History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 134

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534

USA > Pennsylvania > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania > Part 134

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88,500

574

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

The following table exhibits the manufacturing statistics of Montgomery in comparison with those of the six adjoining counties :

were bought in by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad Company. The property was purchased by la company of Norristown gentlemen, who were

Average number of hands employed

COUNTIES.

Establishments.

Capital.

Males above 16 year's,

Females above 15 years.

Children and youths.

Total amount paid in wages during the year.

Materials,

Products.

Montgomery

$13,789,401

7,459

3,073

1,107

$1,5.1,208

$13,189,707

$20,656,993

Philadelphia

8,567

1×7,148,857

113,075

56,818

1.5,634

64,265,966

199, 155,477

324,342,935

Bucks .

591

3,039,014

2,334

926

349

904,915

4,033, 627

6,208,209

Berks

1,044

12,522,140

8,307

890

811

3,077,919

13,020,331

20,143,164

Chester

737

0,411,853

4,141

289

331

1,749,350

6,674,978

10,404,331

Delaware

410

14,256,720

6,509

2,885

1,788

3,839,538

11,202,964

19,601,493

lwhigh

473

12,850,472

4,790

570

377

1,690,776

9,352,199

14,097,475

NORRISTOWN.

NORRISTOWN IRON. WORKS, James Hooven &

Son .- This is the largest industry in Norristown, covering four acres of ground. fronting four hundred feet on Washington Street, and running back thence to the river Schuylkill. It had its origin in 1846, the pioneers being Moore & Hooven. In 1854, Mr. Moore retired, leaving the business in the hands PENNSYLVANIA TACK-WORKS .- These works, now of national reputation, are located on Stony Creek, and were established in 1866 by Captain C. P. Weaver, who is still the mainspring and master-spirit of the business. In 1871 the name of the firm was changed of Mr. Hooven, who has increased the productive capacity of the mill from two thousand five hundred to five thousand tons of finished work per annum. In 1870 he erected a blast furnace in connection with the rolling-mill, and in 1878 erected mills for the ' to C. P. Weaver & Co., and the buildings which they manufacture of wrought-iron pipe. The power is derived from seven engines and twenty-two boilers, of a combined power of five hundred horses. 'There are six double puddling and three heating furnaces. Two hundred and fifty hands are employed in the works; the pay-roll amounts to five thousand dollars a week, and the value of the property is estimated at five hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

PLATE-IRON MILLS, J. H. BOONE, PROPRIETOR .- These mills are situated on the Schuylkill River, close to the Reading Railroad track, on Washington Street, opposite Markley Street. The buildings were erected in 1850 by General William Schall, who operated them successfully for several years. In 1880, Mr. J. H. Boone purchased the property, rebuilt the mill in the most substantial manner, and fitted it up with new and improved machinery. There are three engines, of one hundred and twenty, forty and thirty horse-power, and five boilers. The mills are devoted to the manufacture of plate-iron, the capacity being about five thousand tons a year of finished iron. Nearly a hundred hands are employed at the mills, and over one thousand dollars a week are distributed in wages. The mills are in a very prosperous condition.

STANDARD IRON-WORKS (Limited) .- These works are situated in the lower section of the borough, and were built by the late General William Schall in 1863. They were afterwards sold to Samuel Fulton, of Conshohocken, and being put up at sheriff's sale, incorporated under the title of the Standard Iron Company (Limited), of which Colonel John W. Schall is the president. The mill and lot are about four hundred feet square, with eleven double puddling furnaces, one one hundred horse-power engine and

one fifty horse-power engine, with boilers to match. The capacity is about ten thousand tons of muck-bar per annum ; when in full operation, one hundred and twenty hands are employed; over sixty thousand dollars a year are paid out in wages. The value of the plant is about seventy thousand dollars, and is located on Washington Street, near Ford Street bridge.

now occupy were ereeted, making additions from time to time as the pressure of business increased. No. I building, filled with new and improved nail and taek- machines, has a frontage of thirty feet on Ann Street and one hundred feet on Markley, part three stories in height and part two stories; No. 2 building is twenty-five by seventy feet, No. 3 is twenty-five by seventy feet, No. 4 is thirty by seventy-eight feet, in which buildings the different processes of bluing, pickling, slitting, annealing and packing are carried on, with a large store-house for the materials required in the manufacture. Over seventy hands are employed, the pay-roll amounting to nearly $2,000 monthly.

