THOMAS FAMILY LEGACY
David Thomas (3 November 1794 – 20 June 1882) was a native of Wales who was influential in the birth of the Industrial Revolution in the US.
Development of the hot blast David Thomas was born in Cadoxton, near Neath. He went to school at nearby Alltwen and at Neath, and worked on his father's farm before going into the iron industry.
As an adult, he was widely regarded as one of the foremost ironmasters in the United Kingdom. It was while employed at the Yniscedwyn Works, in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley, that he devised the process which would advance the Industrial Revolution. On February 5, 1837, Thomas used a hot blast to smelt iron ore and anthracite coal. The result was an easy method to produce anthracite iron, which revolutionized industry in the Swansea Valley. This type of iron had been patented by Edward Martin of Morriston, Wales in 1804.
In 1839 he relocated to Pennsylvania, where the owners of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in Lehigh County wanted Thomas to build a furnace for the production of anthracite iron. The Lehigh Valley region, being rich in both anthracite coal and iron ore, was the perfect setting for Thomas's creation.
Emigration to Pennsylvania Thomas and his son, Samuel, walked into the infant community of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania on the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's towpath on July 9, 1839. Less than one year later, on July 4, 1840, the first successful anthracite iron furnace in the United States began operation, and the Industrial Revolution began.
Thomas's iron works was extremely successful, even though the iron industry in the rest of the Lehigh Valley had begun to decline. The company was incorporated in 1839 as the Lehigh Crane Iron Company, and in 1872 the name was changed to the Crane Iron Company. By that time the community was no longer known as Craneville, but as Catasauqua; Thomas had named both his company and the town in which he founded it after his former employer in Wales.
Iron produced at the Crane Iron Company was used in a number of products, many of which were made elsewhere in Catasauqua. The neighboring company of John Fritz's Iron Foundry used Crane iron to build the first American-made cast-iron construction columns, while the nearby Davies and Thomas Foundry turned Crane iron into pipes and tunnel tubes. Among the still-existing structures which were created using Crane iron are the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels in New York City.
Thomas's industry helped the small town to become quite prosperous, and he himself became a wealthy landowner.
Philanthropy and honors Thomas's wealth and generosity with it endeared him to his neighbors. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were known as "the father and mother of Catasauqua", and frequently addressed as Mother and Father Thomas.
A devout Presbyterian, Thomas founded the first church in the borough of Catasauqua, in which residents still worship. He installed its first public water system, founded its first fire company, and served as its first Burgess. He provided a number of neat, attractive homes for his employees, many of which are still standing today.
Additional accolades were presented to "Father Thomas" for his transformational ideas and vision. He was named the first president of the American Society of Metallurgy, and was one of the founders of the American Association of Industrial Engineers.
Death and legacy: David Thomas died on June 20, 1882. He, his wife Elizabeth, and generations of their descendants are all buried in the Thomas family vault, a sort of underground mausoleum at Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua. The Thomas family mansion, located on Second Street in Catasauqua, is still standing, though its interior has since been divided into apartments.
In 1898, Leonard Peckitt took the reins as president of the Crane Iron Company. He proceeded to purchase a number of other companies in the region, uniting them all under the incorporation of the Empire Steel and Iron Company. Though Peckitt was a shrewd businessman, he could not hide forever the fact that the 20th century brought changes to the iron industry, and that the company was beginning to lose money. The last furnace at the Crane Iron Company ceased operation in 1921; by 1935, most of the plant had been demolished. Little remains of the company's plant today.
Sources
www.ask.com
Development of the hot blast David Thomas was born in Cadoxton, near Neath. He went to school at nearby Alltwen and at Neath, and worked on his father's farm before going into the iron industry.
As an adult, he was widely regarded as one of the foremost ironmasters in the United Kingdom. It was while employed at the Yniscedwyn Works, in Ystradgynlais in the Swansea Valley, that he devised the process which would advance the Industrial Revolution. On February 5, 1837, Thomas used a hot blast to smelt iron ore and anthracite coal. The result was an easy method to produce anthracite iron, which revolutionized industry in the Swansea Valley. This type of iron had been patented by Edward Martin of Morriston, Wales in 1804.
In 1839 he relocated to Pennsylvania, where the owners of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in Lehigh County wanted Thomas to build a furnace for the production of anthracite iron. The Lehigh Valley region, being rich in both anthracite coal and iron ore, was the perfect setting for Thomas's creation.
Emigration to Pennsylvania Thomas and his son, Samuel, walked into the infant community of Catasauqua, Pennsylvania on the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's towpath on July 9, 1839. Less than one year later, on July 4, 1840, the first successful anthracite iron furnace in the United States began operation, and the Industrial Revolution began.
Thomas's iron works was extremely successful, even though the iron industry in the rest of the Lehigh Valley had begun to decline. The company was incorporated in 1839 as the Lehigh Crane Iron Company, and in 1872 the name was changed to the Crane Iron Company. By that time the community was no longer known as Craneville, but as Catasauqua; Thomas had named both his company and the town in which he founded it after his former employer in Wales.
Iron produced at the Crane Iron Company was used in a number of products, many of which were made elsewhere in Catasauqua. The neighboring company of John Fritz's Iron Foundry used Crane iron to build the first American-made cast-iron construction columns, while the nearby Davies and Thomas Foundry turned Crane iron into pipes and tunnel tubes. Among the still-existing structures which were created using Crane iron are the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels in New York City.
Thomas's industry helped the small town to become quite prosperous, and he himself became a wealthy landowner.
Philanthropy and honors Thomas's wealth and generosity with it endeared him to his neighbors. He and his wife, Elizabeth, were known as "the father and mother of Catasauqua", and frequently addressed as Mother and Father Thomas.
A devout Presbyterian, Thomas founded the first church in the borough of Catasauqua, in which residents still worship. He installed its first public water system, founded its first fire company, and served as its first Burgess. He provided a number of neat, attractive homes for his employees, many of which are still standing today.
Additional accolades were presented to "Father Thomas" for his transformational ideas and vision. He was named the first president of the American Society of Metallurgy, and was one of the founders of the American Association of Industrial Engineers.
Death and legacy: David Thomas died on June 20, 1882. He, his wife Elizabeth, and generations of their descendants are all buried in the Thomas family vault, a sort of underground mausoleum at Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua. The Thomas family mansion, located on Second Street in Catasauqua, is still standing, though its interior has since been divided into apartments.
In 1898, Leonard Peckitt took the reins as president of the Crane Iron Company. He proceeded to purchase a number of other companies in the region, uniting them all under the incorporation of the Empire Steel and Iron Company. Though Peckitt was a shrewd businessman, he could not hide forever the fact that the 20th century brought changes to the iron industry, and that the company was beginning to lose money. The last furnace at the Crane Iron Company ceased operation in 1921; by 1935, most of the plant had been demolished. Little remains of the company's plant today.
Sources
www.ask.com
- Images of America: Catasauqua and North Catasauqua by Martha Capwell Fox (Arcadia Publishing 2002)
- WelshDragon.net: Historical Wales Timeline
- Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company
- Welsh Biography Online
I came across this while researching David Thomas. A very interesting read!
THE
RED DRAGON
The National Magazine of Wales.
EDITED BY CHARLES WILKINS.
VOL. IV.--JULY TO DECEMBER, 1883.
CARDIFF:
DANIEL OWEN AND COMPANY.
1883.
NOTABLE MEN OF WALES.
DAVID THOMAS.
THE FATHER OF THE ANTHRACITE IRON TRADE.
Anthracite iron, except to some engaged in the metal trades of South Wales, is a term, comparatively speaking, unknown to the general public in this country as having any distinctive feature apart from any other iron. The term, however, is applied to iron made with anthracite iron coal -- the purest fuel ordinarily used in the manufacture of iron, which is produced in the western portion of the South Wales coalfield, extending from the upper part of the Vale of Neath, in Glamorganshire, on the east, to Saundersfoot, in Pembrokeshire, on the west. At the Yniscedwyn Anthracite Iron Works, in the Swansea Valley, there is almost an inexhaustible supply of this invaluable fuel -- one seam, the four feet, is especially considered and confirmed by experience to be the very best for smelting purposes, on account of its purity and strength under burden in the blast furnaces, and it proves there to be of the most superior quality, and is unequalled by any other coal for iron making. Some few years after the departure of Mr. David Thomas from Yniscedwyn to America, a sample of this seam was sent to Dr. Percy, of the Metallurgical School of Mines, London, for analysis, and he found it to contain a higher percentage of carbon than any other coal in Great Britain, absolutely smokeless, perfectly free from sulphur, and to contain a minimum of waste matter. Indeed, Anthracite Coal may not inaptly be described as Nature's Coke, and, in confirmation of what is stated above, I find in the official report just issued of the tests made at South Kensington last year by Mr. D.R.Clark, C.E., on behalf of the Committee of the Smoke Abatement Society, London, that the anthracite coal from the Yniscedwyn Coalfield ranked first both for domestic and steam generating purposes, as compared with other coals, whether anthracite, steam, or bituminous. It has also the great advantage of entire freedom from smoke. This purity in the fuel, no doubt, has its effect upon the quality of the iron, as the Yniscedwyn Brand, known as "Crane Anthracite Iron", has since the days of Mr. Thomas' management there stood pre-eminent in the metal market for toughness, ductibility, and strength; and, in consequence, it has been largely used for charcoal tin-plates, charcoal wire, horsenail rods &c. Some ten years ago, the writer saw iron made at Yniscedwyn under the furnace management of Mr. Thomas Clee, -- undoubtedly one of the foremost anthracite iron smelters in South Wales, -- which, on being submitted to the rigid series og trials by Mr. Kirkaldy, at his Testing Works, Southwark, showed the tensile strain to average 22,000 lbs. per square inch; and under a thrusting strain, pieces about one inch and an eighth of an inch in diameter, and eight inches long, deflected three-eighths of an inch before showing any signs of fracture. I have before me a tabulated statement, shewing the yields of several "Brands" of Pig Iron as tested some few years ago at one of the principal Tinplate Works in South Wales, and, selecting two of them, I give below the results obtained, as between "Anthracite" and "Barrow Hematite" No. 3 Pig Iron, viz.:--
Pigs delivered.Stamps produced.Loss in conversion.
