History: Local: Chapter XXXVII - Part II : Manufacturing Industries: Bean's 1884 History of Montgomery Co, PA Contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Susan Walters USGENWEB NOTICE: Printing this file by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIOR to uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. 技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技 BEAN'S HISTORY OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA 技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技技 CHAPTER XXXVII. PART - II MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES. 579 THE NATIONAL GAS-WORKS. -Professor T. S. C. Lowe established this works some years ago in Norristown. 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 purpose 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 connection 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. PICTURE OF THADDEUS S. C. LOWE, APPEARS HERE. THADDEUS S. C. LOWE, of Norristown, the distinguished 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 studies. 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 chemical 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, be commenced to study aeronautics, and made numerous aerial voyages in different parts of the country, 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 advantage of the ever-constant eastward current, which he bad 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 temporary failure of the Atlantic cable, which was to endeavor to communicate more rapidly than by steamers, which in that day were quite slow compared with the present. This aerostic was one hundred and fifty feet perpendicular diameter by one hundred and four feet transverse diameter, the upper 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 car with all the necessary scientific instruments, provisions, etc., a complete iron life-boat, schooner-rigged, much larger than several that have 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 balloons was completed. Professor Lowe procured the site of the New York Crystal Palace, which had been destroyed by fire, and clearing away the debris of that once fine building, he on the 1st 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 machine. 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 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 go 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 accomplished. 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 recommended him to visit Professor Joseph Henry, of the Smithsonian Institution, and, if possible, secure his cooperation, and to that end furnished him with the following letter: 580 "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 aeronautic machinery, and have confidence that his extensive preparation to effect that object will greatly add to scientific knowledge. Mr. Lowe has individually spent much time and money in the enterprise, and in addition, the citizens of Philadelphia have contributed several thousand dollars to further his efforts in demonstrating the feasibility of transatlantic air navigation. With reliance upon Mr. Lowe and his plans, we cheerfully recommend him to the favorable consideration of the Smithsonian Institution, and trust such aid and advice will be furnished humbly that distinguished body as may assist in the success of the attempt in which we take a deep interest. "Jno. C. Cresson William Hamilton W. H. Harrison Henry Seybert J. Cheston Morris, M. D. Isaac Lea Fairman Rogers James C. Fisher, M. D. Thos. Stewardson, M. D. J. B. Lippincott Geo. W. Childs John Grigg S. S. Haldeman John E. Frazer George Harding M. McMichael" It is needless to say that Professor Henry received Professor Lowe with extreme warmth and congeniality, from which sprung a lasting friendship, and gave him the freedom of the institution. Upon the recommendation of Professor Henry, preparatory to a transatlantic voyage, Professor Lowe made a trip across the continent in a smaller aerostat, starting from Cincinnati, Ohio, at four o'clock in the morning of April 20, 1861, after taking leave of his friends, among whom were Messrs. Potter and Murat Halstead, of the "Cincinnati Commercial," and landed on the South Carolina coast at twelve o'clock the same day, making the quickest and longest voyage on record, delivering papers at about a thousand miles distant, still damp from the press, in eight hours after they were printed. This voyage was fraught with great interest, both scientific and otherwise, long accounts of it being published at the time. Landing it this way in South Carolina two weeks after the firing on Fort Sumter caused considerable excitement in the rebel armies, and Professor Lowe was arrested and thrown in prison, but on producing proof relative to the scientific objects of the voyage, he was released, and after five days and nights of railroading found his way back to Cincinnati, the point from which he had so recently traveled in eight hours. Secretary Chase, then a member of President Lincoln's Cabinet, telegraphed, at the request of the President, to Professor Lowe to come to Washington and consult him as to the use of balloons for war purposes, whither he went, and was received by the President with marked attention, spending several nights at the Presidential mansion. These interviews resulted in obtaining authority for the organization of the corps of observation or aeronautic corps, with Professor Lowe at its head as chief aeronaut of the United States army, which position he held for three years, at the end of which time his health became so much impaired that he turned his department over to one of his assistants, and retired on a farm in Chester County with the hope of regaining his health. The services rendered the government during his stay in the army were of immense value, as testified to by the commander-in-chief and numerous corps commanders, who had received valuable information to better govern their movements. During this time he made personally over three thousand cable ascensions, and was the first and only person to establish telegraphic communication from a balloon to various portions of the army and to Washington at the same time. Conspicuous among these occasions was those at the battle of Fair Oaks. These balloons, with assistant aeronauts, were sent to different armies, including the forces, on the Southern coast and in the West. To make these war balloons efficient on land and water, it became necessary to make many new inventions, conspicuous among which were Professor Lowe's hydrogen gas generators, for field and ship service. At any time within three hours after halting beside a pool of water he could extract sufficient hydrogen therefrom to inflate one of these balloons, whereby himself and often several officers would mount a thousand or two feet into the air to overlook the country. His renown spread over Europe and South America, and his field system of aeronautics was introduced into the British, French and Brazilian armies. The Emperor of Brazil, through his ministers, made numerous overtures and offered large inducements to Professor Lowe to take a major-general's position in the Brazilian army during the Paraguayan war, to conduct the same line of service as that rendered to the United States government, but owing to other engagements he was compelled to decline. He, however, furnished the necessary field apparatus and balloons, with competent assistants, who rendered valuable aid, and greatly shortened the duration of that war, especially by observation on the river Paraguay, at Asuncion. In 1861, Professor Lowe invented and brought out the ice-machine for refrigeration and the manufacture of artificial ice, which is now in general use in all parts of the world. In 1872 he invented and brought out his famous water-gas process for illumination and heating purposes, which is already lighting between one hundred and two hundred cities, and is predicted to ere long entirely supersede all other methods of light, beat and power. This hasty sketch maybe properly closed by quoting from a previous publication the following : "He has little more than reached middle life, and it is warrantable to suppose that his speculative and fertile mind will grasp and produce other valuable inventions. He has already made a number of ingenious cooking and heating contrivances for using his heating gas, the right of which he holds for the protection of his business. Professor Lowe is eminently a domestic man, having a large family of children, whose names are as follows: Louise F. Ida Alpha Leon Percival Ava Eugenie Augustine Blanche Thaddeus Edna Zoe Sobieski. The three eldest were born in New York. 581 NORRISTOWN BINDER-WORKS. -This establishment was originally named the Norristown Agricultural Works, built in 1877 by a number of Norristown gentlemen for the purpose of giving employment to the working class of the borough. Two hundred and sixty bonds were issued, at one hundred dollars each, and Moses G. Hubbard took the works for the purpose of manufacturing agricultural implements. The enterprise failed, and the sheriff sold the property to Stephen P. Stinson, who purchased it for the bondholders at their original outlay, twenty-six thousand dollars, and it still remains the property of the company. In 1878 it was changed to the name at the head of this sketch, and is now operated by William M. Singerly, of the "Philadelphia Record," and his brother, George Singerly, in the manufacture of grain-binders. The works front on Astor Street seven hundred and seven feet, four hundred on Oak Street and eight hundred feet on Stony Creek. The buildings are two stories in height, and are valued at thirty thousand dollars. SLEMMER'S OIL-WORKS. -The Montgomery Oil Works were originally established in 1860 by Jacob C., William, Dr. Henry T. and Charles Slemmer, sons of Hon. Adam Slemmer, at the corner of Main and Ford Streets. William Slemmer is now the sole representative of the firm. The reputation of the firm for lubricating and illuminating oils is known all over the States, owing to the great experience and conscientious care of the firm in refining their oils and preventing all danger from explosion. When in full operation the capacity of the works was about ten thousand barrels. A terrible misfortune overtook Mr. Slemmer in 1884, in the almost total destruction of the entire works, but with the well-known indomitable energy of the family, he at once rebuilt the works, and is now in a fair way of recovering his former business status and prosperity. NORRIS COACH-FACTORY. -The factory was built and the business established on the corner of Marshall and Church Streets in 1850 by C. & B. Custer. It is sixty feet by sixty, three stories high, with French roof, but this is a modern building. Abraham Swenk bought it in the real estate of C. Custer, deceased, in 1876, and operated the factory until January 19, 1883, when it was destroyed by fire. Mr. Swenk rebuilt and remodeled the works, fitting them up with all modern Conveniences and appliances. Twelve hands are employed. The manager, Wm. H. Kuder, Esq., has been superintendent of the works for twenty-five years. PENN COACH WORKS. -This establishment was built in 1852 by Harrison Dickinson, who sold it to F. Ruch. That