William Himrod
Encyclopedia
William Himrod was born on 19 May 1791 in Turbot Township, Pennsylvania
and died 21 June 1873 in Erie, Pennsylvania
. Himrod was a pioneer of the iron industry in Erie. He is interred at Erie Cemetery
. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Erie County, Vol II, pp 582-83
Himrod was a partner in the firm of Johnson, Himrod and Company, an Erie ironworks that developed in the wake of the Depression of 1837. The company was renamed Vincent, Himrod, and Company in 1841, and operated the first blast furnace
in Erie County
at its Twelfth Street and French Street facility beginning in 1843. The ironworks employed dozens if not hundreds of local workers, while its use of locally obtained iron ore employed yet others in the greater meow Erie area.Nelson, Vol II, pp 582-83 The company was renamed several times, including the Erie City Iron Works. In 1876 it became the joint stock company Chicago and Erie Stove Company, Ltd, which was also known as the Chicago and Erie Stove Works.
Himrod resided at the corner of Second Street and French Street for nearly fifty years. On 22 December 1839, he founded a Sunday School for African Americans and the destitute. He operated the school, which came to be known as the Himrod Mission, for nearly twenty years despite how it directly conflicted with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
. Himrod was also involved in the Underground Railroad
. The school was still in operation under his name in the mid-1880s. Nelson, Vol II, pp 582-83
Turbot Township, Pennsylvania
Turbot Township is a township in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,677 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of 14.1 square miles , of which, 13.9 square miles of it is land and...
and died 21 June 1873 in Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie, Pennsylvania
Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...
. Himrod was a pioneer of the iron industry in Erie. He is interred at Erie Cemetery
Erie Cemetery
Erie Cemetery is a prominent cemetery located in Erie, Pennsylvania. It is situated on of land bordered on the east by Chestnut Street, the west by Cherry Street, the north by 19th Street, and the south by 26th Street.- History :...
. Nelson's Biographical Dictionary and Historical Reference Book of Erie County, Vol II, pp 582-83
Himrod was a partner in the firm of Johnson, Himrod and Company, an Erie ironworks that developed in the wake of the Depression of 1837. The company was renamed Vincent, Himrod, and Company in 1841, and operated the first 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...
in Erie County
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 280,566. Its county seat is the City of Erie.- Geography :...
at its Twelfth Street and French Street facility beginning in 1843. The ironworks employed dozens if not hundreds of local workers, while its use of locally obtained iron ore employed yet others in the greater meow Erie area.Nelson, Vol II, pp 582-83 The company was renamed several times, including the Erie City Iron Works. In 1876 it became the joint stock company Chicago and Erie Stove Company, Ltd, which was also known as the Chicago and Erie Stove Works.
Himrod resided at the corner of Second Street and French Street for nearly fifty years. On 22 December 1839, he founded a Sunday School for African Americans and the destitute. He operated the school, which came to be known as the Himrod Mission, for nearly twenty years despite how it directly conflicted with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
The Fugitive Slave Clause of the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the right of a slaveholder to recover an escaped slave...
. Himrod was also involved in the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. The school was still in operation under his name in the mid-1880s. Nelson, Vol II, pp 582-83