USA > New York > Orange County > Newburgh > Newburgh; her institutions, industries and leading citizens, historical, descriptive and biographical > Part 49
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60
PHOTO. BY MAPES.
SAMUEL CRAWSHAW.
built of brick, one having dimensions of 100x50 feet and two stories high, and the other 132X 112 feet and one story high. The machinery is of the latest and best type. One hundred and forty hands are employed. They make the best grade of ingrain carpets and Smyr- na rugs in the mar- ket, known to the trade as "high class, extra super- fine." They have a New York office at No. 108 Worth St. H. B. Claflin & Co. are the sole agents for their rugs.
SAM'L CRAW- SHAW, son of George and Eliza-
beth (France) Crawshaw, was born in Heckmondwike, England, in 1850. He came to America with his father's family in 1857, and has been a resident of Newburgh since 1860. He learned the trade of car- pet weaving with his father, and was with him when he started in
business in 1872. For a number of years he was in charge of their retail store on Broadway, and was mainly instrumental in building up the trade that promoted the ad- vancement of the Highland Mills. He is the senior mem- ber of the firm, and brings to the direc- tion of its affairs excellent business principles and a superior practical knowledge of its various details. Mr. Crawshaw is a trus- tee of Grace M. E. Church. He re- sides on West St., and is one of the foremost in every- thing that concerns the welfare of West Newburgh.
MARK CRAW- SHAW, the other member of the firm, was born in PHOTO. BY MAPES. Heckmond wike, MARK CRAWSHAW. England, in 1851. As a young man he worked in his uncle's mills on the Quas- saick and at Haines' Mills, and has been connected with the Highland Mills from their beginning. He superintends the manufacturing.
NEWBURGH MOULDING AND PLANING MILL THOMAS SHAW'S SONS.
255
NEWBURGH.
THOMAS SHAW'S SONS, proprietors of the Newburgh Mould- ing and Planing Mill. This is the largest and oldest establishment in this branch of business in the city. Thomas Shaw, the founder, was born at Clinton Farm, in the Town of New Windsor, June 12, 1799. He learned the carpenter's trade, and early in life commenced business on his own account. It was the practice in those days for carpenters to go into the woods and hew and saw their own timber. An aged gentleman relates that he employed Mr. Shaw to build a house for him in Montgomery Street at that period. "I was handy with the pencil and made a rough sketch of the kind of a house 1 wanted and showed it to Thomas Shaw, of Little Britain, asking him for how much he would build me such a house. He told me, and I said 'Go ahead.' He went into the woods and scored and hewed his timber, and got everything ready. When the time came for the raising he got up a frolic, and came to town with his stuff and a lot of men. They put up the bents and heavy timbers in a day, and I gave them a dinner and we all had a good time."
Mr. Shaw continued his place of business at Little Britain till 1832, when he came to Newburgh and opened a shop on the north side of Ann Street, west of Liberty. A few of the buildings erected by him at that early period were the old Powell storehouse and the store- houses of D. Crawford & Co., Benjamin Carpenter, and the one now occupied by S. M. Bull; he also erected the United States Hotel.
The shop was next located in Front Street, on the site of J. W. Matthews & Co.'s storehouse, and next and for a long period at the old Red Storehouse on the dock at the foot of Washington Street. In 1852 Mr. Shaw took his sons into partnership, and the business was greatly benefitted thereby. No articles of agreement were drawn; a common consent, a purpose in common was all the law they re- quired. When the business outgrew the old Red Storehouse the firm erected a large shop on the east side of South Water Street, at the foot of Little Ann Street, and subsequently (1865) they added to their plant the adjoining planing-mill of L. M. Smith & Co. About a month later (December 15, 1865) the whole establishment was destroyed by fire. They then erected the large planing-mill at the corner of South William and South Water Streets. In the meantime the firm had be- come the most important in the business hereabouts. Machinery had been substituted for hand-labor in a great degree, and they not only manufactured all their own material, but supplied smaller builders as well.
