History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 129

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592

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In his twenty- eighth year, being tired of traveling, and though offered forty dol- lars per week to remain, he resigned, and determined to start in business for him- self. He had saved $5.000, and with $1,500 of this he commenced housekeeping, having married Miss Alma E., a daughter of Rev. Dr. Frederick Haase, pastor of an Evangelical church at Chillicothe, Ohio. Mrs. Haase, nee Miss Theresa Von Bedenstadt, was a daughter of Gen. Von Bedenstadt, who was one of the German allies of England in the war with Spain during the reign of George III. With the $3,500 remaining he and two other men started to work, entering as equal partners, and renting one room of Steptoe, McFarlan & Company, together with power. The

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room was 50 x 30, and the three partners did all the work. This was in the latter part of 1874, just when the country was recovering from the great financial panic, and, though it was hard work, the young firm kept their heads above water, and after running six months rented a warehouse across the street. Each man drew $20 per week, and it will be seen that Mr. Egan sacrificed nearly half his income for the pleasure of being his own boss. He declared. and does to this day, that no man can get rich on a salary, and he wanted to be rich. Though drawing but lim- ited salaries the firm, known as the Egan Company, found that at the end of the year they had made the Dutchman's one per cent-that is, their profits were ten thousand five hundred dollars, or, in common parlance, one hundred per cent on the investment. This was so encouraging that Mr. Egan and his partners determined to branch out on a larger scale, and so in 1881 was incorporated the Egan Company, with a capital stock of $150,000. The incorporators were: Flor- ence Marmet, Samuel C. Tatem, Frederick Danner, Edwin Ruthven and T. P. Egan. The last named was made president at once, and practically conducted the affairs of the company. Meantime, however, the one room occupied for a year and a half had been abandoned, and the firm removed to Front street, between Central avenue and John, where they rented an old mill 30 x 80, three stories high. As business progressed an addition to this was built. It was 40 x 80, four stories. On more business coming along a second addition, 40 x 80, same height, was erected. Then came a destructive fire that leveled to the ground the old mill. This was rebuilt, and later a lot 180 x 100 was secured from Robert Mitchell and built upon. This gave the firm all the square on Front street between Central avenue and John, with the exception of thirty feet. The building now is reputed one of the best equipped and most expensive factories in the bottoms, and, in fact, in the United States. From employing themselves the three partners, all members now of the Egan Company and associated with the J. A. Fay Company, on the 1st of January last had on the pay roll four hundred men, and from a weekly stipend of $20 as his own master and thirty-five dollars as an employe, Mr. Egan now counts his weekly income by the thousands. From a small firm doing almost local business the Egan Company worked up a trade that is world-renowned. Contracts are being made constantly in South America, Europe and Africa, while some of the sales have been of great amounts.

Across the street from the Egan Company was the J. A. Fay & Company, the rivals. From the first the Fay Company, establislied for years in a profitable busi- ness, tried to squeeze out the young but ambitious rival. Lawsuits sprang up almost from the start over certain patents to such an extent that the two firms' representatives were scarcely on speaking terms, and would not think of doing busi- ness with each other. Suits after suits had been brought, and each firm spent in the neighborhood of twenty thousand dollars trying to break each other up. The Egan Company took one case and carried it successfully through all the courts of Ohio, and finally won in the United States Supreme Court in 1889. This demon- strated to the firm that they were amply able to take care of themselves, and they became more and more aggressive. Mr. Egan was in the thick of the fight, and was determined that his firm should have a fair show at the world's trade if it took every dollar he was worth. He and others of the firm had 175 patents, but still the Fay Company held 200, and while the two firms separately controlled nearly all the wood-working patents in the country they were fighting each other. Finally in February, 1893, David Jones and H. B. Morehead laid their plans to capture both belligerents. They secured an option on the majority of the stock of both com- panies, and especially of the Fay Company, and then informed both managements that if a consolidation took place both businesses could be run on a more econom- ical scale than formerly, and all litigation could be stopped. The arguments pre- vailed and articles of incorporation were taken out with a capital stock of two mil-

