George and Henry Griffen were the sons of John Griffen, the superintendent of the Phoenix Iron Company in Phoenixville Pennsylvania—a suburb of Philadelphia—and his second wife Mary Leggett (the sister of his first wife Esther). Griffen made a great fortune in the iron industry with the invention of the “Griffen Gun‚” the first American cannon made of wrought iron. The eldest son was George Steinman‚ born in January 1854 in Safe Harbor‚ Pennsylvania‚ followed three years later in August 1857 by Henry Ramsey born in Phoenixville.
Raised in an affluent household‚ the boys were afforded every advantage given to men of their class including a formal private education and training at one of the most respected technical colleges of the time‚ the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy‚ N.Y. where the two studied civil engineering. Summers during college were spent working with their father at the Phoenix Iron Company in Phoenixville where they received instruction at the machine shop. After graduation‚ both George and Harry returned to the Phoenix Iron Works machine shop. In March of 1876‚ George took a position at Grand Tower Mining‚ Manufacturing and Transportation Company in Illinois.
In Phoenixville at this time, the Phoenix Pottery operated by Schreiber Company had closed in 1876 due to financial difficulties. John Griffen‚ looking for an appropriate profession for his sons‚ decided to purchase a large percentage of the company’s stock for his children with the intention that they should take over the foundering business. In June 1877‚ with his father’s stake in the business‚ Harry established a partnership with Levi Beerbower‚ opening Beerbower & Griffen‚ manufacturing potters‚ at the Phoenix Pottery. Within two years Harry bought out Beerbower’s shares in the company with the intention of bringing his brother into the business. With the technical expertise of English potters David Smith and William Hill and assistance from brother George they formed a partnership to create the new firm of Griffen‚ Smith & Hill at the Phoenix Pottery, now renamed the Etruscan Works.
Success with their lines of Queensware‚ majolica and sanitary wares brought the brothers a good living. Henry married 22 year old Catherine Love in March 1883 and had three children over the course of the next eight years. George became very involved in local politics and included among his positions‚ secretary and treasurer of the Phoenixville Gas‚ Light and Fuel Company and a member of the Phoenixville Borough city council .
The partnership however only lasted a year and a half. William Hill departed Phoenixville. The firm then became Griffen‚ Smith & Company. With some success potting the latest fad in pottery, majolica, the company began to prosper.. Promoting their work during the 1884 New Orleans World’s Industrial and Cotton Exhibition brought the company national distribution contracts.
With their new prosperity the firm purchased a large share of the Brandywine Summit Kaolin Works from their father John Griffen's estate following his death in 1884. This soon became the primary clay supplier for the Etruscan Works. A year later‚ the brothers decided to enter the glazed brick market by purchasing a second pottery exclusively for the manufacture of brick in Oaks‚ Montgomery County, the Perkiomen Brick Company. Griffen Bros. & Miller brick manufacturers‚ as the new company was called, opened in 1888 with Henry Griffen supervising the plant. George remained in Phoenixville to oversee the Etruscan Works.
In 1889 David Smith also decided to leave the partnership and Henry’s father-in-law‚ J Stewart Love, became a full partner in the reorganized pottery‚ Griffen‚ Love & Company. The Etruscan name was retired and with new investment in the company the brothers updated much of the equipment in the pottery imported from France. Soon after completion however‚ a devastating fire destroyed a section of the main pottery building. The brothers rebuilt the pottery naming the concern the Griffen China Co. but rising costs soon led to financial difficulties. The firm entered bankruptcy proceedings in December of 1892.
George Griffen died of “apoplexy” one month later on January 27‚ 1893 at the age of 39.
"In Memoriam— The sudden death of George S. Griffen which occurred at his home on Main Street, this Borough, yesterday, was a shock to this community, where he was so well known and so universally beloved. He had rallied from the first attack which had prostrated him on New Year’s eve, and his family and friends had for some days entertained hopes of his speedy recovery. He seemed much better yesterday and his condition was a matter of congratulations, when the dread summons came and at midday on the King’s highway, there met him an angel." –Phoenixville Independent, January 28, 1893
After the liquidation of the Griffen China Company‚ Henry continued as partner at the brick works at Oaks—now renamed Pennsylvania Enameled Brick—until 1896 when he sold his interest and took a position with the American Terra Cotta Co. in Crystal Lake, Illinois.
In 1896 while in Illinois he published a book on his pottery experience‚ Clay Glazes and Enamels, with a Supplement on Crazing, its Cause and Prevention. There he remained active in giving lectures on clay‚ glazes and ceramics‚ among them “Clay in Architecture” in February of 1897 at the National Brick Manufacturer’s Association.
Henry then returned to Phoenixville and joined the Phoenix Iron Company in the shipping department as auditor but soon left again to become an inspector for Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh‚ Pa. He returned to Phoenixville again as the Auditor of the Phoenix Iron Company in 1903.
Henry R. Griffen died suddenly in Scranton‚ Pennsylvania in November 1907 at the age of 50. He left a family of four children. He is buried in Morris Cemetery in Phoenixville near his parents and his brother George.
No comments:
Post a Comment