About 1855, when boat-pulling first became generally popular as a pastime, George W. and Charles B. Shaw became expert oarsmen, and the building of boats became an important branch of the firm's business. Newburgh produced many good oarsmen, and the village was the headquarters for rowing in the country. Boat-building was then in its infancy, but when the Shaws turned their attention to it, they made many improvements, till at length the modern racing shell was developed. The Fanny Fern, the James G. Clinton, the Thomas C. Ring, the George W. Shaw, the Enoch Carter, the J. C. Gazley and the William Lisle were among the first built by the Shaws, all of them famous in their day. At that period the builders received as much honor when their boats won as did the men that rowed them, and the builders also received the prizes. At a later period they built the Gersh Banker, with which, in 1860, a Newburgh crew at Lake Quinsigamond rowed three miles in 18 minutes, 37 seconds, the fast- est time then on record. The Oscar Teed, in which Josh. Ward rowed several of his single scull races, was built at Shaws' shop by E. K. Shaw and Walter Brown, the latter an employee of the firm, and af- terward champion oarsman. The Shaws also built boats for the Yale, Knickerbocker (of Albany), the Poughkeepsie and other crews.
During the war the firm built, under commission from James Bigler, a large number of naval gun-carriages for the United States Government, some of the carriages costing as much as three thousand dollars each. They also did the joiner-work of a number of naval vessels that were built in Newburgh during the war, notably the Eolus, Meteor, Peter Crary, Anna and Edgar Stuart. The latter two were noted as Cuban privateers. In 1864 they did the joiner- work of five large ferry-boats for the New Jersey Central Railroad Company, and since then have done a large amount of work on steam-
boats. The joinery of the Homer Ramsdell is the work of the Shaws. During the construction of the West Shore Railroad the firm built the union depot in this city, and altogether, including flag-stations, one hundred and thirty-six buildings for the company. They also designed and constructed nearly all the buildings on the Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad. The handiwork of the Shaws is also seen in many public and private buildings in Newburgh. They designed and built Union Church; they did the carpenter-work of the Free Academy and the Academy of Music, and are stockhold- ers in the latter. They designed the Grammar Schools Nos. 2 and 3, the houses of Washington and Highland Steamer Companies, and Lawson and Columbian Hose Companies, the Whitehill Engine and Pictet Ice Machine Company's buildings, the Chadborn & Coldwell Manufacturing Company's works, the Newburgh Bleachery, the Grove Mills, the Oakley Soap factory, Miss Mackie's school, the private residences of James J. Logan, Isaac C. Chapman, A. Y.
M-N-C:
CHARLES B. SHAW.
Weller, Dr. Wesley Wait, and Hon. M. H. Hirschberg, and some of our best business blocks. They also did the carpenter-work in most of these buildings.
Thomas Shaw died in 1877, and since then the business has been continued by his sons George W., Charles B. and Elkanah K., asso- ciated together as Thos. Shaw's Sons. In 1882 they built their pres- ent moulding and planing mill at the corner of South William and Johnes Streets. It has a depth of 82 feet, a frontage of 160, and is two stories high, with a basement under a portion. Steam-power is supplied by a horizontal engine of forty horse-power. Their wood- working machinery consists of large planing, moulding and re-saw- ing machines, and circular, vertical and band saws. These heavy machines are on the first floor. On the second floor are smaller ma- chines for mouldings, tenons, mortices and variety mouldings. They manufacture sash, blinds, doors, stair-rails, balusters and newels, and furnish all kinds of trimmings and supplies for house-builders within a radius of fifty miles. They employ usually about one hundred ex- pert mechanics, who can always be relied upon to do first-class work.
256
NEWBURGH.
CHARLES B. SHAW was born Jnly 29, 1827, at Little Britain. He is the second son of Thomas and Harriet (Walsh) Shaw. His mother was a granddaughter of Samuel Logan of Revolutionary memory. He came to Newburgh with his parents, and at the age of fourteen went into his father's shop to learn the carpenter trade. Since his twenty-fifth year he has been a partner in the business.
