Famous People Chenango Co. Has Given to the World
Mrs. Archie D. Gibbs
The Norwich Sun, February 3, 1921
Part 3 - David Maydole
David Maydole
1807 - 1882
Another name that has become world renowned is that of our own David Maydole, founder of the Maydole Hammer factory in 1840. He learned the blacksmiths' trade at an early age, and at that time blacksmiths made their own hammers, and were greatly troubled by the heads of the hammers flying off. Maydole became interested in making a hammer for his own use which would keep the head under all conditions. He also perfected the processes then in use for tempering the steel. One day, when asked by a friend to make a hammer a little better than he had made before, he replied, "I can't make any better ones. When I made a thing I make it as well as I can, no matter who it is made for." David Maydole's best has ever been the best hammer made in the world. An exhibit of each kind of hammer made by the Maydole Hammer factory can be found in the National Museum at Washington.
__________________________________________
Obituary
Chenango Union, October 19, 1882
On Saturday morning last, October 14th, David Maydole died at his residence on East Main Street, aged seventy-five years. Although for a long time an invalid, the announcement of his death was a surprise to our citizens, and the closing of a long, useful and eventful life is sincerely regretted by all. We give a sketch of his life, which will be read with interest by the public generally, as his name is not confined to this vicinity alone:
David Maydole was born January 27th, 1807. His birthplace is in the town of Seward, Schoharie County, at or near what is known now, as it was then, as "Neeley's Hollow," but which is on the maps of all present day as Seward's Valley. At that time (1807) Seward was a part of the town of Sharon. Mr. Maydole comes of sturdy stock, and many prominent traits of his character came to him by right of the descent from an ancestry in which was mingled the blood of the enterprising and persevering Scotch-Irish, and that of the solid and enduring Hollander. His paternal grandfather was of Scotch Irish origin, and his grandmother's family originated in Holland. They came to this country at a date anterior to the revolution, and at the close of the century were settled at Albany, on the Hudson. Alexander Maydole, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in East Albany, Rensselaer County. He was one of several children, who are still represented by descendants bearing their name in different parts of this State and elsewhere. Alexander served an apprenticeship as a shoemaker in the City of Albany. At or soon after the conclusion of his apprenticeship, the young shoemaker made his way into the adjoining County of Schoharie, where he pursued his trade for a number of years. He had located on the old Cherry Valley turnpike, in the town of Sharon, and it was here that he became acquainted with, and subsequently married, Annah Van Valkenburgh, a daughter of Adam Van Valkenburgh, who was a member of an old and well known family in that section of the state. The issue of this union, which occurred in 1798, was twelve children, nine of whom came to maturity and were present at their father's funeral in 1818.
Of these children, David Maydole was the sixth. In so large a family, dependent on the labors of father and mother for support, the opportunities for either leisure or education could not be great, and at an early age habits of prudence and industry were enforced upon David. These early lessons were so deeply imbedded in his nature that they never left him, and their wholesome effects have been seen in a life of great prosperity. The little scholastic training which he had began at a school kept at "Neeley's Hollow," and was concluded by that afforded during several winters in Cortland County, where the family had moved in 1816, settling on a small tract of land at Texas Valley, in what is now the town of Marathon. In 1818 David's father died, leaving the care of his large family to the widow, a woman of excellent judgment and stability of character, as has been shown in the impress which she made upon the minds and characters of her nine children. Beneath her guiding hand, and in the light of her own exemplary bearing, this large family of boys and girls grew up to be respected and industrious members of the different and widely separated communities in which they moved in after years. From 1818, when he was eleven years old, until 1822, David was employed by different farmers, in summer, and was able to attend school during the winters.
In January, 1822, he took the step which initiated him as an approved member of one of the oldest and most honorable trades followed by men. At that time, having passed his fifteenth birthday a few days before, David Maydole was apprenticed to the late James Glover, of Oxford, a well known blacksmith and most respected citizen of that village. The indenture papers were drawn by the late Governor Tracy, and at his instance David also chose Mr. Glover as his guardian. His apprenticeship lasted six years, or until he was twenty one years old.
