History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 101

Author: Ashmead, Henry Graham, 1838-1920
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1150

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Combination Steel and Iron Company .- The main building, two hundred and eighty by eighty feet, with wing eighty by seventy feet, was erected in 1880, and operations commenced March 1, 1881. John Roach is president ; George E. Weed, secretary and treasurer; and C. A. Weed, general manager. The works contain eight heating.furnaces, a rail-mill with a capacity of producing thirty thousand tons of iron per annum, a twelve-inch bar-mill with capacity of producing six thousand tons per annum, and a twenty-inch mill for angle-iron of ten thousand tons' capacity per annum. One hundred and seventy-five men are employed.

Eureka Cast-Steel Company .- The works of this company are located on the corner of Broomall and Sixth Streets, South Ward, and were erected in 1877,

and commenced operations in September of that year. The area of the works is embraced in the limits of two hundred and two feet on Broomall Street, and two hundred and eighty-five feet on the line of the rail- road. The building is of L shape, has a frontage on Broomall Street of one hundred and thirty-two feet, and to the same extent is parallel with the Philadel- phia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, and in the narrowest part fifty feet wide. As it is divided, we may specify the main building as one-storied, forty- one feet over all in height; the machine-shop, eighty feet long and twenty-five feet wide, comprising the pattern-shop and pattern-safe. In the main building there are five furnaces,-four for annealing purposes and one for heating. These are, on an average, eleven by eleven feet in dimensions. The cupola, where the metal is heated, is forty-three feet in height, five feet in diameter, with a melting capacity of sixteen tons of iron. The planing-machine, used in the finishing of the casts, is the best adapted to the purpose yet in- vented. The vertical engine that supplies the power needed was built by Jacob Naylor, of Philadelphia, is of twenty-five horse-power, and is perfect and noiseless in its operations. It supplies the blast- works, the planing-machine, drill-press, rumblers, emery-wheels, grindstones, elevator, etc. The smoke- stack, connected with the annealing and heating fur- naces, is eighty-five feet in height, five feet in diame- ter, and on the north side of the building. Steel castings are manufactured solely. One hundred and twenty tons of raw material are used per month, and one hundred persons are employed. The officers of the company are John A. Emrick, president ; W. H. Dickson, secretary and treasurer; Frederick Baldt, superintendent.

Robert Wetherill & Co .- This firm originated in a copartnership of Robert and Richard Wetherill, Jan. 1, 1872. The property bounded by Sixth, Up- land, and Seventh Streets, two hundred and seventy by one hundred feet, was purchased and large build- ings were erected. The machine-shop is two stories in height and forty by eighty feet, with foundry at- tached one hundred by fifty feet, a boiler-shop one hundred by forty feet, with pattern loft one hundred by fifty feet. They have at present seven large build- ings, covering a square of ground. One hundred and fifty tons of pig-iron, seventy-five tons of plate, and twenty tons of wrought iron are monthly used in the manufacture of Corliss engines, boilers, shafting, and gearing. Two hundred and fifty men are employed, and monthly receive ten thousand dollars in wages. The works comprise machine-shops, smith-shop, foundry, boiler-shop, casting-house, pattern-shop, pattern store-house, store-rooms, and offices.

Chester Steel Casting Company .- This company was organized in 1870, and in 1871 erected at Sixth and Norris Streets a foundry two hundred feet in length by fifty feet in width, and other buildings cov- ering an area of two hundred and fifty square feet.

EUREKA CAST STEEL CO. STEEL CASTING'S.

EUREKA CAST STEEL COMPANY, MANUFACTURERS OF STEEL CASTINGS, CHESTER, PA.

COFLISS ENGINE QUILDERS

ASINIHOW

00 8 1197H43M 110M

SHION LJUSASIN

CORLISS ENGINE BUILDERS, BOILERS, SHAFTING, AND GEARING. ROBERT WETHERILL & CO., CHESTER, PA.,

405

THE CITY OF CHESTER.

