USA > Pennsylvania > A biographical album of prominent Pennsylvanians, v. 3 > Part 17
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Mr. Brown took an active part in raising funds for the sufferers by the disas- trous fire in Chicago in 1871. He manifested a great interest in the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, and warmly advocated the idea that each mechanical, industrial and manufacturing interest of the United States should have a distinct exhibit of itself, and be represented in separate structures erected in the exhibition grounds strictly for that purpose. In furtherance of this idea he secured the co-operation of men prominent in the shoe and leather trade, and, supported by the late John Welsh, President of the Centennial Board of Finance, he induced the shoe and leather trades to subscribe a fund for the pur-
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pose. This was accomplished, and brought together the most unique and exten- sive display of the kind ever seen in America. After the Exhibition closed he was made a Director of the Permanent Exhibition Company.
Mr. Brown is always ready to co-operate in every work that has for its object the welfare and advancement of his fellow-men. In the moral and reformatory political movements of the times he has an abiding interest. He is in the vigor of health and the prime of manhood, full of hope and ambition, and is without reproach or stain on his character. He is a member of the Pennsylvania His- torical Society, the Young Men's Christian Association, the Pennsylvania Hos- pital, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and other organizations of a charitable character. He has never held public office, but is a thorough Republican, and cast his first vote for Abraham Lincoln at his second election to the Presidency, and was a personal and steadfast friend to General Grant. He presides with tact and grace, and is often called upon to act in that capacity at political or social gatherings. His warmth of heart, and his readiness to respond to every appeal to his friendship, endear him to all who know him. The finest trait of human nature-unselfish consideration of others-has been the distin- guishing characteristic of his life. It has been illustrated in his benevolence towards individuals, and in the spirit of philanthropy with which he has espoused the cause of the masses. His sturdy love of liberty was a heritage from his honored sire, who was, contemporaneously with Garrison and Whittier, an abolitionist, when it was deemed a reproach, even in Philadelphia, to advocate justice to the down-trodden negro. The son, in his boyhood, had opportunities of witnessing the demoralizing influence of that national evil-slavery-the tem- porizing with which led to the civil war, and in the light of that experience he became imbued with those principles of justice which constitute the strength and dignity of true citizenship. Fortunate in his parentage, he repaid by his filial devotion, as amply as was in his power, the parental tenderness and care which had guided him to manhood, and prepared him for the creditable career which followed.
Tenacious of his opinions and inflexible in maintaining them, Mr. Brown has the happy faculty of avoiding antagonisms. His affability never forsakes him. He is firm, yet moderate ; inflexible, yet not aggressive. Never unmindful of his own rights, he is scrupulously careful to respect the rights of others. There is evidently nothing of effort or calculation in all this. In him the qualities which make up a well-poised and faultless personality are harmoniously blended. The influence which such a man exerts in a community must necessarily be great as well as salutary. Disinterested, never self-seeking; doing innumerable favors to those around him in a quiet, unpretentious way; aiding with alacrity in pro- moting every beneficent project for which his co-operation is invoked, his life is an example of usefulness and public spirit which entitles him to the universal esteem in which he is held. Philadelphia, with all its wealth of noble men, has no worthier citizen.
F. GUTEKUNST
· HILA
CHARLES H. CRAMP.
CHARLES HENRY CRAMP.
C HARLES H. CRAMP, the well-known Naval Architect and President of that great ship-building concern, the Wm. Cramp & Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company, was born in Philadelphia, May 9, 1828, he being the eldest son of William Cramp, progenitor of the famous firm bearing that name. Young Cramp received his finishing education-outside the art of marine con- struction-in the Central High School, which at that time was under the able principalship of Alexander Dallas Bache, who added to his fame by his connec- tion with the United States Coast Survey. The Government had made a large appropriation for testing a system of magnetic and meteorological observations combined, and the arrangements were placed under the direction of Professor Bache, who had five stations at as many different points. There was an observa- tory on the grounds at Girard College that was given to the care of Major Bache, and he desired the assistance of four High School scholars to take watches during the night and make observations. For this delicate task were selected George Davidson, now Professor Davidson, connected with the Coast Survey in San Francisco; Charles H. Cramp, James S. Lawson, now in charge of the Coast Survey in Oregon, and William H. Hunter, now deceased. Reports of their observations were made to Washington, and the information then obtained is of great use at the present time, and the system thus inaugurated furnished the material on which the present admirable Signal Service Bureau had its foundation.
