USA > Pennsylvania > Lehigh County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 1 > Part 59
USA > Pennsylvania > Carbon County > History of the counties of Lehigh and Carbon, in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pt. 1 > Part 59
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1 As an indication of the progress made in iron-working in this coun- try in sixteen years, we will mention that Ericsson in 1855 had a ey lin- der seventeen feet in diameter cast and bored for his hot-air ship.
2 llere we say a word in regard to the claims made for and by other works as the first manufacturers of iron by anthracite. It is true that 1 previons to the condetion of the first stack of the Crane Company's works Mr. Thomas was applied to for help und advice by William Ly- man, who was then building the Pioneer furnace at Pottsville, und be made several visits there, directing the putting in of the heartb, boshes, ete. That furnace was blown in in the fall of 1850 in the presence of Mr. Thomas, and soon after several others were put in blast in the Schuylkill und North Branch region, but the Pioneer and the others all failed to make anthracite pig-iron successfully and promfiably, and for that reason remained but a short time in Mast Their success was rather in the nature of a laboratory experiment thun a profitalde man- nfacturing enterprise, and it remained for the Crane, under the man- agement of Mr. Thomas, followed soon after by the Glendon Furnaces, under William Firmslone, and then the Allentown Vorace, under Mr. S. Lewis, to anecesslully introduce the promuble use of nuthrucite coal in the stirling of hon in this country.
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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
waters of the great flood of January, 1841, a period of six months, during which one thousand and eighty- eight tons of pig iron were produced. The largest output for one week was fifty-two tons. Concerning the flood which we have mentioned, one of the eom- pany's old books contains the following in David Thomas' handwriting :
" On Thursday, January 7th (1811), at nine o'clock in the evening the river rose so that the back water prevented the wheel from turning, at hall after ten covering the tow-path of the level above lock 36. Attwelve it was two feet over the banks, and was one foot over the bottom of the hearth of the furnace. At 1.20 the water was at its height, and thirty- four inches in the furnace. It was at this height until 3.30 o'clock, when the river began to fall. The water wheel was middied all over, and the water was nine inches over its top. The dam and canal bank was broken, so that when the water fell in the river it was too low to turn the wheel, though every effort was made to fill up the banks,-but they could not succeed, and were obliged to throw the furnace out on Monday the Ilth of January.
" DAVID THOMAS. "THOMAS S. YOUNG."1
Furnace No. 1 was blown in again after the freshet, May 18, 1841, and then remained in blast until Ang. 6, 1842, producing three thousand three hundred and sixteen tons of pig-iron.
A very large chorus of the " I told you so," always unpleasant even as a solo, would have been heard by Mr. Thomas and the members of the Crane Company had they met with failure in their undertaking. Mr. Thomas had been very generally looked upon as a visionary. The remark made by a leading charcoal ironmaster, " I will eat all the iron you'll make with anthracite," gave expression to the general sentiment of the trade at that time. It is needless to say that he did not keep his promise, although Mr. Thomas sent him word that he had a hearty dinner ready for him, cooked in the company's first furnace.
The success of the Crane Company's work in Fur- nace No. 1 led them to immediately enlarge their facilities for manufacturing pig-iron, which they did by erecting Furnace No. 2, forty-tive feet high and with fourteen feet bosh. This was blown in Nov. 4, 1842, and remained in blast until March 17, 1844, making five thousand and thirteen tons of iron. In 18-12 an additional water-wheel was added of the same size as the first, to which it was geared, and in 1844 an additional blowing power was added by the introduc- tion of two turbine wheels eight feet in diameter, which drove two horizontal cylinders of five feet. diameter and six feet stroke; the wheels and all ma- chinery connected with them being built by Merrick & Towne, of Philadelphia.
The first load of ore brought to the works was de- livered April 30, 1840, by Henry Hoch, who is still living and now the owner of the mine from which it was dng. This was hematite from Jacob Rice's mine, in Ilanover township, Lehigh County. One was also brought during the first year from Nathan Whiteley's mine, near Breinigsville, in Upper Maenngie town- ship, and from John Kratzer's in South Whitehall.
In 1842 the celebrated Goetz bed, which is still worked, was opened in Hanover township of North- ampton County, and the first ore taken from it was brought here. The first magnetie ore brought to the Crane furnace (in 1840) was from the Mount Hope mine in Morris County, N. J.