Fifteen tons of finished work are produced per week, embracing fully two thousand grades of taeks and nails. These works are amongst the foremost on this continent, are in a most flourishing condition and are estimated in value at about one hundred and seventy- five thousand dollars. The goods manufactured at the Pennsylvania Tack-Works have not only a na- tional reputation, but are exported to England, Ger- many, Russia, China, Australia and other parts of the civilized world. In 1873 a stock company was organized under a charter of the Legislature, with a capital of $100,000, and the present name assumed. The president is J. K. Ralston ; the treasurer and superintendent is Captain C. P. Weaver.

CAPTAIN CHARLES P. WEAVER is the son of Ran- som and Mary Ilogan Weaver, of Pultney, Steuben Co., N. Y., his paternal ancestry being English and his maternal ancestors of Irish and Holland descent. He was born on the 8th of August, 1828, and early evinced a marked predilection for the sea. He embarked at the age of fifteen, and for six years

375

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

acted as sailor, the following nine having been spent This officer burned the vessel and cargo, and landed Captain Weaver, his family and crew at Bahia, Brazil. The loss he sustained was subsequently re- paid him on the adjustment of the " Alabama " claims. At the conclusion of this episode in his career he decided to abandon a seafaring life, and in 1865 made Norristown his home, establishing at that point the as a subordinate officer and eight as a captain. The first ten years of his nautical life were devoted to the European trade, sailing to and from Great Britain and ports on the Continent. Later he made long voyages, having been five times round Cape Horn en route for California. He also made four trips to the East Indies, on which occasions he was several times | Pennsylvania Taek-Works. Their success was at once

wrecked. During his life as a mariner Captain Weaver visited, with the exception of the Dutch and Baltic ports, all the principal sea-marts in the world. He was for several years master and part owner of the clipper ship "Edwin Flye," as also captain of the "Flying Eagle" and the bark "Columbia." While sailing the bark "Union Jack" he was eap- tured by the rebel pirate Semmes, of " Alabama" fame.

confirmed, and a demand created that necessitated removal into more spacious quarters, which he en- larged and refitted. Captain Weaver married, in 1855, Miss Margaret H., daughter of Morton and Priscilla Pratt, of Weymouth, Mass. Their two sons, Henry P. and George N., are both associated with their father in the management of the tack-works. The captain is a publie-spirited citizen, with benevo-

576

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

lent instincts, which lead him to participate with heart and hand in carrying on good works. He affiliates with the Republican party in politics, but frequently votes independently, having been in 1882 a member of the Independent State Committee. Aside from his Norristown enterprise, he is identified with the Central Manufacturing Company of Boston as a direc- tor. Captain Weaver is a member of the First Presby- terian Church of Norristown, and an active member of the Young Men's Christian Association, of which he was president and to which he was a generons donor.

THE GLOBE TACK-WORKS .- These works are located on Oak Street, near Arch Street, in the borough of Norristown, and were established by Messrs W. E. Thomas and M. Kenworthy, January, 1844, under the firm-name of Thomas & Kenworthy. The main building fronts on Oak Street thirty-five feet, with a depth of one hundred and twenty-five feet, two stories in height. Attached to or surround- ing the main building are an iron-house, twenty- eight feet by eighty feet ; a pickling-house, eighteen by twenty-four feet, and an engine and boiler-house, twenty-four by thirty-two feet. In this latter build- ing is a thirty horse-power engine and a forty horse- power boiler, which furnish the motive-power. There are thirty tack-making machines, and over thirty hands employed in the mill, manufacturing about one ton of finished tacks per day, ranging in size from a tack one-thirty-second ofan inch to two and one-half inches in length, including between these extremes over seven hundred varieties. The monthly pay-roll of the hands averages fifteen hundred dollars.

THE EAGLE WORKS, R. S. NEWBOLD & SON .- This old-established firm is famous as founders, engine- builders, machinists and manufacturers of rolling-mill and blast-furnace machinery, rotary shears, saw and grist-mill machinery, boilers and every description of iron and brass castings. The old building, erected by Thomas Saurman in 1839, is still in use by the present firm. It was built for the manufacture of mill ma- chinery upon a very small scale, and was run by the proprietor with a few apprentices, with the occasional help of a journeyman or two.

The works were bought by R. S. Newbold in 1861, and up to 1867 the firm was in his name. At the last-named date his son, John D. Newbold, became a partner, and the firm has been R. S. Newbold & Son, although the senior member of the firm has been dead for some years. Since 1861 the establishment has increased in size, capacity and importance, until to- day it has a national reputation. The frontage on Washington Street is two hundred and sixty feet, with a depth of three hundred and fifty feet, extending to the Schuylkill River.