The machinery consists of two engines with three boilers, a heating-furnace, and seven annealing fur- naces. The works were at first under the charge of Samuel Archbold, president of the company, assisted by Mr. McHaffy, a native of Glasgow, who was the patentee of a process of making steel, which this company are using. At present one hundred hands are employed under the charge of John J. Deemer.

The Phoenix Iron Works were established by James Massey, in 1867, at the corner of Seventh and Potter Streets. The main building is one hundred by fifty feet, two stories high, the foundry one hundred and ten by thirty feet. The goods manufactured are finishing machinery, fulling-mills, washing machines, tentering machines, stock-dryers, dyeing and sizing machines, broad looms, and gigs. The works are now owned by Thomas S. Hall.

The Chester Sugar-House. - In 1867, James Baker & Co. purchased five acres of land at the foot of Market Street, owned by Thomas I. Leiper, on which there were no buildings. Much of the land was a marsh, overgrown with reeds, which it was necessary to fill up a distance of twelve feet before it could be made practically useful.

Prior to the erection of the large building, piles had to be driven to secure a solid foundation for the structure. This was followed by the building of an extensive pier, and the dredgiug of the river to allow vessels of heavy draft to approach the wharf to un- load their cargoes. After the. erection of the first building additions were made thereto; all kinds of the best and most approved machinery were pur- chased, and the refinery was in every respect well equipped, the outlay, exclusive of the cost of the real estate, being over four hundred thousand dollars. In the summer of 1872 the firm suspended, and the re- finery passed into other hands. John H. Barton and Stephen C. Hall leased the works, and for a time manufactured low-grade sugars, but ultimately aban- doned the enterprise. The real estate is now owned by Mr. Folsom, of Philadelphia, and has been idle for several years.

Color-Works .- The Delaware County Iron-Works were established in 1850 by William Trout & Co. Land was purchased on Second Street below Market, by John M. Sharpless, and large buildings were erected in which the firm mentioned carried on a foundry and machine-shop for a time, when the property passed to other hands. On the 1st of Feb- ruary, 1881, it came into possession of H. C. Eyre & Co., who conducted the same business till the spring of 1884, when the works were leased to parties in Philadelphia, who are now refitting the buildings for the preparation and manufacture of pigment colors, printing varnishes, and refined oils.

The Chester Chemical Works were established about 1860 by Mr. McIntyre, and are now owned by George S. Coyne. Large buildings were erected at the foot of Market Street for the manufacture of mu-

riatic, nitric, and pyroligneous acids, ammonia, oxy- muriate of antimony, muriate and oxymuriate of tin, and muriate of iron. The stills for muriatic acid have a capacity of five thousand pounds per week, for nitric acid of one thousand pounds per week, for am- monia of two hundred pounds per day. Seven hun- dred barrels of Glauber salts are made annually from the residue left in the muriatic acid stills. Robert Lidstone is superintendent.

Taylor's Carriage-Works .- The business was es- tablished by Enos Taylor, grandfather of the present partners, early in this century. At that time chaises, gigs, riding-chairs, and sulkies were the principal manufacture. About 1830, Enos Taylor built a sulky for a naval officer, who took it to South America as a present to a person there to whom he was under obli- gations. The vehicle was so highly esteemed among the wealthy residents of Valparaiso that Taylor re- ceived orders for a number of similar carriages, which were shipped thither. Joseph Taylor, his son, suc- ceeded him in 1832, continuing the business many years, and was succeeded by his sons, William and Edward C. Taylor, who still conduct it. It was first located at Fifth and Welsh Streets, later at Sixth and Pine Streets, and in 1874 removed to the corner of Twelfth and Edgmont Avenue, where they still are located.