GEORGE W. SHAW.
For many years before his father's death he was, as he is to-day, the practical head of the firm. He is a man of superior mechanical skill, and his expert judgment and ability to control and direct in important undertakings have given to the firm very largely the reputation it enjoys. In his young manhood Mr. Shaw was, like his brother George, an excellent oarsman, and would have achieved a greater reputation had he chosen to devote the necessary time from his business. To his private business Mr. Shaw has given his whole attention. Another has written this of him:
"Outside of his business, Mr. Shaw is simply a modest, retiring citizen. Al- though a man of firm convictions and educated judgment, he blows no trumpet in the market place, nor seeks to control the opinions of others. Wherever you meet him he reveals the traits of integrity. Beautifying life by his example and by the skill of which he is the master, he is the type of a citizen and a busi- ness man who can be pointed to with pride as a representative.
' Such let thy life be- Not marked by noise, but by success alone, Not known by bustle, but by useful deeds.'"
Mr. Shaw married Henrietta Rodermond, in 1849, and has one son and one daughter: Dr. Henry B., of New York, and Maria B., wife of C. C. McCain, Anditor of the Inter-State Commerce Commission.
GEORGE W. SHAW was born in Little Britain, in the Town of New Windsor, July 30, 1824. He learned his trade in his father's shop, and in 1852 was admitted to partnership. He retired from ac- tive business a few years ago, but still remains a member of the firm. At the period when boat-building was a branch of the firm's business, Mr. Shaw had immediate oversight of that work, and built boats for many prominent oarsmen and clubs of that time. Mr. Shaw was
himself an oarsman of the first class, and was Joshua Ward's partner in many races. He was also a member of the celebrated four-oared crew composed of Joshua and Henry Ward and Oscar Teed, besides himself. He also rowed in several double-scull races with his brother Charles as a partner. In 1860 he was a member of the six-oared crew composed of Joshna Ward and others, which, at Lake Quinsi- gamond, rowed three miles in the Gersh Banker in 18 minntes and 37 seconds, the fastest time then on record. Mr. Shaw was also a speed skater of the first rank, and generally supposed to be the equal of any in the country. In these latter years of leisure his love for re- fined ont-door sports is as strong as ever. He is a member of the Newburgh Canoe and Boating Association and an enthusiastic yachts- man. He is also a member of the Newburgh Gnn Club, and always makes a good score at the target. In early life he was a member and Assistant Foreman of Washington Engine Company. He was one of the organizers of Ringgold Hose Company and its first Foreman, and still continues an honorary member of it. He married, in 1847, Rhoda B., daughter of James Alexander, of the Town of New Wind- sor, and has living three sons and one daughter.
ELKANAH K. SHAW was born December 27, 1834, in the Bliz- ard House in Front Street, where his parents then resided. He at- tended the village schools, and at the age of sixteen began a regular apprenticeship in his father's shop. In 1857 he began the study of
PHOTO. BY MAPES.
E. KANE SHAW.
architecture under John W. Priest, who was then one of the foremost architects in the country. Mr. Priest had an office in New York and another at his country-seat at Balmville; it was at the latter place that Mr. Shaw worked. During the several years that intervened before Mr. Priest's death, his young pupil and assistant made excel- lent advancement and acquired an intimate knowledge and practice in the essentials of his art. After his master's death Mr. Shaw studied draughting for three years under Samuel Stanton, an expert mechanical engineer and draughtsman, who was then superintendent
NEWBURGH.
257
of the Washington Iron Works, and afterwards a member of the ship-building and engineering firm of Ward, Stanton & Co.
In 1864 Mr. Shaw resumed his connection with Thos. Shaw & Sons, and has ever since been the architect of the firm, and the fore- most man in his profession in this section.
