William G. Gibbons 1832 - 1886
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The Pusey & Jones Company Centennial Book of 1848 - 1948 says the president of their company in 1879 was Charles W. Pusey.The personal papers of the Gibbons and Coker family contain documents that say William G. Gibbons, in fact, was president of Pusey & Jones Company from 1879 until his death in 1886.
You be the judge! Read this article and make up your own mind. Click here and drop us an e-mail if you have something to contribute.
On January 20, 2002 The Paper History Channel received the following e-mail from Mr. P.C. Coker of Charleston, SC:
Dear Mr. Bagnato,
I noted with great interest your web site on Pusey & Jones as I am a direct descendant of William Gibbons who worked for the company for most of his life until his death in the fall of 1886. My understanding is that he was president of the company at the time of his death, but your web site did not mention his name. Is my information incorrect? My sister and I still have some of his letters and papers but I have never sat down and gone through them.
This e-mail immediately generated a search of the Paper History Channel archives and various information sources. No William Gibbons was found. Contacting my very good friend, Øyvind Haugen of Norway, he informed me he is aware of William Gibbons and understood he was associated with Pusey & Jones, Company. He sent the information sources he had.With the information we have received and searched, (the greatest share from the personal papers of Mr. P. C. Coker), we respond to his question, "Is my information incorrect?"
WILLIAM G. GIBBONS
William G. Gibbons was the third son and seventh child of Abraham and Mary T. (Pim) Gibbons. He was born on his father's farm near Bird in Hand, in Lancaster County, Pa. on February 12th, 1832. When he was about 10 years old, the family moved to a farm near West Chester, in Chester County, Pa. He attended Westtown, a well known Orthodox Friends' School where he was known as a pleasant, winning boy and an apt pupil, especially in mathematics. He remained on the farm until 1853 when he moved to Wilmington, DE where he was employed as a bookkeeper for Betts, Pusey, & Seal, the predecessors of the Pusey & Jones Company where he remained until 1858. In 1858, he went into partnership with his brothers, Richard P. and Thomas Gibbons, in the rolling-mill business, later to become Seidel & Hastings. While in the rolling-mill business he continued to keep books for Betts, Pusey, & Seal.
In 1860 William Gibbons purchased the interest of Alfred Betts and almost at once became a "wheel-horse" of the firm. The firm prospered and grew under his direction into the front rank among the iron ship-building establishments of America. At the incorporation of the Pusey & Jones Company in 1879, William Gibbons became it's president.
SHIP BUILDING AT BETTS, PUSEY & SEAL
Betts, Pusey & Seal, shipbuilders had the distinction in 1854 of building the Mahlon Betts, the first iron sailing vessel ever built in the United States, a daring engineering innovation. They built a large number of ships for South American companies in Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and Brazil. Many Pusey and Jones twin-screw, side wheel and stern wheel vessels and steamers navigated the river waters of South America, some with only a hull 8 feet deep.
This was the arena that William Gibbons joined in 1860. In the period that William Gibbons was associated with Pusey & Jones Company, it was reported, among other things, the company had built over 100 sailing ships and 53 paper machines.
THE PUSEY & JONES COMPANY
In 1848, two young, ambitious mechanics, Joshua L. Pusey and John Jones, formed a partnership which became the nucleus of The Pusey and Jones Company. They had little money, but an abundance of confidence. They opened their small Wilmington plant ready for any and all general machine shop work. As small orders began to come into the plant, the two mechanics hired several men to assist with the work. The advent of the Civil War found the company equipped to handle the Government's urgent requirements for war vessels. The very first contract received was one calling for the building of a sloop of war. The contract was a very large one and necessitated the hiring of many workers who toiled day and night to complete the building of the sloop. In addition, many marine engines and boilers were built to be installed in wooden steamers built by other shipbuilding firms.
The Pusey & Jones 100th year centennial book (1848 to 1948 - published by the Pusey & Jones Company) details the company's progress through the years. The centennial book states the men who succeeded Joshua L, Pusey and John Jones at the helm of Pusey & Jones are the following: Charles W. Pusey who became president in 1879; Thomas L. Savery, in 1906; John M. Mendinhall in 1907; Sterling H. Thomas in 1912; Christoffer Hannevig, in 1916; William Griscom Coxe in 1921; Clement C. Smith in 192.7; John P. Pulliam in 1929; Andrew G. Spiegel-halter in 1939. Pusey & Jones, a leader in the fields of ship building and paper machine design, closed in 1956 after 108 years of service. (Click here to read the author's note concerning the Pusey & Jones presidency in 1879 at the bottom of the page).