Stark's Carriage-Works .- In 1871, I. P. Branin, who established carriage-works in Philadelphia in 1854, removed his business to Chester, at shops on the corner of Fifth and Welsh Streets, and in May, 1876, removed to Sixth and Pine Streets, where buildings, eighty by eighty-four feet, with an addition of forty by eighty feet, were built. Mr. Branin remained in business at this place till April, 1883, when he re- turned to Philadelphia.

In May, 1879, Davis & Stark established a carriage- factory at the corner of Fifth and Welsh. On the 1st of October in that year, Mr. Davis withdrew from the firm, and Mr. Stark continued the business at the same place until April 1, 1883, when he removed to the shops of I. P. Branin, corner of Sixth and Pine Streets, where he now is.

Ocheltree's Carriage-Works .- The works of Mr. Ocheltree were established on Edgmont Avenue below its present site in 1877. The increase of business de- manded greater facilities, and land was purchased in 1879, and the present building, one hundred and twenty by forty feet, two stories in height, erected on Edgmont Avenue above the post-office, and supplied with the best machinery for the manufacture of fine carriages.

Lukens' Grist-Mill .- L. L. Lukens & Co. began business on Sixth Street in 1877, and in June, 1879, removed to Seventh Street, below Edgmont Avenue. The mill is operated by a thirty horse-power engine. An elevator for unloading grain is in use. The mill has a capacity of thirty thousand bushels per an- num.

406

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

Stroud & Co.'s Planing-Mill .- In 1871, John H. Stroud and Robert Booth established the sash-factory on the south side of Front Street and Concord Ave- nue. The machinery consists of one engine and boiler. Fourteen men and two boys are employed at a monthly pay of six hundred dollars. Two hundred thousand feet of lumber is used per year. In 1876 the mill was destroyed by fire, and the firm then moved to their present location, corner Front and Concord Ave- nue. The main building is of brick, forty-five by forty feet, three stories, with a two-story engine-room, twenty-five by twenty feet, and a commodious office. The mill contains all the latest improved machinery.

Penn Street Planing-Mill .- In 1875, Henry M. Hinkson erected on Fourth and Penn Streets a two- story brick building, one hundred by forty feet, as a planing-mill and sash- and blind-factory, and rented it to Miller Cox, who began business Sept. 1, 1876, continuing it until May, 1881, when Mr. Hinkson established the present business at this mill. Eleven hands are employed, and one hundred thousand feet of lumber is used annually in the manufacture of sash, blinds, doors, and other building material.

Miller Cox's Sash-Mill .- The business was estab- lished by Miller Cox, Sept. 1, 1876, at the Penn Street Planing-Mill, and in April, 1881, he removed to the new mill at Seventh and Penn Streets. Fifteen men are employed, aud one hundred and fifty thousand feet of lumber is used annually in the construction of sash, doors, blinds, and other building material.

Hamilton's Box Factory. - A brick building, thirty by sixty, at the corner of Front and Franklin Streets was fitted with machinery for the mannfacture of boxes, and supplied with power from the Lilley Manufacturing Company adjoining. About fifty thousand feet of lumber is used per month. The fac- tory is occupied by John Hamilton.

Price's Brick-Yard .- In 1854, John C. and Wil- liam G. Price established a brick-yard on the site of the Yeadon Mills at the corner of Tenth and Upland Streets. About 1864, seven acres of land at Fifth and Parker Streets were purchased of William and Joshna P. Eyre. In 1879, while the firm were having clay dng on the lot at the northeast corner of Concord Ave- nue and Sixth Street, they uncovered the bottom of an old kilu, respecting which the oldest resident could give no information. The idea which prevails among many of our people that bricks in old dwellings in this city were of English make is entirely erroneous, for not two years after Penn's first coming, in a lease made by Robert Wade, of the Essex House, to Robert Goforth, dated March 12, 1684, part of the property leased is described as abntting on an old brick kiln, near Chester Creek. A careful examination of the locality shows that the old kilu unearthed was the' one mentioned in the lease, and without doubt the Hoskin-Graham house, Logan house, and others here, were built of brick from this yard. At the Price yard, at the present time, are manufactured thirty thousand

machine-made bricks per day. Three kilns are in use, and twenty men are employed.