Mr. Shaw was elected to the Common Council from the Second Ward in 1870 by the Democratic party, and served one term. In 1875 he was appointed a member of the Board of Water Commis- sioners to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Franklin Gerard, and in 1882 he was elected for the full term of five years.
He has been a trustee and an active member of Ringgold Hose Company since its organization in 1854, and was Assistant Foreman
ers; and notably among others, the widely known house of White- hill & Cleveland. The business was begun by Hugh Whitehill and Ordine M. Cleveland in 1880. Mr. Whitehill died in 1884, since which date Mr. Cleveland has managed the business, the estate of Mr. Whitehill remaining a partner. The firm employ 300 hands; and occasionally have outside help. At the present time they oc- cupy the buildings Nos. 109 and 111 Broadway and a part of No. 107, containing four floors 90x50 feet, four floors 90x25 feet, and one floor 180x33 feet, affording 33,000 square feet of space. But the require- ments of the business exceed even these spacious quarters, and ere long a far larger factory will be built. Whitehill & Cleveland have purchased a site at the corner of Liberty and Lafayette Streets, on
X
tur
RESIDENCES OF GEORGE W., E. KANE AND CHARLES B. SHAW-41 to 45 Dubois Street.
one year and Foreman for nine years. In 1875-78 he was First As- sistant Chief Engineer of the Fire Department, and in the latter year was nominated for Chief Engineer, hut was defeated by William Nixon. For twenty-five years Mr. Shaw has been a trustee of Union Church. He is also a director of the Edison Electric Illuminating Com- pany, a trustee of the Academy of Music, a trustee of Hudson River Lodge, F & A. M. and a member of Highland Chapter and of Hudson River Commandery. He married Elizabeth McCoun, niece of Henry T. McCoun, in 1863.
WHITEHILL & CLEVELAND. Of recent years rapid progress has characterized the operations of Newburgh's leading manufactur-
which they will erect a brick factory, 178 feet in length and 100 in width, one part to be four stories in height and the remainder three stories, giving 62,000 square feet of floor space. Five hundred hands will then be employed. Whitehill & Cleveland manufacture the New- burgh Never-Rip brand of overalls, shirts and pantaloons, and a gen- eral line of workingmen's clothing in cottonades, jeans and all-wool goods. These goods are everywhere recognized and appreciated by the trade as standard productions. Their trade extends from Boston to Omaha, and from the Canadian line to the Gulf States. Six sales- men are on the road, in addition to four others connected with their New York house, which has charge of the trade in the Metropolis and its suburbs.
258
NEWBURGH.
WHITEHILL & CLEVELAND'S FACTORY.
-
NEWBURGH.
Cutting Room.
WHITEHILL & CLEVELAND'S FACTORY. Schedule Room, 180 Feet Long.
Press Room.
2 59
260
NEWBURGH.
ORDINE M. CLEVELAND was born in the township of Jackson, Pa., in 1851. At the age of twenty he entered the employ of the Howe Sewing Machine Company, and in 1875 came to Newburgh in the inter- ests of that company, having in charge the collections in New York State and eastern Connecticut. Mr. Whitehill and Mr. Cleveland per- ceived the possibilities in overall manufacturing, and the present large establishment is the fruition of their well-directed endeavors. Mr. Cleve- land is also part-owner and a di- rector of the Storm King Pants Company, of Newburgh, employing forty hands. He is a member of the Board of Trade, an officer of Union Church, and one of the incorporators of the Newburgh City Club. He married Louise, sister of Isaac C. and Joseph H. H. Chapman.