PUSEY & JONES PAPER MACHINES
It was during William Gibbons tenure at Pusey & Jones that the company launched itself into a whole new venture, the building of paper machines. Until 1867, the prevailing custom in the United States was to order papermaking machines from abroad. Pusey & Jones had made parts for paper making machines in many sections of the country but had never built a complete paper machine. William Gibbons obviously knew the rolling mill business and ship building very well. In this period however, he was probably unfamiliar with paper machines. Pusey and Jones were about to build their first complete paper machine.
In 1867 a top-hatted gentleman named William Luke of the Rockland Paper Mills, launched Pusey & Jones into the field of building complete paper machines. Mr. Luke stepped from a carriage in front of the Pusey & Jones shop, walked briskly into the front office and earnestly stated his business. "I am William Luke of the Rockland Paper Mills," he announced crisply. "As you may have heard, my mill burned to the ground. I need your help." The Pusey & Jones Company elected to assist Mr. Luke and built their first two complete paper machines for Jessup & Moore of Rockland Del. in 1867 (first entry. From the period of 1867 until the time of William Gibbon's death, Pusey & Jones built or had orders for 53 complete paper machines. From that humble start, Pusey Jones built 497 paper machines in the period from May 1867 to October 1956 when the plant closed.At this writing, it is not known by the authors, the involvement of William Gibbons in the paper machine side of the Pusey & Jones Company business. Being president of the company it would seem likely he made a significant contribution to the development of the paper machine side of the business. Reading some 85 of Mr.Gibbons letters in the period from 1883 to his death in 1886, there is mention, among other things, of details of his association with Pusey & Jones but no direct reference to the paper machine business.
It is known however, he was involved in machinery other than ships. In the William G. Gibbons Memorial Booklet of 1887, it is noted that on September 24th, 1886, just a few days before his death, he traveled to Fort Scott, Kansas to superintend the erecting and working of machinery for the manufacture of sugar from sorghum and tropical cane by the diffusion process, parts of which were his own invention.
In memory of William G. Gibbons, the Every Evening of Wilmington, Del. wrote, "In the midst of life we are in death" is a proverb of which the people of Wilmington were called upon yesterday afternoon to witness an exemplification in the sudden removal from their midst of one, of whom it is but simple truth to say, his place cannot be filled. For over thirty years Mr. Gibbons had gone up and down among us in the plentitude of vigorous life and health, a life which most important business interests, affecting to a greater or less degree the well-being of a very large number of our people, were bound up-were inseparable part and parcel." The article goes on to say, " He made the Pusey & Jones company known throughout the world; and voyagers in distant seas often saw the name of his adopted city for the first time upon the vessels which had been sent thither from the works of which he made himself the heart as well as the head."
The Hon. Thomas F. Bayard wrote of William G. Gibbons under the date of October 26th, 1886: "To the whole country the loss is great, for I do think in his profession as an engineer and mechanicican he had his superior in the land. This skill was supplemented by a high integrity which gave him weight with all who knew him and appreciated his great worth".
These are only two of the many eulogies to William G. Gibbons, a much respected and honored person.
SIDE BARS
In another e-mail from PC Coker, great grandson of William G. Gibbons, he writes:
"To show how circular life is, my father was descended from the Cokers (of) the Sonoco Products paper mill of Hartsville, SC. Unfortunately his grandfather died early in life and his widow returned to Charleston after his death so my branch of the family missed out on the Sonoco founding. However, one of their descendants has retired in Charleston and several years ago he told me that he knew the P&J name and that Sonoco was still using some of the original machinery in recent years. I imagine that William Gibbons affiliation with the democratic party in Delaware had something to do with landing the business with Sonoco as the South was solid democratic until the 1960s, but that is merely personal conjecture."
In The Paper History Channel's search to verify this story, it was discovered that the Hartsville, SC paper mill, did in fact, order several paper machines from The Pusey & Jones company, as follows:
Jan 1891 Ord #107 - Carolina Fibre Co. Hartsville, SC, a 64" width wet machine.
Aug 1892 Ord # 1265 - Carolina Fibre Co. Hartsville, SC, a 92" width fourdrinier machine
Dec 1913 Ord # 1265 - Carolina Fibre Co. Hartsville, SC , a 71" width cylinder machine
Mar 1914 Ord # 1266 - Carolina Fibre Co. Hartsville, SC, a 32 ?" fourdrinier machine.
Feb 1923 Ord # 1457 - Southern Novelty Co. Hartsville, SC, a 102" wide cylinder machine
Among the papers of PC Coker were two etchings, reproduced here.
The William Gibbons Home:
807West Street
Wilmington, Del
Click the image for an enlarged view.
