Guide to the Papers of James Rees Sons and Company, 1851-1927
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Papers of James Rees Sons and Company
- Creator
- James Rees and Sons Company
- Collection Number
- MSS#166
- Extent
- .75 cubic feet (1 box and 1 shelf volume)
- Date
- 1851-1927
- Abstract
- The James Rees Sons & Company was one of the premier builders of steam (and later diesel) driven riverboats. In addition to the boat building business, the company was also known for the quality of the boilers and stationary engines built for a myriad for use on land. These papers consist of correspondence, letter books, a ledger, and receipts.
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Sponsor
- This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
-
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
Historical Sketch of the James Rees Sons & Co.
The James Rees Sons & Company was one of the premier builders of steam (and later diesel) driven riverboats. In addition to the boat building business, the company was also known for the quality of the boilers and stationary engines built for a myriad for use on land. The James Rees Sons & Company was created, in 1895 by the merger of three companies: "Rees and Thorn", boiler makers, "James Rees and Sons", boiler makers, and James Rees Duquesne Engine Works, all originally founded by Captain James Rees. Initially incorporated as "James Rees and Sons Company", after the death of Captain James Rees (Dec. 25, 1821-Sept. 12, 1889) it operated under the name "James Rees Sons & Company".
The son of Thomas and Mary Rees, James Rees was born Christmas day of 1821, in Caermarthenshire, Wales. In 1827, the family, parents and nine children, immigrated to the United States and settled in St. Clairsville, Virginia near Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia). Because his father died suddenly within a week after settling in Clairsville, James went to work for a shoemaker at the age of seven. After some time he then worked on a farm. The family then moved to Pittsburgh and James went to work for six months in the coalmines of Samuel Roberts, pushing cars out of the pits. After working for a time in Bakewell's glasshouse, Rees went to work in the machine shops of Smith & Irvin, working there for fifteen months at a wage of $3.00 per week. After the company of Smith & Irvin dissolved, Rees continued his apprenticeship in the foundry and steam engine building business. Needing extra money for his family, James showed his business acumen in several ways. One such enterprise involved meeting travelers as they arrived at the Pennsylvania Canal Company depot and offering to deliver their luggage to their hotels for 25 cents per bag. He would then contract with a drayman to deliver the entire load, ranging from four to as many as a dozen and a half pieces for 50 cents. James continued in this enterprise until he finished his apprenticeship and commanded an adequate salary.
While working as shop foreman at Snowden & Company in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, Rees became involved in the labor reforms then starting to take place. Specifically, he effected the ten-hour work day for the men at the company. Mr. Rees felt that the reforms would lead, not only to improvements for the employees, but also, would be in the best interests of the employer. Rees continued, throughout his working life, to bear in mind the welfare of his workers.
After an absence of a couple of years, James Rees returned to Pittsburgh becoming the foreman for the firm of Stackhouse & Tomlinson. In this position he supervised the construction of the machinery for the Michigan (later renamed the Wolverine). Launched in 1843, the Michigan was the Navy's first iron-hulled warship. Rees then took charge of the shops of Rowe & Davis, of Pittsburgh, where he worked on the construction of the Allegheny, an iron sloop of war. In 1844 Rees supervised the construction of the machinery for a woolen mill at Butler, Pennsylvania.
By 1848, Rees had saved enough money to start a business of his own. With William Hutchinson and John Morrow as partners, he leased the works of Rowe and Davis, in Pittsburgh, for six months. The firm's first contract was for the construction of the machinery for a rolling mill. No other firm in the area would take it because the deadline for completion was six months. Rees had the job done in five and the work poured in. At the end of his lease, the work orders totaled over $25,000. Rees sold his interest in this firm and immediately purchased the works of Robert White and Bro. and formed the firm of Rees, Hartupee & Co. Three years later, he sold his interests in this company and started the Duquesne Machine Works (DMW) at the site of the firm of Robert Whitman at the foot of Liberty Avenue and the Monongahela Wharf. When the Pennsylvania Railroad entered Pittsburgh, they took over the area from Marbury to the Monongahela Wharf, forcing Rees to move. In 1854, he found space at the foot of what was then Hay St. (later known as Fourth St.) Mr. Rees' companies remained at this location for the remainder of their existence.