gentleman run it as a carriage-factory himself for fourteen years, when the firm changed to A. Ruch & Brother. The building is four stories in height, dimensions thirty-five by forty feet, and is located on Penn Street, below Green. There are fourteen hands employed in the manufacture and repair of carriages, and the firm is doing a good business. M. M. GODSHALK, CARRIAGE-BUILDER. -The wheelwright and carriage-building works of M. M. Godshalk are located in the rear of 212 Main Street, where they were established by Hallman & Scheetz in 1851. His building was very seriously injured by fire on November 5, 1880, and all his tools were destroyed. With commendable energy he soon refitted his shops, and has since conducted them successfully. Mr. Godshalk became proprietor of the premises in 1872, and his specialties are carriages and heavy wagons, for which he has gained a good reputation. KUDER & JACKSON, CARRIAGE-MAKERS. -These gentlemen have occupied the large building at the corner of Lafayette and Green Streets as a Carriage factory since May, 1883, and work entirely for the home trade. This well-known place was the property of the late Isaac Miller, who, for nearly half a century, conducted the business of wheelwright, carpenter and carriage-builder. BOLTON'S SONS' SAW AND PLANING-MILL, ETC. -The origin of this firm dates back to 1840, when Bolton & Christman, builders, were the pioneers of the sash and door manufacture in this section and outside the city of Philadelphia. Their works were at this period on the corner of Church and Marshall Streets. In 1848 a planing-mill was established, and in 1851 the firm was Bolton, Christman & Co. In 1854 they moved to Stony Creek, and conducted the business until 1871, when the firm became Bolton & Stinson. It thus remained until 1881, when it took its present title of Bolton's Sons. These gentlemen are George D. Bolton and Frank H. Bolton, the former attending to the office and financial department, the latter to the work in the vast saw and planing-mills. The works cover six acres of ground; they front on Main Street seventy-five feet and along Stony Creek twelve hundred feet, with a front on the Schuylkill river of four hundred feet. The several departments are as follows: No. 1 building is the saw-mill, fitted up with two Mulay saws, rip-saws and appliances for cutting into planks a log ninety feet in length; the saw-mill is forty by one hundred and fifty feet. No. 2 is the planing-mill, forty by one hundred and fifty feet, fitted up with traversing, sticking, moulding, boring, slutting and dovetailing-machines. There are tenon-machines, jig and hand-saws, buzz-planes a twenty-six inch surfacer, a floor-board machine, mortising and shaping-machine, in short, every new and improved appliance know to the trade. There is a drying-room, twenty-five by forty-five feet a glue-room twenty by thirty-five feet. There are large fan-flues leading from each machine, the draft from which draws the dust from the bench and deposits it in the shaving-house adjoining the fire-hole. This arrangement is very important to the health of the workmen. Forty men are employed at the works, and twenty five thousand dollars a year distributed in wages. An eighty horse- power and three cylinder boiler furnished the motive-power. The value of the property (stock included) is about one hundred thousand dollars. 582 BODEY & LIVINGSTON LUMBERYARD AND PLANING-MILL. -This establishment was founded by Messrs. Groff & Zimmerman in 1854, and is located on Main Street, near Stony Creek bridge. It was transferred to Joseph Bodey in 1865, with Thomas H. Wentz as partner. The firm of Bodey & Wentz conducted the business of contractors, builders, saw and planing-mill up to April 1, 1883, when the death of Thomas H. Wentz caused an entire change. The firm now consists of William H. Bodey and James Livingston, doing business as lumber merchants under the business title of Bodey & Livingston. GUEST & LONGAKER, LUMBER DEALERS, ETC. -The premises of this old and well- known firm are upon Main Street, directly across the stream known as Sandy Run. In the year 1850 the firm was George Guest and Elias Fluck, doing business in a small building fronting on Main Street and in 1854 they built the mill now occupied by George Bullock, on the opposite side of Main Street. They sold the building to Perry M. Hunter and Samuel Dehaven. Fluck dissolved partnership in 1863, when William Guest returned to his old quarters, and purchased the front part of the building from Henry Rittenhouse in 1872, his present partner joining the business in 1869. Mr. Guest has been, as lessee and proprietor, on the same premises since the year 1838. The building has a frontage on Main Street of fifty-one feet, with a depth of ninety-seven feet. The front building is three stories in height; the rear buildings, all of which have been built by the present firm, are two stories in height. There are about fifteen hands constantly employed in the manufacture of doors, sashes, flooring and every kind of inside building materials. The property is worth twenty-two thousand dollars. SIMPSON'S MILLS. -These mills are situated at the foot of Swede Street, and rank amongst the oldest in the State. The main building is of stone, with a width of forty-two feet and a length of one hundred and fifty feet along the bank of the river Schuylkill. On a stone slab high up in this building is carved, in the old fashioned, quaint figures of that day, the year in which it was erected, 1826. In that year Mr. Bernard McCreedy purchased the ground and built this mill, in which enterprise be prospered. Four years later we find that the mill contained seven thousand spindles, with the accompanying preparing machinery, and seven years later still, McCreedy's, Jamison's and Freedley's mills combined had nineteen thousand one hundred and sixty four spindles, employing five hundred hands, and producing cotton goods to the amount of four hundred and fifty-four thousand nine hundred and fifty-eight dollars per annum. The old McCreedy building is four and one-half stories in height, Callaghan Brothers purchased it, and in 1844 an addition was built, forty-two by sixty feet. Messrs. William Simpson & Sons purchased the mill from Callaghan Brothers in 1864, and have been manufacturing cotton print cloth ever since that date. One hundred and fifty hands are employed; there are two hundred looms, with full complement of carding and spinning machinery. The wages paid amount to about three thousand dollars a month; fifty thousand yards a week are produced, and the motive power is given by two turbine wheels, of two hundred and twelve horse-power. DE KALB STREET MILLS. -Close to the bank of the river Schuylkill, at the Norristown end of the De Kalb Street bridge stand Hunter's Cotton Mills, James and John Hunter, proprietors. The wing of the mill, which looks towards the Schuylkill, is of stone, and was built by a joint stock company in 1836. The main building has a frontage on De Kalb Street of one hundred feet, a depth of fifty feet; is built of brick and is four stories in height. The company was succeeded by James Jamison, Sr., who devised the property by will to his son, William Jamison. This gentleman ran the business of cotton goods manufacturing until his death, when his widow, with Duncan White as superintendent, operated the mills until the great panic of 1873, when American industry suffered so dreadful a shock and the business failed. The mill has a thorough outfit of machinery, -a one hundred and twenty horse-power engine, with boilers in proportion, five hundred and sixty looms, with all the preparing machinery of cards, spinning frames, etc., required for the work. The mill, stock, machinery, etc., are valued at one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The Messrs. Hunter manufacture cotton yarns, employing nearly two hundred hands, and produce about seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds of cotton yarn annually; they pay monthly in wages about two thousand five hundred dollars. Messrs. Hunter purchased the mill in the year 1873, but did not put the works into operation until January, 1880. FORD STREET COTTON AND WOOLENMILLS, J. C. CRESSON & CO., PROPRIETORS. -These mills are located at the corner of Ford and Lafayette Streets, and were established prior to the war by James Ogden for the manufacture of cotton goods. James Cresson & Co. purchased the property in 1864, when the manufacture of woolen goods was added to their former production. The head of the firm died in 1872, and during the following year the present firm was organized. The mill building is of stone, four stories in height, fifty by one hundred feet in size, with a dye-house adjoining, built in 1867. Sixty hands are employed in the establishment, producing three hundred and eighty thousand yards of jeans in the year. The wages paid amount to about fourteen hundred and fifty dollars per month. There are two sets of forty-eight inch cards, one thousand and forty-four spindles on woolen 583 and thirteen hundred on cotton yarn, five cards and all the requisite preparing machinery. The property is estimated to be worth fifty thousand dollars. The mill at this time is under the management of John McArthur. WASHINGTON WOOLEN-MILLS, better known as Watts' Mills, is located in the First Ward of the borough, near the banks of the Schuylkill, and close to Montgomery Cemetery. The mill was erected in 1849 by William Hamill and his son, being then known as "Moy Craig" Mill. In 1851 the firm was changed: S. P. Hamill and Joshua Batty became the proprietors. PICTURE OF WILLIAM WATT, APPEARS HERE. For two years they conducted the manufacture of jeans, having put in one set of cards, two mules and about twenty looms. Mr. Hamill drew out, and Mr. Batty ran the mill until 1856, when he took in J. Lee as partner, and added fulling and finishing machinery to the works. In 1857 the property was sold to Perry M. Hunter and Samuel Dehaven, who added to the capacity of the mill and manufactured the same class of goods up to 1862, when it was sold to Mr. Bishop, who had a large contract for the manufacture of blue kerseys for the army. William Watt, the present proprietor, purchases 1869, and in 1876 enlarged the mill one-fourth. The motive-power is a sixty horse-power engine, with ample boiler-power. There are five sets of cards, with self-acting mules, looms, dyeing and finishing-machinery to correspond, employing about one hundred hands, and producing nearly sixty thousand yards monthly of ginghams, checkings, etc., as the market may demand. WILLIAM WATT. -John Watt, the grandfather of William Watt, immigrated with his family to America prior to the war of 1812, and settled in Philadelphia. His children were Alexander, James, Robert, William, John, David, Esther and Elizabeth. Robert was born in County Derry, Ireland, and during the progress of the above war, while enroute for the United States was impressed into the English service as a naval recruit for a brief period. On returning again to civil life he became a manufacturer of linen goods, and was also at a later date a thriving farmer. He married Mary Wilson who was of Scotch-Irish lineage, and a native of the same county. Their children were William Alexander Martha (Mrs. Gendell) Mary (Mrs. Provence). William was born May 12, 1808 in County Derry, Ireland, and in 1818, when but ten years of age accompanied his parents to America. He had previously attended his native country and continued the English branches in Philadelphia, after which with the purpose of learning the business of woolen and cotton manufacturing, he entered the mills of his uncles, William and David Watt, in that city. 584 On completing his period of service as an apprentice he pursued his trade for some years, and eventually embarked in the manufacture of cotton and Woolen fabrics in Philadelphia. In 1867, having removed to Norristown, he purchased an advantageous site and at once began the manufacture of woolen goods. Various changes and improvements were made in the equipment of the mill which was enlarged, new machinery and various appliances for enhancing the beauty and excellence of the productions buying introduced. Mr. Watt was married on the 9th of January, 1834, by the Rev. John Chambers, to Catherine, daughter of William McKay, who was of Scotch descent, and one of the oldest residents of Philadelphia. The children of this marriage are Elizabeth McKay (deceased) David Amelia Davidson (wife of Henry S. Hughes) Kersley Mitchell (deceased, husband of Elizabeth Jackson) Mary Ellen (deceased) Emily William Henry (deceased) Kate W. (wife of Cyrus S. Poley, M.D.) J. Bond George Washington (husband of Sallie A. Kneedler). The grandchildren are William Watt, Ellen, John McArthur, Bertha M., Amelia Watt, children of Amelia Davidson and Henry S. Hughes; Minnie, George Jackson, children of Kersley Mitchell and Elizabeth Jackson; Ethel E., child of Kate W. and Cyrus S. Poley, M.D.; Blanche A., William, children of George Washington and Sallie A. Kneedler. Mr. Watt is a decided Republican in his political predilections, though rarely active beyond the casting of his ballot and an occasional expression of his views. He is a Mason and associated with Franklin Lodge, No. 134, of Philadelphia. He is a member and holds the office of trustee of the Central Presbyterian Church of Norristown. Mr. and Mrs. Watt celebrated, on the 9th of January, 1884, their golden wedding, which interesting event brought together an assemblage of children, grandchildren and attached friends who delighted to do them honor. BULLOCK'S MILL. -The mill stands on Main Street, below Arch was built by Guest & Fluck, lumbermen, builders and contractors, and was occupied by them until the year 1863, when it was sold to Perry M. Hunter and Samuel Dehaven for manufacturing purposes. The firm changed to Hunter & Kershaw, who for some years successfully conducted the manufacture of cassimeres. In 1869 they were succeeded by Benjamin Bullock's Sons. In 1871 the proprietorship again changed by George and James Bullock assuming control, and in 1880 the firm became George Bullock & Co. The mill is four stories in height, built of stone, with a frontage of Main Street and a depth of ninety feet. When in full operation, in the manufacture of the superb goods for which the firm is famous, seventy hands are employed, two thousand two hundred dollars in monthly wages are distributed, and about on hundred and twenty-five thousand yards of finished goods per annum are manufactured, valued at about three hundred thousand dollars. NORRISTOWN WOOLEN-MILLS. -The mills are located on Barbadoes Street, and were built in 1862 by a company of public-spirited gentlemen, citizens of Norristown, for the purpose of affording employment for the working class. About twenty-five hands were employed in the manufacture of low-class jeans, under the superintendence of Lawrence J. Ogden. His sudden and untimely death caused a suspension of the mill for some time, when work was resumed by the firm of Henry W. Scott & Son, of Philadelphia, who slightly increased the grade and capacity, and manufactured army flannels, hosiery, and later on a low grade of mixed cassimeres. Misfortunes came and the sheriff seized the property, when another temporary suspension took place. The mill was leased for a time by Hunter & Kershaw, and was sold to Thomas Liversidge, Esq., who worked it for some years in the manufacture of southern jeans. It was finally purchased by the present firm of J. Morton Brown & Co., who took possession in March, 1883. Since then the capacity of the mill has more than doubled. The whole establishment has been renovated, improved and extended. There are now eighty-six looms of the most improved pattern in operation, making high-grade cassimeres at the rate of twenty-eight thousand yards a month. There are four sets of cards, four self-acting mules, one thirty-five horsepower and one twenty-five horse-power engine, with two forty horse-power and two thirty-five horse-power boilers. Two hundred hands are employed, and the market value of the mill today is fully seventy-five thousand dollars. SHAW & KENWORTHY operate the Agenoria Mill, better known as the Blue Mill, which was erected in 1847 and operated by Joseph Bodey and known as Bodey & Jacobs' mill. It was run as a cotton-lap factory. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt. In 1861, C. Blounts, Joseph and James Shaw and James Kenworthy formed a partnership, under the firm name of Blounts, Shaw & Co. and leased the Bodey & Jacobs mill, and began the manufacture of woolen yarn. In 1863 they commenced the manufacture of woolen goods. In 1866, Mr. Blounts retired, and J. & J. Shaw & Co. became managers, proprietors and owners of the mill. James Shaw retired in 1881, the firm name remaining the same. In 1871 a large addition was made to the mill and improved machinery added, and it was changed from a two-set to a four-set mill. The mills are in the northeastern part of the borough, and form three sides of a hollow square. The dimensions of the buildings are fifty six by one hundred and sixteen feet, fifty by one hundred and fifty feet, and a dye-house thirty-six by sixty feet. One hundred hands are employed, with a payroll of four thousand five hundred dollars a month. PICTURE OF JAMES SHAW, APPEARS HERE. 585 JAMES SHAW was born at Paddock, a district of Huddersfield, in Yorkshire, England, on the 21st of May, 1824, and was, one of nine children of Jonathan Shaw, whose birth occurred September 27, 1794. The latter married Elizabeth, daughter of George Ellam, who was born June 19, 1795. When a youth the subject of this sketch was taught the value of labor, his education having been limited to a period of six weeks at a day-school and such important instruction as he received at Sunday-school. He early entered a woolen-mill and became familiar with the trade of a cloth-dresser. PICTURE OF JAMES KENWORTHY, APPEARS HERE. On completing his term of service be determined to seek a more favorable field of operation in America, and embarked in 1846, landing in Philadelphia after a tedious passage of five weeks. He at once found employment at Breack's mill, Brandywine, Del., and on the destruction of the mill by fire, in 1848, removed to Manayunk, where he was employed by various parties. Being a mechanical genius, he also made electric machines, galvanic batteries, and also repaired and cleaned clocks at night or when a leisure hour occurred. He at this time manufactured many Lobereiner's inflammable lamps, which were sold to tobacconists. In 1855, Mr. Shaw found employment at Troop's mill, in Norriton township, as finisher and general manager for C. Blounts & Co., which position he filled until 1861, when, in connection with C. Blounts, Joseph Shaw -an elder brother and James Kenworthy, a partnership was formed under the firm-name of Bloudts, Shaw & Co., for the manufacture of woolen goods, and which, in 1866, upon the retirement of Mr. Blounts, became the firm of J. & J. Shaw & Co., as at present. This business relation was both successful and harmonious, and continued until failing health compelled Mr. Shaw to retire from the firm a short time prior to his death, which occurred on the 26th of April, 1881, in his fifty-seventh year, leaving a wife, son and daughter, who reside at "White Hall," near Jeffersonville. Mr. Shaw possessed great industry, accompanied by self-reliance, which enabled him to say truthfully that lie had never failed in any enterprise he had undertaken. He was an intelligent student and reader of the best literature, especially of scientific works, collecting a valuable library, which was a source of much pleasure to him. His whole life was one of charity and kindness. In his religious belief be was a Presbyterian and among the foremost in the election of the Centennial Presbyterian Church at Jeffersonville, and was also active in the promotion of many worthy projects in his township. 586 JAMES KENWORTHY. -Mr. Kenworthy is of English birth, his grandfather, John Kenworthy, having resided in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, England. His family consisted of four sons and four daughters, of whom John, a native of Saddleworth, became master of the trade of machinist. He married Mary Andrew, whose children were Wright, John, Mary A., James and Jane. James, the third son in order of birth, was born March 21, 1827, in Newton Moore, Cheshire, England, where his youth was devoted to labor in a cotton-factory in the vicinity, which he entered at the age of twelve years. On attaining his twentieth year he began an apprenticeship to the business of hardware dealer, and remained thus employed until twenty-six years of age, when his emigration to the United States occurred. After a brief period in Philadelphia he was attracted to Montgomery County, and in 1855 found employment in the woolen-mill of C. Blounts & Co., in Norriton Township. In 1861, in connection with C. Blounts, Joseph Shaw and James Shaw, the mill was leased which is still operated by Joseph Shaw and James Kenworthy, jeans and kerseys having been the staple article of production. Mr. Blounts' connection with the business was severed in 1866, leaving J. & J. Shaw & Co. the proprietors. James Shaw's ill health occasioned his withdrawal from the firm in 1881, since which date the mill has been conducted by the present partners, and is chiefly devoted to the manufacture of jeans. Mr. Kenworthy has been twice married, his first wife having been Miss Henrietta Froeb, of Lobenstein, Saxony. Their two surviving children are Milton and Mary. He was again married, to Mrs. Sarah Jenkinson Caldwell, a native of Yorkshire, England, who has one daughter, Leah. Mr. Kenworthy is a strong Republican in politics, and has, as a representative of that party, served two terms in the Borough Council. He is in his religious views a Presbyterian, and member of the First Presbyterian Church of Norristown. FARNUM'S MILL. -The operations of Farnum's Mill, on Washington Street, below Mill, have been stopped since 1882. There are two distinct buildings, one modern, built by the late proprietor, F. D. Farnum. It is about fifty by seventy feet, four stories in height, and contains one hundred and sixty looms for the manufacture of gingham, sixteen hundred and eighty spindles, ten ring-frames, six boilers, a one hundred horse-power engine, and requiring in all about one hundred and twenty-five hands. The old mill, which is not connected with the new, contains the spinning machinery, and