At the conclusion of the agreed term of service, Mr. Maydole began to look about for an opening where he could engage in business for himself. His oldest brother, Jacob Maydole who had also learned his trade with Mr. Glover, and whose time had been out a year or two before, had located at Eaton, Madison County, and was there carrying on blacksmithing. Thither David went, and entered into partnership with Jacob in the fall of 1828. The brothers worked in company until the fall of 1830, when David disposed of his interest in the business to his brother, and made an engagement with Gardiner & Abbott to work at his trade for them for one year. At the expiration of this time, in 1831, he went into partnership at Lebanon, with Daniel Abbott in the edge tool business. This partnership lasted about two years, when Mr. Maydole returned to Eaton, and bought out Lyman Abbott, who had a chair factory attached to which was a water power. He turned the concern into a blacksmith establishment, and built up quite a business in edge tools and carriage springs, beside general blacksmithing. At this time he was running four fires. In 1837, he prepared to enlarge and add to his business. For this purpose he build an addition to this building, designing to begin the manufacture of lumber wagons for the Chicago market. But when he had put in a part of the machinery, misfortune, in the form of what was thought to be a fire of incendiary origin, overtook him. The fire destroyed his buildings, stock and machinery This was in the spring of 1838. But the misfortune which had overtaken his enterprise did not discourage Mr. Maydole. In company with a younger brother, James, who had also learned the blacksmith trade, he bought the Gardiner & Abbott scythe factory, connected with which was a water power and sixty acres of land. The year was spent in working the farm and getting ready for business, but nothing more was done. When the title was about to be passed to the Maydoles, it was discovered that it was imperfect, and they refused to accept it.
It was at this juncture that Mr. Maydole was induced to consider the question of leaving Eaton for another location, and the result was that in the spring of 1840 he moved to Norwich and formed a partnership with Levi Ray, in the old stone blacksmith shop which still stands [in 1882] on East Main Street. His special part of the business was the manufacture of edge tools and carriage springs in which braches he had become an acknowledged expert, the character of his work having given him a wide reputation throughout this section.
In the summer of 1845, Mr. Maydole began another enterprise. the Wait boys (Arnold and Daniel) had put up a building on the site of that now occupied by the Maydole Hammer Factory. The Waits leased one half of their building and power to Mr. Maydole, who, in his own name and for his own account, carried on the manufacture of edge tools. And here and about this time he also began, in a small way, the manufacture of the adz eye and other hammers. Here was the beginning of an enterprise which has carried his name into every quarter of the civilized world, which has since, under his personal care and supervision, grown into large and prosperous proportions, and which has brought to the projector deserved fame and prosperity. In the spring of 1847 the partnership with Mr. Ray was dissolved, and from that time on his principal attention was devoted to the hammer business.
In 1848, a fire burned the building and stock, causing Mr. Maydole a loss of $1,000 above his insurance, which was for the same amount. Nothing daunted by this second and severe scorching, Mr. Maydole straightway set about the work of repairing damages and recovering the lost ground. The first step was to buy the entire property of the Messrs. Wait, and to erect on the site of the burned building a structure in which to resume his business. This was the eastern part of the present main building, but it was only two stories high when first erected. From this beginning, the works have been several times enlarged, an extension on the ground and a third story over the whole having been put on in 1856.
In 1857 the hammer business suffered in common with most other manufacturing enterprises, and most of his competitors went down in the wreck of that season of panic. While Mr. Maydole's business felt, it did not long nor materially suffer from the effects of the panic. As early as 1860 he was working from seventy-five to eighty hands, and so largely increased had become his demand on the supply of power furnished by the surplus water from the canal that it was found inadequate, and a fifty horse power engine was put in to furnish the necessary additional power. From this time forward, the business has gone on increasing, and except during the business depression which followed the panic of 1873, there has been no time when the establishment has been able to keep up with its orders, notwithstanding the constant efforts made to increase the capacity of the concern by adding new machinery. In 1873 there were one hundred and fifteen men employed. Up to 1876 the forging had all been done by hand, but in this year machinery for this purpose was put in, and added to from year to year since. At the present time, the adz-eye hammer is made with three heats, while the ordinary blacksmith and rivaling hammers are forged at one heat. In this way the capacity of the establishment for turning out hammers has been increased very largely, machinery doing the work formerly did by many hands--at the same time the work done is brought to greater perfection than was possible under the old system of hand forging. Mr. Maydole was the inventor of the now common Adz eye hammer, and it has always been a source of regret to him that he had not patented the invention. On the introduction of forging machinery he invented and patented several important improvements in the method of forging hammers. That for drawing up the adz-eye is very ingenious and perfect, and in practical work exceeds any other appliance now in use and designed for the same purpose.
