Thomas Baylies
Encyclopedia
Thomas Baylies was a Quaker ironmaster
first in England, then in Massachusetts
.
in north Worcestershire
. On 5 June 1706, he married Esther, daughter of Thomas Seargeant of Fulford Heath, in Solihull
in a Quaker ceremony at which 38 witnesses were present. They had eight children. Esther's sister Mary married Abraham Darby I
.
ironworks, becoming a partner with him and John Chamberlain. Together they built a second blast furnace
at Coalbrookdale and secured the rights to build a furnace at Dolgûn near Dolgellau
and taking over Vale Royal Furnace in 1718. However, Darby died in July 1717, before any progress was made with either project, and the partnership was dissolved.
, Richard Turner of Pettywood and William Watts of Newton near Middlewich
. Turner was concerned in a coal mine at Thatto Heath
near St Helens
and persuaded his partners to build a furnace at Sutton (there). They also built a forge
at Acton Bridge
and intended to (but perhaps did not) build another at Dean Mill in Haydock
. Baylies moved to Marton
near the works. The original capital of £5000 was doubled when the second furnace was planned. Baylies had difficulty in paying up the capital of his share, now reduced to one-sixth, because it was still tied up in the stock at Coalbrookdale. His difficulties were made worse by Mary Darby's death following soon after that of her husband. The company suffered substantial losses, forcing Cholmondeley to make an assignment of his estate for the benefit of his creditors, blaming his troubles on the obstinacy of Dick Turner.
to negotiate a lease of an iron ore mine at Frizington
in Cumberland
, and he may have had some involvement with his works there in 1728. However he was living in Stourbridge
in 1729. Between 1730 and 1735, he may have even been concerned in the management of the Culnakyle ironworks at Abernethy of the York Buildings Company
. In 1735, he became the manager of a furnace near Neath
, perhaps Bryncoch Furnace, which belonged to a Quaker Company form Bristol
.
), where he was an ironmaster under contract (of 1738) with Richard Clarke & Co. of Boston. Little is known of his time in America, but he and his wife (who died on 7 May 1754) were buried in a family burying ground beside the Taunton River
.
Dighton, Massachusetts
was where the Baylies family truly became established in British America. Given his experience as an ironmaster, it is no surprise that he established an ironworks on the Three Mile River between Dighton and Taunton
. It was iron from this site that was used for the anchor of the , berthed presently in Boston Massachusetts.
Thomas Baylies and the first branch of Baylies were buried at the Walker Blake Cemetery on the Taunton River, for some reason in the 1920s the graves were removed from this site and moved to the burial ground behind the families church.
Hodijah Baylies and his brother William were both active politicians during America's founding. Hodijah was an aid-decamp to General George Washington
. When Cornwall was to surrender his sword, rather than give it directly to Washington he handed it to Hodijah. A painting of this event still hangs in the North Dighton Church.
Ironmaster
An ironmaster is the manager – and usually owner – of a forge or blast furnace for the processing of iron. It is a term mainly associated with the period of the Industrial Revolution, especially in Great Britain....
first in England, then in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Origins and family
Thomas Baylies was the son of Nicholas Baylies of AlvechurchAlvechurch
Alvechurch is a large village and civil parish of Bromsgrove district, in the northeast of the county of Worcestershire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Arrow, the nearest city is Birmingham, 17 km / 11 miles to the north, with the closest towns being Redditch, 8 km / 5 miles...
in north Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. On 5 June 1706, he married Esther, daughter of Thomas Seargeant of Fulford Heath, in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
in a Quaker ceremony at which 38 witnesses were present. They had eight children. Esther's sister Mary married Abraham Darby I
Abraham Darby I
Abraham Darby I was the first, and most famous, of three generations with that name in an English Quaker family that played an important role in the Industrial Revolution. He developed a method of producing pig iron in a blast furnace fuelled by coke rather than charcoal...
.
Coalbrookdale
By 1714, Baylies had joined his brother-in-law, Abraham Darby, at his CoalbrookdaleCoalbrookdale
Coalbrookdale is a village in the Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire, England, containing a settlement of great significance in the history of iron ore smelting. This is where iron ore was first smelted by Abraham Darby using easily mined "coking coal". The coal was drawn from drift mines in the sides...
ironworks, becoming a partner with him and John Chamberlain. Together they built a second blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
at Coalbrookdale and secured the rights to build a furnace at Dolgûn near Dolgellau
Dolgellau
Dolgellau is a market town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the county town of the former county of Merionethshire .-History and economy:...
and taking over Vale Royal Furnace in 1718. However, Darby died in July 1717, before any progress was made with either project, and the partnership was dissolved.
Vale Royal Company
Baylies took over the Coalbrookdale Company's right to Vale Royal. Lacking sufficient capital, he formed a new partnership with Charles Cholmondeley of Vale Royal AbbeyVale Royal Abbey
Vale Royal Abbey is a medieval abbey, and later country house, located in Whitegate, between Northwich and Winsford in Cheshire, England.The abbey was founded in 1270 by Edward I for monks of the austere Cistercian order...