This is a woodcut of the Pusey & Jones Company with a caption, "Pusey & Jones establishment in 1849. Records indicate that in 1849, Pusey Jones had a small plant and few employees, only being started in 1848. In addition, the cut indicates the manufacture of paper machines and shows a complete paper machine. Paper machinery was not a significant product for Pusey & Jones until after 1867. The etching more than likely depicts the company sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s. The title probably should have read" Pusey & Jones - Established 1849". Click the image for a greatly enlarged view with titles.
Click the image at left to see an enlarged version of the Gibbons Family Genealogical Chart
Author's notes concerning the Pusey & Jones presidency in 1879:
The Pusey & Jones Centennial states, "The men who succeeded Joshua L, Pusey and John Jones at the helm of Pusey & Jones are the following: Charles W. Pusey who became president in 1879; Thomas L. Savery, in 1906; John M. Mendinhall in 1907; Sterling H. Thomas in 1912; Christoffer Hannevig, in 1916; William Griscom Coxe in 1921; Clement C. Smith in 192.7; John P. Pulliam in 1929; Andrew G. Spiegel-halter in 1939".
There is an inconsistency in the above statement that reads, "Charles W. Pusey who became president in 1879". It may be that Pusey & Jones Company was segmented into divisions under Charles W. Pusey and Mr. Gibbons was a president of a division or a P & J owned ship-building company, but this is very doubtful.
The following excerpts from notable news outlets at the time of William Gibbons death leave little doubt that William G. Gibbons was president of Pusey & Jones.
The National Republican, Washington, D.C. - "by the death of Mr. Gibbons, president of the Pusey & Jones Co., the well known steamship builders at Wilmington, Del....."
The Ledger, Philadelphia, Pa. "under the sagacious management of Mr. Gibbons, who was its president, the business of the Pusey & Jones Company extended......"
N. Y. Evening Post "William G. Gibbons, president of the great ship-building and machine establishment of the Pusey & Jones Co., died at Wilmington, Del., on Wednesday...."
The Times, Philadelphia, Pa. "The close of a noble and faithful life came in Wilmington on Wednesday afternoon in the death of William G. Gibbons, president of Pusey & Jones Company, iron ships and machinery builder."
The personal papers of PC Coker has several sources and various documents that make reference to the effect that William G. Gibbons was president of Pusey & Jones from 1879 to 1886.
Following item (Historical Society of Delaware) added February 28, 2002.
Historical Society of Delaware: Excerpt of a letter to Mrs. P.C.-----* of Charleston, SC from GB-----* Librarian dated may 31st, 1944: "In Conrad's history, I find that the Pusey and Jones Company was started in 1848, and incorporated in 1879: Joshua L. Pusey, its first president; at the latter's death, William G. Gibbons became president, serving until his death. I also see that William G. Gibbons served on the board of Water Commissioners for Wilmington in 1883. Scharf gives a longer history of Pusey and Jones, and says that William G. Gibbons joined the firm in 1860, and was president in 1886."
Based on the Gibbons/Coker papers and other information sited above, their is plenty of evidence to question who really was the president of Pusey & Jones Company in 1879. Could it be that William Gibbons succeeded Charles W. Pusey in 1879 or Joshua L. Pusey? Was William Gibbons president of a company owned by Pusey & Jones and he in turn reported to Charles W. Pusey or Joshua L. Pusey and later became president? Is the notation in the Pusey & Jones Centennial regarding Charles W. Pusey an oversight or error?
Based on the Gibbons/Coker papers (much of which are from the accessions of the Eleutherian Mills Historical Library) the author leans more towards William Gibbons as president of the Pusey & Jones Company from 1879 to 1886, at the time of his death. This does not mean that the search is over. We will continue to search for more information that could resolve this issue.
What is your opinion? If you have comments or additional information to add to this article, please contact Luigi Bagnato or Øyvind Haugen .
Click here to read about the authors.
Luigi Bagnato & Øyvind Haugen
February 26, 2002
Bibliography:
William G. Gibbons Memorial Book, 1887
Letter from Caroline Gibbons to her children, April 1962
Genealogical Chart by Caroline Gibbons, April 1962
Survey & plots, 809 West Street, Wilmington, Del.
Some 85 letters from William G. Gibbons to his wife, Caroline dated 1883-1886
including the last letter before his death.Letter: Historical Society of Delaware, May 31, 1944
Package of information and letter - Ellen *
Package of information and letter - Jeanette *
Excerpt from 50th Anniversary celebration of the Pusey & Jones Company
dated 1848 - 1898.Package of information - Øyvind Haugen/Norway
Pusey & Jones 100th year centennial booklet 1848 - 1948
Internet searches - museums and historical sites..
Various other documents, letters and woodcuts from PC Coker collection of family papers.
Various e-mail correspondence between PC Coker of Charleston, SC and the author.
Letters of February 4th and 11th - PC Coker to the author.
* Names withheld - no permission to publish.