cwts.qrs.lbs.cwts.qrs.lbs.cwts.qrs.lbs.
Anthracite6014......5014......1010
Barrow Hematite6024......402......2023Equal in the case of Anthracite Iron to 17.5 per cent., and in the case of Barrow Hematite to 35.0 per cent. loss. The blast furnaces built by Mr. Thomas at Yniscedwyn have all disappeared and been superseded by others of more modern construction, both as regards enlargement and improved appliances, and hot blast arrangements -- the outcome of various experiments and experiences resulting in almost a maximum of production.
I offer no apology for prefacing the foregoing specific, and, I hope, not uninteresting facts, as to my mind they are simply the sequel, or, might I rather say, the results of the development of the foundations laid some fifty years ago at Yniscedwyn, the scene of the early struggles, labours, hopes, fears, aspirations, experiments, failures, and successes of the eminent man who forms the subject of the following biographical sketch, and where his memory is still held in the highest estimation by the oldest inhabitants of the place. It is to him belongs the high honour of having made at Yniscedwyn the first anthracite iron ever cast in Great Britain, or, indeed, in the world; and in America he is justly and proudly recognised as the Father of the Anthracite Iron Trade of Pennsylvania. Mr. Thomas' life and successes with the Anthracite Iron Trade in America are well-known in that country, but as they may not possibly be so well-known as they deserve to be amongst his countrymen generally in Wales, I have thought it well to cull from various sources, and to put together the principal incidents of so interesting and instructive a career.
Mr. David Thomas was the son of David and Jane Thomas, of Tyllwyd Farm, in the parish of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales. He was one of a family of four children, one son and three daughters, and was born on the 3rd of November, 1794. Two of the daughters are still living, one eighty-two years of age living in the parish of Ystradfellte, within a short distance of Colbren Junction, on the Neath and Brecon Railway; the other, aged 79 years, lives within half a mile of Tyllwyd, her birthplace. In an interview with the latter, the writer could not fail being struck with the clearness of her intellect and memory (which was also a strong characteristic of her brother), tracing events back as far as sixty years ago. David Thomas, the father, was a small farmer, but a highly respectable man in his parish, and although a Dissenter, he held the office of churchwarden for some years, and was overseer of the poor of his parish for sixteen years. He was a consistent and exemplary member of the "Independents" Religious Community at Maesyrhaf Chapel, Neath for forty years, and his wife, who survived him twenty years, was one for some sixty years. Both are buried in the burying ground attached to the above-named place of worship. Young David's religious and moral training was, therefore, of the strictest kind, both as regards example and teaching, and these appear to have clung to him through life. Being the only son, his parents were anxious to give him the best education their means would allow, and that the district afforded. In the first instance he attended a school at Alltwen, Pontardawe, where he appears to have made such progress that at nine years of age he was removed to a more advanced one at Neath, and the best then in the district, his father paying one guinea a quarter, which was considered a large amount in those remote days. In this school he applied himself with industry and perseverance, outstripping all his schoolfellows, and was looked upon as having been better educated than the generality of the neighbouring farmers' sons. He was of very studious habits, delighted in books and in acquiring knowledge and information, and was determined to get on. The education, however, he received enabled him only to acquire the merest elements of learning; the intelligence and knowledge displayed by him in after life, which enabled him to rise to so prominent a position, were due entirely to self culture. His father's holding was not a large one, and, as is generally the case with Welsh farmers, all the members of the family in their turn has to assist in the operations on the farm. In this capacity young David was employed for some time; but agricultural pursuits were not to his taste, and he could not be made to settle down to this class of occupation. His thirst for knowledge and improvement had awakened in him an ambitious feeling which farming operations failed to satisfy; and in 1812, at seventeen years of age, he determined to branch out in a line of life which he thought presented more prospects then working on a small farm; and he consequently went to work at the Neath Abbey Iron Works. For five years he worked in the fitting shop and at the blast furnaces there, asserting his superiority and intelligence over his young com-peers, by whom he was familiarly known as "Dai Tyllwyd," by showing a wonderful aptitude for the business, and gaining a vast store of experience and knowledge, even in that short space of time. In fact, so well did he occupy his time and talents, that in 1817 he went to Yniscedwyn Anthracite Iron Works, in the |Swansea Valley, then owned by Mr. Richard Parsons, where he was made general superintendent of the blast furnaces and of the iron and coal mines. There he was known as "Dafydd Thomas y Stiwart," by which name he is also spoken of even now by the oldest inhabitants of that place -- a somewhat more dignified title than that of the homely one of "Dai Tyllwyd," in vogue at the Neath Abbey Iron Works. Mr. Thomas remained at the Yniscedwyn Works in that position for nearly twenty-two years, working his furnaces in the most successful manner, and continually experimenting with anthracite coal as a smelting fuel. It so happened that the Yniscedwyn Works then actually stood alone on the only belt of anthracite coal in Greate Britain, extending over the district already described; the argillaceous clay, iron stone, and black band being stratified all the way through it. And yet, with this bountiful supply of magnificent fuel lying under their very works, the Yniscedwyn folks were hauling coke to their furnaces from a distance of fourteen or fifteen miles. Mr. Thomas naturally argued that when the fuel and ore lay together, as they did there, the fuel must be suitable for smelting the ore, provided the right process of doing so could be hit upon. With this aim in view he began as early as the year 1820 to make experiments. In this same year the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in America succeeded, after much difficulty, in getting 365 tons of their now famous anthracite coal to Philadelphia; and then they found out, to their horror and disgust, that they had overstocked the market. People said it would not burn, even that it put their fires out, and absolutely refused to buy it. But David Thomas knew nothing about this; all he knew was that a seam of coal lay under his very feet, and that he was most anxious to utilize it in his blast furnaces, if possible. So in ignorance of the struggles of the Lehigh Company, and little dreaming that his road to wealth and position led through this very doorway, he quietly and persistently went on with his experiments, undaunted by his repeated failures. Of his various experiments Mr. Thomas used to say :- "As early as 1820 I had some anthracite coal to put into the furnace with coke, in the proportion of from one part in twenty to one part in twelve; this did very well; but whenever anything went wrong with the furnace the fault was always laid on the coal; and the men became so prejudiced against it that I had to give it up. Still every year I would try some experiments with it, both in cupolas and blast furnaces. In 1825 I had a small blast furnace built with a nine foot bosh, and twenty-five foot stack. After blowing it in with coke, I introduced anthracite coal, increasing the quantity of it more and more. But the tuyers would close up, so that we had to abandon it. In 1830 I enlarged the furnace, giving it an eleven foot bosh and a forty-five foot stack. This resulted in a greater amount of success. Still the whole thing was so unprofitable that it was given up."
But while Mr. Thomas had been so resolutely experimenting, another brain had been scheming, devising, and, at last, perfecting an invention which was to create a revolution in blast furnaces, and enable him to reach the goal of his ambition. That invention was hot blast.