, Richard Turner of Pettywood and William Watts of Newton near Middlewich
Middlewich
Middlewich is a market town in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is east of the city of Chester, east of Winsford, southeast of Northwich and northwest of Sandbach....
. Turner was concerned in a coal mine at Thatto Heath
Thatto Heath
Thatto Heath is an area of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. Historically a part of Lancashire, it lies approximately north-northwest of Widnes and about east of Liverpool city centre...
near St Helens
Metropolitan Borough of St Helens
The Metropolitan Borough of St Helens is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It is named after its largest town St Helens, and covers an area which includes the settlements of Newton-le-Willows, Earlestown, Haydock, Rainhill, Eccleston, Clock Face, Billinge and...
and persuaded his partners to build a furnace at Sutton (there). They also built a forge
Finery forge
Iron tapped from the blast furnace is pig iron, and contains significant amounts of carbon and silicon. To produce malleable wrought iron, it needs to undergo a further process. In the early modern period, this was carried out in a finery forge....
at Acton Bridge
Acton Bridge
right|thumb|Map of the civil parish of Acton Bridge within the former borough of Vale RoyalActon Bridge is a village and civil parish in Cheshire, England. Located within the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester on the River Weaver, it is near the Trent and Mersey Canal at approximately...
and intended to (but perhaps did not) build another at Dean Mill in Haydock
Haydock
Haydock is a village within the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens, in Merseyside, England. It contains all of the Haydock electoral ward and a section of the Blackbrook electoral ward. The village is located roughly mid-way between Liverpool and Manchester, close to the junction of the M6 motorway...
. Baylies moved to Marton
Marton, Cheshire
Marton, Cheshire is a small village and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England on the A34 road 3 miles north of Congleton ....
near the works. The original capital of £5000 was doubled when the second furnace was planned. Baylies had difficulty in paying up the capital of his share, now reduced to one-sixth, because it was still tied up in the stock at Coalbrookdale. His difficulties were made worse by Mary Darby's death following soon after that of her husband. The company suffered substantial losses, forcing Cholmondeley to make an assignment of his estate for the benefit of his creditors, blaming his troubles on the obstinacy of Dick Turner.
Later Activities in Great Britain
It is not clear how long Baylies remained a partner in the Vale Royal Company; certainly he was not its clerk. In 1723, he was employed by William WoodWilliam Wood (Mintmaster)
William Wood was a hardware manufacturer and mintmaster, noted for receiving a contract to strike an issue of Irish coinage from 1722 to 1724. He also struck the 'Rosa Americana' coins of British America during the same period....
to negotiate a lease of an iron ore mine at Frizington
Frizington
Frizington is a village in Cumbria, England. Historically, it was a collection of farms and houses, but became a unified village as a result of the mining opportunities in the area. The village is known for its church, which was built in 1867-1868...
in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, and he may have had some involvement with his works there in 1728. However he was living in Stourbridge
Stourbridge
Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...
in 1729. Between 1730 and 1735, he may have even been concerned in the management of the Culnakyle ironworks at Abernethy of the York Buildings Company
York Buildings Company
The York Buildings Company was an English company in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.-Waterworks:The full name of the company was The Governor and Company for raising the Thames Water at York Buildings...
. In 1735, he became the manager of a furnace near Neath
Neath
Neath is a town and community situated in the principal area of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, UK with a population of approximately 45,898 in 2001...
, perhaps Bryncoch Furnace, which belonged to a Quaker Company form Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
.
Massachusetts
Baylies (with his son Nicholas and daughter Esther) emigrated from London to Boston, Massachusetts, arriving in June 1737. The following year, he brought over his wife and his daughters Mary and Helen. He settled at Attleborough Gore (now Cumberland, Rhode IslandCumberland, Rhode Island
Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:...
), where he was an ironmaster under contract (of 1738) with Richard Clarke & Co. of Boston. Little is known of his time in America, but he and his wife (who died on 7 May 1754) were buried in a family burying ground beside the Taunton River
Taunton River
The Taunton River , is a river in southeastern Massachusetts in the United States. It arises from the confluence of the Town River and Matfield River, in the town of Bridgewater...
.
Dighton, Massachusetts
Dighton, Massachusetts
Dighton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,175 at the 2000 census. The town is located on the western shore of the Taunton River in the southeastern part of the state.- History :...
was where the Baylies family truly became established in British America. Given his experience as an ironmaster, it is no surprise that he established an ironworks on the Three Mile River between Dighton and Taunton
Taunton, Massachusetts
Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County and the hub of the Greater Taunton Area. The city is located south of Boston, east of Providence, north of Fall River and west of Plymouth. The City of Taunton is situated on the Taunton River...
. It was iron from this site that was used for the anchor of the , berthed presently in Boston Massachusetts.
Thomas Baylies and the first branch of Baylies were buried at the Walker Blake Cemetery on the Taunton River, for some reason in the 1920s the graves were removed from this site and moved to the burial ground behind the families church.
Hodijah Baylies and his brother William were both active politicians during America's founding. Hodijah was an aid-decamp to General George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
. When Cornwall was to surrender his sword, rather than give it directly to Washington he handed it to Hodijah. A painting of this event still hangs in the North Dighton Church.