HISTORIC HOMES AND
INSTITUTIONS
AND
GENEALOGICAL AND
PERSONAL MEMOIRS
OF
THE
LEHIGH VALLEY
PENNSYLVANIA
_____________________
UNDER THE EDITORIAL
SUPERVISION OF
JOHN
W. JORDAN, LL.D.
OF THE HISTORICAL
SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA
AND
EDGAR
MOORE GREEN, A. M., M. D.
OF EASTON, PA.
GEORGE
T. ETTINGER, PH.D.
OF MUHLENBERG COLLEGE, ALLENTOWN, PA.
_____________________
Knowledge of kindred and the
genealogies of the ancient families deserveth the highest praise. Herein consists
a part of the knowledge of a man's own self. It is a great spur to virtue to
look back on the worth of our line." - Lord Bacon.
"There is no heroic poem in the.
world but is at the bottom the, life of a man." - Sir Walter Scott.
__________
ILLUSTRATED
__________
Vol. II
NEW YORK
CHICAGO
THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY
1905
Excerpt – Page 355 - 356
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 is 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 be became an apprentice in 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-4ron 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, 1878, 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 enjoys the distinction of
having made the first coke iron in Alabarna. 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 and Thomas Company. The
authorized capital stock was two hundred thousand dollars, which was afterward
increased to three hundred thousand dollars. The directors are James Thomas,
Rowland T. Davies, James T. Davies, George Davies, Charles R. Horn, Rowland D.
Thomas, and Hopkin Thomas. The officers are James Thomas, president; Rowland T.
Davies, vice-president; Rowland D. Thomas, secretary and treasurer; Charles R.
Horn, general sales agent; and 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 uf the
largest capacity in the Lehigh Valley being equipped with the most 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 is prominently identified with every enterprise calculated to promote
the prosperity of Catasauqua. He is president of the Wahnetah Silk Mill
Company, and a director of the Catasauqua National Bank. Through his efforts
the borough secured the establishment of the Electric Light and Power Company,
of which be was one of the principal stockholders. He is 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 same years as a member of the school board. Among the political honors he
has had thrust upon him might be mentioned his appointment as a delegate to the
Republican national convention in Minneapolis in 1892.
Return to the James Thomas Page
Excerpt Page 200 – 202
Ed. William Lilly came in contact with
Hopkin Thomas as a lad of 17. He remained a life-long friend and his thoughts
upon HopkinÕs death were recorded in the testimonial published by the
Catasauqua Dispatch. J. McV.
GEN.
WILLIAM LILLY. In the death of General William Lilly, the city of Mauch Chunk
was deprived of one of its most talented and honored citizens, and the
commonwealth of one of its most accomplished statesmen.
He
was born at Penn Yan, New York, June 3, 1821. He was a lad of seventeen when he
came with his parents to Mauch Chunk, and he at once entered upon a life of
industry and responsibility, at that early age being entrusted with the duties
of a conductor on the Beaver Meadow Railroad. He rendered acceptable service in
that capacity for a period of six years, and then became identified with the
Hazelton Railway, a branch of line which included the Penn Haven inclined-plane
track to Hazelton, this branch also connecting with Parryville by canal, and
each in the coal carrying, business. Mr. Lilly later became associated with
Ario Pardee, J. Gillingham Fell, and George B. Markle, in the coal business at
Jeddo. The last but by no means least important enterprise which engaged his
attention was the management of the extensive colliery at Park Place, in which
he was associated with the firm of Lentz, Lilly & Company. In all these
relations, he displayed the best qualities of a well equipped man of affairs,
and he contributed in large degree to the development of the mining and
transportation interests of the region, and, was ranked among the leading
promoters and managers along those
lines.