In the year 1828 Mr. Neilson, of Glasgow, Scotland, began making experiments in this direction, and in 1834 he patented his valuable invention - the heating of the blast before introducing it into the furnace. In those days it took a long while for news to reach distant parts of the country; and it took two years to reach the sharp and eager ears of Mr. Thomas. By that time the Clyde Iron Works had a hot blast furnace in operation; and Mr. Thomas hurried off to Scotland to see how the process worked. After the most careful examination he determined that the new hot blast was just what was wanted for an anthracite furnace. He returned to Yniscedwyn with a license from Mr. Neilson, and an expert mechanic who understood the construction of heating ovens. The furnace was prepared for the new blast, the heating ovens were attached to it, and on the 5th February, 1837, the furnace was blown in. The success was complete, and anthracite iron continued to be successfully and profitably made from that furnace without intermission. Anthracite iron was a new-born commodity in the commerce of the world, and David Thomas, of Yniscedwyn, was its godfather. Mr.Thomas was in the habit of telling an interesting anecdote in connection with his hearing of Mr.Neilson's invention. It appears he was one evening in the house of Mr.George Crane, a gentleman who then owned the Yniscedywn Works, and who always burnt anthracite coal in the grate of his sitting room. Mr.Thomas began to blow the fire with a small pair of bellows. "Don't do that, David, or you will blow the fire out," interposed Mr.Crane. "If the air out of that bellows were only as hot as Mr.Neilson describes his hot blast to be," rejoined Mr.Thomas, "the anthracite coal in that grate would burn like pinewood." Mr.Crane exclaimed "Ah! that is the idea precisely," and this idea both recognized as one which would bear working out; and through Mr.Thomas' indomitable pluck and perseverance it succeeded. The writer lived for some years in the house formerly occupied by Mr.Crane, and he distinctly recollects this veritable grate, which was of such unique construction that it deserves to be described. It was built internally with bricks, and in shape about a foot square, and eight or nine inches high - not tapering at the bottom, like ordinary modern grates - with vertical bars and cast iron shutters or wings, which were closed or opened for the regulation of the draught necessary for the ignition of the coal, and when closed it had the appearance of one solid piece of a handsome casting. Mr.Crane was a short, little man, quick and energetic in his actions, and most persevering and pushing in business, and such an uncompromising strict Sabbatarian that he actually suspended all operations at the blast furnaces while he held a religious service in the adjoining carpenter's shop, in which he assembled all his workmen on Sunday afternoon. He was also rigidly zealous for the due observance of the prohibitory Sunday drinking hours, and was the terror of all the publicans in the parish of Ystradgynlais, whose houses, in virtue of the powers vested in him as churchwarden, it was his habit to visit during Divine service on Sundays. And many amusing tales are related of him, how, while on his visits, and when within a short distance of a public house, he would run as fast as his legs could carry him; with the view, presumably, of suddenly pouncing upon some unsuspecting Bacchanalians who might easily be cosily quenching their thirst after the previous Saturday night's carousal; in which case the approach of the enemy created a terrible consternation, and was the signal for an immediate rush, a scramble, and a real race, quickened by the well-known agility of Mr.Crane, and the fears of the consequences of a magisterial fine.But to revert to Mr.Thomas. He had lit a candle, which there was no possibility of hiding under a bushel, even if he wished to do so. The wonderful success of the application of hot blast at Yniscedwyn spread about like wild-fire amongst the neighbouring ironmasters, and Mr. Joseph Price, of the Neath Abbey Ironworks, applied the invention to his furnaces at his works there, which Mr. Crane objected to, as an infringement upon his patent rights. Mr.Price, however, contested the point on the ground that the application of the patent simply to anthracite coal was inadequate to sustain the claim. The case was, I believe, carried to the House of Lords, and it was finally decided that the public utility of the application to use anthracite was clear, and that, therefore, the patentee was as much entitled to his rights as such as if he had himself been the original inventor of the applicability of the hot blast to any purpose whatsoever. Mr.Price did not stop his defence at this point, but made another and somewhat ingenious attempt to escape his liability to pay royalty by declaring that he did not admit that the coal he used for his furnaces, and which he obtained from the upper part of the Vale of Neath, to be anthracite at all, but "anthracitous"; but he utterly failed to establish this point. There were also the owners of the great anthracite coal measures of Pennsylvania watching like cats at mice-holes for any break in the cloud which seemed to hang over their fortunes. They, like Mr. Thomas, felt assured that their coal could be used as blast furnace fuel, if they could only discover the proper mode of using it. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, whose splendid mines cluster in the neighbourhood of Mauch Chunk, had spent a large sum of money in building a blast furnace for the purpose of making experiments with anthracite coal as fuel. They did actually succeed in making some anthracite iron; but found the same trouble as Mr.Thomas had with his cold blast - they could not keep the furnace in blast. They were, therefore, compelled to give it up. But in the summer of 1838 the London Mining Journal conveyed to them the welcome and cheering news of Mr.Thomas' great success at Yniscedywn, and in November one of their leading directors, Mr. Hazard, crossed the ocean to witness the process, and learn all about it, with authority to bring back with him one conversant with the process of making anthracite iron. Proceeding at once to Wales, he found the Yniscedwyn furnaces in full and successful operation. Prior to his arrival Mr.Thomas had removed to Devynock, distant some twelve miles, to superintend the construction of a tramway from thence to Yniscedwyn. Mr.Hazard was driven over there by Mr. Crane, who strongly recommended Mr.Thomas as the only man who could answer his purpose. The result was that he was offered and accepted a five years' engagement to go to the United States, and see what he could do with an anthracite furnace in the Lehigh Valley.
He arrived in America in June, 1839, but on his arrival in New York he was laid up with fever, and during his illness poor Mrs.Thomas was in great trouble on account of her inability to speak a word of English, and consequently she was unable to understand the directions of her husband's medical attendant. On his recovery he proceeded to his destination, where, soon after his arrival, the Crane Iron Company of Catasauqua was organised, and in the following month the construction of the first of the present six furnaces of the Crane Iron Company, so called in honour of his patron, Mr.Crane, of Yniscedwyn, was commenced. It was not a large one. It had only an eleven foot bosh and a forty-seven foot stack. The first run of iron was made on the 4th of July, 1840, with the most encouraging success; and that furnace ran on steadily for many years (until it was taken down and the site occupied by the enlarged and modernised No.1) making, small as it was, compared with the giant furnaces now in vogue, its one hundred and eighty tons per week with praiseworthy regularity. In 1841 the company built a second furnace, in 1846 a third, two more in 1849, and the sixth in 1868, but how many more since I have no means at my disposal for ascertaining. While Mr.Thomas was quietly making his preparations and constructing his first furnaces, other experiments were being made with anthracite coal for fuel. Furnaces were especially constructed for this purpose in South Easton, Pottsville, Mauch Chunk, and one or two other places. But they shared the same fate as the previous efforts of Mr.Thomas and of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. They did make some iron, but they could not keep their furnaces in blast for any length of time, and all turned out to be ruinous enterprises. To Mr.Thomas then there is undoubtedly and justly due the credit of having built the first anthracite blast furnace in America, or any other country, which successfully fulfilled the purpose for which it was constructed.
In 1854 the Thomas Iron Company was formed, and the beautiful works at Hokendauqua commenced, situated about a mile above Catasauqua, on the Lehigh River, where six furnaces have been built. In 1855 he relinquished the superintendence of the Crane Ironworks, being succeeded by his youngest son, Mr.John Thomas, and devoted his time and interest in developing the works at Hokendauqua, which works bear his honoured name. In addition to his interest in the Crane and Thomas Ironworks, Mr. Thomas was also interested in the Carbon Iron Company, which had three furnaces at Perrysville; and in the large Rolling Mills at Catasauqua and Ferndale, which produce a quality of iron of high repute. of which he was the president for many years. A short time before his death he withdrew from very active duties, remaining, however, a director and a large shareholder, and he was besides largely interested in collieries and iron ore mines. He was for many years President of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railway, as also of the Lehigh Railway. He was trustee and executive member of St.Luke's Hospital, and a trustee of Lafayette College at Easton. In 1866 he was a Republican candidate for Congress, but declining on principle to take part in the canvass he was not successful, but made a very complimentary showing. Catasauqua's progress has been identified with his life, and with almost every industry in the town he had been connected either as an adviser or an interested party. It is the outcome of his genius, spirit, determination, and progress, and when it was incorporated in 1853 he was chosen its first burgess, and continued to hold office for years, and took an active part in the material prosperity of the town, and in the religious, educational, and moral welfare of its inhabitants.
