Biographical Sketch of William Ashbridge THOMAS; Chester County, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Lew Copyright. All Rights Reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/pafiles.htm ********************************************************* Source: "The Genealogy of the Smedley Family" Cope 1902. William A Thomas learned the milling business in his father's mill, and at the age of 17 years rented a mill on Beaver Creek in his own name. With George Valentine and brothers he went to Maryland and started the Enterprise Iron Works, but this not succeeding they returned to Chester Co. The Valentines started a little foundry or cupola on property adjoining the mill of Jacob Edge, then owned by the Valentines and since by Joseph M Downing. About 1817 the Valentines and W A Thomas went to Beliefonte and purchased the Dunlap property; the last named being the capitalist and putting about $15,000 in it. They commenced making charcoal iron under the firm since widely known as Valentines & Thomas, and accumulated large fortunes. It was wild, thinly settled backwoods country when they went there, and the product of their manufacture had to be sent to market in arks or flat boats down the Bald Eagle to where Lock Haven now stands, on the west branch of the Susquehanna, and then floated down to Columbia or Port Deposit. They also had a good trade west to Pittsburg and Louisville, Ky., where one of the firm resided or had an agency. The History of Centre and Clinton Counties, by the late John Blair Linn,of Bellefonte,says: "Mr. Thomas was so variously connected with the business interests of Centre County, so actively concerned in advancing its material prosperity by public improvements turnpikes, canals, railroads, in the development of its bituminous coal region--that his biography would be a mere repetition of what will be found in those connections in this history. As a business man he had no superior in ability and enterprise in Central Pennsylvania, and he has left his impress in the training he gave some of our most distinguished business men." This file is located at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/pa/chester/bios/t/thomas-wa.txt