USA > Pennsylvania > Encyclopedia of contemporary biography of Pennsylvania, Vol. II > Part 6
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Allan & Hold hung REngraving C MY
Thomas & Lasken aged 90 Es.
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Mr. Potter was baptized in the Episcopal Church, but when a young man became a Presbyterian ; yet all through his life he was very catholic in his religious belief; with him the name signified but little; the life everything. In early life he con- nected himself with the Presbyterian Church at Seventeenth and Filbert Streets (Dr. Gilbert's) and in a few years was made a Ruling Elder, and Super- intendent of the Sunday-school; both of which positions he held for many years. He was subse- quently, with M. M. Baldwin, Esq., and others of Philadelphia, the founders of the Presbyterian Church at Broad and Green Streets (Dr. Adams'). He was always distingnished as a cheerful and earn- est worker, a most liberal giver and a man of singu -. lar purity of life.' In late years it was his custom to frequently address his workmen and their famil- ies, in the Lyceum at Franklinville, on both moral and religions subjects. Until his death he was an active member, Ruling Elder and Sunday-school teacher in the Presbyterian Church at Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.
THOMAS T. TASKER, SR.
THOMAS TAYLOR TASKER, Sr., retired iron master of Philadelphia, and probably the oldest living business man in the State, and well known as a citizen of Philadelphia, was born at Nottingly, Yorkshire, England, May 12, 1799, and came to America in 1819. He was the eldest of the nine children of William Tasker and Mary Taylor his wife, both respected residents of Nottingly, at which place William Tasker combined the callings of school-teacher and land surveyor. His educa- tion was carefully supervised by his parents, and al- though it closed when he was bnt fourteen years old it had already advanced to a point much farther than is usual with boys of that age. The trade of iron and coppersmith caught the boy's fancy, and after leaving school he was dnly apprenticed to it for the regular term of seven years. At the expiration of his time he concluded to try his fortunes in the New World, and bidding good-bye to his relatives and friends, he took passage in the ship "Triton" from the port of Hull, and on the fourth of June, 1819, landed in Philadelphia, his capital at the time con- sisting of a fair English education, a sonnd consti- tution and a thorough knowledge of a good trade- no mean equipment for the battle of life in his new home. His first employment was as a skilled workman in a stove manufactory. in Philadelphia. In 1820, having acquired some little knowledge of
the ways and customs of the country, he opened a modest establishment of his own at Westchester, Pennsylvania, which he conducted for about three years. In 1824 he removed to Philadelphia and al- most immediately obtained employment in the es- tablishment of Stephen P, Morris, which had been founded in 1821. The principal idca of Mr. Morris at the time of starting his business was to make and sell grates adapted for the burning of anthracite coal, which had then but just been introduced as a fuel. The experiment proved a successful one, and a large amount of other manufacturing was done in addition. In 1828, seeking the facilities that were necessary to meet the increasing demand for his wares, Mr. Morris removed from his old placc at Sixteenth and Market Streets to new shops which he had erected on the east side of Third Street, be- tween Walnut and Pear Streets. Here a general foundry business was conducted, together with the manufacture of grates, heaters, ranges and stoves as specialties. Mr. Tasker, being an expert de- signer and mechanic, was placed in full charge of the mechanical department of the business at the outset, and in 1831 was admitted to partnership with his employer, who took into the firm at the same time his own brother, Henry Morris, who had previously attended to the books and shipping of goods. After a few years of constantly increasing success the head of the firm retired from business, selling out his interest to another brother, Wistar Morris, who had been with the firm some time in a clerical capacity. The firm now consisted of Henry Morris, Thomas T. Tasker and Wistar Morris, and adopted the style of Morris, Tasker & Morris. About this time illuminating gas, which had al- ready demonstrated its usefulness and become popular in England, was being introduced into Philadelphia, and a sudden demand sprang up for cheap pipe for conveying gas through various manufactories and dwellings. Prior to this time pipe suitable for the purpose had been made by hand and was very expensive. In the emergency old gun barrels were in part employed, which were screwed together on the ends, and made a very serviceable tubing for the purpose. But as the stock of old gnu barrels was soon exhausted a new means had to be devised. Mechanical genins soon brought forth machine-made bntt-welded pipe, in- vented in England; and the method of doing which being made known to Mr. Tasker, the firm finally adopted it and were for years the only makers of wronght-iron pipe welded by machinery, in the United States. The rapid growth of the demand for this piping and the normal increase in the sales of their manufactures, which now included tubes for