The buildings are as follows: No. 1 is the main building, a machine-shop, thirty-five by one hundred and thirty feet, fitted up in the best style with all the modern inventions and appliances known to this branch of mechanics. It is three stories in height.

No. 2 is the foundry, fifty by ninety feet, in which castings of 16,000 pounds are frequently made.

No. 3 is the boiler and blacksmiths' shop, thirty-five by one hundred and ten feet, also fitted up with every appliance and convenience for work.

No. 4 is the pattern store-house, fifty by one hun- dred feet, in which is kept thousands of dollars' worth of valuable patterns from which castings are made. When in full operation there are about seventy men employed and $35,000 a year paid outin wages.

Some enormous contracts of heavy and complicated machinery have been filled at the Eagle Works. The large five hundred horse-power blowing-engine of the new furnace of the Merion Iron Company, J. B. Moor- head & Co., at West Conshohocken, was made here. All the machinery for the boiler-plate mills of the Pottstown Iron Company, of the Plymouth Rolling- Mills, Fulton's and Alan Wood & Co.'s mills, of East Conshohocken, were made at the Eagle Works. They produced the machinery used in Marshall & Brothers' rolling-mills, Philadelphia, and those for a large iron- works in Duchess County, N. Y. They made three large blowing-engines for Morris, Tasker & Co., of New Castle, Del. The firm has been the first to make a machine successful in the manufacturing of asphalt paving-blocks, producing a pressure of one hundred tons on each block. They have a specialty for this, and ship their machines to New York, Baltimore, Chicago and New Orleans, where this description of pavement is coming into extensive use. This gives name and reputation to our local mechanics, for which they deserve the highest credit. One million five hundred thousand pounds of finished work are pro- duced here annually, and the value of the works, stock included, is abont one hundred thousand dollars.

ROBERT CASCADEN .- Robert Cascaden, the grand- father of the subject of this biographical sketch, was a native of Drum Connaer, County Donegal, Ireland, and followed the fortunes of the sea as captain of a sailing- vessel. He emigrated to America prior to the war of 1812, in which he participated. He married Mary Cascaden, whose only child was a son Thomas, born in Drum Connaer, where he was engaged in agricultural pursuits. Thomas married Betty Long, and had chil- dren-Robert, George, Alexander, Thomas, James and Isabella. Mr. Cascaden came to America in 1855, where he was actively employed for many years. His son Robert was born in Drum Connaer, County Donegal, Ireland, on the 27th of October, 1825, and in 1847 sailed from Londonderry for the United States, having in his native country received such an education as the common schools afforded. On his arrival he found employment in the coal-mines situ- ated in Schuylkill County, Pa., after which he re- moved to New York City and engaged in the labor incident to boiler-making, where he remained seven years. Having become proficient in this department of mechanics, he made Philadelphia his residence, his skill readily commanding a lucrative position as

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

577

foreman of the calking department in the Baldwin Locomotive-Works. In 1869 he removed with his family to Norristown, and assumed charge of the Norris Works. He later accepted and still fills the position of foreman in connection with the Eagle Works, located in that borough, having exclusive charge of the boiler department of that establishment. Mr. Cascaden has for some years been an influential representative of the principles of the Republican party. He has been for ten years an active member of the Borough Council. In his religious convictions he is a Methodist, and member of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Norristown.

established in 1836 by the senior member of the firm, and at first only manufactured stage-coaches. They belong to a family famous for scientific mechanical ingenuity, of which the celebrated astronomer, David Rittenhouse, of Norriton township, was a distin- guished member. In 1878, Mr. Rittenhouse admitted his sons into partnership, under the firm-name of C. Rittenhouse & Sons. Their establishment is on Main Street, having a frontage of fifty feet and a depth of three hundred feet. They manufacture agricultural implements, iron and brass castings, horse-power threshers, feed-cutters, corn-shellers, and do all kinds of mechanical work, both new and repairing. They em-

Robert Cascader

THE STAR GLASS-WORKS, J. M. ALBERTSON & ploy thirty hands all the year round, and have recently SONS .- The manufacture of glass was introduced into : added a new and extensive foundry, which will ma- Norristown by a Philadelphia company about the terially increase their facilities for production. year 1868. The enterprise was a failure in their hands, but in 1870 the plant was purchased by J. M. Albertson, banker, of Norristown, and has been a success under his management. The first year five pots were run. There are now twenty pots running, giving employment to about one hundred and forty hands. The buildings, six in number, front on the Norristown Branch of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The grounds, four acres in extent, lie between the railroad and the river Schuylkill.