is thirty-five by one hundred and forty feet. F. D. Farnum purchased this mill from Samuel O'Neal. The old mill, however, has a history almost hidden by the curtain of time. Mr. John H. Baird, foreman of the Eagle Works foundry, worked in the mill fifty years ago. He was then a boy, and the building was standing long before his time. It was then a machine-shop, operated by French & Miller, and the first engine ever put into Jamison's Mill, at De Kalb Street bridge, was built by that firm in their little shop. It was subsequently used as a factory for making cotton laps; Levis Cornog, and, after him, Cornog & Hurst, operated it as a cotton-factory, Charles Custer using part of the building as a factory for building threshing-machines. Samuel O'Neal purchased the old building about the year 1856, and he conducted the business of making cotton cloths and yarns up to about 1862, when he sold it to F. D. Farnum. GARDNER & HARRISON. -On the 25th of August 1884, Messrs. Benjamin Gardner and John Harrison started a small factory on Arch Street, between Marshall and Chestnut, for the manufacture of Turkish towels. The building was erected by Mr. James Newton, of Norristown, and is thirty by fifty-six feet, two stories in height. There are eighteen looms, with thirteen hands employed, and a ten horsepower engine supplies the motive-power. THE QUAKER CITY SHIRT-FACTORY. -This fine modern establishment is located near the Stony Creek depot, in the West End of the borough, and was built in 1879 by Chester L. Smith, who had already established the manufacture of shirts at Philadelphia, in 1865. It is a three-story building, forty-two by one hundred and forty feet, and is filled up with every modern appliance and invention for the manufacture of shirts. The monthly pay roll amounts to over four thousand dollars, and about twenty thousand dozens are produced per annum. The whole work, from the cutting out of the shirt to the completed laundered article, is done by machinery. HATHAWAY'S SHIRT-FACTORY. -Mr. John C. Hathaway established his shirt-factory, in the year 1869, in Norristown. It is located at the corner of George and Marshall Streets. One hundred hands are steadily employed in the factory upon sewing machines, and one hundred more are employed at their own homes hand-sewing. They produce six hundred dozen shirts a week, with a pay roll of seven hundred dollars a week. Mr. Hathaway has a branch factory at Reading, where four hundred dozen shirts a week are made. Mr. Hathaway's machines are operated by steam, furnished by an eight horse-power engine. NORRISTOWN SHIRT-FACTORY. -This establishment is on Lafayette Street, between De Kalb Street and Strawberry Alley. It was established by Mr. George Wright, and after him was carried on by Miss Fanny Davidson for three years. At the present time it is owned by Mrs. Fanny Kahn, who runs fifty-six machines, with sixty hands, producing three hundred dozen shirts a week, with a pay roll of nine hundred dollars per month. 587 NORRISTOWN HOSIERY COMPANY. -The hosiery industry was established in 1880 by D. M. Yost, dry goods merchant, corner of Main and De Kalb Streets, and began with six machines, six hands to work them and a production of about seventy-five dozen stockings per week. The firm at present is D. M. Yost, John D. Haenge and Frank Roop, under the title we have before stated, viz.: the Norristown Hosiery Company. They operate sixty knitting-machines and employ sixty hands at their new establishment, in the rear of the Montgomery County Prison lot. The building is of frame, thirty-two by one hundred feet, with boiler-house and engine-house. The product is about twelve hundred dozen a week, and the company pay in wages one hundred and twenty-five dollars a week, exclusive of the convict labor in the county prison, for which they pay one hundred and fifty dollars a month. In addition to these industries, the companies have a branch hosiery department in Limerick Township, to which they pay twenty-five dollars a week. They also manufacture about five hundred pairs of pants per week, for which they pay one hundred dollars to their working-people. During the past year the company have paid out in wages over fourteen thousand dollars. THE KEYSTONE -HOSIERY COMPANY. -The manufacture of hosiery is one of the recent additions to the industries of Norristown, and after two or three experiments resulted in the establishment of the above-named company by Morgan Wright & Son. It was opened on Swede Street, below Main, November 1880, and, being extremely successful, the company have extended their business and removed their machines to the large building erected for them by Henry A. Derr. It has a frontage on Penn Street of thirty-four feet, and is seventy-two feet deep and three stories high. There are one hundred and eighty knitting-frames in operation, and the production is about two thousand three hundred dozen a week. STEAM MARBLE-WORKS, HENRY A. DERR. -The works were founded in 1842 by Franklin Derr, father of the present proprietor, upon a very small scale. The industry and business tact of Mr. Derr very soon made them felt in the community, and some of the largest public buildings in the borough are the works of his hands, amongst the rest the county court-house. The present proprietor succeeded his father in the establishment in 1877, and these marble-works the now the most extensive in Montgomery County. The main building is at 127 Main Street, with an imposing front; which attracts much attention from visitors and strangers. The marble saw-mill is forty by sixty feet, with a twenty horse-power engine and the usual complement of saws and polishing-machines for preparing the slabs of marble for trade uses. MOYER MARBLE-WORKS. -Moyer's marble-works was established on De Kalb Street, opposite the market-house, in 1853, by James Moyer. They are now occupied and owned by George W. Smith, who, has been connected with the establishment for over twenty-one years. The capacity in 1853 was very small, only about three hands being employed. The present proprietor has more than quadrupled the production of the works and the value of the property. It has a frontage on De Kalb Street of eighty feet, a depth of one hundred feet, and is worth to-day fully thirteen thousand dollars. ISAAC LANDIS' MARBLE-WORKS. -Mr. Landis commenced business at the corner of Marshall Street and the railroad, early in 1879, as a dealer in marble. His specialty is the manufacture and placing of curb-stones, gutters, door and window-sills, etc. He employs seven hands and pays in wages about four thousand dollars annually. KELLER'S POTTERY. - C. F. Keller nineteen years ago purchased a small pottery-works on Pearl Street, near Stony Creek, from J. Kesler. The pottery was built by John Linker, and since it came into the hands of the present proprietor the property has been improved. Mr. Keller and his sons run the kiln and its accompaniments, but no record has been kept as to the amount produced or the cost of production. EGYPT MILLS. -This establishment is one of the ancient landmarks of the industrial development of Norristown. In 1809, John Markley erected a two story stone building, obtaining the inside timber from Barbadoes Island. The building fell into the hands of Matthias Holstein, who, in 1825, introduced water from the Schuylkill River to obtain additional motive- power. Up to that time it had been driven by water from Saw-Mill Run. In 1835 the mill was sold to the late Christopher Heebner, who operated it most successfully up to the time of his death, which occurred near the close of the year 1883. During his long incumbency of nearly half a century Mr. Heebner was constantly engaged in improving the property and increasing his capacity for the manufacture of the highest grade of flour. In the year 1842 a large store-house was built at the river-side. In 1857 a large addition was erected at the East End of the mill. In 1868 ten feet were added to the height of the building, all the old machinery was taken out and replaced with the newest and most improved inventions known to the trade. The building stands at the foot of Mill Street, fronting one hundred feet on Schuylkill Street. The motive-power is obtained by means of one turbine and one overshot water-wheel, the capacity being about seventy-five barrels a day. At the sale of the real estate the mill was bought in by Messrs. Samuel Moore and J. J. Brooks, and was finally purchased by Messrs. Freitsch & Baugh, who took possession August 4, 1884. The property is valued at twenty-six thousand dollars. Forty years ago the late Christopher Heebner held the monopoly of the manufacture of flour in this section, and guarded what he considered his rights with jealous care. He then owned what is known as the old Fizone Flouring-Mill, which stood on the site of the present Main Street Station on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, near Stony Creek. He also owned the Egypt Mills here mentioned, and also leased the Bridgeport Mills, now operated by Hibbert A. Brook. These gave him complete control of the flouring trade, and as he was a man of great energy of purpose, looking after his interests with keen watchfulness, he kept the trade in his own hands to the exclusion of all others. 588 CHRISTOPHER HEEBNER. -The grandfather of the subject of this sketch was Christopher, a son of David Heebner, Who married, in 1757, Susanna, daughter of Hans Wiegner. Their children were Melchior, born in 1759 John, in 1761 Sarah, in 1763 Abraham, in 1766 Christopher, in 1770 Susanna, in 1773 David, in 1778 Christopher, of this number, married, in 1792, Susanna Smith, and had children,- David, born in 1793; Sarah, in 1795; Margaret, in 1796; Abraham, in 1799; John, in 1802; Susanna, in 1804; Christopher; Ann, in 1811; and Myra, in 1815. Christopher Heebner was born June 11, 1809, in Norriton Township, and resided upon his father's farm until 1826, when he became an apprentice to the trade of miller at the Perkiomen Mills. On acquiring his trade he continued three years as a journeyman, and in 1831 came to Norristown, forming soon after a copartnership with Jacob Freedley in the milling business. Later he purchased what was known as the Egypt Mill, in Norristown, to which he made extensive improvements built two warehouses, and in 1868 and 1880, respectively, remodeled the structure, adding much new and valuable machinery. Mr. Heebner was a Republican in politics, but not active as a politician. He was, however, for a number of years a member of the Borough Council and the school board of Norristown. He was a director of the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad, the Montgomery Cemetery Company, the Norristown Insurance and Water Company, the Norristown Gas Company, the Montgomery and First National Banks, the King of Prussia Turnpike Company, and a liberal and influential member of the Montgomery Fire Company. He was also actively identified with the Corn Exchange of Philadelphia. Mr. Heebner was widely known as a business man of great sagacity, combined with ceaseless energy and the most scrupulous integrity, -qualities that enabled him from the beginning to make his presence felt as a power in the commercial world. He married, in 1833, Ann, daughter of John Mitchell, and