At this location, the firm had river frontage whereby they could both easily launch new boats and haul existing boats out of the river and effect repairs at their own landings. The yard covered a very large piece of property and consisted of a series of one, two and four story buildings. The foundry was 48x125 feet in dimensions and had a "splendid" molding floor, two large cupolas, steam powered cranes (with 20 ton capacity) for handling castings, and large cove-ovens fired by natural gas. Connected to the foundry was a large stock shed with steam elevators for handling materials for heats. The machine shops occupied two floors of their building (218x125 feet) equipped with all the latest tools and machinery (power cranes, elevators, etc.) to handle the castings for machining. The ship smith (a specialized blacksmith for doing all the metalwork required in boat/ship building) shop was 40x100 feet in size and held 12 fully equipped forges. The brass foundry was in its own 20x40 foot shop. There were two complete boiler yards, one 200x225 feet and the other 125x125 feet. The former had two large furnaces for heating sheets, shears, rollers, punches, etc. and had the capacity to keep a crew of 150 men busy. Yard No. 2 was also fully equipped and had in addition a courtyard in the middle, its own drafting rooms, and offices and the most complete boiler plant in the US. The pattern shop was 60 feet square and fitted out with all the most modern tools and equipment available. The pattern (storage) loft was 60x218 feet and the vast accumulation of patterns was fully cataloged. The company's drafting department included a drafting room 46 feet square and a 25x100 foot lofting-floor, where almost any piece of machinery desired could be drawn full sized. Finally the company had a complete print shop to handle all such needs.
From 1852 until the end of the Civil War James Rees operated a line of small steamers as freight and passenger packets on the Allegheny River. Until the completion of the Allegheny Valley Railroad, this venture was extremely successful especially with regards to the oil carrying trade. With the advent of the railroad all traffic on the Allegheny virtually died. During the 1850s and 1860s Rees turned to the fabrication of riverboats to be used on the western and southern rivers. Siding with the United States during the war, Rees' company constructed gunboats and transports for the Federal government. At the outbreak of hostilities, four-fifths of Captain Rees' investment in boats was on the southern waters of the Mississippi River. Most of these boats confiscated by the Confederacy were never paid for. The record of one, the steamer Lone Star, in traffic on the Trinity River in Texas, showed that after taking possession of her, Lee's government paid Rees the sum of fifty slaves. Shortly after, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation, setting all slaves in the seceded territories free so that, in effect, this boat was also confiscated. While he was thus a slaveholder of record for a short time, it was not his choice and for someone of his pronounced humane convictions, Mr. Rees found himself in almost peculiar position. Due to the sinking of boats and transports during the war, as well as their seizure, Rees suffered many financial losses. Even during the Reconstruction he suffered due to corruption in the courts overseeing the process in the South.
Many steamboats were completely destroyed during the war, while others were rendered unfit for use. Many of the "vessel-less" owners, captains, and crews came to Captain Rees in extremis. He responded by building many boats for use on the Mississippi and other rivers for them "on credit". As far as can be ascertained, Rees never had reason to regret his generosity.
Some of the largest, most famous and most successful riverboats to ply the western and southern waters were built in his Pittsburgh shops under his personal supervision. With the construction of the Francisco Montoya Captain Rees built the first all steel steamer. The success of this vessel on the rivers of South America prompted his building of the Chattahoochee, the first all steel sternwheeler steamboat to ply American waters. She was also the first to be divided into watertight compartments. In all, during James Rees' lifetime, the company built more then 500 vessels for use all over the world. With his boats, his reputation reached all over the world. As their catalog (available in the library) shows, after 1878, there were boats from the James Rees & Sons Co. in North, Central and South Americas, Europe (in, Russia) Asia (in Russia and Mongolia), and Africa. Rees and his company were responsible for the development of numerous improvements in the processes used in the building of riverboats. Some of these include:
1) the development and use of homogenous steel;
2)the process of building the hull, then taking the steel plates apart and galvanizing them for longer life and then putting the hull back together;
3) the use of "double riveting";
4) improvements in the engines themselves including a successful "steam cut-off" valve for puppet-valved engines;
5) the first double compound engines;
6) the first double or twin wheels, with one pair of engines per wheel;
7) balanced rudders;
8) bow rudders;
9) catamaran hulls with the wheel located between the hulls; with the advent of propellers-propellers working at the stern, the bow and in a recess or tunnel built into the hull;
10) a machine for the production of "hot pressed" nuts (for bolts of all types).
