Biography of Hopkin
Thomas
Edith Duncan Field
Field, Wells Laflin and
Edith Duncan Field, Ancestors of Our Children, Self-published, West Hartford
CT, 1978. Vol 1. Field &
allied family ancestors; Vol 2. Clark
& allied family ancestors; Vol. 3. Duncan-McKee family.
Hopkin
Thomas was born on his parents farm in Bryn Coch, Glamorganshire, Wales.
Nothing is known of his ancestors except that they were probably farmers, as
agriculture was the main industry of the County until about the middle of the eighteenth
century when coal mining became the number one industry. That he was truly
Welsh is definitely established, as he both spoke and wrote in that language.
His boyhood was spent on the farm and he was educated in the schools of the
village. When he was sixteen years old he was apprenticed to the Neath Abbey
Works to learn the trade of machinist. Glamorganshire at that time was noted
for its coal mines, the smelting of copper and iron and, to a lesser degree, to
its involvement with the manufacture and operation of steam locomotives. He had
a fertile brain and by applying himself eagerly and diligently he soon
completed his apprenticeship and obtained a high position among his fellow
workmen. His trade probably took him to Merthyr Tydvil (now Tydfil) where other
iron works were located, and also where a locomotive had been built and run at
nearby Pen-y-darrin. Beside getting an insight into the building and operating
of a locomotive, he also met his future wife there. She was Catherine Richards,
a member of an old and honorable Welsh family of Merthyr Tydvil. It is not
known when they were married but their first child was born 30 May 1829.
In
1834, although well established in his trade, he decided to emigrate to
America, and in that year he, his wife and three children sailed from Wales and
landed in Philadelphia. Due to his mechanical knowledge and ability as a
machinist, he was immediately employed by the newly established Baldwin
Locomotive Company. In 1835 he left the Baldwin Company to take a position as
master mechanic with the newly formed company of Garrett and Eastwick, which
had orders to build three locomotives for the Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal
Company of Carbon Country, to haul coal from Penn Haven to Perryville. The
Company being new and inexperienced, Hopkin Thomas' inventive mind and
mechanical ability bore a large part in the satisfactory completion of the
locomotives. After testing they were disassembled and the parts shipped by
canal boat to Perryville, where he with a force of machinists was detailed to
reassemble them on the road. In the winter of 1836-37 the engine house at
Perryville burned including two of the locomotives, which he successfully
rebuilt. After that Hopkin Thomas undertook to construct a six wheel connected
engine at Beaver Meadows with only meager facilities available. The locomotive
which he called the "Nonpareil" was built in shops consisting of
sheds and stables, the machinery, driven by horsepower, consisted of two
lathes, one of which was equipped with a foot gear to be used when the horse
was in the stable. There also was a workbench with eight vices, a smith shop
with two fires and a pattern shop. The President and Directors of the Company,
though dubious of success, were present to witness the Nonpareil's first run,
which proved most satisfactory. One Director stating "she moved off
gracefully and made her round trip in due time." At the festival to mark
the occasion Hopkin Thomas was loudly acclaimed for his feat, which was
considered to be the first six wheel connected locomotive to have operated
successfully.
About
1838 the name of the Company was changed to Eastwick and Harrison, as Joseph
Harrison, junior, previously a foreman at the plant became a junior partner,
and Hopkin Thomas left to become Master Mechanic of the road at the Coal
Company, which position he held until 1841. He ably demonstrated his knowledge
and skill in running the road and working the mines, and his alert mind was
constantly conceiving new methods and improvements in the operation of the
equipment. After the great flood of 1841 when the coal chutes and canal at
Perryville were destroyed, he entered into partnership with Messrs. Van Cleve
and McKean as contractors in mining and delivering the coal at the Mauch Chunk
chutes. This partnership lasted several years and was financially successful
until he built a machine shop at Tamaqua in which he lost large sums of money.
After this financial setback, he took a position with the Beaver Meadow Company
to repair one of their locomotives at the Jeansville shops. After that he
removed to Reading where he worked at his trade for some months. In February
1853 he removed to Catasauqua where he was appointed Master Mechanic of the
Crane Iron Works, which position he held until his retirement in 1874.
Hopkin
Thomas was an authority on all mechanical details and his name was known
throughout the country as a man of sterling integrity, great inventive genius,
and a pioneer in locomotive building. As many other inventors of his ilk, the
perfection of his brainchild was paramount in his mind and the thought of
patenting it was never considered. As a consequence all of his inventions were
patented by others who claimed the credit. As has been stated he built the
"Nonpareil" which was; a first of its kind and from comments of his
fellow workers it appears that he invented perfected and first used many
mechanical devices, a few of which were:
1. The
construction of a firebox on a locomotive for the use of coal.
2. The
installation of an equalizing bar between the two pairs of drive wheels so that
the weight of the machine was equally distributed to all drivers.
3. The
chilled cast iron hub for car wheels
4. The
double acting pump for the coal mines which was capable of great lifting power.
In
all mechanical matters he was far in advance of his day, and in railroad and
coal of the country he may with justice, be regarded as filling the position of
an eminent benefactor. His granddaughter, Edith Smith McKee, often mentioned to
her children that Hopkin Thomas always kept a pencil and paper by his bedside
and often he would wake up during the night with a new invention turning over
in his mind, rouse his wife so she could jot down his thoughts so they would
not be lost by morning. He was peculiarly-modest and unassuming in his
character, a fact which prevented his attaining either distinction or wealth.
Content that he should be benefited by the productions of his genius, he cared
little whether they brought him fame or profit. In his business relations he
was upright, in his social intercourse true hearted and faithful and in his
home the typical head of a cheerful and happy domestic circle.
Hopkin
Thomas died Sunday morning 12 May 1878 at his home in Catasauqua, and was
buried in the family plot in the Fairview Cemetery where a monument is erected
to his memory.
The
Catasauqua (Pa) Dispatch - Saturday 3 August 1878
Historical
Notes - The Hazelton Plain Speaker - 7 October 1932
Encyclopedia
of Pennsylvania Biography, John W. Jordan, LLD, 1914, Vol.2, p. 683
Family
Bible
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