Edward Augustus Tomes 1858-1921- Pt. 2
- Robert Tomes
- Nov 28, 2020
- 8 min read
As indicated in my last post, Edward Augustus Tomes Pt 1, Edward Tomes is about to enter into a period of his life that is highly stressful. Edward, still young and entering his " 30's," would see a melting pot of life and death, victory and defeat, redundancy and progression in the years between 1889-1901. In Edward’s immediate and extended family there would be an unbalanced time of death and grief. Although death is a natural part of life and it is “the debt that all men must pay,” the decade of 1890-1900 see younger Tomes family members facing their demise at an unnatural rate.
Here are the list of immediate or close family members who were born or die within this decade of turbulence and their relation to Edward:
10/27/1888 - William Henry Tomes - Born (Son)
05/07/1890 - Miriam Bernadette Tomes - Born (Daughter)
10/17/1891 - Frederick Cook Tomes - Died (Cousin, 21years old)
12/07/1891 - Henry (Harry) Alexander Tomes - Died (Brother, 38 years old)
04/28/1892 - Edward Augustus Tomes Jr - Born (Son)
03/01/1893 - Clara Ellen Tomes - Died (Sister, 26 years old)
05/10/1893 - Mary Ann (Cook) Tomes - Died (Mother, 58 years old)
10/03/1893 - Charles A Tomes - Died (Cousin, 35 years old)
08/01/1894 - William Tomes - Died (Great Great Uncle, 84 years old)
10/03/1894 - Gerald Paul Tomes - Born (Son)
06/05/1898 - William A Tomes - Died (Father, 68 years old)
12/10/1899 - John Tomes - Died (Uncle, 72 years old)
04/13/1901 - Albert Lawrence Tomes - Died (Brother, 36 years old)
During this period of time the majority of people didn't have "life insurance" and the immediate family would end up paying the bills to put their loved ones at peace in the ground. This had to be not only a emotional toil but also a financial burden that so many family members passed away in such a short amount of time. The biggest loss being Edward's mother and sister passing away within months of one another in 1893. Such a decade of ups and downs would make anyone reflect upon their own mortality and the "what if's" of leaving loved ones behind
I believe that because of Edward's reflection and experience of losing so many family members and seeing the burden it put upon his family that he decided to make some plans for his own death. Although Edward was only in his thirties, he had seen that young age did not matter since he lost five other family members around his same age. Being a man of action and foresight he joined a few organizations that would help in the event of his death.
According to a biographical sketch done by the historian John Gibson of York, PA, it states that "in a fraternal way Edward is identified with the Improved Order of Heptasophs and the Artisans." I will write more about these organizations in a later post, however, one of the main purposes of their existence was to offer life insurance to it's members. Edward was determined that his death would not be a burden to his family and these organizations offered that opportunity within a monthly cost that he could afford.

A somewhat contradictory and paradoxical statement that "Life doesn't stop for Death," can be analyzed through a spiritual lens to find meaning, but for those that are left behind after someone passes on, it is a brutal truth. Although Edward had so many family members to grieve, he had to continue on with his responsibilities to his family and his employer. This decade of change would not only be felt within Edward's family construct but also within his employment with P C Wiest. After taking on partners, Daniel Lafean and George Williams in the late 1880's, P C Wiest was ready to sell his interests to them in 1892. P C Wiest officially retired from his own business on 12/09/1892 and the business was slightly renamed from P.C.Wiest & Co. to The P. C. Wiest Co.. It was not only an honor that the business partners kept his personal name in the company name but business name recognition was to the upmost importance to the wholesalers and consumers of their confectionery products. So important was name recognition that one of the the first things the newly formed P C Wiest & Co would do would to bring a patent infringement lawsuit against a small candy operation firm called, W. H. Weeks' Confectionery, owned and operated by William H Weeks of Hazelton, PA. The suit brought against Mr Weeks alleged that the Initials W.H.W and the placement, font, and colors used on his cough drop tins were copied off of the P.C.W patented design.