THE ARLINGTON PAPER MILL, H. Powell Ramsdell, pro- prietor. This mill is the principal industrial element in the little vil- lage of Salisbury Mills, which is sit- uated some eight miles southwest of Newburgh, on Murderer's Creek and the Newburgh branch of the Erie Railroad. Two great chimneys can be seen towering above the trees for miles away, and on near approach we perceive an important
O. M. CLEVELAND.
range of buildings on the edge of a deep, rocky gorge through which the creek tumbles and rushes with mighty force. A dense growth of trees and bushes fringes the opposite bank in unrestrained wildness, while behind the mill a broad and level spot is occupied by pretty cottages and other buildings, with winding lanes and green lawns. The mil! property forms a hamlet by itself. Just below the mill, where the creek winds about through a wild chasm and vanishes from our sight, there is an old raceway cut out of the solid rock, the only thing left of an old cotton mill that once stood there. There were formerly three water- falls here, but Mr. Ramsdell has by extensive excavations and altera- tions combined them all practically into one, with a total head of about forty feet, furnishing ample power during three-fourths of the year; and when the water fails steam takes its place as the power for the mill.
This water-power has been used for driving mills of one kind or another ever since 1721, but now the Arlington Mill is the only one in the place, and its property includes the sites of all the abandoned mills. PHOTO. BY ATKINSON. The oldest portion of this mill was built about the year 1840, by Isaac K. Oakley, who at a later period in his life was president of the Quassaick Bank in Newburgh. He
WHITEHILL AND CLEVELAND OVER-PANTS PANTALOONS COATS &€
WHITEHILL & CLEVELAND'S FACTORY.
NEWBURGH.
261
built another paper mill on the Quassaick (now known as the Grove Mill), and about the year 1853 sold them both, the one at Salisbury to Francis B. O'Connor. The mill eventually became the property of John L. Seaverns, who also had a manufactory for paper-mill ma- chinery in Newburgh. Mr. Ramsdell entered the employ of the firm
has made many changes at the Arlington Mill. The old building forms but a small portion of the present plant, the main build- ings of which have a total length of 480 feet, from one to three stories high, with capacity for the employment of one hundred hands and the production of 24,000 lbs. of paper daily. All the old machinery
2
H. POWELL RAMSDELL, Proprietor.
as book-keeper at the paper mill in February, 1870, and purchased the mill at a foreclosure sale in 1871.
At that time the mill consisted only of a two-story stone building about eighty feet square, and its total daily production was only about a ton of paper. Twenty years of Mr. Ramsdell's management
has been discarded, and the present equipment cannot be excelled by any mill of the size in the country. These changes have been made gradually, though by the erection of new buildings and the addition of new machinery the capacity has been doubled within the past year alone. But without specifying each one of the many progressive
262
NEWBURGH.
steps we prefer to describe the establishment in its completed state to-day.
The Arlington Mill property consists of a series of brick and stone buildings joined together, several detached buildings and twenty cot- tages for the people employed in the mill. The main portion of the mill is a stone building 125 feet in length, 80 in width and three stories high, and contains a finishing-room, rag-room, stock-rooms, etc., with boiler and engine-rooms and the office in a wing. The machine-room occupies a brick building 146 feet in length, 52 feet in width and one story high. The new finishing-room at the east end is 120 feet in length, 33 in width and one story high. A detached stone building, 100x48 in size, contains a well-equipped machine-shop and a carpenter- shop. A corps of machinists is regularly employed to make repairs, and a corps of carpenters to make boxes.
The machine-room is supplied with two Pusey & Jones paper- making machines, each 88 inches wide, one built in 1891 and the other in 1887. These machines are fitted with two stacks each of chilled calenders, and the calenders are fitted with a full set of Smith's cal- ender-feeds, ensuring the maximum amount of speed. The mill is supplied with ten rag and beating engines, besides a full complement
of the various other kinds of machines used in pa- per mills.
The steam power is furnished by a battery of six boilers, with a total horse power of 800. There is one Wright en- gine of 125 horse power, six Westinghouse engines with a combined horse power of 275, one engine of 60 horse power made by Ward, Stanton & Co., and one Case engine.
The buildings are lighted by a 100-light electric plant on the Thomson - Houston sys- tem, and a 50-light plant on the Sawyer-Mann sys- tem. The mill is supplied with a Worthington fire pump and automatic ar- rangements for fire pro- tection. Pure water, clear as crystal, a very essential element in paper-making, is supplied by a National filter plant giving 400,000 gallons every twenty-four hours.