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lion five hundred thousand dollars. The officers of the Company are: Thomas P. Egan, president; Frederick Danner, first vice-president; A. N. Spencer, second vice-president; Edwin Ruthven, secretary; A. F. Herbaleb, assistant secretary; L. W. Anderson, treasurer; George W. Bugbee, master mechanic; S. P. Egan, general superintendent; L. G. Robinson, assistant superintendent, and George W. Passell, assistant superintendent. The directors are: W. H. Doane, W. P. Anderson, Joseph Rawson, David Jones and William A. Procter. Mr. Egan controlled two- thirds of the stock of the old company, while most of his investments were in Fay stock, and when the management was organized he was chosen president of both concerns. Thus while the companies are under one management they work sepa- rately and distinctly, and make and sell their own brands. Recently at the World's Fair both made exhibits, and each took nine awards and one special grand medal, or, in all, eighteen awards and two special grand medals-more than any other firm in the world. The stock of the company is held by the best business men in the city, and with continued prosperity, that now seems assured, it will soon take con- siderable figuring to calculate Mr. Egan's wealth. It might be stated that the Mitchell annex, spoken of above, cost $40,000, and the tools to work with in it $235,000. One engine and boiler cost alone fifteen thousand dollars.

Taking Mr. Egan from his business and looking at him as a private individual, he is extremely interesting. He is not a politician, neither a club man nor a society man, but he is one of the best examples of a home man that can be found in the city. Every evening he can be located at his pleasant home, No. 8 Wesley avenue. There he sips his sherry, smokes his one "Slim Jim," and chats with his family and friends. His amiable wife seems the counterpart of the husband, or, rather, each acts as a counterpart to the other. It is hard to say which has the better temper or the better nature. Both are running over with good humor, and both find the greatest pleasure in life in the enjoyment of each other's company. " Why does a

man marry," asks Mr. Egan, "if he does not stay at home with his wife. I belong to no club, no political organization, no secret order. I do not patronize the bar- room nor the hotel. If I should go out at night, where would I go?" It can be stated, however, that Mr. and Mrs. Egan are steady theater-goers, and they are also lovers of the fine arts, every display of note finding them in attendance. A Repub- lican, Mr. Egan has twice thought he would join the Lincoln Club, but the pleas- ures of club life and the excitement of political strife have not yet been strong enough to lure him from his home. He is surrounded by a family of seven chil- dren, three of whom are boys, all anxious to get to work. One daughter, Miss Alma E., is at Bartholomew's College; Fred is a student at the Ohio Military School, College Hill; Clifford, Christine and Edna are in the intermediate school, and Raymond and Virginia are still at home. Mr. Egan's business and family engross all his time, and the outside world scarcely knows him. Recently the fire commissionership was tendered him, but refused. Independent and manly, self- reliant and judicious, he goes his way and cares not for the side issues that usually engross the minds of men. Mr. Egan has never been out of the country since his first arrival, but in May he leaves for Antwerp, Belgium, where he acts as a repre- sentative of the United States at the local World's Fair.

One incident is worthy of note, showing as it does the principal characteristic of the man. When John Steptoe, his old employer, was on his deathbed, he sent for an attorney, and also for Mr. Egan. Both sat in the sick room as the will was being made out, and Mr. Steptoe had determined that Mr. Egan should be executor. Mr. Egan, however, had determined that he would not be executor, for he did not want to be put under bond. He was debating in his mind what he should do to get out of the difficulty while the attorney was slowly drawing up the legal document. In the midst of his thoughts the attorney spoke up, " What bond shall I require ?" The sick man raised his eyes to the attorney and said, sternly, "Thomas shall give

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no bond." This display of confidence so converted Mr. Egan that he at once decided to acquiesce and act as executor. He did, and, as the will recorded, turned over to the aged widow every cent, and he was discharged by the court with a high compliment.

FREDERICK DANNER. first vice-president of J. A. Fay & Egan Company, was. born in Northampton, England, and is a son of John and Ann (Turner) Danner, neither of whom ever left their native country. His father, who followed the shoe business, was born in 1807, and died in 1858; his mother was born in 1815, and died in 1893. The name Danner is German, the family having settled in England during the religious troubles in the time of Martin Luther.

