Thomas T. Tasker
Thomas T. Tasker ( -1892)
Born in Yorkshire.
At the age of 13 he began seven years apprenticeship in the coppersmith and ironsmith trades. In 1819 he emigrated to the USA, and in 1820 he established a coppersmith and iron company in West Chester, PA. In 1824 he moved to Philadelphia and worked for Steven P. Morris, stove and grate makers. 'Thomas was considered a genius in mechanical engineering and was soon put in charge of the mechanical department and rapidly moved up in the business to become a partner and owner.' This company grew rapidly, and became Morris, Tasker & Morris, then Pascal Iron Works, then Morris, Tasker & Co, and finally Delaware Iron Works. In 1858 Thomas Tasker, Sr retired.
The company continued to grow until 1899 when it merged into a much larger company - National Tube, which was sold in 1901 to the US Steel Corp.
Thomas married Elizabeth Hickman in 1829.
He was granted a patent in 1842 for a water hydrant, and another in 1866 for a self-regulating hot water apparatus. He founded the Gas Works and the Water Works in New Castle.
He died in 1892.
The above information is condensed from the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery website[1]
Note: Morris, Tasker and Morris started the manufacture of wrought iron tubes in the USA between 1830 and 1834, according to Henry G. Morris. A small welding furnace was built in the cellar of the shop at Third and Walnut Street in Philadelphia, and William Griffiths, a pipe welder from England, was hired to make the first pipe.[2]