The Delaware County Insurance Company .- In the winter of 1834-35, four gentlemen were accus- tomed to meet in a small frame store kept by Jona- than P. Newlin, on the west side of Ridley Creek, north of the Queen's highway, on the lands owned by Spencer MeIlvain. William Martin, Spencer Mc- Ilvain, John L. Crosby, and Jonathan P. Newlin were the four men who discussed at this meeting the need of a local insurance company, and finally they by the act of April 10, 1858, with others, were named commissioners to receive subscriptions for a company, which by the charter thus granted was termed "The Delaware County Insurance Company." Subscrip- tion-books were opened at the public-house of Isaac Hall in Nether Providence, and so eager were the substantial citizens of the county to invest in the en- terprise that on the day the subscriptions were re- ceived the crowd was so large that many persons " absolutely fought their way into the commissioner's rooms in their anxiety to obtain the stock."1

On July 27, 1835, the first board of directors, con- sisting of John P. Crozer, Joshua P. Eyre, John L. Crosby, Archibald T. Dick, Samuel M. Leiper, Charles Kelly, David Trainer, George Serrill, and John Ban- croft, met and elected George Serrill president and William Martin secretary. In the fall of this year the company began business, its office being in the double house at the northeast corner of Market Square, Chester, where it continued until 1837, when it was removed to the present "Stacey Mansion," on Market Street, south of Fourth. Here it continued until 1843, when it was determined to enlarge the business of the company and to remove its office to Philadelphia. To that end the act of Assembly, March 17, 1843, was procured, changing the title of the corporation to "The Delaware Mutual Safety Insurance Company," under which name, in Philadelphia, it became one of the most successful insurance institutions in the United States. The list of the presiding officers of the com- pany indicates that residents of the county of Dela- ware have always held a prominent place in its man- agement. George Serrill, the first president, was elected July 27, 1835; William Eyre, Jr., Sept. 5, 1842; William Martin, Jan. 3, 1844; Thomas C. Hand, Oct. 30, 1862. The latter is the only one in the list who was not from Delaware County. In the present board of directors, Hon. Edward Darlington, who was elected Sept. 5, 1842, still retains that office, and Spencer McIlvain, the only one of the four gen- tlemen who organized the movement in the country store in Ridley a half-century ago, is now living ; has been a director since Jan. 5, 1846.

The grandfather of Spencer McIlvain, who was of Scotch descent, resided in Ridley township, where he was an extensive and successful farmer. He

1 Martin's " History of Chester," p. 359.

Spencer M'Ilvain

407

THE CITY OF CHESTER.

married Lydia Bernard, of Chester County, and had children,-John, Jeremiah, Richard, Hugh, James, Lydia, Judith, and Margaret. Jeremiah, the father of the subject of this biographical sketch, was born in Ridley township, on the 29th of June, 1767, and mar- ried Elizabeth Spencer, of Bucks County, whose birth occurred Sept. 30, 1770. Their children were Lydia (Mrs. Edward H. Bonsell), Elizabeth (Mrs. Jacob Hewes), Spencer, John S., Jeremiah, Ann (Mrs. Levis Miller), Samuel, and several who died in childhood. Spencer, of this number, was born March 27, 1803, on the homestead in Ridley township. After such advantages of education as the vicinity afforded, he became a pupil of a school at Burlington, N. J., and on his return engaged with his father in various busi- ness enterprises. The saw-mill, the farm, and the tannery each received a share of his attention, though the former interest absorbed much of his time. In 1828, the year succeeding the death of his father, Mr. McIlvain married Miss Sarah Crosby, daughter of John and Sarah Crosby, of Ridley township. Their children are Henry, who married Miss Sally C. Pierson, of Philadelphia, and has two sons,-Ed- win and Henry,-and Ann E. (Mrs. Edward C. Diehl), of Philadelphia, whose children are Sallie M. D., Ella F., and Mary. Mr. McIlvain has spent much of his active life cultivating his farm, fattening cattle for the Philadelphia market, and working his stone-quarries. On the sale of his landed property, in 1872, he removed to his present residence in Ches- ter, which has since been his home. Here he has been identified with various business interests, as director of the Delaware County National Bank, and the Delaware Mutual Insurance Company, and in the erection of various mills and dwellings, giving an im- petus to the growth of the city. Mr. Mellvain was in early life a Whig, and on the organization of the Republican party joined its ranks. He has not sought office at its hands, though for a term was com- missioner of the county. He was educated in the religious faith of the society of Friends.

The Chester Mutual Insurance Company was in- corporated by the court of Delaware County, Feb. 26, 1874. The organization of an insurance company in Chester had been considered prior to this date, and as early as February, 1869, the charter for a stock com- pany had been obtained, but became void by reason of nou-user before Jan. 1, 1874. After that date the projectors of the stock company, together with other persons desiring the organization of an underwriting association on the mutual plan, formed the Chester Mutual Insurance Company, the original subscribers being John M. Broomall, William Booth, John Larkin, Jr., William Ward, John O. Deshong, George Broomall, David Trainer & Sons, Samuel Mont- gomery, Mortimer H. Bickley, George Baker, Wil- liam B. Broomall, Benjamin F. Baker, Perciphor Baker, Lewis & Parker, Lewis M. Larkin, B. Gartside & Sons, David S. Bunting, James Irving, Jonathan

and Charles D. Pennell, George M. Booth, Henry L. Donaldson, George M. Pardoe, Abraham Blakeley, and Morton & Black. The first meeting of the sub- scribers was held March 5, 1874, when a board of directors was elected, consisting of John Larkin, Jr., George Broomall, William Ward, J. Newlin Trainer, Mortimer H. Bickley, William Booth, Perciphor Baker, William B. Broomall, James Irving, George M. Pardoe, Benjamin Gartside, and William D. H. Serrill. Johu Larkin, Jr., was elected president, Mortimer H. Bickley, vice-president, and George M. Booth secretary and treasurer. The board of directors from that date to the present has been changed as follows : In 1877, John Sharpless was substituted in room of William Booth, who declined re-election ; in 1878, Frederick J. Hinkson in place of William Ward, who desired to retire from the board, and in the same year Jonathan Pennell succeeded to the place formerly held by George M. Pardoe ; 1880, Benjamin F. Baker was chosen to the seat made vacant by the death of Judge Hinkson ; 1881, Samuel A. Dyer was elected in the room of Perciphor Baker, deceased; in 1884, John Larkin, Jr., declined re- election, and Henry L. Donaldson was chosen in his stead, and the same year, Amos Gartside was elected in place of Benjamin Gartside, resigned. On Jan. 1, 1884, John Larkin, Jr., declined to continue to act as president, a position he had held since the organi- zation of the company, and Jonathan Pennell was elected to that office. At the first regular meeting of the directors, in 1874, it was decided that the company should effect insurance to the amount of one hundred and forty-six thousand dollars, and on April 1, 1874, the first policy was issued. A singular circumstance was that the first policy issued by the Chester Mutnal Insurance Company was to John M. Broomall, Jr., on stock in the building at the north west corner of Market Square, Chester, and the building was insured by his father, George Broomall, in the Delaware County Mutual Insurance Company, the policy being the first issued by the latter corporation in 1835. The business of the Chester Mutual has been almost exclusively confined to Delaware County, the risks judiciously dis- tributed, and the amounts limited, desiring to trans- act a safe rather than a large business. This policy gave the company credit in the beginning, and not only enabled it to accumulate a surplus fund suf- ficient to meet any ordinary demand but placed the Chester Mutual in good standing with the best simi- lar insurance companies in the State. When the com- pany was organized it occupied a part of the law- office of Ward & Broomall, but in October, 1875, it leased the back part of the building at the southeast corner of Market Square, where it continued until June, 1881, when it was removed to more spacious rooms in the front of the same building.