had children,- Elizabeth (Mrs. Daniel Dresher, deceased) George Martha (wife, of Lane S. Hart) Edward James (deceased) Henry (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Heebner, in November, 1883 celebrated their golden wedding, when distinguished guests greeted the venerable pair and showered congratulations upon their aged heads. The host on this auspicious evening entered into the spirit of the occasion with the eager gladness of youth. A few weeks later he was prostrated by a sudden illness, which proved fatal on the 19th of December 1883. PICTURE OF CHRISTOPHER HEEBNER, APPEARS HERE. STONY CREEK FLOUR-MILLS. -These mills were built by the present proprietor, George C. Morgan, in 1879, near the site of the old Freedley Mill, on Marshall Street, at the edge of Stony Creek. The building is four stories in height, thirty-eight feet front by fifty-six feet deep. At the time of its erection there were four run of stones, a twenty-five horse-power engine and two turbine wheels of twenty-one horse-power; but the proprietor some time since adopted the new roller process, and put in five sets of Stevens' break rolls, one set smooth rolls, three purifiers and seven bolting rolls, using two run of stones for middlings and one for feed. The capacity of the mill is forty-five barrels of flour of good quality daily. LONG'S SOAP MANUFACTORY. -With a frontage on Lafayette Street of one hundred and fifteen feet, and of seventy feet on Markley Street, the soap-factory of Patrick and Samuel J. Long, the present proprietors, has held its place for over half a century. Fifty-three years ago Abraham Buckart was engaged in the business in a small way, being able to make now and then during the year, at distant intervals, a boiling or casting of two thousand pounds of soap. Mr. Buckart sold the establishment to John Cascaden, Mr. Patrick Long, who was Mr. Cascaden's brother-in-law, buying it for him. Mr. Cascaden failed, when Mr. Long assumed the responsibility, and the place changed hands more than once, until it came into the present firm. Samuel J. Long, as the heir and representative of his father, superintends the hide and tallow department; his uncle, Mr. Patrick Long, attends to the soap trade, which has assumed grand proportions, having the capacity of ten thousand pounds of soap at one boiling. A. R. COX'S BREWERY. -This extensive establishment fronts on Main Street, near Markley, close to Main Street Station on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, connecting with the Stony Creek road. It is owned and operated by A. R. Cox, by whom it was built and has been operated for nearly forty years. Away back in 1830, Morgan James ran a small brewery in a frame house on this site, in partnership with Abraham Eschbach, brewing, perhaps, about half a dozen barrels of beer a week. Morgan James drew out of the firm, when A. R. Cox, who then lived in old John Freedley's house, joined Eschbach in the business on the same small scale. The property of John Freedley being offered for sale, Mr. George Cole, Mr. Cox's father-in-law, induced Mr. Cox to purchase the property and furnished the money. The buildings and improvements cost twelve thousand dollars, and improvements were made in every department of the premises. Levi Haas, Justus Leaver and Frederick Gilbert built the large cedar vats, each holding two hundred gallons, which are standing today, and are in good condition. The work and the men who performed it are all today in a good state of preservation, and we may here say that several of the men who worked at the old frame brewery forty years ago are working for A. R. Cox now. 589 There are nine hands employed steadily all the year round; the production is about three thousand barrels a year of ale and porter and the property is to-day worth over one hundred thousand dollars. LAGER BEER BREWERY. -In 1866, Moeshlin Bros. commenced the brewing of lager beer in Norristown, in a small one-story building, on a lot off Marshall Street, along Stony Creek, with the crudest and most primitive appliances. The material produced was in accordance with the means of producing it, and was certainly a failure; but in 1870, Mr. Charles Scheidt, a skilled brewer, purchased the business from John C. White & Co., and applying his skill, with ample means, he soon made his mark. After operating the brewery for some years he admitted his brother Adam into the business, and it is now conducted under the firm name of C. & A. Scheidt. New ice-houses and brewery buildings have been added, and the small one story building, with a capacity of fifteen hundred barrels a year, has expanded into an imposing edifice, five stories in height, sixty feet front by one hundred and sixty feet in length, producing ten thousand barrels a year. HERCULES CIGAR-FACTORY. -Wm. K. Gresh, now senior proprietor of Hercules Cigar-Factory, began to manufacture cigars at Centre Point, Worcester township, in 1861, and in 1867 removed the business to Perkiomen, and in 1872 again made a change, and settled at Norristown and opened a factory on Marshall Street, between Astor and Corson Streets, which, in 1875, was much enlarged. The increase of business demanded larger accommodations, and in 1882 he moved to Western Market Hall, corner of Chain and Marshall Streets. In May of the same year E. P. and H. C. Gresh, sons, became partners, under the firm name of W. K. Gresh & Sons. They now occupy a building one hundred and twenty by forty feet and sixty by forty feet, and have an average of seventy-five hands employed. The firm also deals in leaf tobacco and manufactures about four million cigars annually. WILLIAM K. GRESH. -Nicholas Gresh, the grandfather of William K. Gresh, on his emigration from Germany, settled in Berks County, and at a later period became a soldier in the war of the Revolution. His children were Charles Nicholas Daniel and one daughter, Elizabeth (Mrs. Wentzel). Daniel, who followed his trade of weaver in Berks County, married Susanna Kuser, who was of French descent, and had children, - Augustus, Edwin, John, William K., Rachel (Mrs. Harman Custer), Leah (Mrs. Alexander Hummel), Emeline (Mrs. George Hesch), Elizabeth (Mrs. William Glase), Henry Abel, and two deceased, Kate A. and Milton. William K., of this number, was born on the 23d of January, 1834, in Pottsgrove township, Montgomery Co., his early youth having been spent in Berks and Montgomery Counties. At the age of seventeen, he left his home and sought, by industry, to render himself independent. Not, however, being satisfied with the limited advantages of education he had already received, he added to his stock of knowledge by attendance upon the sessions of a winter school. At the age of eighteen he started a brick-yard at Centre Point, Worcester township, and at the same time erected several dwellings, indicating always a desire in his various undertakings to be his own master and not subservient to the will of others. While engaged in brick-making Mr. Gresh found much of the winter unoccupied, and during this period of leisure sought a field for his energies in the manufacture of cigars, which he began in his own house. This he continued for some years, and in 1867 removed to Perkiomen Township, where land was purchased; the business greatly increased in proportion. For five years he continued at this point, and in 1872 sought a wider field of operation in Norristown. Here he purchased land and erected a factory, but soon finding his limited quarters inadequate to the increase of business, the factory was enlarged. In 1883 be removed to his present spacious quarters, which have also been enlarged to meet the demands of an increasing trade. Mr. Gresh was, at the age of twenty-one, married to Mrs. Leah Detwiler, daughter of Peter Hendricks, of Worcester Township. Their children are Edwin Pierce, Harvey Clinton, Eraminda (deceased), William Perry, Kate A. (Mrs. John S. Geller) and Unett Earley. His sons Edwin P. and Hervey C., after being thoroughly educated in all departments of the business, were, in 1883, admitted to the firm. The members of the Gresh family are all musical, understanding the theory of music and executing on one or more instruments. They have gratified this taste in the organization of an orchestra, which is rendered serviceable for religious worship as on other occasions. Mr. Gresh is a Democrat in his political convictions, but was in a strong Republican district elected a member of the Borough Council. He is identified with Trinity Reformed Church of Norristown, in which he has for many years been an elder and representative in the various church bodies. All the members of Mr. Gresh's family are actively interested in religious work, and exemplify in their daily walk and conversation the Christian virtues of which the head of the family is the worthy exponent. PICTURE OF WILLIAM K. GRESH, APPEARS HERE. BRIDGEPORT. JAMES LEE & SONS. -The history of this firm is well worthy of note, demonstrating practically what skill, backed up by industry and energy, has accomplished in Montgomery County. 590 In the year 1852, James Lees and Joseph Schofield entered into partnership for the manufacture of carpet-yarn at Robinson's mill, on Mill Creek. They had one mule spinning-frame, three condenser cards and twelve hands. For two years they struggled on, and then rented the Nippes Mill, on Mill Creek. Two years later the partnership was dissolved, Mr. Schofield drawing out of the firm. The next firm's title was that of James Lees & Co., when they went to Manayunk, and engaged in the manufacture of carpet yarn. In 1856, Joseph Lees, son of James, was admitted as a member of the firm, the same title being retained. They then returned to Mill Creek, to Deringer's mill. In October 1860, Mr. Schofield's interest was bought out, and the firm became James Lees & Son. Two years later Dr. John Lees was admitted into partnership, and the firm took the title which it now holds James Lees & Sons. In February, 1864, they were burned out of Deringer's mill, and in the next month, March, 1864, bought the old mill building which was the first occupied by them at Bridgeport. There was nothing but the building standing; they put in the machinery themselves, and in August of the same year they commenced the manufacture of carpet-yarn. From that date to the present it has been an uninterrupted march of progress, as the following figures will show; the small mill, with ten hands, has developed into five mills, with one thousand hands. No. 1 Mill is forty-six by one hundred and forty feet, four stories high; No. 2 Mill is forty-eight by one hundred and forty-eight feet, five stories high; No. 3 is fifty by one hundred feet, five stories high; No. 4 is seventy-two by one hundred and thirty-seven feet, four stories; No. 5 is fifty by seventy-five feet, four stories in height. In addition to these are dry-rooms, storerooms and a number of other minor buildings. The machinery consists of two hundred and ninety narrow looms, twenty-six broad looms, eighteen sets of woolen machinery and ninety-five worsted-spinning frames. The worsted yarn for ingrain and Brussels carpet produced per week is forty thousand pounds, the woolen carpet-yarn per week is thirty-two thousand two hundred pounds, and the jeans produced by the looms