The demands made upon the company exceeding their facilities, Furnace No. 3 was erected in 1846. It was larger than either of the others, its height being fifty feet and its bosh eighteen. It was blown by two cylinders of five and a half feet diameter and six-foot stroke, which were driven by two beam engines with steam cylinders of twenty-six inches diameter and six-foot stroke." In the spring of 1849 was begun the ereetion of Furnaces Nos. 4 and 5, each fifty feet high and of eighteen feet bosh. The blowing cylinders for each of these were of nine-foot stroke and seven feet diameter, and they were operated by two beam engines, the steam-cylinders of which had a nine- foot stroke, while their diameters, originally thirty- six inches, were afterwards enlarged to forty-eight. In 1867-68, Furnace No. 6, of seventeen feet bosh and sixty feet height, was built, and in 1880-81 the first furnace constructed, together with Nos, 2 and 3, were razed to the ground, and two modern furnaces, with iron shells and fire-brick stoves, were erected in their stead from plans made by the present superintendent, Mr. Joseph Hunt. They are now successfully work- ing, and exhibit the advance made in forty years. The new No. 1, which replaces the original put in blast in 18440, has made in one year twenty-two thou- sand two hundred and eighty-one tons of iron, its best day's work being one hundred and two tons, or nearly twice as much as was made in the best week by the old No. 1 during its first blast. During its best week the new furnace has produced five hundred and forty gross tons, all foundry iron.
Until 1855 the company shipped the products of its furnaces by the Lehigh Navigation Company's canal, and after that year principally by the railroad then completed. Now branch tracks of the railroad run to various points about the works, and the company owns ten locomotives, which are used in the movement of its ores and iron. About three hundred men are em- ployed at the works, and a still larger number at the ore-heds and limestone quarries, and the pay-roll is very large. The buildings, machinery, and all the adjunets of the works have been kept in the best of repair, and from time to time improved and extended so that they present an appearance unsurpassed by any other iron works in the country. It has been the aim of the Crane Company to produce the best quality of iron and to displace the famons produet of Seot- land, and this design having been constantly adhered to the works have seldom been idle, and often pressed with orders while other furnaces were out of blast. The liberality and enterprise of the company has given Catasauqua the benefit of a fine system of water- works, and an excellent fire steamer, and the steady
1 Young was the first clerk employed nt the works,
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BOROUGII OF CATASAUQUA.
employment of its large number of men was for years almost the sole support of the town and is now the largest factor in its prosperity. The iron-workers here are in better eireunistanees than in most mannfac- turing towns, and a large proportion of them have exceedingly comfortable and even tasteful homes.
At the company's offices in Philadelphia many changes have taken place since the original organiza- tion of which we have spoken in the beginning of this article. Theodore Mitchell was elected presi- dent, rice Robert Earp, in 1845, and was succeeded by George A. Wood in 1868. He resigned in 1878, and the office was then filled by Samuel Dickson, Esq., the present president. The office of secretary, origin- ally filled by John MeAllister, was taken by John A. McAllister in 1844, and by Benjamin J. Leedom in 1848. He was also elected to serve as treasurer some years later. George T. Barnes was elected secretary in 1869, and treasurer in 1876, and now serves in both capacities. Frederick R. Backus filled the office of treasurer for a number of years subsequent to 1845. The board of directors is now constituted as follows: Samuel Dickson, Charles L. Borie; Henry Winsor, Samuel R. Shipley, Fisher Hazard, Robert Lenox Kennedy, Lemuel Coffin, John T. Morris, Charles E. Haven, Charles S. Wurts, and Alexander Biddle.