In 1840, soon after his arrival in America, he organised the first Presbyterian Church, and was an elder of it until his death. He built the Lehigh Fire Brickworks, which are of considerable dimensions, and held the position of director of the National Bank of Catasauqua, in which he had a large amount of stock. The anthracite furnaces number nearly one fourth of the grant total of the blast furnaces in America, and to them much of the wealth of that country is, undoubtedly, to be attributed. And the man who has occupied the most prominent and the proudest position in the records of iron manufacturers was Mr.David Thomas, of Catasauqua, unquestionably one of the largest ironmasters in the world. Mr.Thomas was a man of determined purpose, industry, fidelity, and thoroughness, of uncommon vitality and activity; and although nearly eighty-eight years of age at his death, he took, nearly to the last, a fair share in the active management of the vast interest he controlled. He was as upright and as firm on his legs as a man of sixty, and appeared to possess the wiry physique and age-defying brain which characterise many of those who live a generation longer than ordinary mortals. In the transaction of his multifarious duties he thought as little of going to Philadelphia, New York, or Pittsville, as he did of walking down to his office in Catasauqua. In February, 1874, he attended the Ironmasters' Convention in Philadelphia, and was unanimously elected its President - a graceful and well-earned compliment. At these meetings his presence was always hailed with pleasure, and his opinions honoured and appreciated. Indeed, not only in the strength of mind and body, which was husbanded by a studiously regular habit of "Early to bed and early to rise," but also in personal appearance it was difficult, whilst speaking to him, to realise the fact that he was an octogenarian. His successes in early life were not easily won, especially those for which he will be held in grateful remembrance by future generations, and he had many obstacles to overcome, which would have broken the courage of one with less fixedness of purpose and strength of character. Mr.Thomas had, through his good and exemplary life, coupled with his venerable and patriarchal age, endeared himself to all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance far and near, and both young and old delighted in giving him the respectful and affectionate title of "Father Thomas," while Mrs.Thomas equally shared in the affectionate respect shown to her husband, and was addressed as "Mother Thomas." They had been married for nearly sixty-five years - a very unusual period of companionship. Their family consisted of David and Gwenny, both of whom died before their father, Jane, Samuel, who is President of the Thomas' Iron Company, with numerous grand and great grand children, who used to gather round the old gentleman and prattle on his knees, making him feel as happy and active as if he were twenty years of age.
Mr.Thomas was taken ill on the 20th May, 1882, his illness developing into an attack of pneumonia, which terminated fatally. His illness was painful, but throughout he bore his affliction uncomplainingly, and on the evening of the 20th June, 1882 (exactly one month from the day he was taken ill), he quietly and peacefully breathed his last. Plain in words and manner, his directions about his burial were of the simplest kind. The corpse was placed in the large hall in the house, and from one to three o'clock on Friday afternoon, 23rd June, hundreds of people passed through it to have a farewell view of the mortal remains of their old dear departed friend and benefactor. It was a sad day for Catasauqua, and will long be remembered. All works and business in the neighbourhood were stopped. The funeral service was simple and plain, consisting of the singing of a hymn, the reading of selections of Scripture from Psalms and Corinthians by the pastor, prayer by Dr.Catelle, of Lafayette College, Easton, and the rendering of a favourite hymn -
"My home is there."
The funeral procession was the largest ever seen in Catasauqua, and was headed in the following order :- The employés of the Catasauqua Manufacturing Company, three hundred men; of the Thomas Iron Company, three hundred men; and those of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railway, and others; then came learned, and wealthy men from abroad; then the corpse, followed by the relatives and intimate friends, until Fair View cemetery was reached, wherein, in a vault, were deposited all that remained of one greatly beloved and respected by his fellow-men. None but a great man could have commanded such universal respect.
I have been induced to compile the foregoing sketch of Mr.Thomas' life - and the doing so has afforded me extreme pleasure - by my great admiration for his noble character, indomitable courage and perseverance in overcoming difficulties, coupled with my having been for several years associated with Yniscedywn Ironworks, where his experiments and successes were made, and which led eventually to his attaining so prominent a position and world-wide fame as an iron manfacturer - a character that cannot fail to command the highest admiration, and one that may worthily be emulated.
"Lives of great men all remind us
We may make our lives sublime ;
And, departing, leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time."
ED. ROBERTS,
Westfield, Neath.
Keyboarder's notes:
I hope to enhance this with more Internet links as I find them, but without disturbing the layout, which is as close as I can get to the original document using html. There is also a charcoal drawing of David Thomas after the title page - I hope to scan this in to complete the authenticity of this reproduction.
Some of the spellings have changed a little nowadays because of the tendency to revert Welsh place spellings to the 'correct' version of pre-Anglicanisation times. So, Yniscedwyn is now Ynyscedwyn, and Devynock is often shewn as Defynnog (indicating the correct pronunciation of 'devunnog'). Hyphens are now commonly introduced to separate the original Welsh words, as in 'Ty-Llwyd' and Maes-yr-Haf. Ynyscedwyn is still shown on maps unhyphenated.
Researchers may be assisted by noting that the area around Ty-Llwyd is known as Bryncoch, and had its own Anglican church built (called 'Dyffryn' church rather than Bryncoch) at the end of the 19th century, so family links with the original parish church at Cadoxton cease about then.
Ynyscedwyn is an industrial area of Ystradgynlais.
THE
RED DRAGON
The National Magazine of Wales.
EDITED BY CHARLES WILKINS.
VOL. IV.--JULY TO DECEMBER, 1883.
CARDIFF:
DANIEL OWEN AND COMPANY.
1883.
NOTABLE MEN OF WALES.
DAVID THOMAS.
THE FATHER OF THE ANTHRACITE IRON TRADE.
Anthracite iron, except to some engaged in the metal trades of South Wales, is a term, comparatively speaking, unknown to the general public in this country as having any distinctive feature apart from any other iron. The term, however, is applied to iron made with anthracite iron coal -- the purest fuel ordinarily used in the manufacture of iron, which is produced in the western portion of the South Wales coalfield, extending from the upper part of the Vale of Neath, in Glamorganshire, on the east, to Saundersfoot, in Pembrokeshire, on the west. At the Yniscedwyn Anthracite Iron Works, in the Swansea Valley, there is almost an inexhaustible supply of this invaluable fuel -- one seam, the four feet, is especially considered and confirmed by experience to be the very best for smelting purposes, on account of its purity and strength under burden in the blast furnaces, and it proves there to be of the most superior quality, and is unequalled by any other coal for iron making. Some few years after the departure of Mr. David Thomas from Yniscedwyn to America, a sample of this seam was sent to Dr. Percy, of the Metallurgical School of Mines, London, for analysis, and he found it to contain a higher percentage of carbon than any other coal in Great Britain, absolutely smokeless, perfectly free from sulphur, and to contain a minimum of waste matter. Indeed, Anthracite Coal may not inaptly be described as Nature's Coke, and, in confirmation of what is stated above, I find in the official report just issued of the tests made at South Kensington last year by Mr. D.R.Clark, C.E., on behalf of the Committee of the Smoke Abatement Society, London, that the anthracite coal from the Yniscedwyn Coalfield ranked first both for domestic and steam generating purposes, as compared with other coals, whether anthracite, steam, or bituminous. It has also the great advantage of entire freedom from smoke. This purity in the fuel, no doubt, has its effect upon the quality of the iron, as the Yniscedwyn Brand, known as "Crane Anthracite Iron", has since the days of Mr. Thomas' management there stood pre-eminent in the metal market for toughness, ductibility, and strength; and, in consequence, it has been largely used for charcoal tin-plates, charcoal wire, horsenail rods &c. Some ten years ago, the writer saw iron made at Yniscedwyn under the furnace management of Mr. Thomas Clee, -- undoubtedly one of the foremost anthracite iron smelters in South Wales, -- which, on being submitted to the rigid series og trials by Mr. Kirkaldy, at his Testing Works, Southwark, showed the tensile strain to average 22,000 lbs. per square inch; and under a thrusting strain, pieces about one inch and an eighth of an inch in diameter, and eight inches long, deflected three-eighths of an inch before showing any signs of fracture. I have before me a tabulated statement, shewing the yields of several "Brands" of Pig Iron as tested some few years ago at one of the principal Tinplate Works in South Wales, and, selecting two of them, I give below the results obtained, as between "Anthracite" and "Barrow Hematite" No. 3 Pig Iron, viz.:--
Pigs delivered.Stamps produced.Loss in conversion.
cwts.qrs.lbs.cwts.qrs.lbs.cwts.qrs.lbs.
Anthracite6014......5014......1010
Barrow Hematite6024......402......2023Equal in the case of Anthracite Iron to 17.5 per cent., and in the case of Barrow Hematite to 35.0 per cent. loss. The blast furnaces built by Mr. Thomas at Yniscedwyn have all disappeared and been superseded by others of more modern construction, both as regards enlargement and improved appliances, and hot blast arrangements -- the outcome of various experiments and experiences resulting in almost a maximum of production.
I offer no apology for prefacing the foregoing specific, and, I hope, not uninteresting facts, as to my mind they are simply the sequel, or, might I rather say, the results of the development of the foundations laid some fifty years ago at Yniscedwyn, the scene of the early struggles, labours, hopes, fears, aspirations, experiments, failures, and successes of the eminent man who forms the subject of the following biographical sketch, and where his memory is still held in the highest estimation by the oldest inhabitants of the place. It is to him belongs the high honour of having made at Yniscedwyn the first anthracite iron ever cast in Great Britain, or, indeed, in the world; and in America he is justly and proudly recognised as the Father of the Anthracite Iron Trade of Pennsylvania. Mr. Thomas' life and successes with the Anthracite Iron Trade in America are well-known in that country, but as they may not possibly be so well-known as they deserve to be amongst his countrymen generally in Wales, I have thought it well to cull from various sources, and to put together the principal incidents of so interesting and instructive a career.
