Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-07-13

y
the site where Swartz & Sons machine
shop is now located, which David VII
ley 4 Charles Swartz bought in the fall
of 1850, and manufactured thrashing
machines, their competitors in the ma
chine business being Henry Heberling,
Benz. Hoyle, VIM. Frame and several
others whose names are not IT., ullected.
THE GLASS BUSINESS.
The first glass house Was ct, d by
Ensell 4 Wilson, in 1S49, on ii part, and
but very small part, of the grounds
now occupied by the immense structure
of Jos. Bell & Co., but small rs the con-
Germ was, it was found toe large for the
firms that from time to time attempt
ed to operate ii, until it fell into the
hands of the present owners, who are,
perhaps, the most extensive and sue
cessful glass manufacturers in the Uni
ted States. In 1861, with Mr.. Phillips
as partner, under the name of M. Swee-
ney & Co., Mr.. Sweeney built small
furnace on the site of the present
works. For want of means the enter
prise in short time was likely to fail,
when Col. Jas. McCluney OF Wheeling,
put his shoulder to the wheel, and with
Mr.. Sweeney prepared to enter upon a
scale of business worthy of the latter
gentleman's skill and experience. In
the year 1868 the working capital Of
the firm was increased by the addition
OF Jos. Bell to the partnership, under
the title of Sweeney, Bell & Co. The
work was carried on with ever increaS-
ing success until 1867, when Mr.. Bell
retired. In 1869, Sweeney, McClu-
ney & Co., having completed their
present factory, vacated their Wheeling
works, and concentrated their energies
and capital at Martins Ferry. The
factory, situated Immediately upon the
bank of the river, is 235 feet long and
los wide, and has three furnaces, ten
extra large pots in each. The ware
room, built in 1869, is 100 feet long and
80 wide, and stands on the south side
of the street from the factory, and is
connected thereto by covered bridge
between the second stories of each
building. The works went successful
ly on until the year OF 1875, when
through some cause unknown to US,
it passed into the hands OF Joseph Bell
& Co.
THRESHING MACHINE BUSINESS.
In the year 1850, in the early history
of Martins Ferry, and long before the
iron horse flying down this beautiful
valley, awakened the slumbering ech-
oes in our river hills, our venerable cit
izen, Mr.. Charles Swartz, in company
with Mr.. David Wiley, might have
been seen working its way in u small
shop down by the river bank, building
threshers and cleaners. That was some
thirty years ago. The threshing ma
chine business was tnen in its infancy,
and its future growth and progress,
which did so much to bring our town
before the world as the centre of trade
in this particular branch of agricultu-
raj implements, was entirely owing to
the sturdy, energetic, thinking and in
Ventive men of Mr.. SWartz'S stripe,
who were then conducting the business.
At that time the threshing machine,
an improvement on the
Good old way of tramping and fail
ing, was yet a crude affair and did its
work very imperfectly. Last year,
however, Mr.. SWartz applied himself
to study out and make improvements,
and step by step he has advanced, till
now, in his old age, he can look with
pride upon the work of a lifetime in
the perfect hresher and cleaner now
being turned out by Swartz d Sons, at
the Belmont Agricultural Works in
Martins Ferry, and known as The Cru
sader. The claims of the Crusauer
upon the attention of threshers and
farmers of our grain growing regions,
are its superior facilities for separating
he. 10 cfr n.llQ
which it is cleaned ready for market,
the simplicity of the operations of the
whole machinery, and the saving OF
grain and labor, besides a great increase
in the capacity for threshiny. Anoth-
er commendable feature of the Crusa-
der is the small amount of gearing and
used in its construction,
thereby making a great saving to the
purchaser in the way Uf repairs, and
also the standing objection to all belt
machines mas been Obviated by the
simple gearing invented and applied to
his ma chine by Mr.. Charles Swartz.
ANOTHER ENTERPRIsING MAN.
Mr.. LavOsier Spence, the present
proprietor of the Ohio Valley Agri-
cultural Works, situated on Water
street, was born in an unpretending
.abin in Mt. Peasant township, Jeffer-
,On county, Ohio, in the year 1929.
Like all self.made men he enjoyed to
great degree the blessings of poverty.
His father lived upon a rented farm,
md his limited means did not permit
him to give Lavosier a very thorough
,ducation, nor start him in business
With a cash capital. But he gave him |
What was better, clear grit and the
uccessful manner in which he has |
worked his way up, shows that it was |
good inheritance. The subject of our |
ketch tOiled away on the farm till he |
vas twenty-one J ears of age, when he
ntered the carpenter shop of Thomas |
upton, near Mt. Pleasant, to learn the
rade. In the year 1854 he came TO
Martins Ferry an inexperienced youth,
With no money, but desirous of adding
o his meagre store of knowledge in
he mechanical sciences. He entered
he shop OF Rice d Swartz, manufactu-
ers of threshing machines, and after
working about six months AS day Ia
,orer, he took contract to build ma
hines for them, at an agreed price for
dcH. AlteI OfupictiHS tuiS Jul hC
made similar contract with Heben-
ack u Taylor, who were engaged in
he same business. After finishing
hese he found himself the pOsseSsor of
cash capital of 81 800. With this he
mbarked in the business of building
hreshing machines for himself; rent
lg a small room from B. Hoyle, and
Ding the work himself, with the as
stance, sometimes, of one hand. He
onducted the business on safe and
economical basis, and soon earned a
sputation for doing first-class work,
nd which, by the way, he retains in
ne superlative degree to the present
ay. Within two years he purchased
ne-half interest in his present estab. ,
and his course ever since has
cen onward and upward; a living ex- ,
nnle of what a man with pluck, en-