BREWER
T. BEVERUNE 8 10
BEVERIDGE BREWING COMPANY'S BREWERY.
The Arlington Mill manufactures special high-class book paper and French folios, white and colored. Paper is made principally of rags, as only the best grades are made. The Arlington folios are qnot- ed as a standard article in the market. The mill is run exclusively on orders. It starts work at midnight on Sunday and does not close down till midnight on Saturday. It supplies a number of notable publishing houses in New York City, and considerable of the product goes to San Francisco, and some even to England and Australia.
H. Powell Ramsdell, the proprietor, is a son of Homer Ramsdell, and a resident of Newburgh. His superintendent is John F. Clouser, who has held that position since 1876.
THE BEVERIDGE BREWING COMPANY was established in 1812 by James Dunlap, who erected a brewery in Liberty Street, cor- ner of Washington. James Law shortly afterward became the as- sociate of Mr. Dunlap, and in 1816 his successor. John Beveredge was Mr. Law's associate in 1822. In 1825 John Forsyth was added to the firm and its title changed to Law, Beveredge & Co. In that year the building on the corner of Front and Fifth Streets, forming
part of the present establishment, was erected. On the death of Mr Law the business was continued by his surviving partners and E. Ward Farrington, under the title of J. Beveredge & Co. Their suc- cessors have been Robert A. Forsyth, Thomas Beveridge, Peter Amerman, Jonas Williams, Joseph Low, Charles E. Williams and Henry J. Hunter, all the various partnerships being entitled T. Bev- eridge & Co. Except Charles E. Williams all these gentlemen are now dead. The business was incorporated as The Beveridge Brew- ing Company in 1884. Charles E. Williams is the President and the largest stockholder, and William G. Hunter Secretary.
This time-honored concern has played an important part in the history of Newburgh. Its proprietors have been men of the highest standing and most honorable reputation, and most of them of great usefulness in the business, social, benevolent and religious life of the community. John Forsyth was the father of the Rev. John Forsyth, D. D. He was a man of striking presence, whose face and form would arrest the attention of a stranger, and his mental and moral qualities were in accord with the impressions thus made. None who knew him could doubt his unbending rectitude, his large-heartedness, or his rare sagacity. He was an exemplary Christian, long a ruling Elder of the First Asso- ciate Reformed Church, long a Director of the Bank of Newburgh, Trustee of the Academy, and village Trustee. He had much to do with the establishment of the Newburgh Steam Mills- was at one time President of the company-and the building of the Newburgh Branch Railroad. Next to Thomas Powell & Co., his firm (J. Beveredge & Co.) was the largest subscrib- er to the Erie stock. John Beveredge was one of the founders of the present system of free schools, and the first President of the Board of Education. He was long an Elder in the First Associate Re- formed Church, and was one of the founders and one of the first Elders of the Second Associate Reformed (now Union) Church. E. Ward Farrington was the first President of the Quassaick Bank, an Elder in the First Associate Re- formed Church and afterwards one of the first Elders of Union Church, and prominent in village affairs, having been twice elected President of the village corporation. Robert A. Forsyth was another distinguished citizen; for many years he was a village Trustee. Jonas Williams was long and favorably known in the community for his scholarly attainments, and as a lover of good literature he accumulated one of the finest private libraries in the city. He was for many years a member of the Board of Trustees of the First Presbyterian Church and a Director of the Bank of Newburgh, being chairman of its Fi- nance Committee. Joseph Low was also an Elder of the First As- sociate Reformed Church, and Thomas Beveridge succeeded John Beveredge in the Board of Education. In these relations, and in others, have the proprietors been valnable factors in promoting the welfare of their town and its people. During his residence here Charles E. Williams has been one of the foremost members of the Board of Trade, is now its President, and has contributed greatly in its work.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.