Mr. David Thomas was the son of David and Jane Thomas, of Tyllwyd Farm, in the parish of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales. He was one of a family of four children, one son and three daughters, and was born on the 3rd of November, 1794. Two of the daughters are still living, one eighty-two years of age living in the parish of Ystradfellte, within a short distance of Colbren Junction, on the Neath and Brecon Railway; the other, aged 79 years, lives within half a mile of Tyllwyd, her birthplace. In an interview with the latter, the writer could not fail being struck with the clearness of her intellect and memory (which was also a strong characteristic of her brother), tracing events back as far as sixty years ago. David Thomas, the father, was a small farmer, but a highly respectable man in his parish, and although a Dissenter, he held the office of churchwarden for some years, and was overseer of the poor of his parish for sixteen years. He was a consistent and exemplary member of the "Independents" Religious Community at Maesyrhaf Chapel, Neath for forty years, and his wife, who survived him twenty years, was one for some sixty years. Both are buried in the burying ground attached to the above-named place of worship. Young David's religious and moral training was, therefore, of the strictest kind, both as regards example and teaching, and these appear to have clung to him through life. Being the only son, his parents were anxious to give him the best education their means would allow, and that the district afforded. In the first instance he attended a school at Alltwen, Pontardawe, where he appears to have made such progress that at nine years of age he was removed to a more advanced one at Neath, and the best then in the district, his father paying one guinea a quarter, which was considered a large amount in those remote days. In this school he applied himself with industry and perseverance, outstripping all his schoolfellows, and was looked upon as having been better educated than the generality of the neighbouring farmers' sons. He was of very studious habits, delighted in books and in acquiring knowledge and information, and was determined to get on. The education, however, he received enabled him only to acquire the merest elements of learning; the intelligence and knowledge displayed by him in after life, which enabled him to rise to so prominent a position, were due entirely to self culture. His father's holding was not a large one, and, as is generally the case with Welsh farmers, all the members of the family in their turn has to assist in the operations on the farm. In this capacity young David was employed for some time; but agricultural pursuits were not to his taste, and he could not be made to settle down to this class of occupation. His thirst for knowledge and improvement had awakened in him an ambitious feeling which farming operations failed to satisfy; and in 1812, at seventeen years of age, he determined to branch out in a line of life which he thought presented more prospects then working on a small farm; and he consequently went to work at the Neath Abbey Iron Works. For five years he worked in the fitting shop and at the blast furnaces there, asserting his superiority and intelligence over his young com-peers, by whom he was familiarly known as "Dai Tyllwyd," by showing a wonderful aptitude for the business, and gaining a vast store of experience and knowledge, even in that short space of time. In fact, so well did he occupy his time and talents, that in 1817 he went to Yniscedwyn Anthracite Iron Works, in the |Swansea Valley, then owned by Mr. Richard Parsons, where he was made general superintendent of the blast furnaces and of the iron and coal mines. There he was known as "Dafydd Thomas y Stiwart," by which name he is also spoken of even now by the oldest inhabitants of that place -- a somewhat more dignified title than that of the homely one of "Dai Tyllwyd," in vogue at the Neath Abbey Iron Works. Mr. Thomas remained at the Yniscedwyn Works in that position for nearly twenty-two years, working his furnaces in the most successful manner, and continually experimenting with anthracite coal as a smelting fuel. It so happened that the Yniscedwyn Works then actually stood alone on the only belt of anthracite coal in Greate Britain, extending over the district already described; the argillaceous clay, iron stone, and black band being stratified all the way through it. And yet, with this bountiful supply of magnificent fuel lying under their very works, the Yniscedwyn folks were hauling coke to their furnaces from a distance of fourteen or fifteen miles. Mr. Thomas naturally argued that when the fuel and ore lay together, as they did there, the fuel must be suitable for smelting the ore, provided the right process of doing so could be hit upon. With this aim in view he began as early as the year 1820 to make experiments. In this same year the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company in America succeeded, after much difficulty, in getting 365 tons of their now famous anthracite coal to Philadelphia; and then they found out, to their horror and disgust, that they had overstocked the market. People said it would not burn, even that it put their fires out, and absolutely refused to buy it. But David Thomas knew nothing about this; all he knew was that a seam of coal lay under his very feet, and that he was most anxious to utilize it in his blast furnaces, if possible. So in ignorance of the struggles of the Lehigh Company, and little dreaming that his road to wealth and position led through this very doorway, he quietly and persistently went on with his experiments, undaunted by his repeated failures. Of his various experiments Mr. Thomas used to say :- "As early as 1820 I had some anthracite coal to put into the furnace with coke, in the proportion of from one part in twenty to one part in twelve; this did very well; but whenever anything went wrong with the furnace the fault was always laid on the coal; and the men became so prejudiced against it that I had to give it up. Still every year I would try some experiments with it, both in cupolas and blast furnaces. In 1825 I had a small blast furnace built with a nine foot bosh, and twenty-five foot stack. After blowing it in with coke, I introduced anthracite coal, increasing the quantity of it more and more. But the tuyers would close up, so that we had to abandon it. In 1830 I enlarged the furnace, giving it an eleven foot bosh and a forty-five foot stack. This resulted in a greater amount of success. Still the whole thing was so unprofitable that it was given up."
But while Mr. Thomas had been so resolutely experimenting, another brain had been scheming, devising, and, at last, perfecting an invention which was to create a revolution in blast furnaces, and enable him to reach the goal of his ambition. That invention was hot blast.
In the year 1828 Mr. Neilson, of Glasgow, Scotland, began making experiments in this direction, and in 1834 he patented his valuable invention - the heating of the blast before introducing it into the furnace. In those days it took a long while for news to reach distant parts of the country; and it took two years to reach the sharp and eager ears of Mr. Thomas. By that time the Clyde Iron Works had a hot blast furnace in operation; and Mr. Thomas hurried off to Scotland to see how the process worked. After the most careful examination he determined that the new hot blast was just what was wanted for an anthracite furnace. He returned to Yniscedwyn with a license from Mr. Neilson, and an expert mechanic who understood the construction of heating ovens. The furnace was prepared for the new blast, the heating ovens were attached to it, and on the 5th February, 1837, the furnace was blown in. The success was complete, and anthracite iron continued to be successfully and profitably made from that furnace without intermission. Anthracite iron was a new-born commodity in the commerce of the world, and David Thomas, of Yniscedwyn, was its godfather. Mr.Thomas was in the habit of telling an interesting anecdote in connection with his hearing of Mr.Neilson's invention. It appears he was one evening in the house of Mr.George Crane, a gentleman who then owned the Yniscedywn Works, and who always burnt anthracite coal in the grate of his sitting room. Mr.Thomas began to blow the fire with a small pair of bellows. "Don't do that, David, or you will blow the fire out," interposed Mr.Crane. "If the air out of that bellows were only as hot as Mr.Neilson describes his hot blast to be," rejoined Mr.Thomas, "the anthracite coal in that grate would burn like pinewood." Mr.Crane exclaimed "Ah! that is the idea precisely," and this idea both recognized as one which would bear working out; and through Mr.Thomas' indomitable pluck and perseverance it succeeded. The writer lived for some years in the house formerly occupied by Mr.Crane, and he distinctly recollects this veritable grate, which was of such unique construction that it deserves to be described. It was built internally with bricks, and in shape about a foot square, and eight or nine inches high - not tapering at the bottom, like ordinary modern grates - with vertical bars and cast iron shutters or wings, which were closed or opened for the regulation of the draught necessary for the ignition of the coal, and when closed it had the appearance of one solid piece of a handsome casting. Mr.Crane was a short, little man, quick and energetic in his actions, and most persevering and pushing in business, and such an uncompromising strict Sabbatarian that he actually suspended all operations at the blast furnaces while he held a religious service in the adjoining carpenter's shop, in which he assembled all his workmen on Sunday afternoon. He was also rigidly zealous for the due observance of the prohibitory Sunday drinking hours, and was the terror of all the publicans in the parish of Ystradgynlais, whose houses, in virtue of the powers vested in him as churchwarden, it was his habit to visit during Divine service on Sundays. And many amusing tales are related of him, how, while on his visits, and when within a short distance of a public house, he would run as fast as his legs could carry him; with the view, presumably, of suddenly pouncing upon some unsuspecting Bacchanalians who might easily be cosily quenching their thirst after the previous Saturday night's carousal; in which case the approach of the enemy created a terrible consternation, and was the signal for an immediate rush, a scramble, and a real race, quickened by the well-known agility of Mr.Crane, and the fears of the consequences of a magisterial fine.But to revert to Mr.Thomas. He had lit a candle, which there was no possibility of hiding under a bushel, even if he wished to do so. The wonderful success of the application of hot blast at Yniscedwyn spread about like wild-fire amongst the neighbouring ironmasters, and Mr. Joseph Price, of the Neath Abbey Ironworks, applied the invention to his furnaces at his works there, which Mr. Crane objected to, as an infringement upon his patent rights. Mr.Price, however, contested the point on the ground that the application of the patent simply to anthracite coal was inadequate to sustain the claim. The case was, I believe, carried to the House of Lords, and it was finally decided that the public utility of the application to use anthracite was clear, and that, therefore, the patentee was as much entitled to his rights as such as if he had himself been the original inventor of the applicability of the hot blast to any purpose whatsoever. Mr.Price did not stop his defence at this point, but made another and somewhat ingenious attempt to escape his liability to pay royalty by declaring that he did not admit that the coal he used for his furnaces, and which he obtained from the upper part of the Vale of Neath, to be anthracite at all, but "anthracitous"; but he utterly failed to establish this point. There were also the owners of the great anthracite coal measures of Pennsylvania watching like cats at mice-holes for any break in the cloud which seemed to hang over their fortunes. They, like Mr. Thomas, felt assured that their coal could be used as blast furnace fuel, if they could only discover the proper mode of using it. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company, whose splendid mines cluster in the neighbourhood of Mauch Chunk, had spent a large sum of money in building a blast furnace for the purpose of making experiments with anthracite coal as fuel. They did actually succeed in making some anthracite iron; but found the same trouble as Mr.Thomas had with his cold blast - they could not keep the furnace in blast. They were, therefore, compelled to give it up. But in the summer of 1838 the London Mining Journal conveyed to them the welcome and cheering news of Mr.Thomas' great success at Yniscedywn, and in November one of their leading directors, Mr. Hazard, crossed the ocean to witness the process, and learn all about it, with authority to bring back with him one conversant with the process of making anthracite iron. Proceeding at once to Wales, he found the Yniscedwyn furnaces in full and successful operation. Prior to his arrival Mr.Thomas had removed to Devynock, distant some twelve miles, to superintend the construction of a tramway from thence to Yniscedwyn. Mr.Hazard was driven over there by Mr. Crane, who strongly recommended Mr.Thomas as the only man who could answer his purpose. The result was that he was offered and accepted a five years' engagement to go to the United States, and see what he could do with an anthracite furnace in the Lehigh Valley.
