Excerpt – Page 683-685
THOMAS,
James
Manufacturer,
Man of Affairs
James
Thomas, president of the Davies & Thomas Co., Foundry and Machine Works at
Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, was born in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, September
22, 1836. He was a son of Hopkin and Catharine (Richards) Thomas, who were of
an old and honorable Welsh ancestry.
Hopkin
Thomas (father) was born in Glamorganshire, South
Wales, in 1793. His early education was obtained
in the public schools of the village in which he
lived. When he reached the age of sixteen he became
an apprentice in the Neath Abbey Works, near Neath,
South Wales, learning the trade of a machinist.
In 1834 he emigrated to the United States, landing
in Philadelphia, and at once secured employment
in the Baldwin Locomotive Works, later entering
the shops of Garrett & Eastwick. Leaving these
people, he accepted a position as master mechanic
of the roads and mines of the Beaver Meadow Railway
Company, and while serving in this capacity he displayed
remarkable inventive genius. It was through one
of his inventions that anthracite coal was first
used for fuel in locomotives. One type of coal breaker
was also invented by him which is in use to the
present day. Likewise he invented and successfully
used the chilled cast-iron car-wheel, also the most
improved and successful mine pumps and machinery
of that day. In 1853 he became a resident of the
borough of Catasauqua, and from that year until
his death, May 12, 1879, he very creditably filled
the position of master mechanic of the Crane Iron
Works.
His
wife, Catharine (Richards) Thomas, a native of Merthyr-Tydvil, South Wales,
bore him the following named children: William R., Mary, who became the wife of
James H. McKee; Helen, who became the wife of John Thomas; James, hereinafter
mentioned; and Kate M., who became the wife of James W. Fuller.
James
Thomas came to Catasauqua, with his parents in 1853. In 1859 he went to
Parryville to take the superintendency of the Carbon Iron Works. Leaving there
in 1871 he went to Jefferson county, Alabama, and while there held the position
of general manager of the Irondale and Eureka Iron Companies. He enjoyed the
distinction of having made the first coke iron in Alabama. In 1879 he returned
to Catasauqua and formed a partnership with George Davies, under the firm name
of Davies & Thomas. This firm was the outgrowth of a small concern which
was established in 1865 by Daniel Davies. Shortly after its establishment a
co-partnership was formed with William Thomas, and in 1867 the interest of
William Thomas was purchased by George Davies, a son of Daniel Davies. They
organized under the firm name of Daniel Davies & Son, this firm having been
in existence until the death of Daniel Davies in 1876. In 1879 George Davies
and James Thomas combined their interests under the firm name as given above,
which continued in existence until the death of George Davies in 1894. The
following year the heirs of George Davies and the surviving member, James
Thomas, took out articles of incorporation under the laws of the State of
Pennsylvania with the corporate name of Davies & Thomas Company. The
authorized capital stock was two hundred thousand dollars, which was afterward
increased to three hundred thousand dollars. The directors were James Thomas,
Rowland T. Davies, James T. Davies, George Davies, Charles R. Horn, Rowland D.
Thomas, and Hopkin Thomas. The officers were James Thomas, president; Rowland
T. Davies, vice-president; Rowland D. Thomas, secretary and treasurer; Charles
R. Horn, general sales agent; George Davies, purchasing agent. Their offices
are located at East Catasauqua, Pennsylvania, and 26 Cortlandt street, New York
City. The plant is classed with the largest in the country conducting general
foundry and machine work. The capacity of the foundry is over three hundred
tons per day, and the machine shop, blacksmith shop and pattern shop are of the
largest capacity in the Lehigh Valley, being equipped with the modern tools for
quick and accurate work. The plant covers more than twenty-five acres. The
product is sold throughout the United States, Canada, South America, West
Indies and all European countries.
Mr.
Thomas was prominently identified with every enterprise calculated to promote
the prosperity of Catasauqua. He was president of the Wahnetah Silk Mill
Company, and director of the Catasauqua National Bank. Through his efforts the
borough secured the establishment of the Electric Light and Power Company, of
which he was one of the principal stockholders. He was a member of the
Methodist Episcopal church, and an adherent of the Republican party. Taking a
keen and active interest in the cause of education, he served faithfully and
efficiently for some years as a member of the school board. Among the political
honors he had thrust upon him might be mentioned his appointment as a delegate
to the Republican national convention in Minneapolis in 1892.
James
Thomas died December 18, 1906, at Catasauqua, leaving a widow and seven
children: Blanch T., wife of C. R.
Horn, 2. Mary, deceased, 3. Ruth, wife of W. McKee, 4. Helen, wife of J. L.
Hornbeck, S. Catherine Richards, deceased, 6. R. D., resident of Catasauqua,
director of the Wahnetah Silk Mill Company, 7. Hopkin, hereinafter mentioned.
Hopkin
Thomas was born in Oxmore, Alabama, in 1876. He attended the high school of
Catasauqua, whither his parents removed in 1879, and later was a student in the
Lehigh University. He was associated in business with his father in Catasauqua,
from there was transferred to the New York agency, remaining eight years, after
which he returned to Catasauqua and is now general manager of the company. He
is affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal church, a Progressive in politics,
and a member of Porter Lodge, No. 294, Free and Accepted Masons; Catasauqua
Club; Livingston Club.
Go to the James Thomas Biography Page
About
The Hopkin Thomas Project
Rev. July
2010