Our subject received his education in the grammar school of his native town, and at the early age of twelve years began working. At fourteen he was duly appren- ticed by law to the trade of machinist to serve seven years, but when half this time had expired he ran away, and in December, 1860, enlisted in the Ninety-fifth Regi- ment of the British army, where he served four years. For the first six months he was located in Ireland, and was then transferred to East India, going by the way of the Cape of Good Hope. They landed in Bombay, and four months later went to Poona, where they remained about a year. This was directly after the mutiny there, and the country was in a very disturbed condition. Nana Sahib, the moving spirt of the mutiny, and the one who was responsible for the massacre at Cawnpore, was reported to be in hiding a few miles out of Poona, and Mr. Danner among others was detailed and sent out on a secret mission to capture him, which they did, but his identity could not be established. The regiment soon after received orders to pro- ceed at once to China, because of anticipated trouble which might arise from the death of the Emperor at a time when the negotiations of the war of 1860 were not completed. The order was countermanded, however, when they had proceeded as. far as Bombay. While in the army Mr. Danner found the knowledge which he had obtained of mechanics very useful. He was detailed to work in the armor shops, and when there was no work in that line turned his attention to shoemaking, a knowledge of which he had obtained by working one year with his father. The regi- ment was next ordered to Kurrachee, Lower Sinde, whither they went via Bombay, and while here Mr. Danner worked at wood carving and engraving. From Kur- rachee the regiment crossed the river Indus to Hyderabad, on the border of Beloo- chistan, where they experienced considerable trouble on account of the recent mut- iny; soldiers caught alone, out of camp at night, were invariably killed. Here again the versatile genius of Mr. Danner was shown by his working at the tailoring business for a time; he also joined a theatrical troop. All this work was done out- side his regular duties as a soldier, and was for the purpose of raising money with which to purchase his discharge. From Hyderabad the regiment went to Aden, Arabia, and thence back to Kurrachee, where. Mr. Danner, having finally accumu- lated the required amount to defray the expenses of his release and return to Eng- land, was discharged. Being anxious to return to England as soon as possible, he went on board the ship " Annie Williams," laden with coal, which was lying in the harbor, and bound himself to the captain as a seaman for the trip, which included the unloading at that place, and loading with cotton for Liverpool. The trip occu - pied five months; by this arrangement he saved three hundred and thirty-five rupees and his board for the five months. On the homeward trip he also painted the in- terior and exterior of the ship, the latter work being very risky as the ship was making from eight to ten knots an hour.

Mr. Danner arrived in England in good health, went immediately to Northamp- ton, and in two weeks was at work at the old stand where he remained three months. He then made a complete tour of England, and finally married, settling at Leaming- ton, Warwickshire, where he remained four years. In the meantime he engaged in business for himself, but was obliged to abandon it for lack of capital, and in 1869

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emigrated to the United States. He made the trip on the old "City of Paris," and. landed in New York in December with only five dollars in his pocket. There was a foot of snow on the ground, and he had no work, nowhere to go, and no friends to help him to a position. He finally went to Newark, N. J., where he found employ- ment in a hat factory, and in an hour was a full-fledged hatmaker, keeping time with the rest of the men. He remained in Newark six months, but being laid up. with rheumatism during the last six weeks, his earnings were again exhausted. As soon as he was sufficiently recovered he sold his watch, and determined to go as far West as this money would take him. Here fortune intervened and gave to Cincin- nati one of her most successful business men, and to the Northampton boy a home after his long wanderings on land and sea. His cash had now been reduced to twenty-five cents, and he immediately hunted about the city for a position. Three were offered him, of which he very wisely chose one in the manufactory of Steptoe & McFarlan, where he remained two years. He then accepted a position with J. A. Fay & Company, where in one year he was made foreman. In 1882 he was one of the incorporators of the Egan Company and held successively the position of assist- ant superintendent, superintendent, and vice-president, and upon the consolidation of the J. A. Fay and Egan Company was elected to his present office.

Mr. Danner was married in his native country; December 25, 1865, to Miss Sophia, daughter of John and Sophia (Wingrove) Kightley, of Northampton. He and his wife are members of the Episcopal Church, and reside in Hyde Park. He is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Republican in his political views and was elected a member of the council of Home City, Ohio, when he resided in that place.