The company was the first to build "knockdown" steamers--building the complete steamer in the boat shed, then taking them apart, packing up all the individual parts and shipping them by rail and freighter to their destination, where the boats would then be re-assembled and put to work.
In his personal life James Rees married Mary Morris and together they had nine children, five daughters, of whom there is no information, and four sons: James II, Thomas M., William M., David A., and Charles S. All five of his sons carried on in the family business with, while their father was still active in the company, Thomas as Vice President and General Manager, William as Treasurer, David as Secretary, and Charles as Auditor.
Towards the end of this life, James lived at 5045 Fifth Avenue in Pittsburgh. During this time he lead an active, community oriented social life. He was always interested in any activity, private or civic, for the public welfare. He served on the city's school, water and fire committees, and was, for many years, on the city council.
Other companies with which he was involved included from the Allegheny Navigation Company moving freight and passengers on the local rivers; president of the People's Line--operating packets on the Monongahela River; When the People's Line merged with the Brownsville Packet Line, he became one of the directors. When he died, he held stock in the Anchor Line of St. Louis (Missouri), the Portsmouth, Big Sandy, Pomeroy Packet Company of Cincinnati (Ohio), the Arkansas River, White River, and New Orleans companies of Memphis (Tennessee), the Pittsburgh & Cincinnati Packet Company, the Pittsburgh, Brownsville and Geneva Packet Company, and the Pittsburgh & Elizabeth Packet Company. He also held financial interests in a number of towboats operating out of Pittsburgh. Non-shipping interests included stock in the Union, Marine, Fort Pitt, and National Banks of Pittsburgh and also the Pittsburgh, People's and Boatman's insurance companies.
James Rees died on September 12, 1889 of chronic asthma, a condition from which he suffered for much of his life.
The only son on whom we have any information is the fourth one, David. Born on June 30, 1858, in Pittsburgh, David received his education through the city's public schools. After high school, he studied mechanical engineering at the Pennsylvania Military Academy at Chester Pennsylvania and then entered the company in the drafting department at the age of 20. After five years in this department, he moved to the general office as a clerk and ultimately, upon the incorporation of the firm in 1895, he was chosen as company secretary. Upon the death of his brother, William, the positions of Secretary and Treasurer were combined and held by David. From 1887 to 1891, David resided in Memphis Tennessee, where he was resident manager and secretary for Millburn Machine Co. In 1891, he returned to Pittsburgh and the family business. Mr. Rees maintained memberships in the Chamber of Commerce as well as in various social clubs in the city including the Pittsburgh Country Club, the Duquesne Club, the Pittsburgh and Allegheny Driving Club and the Bellfield Club of Pittsburgh. In politics, he, like his father, was a member of the Republican Party and represented the 20th Ward of the city on the city council from 1884 to 1885. On April 13, 1887, David married Maude Millburn of Memphis, Tennessee and together they had three children: Mary R., Frank Millburn, and Charles Donald. By supervising the operation of the firms' riverboats on the inland waterways of the United States, David acquired not only a sterling reputation but also a much-broadened view of the transportation industry. This broadening of his understanding of the advantages and problems of shallow draft river steamers allowed David Rees to contribute greatly to the planning and building of the boats and engines that were shipped all over the world.
Scope and Content Notes
The records of the James Rees Sons & Company are housed in one archival box and one shelf volumeand are arranged alphabetically by volume and folder title with one folder of miscellaneous material to the rear. These papers consist of correspondence, letter books, a ledger, and receipts. All books of letters contain letterpress copies of the company's outgoing correspondence.
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
These materials were received in one accession in 1934.
Acc.unknown Gift of Thomas M. Rees.
Preferred Citation
Papers of James Rees Sons Company, 1851-1927, MSS# 166, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Historical Society Staff. Papers rearranged and inventory rewritten by Randall Ober on February 8, 1995.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on March 4, 2002.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.
Subjects
- James Rees and Sons Company
- Rees, John (1821-1889)
- Rees, David (1858-?)
- Navigation -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- River boats -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- River steamers -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
- Steamboats
- Steamboats -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh