Peter Tomes (1805-1881)

Peter Tomes, second son of John and Regina Tome(s), was born on the thirteenth of February 1805. The US census of 1850 says that Peter was born in Germany and lists the spelling of Tomes as "Tombs." The later US census' of 1860 & 1870 say that Peter was born in Pennsylvania and the spelling of his last name is "Tomes." Since the 1860's census seems to be very detailed and specific on where heads of families were born and because of a later biographical done on Peter's son, William A., it is my opinion that Peter was most likely born near Cornwall Furnace in Lebanon County, PA. Peter's father, John Tome(s), is listed on the 1820 census of South Londonderry Township, Lebanon, PA. Peter's name is not listed individually since the 1820 census only lists the "head of family" and numerates household members by age categories. Peter would have been approximately fifteen years old at the time of the 1820 census and is probably already working with his father at the local iron furnace, Colebrook Furnace.

Colebrook Furnace was built by Robert Coleman in approximately 1785. Knowledge of the Colebrook Furnace's operation lives in the shadow of Robert Coleman's bigger operation at Cornwall Furnace. The under researched Colebrook Furnace and those that lived and worked there are now starting to be studied because of the existing but endangered Colebrook Mill located down stream from where the furnace is thought to have once stood.

John Tome(s) is documented as living near both the Cornwall and Colebrook furnaces and would have been part of these big operations. John Tome(s)' three sons; John, Peter, and William, followed in their father's footsteps by learning the trade and becoming men of iron. Although we don't know how young they started, we see in later census and obituary documents that boys as young as ten were helping in this dangerous work. I can only imagine that they started out helping in all aspects of the furnace operations and worked their way up to the coveted and highly paid position of "Iron Moulder."

There was quite a bit of change and movement with the Tomes family between the years of 1820-1840. After being listed on the 1820 census with their father, the Tomes boys are seen again on the 1830 census in Lower Windsor Township, York County, PA. According to this census, Peter Tomes is married and has two young boys "under five years of age." Peter's Older brother John is married and has one daughter "under five years of age," and younger brother William is freshly married to a young women aged "at least 15 but under 20."

Although I have yet to find the record, my assumption is that Peter Tomes marries Sarah Keesey around 1825. I don't know if Peter meets Sarah while living near Colebrook Furnace or when he moves to York County, however, on the 1830 census I do notice a William Keesey living in close proximity to Peter and also to the owner of Margaretta Furnace, Henry Slaymaker. This William Keesey is listed as being married, in his 40's, with six children living under his roof.

Peter Tomes and Sarah Keesey have two boys prior to the 1830 census, they are:

John Tomes (born 7.7.1827)

William A. Tomes (born 7.6.1829)

Since Peter is the first to have male children, to me it looks as though he honors his father and brother by naming his first son John and then naming his second son, William.

Since the distance from Colebrook Furnace to Lower Windsor Township is about 25 miles I am not sure why the Tomes boys leave their established jobs at Colebrook Furnace. It might have been the death of Robert Coleman in 1825 and the uncertainty and untested leadership of his son, Thomas Burd Coleman, taking over operations. It could have been the young adult spirit of venturing out under the wings of their parents, or it could have been these combinations and/or the news of a new iron furnace opening operations in Lower Windsor Township called, Margaretta Furnace. This furnace was owned and operated by the Slaymaker Family. In her column for the York Daily Record dated Jan. 1, 2018, June Lloyd writes about Margaretta Furnace and how it was a leading iron making center in 19th century York County. She says;

"Margaretta Furnace was erected by the Slaymaker family of iron manufacturers. Situated just west of East Prospect, it went into operation in the late 1820s. There was abundant iron ore in the immediate area as well as many acres of chestnut forest to be converted to charcoal to fuel the furnace and foundry. The Slaymakers are said to have owned over 5,000 acres of land in the vicinity in their heyday. Limestone, the other ingredient needed for smelting iron, was also obtainable nearby. Margaretta was a leader in producing copious amounts of pig iron as well as kettles, skillets, firebacks and many ten-plate stoves. According to historian George R. Prowell, writing in Gibson’s 1886 History of York County, during the nine months of each year the furnace operated, about 30 tons of iron a week, or about 1,100 tons annually, were produced. I have been told that the furnace and foundry were located on the west side of Prayer Mission Road, just south of Cabin Branch Creek. The Slaymakers erected Woodstock Forge a mile or so away around 1828 to fashion even more items from the iron produced at Margaretta. A village quickly sprang up near the furnace, including workers’ houses, a mill and even a church. There was a company store, and there are some surviving examples in the York County History Center archives of Margaretta Furnace scrip the workers could spend only there. A privately owned store was opened sometime later. Besides a few of the remodeled workers’ houses, the most striking remnant of this prosperous hamlet is the well maintained large stone ironmaster’s house built by Henry Y. Slaymaker and the two adjacent stone barns. This impressive complex can be seen on the north side of Route 124 just east of the Cabin Creek Road/Prayer Mission Road intersection."