While
General Lilly thus bore a prominent part in industrial and commercial affairs,
he was mote widely known for his services in public life. He first came into
prominence in connection with the military establishment of the state. At the
age of twenty-one he enlisted in the ranks of the militia, and through
successive promotions, won by his courage and fine soldierly qualities, he
arrived at the rank of colonel, and finally that of brigadier-general
In
politics, General Lilly was a Democrat of the old school, and his first
presidential vote was cast for James K. Polk. He acted with the party until
1862, when, the Civil war being then in progress, and the fate of the nation at
stake, he gave his allegiance to the party then headed by President Lincoln. He
remained a Republican thenceforward and to the end of his life, and was one of its
most radical and uncompromising exponents, advocating its principles and
policies with enthusiasm and ability. To him the maintenance of the Union was
dependable upon a continuance of power in Republican hands. This end obtained,
the party appealed to him on industrial and economic grounds. The party had
inaugurated a new tariff system in order to provide means, in part, for
carrying on the war, and now it had elaborated the system to promote American
industries by affording them protection against foreign merchants and.
manufacturers. Pennsylvania, by reason of its great mineral resources and
manufacturing capacity was particularly interested, yet there were many
opponents to the doctrine of protection, and advocates of the home mechanic and
manufacturer were long kept in active employment in the work of political and
economic education. Among these advocates nonewas more zealous, more capable,
more aggressive or more invincible than was General Lilly. He frequently sat as
a delegate in the state and national conventions of the Republican party, and
his influence was at various times discernible in the language of its platforms
with reference to the protective tariff. In 1868 he was prominently mentioned
for the gubernatorial nomination, and in the nominating convention he was
defeated by so small a plurality as to make it evident that he would have been
made the candidate had he conducted a personal campaign, a course to which he
was disinclined by reason of want of particular political ambition, and of the
exactions of his business. In 1892 he was elected congressman-at-large, and his
personal popularity found attestation in the fact that he led his ticket,
receiving 32,391 votes as against 32,215 cast for General Harrison, his
plurality being 176 more than was that of the. distinguished presidential
candidate.
As
a member of Congress, General Lilly acquitted himself most usefully and
honorably. A forceful speaker he cherished no ambition of oratory and spoke but
seldom. He was reckoned, however, among the most industrious members of the
house, and his services in the committee room were of much value. At his death
he was the senior member of the body in point of age, and, as a striking
coincidence, may be mentioned the fact that within a few days. occurred the
death of Hon. Charles O'Neill, the
"Father of the House" in point of duration of service. Between these
two men, much alike in disposition, habits of thought and conceptions of
principle and policies, subsisted a long and most, intimate personal friendship.
The
death of General Lilly, which occurred on December 1, 1893, was regarded as a
severe loss to the community, which held him in honor for his ability and
nobility of character and in affection for his worth as a citizen and neighbor.
He was by nature a leader of men, whether in business or in public affairs, yet
holding authority with so light a hand that no resentment was kindled against
him. The expressions of regret at his taking off were many and touching, nor
was there among them any more full of significance than the sentences of one
obituary sketch: "Even death failed to stamp out the strong lineaments
that denoted the leading characteristics of the man - nobleness of purpose on
the open brow; firmness and determination in the strong lines of the face; and
yet, withal, a kindly gentle expression." His character was well summarized in the resolutions adopted
by the board of directors of the First National Bank of Mauch Chunk, of which
body he had been a member from the founding of the institution:
"Resolved, That our community has
been deprived of one of its most
excellent and enterprising, members. He was just and honorable in all his ways,
fearless for the right, and openhanded where there was need. Beginning life in
humble circumstances and with limited educational facilities, by energy and
application he succeeded in self-education and in making a princely fortune.
"'Resolved, That the state and
nation had need of his counsel and civic virtues, for in times, of distress, financial
and industrial depression, his voice and experience would have been invaluable
in measures for relief and encouragement."
The
funeral was attended by an immense concourse, among which was a large
delegation representing the congress of the United States. That body also took
appropriate action, and its tribute to the life and character of the deceased
statesman, as expressed by various members of congress upon the floor of the
house, was given permanence in a memorial volume issued from the government
printing office.
Go to the
Hopkin Thomas Testimonial Page
About
The Hopkin Thomas Project
Rev.
July 2010