornamental stonework on the steeple of Trinity Church, which edifice was then rebuild- ing. He looked about him for suitable material and having found it at Little Falls, within five miles of Paterson, he accepted the offer. It was but natural that he should visit Paterson, and it was just as natural that he should be- come acquainted with Roswell L. Colt. At his suggestion he made another "Tam and Johnnie" at Little Falls, and these he sold to Mr. Colt. He quickly produced another pair, and these were started on a tour for exhibition. They were shown in New York and Philadelphia; a storm on Chesapeake Bay arrested their triumphant progress, for the vessel containing them foundered, and "Tam and Johnnie" have never been rescued from their watery grave. The work on Trinity Church occupied Thom's time, and, when that was com- pleted, Thom had enough money to purchase a farm near Ramapo, where he spent the rest of his days, his death occurring on April 17, 1850.
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"Tam O'Shanter" and "Souter Johnnie" stood at the entrance to the mansion on Colt's Hill for many years after Roswell L. Colt had passed to the beyond ; the mansion was uninhabited, but the people of Paterson were fond of roaming over the grounds, and as a matter of course paying their respects to "Tam O'Shanter" and "Souter Johnnie." School children enjoyed climb- ing over the statues, and when the use of cameras was no longer confined to studios, "Tam and Johnnie" were numerously photographed. In 1891 prepa- rations were made for the razing of the hill, and it was necessary to find a new home for "Tam and Johnnie." There would have been no difficulty in finding a purchaser, but the owners, Morgan G. Colt and Mrs. DeGrasse B. Fowler, the surviving children of Roswell L. Colt, thought it would be a pity to send them into a country strange to them; the stuff they were made of came from the bowels of the earth near Paterson, and they had certainly been in Paterson long enough to claim citizenship. So the owners of the pair offered them to the Paterson Free Public Library, a gift which was thank- fully accepted. They were placed in the vestibule of the library building on the corner of Church and Market streets. But their sojourn there was a short one, for a day of reckoning comes for people who dwell in intimate association with the flowing bowl, even if these people are made of Little Falls sandstone. During the night of February 9, 1902, "Tam and Johnnie" disappeared. That was the night of the great fire which swept away a large portion of Paterson, including the public library. What became of "Tam and Johnnie" is not positively known. The probability is that between fire, water and falling masonry, they were ushered out of existence with not enough of them left even for the most enterprising coroner to hold an in- quest on. There is, however, a story which bobs up occasionally, to the effect that the two statues were not destroyed by fire, but that they were removed by some enterprising citizen who is keeping them in seclusion until such time when no law may call him to account, a story which finds cor- roboration in the fact that no part of the statues was found in the ruins, although the statues stood near the street, but is almost negatived by the improbability that any person could or would remove in such hours of excite- ment works of stone weighing several hundred weight each.
CHAPTER III.
Various early experiments at establishing industries in Paterson-Per- sistent attempts at the manufacture of cotton-The story of a duel -Attention turned to working metals-A dam which has withstood many floods.
A large brass dog, with a kettle in its mouth, was for many years a con- spicuous feature on the south side of Van Houten street, below Main. It indicated the place where Horatio Moses was engaged in manufacturing articles out of brass, tin and sheet iron. Just when the light of day first
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shone on this dog is a matter shrouded in uncertainty, but it is known that in 1825 "Deacon" Moses, as he was familiariy called on account of his promi- nent connection with the First Methodist Episcopal Church, was a "brazier and tin-plate worker," employing five hands. He had succeeded John Clark, who had turned his attention to that particular industry as early as 1794. In 1795 he leased the lower floor of the society's mill and continued there until the factory was destroyed by fire in 1807. He obtained temporary quarters in the Yellow Mill and also occupied a part of the old grist mill at the foot of Mulberry street. Subsequently he erected a building for himself at the ex- treme western part of Broadway, north side. He then erected a building on a leased mill-seat on the river bank and for twenty years had a monopoly in this particular line of industry.
Some time previous to 1800 Michael Hartman Vreeland began his career as a tanner at a point about whether Twentieth avenue now intersects the Boulevard. He conducted the tannery on a stream subsequently absorbed by the large Eastside sewer. His son Cornelius, who succeeded him in the management of the tannery in 1804, also erected a saw mill, which he con- ducted for a number of years.
Kinsey, Crane & Fairchild leased a mill site on the middle raceway about 1802 and it was here that paper was first manufactured in one continuous sheet in this country. Mr. Charles Kinsey, the senior member of the firm, was the inventor of this process, as is made evident from the files of the United States Court in Boston three-quarters of a century ago when a suit was determined relative to an infringement of a patent which had been taken out by a Mr. Aimes upon the expiration of the Kinsey patent. Unfortunately perhaps for Mr. Kinsey his partners, who were the capitalists of the firm, insisted on abandoning the manufacture of paper in order to take an active part in the rage which then prevailed for the manufacture of cotton. The mill occupied by the firm is still standing, being a part of the Essex mill on lower Van Houten street, where R. & H. Adams subsequently established the mosquito-netting and silk business.
Thomas Van Houten, to whom reference as a bobbin manufacturer has been made in the preceding chapter, formed a partnership with his brother Dirck about 1805 and made bobbins in a factory on the Peckamin river, a short distance above Paterson. In 1827 the firm removed to Paterson, locat- ing in a frame mill on the river bank at the foot of Clinton street, where they continued the business until the death of Thomas in 1834.
John Parke was engaged in spinning candle wicks and other coarse cot- ton fabrics in the society's mill, having leased a part of the space occupied by John Clark. When that building was destroyed by fire in 1807, Park erected another on lower Van Houten street and turned his attention to spin- ning cotton. He subsequently materially enlarged his mill and it is now one of the structures composing the Phoenix silk mills. For many years Parke conducted the principal store in the city and was considered one of the most enterprising men of the city. Most of the product of the Paterson mills in those years was taken to Philadelphia by water, being loaded on sloops at
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the head of navigation just below Paterson. John Parke conceived the idea of advertising himself and his Paterson product by changing that method of transportation and for many years the output of his mill was taken to Phila- delphia in gorgeously painted wagons drawn by four or six horses. He lost all he had in the panic following the war of 1812, and in 1816 his property was sold for the benefit of his creditors. He was subsequently postmaster of Paterson and also served as one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas. At the sale of his belongings the mill he had occupied for many years was sold to Joachin I. Vasquez, a Mexican resident of New York City. After running the mill for about three years he abandoned it in 1820.
The manufacture of woolen goods has never been carried on to a large extent in Paterson and the earlier attempts were almost uniformly failures. A fulling mill was started as early as 1808 and a few years later John Clark did some wool carding. Roswell L. Colt endeavored to foster the woolen industry and was instrumental in the erection of the Beaver mill for that purpose. He and his associates began the manufacture about 1812 and for some time met with considerable success, this being due to the closing of American ports during the war. When these ports were again open after the cessation of hostilities the business declined and a few years later Mr. Colt abandoned his enterprise. John Barrow & Sons, a New York firm, fitted up a frame building at the foot of Mill street and started twenty-seven power looms and thirteen hand looms about 1832, but they discontinued operations about two years later.
Samuel Colt & Co. established a rolling mill and nail factory in 1811 on the site where the Gun Mill was subsequently erected, and continued opera- tions until 1826, employing about seventy hands.
From the humdrum of employment in cotton mills and similar establishi- ments Paterson was startled in 1823 by a story of a love affair and a duel. Catherine Van Houten was the belle of Paterson. All the young men of Paterson were aspirants for her favor and the zeal of two of them led to the duel. Robert Dunlop and Daniel K. Allen, two of Paterson's enterprising young manufacturers, were the principals, who determined that one or the other should be swept out of the path of his jealous rival. The time was a day in February or March, 1823. The place was a lonely hillside near Suf- fern, Rockland county, New York. The seconds were William Dickey and Edwin Youle. In the rencontre Dunlop was slightly wounded by a shot from his antagonist's pistol. The party hurried to a small wayside tavern, where the wound was easily bound up, and a story given out to the effect that it was the result of an accident in hunting. They then hurried across the State line into New Jersey. But the facts leaked out, and all four of the men concerned were arrested and subsequently indicted in Rockland county. There the story ends as far as court proceedings are concerned. An amusing sequal to the duel was the marriage of the fair object of the controversy to neither of the principals, but to William Dickey, one of the seconds. This event occurred on June 17, 1823, three or four months after the duel and a
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few weeks after the indictment of the party for violation of the laws of New York State.
Every resident of Paterson has frequently seen the dam in the river be- tween the Main and Arch street bridges, for it is an object that cannot help attract attention to persons passing over either bridge. A rather interesting incident is connected with the erection of that dam. The property along the river at the northern end of the dam was purchased by William Stagg in 1838, his intention being the erection of a mill, for grinding grain and sawing wood, the first structure to serve both these purposes in the city. There was a True Reformed Dutch (Seceder) church adjacent and the officers of the church questioned Stagg's right to locate on this plot. The matter was referred to arbitrators, who decided that Stagg had the best title to the mill- seat, but that he must within six months expend a hundred dollars "towards erecting the mill or making the dam for the Griss mill," and that the church people must not "mislest or prevent" him from "erecting his mill and dam on said sight without any truble or Damage or expence from them or their suckcessors." Accordingly Stagg went ahead and constructed the dam which is still standing.
CHAPTER IV.
Origin and rise of the silk industry in America-Paterson took a leading position and has retained it-John Ryle, "The Father of the Silk Industry"-Catholina Lambert and William Strange.
A superficial glance at the history of the silk industry in this country reveals three figures as those of men who were the leaders and in whose foot- steps hundreds of others have followed. The names of these men, John Ryle, Catholina Lambert and William Strange, will always be remembered as prominently identified with bringing the silk industry to its present flourish- ing condition. Two of these men, Ryle and Strange, have long since joined the "great majority ;" Mr. Lambert alone lives to see daily the fruits of his industry. All three were actively engaged in the manufacture of silk over half a century ago. They were here when the wages of silk operatives were from $6 to $7.50 a week; they saw these wages increase to $12 and to $15, for in those days silk was not woven by the yard as it is at present ; how- ever, the more skilled operatives were able to make more; their wages were based on a production of six "cuts" each per week and a weaver who pro- duced more received pay in proportion. They paid $3.50 to $4.50 per pound for the raw material and during the civil war they paid $10; after the war the price went down to half that figure; during the world war it again reached a record high point, with a slight reduction following, after which the price went up until at the time of the present writing ( 1920) it reached the highest point in the history of the industry. They obtained the raw silk from China, Italy, France and Turkey until Japan entered the field as a silk growing nation. Those who remember those times recall with a feeling
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
MILAN FOURDATENE
S
JOHN RYLE.
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akin to amusement the trouble they had with the first bales of silk that came from Nippon. The Japanese had long manufactured silk, but their fabric was of the gossamer variety, thin as the thread of a spider. It pro- duced the finest fabric, but in Paterson they called it "everlasting," from the long time it took until it was ready to take from the loom. It took hours and hours to produce a yard and the product then was of so fine a quality that there was little demand for it; it had the appearance of having been woven from the thread used by the spider in weaving its web. Two strands of the silk that came from China or Europe were sufficient to make a thread ready for use in the loom; for the same purpose it required eight of the Japanese silk. The first that came cost only $2 a pound, but it was not worth that when compared with other silks. The Japanese soon were made aware of this and accordingly they produced a coarser silk, equal to any other, and at the same time increased the price until they were on the same footing with their com- petitors. In those days the adulteration of silk, euphemistically called "weighting," was known to a very little extent, for when people bought silk they wanted a fabric made solely of the product of the silk worm. Silk comes nearer to indestructability of all fabrics and the silk dress of yore was good for the one who bought it, for the children and the children's children. Frequently it was passed down as an heirloom in the same category with articles fashioned of metal. But the times came when fashions changed so frequently that the cut of a dress required frequent alterations and these re- quired more silk, and it really did not matter whether the silk was of durable quality or not. Silk manufacturers had used a little sugar in the dyes in the production of the lighter shades of silk; they had added nut-galls when darker shades were required, but at no time could they increase the weight of the manufactured product more than two ounces to the pound. The salts of tin then came into use and so-called silk dresses were worn in which the proportion of silk to tin and dye-stuffs was as one to three or even four. Such fabrics, or compositions, answer the purpose very well if at once made up and worn and then quickly discarded ; if permitted even to rest quietly on a shelf the chemical changes are so great that the goods soon prove worth- less. The inevitable reaction set in and honest silk manufacturers now use less tin-than others.
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