After his graduation from the High School in 1845, young Cramp began the study of ship-building in the yard of his uncle, John Byerly. His father was also engaged in the business at that time, but it was thought that the young man would be more thoroughly taught away from the favoritism that might naturally attach to a position in the paternal establishment. After remaining with his uncle for three years and receiving the rudiments of a sound education in the business he had adopted, Mr. Cramp entered his father's employ. He continued this course of practical instruction-a course which his younger brothers also pursued, and which gave them all a knowledge of ship-building that has resulted in gaining for the Cramps a world-wide reputation-until about 1859, when he was admitted to a partnership in his father's business. The history of that firm is actually the story of his life, and so it has a fitting place here.
That the Delaware river has earned the appellation of "The Clyde of America" is largely due to the enterprise and industry of the Cramps. The firm, which bears the name of the William Cramp & Sons' Ship and Engine Building Company, was founded in 1830 by William Cramp. Its honored head having passed away, Charles H. Cramp is now the head of the company, four younger brothers being associated with him in the family corporation. Their
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CHARLES H. CRAMP.
establishment is one of the wondrous institutions of the city of Philadelphia. Two thousand men constitute its working force, and when this human hive is extraordinarily active, it buzzes with the industry of one thousand more. They leased the Erie basin in New York harbor-the largest dry-dock in the world- for a term of fourteen years, at an annual rental of $53,000. This lease they disposed of at an advantage to themselves after having demonstrated it could be successfully operated. The Cramps own two large ship-yards in Philadelphia. One at the foot of Palmer street, and the other at the foot of Norris street, on the Delaware river, comprise their main works. At the first-named locality is ' to be found one of the largest basin docks in the United States. Science and human patience have left nothing undone to make this as complete as possible for the repairing, reconstruction or remodelling of whatever floats upon water bearing the name of craft, which comes seeking restoration and renewal within the basin's embrace. The extreme length of this basin is 462 feet, thereby ac- commodating a vessel 450 feet long on a draft of twenty feet on three-feet blocks. It has a width of III feet and requires 4,200 piles. The keel blocking is of wedged blocks arranged to haul under and fit a damaged or hogged keel. The basin has four centrifugal pumps, each capable of lifting 30,000 gallons of water per minute, or an aggregate pumping capacity of 120,000 gallons. By these pumps it can be emptied of water in forty-five minutes. To build this basin and secure the land cost half a million dollars. The Norris street establishment has a frontage on the Delaware of 750 feet, extending back to Beach street 700 feet. Here all new work is done, such as the building of iron and wooden hulls of vessels, marine engines and boilers. The machine and boiler shops are on the largest scale, the tools and machinery of the most recent and approved pattern and of the greatest possible power.
It would be idle to repeat many feats of naval architecture that have made the name of Cramp famous, but a few are deserving of special mention. When the Government navy yards were unable to respond to the demands made upon them during the war of the rebellion, Philadelphia's favorite ship-builders proved of invaluable aid. Besides building the monitors "Yazoo" and "Tunxis," the double-end gunboat "Wyalusing," and the 3,500-ton screw steamship "Chat- tanooga," they constructed the steam frigate " New Ironsides," the first regular broadside iron-clad ever launched in the United States, and among the first ever engaged in action, and which distinguished itself before Forts Fisher, Wagner, Sumter and Moultrie.