CHRISTOPHER RITTENHOUSE .- Henry Rittenhouse, the grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, resided in Worcester township, Montgomery Co. By his marriage to Miss Sophia Ernhart were born children,-Christopher, William, Wilhe- mina, David, Joseph and Henry. David, who settled in Norriton township as a prosperous farmer, married Rachel Zimmerman, daughter of Wm. Zimmerman, and had children,-Charlotte, Susan (Mrs. Joseph Ernhart, deceased), William, Christopher, Sophia

RITTENHOUSE & SONS .- This well-known firm was | (Mrs. John Shannon), Henry and David (deceased)

578

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

Christopher Rittenhouse was born on the 1st of February, 1806, in Norriton township, and spent his boyhood upon the farm of his father, where he en- joyed such limited opportunities of education as were obtainable in the country at that early date. Ile preferred a trade to the life of a farmer, and learned that of a wheelwright and coach-maker at Jefferson- ville, on the completion of which he removed to Ger- mantown township, and for eight years found steady employment. He was, in 1835, married to Catharine, daughter of George Markle, of Roxborough, Philadel- phia Co. Their children are Mary (Mrs. John C. Sny- der), Charles M., George M., William Henry, Char-

Mr. Rittenhouse interests himself no further in the political events of the day than to vote the Republican ticket, his life having been devoted to mechanical labor. He is a supporter of the Protestant Episcopal Church, his family being among the congregation of St. John's Church of that denomination in Norris- town.

PENN BOILER-WORKS .- J. & G. Gibbons have established the above-named works in the old Norris Works machine-shops, and have fitted up the place admirably for the manufacture of boilers. They are practical workmen, and during the seven years in which they have been engaged in the busi-

Christer Rittenhouse

lotte, Ella and Frank. Mr. Rittenhouse, in 1836, removed to Norristown, and pursued his trade until 1852, when a wider field was opened in the manufae- ture of threshing-machines. He associated with hin in this enterprise a partner, whose interest he soon after purchased and became sole owner. Finding that his productions by their superior quality com- manded a ready market, he, in 1861, erected his present capacious and convenient shops, and having enlarged the business, engaged in the general manufacture of machinery for all purposes. His sons, all of whom are practical machinists, were some years sinee ad- mitted to the firm, and the business is now con- ducted under the name of C. Rittenhouse & Sons.

ness they have increased their trade and made a good reputation for their work. They are located well, close to the Reading Railroad track, at the corner of Washington Street. They employ abont six hands, and are rapidly extending their business.

ENTERPRISE FOUNDRY AND MACHINE-SHOP, JOHN F. ELLIOTT, PROPRIETOR .- These works are lo- cated at the corner of Main and Ford Streets, and were erected by the proprietor in the fall of 1879. The foundry has a frontage on Main Street of forty feet and a depth of sixty feet, two stories in height. The machine-shop is twenty by forty feet. There are from eight to ten hands employed, and abont nine tons of raw material are used every week. About five

xo ane

579

MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.

thousand dollars a year are paid in wages, and the plant is worth in the market about twenty thousand dollars.

THE NATIONAL GAS-WORKS .- Professor T. S. C. Lowe established these works some years ago in Nor- ristown. The experiment was tried to introduce gas made from water, for lighting and heating purposes, into Norristown, and a building was erected near the corner of De Kalb and Washington Streets for the pur- pose of manufacturing gas on Professor Lowe's patent. A company was formed and many hundred feet of pipes laid down, but the project failed. Professor Lowe next established a foundry and machine-shop for the manufacture of the engines, retorts, tanks, etc., required in his business, on the lot formerly occupied by George Zinnel as a coal-yard, on Lafayette Street, and extending the entire depth of the block to Main Street, where the offices are located. About a dozen hands are employed at the works. A foundry in con- nection with the works was built in the Fifth Ward, near the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, but it has not been in operation for some years.

THADDEUS S. C. LOWE, of Norristown, the distin- guished aeronaut, scientist and inventor, was born August 20, 1832, at Jefferson, N. H., and is the son of Clovis and Alpha Greene Lowe, of that town. His mother was a daughter of Thomas Greene, and on both sides the ancestry claims to be of the early Pilgrims, who came from England in the seventeenth century. Mr. Lowe enjoyed only common-school instruction in early life, but soon found himself drawn, as by an irresistible force, to chemistry, natural philosophy and kindred studios. At a very early age, therefore, he turned his attention to aerostatics and ballooning as a specialty.