amount to thirty thousand yards a week. One thousand hands are employed, the wages per month amount to seventeen thousand dollars, and the value of the entire plant is estimated at six hundred thousand dollars. WORRALL & RATCLIFFE'S MILL. -Better known in local parlance as the Brick Mill. It was founded by Saville Schofield, now a wealthy manufacturer of Manayunk, during war-times, and was purchased by the firm of Worrall, Ratcliffe & Smith in 1869. Of the original members of the firm but one is now living, but he drew out of the business year, 3 before the death of the other two. The firm now consists of Thomas W. Worrall and Isaac Taylor, but the old title of Worrall & Ratcliffe is still retained. The mill is located on Front Street, having a frontage of one hundred and sixty feet, two stories in height, with a depth of forty-four feet, close to the Schuylkill Canal. It commenced with thirty-two hands, working upon low-class jeans, but now employs seventy-two hands, the capacity for production being more than doubled. The machinery in operation consists of three sets of sixty-inch cards, three self-acting mules, eighty-eight looms, one sixty horse-power engine, one hundred and twenty horse-power boiler, with the full proportion of dyeing, warping and finishing machinery. The productive capacity of the mill is five hundred thousand yards per annum of jeans and doeskins. THOMAS RATCLIFFE. -James Ratcliffe, the father of the subject of this biography, was united in marriage to Grace Hoyle, whose home was in the vicinity of Halifax, England. Their children were Thomas, Mary and James. By a second marriage, to a Miss Roberts, were born sons, David and John. The birth of Thomas occurred near Halifax on the 3d of September 1820, and his early life was spent in Manchester. He emigrated, when a youth, to America, and immediately found employment in a cotton mill, and became thoroughly versed in the various departments of manufacturing. After being engaged for some years with his father-in-law, John Maxson, of Manayunk, he, in 1868, made Bridgeport his home, and, in connection with George Worrall, established a woolen-mill. Here he continued actively engaged until his death, which occurred in September, 1883. Mr. Ratcliffe was married to Miss Deborah Maxson, of Wissahickon. Their surviving daughter is Mary, married to Isaac Taylor, an enterprising manufacturer of Bridgeport. Another daughter, Margaret, is deceased. Mr. Ratcliffe was a strong Republican in his political sentiments, and was for several terms a member of the Borough Council of Bridgeport. He was educated in and always adhered to the faith of the Church of England. He was a man of modest demeanor, possessing integrity of character and a reputation for probity and honor, which won universal regard. RIDGEWAY & CARR, MANUFACTURERS OF WOOLEN YARN. -These gentlemen occupy the building on Front Street the property of William Potts, of Swedeland. In 1874 it was fitted up as a manufactory of stone-cars for the limestone quarries of Upper and Lower Merion. The business failing, the building was occupied by Messrs. Ridgeway & Carr, who manufacture woolen yarn, and it is also adapted for the manufacture of hosiery and woolen jackets. The machinery consists of two sets of cards, one self-acting mule and one hand-mule, with a thirty horse-power engine and boiler. Seventeen bands are employed in the mill, producing about two thousand pounds of yarn per week. COX & DAGER'S PAPER-MILL. -Messrs. Cox & Dager, both of Norristown, fitted up the old sawmill formerly occupied by John C. Richardson as a paper Mill in 1881. It was a large frame building destroyed by fire on the 23d of May 1884. They Immediately erected the present building of stone, and it is now one of the best-fitted and most substantial mills in the State. 591 The machinery-room is one hundred and eighteen by forty-two feet; beater- room, eighty-five by thirty-five feet; cutter-room, fifty by thirty feet; rag-boiling house, thirty by forty-five feet. There are two engines, one of one hundred and twenty horse-power and one of forty. The capacity of production is about fifteen tons a week of Manilla paper. PICTURE OF THOMAS RATCLIFFE, APPEARS HERE. Twenty hands are employed, and about eight hundred dollars a month are distributed in wages. The value of the property, plant included, is about fifty thousand dollars. SMITH'S WOOLEN-MILLS. -This fine establishment is the newest acquisition to the industries of Bridgeport, and probably of the county, for it has only been built and put into operation during the last few months. It was opened on December 1, 1883. Isaac W. Smith, Esq., the proprietor, is an experienced manufacturer, who, for a long time of years, operated the woolen-mill at Valley Forge. This mill is fifty-eight feet front, one hundred and forty-five feet long and two stories in height. The machinery consists of two sets of cards, two self-actors, one hundred and twenty horse-power engine, and eighty horse-power boiler. The business consists of the manufacture of doeskins, jeans, diagonals and flannels, of which about forty-five thousand yards per month are produced. There are sixty hands employed, and the aggregate of wages per annum will amount to about twenty- two thousand dollars. The mill is located in a beautiful spot near the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad track, on Third Street, above De Kalb, and cost thirty-four thousand dollars. ISAAC W. SMITH. -Mr. Smith is of Welsh descent, his father, Aaron Smith, having been a resident of Lower Merion Township, where he cultivated a farm and also followed his trade as a shoemaker. He married Sarah Free, whose children were William F. (of Ogden, Utah), John Alvin (of Lower Merion), Sarah A. (wife of Joseph Shaw, deceased), and one who died in youth. By a second marriage, to Mary Watkin, of Delaware County, were born children, George (deceased) Isaac W. Aaron Mary Emily. The birth of Isaac W. occurred July 29, 1839, in Lower Merion, where he received in youth such education as the public schools afforded. At the age of twelve years he entered the carpet-yarn factory of his brother-in-law, Joseph Shaw, and served an apprenticeship to the business, subsequently removing with him to Valley Forge, and acting in the capacity of manager until the death of Mr. Shaw, in 1863. 592 Mr. Smith continued, in behalf of the widow, the superintendence of the interests of the estate until 1872, when he became lessee of the mill and machinery for three years. He later purchased the machinery and continued to operate the mill until 1882, when, having disposed of his property at public sale, he made Norristown his home. In the spring of 1883, Mr. Smith purchased ground and erected a mill in Bridgeport, where he began the manufacture of cloths flannels and ladies' dress goods, in which he is now actively engaged. Isaac W. Smith was married, in June 1867, to Miss Mary Ella, daughter of the late George Grow, a farmer of Lower Merion Township. Their children are Joseph S., Isaac A., Mary K., Emma L., Louis Y., J. Futhey and one who is deceased. Mr. Smith is in politics a Republican, and though not active in the political field has held various offices in the county and township. His religious affiliations are with the Presbyterian Church, of which he is a member. PICTURE OF ISAAC W. SMITH, APPEARS HERE. REBECCA PAPERMILLS, HUGH McINNES, PROPRIETOR. -The Rebecca Paper-Mills are located on Front Street, with a frontage of two hundred and sixty-seven feet, and reaching back to the river. The buildings were erected as an oil refinery, in 1868, by Dr. H. T. Slemmer, and were afterwards leased to George Zinne as ice-houses. The present proprietor purchased the property from the Standard Oil Company, and, in partnership with Mr. Robert Dager, commenced the manufacture of Manilla paper. In a short time Mr. Dager left the firm, and since then Mr., McInnes has run the mill himself. Twenty- three hands are employed steadily, with a pay sheet of one thousand dollars a month. Two engines furnish the motive power, one of one hundred and twenty and one of thirty horse-power. Three boilers, of one hundred horsepower each, furnish the steam. The mill is furnished with the best machinery known to the trade, and produces thirty thousand pounds of Manilla paper per week. The mill and plant is estimated in value at seventy-five thousand dollars. DE KALB STREET ROLLER FLOURING-MILLS. -This substantial old stone building stands near the south end of the De Kalb Street bridge, close to the edge of the canal, and has a history of its own. It was built in 1824 as a saw-mill by Jacob Pastorius, and was superintended by Mr. Cadwalader Evans. In 1826 it was changed to a grist-mill, Mr. Evans assisting in arranging the machinery, dressing the burrs, and for two years more superintended it as a flouring-mill for country trade. It was put up at sheriff's sale and bought in by the Schuylkill Navigation Company, whose property it still remains. For two years it was run by John Gorgas, who erected a drying-mill and ground corn for shipping. 593 The late Christopher Heebner run the mill for some years, and was followed by John Tyson and others, who worked it occasionally. Henry and Israel Newbury leased the mill for a time, and added new and improved machinery. They failed, and in March, 1880, it was taken by the present lessees, Messrs. Hibbert & Brook, under whose management it has been a complete success. It has a capacity of one hundred and twenty-five barrels of flour a day, and two hundred bushels of choppings. The machinery consists of nine pairs of steel rollers. The first pair of rollers merely crushes the grain, which, in its broken condition, is carried by elevators to a bolting roll, where the flour is shaken out. The crushed grains then pass through the secondary pair of rolls and again to the bolting roll, and so on continuously until it has been broken and ground between each pair of the nine rollers, the particles becoming finer with each break. The middlings remaining after this process has been gone through with passes to the only remaining run of stones, and more flour is extracted. PORK-PACKING. -Several years ago Charles Whitman established a large butchering and pork-packing business on Front Street. Since his death it has passed through several hands, and has been most successfully operated since the year 1882 by the present proprietor, John B. Horn. Since taking possession Mr. Horn expended about four thousand dollars in improvements, and it is now one of the most complete pork-packing and butchering establishments in the State, having all the newest and most approved machinery for slaughtering and curing pork and beef. The proprietor has increased the business to an enormous extent since he took hold. From the 1st of January up to the last day of July during the year 1884 he shipped of hams and shoulders alone, by rail, four hundred and thirty-two thousand pounds, and this; was exclusive of home trade or his large shipment of beef. Seven hands are employed at the works which extend one hundred and sixty- five feet in front deep with an ice-house one hundred and sixty-five feet square. W. S. RICHARDS, ELEVATORS, AUTOMATIC DOORS, ETC. -In the year 1880, W. S. Richards Esq., a skilled mechanic in wood