ALBERT NELSON SPENCER, second vice-president of J. A. Fay & Egan Company, was born April 20, 1856, in Columbus, Ohio, and is a son of Smith and Laura (Chip- man-Smith) Spencer, both also natives of Ohio. His father, who was born May 24, 1823, was a carpenter by trade, but for forty years prior to his retirement from busi- ness, was superintendent of the Ohio Tool Company, of Columbus, manufacturers of edge tools. His mother was born in Columbus, May 22, 1829. In his father's family there were eight children, four of whom are living, as follows: A. N. Spen- cer, William S. Spencer and Harry S. Spencer, all of Cincinnati, and Mrs. Harry Bope, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Spencer was educated in the public schools of his native city, and then accepted a position with the Ohio Tool Company, where he remained four years, after which he was in the employ of J. A. Fay & Co. sixteen years, and in 1893 was elected to his present position. Mr. Spencer was married, December 1, 1887, to Miss Ada May Newkirk, daughter of William and Frances (Jacobs) Newkirk, of Piqua, Ohio, and this union has been blessed with one child, Ralph Gage Spencer. Mr. and Mrs. Spencer are members of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Cincinnati Engineers Club, and a Republican in his political views; but close attention to business, together with a natural disinclination, has prevented his ever seeking or accepting an honor from his party.

ADOLPH PLUEMER was born July 9, 1851. in Cassel, Germany, son of Wilhelm and Wilhelmina (Walternathe) Pluemer. He was educated in his native land, and. emigrated to America before attaining his majority, locating at Cincinnati, which has since been his residence. Immediately upon his arrival, he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, and has sturdily worked his way, until he is now identified with many of the most important interests of his adopted city. At the present time he is a member of the firm of Hosford & Pluemer, extensive dealers in pig iron, and is also secretary and treasurer of the Virginia State Granite Company, whose quarries are located near Richmond, Va. He is a stanch Republican, and has taken an active interest in public affairs. He is a life member of the Lincoln Club, the North Cincinnati Republican Club, and the Young Men's Blaine Club. His name has fre- quently been mentioned in connection with official positions, both State and National,

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but he has never sought political preferment, and has held no public office except that of school trustee. He is prominent and influential in German social circles, and is a leading member of the Order of Cincinnatus. He was one of the founders of the Cincinnati School of Technology, and is a life member of the American Insti- tute of Mining Engineers, and a member of the Associated Charcoal Iron Workers of the United States. He is a thirty-second-degree Mason, and is connected with the different branches of the Masonic Fraternity, including the Mystic Shrine and Knights Templar, and is also a member of the North Cincinnati Turner Society. He is a trustee and president of the public library of Cincinnati: In all his business and social relations, Mr. Pluemer enjoys universal confidence and esteem, the spontaneous tribute of his associates to his admirable executive ability, courteous manners, and pleasing address. His selection as alternate commissioner from Ohio to the World's Columbian Exposition was an honor to which he was well entitled. Mr. Pluemer was married, April 19, 1879, to Miss Henrietta, daughter of Adolph and Bertha (Hug) Fischer, of Cincinnati, and a native of Germany; they are the parents of four children: Meta, Gisela, Herbert and Blanche.

The Tudor Boiler Manufacturing Company, steam boiler and tank makers, with offices and works at No. 244 Pearl street, is one of the oldest concerns of its class in the country and its history is an interesting one. The officers of the company are Hugh Tudor, president; William Tudor, treasurer; C. M. Tudor, secretary, and M. J. Tudor, superintendent. The business was established in 1836 at Plum and Pearl streets by Dumont & Tudor. In 1853 the firm became Tudor, Powell & Company, and the works were located on their present site. The style of the firm was changed to R. & W. Tudor in 1856, to R. Tudor & Company in 1858, and in 1868 the con- cern was incorporated, with William Tudor as president, Richard Tudor as treas- urer, and Isaac Greenwald as secretary. William Tudor continued president until succeeded by his son, Hugh Tudor, in 1891. Other official changes have occurred, as indicated by the present list of officers.