Chester Gas Company .- The project of lighting the city with gas had been agitated early in the year 1855, but for some reason the scheme failed to enlist

408

HISTORY OF DELAWARE COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

the approval of capitalists at its inception. The con- stant references in the newspapers to the advantages which must follow the use of a better means than oil-lamps for furnishing light to the large manufac- turing establishments which were then located in the borough, directed public opinion so favorably to the scheme that on April 4, 1856, the Chester Gas Com- pany was incorporated, and William Bucknell, of Philadelphia, assumed the responsibility of erecting the works on the east side of Welsh Street, and laying the pipes in the streets. So rapidly was the enterprise carried forward that on Sept. 19, 1856, for the first time gas was used in the town of Chester. This statement, however, applied to that furnished by a company for general consumption, for several years before that date John M. Broomall had used private gas-works to light his dwelling on Penn and Second Streets. The officers of the company from the date of incorporation have been as follows :

Presidents .- 1856, John M. Broomall; 1858, John Larkin, Jr .; 1859, Frederick Fairlamb; 1870, Jona- than R. Johnson.

Secretaries .- 1856, Frederick Fairlamb, until 1859, when the offices of secretary and treasurer were con- solidated, one person being elected to discharge their duties.

Treasurers .- 1856, William Eyre, Jr .; 1857, John Larkin, Jr .; 1858-59, John H. Baker; 1865, John O. Deshong, Jr., who resigned on June 5, 1882, and J. Howard Roop was elected treasurer and secretary.

Within recent years the works have been largely increased by the erection of additional gasometers, and many miles of service-pipe have been laid. The mills, many dwellings, and stores in Upland are sup- plied with gas from these works.

Farmers' Market Company .- About the middle of the last century-for in 1745 an ancient deed men- tions "the proposed market-place"-the old market- house in the square at the intersection of Market and Third Streets was built. It stood on a brick platform about fifty feet in length, extending along Market Street, and thirty in breadth, surrounded by curb- stones. The roof was supported by seven brick pillars on each side, and between the third and fourth columns, on the east and west side, were small arches, while the ceiling was arched, plastered, and covered with a shingle roof. About 1830 a frame structure was erected over the market-house, which was used as a town hall, and was reached by a wooden stair- way on the east side of the building. In the spring of 1857 the old building was taken down, and in May of the same year Joshua P. and William Eyre, Jr., built a market-house back of National Hall, on Edg- mont Avenue. As the city grew the demand for a commodious market-place became so pressing that in the spring of 1868 an association was formed under the title of "Farmers' Market Company of Chester." A lot extending from Fourth to Fifth Street, in the rear of the old prison and court-house, was purchased

from John Cochran, stock to the amount of eighteen thousand dollars subscribed for, and the present market building erected, which was opened for the sale of provisions on Dec. 11, 1868. The cost of the lot and building amounted to twenty-six thousand dollars. The first officers of the company were John G. Dyer, president; Benjamin F. Baker, secretary ; and Frederick J. Hinkson, Sr., treasurer. The pres- ent officers are as follows : President, Lewis Palmer ; Secretary and Treasurer, Edmund Jones; Super- intendent, Edward Jones; Directors, Lewis Palmer, George Trimble, H. L. Paschall, William Sharpless, Samuel H. Wells.

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History of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, Part 101

Author: Ashmead, Henry Graham, 1838-1920 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L.H. Everts Number of Pages: 1150

Author: Ashmead, Henry Graham, 1838-1920
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : L.H. Everts
Number of Pages: 1150