and iron, leased the building Fourth Street the property of Joel Andrews, Esq., of Norristown, and established a manufactory of dumb-waiters, automatic doors, elevators and other labor-saving mechanical appliances for hotels, public buildings and private residences. The building is twenty-five by seventy feet, three stories in height. There are thirteen hands employed on the premises. The property, with the machinery, stock, etc., is valued at about seven thousand dollars. JACOB ANDREWS, BRICK MANUFACTURER. -Mr. Andrews is a well-known citizen of Norristown, residing on De Kalb Street, near Spruce. He engaged in the manufacture of bricks on his property at Fourth Street, Bridgeport, in 1844, and has conducted the business successfully since that period. The capacity of his kilns and yards is two million bricks annually. SCHUYLKILL VALLEY CREAMERY. -This establishment was erected and adapted as a creamery on Fifth Street, in 1880, by Mr. Jacob Tripler, of Norristown. It is now operated by Mr. John Kinze, and has a capacity of making one hundred and sixty pounds of butter and thirty cheeses daily, provided they could obtain a sufficient quantity of milk. The machinery and appliances are kept in beautiful order, and the whole is evidently under skillful management. CONSHOHOCKEN. ALAN WOOD & CO. -These well-known iron-works and rolling-mills were established in 1856, and front on Washington Street about one thousand feet, from Poplar to Ash Street, the buildings and lots covering fifteen acres of ground. The firm employs five hundred hands, with a monthly pay roll of twenty thousand dollars. The monthly product is one thousand tons of finished iron. There are twelve engines, thirty-four boilers and seven trains of rolls. The value of the plant is a million and a half of dollars. JOHN WOOD & BROTHERS' SHEET AND PLATE-IRON MILLS. -The business of this firm was first established by James Wood, father of the present proprietors, in 1832. The firm now runs three mills. Two of them are situated on Washington Street; the other is near Matson's Ford bridge, on it strip of land between the canal and the river. This later is driven by two, fifty-four inch turbine wheels, the water from the canal being used for that purpose. Three hundred hands are employed, producing about seven thousand tons a year of finished work, with a pay roll of twelve thousand dollars a month. The Washington Street mill were burned down in 1882, but were soon rebuilt in a more substantial and convenient than before. The frontage on Washington Street is six hundred feet; depth, two hundred and fifty feet. There are ten engines, eighteen boilers and seven roll-trains. The property is valued at seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars JOHN WOOD, JR. -The titles of these works are the Conshohocken Car-Works and the Schuylkill Foundry and Machine-Works. Engine-boiler and rolling mill machinery are a specialty. The proprietor is a son of Hon. John Wood, and commenced operations in 1867, with ten hands, doing business the first year to the amount of about ten thousand dollars. 594 In 1873 he built the foundry, machine and, pattern-shops, and in 1880 erected the car-works. There are now eighty-five hands employed. The mill has a front on Washington Street of four hundred feet, with :a depth of five hundred and forty feet. There is a full plant of most valuable machinery, and the whole is in splendid working order. PICTURE OF JAMES WOOD, APPEARS HERE. MONTGOMERY BOILER AND MACHINE-WORKS, WILLIAM T. BATE & SON, are located on Washington Street. The firm commenced business in 1865, but built the shops they now occupy in 1868. The works , consist of three buildings, divided into boiler, blacksmith and foundry, and machine and pattern departments. From very small beginnings in 1865 they have increased their business in the manufacture of boilers and steam generators, their own patents, to an enormous extent, their boilers being sent to almost every State in the Union, while their home trade has been firmly established. They employ thirty skilled workmen. In 1879 the finished work produced was 153,974 pounds in boilers, while 400,000 pounds of pig iron were used in other castings. The patents belonging to this firm have been most favorably mentioned in every scientific journal of America. In 1882 the weight of the castings produced was 646,617 pounds, and of plate-iron used 264,672 pounds, -total 911,289 pounds. In 1883 the plate-iron used was 106,783 pounds, and of bar-iron 350,025 pounds, -total, 456,808 pounds, a decrease of 454,481 pounds, owing to the, obstruction of their business by the building of the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad, which deprives them of proper means of receiving and delivering goods. The firm paid in wages last year $13,962.05. The property is valued at $100,000. WILLIAM T. BATE, grandson of William and Mary Bate and son of William and Mary Bennett Bate, was born October 25, 1818, at Tywardreth, Cornwall, England, where he remained until six years of age. He then removed with his parents to Liverpool, and subsequently to Manchester and other points in Lancashire. His father having been a blacksmith and boilermaker, after a period spent at school he entered the shops under his supervision and acquired a general knowledge of the business. In 1835 be began at Parconsoles, Cornwall, England, an apprenticeship under Richard Terrell and William West, the latter a mechanical engineer. He followed for twelve years his trade of blacksmith and boiler-maker in various portions of the country, and having concluded to seek a more attractive field in America, embarked for New York July 13, 1847, arriving after a long and tedious passage of eight weeks. He found employment soon after in Belleville, N.J., and from that point worked in various localities in New Jersey, and subsequently in Connecticut, from whence he removed to Baltimore. In 1856 he was solicited to assume charge of the boiler and blacksmith-shops of the Norris Works, located at Norristown; he accepted the offer, and remained until these works were closed. After a brief interval at Easton, Pa., Mr. Bate returned to Norristown, where be resided until 1866, when Conshohocken became his home. Here the firm of William T. Bate & Co. was established for the building of boilers and general machinery, the partners being the subject of the sketch, John Wood, Jr., and Richard H. Bate. This partnership was dissolved in 1868, when Mr. Bate, in connection with his son, erected their present extensive works, in which they manufacture boilers, castings, all kinds of machine-work and steam fitting. In 1883 the completion of the Pennsylvania Schuylkill Valley Railroad rendered the removal of the shops necessary, and Mr. Bate purchased six acres of land in Bridgeport, Montgomery Co., where he, in October, 1884, began the erection of suitable building, which they expect soon to occupy. Mr. Bate was married, January 18, 1839, to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of William George, of Cornwall, England. They have had fourteen children, of whom the surviving ones are William, Edward (who served during the late war, in which he was wounded), Mary (wife of Charles Fairburn), Richard, Elizabeth Jane (Wife of Cadwallader Brook), Ellen (wife of William Johnson), John S. and Clara. In politics Mr. Bate is an earnest and enthusiastic Republican, as are all his sons, but he has neither sought nor accepted office. He was educated in the faith of the Church of England, as was also his wife, and their allegiance is still to that faith. 595 PLYMOUTH ROLLING-MILL COMPANY. -These well-known mills are located near the upper end of the borough, close to the lines of the Philadelphia and Reading and the Plymouth Railroads. They were built in 1842 by Stephen Calwell. For many years they were operated by Samuel Fulton, and he is now the general manager. This company also owns a mill in Norristown, which we include in this sketch. The works, when in full operation, employ three hundred hands, and pay out in wages fifteen thousand dollars a month, producing fifty thousand tons a year of pig-iron, muck-bar, plate and sheet-iron. The works front on Washington Street eighteen hundred feet, with a depth of five hundred feet. There are three blast furnaces No. 1 and No. 2 and the Lucinda and four trains of rolls. There are fifteen engines, six of them averaging over five hundred horse-power, and twenty-five boilers. These figures include the engines and boilers at the works in Norristown, the property of the company. PICTURE OF WILLIAM J. BATE, APPEARS HERE. JAWOOD LUKENS IRON-WORKS. -These works are quite modern, having been erected in 1892 by the proprietor, Jawood Lukens, Esq., formerly connected with the establishment of Alan Wood & Co. There are seventy hands employed, the payroll being three thousand five hundred dollars a month. The production is about six thousand five hundred tons of muck-bar per annum. The building is in the lower part of the borough, fronting on Washington Street four hundred feet, with a depth of six hundred feet. There are three engines and three boilers; the latter are Babcock & Wilcox water-tube boilers, with a full plant of first-class modern machinery. LEWIS A. LUKENS. -Jan Lukens, the progenitor of the family in America, sailed from Holland during the year 1683, and located in Philadelphia. Among his sons was Abraham Lukens, who became a farmer in Towamencin Township, Montgomery Co. His son John, the grandfather of Lewis A. Lukens, though by occupation a farmer, was a man of scientific attainments, and won some reputation as a skillful surveyor. He married Miss Rachel Robinson, and became the father of children,- David George Joel Edith (Mrs. Mordecai Davis). David Lukens was born on the 18th of October 1761, in Towamencin Township, where he continued the healthful pursuits of his ancestors, and married Miss Mary, daughter of William and Elizabeth Shepherd, whose birth occurred November 16, 1760. Their children are Charles, born in 1790 William, in 1793 Elizabeth, in 1795 (who became Mrs. George Shoemaker) Aaron, in 1798 Maria, in 1801 (who became the wife of Robert Fowler) Rachel, in 1804 (who became the wife of Dr. Samuel Tyson) Lewis A. Mark, born in 1810 Edward, in 1812. 