To the Cramps also belong the credit of having built the only passenger steamships plying between Europe and America that fly the American flag. The history of the American Steamship Company is well known. Philadelphia merchants, aided by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, gave practical force to the idea in 1870, and the construction of four speedy and handsome vessels was intrusted to the Cramps. Before the " Pennsylvania," " Ohio," " Indiana," and
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" Illinois " were completed, the price of American iron had arisen thirty per cent., but there was no suggestion of default, and the ships were delivered on time and in thorough accord with the terms of the contract. Their subsequent records are matters of public notoriety. They have carried over one hundred thousand passengers without losing one, unless by an accident or an intentional fall into the sea. They have made rapid time, gained the name of possessing every comfort that can attach to an ocean voyage, and have in every way demonstrated their thorough sea-going qualities.
Another bright feather in the Cramp plume was the favors bestowed on the firm by the Russian Government. War threatened, and the Admiralty of the Czar looked about for fast and formidable cruisers. The Cramps had just com- pleted two vessels, the "State of California" and the "Columbus," for the merchant marine of this country, and the agent of the Russian Government, Mr. Wharton Barker, in connection with Captain Semetchskin, of the Russian navy, advised their purchase. Terms were made, and the ships were reconstructed to suit the new purpose for which they were intended, and rechristened the "Europe " and the "Asia." They had a remarkable spread of canvas, the former showing 13,390 square feet and the latter a sail area of 12,902 square feet. Coupled with this were a light draft of water, naturally high speed, and a fuel capacity of thirty days; this latter peculiarity giving them an obvious advantage over the English cruisers, the fastest of which are only capable of carrying coal for six days' consumption. How well the Russian Government was satisfied with their purchase is best shown by the fact that they had another vessel, the " Africa," reconstructed, and then had built anew the famous " Zabiaca," which won the admiration of the Muscovite navy by her graceful lines and unusual speed of fifteen and a half knots an hour.
The firm's more recent triumphs include the building of the "Mariposa" and the "Alameda," sister ships, for Claus Spreckles, the sugar king, intended to run with passengers between San Francisco and the Sandwich Islands, and which had one hundred per cent. more power than even the American Line vessels; the reconstruction of the United States iron-clad " Terror," for which the Gov- ernment made an appropriation of over $1,000,000, and the building for Jay Gould, at a cost of $250,000, of the "Atalanta," which was the largest and best-appointed and finished steam yacht that had ever been designed up to that time for ocean navigation. The order for this last-named marvel was given by the New York millionaire without any solicitation on the part of the Messrs. Cramp. They were awarded the contracts for building four cruisers and two gunboats for the United States Government after active competition with the shipbuilders of the whole country. Of these the "Baltimore " and the " Philadelphia," two of the regular cruisers, and the " Vesuvius," a dynamite cruiser, have been successfully launched. In all the firm has built two hundred and sixty-seven vessels.
Probably the greatest credit, however, that is due William Cramp & Sons, they
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have earned by innovations that have entirely revolutionized the ship-building of America. In 1870 they first introduced and perfected the construction of compound engines. One firm in England, John Elder & Son, of Glasgow, the builders of the "Alaska" and "Arizona," had perfected the new system. They were the greatest promoters of the compound engine in the world, and perse- vered in spite of the opposition of almost the entire ship-building interests.
The Cramps met also with violent opposition, but they stubbornly persisted that they were right, and how well they understood their business was soon shown when compound engines, used for marine purposes, had reduced the con- sumption of coal one-half. In 1884 they introduced the construction of triple expansion engines with marked success. This improvement was as great a stride forward as the compound engine had been, and has been universally ac- cepted by naval engineers as the highest improvement known. Such, in brief, is the story told by the progress of the company of which Charles H. Cramp is President.
Mr. Cramp's career as a public official began when he was twenty-one years of age, by his election as a School Director of the Eighteenth ward. He filled this position for some years, and was then sent to the Common Council. Charles B. Trego was president of that body, and Mr. Cramp had among his colleagues John Cassin, the naturalist; William S. Stokley, afterwards mayor ; William Loughlin, now of the Board of Revision of Taxes ; William P. Hacker, and Thomas Potter, the oil-cloth manufacturer. The breaking out of the war gave the ship-building firm such an enormous business to attend to, that Mr. Cramp could not do justice to his councilmanic duties, and he did not serve a second term. He was elected a member of the Board of Port Wardens in 1876 and was re-elected for several successive years.