When a young man he studied medicine, but instead of practicing the same, was engaged in chemi- cal and scientific matters for several years, till 1855. In that year, while residing in New York, he was married to Miss Leontine Gachon, who had been born and educated in Paris, France. Very soon after, in 1857, he commenced to study aeronautics, and made numerous aerial voyages in different parts of the coun- try, his first one being from Ottawa, Canada, in 1858, in celebration of the laying of the first Atlantic cable. In 1859 he constructed the largest aerostat ever built, or probably ever will be; it was intended for voyages across the ocean, which he estimated could be done in less than three days by taking advan- tage of the ever-constant eastward current, which he had discovered to always prevail in all the numerous voyages he had made previous to that time. This he did to in some way compensate for the tem- porary failure of the Atlantic cable, which was to endeavor to communicate more rapidly than by steam- ers, which in that day were quite slow compared with the present. This aerostat was one hundred and fifty feet perpendicular diameter by one hundred and four feet transverse diameter, the npper portion being

spherical. When fully inflated with hydrogen, its atmospheric displacement would give a lifting force of twenty-two and a half tons. It had for its outfit, besides a ear with all the necessary scientific instru- ments, provisions, ete., a complete iron life-boat, schooner-rigged, much larger than several that bave successfully crossed the ocean since. The gas envelope weighed of itself over two tons, while the net-work and other cordage weighed about one and a half tons. It was quite late in the autumn before this monarch of bal- loons was completed. Professor Lowe procured the site of the New York Crystal Palace, which had been destroyed by fire, aud clearing away the debris of that once fine building, he on the Ist of November, began the inflation of this large aerostat for the voyage; but owing to a lack in the supply of gas from the street mains, whereby six days would be required to inflate instead of one day, which was necessary for a successful use of the gas, the attempt at that time had to be abandoned. There was not then a newspaper in the civilized world but what noticed, more or less, the extensive preparations he had made for this undertaking.

In the spring of 1860, by invitation of a number of the members of the Franklin Institute, Professor Lowe came to Philadelphia, where Professor John C. Cresson, then president of the Philadelphia Gas- Works, promised the necessary rapid supply of gas for a trial-trip to test the feasibility of inflating and launching into the air this immense aeronautic ma- chine. Older aeronauts from all parts of the world had predicted that an aerostat of this size could not be successfully inflated and launched into the air. Notwithstanding these predictions, a successful trial- trip was made from the Point Breeze Gas-Works in June, 1860, where four hundred thousand cubic feet of gas were furnished in four hours. On this trip five passengers were taken, including Mr. Garrick Mallory, of the Philadelphia Inquirer, who wrote an account of the trip, which was published in that paper at the time. In this voyage two and a half miles altitude was attained in passing over the city of Philadelphia, and when near Atlantic City a descent was made to a lower current, which wafted the great aerostat back to within eighteen miles of Philadelphia, where a landing was effected. This immense balloon was handled with so much skill that the departure from the earth, with a weight of over ten tons, and the return again, were so gentle that the passengers on board would hardly have known when they left or when they landed had they not seen it accom- plished.

So well pleased were Professor Lowe's friends at his successful managing of an aerostat six times larger than any one ever before built that they recom- mended him to visit Professor Joseph Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, and, if possible, secure his co- operation, and to that end furnished him with the | following letter :

580

HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY.

" To PROF. JOSEPH HENRY, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.

" The undersigned citizens of Philadelphia have taken a deep interest in the attempt of Mr. T. S. C. Lowe to cross the Atlantic by aeronantic machinery, and have confidence that his extensive preparations to effect that object will greatly add to scientific knowledge. Mr. Lowe has in- dividually spent much time and money in the enterprise, and, in addi- tion, the citizens of Philadelphia have contributed several thousand dol- lars to further his efforts in demonstrating the feasibility of transatlantic air navigation. With reliance upon Mr. Lowe and his plans, we cheer- fully recommend him to the favorable consideration of the Sunithsonian Institution, and trust euch aid and advice will be furnished him by that distinguished body as may assist in the success of the attempt, in which we take a deep interest.

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History of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Part 134

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1534

Author: Bean, Theodore Weber, 1833-1891, [from old catalog] ed; Buck, William J. (William Joseph), 1825-1901
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1534