WILLIAM TUDOR, the founder of this noteworthy enterprise, was born in February, 1811, in Wales, and, in company with his brother Richard and another young man, came to America in 1828. On their arrival their combined cash capital amounted to one shilling. They secured employment on the Erie canal, in which work they con- tinued until cold weather forced a suspension of operations. They then made their way westward to Ebensburg, a Welsh settlement in the Alleghanies, where they found work for a time, and then came to Pittsburgh, thence to Cincinnati, where they arrived in 1830, and secured employment in the old "boiler yard " of Jediah Banks. After that, in course of events, came the establishment of the enterprise of Dumont & Tudor, which has grown into the present large concern. William Tudor married Sarah Morgans, also a native of Wales, who bore him five children, three sons and two daughters, three of whom died in infancy. Hugh Tudor, the eldest son, was born in Cincinnati in 1840, and was educated in the public schools of the city. He learned the business of boiler manufacturing in all its details in his father's establishment, and acquired an interest in the enterprise upon the incorporation of the company in 1868. He was married, September 19, 1865, to Anna M. Jones, of Welsh descent, and has had born to him the following named children: W. H., M. J., C. M., C. E., Alice, Anneta, Anna and Blanch, all living, and Walter, deceased. Mr. Tudor's sons are some of them connected with the business, and are of the third generation of Tudors in the enterprise. Mr. Tudor has long been an influential factor in municipal politics. He was made a Mason in 1864, in LaFayette Lodge No. 81, F. & A. M., and has advanced to the thirty-second degree.

CHARLES CHRISTIAN WAIS, senior member and president of Wais & Roos Punch & Shear Company, Nos. 156 to 160 Plum street, was born in Stuttgart, Germany, and is the second eldest of four surviving children born to Charles Christian and Catherine M. (Doller) Wais, both natives of Germany. The father of our subject still resides in Stuttgart; his mother died in that city in 1861.

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Charles Christian Wais entered the high school of Stuttgart when only five years of age, and later attended the Stuttgart Pyrotechnical College of Engineers, from which institution he was gradnated with honors. Mr. Wais was married in Stuttgart in 1870, to Heurietta Swager, a native of that city, and their union has been blessed with four children, named as follows: Lillie, Ida, Anna and Albert. Onr subject came to Cincinnati direct from his native land in 1872, and engaged in business for himself three months after his arrival. In 1876 he sold out this business and went with the Ohio & Mississippi railroad as foreman of the machine shops; was also engaged for four years with Simpson & Gault, erecting mills, after which he again resumed business on his own account at the place now occupied by the com- pany. This business is now conducted by C. C. Wais as president; and H. M. Moore as secretary and treasurer, for the purpose of manufacturing all kinds of punching and shearing machinery. The machinery manufactured by this company is used in almost every rolling mill, ship yard, boiler shop, tin mill and carriage factory in the United States. All work is done under the personal supervision of one of the members of the firm, and the success of this house is ample proof of the excellence of their work.

HENRY PEARCE was born January 9, 1824, in Cornwall, England, and died Angust 28, 1884, at Cincinnati, Ohio. His parents with their ten children came to the United States in 1831, and located in Cincinnati. In 1832 seven members of the family, including both parents, died of cholera. At the age of sixteen Henry was taken into partnership with his brother, James, in the manufacture of cotton goods, a business that had been established here in 1817 by John and Henry Pearce, uncles of the members of the new firm " James and Henry Pearce." Subsequently the firm became Gould, Pearce & Co., and is now known as Henry Pearce's Sons. Henry Pearce was one of the water-works board of trustees for nine years, and was president of that board. He served two terms as a member of the city council from the old Sixth Ward, a Democratic stronghold, although he was a Republican. He was one of the originators and treasurer of the Sanitary Commission. He was also one of the originators of the Marine Hospital. He was one of the early members of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Association and a director of the Mechanics Insti- tute. He was a member of the first board of the McMicken University. He was a most successful business man, a public-spirited citizen, and a consistent member of the Christian Church, with which he united at the age of twenty-one years, and with which he was actively identified until the time of his death. He was philanthropic, giving liberally at all times to public and private charities, and responding quickly to every cry of distress. He left an honored name and record as an inheritance to his children.

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History of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio; their past and present, Part 129

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1592

Author: Nelson, S.B., Cincinnati
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Cincinnati : S. B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1592