Mr. Cramp was for a long time a Manager of the Franklin Institute, and was for years a Director of the Union League. He is married and has six sons. He resides at Eighteenth and Spring Garden streets, in Philadelphia. He is noted, among those who know him best, for his keen powers of observation, his strict probity. and the reliance that can be placed upon his slightest word.
C. R. D.
1
F AUTEKUNST
PHILA.
HENRY DISSTON.
HENRY DISSTON.
P HILADELPHIA justly lays claim to being the leading manufacturing city of this country, not only in the amount of business done by its great industrial establishments, but also in the regard that the manufacturers of the city gener- ally excel in their particular lines of trade. In no case is this more notably true than in production of saws, files, etc., for the leading manufactory of these articles in this country, and in fact in the world, is the Keystone Saw, Tool, Steel and File Works founded by the late HENRY DISSTON, and now successfully carried on by his sons. It is one of the most celebrated of the industrial establishments of the city, and, when it is considered that the value of the yearly production now amounts to more than two million dollars, the perseverance, skill and industry of the founder, who established the business in 1840 and conducted it successfully until his death, in 1878, in spite of many early discouragements and hardships in the face of the severest competition by English manufacturers, and against a deeply-rooted prejudice on the part of American mechanics in favor of English-made tools, seem almost marvellous.
Henry Disston was born in Tewkesbury, England, on May 24, 1819. His father was Thomas Disston, who, after his son's birth, removed to Derby, where he engaged in the manufacture of lace machines and taught his son the business, and also instructed him in the general principles of mechanics, a knowledge which proved of great benefit to him in after life. While yet but a youth Henry Disston, accompanied by his father and sister, came to America, landing at Philadelphia after a tedious voyage of sixty days. Three days after landing the father was stricken with apoplexy, and died. The youth experienced some dif- ficulty in obtaining employment, but eventually secured a position with Lindley, Johnson & Whitcraft, where he learned the art of manufacturing saws, remaining with the firm until after he was of age.
He was of a sturdy and independent nature, and, having a misunderstanding with one of the partners, he left their employ, declaring that he would establish an opposition manufactory in the neighborhood. His capital was but $350, his savings as an apprentice and journeyman; but nothing daunted he energetically set to work and succeeded in starting for himself at Second and Arch streets, building the furnace with his own hands, and carrying the coal to supply it from Willow street wharf in a borrowed wheelbarrow. He also made the tools which were required to make the saws. For three years he struggled on with varying success, but at the end of that period he found himself no better off than when he started. He found it extremely difficult to overcome the prejudice against American-made saws, and was obliged to spend half of his time in soliciting orders, devoting the other half to filling them; but, by the excellence of his goods, gradually acquiring for them a reputation for superiority.
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HENRY DISSTON.
In 1844 he was induced to occupy part of a building furnished with steam- power, and with two hundred dollars of borrowed money fitted up his shop, and thus established the first steam saw factory in the United States. The person from whom he rented his shop did not own the building, but was only a lessee, and, having defaulted in his rent, the Sheriff took possession and seized Mr. Disston's property for the arrears, besides which he was held responsible for other deficiencies. Other troubles succeeded, including domestic affliction terminating in the death of his wife. He redoubled his efforts, however, and again found himself in the possession of a shop. His new landlord, observing his successful efforts and believing he would submit to it rather than move, immediately doubled his rent, causing him to seek a new location. After several removals, the last occasioned by the bursting of a boiler and the destruction of his shop, he resolved to rent no more buildings, but to build one and own it. The first workshop which was his own property covered about twenty square yards, and was situ- ated at Front and Laurel streets, but it formed the nucleus of the present great establishment.