He arrived in America in June, 1839, but on his arrival in New York he was laid up with fever, and during his illness poor Mrs.Thomas was in great trouble on account of her inability to speak a word of English, and consequently she was unable to understand the directions of her husband's medical attendant. On his recovery he proceeded to his destination, where, soon after his arrival, the Crane Iron Company of Catasauqua was organised, and in the following month the construction of the first of the present six furnaces of the Crane Iron Company, so called in honour of his patron, Mr.Crane, of Yniscedwyn, was commenced. It was not a large one. It had only an eleven foot bosh and a forty-seven foot stack. The first run of iron was made on the 4th of July, 1840, with the most encouraging success; and that furnace ran on steadily for many years (until it was taken down and the site occupied by the enlarged and modernised No.1) making, small as it was, compared with the giant furnaces now in vogue, its one hundred and eighty tons per week with praiseworthy regularity. In 1841 the company built a second furnace, in 1846 a third, two more in 1849, and the sixth in 1868, but how many more since I have no means at my disposal for ascertaining. While Mr.Thomas was quietly making his preparations and constructing his first furnaces, other experiments were being made with anthracite coal for fuel. Furnaces were especially constructed for this purpose in South Easton, Pottsville, Mauch Chunk, and one or two other places. But they shared the same fate as the previous efforts of Mr.Thomas and of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. They did make some iron, but they could not keep their furnaces in blast for any length of time, and all turned out to be ruinous enterprises. To Mr.Thomas then there is undoubtedly and justly due the credit of having built the first anthracite blast furnace in America, or any other country, which successfully fulfilled the purpose for which it was constructed.
In 1854 the Thomas Iron Company was formed, and the beautiful works at Hokendauqua commenced, situated about a mile above Catasauqua, on the Lehigh River, where six furnaces have been built. In 1855 he relinquished the superintendence of the Crane Ironworks, being succeeded by his youngest son, Mr.John Thomas, and devoted his time and interest in developing the works at Hokendauqua, which works bear his honoured name. In addition to his interest in the Crane and Thomas Ironworks, Mr. Thomas was also interested in the Carbon Iron Company, which had three furnaces at Perrysville; and in the large Rolling Mills at Catasauqua and Ferndale, which produce a quality of iron of high repute. of which he was the president for many years. A short time before his death he withdrew from very active duties, remaining, however, a director and a large shareholder, and he was besides largely interested in collieries and iron ore mines. He was for many years President of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railway, as also of the Lehigh Railway. He was trustee and executive member of St.Luke's Hospital, and a trustee of Lafayette College at Easton. In 1866 he was a Republican candidate for Congress, but declining on principle to take part in the canvass he was not successful, but made a very complimentary showing. Catasauqua's progress has been identified with his life, and with almost every industry in the town he had been connected either as an adviser or an interested party. It is the outcome of his genius, spirit, determination, and progress, and when it was incorporated in 1853 he was chosen its first burgess, and continued to hold office for years, and took an active part in the material prosperity of the town, and in the religious, educational, and moral welfare of its inhabitants.
In 1840, soon after his arrival in America, he organised the first Presbyterian Church, and was an elder of it until his death. He built the Lehigh Fire Brickworks, which are of considerable dimensions, and held the position of director of the National Bank of Catasauqua, in which he had a large amount of stock. The anthracite furnaces number nearly one fourth of the grant total of the blast furnaces in America, and to them much of the wealth of that country is, undoubtedly, to be attributed. And the man who has occupied the most prominent and the proudest position in the records of iron manufacturers was Mr.David Thomas, of Catasauqua, unquestionably one of the largest ironmasters in the world. Mr.Thomas was a man of determined purpose, industry, fidelity, and thoroughness, of uncommon vitality and activity; and although nearly eighty-eight years of age at his death, he took, nearly to the last, a fair share in the active management of the vast interest he controlled. He was as upright and as firm on his legs as a man of sixty, and appeared to possess the wiry physique and age-defying brain which characterise many of those who live a generation longer than ordinary mortals. In the transaction of his multifarious duties he thought as little of going to Philadelphia, New York, or Pittsville, as he did of walking down to his office in Catasauqua. In February, 1874, he attended the Ironmasters' Convention in Philadelphia, and was unanimously elected its President - a graceful and well-earned compliment. At these meetings his presence was always hailed with pleasure, and his opinions honoured and appreciated. Indeed, not only in the strength of mind and body, which was husbanded by a studiously regular habit of "Early to bed and early to rise," but also in personal appearance it was difficult, whilst speaking to him, to realise the fact that he was an octogenarian. His successes in early life were not easily won, especially those for which he will be held in grateful remembrance by future generations, and he had many obstacles to overcome, which would have broken the courage of one with less fixedness of purpose and strength of character. Mr.Thomas had, through his good and exemplary life, coupled with his venerable and patriarchal age, endeared himself to all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance far and near, and both young and old delighted in giving him the respectful and affectionate title of "Father Thomas," while Mrs.Thomas equally shared in the affectionate respect shown to her husband, and was addressed as "Mother Thomas." They had been married for nearly sixty-five years - a very unusual period of companionship. Their family consisted of David and Gwenny, both of whom died before their father, Jane, Samuel, who is President of the Thomas' Iron Company, with numerous grand and great grand children, who used to gather round the old gentleman and prattle on his knees, making him feel as happy and active as if he were twenty years of age.
Mr.Thomas was taken ill on the 20th May, 1882, his illness developing into an attack of pneumonia, which terminated fatally. His illness was painful, but throughout he bore his affliction uncomplainingly, and on the evening of the 20th June, 1882 (exactly one month from the day he was taken ill), he quietly and peacefully breathed his last. Plain in words and manner, his directions about his burial were of the simplest kind. The corpse was placed in the large hall in the house, and from one to three o'clock on Friday afternoon, 23rd June, hundreds of people passed through it to have a farewell view of the mortal remains of their old dear departed friend and benefactor. It was a sad day for Catasauqua, and will long be remembered. All works and business in the neighbourhood were stopped. The funeral service was simple and plain, consisting of the singing of a hymn, the reading of selections of Scripture from Psalms and Corinthians by the pastor, prayer by Dr.Catelle, of Lafayette College, Easton, and the rendering of a favourite hymn -
"My home is there."
The funeral procession was the largest ever seen in Catasauqua, and was headed in the following order :- The employés of the Catasauqua Manufacturing Company, three hundred men; of the Thomas Iron Company, three hundred men; and those of the Catasauqua and Fogelsville Railway, and others; then came learned, and wealthy men from abroad; then the corpse, followed by the relatives and intimate friends, until Fair View cemetery was reached, wherein, in a vault, were deposited all that remained of one greatly beloved and respected by his fellow-men. None but a great man could have commanded such universal respect.
