The commonwealth. (Scotland Neck, N.C.) 1882-1884, 1883-04-19

knew:
And. couchant under brows of massive
line.
The eyes. like guns beneath parapet.
Watched, charged with lghtnings yet
PETER COOPER.
Career Of the Noted Philanthropist-
Hosc HE Acs uired WeolM HIS
Long and Actire Lij'e-His
Princely Bene fcence.
Peter Cooper was horn in this city
February IL. 1891. three wears
afterward his father moved to Peeks-
kill, where he kept a general country
store. Some time later. when he es-
tabllshed brewery, eoung Cooper's
hrst duties In busint ssa- consisted in
delivering the beer IA casks to the
brewery's customers. Afterward the
father again moved, changing his
residence to Catskill and his business
TO brick-making- Having again moved
to BrooklI II, he took up the MAUI
facture of hats, and young Cooper
earned every branch of the trade
The spirit of change, however, seem,
ed strong in the father. for after a
few years he went to Newburgh. n
Y, and returned to the brewing busi-
ness. Peter COoper's varied capacity
and general usefulness in after life
must be attributed largely to these
frequent changes of occupation.
At seventeen years of age he was
apprenticed to carriage maker in
this city, receiving the small salary
of $50 per annum. He lived with
his grandmother on Broadway, and
spent his leisure hours in carving
panels and in doing any other work
he could get. He developed early a
taste for mechanical invention, and
during his apprenticeship he invent
ed machine for mortising the hubs
of carriage-wheels, which was used
very protitably. At twenty -one years
of age, having gone to visit his
brother at Hampstead, L. l., young
Cooper was engaged there to work
at making machines for sharing
cloth, receiving one dollar and fifty
cents per day. At the end of thra e
years he had saved enough to buy
the right to manufacture these ma
chimes throughout the State Of New
York. In this business Mr. Cooper
made enough money to enable him
to pay off large Indebtedness whi.
his father had incurred in business.
saving the latter from disastrous
failure. After three years he set up
a grocery on the site Of the present
Bible House, opposite the Cooper
Union. lie was very Successful in
this business, ard at the end of.three
years he was able to buy glue fac
tory, with all its maciinery and build
ings, and a lease for twenty one
years Of three acres Of ground be
tween Thirty first and Thirty-fourtl
streets. This factory brought large
revenue to Mr.. Cooper. and it may
i. be regarded as the source of all his
{ tgrcat wealth. since he continued il
the same business till the close .
his life; the works. however. were
long nee removed to Maspett
, avenue, Brooklyn.
The great corporation Of Baltimore
} known as the Canton Company, wa
!. built by Mr.. Cooper. Having beer
e induced to buy 5000 acres Of Lane
! near the city limits of Baltimore il
5 1928 for $1O5,OOO. in partnership
t with two other men, he bought on
l these two latter for about $l5 O0O
D making the total cost him about 81
4 an acre. On this property he put u
t ir. n works for smelling ore an
). making charcoal-iro and after som
i time he sold all the property excep
8 these works to stock &C mpan.N
e called the Canton Company, gettin
e about 100000 for it, and taking
n large part Of his pay in stock at tin
+ rate of $44 for shares whose pa
t value was 500. In a very shor
s time he was able to obtain the eno1
e nous price of $3.50 per share for thi
l. stock, and large sum i'll additio
# for the>iron works.
1 This venture led Mr.. Cooper t.
), build an iron factory, for rolling iro
i and making wire. ON Thirty thir
t street in this city. but few year
l.. later he moved the machinery t
h Trenton, n. j., where he purchased
large tract Of land (about 11,0O
q acres), and started blast furnace
# and rolling mills on the largest scale
|. A part Of this property was transfe
u red to the Trenton Iron Compan,
|. and another part remained in hi
O possession until his death.
). This outline Of MIR. Cooper's bus
e ness career up to the perlod when
1 had become very wealthy, is rece
d sary not only to comprehend all ii
!. difficulties he had to meet i'll earl
d life, but to show the unusual facilit
l. with which his mind accommodate
IS itself to the varied problems witie
d so many complicated business inte
20 oot q Ynuof have continually throw