At the Crane Works in Catasauqua David Thomas was superintendent most of the time from 1839 to 1855, thongh his son, Samuel, had charge during a few years of that period. In 1855, when David Thomas retired, he was succeeded by his son John. Joshna Hunt, who entered the employment of the company in 1848, was assistant superintendent under John Thomas, and was chosen to fill the office when the latter retired, in 1867. He resigned at the close of the year 1881, and in recognition of the value of his long term of duty was presented by the company with a beautiful solid silver tea service,-a fine specimen of repousse work. His son, Thomas Hunt, was assistant superintendent from 1867 to 1872, when, upon June 22d, he was so severely injured by a premature explo- | sion of nitro-glycerine used in clearing out one of the furnaces that he died two weeks later. Joseph Hunt, a brother of Joshua Hunt, became assistant superin- tendent, and, upon the retirement of the latter, Dec. 31, 1881, took charge of the works, and a little later ; was made superintendent. David Thomas, after re- tiring from the office of superintendent, remained with the company as cashier until 1865, when that position was filled by John Williams, who had en- tered the company's employ Nov. 14, 1845. Hle still retains the position, having been on duty altogether over thirty-eight years, and as cashier more than eighteen years.
David Thomas was the son of David and Jane Thomas, of Tyllwyd Farm, in the parish of Cadox- ton-juxta-Neath, in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales. He was one of a family of four children, one son and three daughters, and was born on the 3d of
November, 1794. David Thomas, the father, was a small farmer, but a highly respectable man in his parish, and, although a Dissenter, he held the office of church warden for some years, and was overseer of the poor of his parish for sixteen years. He was a consistent and exemplary member of the "Inde- pendents" Religious Community at Macsyrhaf Chapel, Neath, for forty years, and his wife, who survived him twenty years, was for sixty years a member of the same organization. Both are buried in the burying-ground attached to the above-named place of worship. Young David's religions and moral training was, therefore, of the strictest kind, both as regards example and teach- ing, and these appear to have elung to him through i life. Being the only son, his parents afforded him the best education their means would allow. He ap- plied himself with industry and perseverance, out- stripping all his school-fellows, and was looked upon as having been better educated than the generality of farmers' sons. He was of very studious habits, de- lighted in books, and in the acquirement of knowl- edge and information. The education he received enabled him only to acquire the merest elements of learning, and the intelligence and knowledge displayed by him in after-life, which enabled him to rise to so prominent a position, were due entirely to self-cul- ture. His thirst for knowledge and improvement had awakened an ambitious feeling, which farming opera- tions failed to satisfy. Ile, therefore, sought employ- ment at seventeen years of age at the Neath Abbey Iron-Works. For five years he worked in the fitting- shops and at the blast furnaces, asserting his superi- ority and intelligence over his young compeers, by whom he was familiarly known as " Dai Tyllwyd." He displayed a wonderful aptitude for the business, and gained a vast store of experience and knowledge, even I in that short space of time. In fact, so well did he occupy his time and talents that in 1817 he went to the Yniscedwyn Iron-Works, in the Swansea Valley, and was made general superintendent of the blast furnaces and of the iron- and coal-mines, Mr. Thomas ro- mained at the Yniseedwyn Works in that position for nearly twenty-two years, working his furnace- in the most successful manner, and continually experi- menting with anthracite coal as a smelting fuel. Mr. Thomas continued his experiments, and ultimately succeeded in making anthracite iron by introducing a hot-blast into the furnace. He was in 1839 offered an engagement for five years in the United States, and soon after his arrival the Crane Iron Company of Catasauqua was organized, a furnace was constructed, and successfully managed under the supervising eye of Mr. Thomas. To him is undoubtedly and justly due the credit of having built the first anthracite bli t furnace in America, or any other country, wh ... . cessfully fulfilled the purpose for which it was con- structed.
In 1854 the Thomas Iron Company was formed, and the beautiful works at Hokendauqua commenced. In
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HISTORY OF LEHIGH COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.
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1855 he relinquished the superintendence of the Crane Iron-Works, and devoted a portion of his time to the development of the works at Ilokendauqua, which bear his honored name. In addition to his interest in the Crane and Thomas Iron- Works, Mr. Thomas was also a stockholder in the Carbon Iron Company, which has three furnaces at Parryville, and in the large rolling-mills at Catasauqua and Ferndale, of which he was the president for many years. A short time before his death he withdrew from very active duties, remaining, however, a director and a large share- holder, and he was besides largely interested in coal operations. He was for many years president of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railroad, and also a di- rector of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Ile was a trustee and executive member of St. Luke's Hospital, and a trustee of Lafayette College at Easton. In 1866 he was a Republican candidate for Congress, but declining on principle to take part in the canvass he was not successful. Catasauqua is largely indebted to him for its growth and progress. With nearly every industry in the town he was directly or remotely con- nected. As a tribute to his genius, determination, and energy, on its incorporation, in 1853, he was chosen its first burgess, and continued for years to hold the office. IIe built the Lehigh Fire-Brick Works, which are of considerable dimensions, and held the position of di- rector of the National Bank of Catasauqua, in which he had a large amount of stock. Mr. Thomas was a man of determined purpose, industry, fidelity, and thoroughness, of uncommon vitality and activity ; although nearly eighty-eight years of age at his death, he took nearly to the last a fair share in the active management of the vast properties he controlled.
The kindly interest he manifested in all measures for the public good, and his activity in advancing all works of moral or material improvement in the com- munity in which he dwelt, led to his being by a sort of common impulse familiarly called " Father Thomas." He did much to encourage sobriety and thrift among the workmen he superintended, and many of them are indebted to his wise counsel or 1 other forms of assistance for the happy homes they ; possess. In his religious convictions Mr. Thomas was a Presbyterian. He had no sooner become settled in his new home, in 1839, than he erected a small chapel, which was followed by the organization of the Pres- byterian Church, of which he was made ruling elder, ; of which he became general superintendent. This po- an office held continuously by him until his death. sition was filled with signal ability for a period of ten years, when he was elected to his present office of president of the company. Mr. Thomas has been as- sociated with the Thomas Iron Company, either as superintendent or president, for thirty years, during which time its varied properties have been largely de- veloped, its products have from their superior quality found a ready market, and the business of the com- pany established upon a firm basis. Mr. Thomas was as patriotic an American as if native born. His intense love of his adopted country was manifested on proper occasions. During the civil war his means and his influence were freely devoted to the Union cause, and it was largely through his in- strumentality that a company of volunteers was re- eruited at Catasauqua. Mr. Thomas was married to ; Miss Elizabeth, daughter of John Hopkins, who is still living in the ninetieth year of her age. Their He has been greatly interested in all schemes for children are Jane, Gwenny (Mrs. Joshua Hunt, de- | the improvement of Catasauqua and Hokendanqua,
ceased), Samuel, John, and David (deceased). The death of Mr. Thomas occurred June 20, 1882, in the eighty-eighth year of his age. At the time of his decease he was the oldest American ironmaster in length of service, having been continuously associated with the iron industries of Wales and Pennsylvania since 1812. Through all the years of his activity in this country he was regarded as a leading authority on all matters pertaining to the trade. By his skill and industry he contributed greatly to the building up of the iron industries of the country, and will be held in grateful remembrance by American iron manufac- turers. Among the people of the Lehigh Valley he left a notable reputation. Of him it may be truly said, he went down to the grave "full of riches, full of honors, and full of years."
Samuel Thomas, the son of David and Elizabeth Thomas, was born March 13, 1827, in Yniscedwyn, Brecknockshire, South Wales, and on attaining his thirteenth year emigrated with his parents to America. Ile had in his native country acquired the rudiments of an English education, and on reaching Pennsyl- vania became a pupil at Nazareth Hall in North- amupton County, where two and a half years were spent in study. On returning home he determined to follow the vocation of his father, and entering the blacksmith- and machine-shops of the Crane Iron- Works, spent four years in acquiring a thorough knowledge of the business. This practical experience subsequently proved of inestimable value in the super- intendence of the important industries now under his control. At the age of nineteen Mr. Thomas took an active part in the management of the Crane Iron- Works and the development of the mining interests of the company. In 1848 he repaired to Morris County, N. J., where he was for nine months engaged in the erection of a furnace for the Boonton Iron Company. This he put in blast and successfully started, after which his connection with the Crane Iron-Works was resumed. Much of the burden and responsibility of the business was thrown upon Mr. Thomas. He participated actively in the crection of two new furnaces, and assisted largely in the develop- ment of the extensive mining property of the com- pany. On the Ist of March, 1854, the Thomas Iron Company was organized and two furnaces erected under his immediate superintendenceat Hokendauqua,
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منغير
Samuel. Thomas Horas
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BOROUGH OF CATASAUQUA.
and the permanent welfare of their citizens. Meas- ures for the conduet of the war met his hearty eo- operation, and the memory of brave sokliers from Catasauqua and vicinity who fell in the confliet was perpetuated by an imposing monument made from designs approved by Mr. Thomas, a considerable portion of the expense having been borne by him. Edueated in the principles of the Whig party, he later became a Republican, though both his tastes and the arduous demands of business have prompted him to decline all offers of political preferment. He is an elder and actively identified with the interests of the Presbyterian Church of Hokendaugna, and has as- sisted in the erection of several church edifices within the limits of the county.
Mr. Thomas was married, in March, 1848, to Miss Rebecca, danghter of Jacob Miekley, of South White- hall, Lehigh Co. Their children are Gertrude (Mrs. Dr. Joseph C. Guernsey, of Philadelphia) and Edwin.
The Catasauqua Manufacturing Company .- This strong and wisely-conducted organization, which has done a great deal for the advancement of the town, eame into existence Feb. 20, 1863, under the provisions of a charter incorporating the Northern Iron Company. Its authorized capital was originally one hundred thousand dollars ( which som was subse- quently increased to one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, and is now five hundred thousand dollars). David Thomas, the veteran iron manufae- turer, was the leading spirit of the company and its official head, Charles G. Earp was secretary and treas- urer, and David Eynon superintendent. The com- pany had been organized for the purpose of carrying on the manufacture of armor-plate and rails, and the other necessary machinery were set up for that. work. The war ended, however, just as everything was in readiness, and, the demand for the intended output being eut off, the company immediately made the changes needful for producing tank-, flue-, and boiler-plate, and a little later added a sheet-mill. Business was carried on with varying success until 1866, when it became more evenly prosperous. In that year William P. Hopkins was elected superin- tendent, and a change was made in the nature of the manufacture, an eighteen-inch bar-iron train and ten- inch guide-mill train being added to the plant. The iron prodneed at once met with favor from consumers, and from that time the mill has been very successful. In 1867, Oliver Williams was elected general manager, and John Williams secretary. At that time the out- put of the mill amounted to abont six thousand tons of iron per year.
In 1864 a rolling-mill had been erected at Ferndale, just below Catasauqua, by the East Penn Iron Com- pany, under the charter of the Eastern Iron Company, and its name subsequently changed to the Lehigh Manufacturing Company. In 1868 this mill was leased and in 1872 sold to the Catasauqua Manufac- turing Company. Edward Edwards was elected I ent junior proprietor, under the firm-name of Davies,
superintendent in 1868, and has ever since retained that position. It is due to him that it be said that not only has the mill been sneeessfully managed by him, but that the little working community depend- ent upon it has largely felt the value of his influence. The product of the Ferndale Mill is bar and skelp iron, and, like that of the original mill at Catasau- qua, it stands in high favor. Both mills have been added to almost every year, until they have reached a very large capacity, the output in 1882 being over thirty-six thousand tons of iron, valued at about two million dollars. The company employs about six hundred men, and the average monthly pay-roll reaches the sum of twenty-eight thousand dollars. The substantial character of the company was indi- rated during the period of the panic, when the works were never shut down, except for brief intervals because of strikes.
David Thomas served as president the greater part of the time from 1863 until 1879, though the office was also administered by Samuel and John Thomas, his sons, during that long period. On Mr. Thomas' resignation in February, 1879, Oliver Williams was elected president, and he now holds that position. About the same time Henry Davis, who had been with the company from the start, was elected treasurer.
The Union Foundry and Machine Company .-- These works were established about 1851 by John Fritz & Brother, the former now superintendent of the Bethlehem Steel Company. They sold to Messrs. Mickel & Thomas, and the establishment. then passed into the hands of David Thomas, who, in 1869, sold to the present company, which is composed of David and Oliver Williams and William Hopkins. They enlarged the works from year to year, and in 1882 found it expe- dient to purchase an additional and adjoining plot of ground. The company employs about fifty hand- and a forty horse-power engine. There is but little variation in the activity at this foundry, work being carried ou with few and slight abatements, and it is, therefore, a valuable supporter of the town's prosper- ity. The company is particularly engaged in the manufacture of all kinds of rolling-mill work, and has a large patronage extending throughout the valley and the surrounding region. A large busi- ness is also done in general foundry and machine work, for which, as well as its specialties, the com- pany has a wide and enviable reputation.
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