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
water, stcam locomotives, boilers, etc., as well as stoves, heaters, ranges and grates, and general cast- ings, made additional facilities necessary and the firm bought the square of ground now bounded by Tasker, Morris, Fourth and Fifth Streets, which was a portion of the old Morris property, owned in Revolutionary times by Captain Morris, who com- manded the First City Troop at the battle of Tren- ton, in 1776. Upon this ground, located in the Dis- trict of Southwark, the firm, in 1836, began building the Pascal Iron Works, to which, when completed according to the original intention, were added other buildings rendered necessary as the business grew in volume. In 1846 a large mill, four huu- dred feet long by eighty feet wide, was built front- ing on Morris Street, for the purpose of manufac- turing lap-welded tubes, which were intended for boiler tubes, aud for work where a greater steam or water pressure was used than butt-welded pipe could sustain. A few years later Mr. Wistar Morris retired from the firm, and Mr. Charles Wheeler and Mr. Thomas T. Tasker, Jr., were admitted to mem- bership in it, the firm name then becoming Morris, Tasker & Co. In 1856 Mr. Henry Morris retired, his interest passiug to his sou, Mr. Stephen Morris. Two years later Mr. Tasker also retired, and his in- terest was divided between his son, Mr. Thomas T. Tasker; Jr., already a member of the firm, and a younger son, Mr. Stephen P. M. Tasker, who then entered it. Shortly after this Mr. Henry G. Mor- ris succeeded to one-half of his father's (Henry Morris,) iuterest, which had been till then repre- sented by his brother, Mr. Stephen Morris. Mr. Charles Wheeler retired in 1864, and Mr. Heury G. Morris in 1869 ; and upon the death of Mr. Stephen Morris, which occurred in 1871, the interest of that gentleman was bought by the remaining partners, the two sons of the subject of this sketch. Busi- ness by this time had increased to enormous pro- portions, and the works gave steady employment to over two thousand men. Finally it became neces- sary to have railroad connections direct with the works, or to locate the heaviest portiou of the es- tablishment on the line of a railroad. The failure of the attempt to secure the passage of a bill in the Philadelphia City Councils, allowing a railroad con- nection to be built to Fifth and Tasker Streets, was followed by the erection of a mill at New Castle, Delaware, where adequate railroad and water fa- cilities were found. This mill, which was com- menced in 1872, and has a daily capacity of four hun- dred tons of finished tubes, was designed and con- structed under the management of Mr. Stephen P. M. Tasker, who, in 1876, became the head of the firm consequent upon the sale of his elder brother's
interest and the admission to membership of the purchasers, Mr. Charles Wheeler and Mr. T. Wistar Brown. In 1883 Mr. Wheeler died, and it became necessary to wiud up the business of the limited partnership at its termination, February 8, 1888. A corporation was then formed under the laws of Pennsylvania, which succeeded to the business, under the style of Morris, Tasker & Co., Iucor- porated. The mill at New Castle, Delaware, al- though necessarily under another organization, is owned principally by the stockholders of the Phila- delphia mill, and the two are run harmoniously. The present officers of the corporate company are Andrew Wheeler, President; Jonathan Rowland, Vice-President; T. Wistar Brown, Treasurer; H. C. Vansant, Secretary, aud Stephen P. M. Tasker, Consulting Engineer. Its manufactures are the same as formerly, and consist of lap-welded and butt-welded pipe, boiler tubes, gas and steam fit- tings, and all kinds of gas works machinery. A . general foundry and machine business is also done. The substratum of honesty and reliability upon which the business was founded, has cnabled a superstructure to be reared which is as a beacon- light to all who seek the real causes of success, and a noble and enduring monument to the integrity and capability of its worthy founders. Just pre- vious to retiring from active business as an iron- master, Mr. Tasker bought over four hundred acres of land in Ridley Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and until 1885 devoted his leisure to farming and the introduction and breeding of blood- ed stock, first making a specialty of Durham cattle and later of Ayrshires and Guernseys. This tract was divided into three farms, known respectively as the South Kedron, Middle Kedron and Roadside Farms. The latter he still retains, and with it his love for the peaceful pursuits of agriculture, in which, as in the more stirring channels of the iron industry, he has achieved notable success. With every incentive to enter politics Mr. Tasker has steadily turned his face from its allurements, pre- ferring to devote his whole energy to the develop- ment of the business in which he was engaged, and in which he was so competent and skillful. For- merly he was a Whig, but after the formation of the Republican party he took his place in its ranks and on national questions has since given it his cordial support. The opening of the Civil War found him ranged patriotically on the side of the Federal Gov- ernment, and throughout the struggle he was one of its most earnest lielpers and enthusiastic sup- porters. His services to the Union soldiers during the war are a matter of public record. He was one of the founders and the President of the Citizens
yours truly
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
Volunteeer Hospital at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Washington Avenne, established for the benefit of sick and wounded soldiers arriv- ing in Philadelphia. Under his administration this institution was conducted on a broad and hnmane basis, and the suffering Confederate soldiers as well as the sick and wounded of the Union troops here found the tenderest care. During the war the enormous number of two hundred thousand sick or wounded soldiers were received at this hospital, cared for during their stay, and forwarded to their destinations. The entire expense of supporting the institution was derived from voluntary contribu- tions mostly from citizens of Philadelphia. The need for the institution was so pressing and its usefulness so apparent that it remained to the last a favorite with people in all walks of life and, with the hospitality which is a proverbial characteristic of the Philadelphians in their treatment of strang- ers, was liberally sustained. Its affairs were so ad- mirably managed that when all need for it had ceased and it was discontinned there remained a balance of $6,000 in the Treasurer's hands, $4,000 of which was promptly turned over, in 1865, to the Soldiers' Orphans Asylum, in Washington, D. C. Mr. Tasker's co-operation has been freely given to other humane labors, both before and since. At the funeral of President Lincoln in Philadelphia he was appointed a pall bearer, and acted as such. The success which has rewarded his ability in business enabled him to gratify his Christian impulses as well as the humane promptings of his heart; and in the field of religious effort he is and long has been a liberal giver. Connected from early manhood with the Methodist Episcopal Church, he holds the position of elder, and exercises the functions of a local preacher in that denominational body. In the labors of tract distribution, church extension and church building he has taken a prominent part and rendered liberal assistance. He was one of the prime movers in founding the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church and several others. The Tasker Methodist Episcopal Church, at the corner of Fifth Street and Snyder Avenue, Phila- delphia, bears his name as an honor to him and in appropriate recognition of his services to the cause of religion. Mr. Tasker was scarcely of age when, on February 3, 1820, he married, in Wilmington, Delaware, Miss Elizabeth Hickman, a daughter of Joseph Hickman, of New Castle County, in the same State. His married life covered the unusually long period of fifty-seven years, and was blessed with nine children, of whom six survive. Mrs. Tasker was a woman of exalted nobility of charac- ter, and sincere piety. In the fullest and best
senses of the word she was a helpmeet to her hus- band, ably leading him in private deeds of charity and religion, and as ably seconding his own public labors in both these fields. She died in 1877, and was sincerely monrned, not only in her family, but in a wide circle in which hier merits were well known and warmly appreciated. Were there noth- ing else to draw attention to Mr. Tasker, his excel- lent health and marvellous activity of mind and body at the patriarchal age of ninety-one would in themselves be truly remarkable. Without any ap- pearance of the infirmities which man rarely es- capes after passing the limit of "three score and ten," he busies himself daily with his affairs and often gets through an amount of work between the rising and going down of the sun which would as- tonishi many a man much younger. Much of his vitality is doubtless inherited from a race of sturdy progenitors, but it cannot be denied that his even, temperate, and God-fearing life has had its influence in prolonging his years and preserving him in health and vigor to continue in works which will miss him when in the providence of God he shall be called to his reward.
HENRY DISSTON.
HENRY DISSTON, one of the most famous manufacturers of the age, and founder of the great saw and tool industry at Philadelphia and Tacony, was born at Tewkesbury, England, May 24, 1819, and died at his residence on Broad Street, Phila- delphia, March 16, 1878. He was a son of Thomas Disston, also of Tewkesbury, but subsequently of Derby, England, to which place the latter removed shortly after the birth of his son Henry. Thomas Disston was a man of superior mechanical and in- ventive skill. During his residence of fourteen years at Derby he was engaged principally in the manufacture of lace machines. As Henry grew up, the father, perceiving that he inherited mechanical genius, fostered it by affording the lad every oppor- tunity which would tend to develop it. He took him into his shops, instructed him in all that apper- tained to the manufactures conducted there, and also taught him the general principles of me- chanics. When Henry was fourteen years of age his father decided to emigrate to America and with his two children, the other being a girl of tender years, sailed for Philadelphia, reaching this port after a tedious passage of sixty days. Three days after landing Thomas Disston was stricken with apoplexy and died. In a strange land, and thus
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
suddenly bereft of support, protection, guidance and encouragement, and with a sister to look after, the lot of the orphaned emigrant boy was not an enviable one, to say the least. But eveu thus early he proved the stuff that was in him by seeking diligently for employment, which he found, after some difficulty, with the firm of Lindley, Johnson and Whitcraft, saw-makers, to whom he appren- ticed himself. His previous knowledge of me- chanics was of great service to him here, and by the time three or four years more had rolled over his head he had mastered all the details of the saw manufacture, which was then in a comparatively primitive state. When he was eighteen years of age the firm employing him failed, aud as they owed him some money for wages which they were unable to pay, the young workman took, instead of money, a small stock of unfinished briek-layers' trowels, which happened to be on hand. These he speedily brought to the finished state and from their sale realized his first eapital, about $350, with which he immediately embarked in business on his own aecount. His first establishment consisted of a room and basement in the vieinity of Second and Arch Streets, the room being used as the workshop, and the basement-in which he built the furnaee with his own hands-as the hardening depart- ment. The first barrow of eoal for the furnace was wheeled from the wharf at Willow Street by the enterprising young meehanie, who also made the tools used in his shop. It was uphill work at the start, but Mr. Disstou had true grit and by his un- conquerable energy he gradually overeame every obstaele in the way of sueeess. England at this time had almost a monopoly of the manufacture of saws, and although the manufacture of hand-saws had already been attempted in America, popular prejudice was against the domestic article, and those engaged in its produetion met with indiffer- ent sueeess. Probably the average workman did not eare to experiment with what may have been a lower grade of tool than he had been accustomed to, and being practical rather than patriotie, de- clined to use any save those of English manufae- ture, which experienee had taught him were per- feetly reliable. Mr. Disston was a thorough workman and he knew that if his saws were tested, they could not fail to give satisfaction, so he made a number of them and taking them with him as samples he went into the market and explained their merits and solieited orders for them. At the beginning his sueeess was far from gratifying and he easily made in three days of the week all that he took orders for during the other three. But he was hopeful and industrious, his produet was on trial,
and he was earning his living. In 1844 he was in- duced to occupy part of a building furnished with steam power, and with $200 borrowed from friends, he fitted up therein a new shop and thus estab- lished the first steam saw manufactory in Ameriea. From this building he was soon compelled to re- move through the chieanery of the person who had represeuted himself to be the owner of the premises, but who was in reality only the lessee and so far in arrears for rent that the Sheriff was ealled in by the real owuer. This offieer seized the property of the tenants and Mr. Disston, with the others, was put to serious annoyance, but le rose superior to his afflietions, and was soon again at work in a new shop. His sueeess, moderate as it was, immediately aroused the eupidity of his landlord, who doubled his rent. Mr. Disston would not submit to this un- just exaetion even if he could afford to, and he abandoned the premises. After several removals, the last being oeeasioned by the bursting of a boiler and destruction of his shop, he resolved to rent no more buildings, but to build and own a suitable structure for his business. This resolve was ear- ried out by the ereetion of a factory fifty by one hundred feet in dimensions, and four stories in height, which was the nueleus of the present ex- tensive works at Front and Laurel Streets,-the Taeony establishment, which is now mueh the larger, being founded subsequently. The saws turned out at the Disston works were found to be superior to any other home-made produet and to rival the best imported, and yet prejudiee was so firmly rooted that their sale even after long trial was in no wise proportioned to their admitted merit. By persistenee in the invention of new and more perfect forms, and the employment of labor- saving machinery, the saws were made even more desirable and were also offered at a still lower priee. By degrees new markets were conquered; and it is a fact that when one had been gained it was never lost. Mr. Disston had his business so well in hand when the panie of 1857 oeeurred, that he scareely felt its evil effects. He feared at first the effects of the Civil War, but even this long and bloody struggle, while it deranged for several years the or- dinary business of the country, gave an impetus to certain kinds of manufacturing, in the advantages of which Mr. Disston shared. With marvellous foresight he prepared to manufacture military ac- eoutrements, and in a short time received large orders for this class of goods, which he readily turned out at his factory. During the war he testi- fied his devotion to the Union in a variety of ways. He sent twenty-five men to the army fully equipped and paid their wages, just the same as though they
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CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY OF PENNSYLVANIA.
were working for him, all the time they were in the service ; and, what is more, he kept their places open for them should they desire to resume work with him on their return. In this contingent marched his own son, Hamilton, as a private sol- dier. His purse was open to every call made upon it in the interest of the Union soldiers, and he was prominent and a liberal contributor in aiding to maintain that bounteous hospitality whichi dis- tinguished Philadelphia during the war and won for her citizens the everlasting gratitude of "the boys in blue." In 1862 Mr. Disston went into the manufacture of stecl, adding a rolling mill to his establishment for its production. Although his works were destroyed by fire in 1864, the establish- ment was in running order again, ten days after the conflagration, in temporary buildings. On rebuilding he concluded to enlarge his facilities, and, purchas- ing an adjoining lot, erected additional structures which enabled him to double his production. Mr. Disston found abundant and profitable exercise for his inventive genius in devising new improvements in saws and in getting up combination tools, the latter being so useful that they found a ready sale in the most distant parts of the world, particularly in new countries. He was the first manufacturer in America to make his waste steel into ingots. Pre- vious to this all waste had been shipped to England for this purpose. The saving effected by this inno- vation was quite a material one. In 1874 a file factory was established at Tacony to supply the saw-works with files. These tools soon found their way into general use, and as they were of most excellent quality a demand for them sprang up, and now large quantities of them are sold annually and their production is a prominent feature of the busi- ness. At Tacony also are manufactured the brass and wood work for the numerous other tools turned out in the city establishment at Front and Laurel Streets. An important manufacture of the estab- lishment is sheet steel, of which as much as one hundred tons have been produced in a single week, the average production being about eighty tons, most of which is used in the manufacture of saws and tools. The extent and variety of his manufac- tures enabled Mr. Disston to make a most notable display of tools at the Centennial Exhibition, for which he was awarded a bronze medal. By de- grees all prejudice, both native and foreign, against Mr. Disston's products was overcome, and they were shipped to the most distant parts of the earth, wherever they went competing successfully with those of European manufacture. The saws are now regularly exported to Great Britain and her Colonies and indeed to every quarter of the globe.
The chief agencies at the present time are at Lon- don, San Francisco and Chicago. The works now cover twenty-four acres of ground, some sixteen of which are at Tacony and the remaining eight at Front and Laurel Streets. The name of Disston is now honorably known in every land, and the merit of the firm's productions, from the greatest to the least, reflects the highest honor not only upon the house but also upon the country and especially upon the city of Philadelphia. The achievement of Mr. Disston ranks as one of the most remarkable € in the history of American manufactures, and is a lasting testimony to the skill, perseverance and in- domitable pluck of the founder of this great indus- try, which in itself is the grandest monument that could be reared in his honor. No citizen of Phila- delphia had its interests more closely at heart than Mr. Disston. His great heart regarded all his fellow-citizens as brothers, and if he made any dis- tinction it was in regarding his employes as if they were his children. He was a man of a deep relig- ious and charitable nature and while his creed was that of the Presbyterian Church, of which he was a beloved and honored member, his sympathies and assistance went out to all struggling religious and benevolent organizations, and his purse was never shut upon a worthy appeal, whatever its source. He was so liberal and just in all his dealings with his workmen that the relations between them were uninterruptedly harmonious, and he had the affec- tion as well as the respect of every man in his ex- tensive establishment. Winter after winter for many years Mr. Disston furnished a bountiful sup- ply of warm food to the poor in his neighborhood, of which all might claim a goodly portion without question or comment. He was known to be so thoroughly in earnest in his desire to help and be of service that the most sensitive who were in want felt no hesitancy in partaking of his bounty. He main- tained a private dispensary for the poor at his own cost, and thereby alleviated much suffering which might not otherwise have been reached. His gifts to the cause of religion in itself were most generous, but always unostentatious. The Oxford Presby- terian Church was founded largely if not wholly through his generous gifts. St. George's Society, of which he was a member, was one of his favorite organizations, and to all its funds and entertain- ments he was a liberal subscriber. He was con- nected besides with the Masonic Order and took a warm interest in its work and proceedings. Among the corporate offices he held was that of Trustee of the Presbyterian Hospital, and in the institution he was deeply interested. His wide-spread popularity, as well as his useful and most honorable life, would
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