I have been induced to compile the foregoing sketch of Mr.Thomas' life - and the doing so has afforded me extreme pleasure - by my great admiration for his noble character, indomitable courage and perseverance in overcoming difficulties, coupled with my having been for several years associated with Yniscedywn Ironworks, where his experiments and successes were made, and which led eventually to his attaining so prominent a position and world-wide fame as an iron manfacturer - a character that cannot fail to command the highest admiration, and one that may worthily be emulated.
"Lives of great men all remind us
We may make our lives sublime ;
And, departing, leave behind us,
Footprints on the sands of time."
ED. ROBERTS,
Westfield, Neath.
Keyboarder's notes:
I hope to enhance this with more Internet links as I find them, but without disturbing the layout, which is as close as I can get to the original document using html. There is also a charcoal drawing of David Thomas after the title page - I hope to scan this in to complete the authenticity of this reproduction.
Some of the spellings have changed a little nowadays because of the tendency to revert Welsh place spellings to the 'correct' version of pre-Anglicanisation times. So, Yniscedwyn is now Ynyscedwyn, and Devynock is often shewn as Defynnog (indicating the correct pronunciation of 'devunnog'). Hyphens are now commonly introduced to separate the original Welsh words, as in 'Ty-Llwyd' and Maes-yr-Haf. Ynyscedwyn is still shown on maps unhyphenated.
Researchers may be assisted by noting that the area around Ty-Llwyd is known as Bryncoch, and had its own Anglican church built (called 'Dyffryn' church rather than Bryncoch) at the end of the 19th century, so family links with the original parish church at Cadoxton cease about then.
Ynyscedwyn is an industrial area of Ystradgynlais.
This read is from Grace's Guide to British Industrial History.
David Thomas (1794-1882)
David Thomas (1794-1882) of the Crane Iron Co, Pennsylvannia, Anthracite iron pioneer
1794 Born on the 3rd of November, 1794, the son of David and Jane Thomas, of Tyllwyd Farm, in the parish of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales. He was one of a family of four children, one son and three daughters.[1]
He went to school at nearby Alltwen and at Neath, and worked on his father's farm before going into the iron industry.
1812 Started working for Neath Abbey Iron Co.
By 1817 he was erecting pumping engines for the company in Cornwall.
1817? - 1839 Superintendent of Ynyscedwyn Ironworks
1820 Started experimental smelting of local iron ore using local anthracite instead of coke. A breakthrough came with the adoption of hot blast for the furnace.
1837 February 5th. First blast furnace to be successfully fuelled by anthracite blown to smelt iron ore. The result was an easy method to produce anthracite iron, which revolutionized industry in the Swansea Valley. This type of iron had been patented by Edward Martin of Morriston, Wales in 1804.
In May of that year, an American visitor [Solomon White Roberts] came to see the furnace. Subsequently (late 1838), David Thomas signed a contract to to build an anthracite-fuelled blast furnace in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, to take advantage of the ready availability of anthracite there.
1839 Thomas and his family emigrated to Pennsylvania and blew in the first furnace in July 1840.
1854 Founded the Thomas Iron Company of Hokendauqua, which became the largest producer of anthracite pig iron in the USA
Thomas's iron works was extremely successful, even though the iron industry in the rest of the Lehigh Valley had begun to decline. The company was incorporated in 1839 as the Lehigh Crane Iron Company, and in 1872 the name was changed to the Crane Iron Co. By that time the community was no longer known as Craneville, but as Catasauqua; Thomas had named both his company and the town in which he founded it after George Crane, his former employer in Wales.
Iron produced at the Crane Iron Company was used in a number of products, many of which were made elsewhere in Catasauqua. The neighbouring company of John Fritz's Iron Foundry used Crane iron to build the first American-made cast-iron construction columns, while the nearby Davies and Thomas Foundry turned Crane iron into pipes and tunnel tubes. Among the still-existing structures which were created using Crane iron are the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels in New York City.
Thomas's industry helped the small town to become quite prosperous, and he himself became a wealthy landowner.
1882 June 20th. Died. He with his wife Elizabeth, and generations of their descendants are all buried in the Thomas family vault, an underground mausoleum at Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua. The Thomas family mansion, located on Second Street in Catasauqua, is still standing, though its interior has since been divided into apartments
In his own words
'THE STORY OF A GREAT DISCOVERY.-There is living at Catasauqua, Pa., in a hearty old age, the man who discovered how to use anthracite coal in the manufacture of iron. His name is David Thomas, and the story of his discovery he thus narrates:-
"One winter night, in the old country, I sat with Mr. Crane, a brother superintendent of a blast furnace, over a grate fire of hard coal. We had talked of the recent invention of the hot blast, just patented by Mr. Neilson, a Scotchman, and our conversations had carried us pretty well along into the evening. The fire had burned low, and we were about to separate, when I picked up the bellows and began to blow it. "You will put that fire out," said Mr. Crane. As he spoke it flashed over me that if my bellows gave a hot blast it would bring the grate full of coal to a bright glow, and, with the thought, there came like an inspiration upon me that the hot blast was all that was needed to utilise the rich beds of anthracite under our feet for making iron. I dropped the bellows and gave utterance to my thoughts. Mr. Crane smiled, then grew attentive, and as I went on thinking out my theory, as I spoke he became interested. When I concluded we grasped hands over the dead coals in our anthracite fire, and separated. Little sleep we got that night. To me it was one of restless anxiety. When I read an account of the night before the execution of a condemned men, I always think of my night with my new idea. The next day I posted up to Scotland, and on my return I brought with me the plans of a hot-blast furnace, which we at once proceeded to build for the purpose of making iron with anthracite coal. It was a great success, and attracted capital to the development of the anthracite coal beds of Wales and the attention of the scientific world. Before that for our furnaces we had bought coke from the distant bituminous coalfields, thereby increasing the cost of our product over establishments more favourably situated. The very tails underneath our feet were filled with rich deposits of anthracite, and the discovery of means to utilise it was like a mine of gold to the country around. Our experiment was a success. Of course the scientific discussion carried on in the papers in that :a country provoked satisfaction in America, and the few scientific journals published here took up the matter, and thereby the iron-workers of this great region came to know of its great value. They were then using charcoal and coke. At once they set to work on my plan. It resulted in great a losses to the capital invested and many eases of financial failure and bankruptcy. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company watched these experiments with ardent hope of success, for they saw what a great advantage to them must result in carrying to perfection in this country what we had perfected in Wales. They waited and hoped in vain, and finally concluded to send for Mr. Crane or me. Their representative visited me, in the person of Erskine Hazard, of Philadelphia. I had often thought of coming to America, asked my wife was strongly in favour of it, so we received Mr. Hazard’s propositions with favour. Terms were fixed upon ; it was arranged that my expenses out would be paid, and that if I did not wish to stay after five years I was to be sent back with may family at their expence. I arrived early in the fall of 1839, and, Catasauqua being selected as the place to build the first furnace, I at once set to work. The population, which at that time was only that of a hamlet, was composed entirely of Germans, and my greatest difficulty was to get skilled labour. I picked up an old countryman here and there, and on the 4th of July, 1840, I started the first blast, and on that day made the first iron. There is the furnace, sir, just below my house. It was in blast ever since until within a few days. The success was so complete, as shown. By the work turned out over the following six or eight months, that another was started, which I built in 1842. I built the third in 1846, and the fourth. and fifth in 1849. For forty years we have averaged 40,000 tons of iron a year from these furnaces, or 1,600,000 tons in the aggregate. Then furnaces sprung up all over the anthracite region. The way to utilise the hard coal in the manufacture of iron was the only thing needed to completely develop the great mineral wealth of the country, and, this fact being recognised, there was no lack of money to take the preliminary steps. San Francisco Bulletin."'[2]
Sharing Credit
Contemporary accounts following the successful production of anthracite-smelted iron at Ynyscedwyn give credit only to George Crane, while it is clear that both Thomas and Crane were together responsible.
On the other hand, long after the event, David Thomas credits himself with the success. Curiously, he refers to 'Mr. Crane, a brother superintendent of a blast furnace'. In fact Mr Crane was the ironmaster, while David Thomas was employed as his superintendent.
There could surely have been no antagonism between the two, as Crane recommended Thomas to help the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company develop the American industry, the venture being known as Lehigh Crane Iron Company.
Perhaps the most telling information comes from an archive of Mr Thomas's papers. We learn of eleven letters from George Crane to David Thomas in the USA, which reveal that, contrary to the accounts written by descendants of Mr Thomas, Crane did play a major role in the technical achievement of anthracite smelting. Also, he continued to supply Thomas with technical and business advice during the construction of the Catasauqua furnace.[3]
In reality, the picture is far more complicated. David Thomas and George Crane were indeed the first to achieve commercial success with the anthracite smelting process, although others had previously had some encouraging results. In fact large scale smelting was underway in the USA before David Thomas's first furnace was commissioned there, but his furnace proved to be a lasting success, thanks to his intimate knowledge of the finer points of the design of furnaces and of their ancillary systems. For a thorough account of the history of smelting with anthracite, and a deeper exploration of the facts and myths surrounding the events, see 'Discovery of the Process for Making Anthracite Iron'[4]. It is pointed out in that source that in turning to Crane and Thomas, 'they were bargaining for the mechanical skill to make the process work as well as for the process itself'.