The severe financial crisis of 1857 did not affect him in the least, but he feared, at first, the result of the great civil war. He arranged, however, to manufacture military accoutrements, and was soon in receipt of large orders. He sent twenty- five men to the army, paying their wages to their families, and keeping their places for them during their absence.
In 1862 he added to his plant a rolling-mill for the production of steel plates. In 1864 his works were destroyed by fire, but he at once improvised workshops on the site of the burned buildings, which were all in running order ten days after the calamity. He also enlarged the premises by the purchase of an adjoin- ing lot, and was thus enabled to double the production of the works. He did not confine himself thereafter to the manufacture of saws, but introduced the fabrication of other articles of steel. His goods were exported to all parts of the world, including the British dominions, " carrying the war into Africa," as it were, and agencies were established in London, San Francisco and Chicago.
Mr. Disston was continually studying the welfare and interests of his workmen, and about 1871 he began to look about for a location on the outskirts of the city where he could erect dwellings for his employés, and where they could enjoy the benefits of air, comfort and privacy at a less cost, pecuniarily and to health, than in the crowded streets and built-up portion of the city. The place which appeared best suited for his purpose was Tacony, then a little village on the Delaware front of the extreme northern limit of the city. A saw-mill had been erected there, and this Mr. Disston first purchased, together with about six acres of land. The saw-mill was at once put in operation, more for the purpose of experimenting in the running of saws and testing new ideas than for profit. These experiments produced their good effects in leading to improvements of great value in the manufacture of saws. Gradually other purchases of property were made in furtherance of Mr. Disston's original design until one hundred and
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forty-eight acres of ground are now owned by the firm, all of which, except that portion devoted to, and intended for, the business purposes of the firm, was laid out in building lots of a convenient size with wide streets intersecting each other at right angles. A large number of neat, tasty and, in many instances, capacious dwellings were erected for the occupancy of the workmen, many of whom were enabled to purchase the buildings in which they resided by the easy and accom- modating terms afforded for paying for them by their employers. When any workman expressed a desire to have erected for himself a building of a particular design and cost, the firm at once complied with his wishes, the employé refunding the money expended for the same in easy payments. The dwellings are built of frame, brick or stone as desired. Owing to the rapidly increasing population of the village it was soon found that the old school building would not accommo- date the pupils, and the city erected a larger one. This, too, in a short time proved of insufficient capacity, and the Messrs. Disston, after failing in their efforts to secure an appropriation from the proper authorities for the purpose of erecting a building large enough, erected one themselves, the first floor of which was rented to the city for school purposes, while the second story was used as a library and lecture-room for the employés and residents.
The increasing business of the Messrs. Disston caused them to be cramped for room in their Laurel street works, and in 1872 buildings were erected near the river front of the property at Tacony for the manufacture of files and saw handles. These buildings have since been greatly enlarged, and extensive shops for manufacturing other lines of goods have also been erected there. Since Mr. Disston's death, which occurred March 16, 1878, from paralysis, the firm have established at Tacony an extensive steel rolling-mill and a large saw manufac- turing plant, and erected extensive works to supply the place with water; the total improvements costing something like $1,000,000, including culverts for draining and bulkheads at the river front for traffic by boat.
It is seldom that strangers interested in industrial matters visit Philadelphia who are not shown the Keystone Saw Works, for it is one of the enterprises in which the citizens at large feel a sort of personal interest, and to which they point with much local pride as one of the representative manufacturing estab- lishments of the city. In the great industrial displays which were made upon the occasions of the reception to General Grant in 1880 upon his return from his notable tour around the world, the celebration in 1882 of the Bi-Centennial of the founding of the city, and the Constitutional Centennial Celebration of 1887, no finer or more appropriate and instructive displays were made by any manu- facturing concern than by the firm of Henry Disston & Sons. Upon the occa- sion of the visit to Philadelphia of the delegates of the Pan-American Congress in the autumn of 1889 the members were taken, among other places, to the Key- stone Saw Works, and a practical illustration of the entire process of manufac- turing saws was given for their benefit. The visitors were divided into groups and escorted through the works, each party under the charge of one of the firm
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