596 The death of David Lukens occurred in 1828, and that of his wife in 1818. Their son, Lewis A., was born On the 8th of April 1807, in Plymouth Township, now a portion of Conshohocken, the half of the borough having been built upon land owned by his father. His youth, until eighteen, was spent in the pursuits peculiar to a farmer's son, with such educational opportunities as the neighboring school afforded, after which he removed to Philadelphia and became proficient in the trade of a cabinet-maker. PICTURE OF LEWIS A. LUKENS, APPEARS HERE. This field of action was, however, too circumscribed for the progressive mind of Mr. Lukens, who, in 1836, made Lebanon County his residence, and there leased the Newmarket Forge for a period of ten years. At the expiration of this lease, and after a brief interval, be removed to Bridgeport and was, during the succeeding four years, engaged with his brother in the lumber business. In 1851 he purchased a farm on the Wissahickon, in Whitemarsh Township, and in 1858 removed to Conshohocken, having the previous year, in connection with his brother-in-law, Alan Wood, built the rolling mills at that point. After a lengthened period of great business, leaving his interest in the bands of his sons, Charles and Jawood. Mr. Lukens was, on the 16th of September 1834, married to Miss Mary T., daughter of James Wood, of Conshohocken. Their children are Alan W., Charles, Jawood, Clara (Mrs. Charles Heber Clark), Frank and Mary, the last two being deceased. Mr. Lukens is a stanch Republican in politics, having been member of the board of school directors and of the Borough Council of Conshohocken, as also for several years its chief burgess. He is a director of the First National Bank of Conshohocken and one of the corporators of the Conshohocken Gas and Water Company, of which he was for ten years president. He is also a director of the Plymouth and Whitemarsh Turnpike Company. He is in his religious predilections a Friend, and worships with the Plymouth Meeting. Mr. and Mrs. Lukens in 1884 celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of their marriage; the occasion being replete with interest to the members of the family who assembled to do them honor. CONSHOHOCKEN TUBE COMPANY was incorporated in 1882. The works are located in the lower part of the borough of Conshohocken, adjoining the iron-mills of Jawood Lukens, who is president of the company. James W. Harry is secretary and treasurer and Albert L. Murphy is the manager. The capital stock of the company, which is fully paid up, is one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. 597 company, which is fully paid up, is one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The business of the company is the manufacture of wrought-iron tubing by the new and improved method invented by Stephen P. M. Tasker, Esq., of the firm of Morris, Tasker & Co. At present the business is conducted in a large frame building, one hundred and twenty-five feet front towards Washington Street and six hundred and twelve feet deep towards the river Schuylkill. This building was erected for temporary purposes, and will be replaced in the near future by more extensive and substantial works. This enterprise has been a complete success and has contributed largely to the growing prosperity of the borough. They are now producing twenty-five tons a day of finished work, which, with the receipt of raw material, coal and all the other accessories necessary to the production of a large an amount of finished work, gives a great impetus to local and other industries. The company has one of the largest pipe-welding and heating furnaces in the country, which is a very great advantage to their business. They are steadily increasing their capacity for production, and when busy will employ one hundred hands, with a pay-roll of one thousand dollars a week. CONSHOHOCKEN COTTON-MILLS, STANLEY LEES, PROPRIETOR. -These mills established in 1856 by the brothers, J. & S. Lees, who formerly operated a mill at Mill Creek. The extent and capacity of works have quadrupled during their occupancy by the Messrs. Lees, and the only change in the firm has been made by the death of J. Lees, when the junior member assumed the whole management. The mill building is the largest single building used for this purpose in the Schuylkill Valley, being two hundred feet long by fifty feet deep, with separate buildings for engine, machine-shop, picker-house, dye and sizing-houses. About two hundred hands are employed upon the loom, and other machinery. Four thousand dollars are paid monthly in wages, the production of cotton goods being about thirty thousand yards per week. The mill was almost totally destroyed by fire in 1880, but was quickly rebuilt and fitted up with new and improved machinery. ALBION PRINT-W0RKS. -The extensive range of buildings known as the Albion Print-Works stands on the low grounds between the canal and the river, at the east end of Matson's Ford bridge. Tradition says that in and subsequent to the Revolutionary time a gristmill stood on the spot, and still later it is reported that a saw manufactory was conducted there. These, however, have disappeared, and in 1865 a Philadelphia firm, Joseph Lea & Co., built a silk-mill and dye-house here with Mr. Jonas Eberhardt as manager, seven natives of France having been brought over to assist in the work. The mill was destroyed by fire August 21, 1875; was rebuilt and started again January 1, 1876, with Richard H. Brehn, Esq., as manager, the firm being then Lea, McCarter &Co. When in full operation the works (now a print-cloth establishment) employ two hundred hands, paying seven thousand dollars a month in wages, and putting through the machinery about fifty thousand pieces of goods per month. The two main buildings are of the following dimensions: the main print-works, ninety-four by three hundred and thirty-four feet, and the bleach, dye and boiler-house, ninety-eight by two hundred and sixty feet. The property is valued at five hundred thousand dollars. CONSHOHOCKEN WARP-MILLS, HAMILTON MAXWELL, PROPRIETOR. -These mills were built by George Bullock in 1865, and were occupied by Hamilton Maxwell since 1866 in the making of cotton warps, of which about six thousand pounds a week are made, and about fifty hands are steadily employed. The building is located between the canal and the river Schuylkill, with dimensions one hundred and fourteen by forty-seven feet. A sixty-horse turbine wheel originally ran it but the supply of water was found to be unreliable, owing to floods and the drawing off the canal, and the mill has for many years been run by steam. HORACE C. JONES, COTTON MANUFACTURER. -The mill is located on Washington Street, and was formerly operated by John Whitton. The present proprietor, Horace C. Jones, took possession in 1880. Sixty-five hands are employed, amongst whom fifteen hundred dollars a month are distributed as wages. There are sixty-four looms weaving cottonades, four sets of cards and fifteen hundred woolen spindles. The production is about fifty thousand yards a month. The works consist of two buildings, -one one hundred and fifty by two hundred feet, the other fifty by one hundred and twenty-feet, three stories in height. GEORGE S. YERKES' LUMBER-YARD. -The origin of this yard dates back over forty years, when Jonathan Jones & Sons established in connection with a saw-mill. In 1855 they were succeded by E. D. & E. Jones, who remained proprietors until 1875, when the firm was changed to Evan D. Jones & Co. In 1881, Mr. George S. Yerkes, the present proprietor, was admitted into partnership, and is now sole proprietor. There are two buildings, one hundred feet by ninety-two feet, the other one hundred feet by eighteen feet, both two stories in height. They are located on Elm and Cherry Streets, and produce a large amount of sashes, doors, frames, desks, bookcases, etc. Twenty-five hands are employed, and the firm is in a flourishing condition. EAST CONSHOHOCKEN QUARRIES. -These quarries are in Plymouth Township, and are famous for the building-stones they produce. They belong to Boyd Stinson, Samuel F. Prince and Michael O'Brien, and were bought from George W. Jacoby in 1868. The stone produced at this quarry is famous for its enduring qualities. It has been tested at Washington by the best experts of the profession, and has been pronounced perfect. The Wissahickon Bridge and many others along the lines of the different railroads are built of this stone. In full blast the quarries employ one hundred and fifty men, at a monthly wage of four thousand dollars, and produce fifteen hundred tons of stone per day 598 MICHAEL O'BRIEN. -Michael O'Brien, the grandfather of the subject of this biographical sketch, born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1776, was an extensive lessee of land. He married Rose Fitzsimmons, of County Meath, whose only son, Christopher O'Brien, was born about the year 1800 near Dublin, where be was educated, and followed a mercantile career. PICTURE OF MICHAEL O'BRIEN, APPEARS HERE. He was, in 1830, married to Catherine, daughter of John and Elizabeth Gugarty, of County Meath. Among the ten children of Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien is Michael whose birth occurred on the 18th of February, 1832, in the above county, near the line of County Dublin. He received a thorough English education in the schools of his own county and in Dublin, and at the age of twenty, discovering no advantageous career open to him in his own country, emigrated to the United States. He first settled in Philadelphia, but later removed to Conshohocken where for sixteen years he was employed in various capacities and finally as general agent for the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad in the transportation of coal, lime and iron. He had, during this time, become the landlord of the Conshohocken Hotel, of which he remained for twenty years the popular proprietor. Seeking a broader field of operation, he, in connection with his partners, under the title of the Plymouth Quarry Company, purchased the Plymouth Quarry, located on the Jacoby farm, in Plymouth township and at once obtained from the furnaces at Norristown and Conshohocken and various glass-works in New Jersey large orders for fluxing-stone. The company, in course of time, erected works, laid railroad tracks and made other improvements incident to the needs of an increasing business. In 1880, Mr. O'Brien acquired an interest in and became superintendent of the Conshohocken Stone Quarry Company, the product of this quarry being the Conshohocken granite, now in general use for bridge-building and the laying of large foundations. This quarry has supplied 599 the stone for the bridge built by the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad crossing the Wissahickon, for that crossing the Schuylkill at Manayunk and the bridge across the Perkiomen Creek built by the Pennsylvania Railroad. It supplies all the stone used for purposes of construction by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. The company employ one hundred men, two hoisting-engines, one double hoisting-engine and work five massive derricks, three sets of boilers, six steam-drills, one hundred railroad cars, and have two miles of track connecting with both the Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroads. The extensive business connections of this quarry and its exceptional mechanical equipment make it the most successfully worked quarry in the State. Mr. O'Brien is a pronounced Democrat in his political sympathies, and has served for two terms as burgess of the borough of Conshohocken and for six years as school director. He was one of the earliest directors of the First National Bank of Conshohocken, as also of the Plymouth Turnpike Company, and treasurer of the Franklin Building Society. He is in his religious faith a Roman Catholic and member of St. Matthew's Church of that denomination in Conshohocken. Mr. O'Brien was married, in 1856, to Mary Ann, daughter of Thomas and Ann Fox, of Philadelphia. Their children are Annie (Mrs. Horace Hallowell), Kate, Thomas C. (a student of medicine in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania), Minnie, Madaline, Lizzie, Michael and Louis H. End Part II