See AlsoSources of Information
David Thomas (1794-1882)
David Thomas (1794-1882) of the Crane Iron Co, Pennsylvannia, Anthracite iron pioneer
1794 Born on the 3rd of November, 1794, the son of David and Jane Thomas, of Tyllwyd Farm, in the parish of Cadoxton-juxta-Neath, in the county of Glamorgan, South Wales. He was one of a family of four children, one son and three daughters.[1]
He went to school at nearby Alltwen and at Neath, and worked on his father's farm before going into the iron industry.
1812 Started working for Neath Abbey Iron Co.
By 1817 he was erecting pumping engines for the company in Cornwall.
1817? - 1839 Superintendent of Ynyscedwyn Ironworks
1820 Started experimental smelting of local iron ore using local anthracite instead of coke. A breakthrough came with the adoption of hot blast for the furnace.
1837 February 5th. First blast furnace to be successfully fuelled by anthracite blown to smelt iron ore. The result was an easy method to produce anthracite iron, which revolutionized industry in the Swansea Valley. This type of iron had been patented by Edward Martin of Morriston, Wales in 1804.
In May of that year, an American visitor [Solomon White Roberts] came to see the furnace. Subsequently (late 1838), David Thomas signed a contract to to build an anthracite-fuelled blast furnace in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, to take advantage of the ready availability of anthracite there.
1839 Thomas and his family emigrated to Pennsylvania and blew in the first furnace in July 1840.
1854 Founded the Thomas Iron Company of Hokendauqua, which became the largest producer of anthracite pig iron in the USA
Thomas's iron works was extremely successful, even though the iron industry in the rest of the Lehigh Valley had begun to decline. The company was incorporated in 1839 as the Lehigh Crane Iron Company, and in 1872 the name was changed to the Crane Iron Co. By that time the community was no longer known as Craneville, but as Catasauqua; Thomas had named both his company and the town in which he founded it after George Crane, his former employer in Wales.
Iron produced at the Crane Iron Company was used in a number of products, many of which were made elsewhere in Catasauqua. The neighbouring company of John Fritz's Iron Foundry used Crane iron to build the first American-made cast-iron construction columns, while the nearby Davies and Thomas Foundry turned Crane iron into pipes and tunnel tubes. Among the still-existing structures which were created using Crane iron are the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels in New York City.
Thomas's industry helped the small town to become quite prosperous, and he himself became a wealthy landowner.
1882 June 20th. Died. He with his wife Elizabeth, and generations of their descendants are all buried in the Thomas family vault, an underground mausoleum at Fairview Cemetery in West Catasauqua. The Thomas family mansion, located on Second Street in Catasauqua, is still standing, though its interior has since been divided into apartments
In his own words
'THE STORY OF A GREAT DISCOVERY.-There is living at Catasauqua, Pa., in a hearty old age, the man who discovered how to use anthracite coal in the manufacture of iron. His name is David Thomas, and the story of his discovery he thus narrates:-
"One winter night, in the old country, I sat with Mr. Crane, a brother superintendent of a blast furnace, over a grate fire of hard coal. We had talked of the recent invention of the hot blast, just patented by Mr. Neilson, a Scotchman, and our conversations had carried us pretty well along into the evening. The fire had burned low, and we were about to separate, when I picked up the bellows and began to blow it. "You will put that fire out," said Mr. Crane. As he spoke it flashed over me that if my bellows gave a hot blast it would bring the grate full of coal to a bright glow, and, with the thought, there came like an inspiration upon me that the hot blast was all that was needed to utilise the rich beds of anthracite under our feet for making iron. I dropped the bellows and gave utterance to my thoughts. Mr. Crane smiled, then grew attentive, and as I went on thinking out my theory, as I spoke he became interested. When I concluded we grasped hands over the dead coals in our anthracite fire, and separated. Little sleep we got that night. To me it was one of restless anxiety. When I read an account of the night before the execution of a condemned men, I always think of my night with my new idea. The next day I posted up to Scotland, and on my return I brought with me the plans of a hot-blast furnace, which we at once proceeded to build for the purpose of making iron with anthracite coal. It was a great success, and attracted capital to the development of the anthracite coal beds of Wales and the attention of the scientific world. Before that for our furnaces we had bought coke from the distant bituminous coalfields, thereby increasing the cost of our product over establishments more favourably situated. The very tails underneath our feet were filled with rich deposits of anthracite, and the discovery of means to utilise it was like a mine of gold to the country around. Our experiment was a success. Of course the scientific discussion carried on in the papers in that :a country provoked satisfaction in America, and the few scientific journals published here took up the matter, and thereby the iron-workers of this great region came to know of its great value. They were then using charcoal and coke. At once they set to work on my plan. It resulted in great a losses to the capital invested and many eases of financial failure and bankruptcy. The Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company watched these experiments with ardent hope of success, for they saw what a great advantage to them must result in carrying to perfection in this country what we had perfected in Wales. They waited and hoped in vain, and finally concluded to send for Mr. Crane or me. Their representative visited me, in the person of Erskine Hazard, of Philadelphia. I had often thought of coming to America, asked my wife was strongly in favour of it, so we received Mr. Hazard’s propositions with favour. Terms were fixed upon ; it was arranged that my expenses out would be paid, and that if I did not wish to stay after five years I was to be sent back with may family at their expence. I arrived early in the fall of 1839, and, Catasauqua being selected as the place to build the first furnace, I at once set to work. The population, which at that time was only that of a hamlet, was composed entirely of Germans, and my greatest difficulty was to get skilled labour. I picked up an old countryman here and there, and on the 4th of July, 1840, I started the first blast, and on that day made the first iron. There is the furnace, sir, just below my house. It was in blast ever since until within a few days. The success was so complete, as shown. By the work turned out over the following six or eight months, that another was started, which I built in 1842. I built the third in 1846, and the fourth. and fifth in 1849. For forty years we have averaged 40,000 tons of iron a year from these furnaces, or 1,600,000 tons in the aggregate. Then furnaces sprung up all over the anthracite region. The way to utilise the hard coal in the manufacture of iron was the only thing needed to completely develop the great mineral wealth of the country, and, this fact being recognised, there was no lack of money to take the preliminary steps. San Francisco Bulletin."'[2]
Sharing Credit
Contemporary accounts following the successful production of anthracite-smelted iron at Ynyscedwyn give credit only to George Crane, while it is clear that both Thomas and Crane were together responsible.
On the other hand, long after the event, David Thomas credits himself with the success. Curiously, he refers to 'Mr. Crane, a brother superintendent of a blast furnace'. In fact Mr Crane was the ironmaster, while David Thomas was employed as his superintendent.
There could surely have been no antagonism between the two, as Crane recommended Thomas to help the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company develop the American industry, the venture being known as Lehigh Crane Iron Company.
Perhaps the most telling information comes from an archive of Mr Thomas's papers. We learn of eleven letters from George Crane to David Thomas in the USA, which reveal that, contrary to the accounts written by descendants of Mr Thomas, Crane did play a major role in the technical achievement of anthracite smelting. Also, he continued to supply Thomas with technical and business advice during the construction of the Catasauqua furnace.[3]
In reality, the picture is far more complicated. David Thomas and George Crane were indeed the first to achieve commercial success with the anthracite smelting process, although others had previously had some encouraging results. In fact large scale smelting was underway in the USA before David Thomas's first furnace was commissioned there, but his furnace proved to be a lasting success, thanks to his intimate knowledge of the finer points of the design of furnaces and of their ancillary systems. For a thorough account of the history of smelting with anthracite, and a deeper exploration of the facts and myths surrounding the events, see 'Discovery of the Process for Making Anthracite Iron'[4]. It is pointed out in that source that in turning to Crane and Thomas, 'they were bargaining for the mechanical skill to make the process work as well as for the process itself'.
See AlsoSources of Information
- The Red Dragon magazine - David Thomas, The Father of the Anthracite Iron Trade, by Ed. Roberts, Westfield, Neath, 1882
- Leeds Mercury, 25th September 1879
- [1] The Lemelson Center website - David Thomas webpage
- [2]The Hopkin Thomas Project: 'Discovery of the Process for Making Anthracite Iron' by W. Ross Yates, Lehigh University, originally published in The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, XCVIII (1974), 206-223
- The Brecon Forest Tramroads by Stephen Hughes, published in 1990 by the Royal Commission on Ancient and Historical Monuments in Wales
- Wikipedia