Mr. Maydole's habits of life have ever been temperate and industrious. At the age of eighteen, while yet an apprentice, he experienced religion, and has ever since been a consistent and practical Christian. He first united with the Presbyterian Church at Oxford, and has since, as his residence changed, been a member of societies at Morrisville, Eaton and Norwich. On the subject of temperance he has been pronounced and radical, setting an example of total abstinence to others, and in other ways encouraging the cause. He has always, and according to his means, been a generous contributor to church, charitable and public enterprises. No cause which has enlisted his sympathies or judgment has appealed to him in vain.
In 1830, May 5th, Mr. Maydole was united in marriage to Mary Madelia Hartzhorn, an accomplished and interesting daughter of Jacob Hartzhorn, long a magistrate and prominent citizen of Lebanon, Madison County. To this union there was born three daughters, namely Jane Madelia, wife of William B. Guenrsey; Ann Vernette, wife of Cyrus B. Martin; and Cornelia Eliza, wife of Charles H. Merritt. Mrs. Maydole having died in 1843, Mr. M. contracted a second marriage with Charlena Dickinson, daughter of Abner Dickinson, Esq., late of Preston, who survives him.
Funeral services were held at the Congregational Church on Monday afternoon, and there was a very large attendance, including the employees of the hammer factory in a body, numbering nearly one hundred, the Bank directors, and citizens generally. The older employees of the deceased acted as bearers. Business places were generally closed during the services. Dr. Taylor gave an instructive and impressive discourse, paying a deserved tribute to the memory of one who had made for himself a name, and who had for so many years occupied so prominent a position in our midst Excellent and appropriate music by the choir, under the direction of Mrs. Mitchell, added to the solemnities of the occasion. At the conclusion of the services the remains were taken to the village cemetery, accompanied by a large number of citizens, and deposited in the family lot.
In January, 1822, he took the step which initiated him as an approved member of one of the oldest and most honorable trades followed by men. At that time, having passed his fifteenth birthday a few days before, David Maydole was apprenticed to the late James Glover, of Oxford, a well known blacksmith and most respected citizen of that village. The indenture papers were drawn by the late Governor Tracy, and at his instance David also chose Mr. Glover as his guardian. His apprenticeship lasted six years, or until he was twenty one years old.
At the conclusion of the agreed term of service, Mr. Maydole began to look about for an opening where he could engage in business for himself. His oldest brother, Jacob Maydole who had also learned his trade with Mr. Glover, and whose time had been out a year or two before, had located at Eaton, Madison County, and was there carrying on blacksmithing. Thither David went, and entered into partnership with Jacob in the fall of 1828. The brothers worked in company until the fall of 1830, when David disposed of his interest in the business to his brother, and made an engagement with Gardiner & Abbott to work at his trade for them for one year. At the expiration of this time, in 1831, he went into partnership at Lebanon, with Daniel Abbott in the edge tool business. This partnership lasted about two years, when Mr. Maydole returned to Eaton, and bought out Lyman Abbott, who had a chair factory attached to which was a water power. He turned the concern into a blacksmith establishment, and built up quite a business in edge tools and carriage springs, beside general blacksmithing. At this time he was running four fires. In 1837, he prepared to enlarge and add to his business. For this purpose he build an addition to this building, designing to begin the manufacture of lumber wagons for the Chicago market. But when he had put in a part of the machinery, misfortune, in the form of what was thought to be a fire of incendiary origin, overtook him. The fire destroyed his buildings, stock and machinery This was in the spring of 1838. But the misfortune which had overtaken his enterprise did not discourage Mr. Maydole. In company with a younger brother, James, who had also learned the blacksmith trade, he bought the Gardiner & Abbott scythe factory, connected with which was a water power and sixty acres of land. The year was spent in working the farm and getting ready for business, but nothing more was done. When the title was about to be passed to the Maydoles, it was discovered that it was imperfect, and they refused to accept it.
It was at this juncture that Mr. Maydole was induced to consider the question of leaving Eaton for another location, and the result was that in the spring of 1840 he moved to Norwich and formed a partnership with Levi Ray, in the old stone blacksmith shop which still stands [in 1882] on East Main Street. His special part of the business was the manufacture of edge tools and carriage springs in which braches he had become an acknowledged expert, the character of his work having given him a wide reputation throughout this section.