In the end, The P C Wiest Co's lawsuit would force Mr Weeks to change his design and distribution method.
(Article from "The Gazette" - York, PA 07/19/1895)
Here is the list of articles I could find in the local York, PA newspapers that give us a peek into the responsibilities, challenges, and early manufacturing operational hazards that Edward had to face and lead the company through. I have these articles listed by year, month and the subject they cover. In the future I would like to have each listing linked to the actual articles so that you can read them for yourself.
1889
Feb 18th - New Copper Kettle purchased
April 30th - Caramel Candy sold in Pensacola, FL
August 3rd - First Telephone Installed at York Factory
August 30th - Employee Accident / Fingers Cut off
1890
Feb 3rd - Box Packing Factory
April 30th - Shipping Clerk
May 29th - New Factories Built
May 29th - Tin Patent
Sept. 23rd - 100 Girls Needed for Employment
1891
Feb 7th - New Boiler Installed
May 4th - St Louis Connection
May 15th - New Fire System Installed
July 10th - Employee Accident - Smashed Fingers
1892
Feb - T. Jenkins Fingers Smashed
June - 100 Girls Needed
Oct - 100 Girls Needed
Oct - Accident - A McCreary
1893
Jan - Hires Traveling Salesman
Feb - Factory Addition and Expansion
March - Disputed Trademark
May - Small Fire in Factory
June - Employee Accident - Arms Crushed
Aug - Employee Clayton Krone goes to Worlds Fair
1894
August 6th - 150 Girls Needed
October 17th - Christian Services held at the Factory
1895
August - Trolly Party
August - Employee Accident - Burned Hand
Sept - Expansion - 1.5 Tons of Candy per Day
Sept - Night Shift hours at Factory
Oct - Employee Accident - Bricklayer Injured
Oct - Boiler and Smoke Stack maintenance
1896
March - New Water Pump Installed
April - Factory running fulltime hours
June - Employee Accident - A Leathery - ill at work
July - Employee Accident
July - Employee Accident - Hughie Reordin
August - Heptasophs Day
August - 100 Girls Needed for Employment
Oct - Factory closes two days for the York Fair
Oct - Factory Running 11 hours a day
Dec - Employee Accident - Berkheimer Injured
1897
Jan- 1896 Business was good
Feb - Layoffs
March - Shipments to States
April - Recall of Layoffs
May - Factory Hours increased
June - Trainload of Candies
June - 200 Girls Needed for Employment
July - Shipment of 50K of Candy per day
Sept - Busy Business
Oct - Employee Accident - Nailed Foot
Oct - Employees Accident - Charles Free / William Ritter (hand injuries)
Oct - Christmas Candies / Night Work
Nov - 9 hour work days
Nov - Employee Accident - Charles Keeney Finger Amputated
Nov - 500 Gallons of Milk
1898
March - Company merges with American Caramel Company
No doubt Edward Tomes was involved in most if not all the situations that are listed above. He was the man with the "boots on the ground" with everyday operations and decisions. So valued was his leadership that when the The P C Wiest Co merged with the American Caramel Company in 1898, Edward was retained as the the York, PA factory superintendent.
By 1910, Edward's immediate family is now starting to work with him at the American Caramel Company candy factory. The 1910 census gives us their individualized job titles, they are as follows:

Edward A. - aged 50 - "Superintendant - Candy Co"
Evelyn -aged 23 - "Bookkeeper - Candy Co"
William H - aged 21 - "Candymaker - Candy Co"
Edward A Jr. - aged 18 - "Shipping Clerk - Candy Co"
Gerald P - aged 16 - "Apprentice - Candy Co"
There are many positives and as many negatives to working with your family on a daily basis. The good, bad, and ugly of family working together was probably not as apparent as it would be in a smaller family business, however, I am sure favoritism tendencies would have been spurned by the other employees of the factory. Although the Tomes family might have enjoyed some extra privileges by being related to the factory boss, it doesn't become advantageous to them as a whole for the long term. Out of the four children that would work for their superintendent father, only Gerald P Tomes and William Henry Tomes would continue working for the American Caramel Company for a significant amount of time after both his father Edward and brother Edward Jr. leave the company sometime between 1911 and 1915. The reason for Edward's departure is not clearly understood but I believe that he may have been on the receiving end of the nepotistic actions of Daniel Lafean.
In the article below you can read about the American Caramel Company leadership shakeup that occurs in March of 1915. Daniel Lafean loses his president chair of the caramel company but retains the president chair of the R.E. Rodda Candy Company, a subsidiary of the American Caramel Company. Daniel had struck a deal for American to retain him for four years with his son becoming the "manager" of the York Plant. Later on, the drama would intensify when the Lafeans would agree to sell Rodda Candy stock to American while still being retained as Employees of American Caramel, however, once American received the stocks they promptly disengaged employment with the Lafeans. The Lafeans would sue and subsequently win a suit against the American Caramel Company that was finally settled in 1920.

Unfortunately, I believe that Edward's thirty five year candy career of excellence and loyalty became a casualty of Lafean's greed and the self serving interest of promoting his son to Edward's position. I can imagine that Edward experienced feelings of betrayal and frustration that he had to find new employment after so many years of service to one industry. As usual, Edward would push through and the 1920 census shows that Edward is employed by a "Roofing Plant" as a foreman. The roofing plant listed happens to be Certain-Teed which opened a manufacturing plant on Richland Avenue in York, PA in an old silk-manufacturing warehouse. This change in employment would altar not only Edward Sr.'s life but his son Edward Jr.'s life as well. Edward Jr. would end up as a foreman with Certain Teed and would move to Niagara Falls, NY around 1917 where a bigger Certain Teed plant is located. Both Edward Sr. and Edward Jr., would be listed on the Certain-Teed employee list that bought Liberty Bonds in 1917 to support the war effort of WWI. This support would be personal since Edward Sr.'s youngest son, Gerald Paul Tomes, would serve in the U S Army's 114th Field Artillery Unit, Battery C and would see action in at least two battles in France.
For most of Edward Sr.'s life, he lived on the East side of York, PA, however, when he changes jobs he moves over to west side of town to be closer to the Certain-Teed Corp factory. In 1915 Edward is listed as living at 938 West Princess St in York, which would have been less than a mile to the manufacturing plant. In 1920 Edward is listed as residing with his family at 717 W King St and then moves to 666 W King St in mid 1920 to mid 1921.
During the summer of 1921, Edward suddenly becomes ill and after two months of an infirm constitution succumbs to medical complications at his home on Sunday Oct 9, 1921 at the age of 62.


All and All, Edward A Tomes Sr. was a man that loved his family, was loyal to his work, and continued to have faith in God through all stages of his life. Although Edward "worked his way up" in his field, he never forgot his roots and was a planner of processes and made ready himself and others for the future. Edward can be remembered for his simplistic but methodical approach to life and his sweet tooth for chewy caramels.
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