Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 206

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 206

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His nervous energy and tireless zeal soon banished the sleepy indifference of employers and employees, and a new life became apparent from the beginning of his administration.

The history of the Harmony Mills has stamped upon it the indelible marks of a master mind, and cannot be divorced from the history of Robert Johnston's life work.

He was born in Dalston, England, four miles from Carlisle, near the Scottish border, February I, 1807. At the age of seven years, Mr. Johnston began working in Dixon's cotton mills at Warwick Bridge, Northumberland, for sixpence a week. In those days the first process, or "opening " of the cotton, was done by women with forked sticks, and when "they had become weary with beating and to sing the cotton, would produce a tinder-box and pipe, strike a light and smoke, without leaving their work-bench." Strange to say, he does not remember a fire resulting from such carelessness. Mr. Johnston was employed in various mills, hav- ing become an expert in mule spinning, until 1830, when he came to this country and obtained employ- ment in the Providence Steam Mill, spinning on hand-mules. They had never seen warp spun properly on a mule until he showed them. He afterward worked in a small mill near Providence, where one pair of mules did the work for the mill. While working in this mill, he says, Samuel Slater, the father of American cotton spinning, would sit at the end of his (Johnston's) mules and watch him spinning for hours together. In 1834 he moved to Valatie, Columbia County, New York, and during the 16 years following he had the management of Nathan Wild's cotton mill. While there, in 1838, Mr. Johnston made the first muslin-de-laine ever made in this country; the warps, number 40, being prepared in Mr. Wild's mill, and the worsted (filling) was imported from England in the skein. In Valatie the best wages paid female hielp at that time in the spinning department was $ 1. 25 per week. Good board was to be had for 75 cents per week.

In 1858 he accepted the offer of Alfred Wild and came to Cohoes, and since that date the pros- perity of the Harmony Mills has been wonderful. To-day, 1883, it is the largest and most complete cotton manufacturing establishment in America. Mr. Johnston early associated with himself his son, Hon. D. J. Johnston, who entered the company's office as clerk, at the age of sixteen, and became one of the proprietors in 1866. In IS53 an addi- tion was built on the north end of the old mill, 340 feet long, 70 feet wide and four stories high, with an attic, having a capacity of 30,000 spindles, and employing 500 hands. This, with the old mill, is now designated No. I. In 1857 the mill known as No. 2 was built about half the size of the origi- nal plan, and, after running 20,000 spindles for five years, was extended and enlarged to a capacity of 48,000 spindles, and employing Soo hands. In

1844 the Cohoes Company erected a cotton mill near the south terminus of their hydraulic canal, No. 3, 200 feet long and four stories high, and in 1846 built a similar structure 60 feet north and parallel with the first. These two mills were after- ward connected by a central tower 60 x 70 feet, and six stories high, making a building 500 feet long, with a capacity of 32,000 spindles. This mill, now know as the "Ogden," or No. 4, passed through various hands until 1860, when it was purchased by the Harmony Mills Company. It was overhauled and its capacity increased, which, with the original cost, represented an outlay of $450,000. The " Strong" mill, or No. 5, stands at the intersection of Mohawk street and Canal No. 3. The original mill was built in 1849 by Wmn. N. Chadwick, father of Remsen and Joseph Chad -. wick, at present proprietors of the Ontario Knitting Mill.

Mr. Chadwick, as proprietor, ran the mill for about ten years, with varied success, when it passed into the hands of the Suarez family, Spaniards, and successors to the estate of Peter Harmony. The Harmony Mills Company purchased the mill in 1865, and remodeled and enlarged it at a cost of $100,000. In 1873 it was further enlarged to a capacity of 13,000 spindles.

The north wing of the "Mastodon," or No. 3 mill, was built in 1866-7. In excavating for the foundation at the north end, a large "pot hole " was found in the bed of what had once been a stream of water. The " pot hole " was very deep, filled with peat, and at its bottom, 60 feet below the surface of the street, was found the almost per- fect skeleton of a mastodon mammoth of a for- mer age. The bones were carefully exhumed and presented to the State. They are now mounted and on exhibition at the Geological Hall in Al- bany. The south wing of the mill was built in 1872. The whole comprises a large central tower surmounting and connecting the two wings and forming one continuous building, 1, 185 feet long, 76 feet wide and five stories high, with a mansard roof. The central tower is eight stories high and terminates in four smaller towers, 128 feet in height. There are four smaller towers, each 128 feet in height, equidistant on the wings. The main entrance is through a massive stone arch under the central tower. This tower or connection between the wings is 70 x 76 feet, and is absolutely fire- proof, no wood having been used in any part of the construction except the floors. The entire mill is constructed of the best material, and in the most substantial manner. For its foundation, 25,000 cubic yards of rock were excavated, and 7,000 yards of stone used. In the superstructure there are 9,000, 000 bricks, 6,000 yards of sand, 35, coo bushels of lime, 900,000 feet of pine timber, and 1,800,000 hemlock, 800,coo feet Georgia pine flooring, 500,000 feet pine ceiling, 1,100 kegs of nails, 1,000 tons of cast and wrought iron, 13 miles of steam and gas pipe, 5 miles of shafting, and 13 miles of belting. The machinery is driven by five turbine wheels, each sixty inches in diame- ter, and aggregating 2,100 horse-power, and weigh :-

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

ing, complete, with main pulleys, jack shaft and gears, 136 tons. Three of the wheels drive the machinery in the north wing, and the other two that in the south wing. Five cast-iron cylinders, eight feet in diameter, convey the water from the bulkhead to the wheels, with a fall of twenty-one feet. Snow's Automatic Governor, built at the Co- hoes Iron Foundry and Machine Shop, regulates the supply of water. The wheels and their appurten- ances were built by the Ames Manufacturing Com- pany, Chicopee, Mass. The immense belts which connect the jack shaft with the main line on each floor are double, and two feet wide. The longest belt, reaching to the fifth floor, is nearly 200 feet long. Two large rotary pumps are so placed in each wheel pit that, by a slight movement of the gears, they can be set in motion and distribute water to every part of the mill at the rate of 156,000 gallons per hour. The mill is filled with the latest improved and most perfect cotton machinery in the world. The self-acting mules, of which there are 110, and all the carding machinery, from the "openers" to the "speeders," are of English make.

The looms, 2, 700, were made at Stockport, N. Y. Of the warp spinning frames, 351 in number, 161 were built at Whitinsville, Mass .; 55 at Taun- ton, Mass .; 55 at Rhinebeck, N. Y., and 80 in England. The yarn is "sized " in six improved " slashers," or dressing frames. Two of them can each dress two beams at once, and were made in England. The other four, together with others in the different mills, were built by the Cohoes Iron Foundry and Machine Company. This depart- ment of cotton manufacture has made rapid strides in improvement during the last thirteen years.

When the Harmony Company purchased the "Ogden " mill, in 1860, the dressing was done on the " Reynolds " frame, and the number of frames necessary to dress this yarn for 400 looms occu- pied the whole of the attic story of the mill. The average day's work then was about 90 cuts. To- day, six frames, occupying a space about 75 x 75 feet, dress all the yarn necessary to keep 2, 700 looms in operation. The frames can average on standard work, 56 x 60, a cut of fifty yards every minute. This immense mill contains 130,000 spindles, produces 100,000 yards of cloth every sixty hours, and is the most complete in all its ap- pointments of any cotton mill in the world.

In 1872 the company purchased the paper mill just south of No. 2 mill, which Chas. Van Benthuy- sen & Sons had operated for many years. It was enlarged, a mansard roof placed over it, and a fine tower built at the south end, making a building 250 feet long, 60 feet wide and four stories high. It is now filled with machinery and engaged in the manufacture of seamless cotton bags. Under this mill, there is an artesian well, 2, 100 feet deep, sunk by the Van Benthuysens, to get pure water for the manufacture of white paper. They did not find the water. The company also operated for a num- ber of years, up to 1872, a small mill, at the liead of Remsen street, on canal No. 4. It was known as the Egbert mill, and was owned by Charles H. Adams.

In the year above stated, the machinery was taken out and removed to the Strong Mill. In 1871 the company began the manufacture of jute sack- ing for the baling of cotton ; but it did not prove remunerative, and the machinery was sold and re- moved to Akron, Ohio. The Harmony Company has been remarkably fortunate in the item of loss by fire. Every safeguard is employed to prevent disaster in this direction ; the mills are thoroughly equipped with appliances to cope successfully with this dreaded enemy. The Providence Steam and Gaspipe Company are now engaged in placing Grinneld's automatic fire extinguishers in every room in the mills, at a cost of over $30,000. These extinguishers release the water at a tempera- ture of 155°. Twelve large boilers, from 80 to 100 horse-power each, located in the different mills, furnish the steam for drying the yarn in sum- mer and heating the mills in winter. About 3,500 tons of egg coal are consumed. Large repair shops for machinery, carpenter work, painting, etc., employ an army of operatives, in keeping in first- class condition the efficiency of the large corpora- tion. Two large storehouses are located on the leading lines of railroad entering the city, which have a storing capacity of 6,000 bales of cotton. The cotton consumed yearly by the six mills will aggregate 25,000 bales, from which 80,000, 000 yards of cloth are produced.

Garner & Company also operate mills in the fol- lowing places :

Rochester Steam Mill, Rochester, N. Y. ; 9,800 spindles, 231 looms.

Newburg Steam Mill, Newburg, N. Y. ; 20,000 spindles, 500 looms.

Pleasant Valley Mill, 70 looms, 3,020 spindles. Franklindale Mill, at Wappingers Falls, N. Y. ; 10,000 spindles, 200 looms.

Reading Cotton Mills, Reading, Penn .; 15,000 spindles, 600 looms.

Little Falls Cotton Mill, 5,600 spindles, 220 looms.

They also run the large print works at Wapping- ers Falls and Rockland, N. Y., operating in both places forty printing machines, one-seventh of all there are in the country, and capable of printing 150,000, 000 yards a year. The aggregate number of spindles operated by Garner & Co. is about 380,- 000, and 7,400 looms, which will produce in stand- ard cloth, 56 by 60, 375,000 yards every ten hours, or 116, 250,000 every year ; 33,000 bales, or 17,000,000 lbs. of cotton, are consumed. In a niche on the front of the central tower of No. 3 mill, seventy feet from the ground, is a colossal bronze statue of the late Thomas Garner, the found- er and principal stockholder of the Harmony Mills Company. It was cast by the Ames Manufacturing Company, of Chicopee, Mass., from a model made by Millmore, the celebrated artist of Boston. Mr. Garner died, October, 1867. As an evidence of the perfect confidence he had in the management of the mills, it may be stated that his visits to Co- hoes were very rare, not averaging once a year during his ownership. He was not here at any time while No. 3 mill was building, and all that he

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THE CITY OF COHOES.

ever saw of that magnificent result of his money and enterprise were the photographs taken when the building was finished. Mr. Garner was born in England, in 1805, and came to this country in 1832. He was a poor boy and, when very young, labored in the coal mines, at New Castle. He was succeeded in the presidency of the company by his son, William T. Garner, a young man who inherit- ed. to a marked degree, the business talent of his father. His business career came to a sudden and terrible end, June 20, 1876, by the capsizing of the yacht "Mohawk," when Mr. and Mrs. Garner and three other persons were drowned. In 1867 Alfred Wild retired from the company, and was succeeded as agent by Wm. E. Thorn, of New York, who also became one of the proprietors and a resident of Cohoes.

After the death of William T. Garner, Samuel W. Johnson, his brother-in-law, and one of the firm, was elected to the position of president, re- siding at Wappingers Falls, where the print works are located. Samuel W. Johnson, Wm. E. Thorn and John Lawrence were the executors of William T. Garner's will. The will devised all of Mr. Garner's property in trust to his three daughters, the eldest of whom, Florence, is now 16 years of age. De- cember 9, 1881, while S. W. Johnson was duek- shooting on Long Island, he received injuries from the premature discharge of his gun that result- ed in his death, four days later, December 13, 1881.

John Lawrence, of New York, was elected presi- dent of the company, May, 1882, and still occupies that position. One thing that has contributed largely to the success and prosperity of the Har- mony Mills is the interest that has always been manifested in the moral and physical welfare of their employees. During the years 1866-7-8, nearly $300,000 was expended in erecting tene- ment houses, grading streets and sidewalks, plant- ing shade trees and making other improvements

that have transformed what was a grainfield in 1865 into a thriving village of 6,000 people in 1869. The streets are 80 feet wide, with a 40-foot roadway, macadamized. The sidewalks are of asphalt, 10 feet wide, with a bit of turf or a bed of flowers, inclosed by a neat picket fence, between the houses and the walk.

A person once speaking of the care exercised by the Harmony Company said : "Cleanliness seems to be epidemic here." And it is true both in the mills and out. No refuse matter or garbage is permitted to be thrown in the streets or alleys. Men are constantly employed, each one having a special district under his care, cleaning the streets and removing the garbage. There is a complete system of drainage by whichi every cellar, vault and hydrant well is drained.

There are 700 tenements, with from four to ten rooms each. The rents range from three to eight dollars per four weeks. The tenements that the company rent for eight dollars would be in de- mand at twenty dollars per month if outside parties were permitted to rent them. No family is allowed to reside in any of the tenements that is not in the employ of the company. The rent is collected at

the office by deducting the amount from the pay of the employee.

Located over the office is a commodious hall, the finest in the city, 40 x 100 feet, with a seating capacity of 800. It is nicely frescoed and fur- nished with pictures, maps, and an excellent organ. At 9 A. M. every Sabbath the Harmony Union Sunday School meets in this hall. The school was established twenty-eight years ago as a mission school, and still retains that distinctive feature, the teachers and scholars coming from all the denomi- nations in the city. Mr. David J. Johnston is now and has been the superintendent of this school most of the time since its organization. The last report of the sceretary gives the follow- ing statistics : Number of members admitted during the year, 184; present number of mem- bers, 548 ; whole number admitted since organi- zation, 4,492.

Everywhere about the works order prevails, and the company maintain in the mills, in the shops, and indeed throughout the whole corporation, the discipline of a well-trained army corps. There are 4,000 hands employed by the company in Cohoes ; and it is safe to say there are as many at home as there are at work, so that at least 8, 000 persons get their support directly from labor per- formed in the Harmony Mills.

Since 1879 the print-cloth trade has been labor- ing under a severe depression, and during a part of that year, and for the two years following, the company barely paid expenses. In April, 1882, with cloth at 32 cents per yard, and cotton at 124 cents per pound, two weeks' notice was given that from April 24 there would be a reduction of 10 per cent. in the wages. The hands resolved to resist the reduction, and on April 26, when the bells rang, no one appeared to go to work. For eighteen weeks the whirr of the spindles and the click of the looms were silenced, with the excep- tion of a few days, when spasmodie attempts were made to resume. The hands finally returned to work on the company's terms. It is a noticeable fact that, during the stoppage of the mills, the vol- ume of print-cloths in the market increased from 200,000 to 700,000 pieces, and when the mills re- sumed operations cloth was lower and cotton higher than when they shut down. The hands lost, during the stoppage of eighteen weeks, $340,000 in wages. The mechanics and laborers were kept at work, and many improvements were made. The most serious loss to the company by the strike was the scattering of disciplined help to other manufacturing plaecs in the country. However, the majority who went away found the rose-colored statements of phenomenal wages were not truc, and in six months after the resumption of work in the mills here every spindle and loom was in mo- tion again.

In February, 1881, the hands made a demand for 10 per cent advance and one hour for dinner. The demand was refused, and on the 26th they struck. After remaining out ten days the com- pany offered fifty minutes for dinner and 10 per cent, advance. The offer was accepted, and the

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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

hands resumed their work, March 8. The strike of 1862 was the only serious disagreement that has ever occurred between the Harmony Company and their employees. Differences have always been adjusted directly between the hands and the man- agement. Outside parties have been listened to, and politely dismissed, with the assurance that the company were perfectly competent to manage their business.

The present officers of the company are : Presi- dent, John Lawrence ; Agent, Wm. E. Thorn ; General Manager, Robert Johnston ; Superintend- ent, D. J. Johnston ; Paymaster, W. S. Smith.

The New York office is at No. 6 Worth street.

NOTE .- The above sketch of the Harmony Mills Com- pany was made for this History by Mr. Silas Owen, at the request of Mr. David J. Johnston.

CHAPTER VI. COHOES KNITTING MANUFACTORIES.

The father of the knitting business in this country was Mr. Egbert Egberts. While living in Albany, N. Y., in the year 1831, he became interested in the progress of making knit goods. Here he made his primary experiments in the construction of a knitting frame to be operated by power. But he needed a more practical mechanic to make the work a success. A certain Dr. Williams, of Albany, suggested to Mr. Egberts that young Timothy Bailey was a person who had the neces- sary ability for such work. Mr. Bailey was then working in a manufacturing establishment in Albany. Mr. Egbert secured the services of young Bailey, who soon saw what was needed. He built, first, a wooden frame which, when turned by hand, accomplished in a small way what Mr. Egberts desired. The knitting machine had already been invented. One was purchased in Philadelphia by Mr. Bailey and brought to Albany, and his con- trivance was applied, so as to produce knit goods by turning a crank. The next step was for Eg- berts & Bailey to remove to Cohoes. About this time (1832) Mr. Joshua Bailey became interested in the new invention. The new machine was arranged to run by water-power. Soon eight of these machines were constructed by Mr. Timothy Bailey and set in motion. The next step was to commence carding and spinning, thus preparing their own yarn. In this way the foundation was laid for the extensive knit-goods business, which is no longer confined to Cohoes, but is an industry of great importance to the whole country.

For some time the new invention was kept a secret. The doors were fastened by spring locks. Even Gen. George S. Bradford, who ran the mill by contract, was compelled to make an agreement that he should not enter the knitting room. Timothy Bailey and the foreman who worked with him were the only persons who understood the machines. The mill where this work first began was on the ditch just north of the present Erie Mill, and then it was removed to the building near the one now occupied by the Troy Manufacturing Company.

The next knitting mill erected was by Mr. Eg- berts, on the corner of Remsen and Factory streets, in the year 1850. By this time the success of this business was fully assured and recognized.

In 1852 Thomas Fowler placed knitting ma- chinery in the building formerly occupied by Timothy Bailey, and in the same year Mr. Eg- berts transferred his mill to Charles H. Adams. Mr. Bailey organized a manufacturing company about the same time; so that in 1853 there were three knitting mills in Cohoes, employing 750 hands and producing 45, oco dozen goods annually. Mr. Adams occupied the "Watervliet Mill" till 1862, when he leased the building to Alden, Frink & Weston, and built on Ontario street. But time and space would fail to tell of all the new enter- prises and changes in the knitting business of Cohoes from the advent of Egberts & Bailey until now. At present there are 25 knitting mills in operation in the city, with 177 sets of cards, 595 knitting cylinders, and 4, 140 operators. The fol- lowing is believed to be a complete list, at the date of this writing. December 1, 1883:

The Ranken Knitting Company, Henry S. Ranken, treasurer, has 16 sets of cards and 23 kn tting tables. The goods manufactured are shirts and drawers, 16 to 24 gauge, white, with 400 employees.

J. H. Parsons & Co. 15 sets of cards, 25 tables of knitting machinery, producing ladies' and chil- dren's shirts and drawers; 425 employees.

Tivoli Hosiery Mills, established by Josiah G. Root in 1855. In 1863 the firm became J. G. Root & Sons. From 1869 to 1874 the firm was J. G. Root's Sons; from 1874 to the present time the firm has been The Root Manufacturing Company. There are 18 sets of machinery, 72 knitting cylin- ders, 470 employees. The yearly product is worth from $900,000 to $1,000,000. Andrew J. Root, treasurer.

The Star Knitting Company. 9 sets of cards, 12 knitting tables, or 24 cylinders, producing ladies' and gentlemen's all wool and merino shirts and drawers, 16 to 24 gauge; 175 employees.

Empire Mill, J. A. Nuttall, proprietor. 7 sets of cards and 11 tables of knitting machinery, mak- ing shirts and drawers, 16, 18 and 20 gauge; 125 employees.

Globe Mill, LeRoy & Lamb, proprietors. 10 sets of cards, producing shirts and drawers for ladies and gentlemen, 16 and 20 gauge, white; 27 knitting cylinders, 190 employees. Yearly product, 46,000 dozen. This firm commenced operations in 1872. Mr. Lamb died in January, 1885.

Standard Hosiery Mill, Newman & Adams, proprietors. 3 sets 60-inch cards, producing scarlet shirts and drawers, wool, for ladies and gentlemen, 14, 16, 18 and 20 gauge.

Atlantic Mill, Horrocks & Van Benthuysen, proprietors. 6 sets of cards, 9 tables of knitters, 19 cylinders, 120 employees. Makes ladies' white vests and pants, 20 gauge.

Ontario Knitting Mill, Chadwick & Co., propri- etors. 6 sets of cards, 7 tables of knitters, 15 cyl-

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THE CITY OF COHOES.

inders, 200 employees; makes men's shirts and drawers.

Egbert's Woolen Mill, run by Mr. Charles H. Adams from 1863 to 1870. Mr. Adams still owns the building and machinery. The mill was operated by Mr. John Wakeman from 1870 to 1881. Present proprictors, Neil & McDowell. 6 sets of cards, 21 knitting cylinders, 140 hands; yearly production, 35,000 dozun; fine under- wear; 20-gauge goods; monthly pay-roll, $4, 500; value of annual production, $125, Oco.

Troy Manufacturing Company, J. V. S. Lan- sing, treasurer. 10 sets of cards and 14 tables of knitting machinery, 28 cylinders, 250 employees; makes shirts and drawers, merino and all wool, white, 16 to 20 gauge.

Elk Mill, A. Paul, proprietor. Mr. Paul buys his yarn; has six knitting tables and 13 cylinders, 50 hands; makes ladies' and gents' white shirts and drawers, 16 and 20 gauge.

Riverside Mill, H. S. Bogue, proprietor. 10 sets of cards, 24 knitting cylinders, 200 hands; makes white shirts and drawers, wool, cotton and merino, principally 20 gauge.

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 206

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452