In the summer of 1845, Mr. Maydole began another enterprise. the Wait boys (Arnold and Daniel) had put up a building on the site of that now occupied by the Maydole Hammer Factory. The Waits leased one half of their building and power to Mr. Maydole, who, in his own name and for his own account, carried on the manufacture of edge tools. And here and about this time he also began, in a small way, the manufacture of the adz eye and other hammers. Here was the beginning of an enterprise which has carried his name into every quarter of the civilized world, which has since, under his personal care and supervision, grown into large and prosperous proportions, and which has brought to the projector deserved fame and prosperity. In the spring of 1847 the partnership with Mr. Ray was dissolved, and from that time on his principal attention was devoted to the hammer business.
In 1848, a fire burned the building and stock, causing Mr. Maydole a loss of $1,000 above his insurance, which was for the same amount. Nothing daunted by this second and severe scorching, Mr. Maydole straightway set about the work of repairing damages and recovering the lost ground. The first step was to buy the entire property of the Messrs. Wait, and to erect on the site of the burned building a structure in which to resume his business. This was the eastern part of the present main building, but it was only two stories high when first erected. From this beginning, the works have been several times enlarged, an extension on the ground and a third story over the whole having been put on in 1856.
In 1857 the hammer business suffered in common with most other manufacturing enterprises, and most of his competitors went down in the wreck of that season of panic. While Mr. Maydole's business felt, it did not long nor materially suffer from the effects of the panic. As early as 1860 he was working from seventy-five to eighty hands, and so largely increased had become his demand on the supply of power furnished by the surplus water from the canal that it was found inadequate, and a fifty horse power engine was put in to furnish the necessary additional power. From this time forward, the business has gone on increasing, and except during the business depression which followed the panic of 1873, there has been no time when the establishment has been able to keep up with its orders, notwithstanding the constant efforts made to increase the capacity of the concern by adding new machinery. In 1873 there were one hundred and fifteen men employed. Up to 1876 the forging had all been done by hand, but in this year machinery for this purpose was put in, and added to from year to year since. At the present time, the adz-eye hammer is made with three heats, while the ordinary blacksmith and rivaling hammers are forged at one heat. In this way the capacity of the establishment for turning out hammers has been increased very largely, machinery doing the work formerly did by many hands--at the same time the work done is brought to greater perfection than was possible under the old system of hand forging. Mr. Maydole was the inventor of the now common Adz eye hammer, and it has always been a source of regret to him that he had not patented the invention. On the introduction of forging machinery he invented and patented several important improvements in the method of forging hammers. That for drawing up the adz-eye is very ingenious and perfect, and in practical work exceeds any other appliance now in use and designed for the same purpose.
Mr. Maydole's habits of life have ever been temperate and industrious. At the age of eighteen, while yet an apprentice, he experienced religion, and has ever since been a consistent and practical Christian. He first united with the Presbyterian Church at Oxford, and has since, as his residence changed, been a member of societies at Morrisville, Eaton and Norwich. On the subject of temperance he has been pronounced and radical, setting an example of total abstinence to others, and in other ways encouraging the cause. He has always, and according to his means, been a generous contributor to church, charitable and public enterprises. No cause which has enlisted his sympathies or judgment has appealed to him in vain.
In 1830, May 5th, Mr. Maydole was united in marriage to Mary Madelia Hartzhorn, an accomplished and interesting daughter of Jacob Hartzhorn, long a magistrate and prominent citizen of Lebanon, Madison County. To this union there was born three daughters, namely Jane Madelia, wife of William B. Guenrsey; Ann Vernette, wife of Cyrus B. Martin; and Cornelia Eliza, wife of Charles H. Merritt. Mrs. Maydole having died in 1843, Mr. M. contracted a second marriage with Charlena Dickinson, daughter of Abner Dickinson, Esq., late of Preston, who survives him.
Funeral services were held at the Congregational Church on Monday afternoon, and there was a very large attendance, including the employees of the hammer factory in a body, numbering nearly one hundred, the Bank directors, and citizens generally. The older employees of the deceased acted as bearers. Business places were generally closed during the services. Dr. Taylor gave an instructive and impressive discourse, paying a deserved tribute to the memory of one who had made for himself a name, and who had for so many years occupied so prominent a position in our midst Excellent and appropriate music by the choir, under the direction of Mrs. Mitchell, added to the solemnities of the occasion. At the conclusion of the services the remains were taken to the village cemetery, accompanied by a large number of citizens, and deposited in the family lot.
No comments:
Post a Comment