Peter and his brothers would have been at Margaretta Furnace during the great astronomical event of Nov. 12, 1833 known as "The Night the Stars Fell." This great meteor shower was reportedly seen from as far north as the Niagara Falls and as far south as Louisiana and Florida. We do know that famous observers of this Leonids meteor shower were, Abraham Lincoln, Frederick Douglas, and Harriet Tubman. As many people of their time, the Tomes would undoubtedly been startled and perhaps awestruck of the heavens apparently falling to the earth. Whatever the observation or feeling, it may have been a foreshadowing of things to come.

Peter's father, John Tome(s), made out his will on June 9, 1833 in response to what, we do not know. We do know that John and his wife, Regina, moved from Colebrook Furnace to Lebanon Borough and are listed on the 1830 census of that place. Perhaps John had taken ill or suffered an injury that he thought was life threatening. Word must have come to Peter and his brothers that their father was ill back in Lebanon County because we see both Peter and John journeying back to Colebrook Furnace. During a research trip to the Lebanon County Historical Society, I came upon the company store record books for Colebrook Furnace for years 1835-1837. I discovered that Peter Tomes was back working at Colebrook Furnace and his first purchase at the company store is listed on Feb. 21, 1835. Peter's "portfolio number" is listed as 200. We don't see Peter's older brother John listed on the company ledger until May 2, 1836 with portfolio number of 230. I did not see their younger brother, William, in any of these company store records. John Tome(s) dies in October of 1835 and his will is recorded on Nov. 2, 1835. So, I believe that when word came of their father's illness, Peter traveled to Lebanon to get a better picture of the overall health of his father. Peter took up work at Colebrook Furnace and sent word to his brothers in York County. My assumption is that all of John and Regina Tomes' children came for the funeral of their father and for the distribution of money from John's will. All three son's received $400, unmarried daughter Hannah Tomes received $300 and married daughters, Elizabeth (Miller) and Charlotte (Genhauser) received $250 and $200 respectively. The 2020 equivalent of this money would be $11,691 for each son, $8768 for Hannah, $7307 for Elizabeth, and $5846 for Charlotte. John's wife Regina would receive all of the furniture of the home and $250 ($7307) in cash.

The last entry for John Tomes on Colebrook Furnace's company store ledger was on 1/28/1837 and the last entry for Peter Tomes was on 3/7/1837. For what I can tell, after the death of Peter's father, Peter ends up uprooting his family again and going to live in the Borough of North York, PA where we shows up on the 1840 census. At this point, I think Peter's brother John stays in Lebanon County and his brother William may stay at Margaretta Furnace. I will outline their lives in subsequent blog posts.

In the midst of Peter Tomes burying his father and then getting ready to move to York, PA, Peter's son, Peter Tomes, Jr. is born on November 1st 1837 in Lebanon, PA and is baptized by the Rev. Adam Steinbacher at St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church) in Lebanon, PA. I will be posting more about Peter Tomes, Jr in a later post.

Although Peter Tomes and family are not listed on the 1840 US census in either Lebanon or York, PA, according to a "list of letters still at the Post Office" that was published on 10/01/1840 in the York, PA paper, "The York Gazette"says that there is a letter awaiting Peter Tomes for pickup. Coupled with this fact and a snippet from Peter Tomes' obituary gives us a relative timeline to the Tomes' arrival in the city of York, PA. From his obituary dating 2/28/1881 it states that Peter Tomes, "was a moulder by trade, and was an employee at the Variety Iron Works, E.G. Smyser, proprietor, from it's origin in 1840.."Based on this information, Peter Tomes would have been at the Iron Works at its inception when it was opened in 1840 by Elisha Geiger and Samuel Bechtol in the North Ward section of York Borough. Peter would have also been employed by and faithfully served the subsequent owners. According to George Prowell’s 1907 History of York County, PA, he has this to say about The Variety Iron Works in Volume I, Page 758:

"The Variety Iron Works, on North Beaver Street, adjoining the railroad, were founded in 1840 by Elisha Geiger and Samuel Bechtol, who began business on a limited scale in small shops.  Dr. Alexander Small became a partner in the business in 1846, and at the death of Samuel Bechtol in 1853, Edward G. Smyser became a partner and the firm was changed to Small & Smyser.

Dr. Small died in 1862 and E. G. Smyser became the sole proprietor.  The original works covered only a small area, but the continual enlargement of the business, required frequent additions and improvements.  Large and convenient brick buildings were erected, containing all necessary facilities for improved manufacture until the entire shops at present cover an area of five acres."

Between 1840 and 1850 there are some significant events that occur within the Peter Tomes househould. Sarah Tomes is born approximately in 1840, Margaret Tomes is born (?), and Mary or Maria Tomes is born in 1841. Tragedy strikes the young family when Peter Tomes, Jr., who is only twelve years old dies. Read more about this unfortunate tragedy in my posting, "Peter Tomes Jr. 1837-1849"

Peter Tomes lives, works, and plays like most Yorkers of his day, within a three to five mile radius of his home. From his early beginnings in York, the Tomes family is listed as living in the North Ward of York Borough. We don't see specifically where Peter resides until an 1863 York, PA directory book lists "Peter Tomes, moulder, h (House) W Philadelphia and N Water St." Subsequent York directories will have the house listed as 135 W. Philadelphia St. During my research, I found the picture below as it was captioned with the following: "House of William A Tomes on West Phila St. York, PA next to the Quaker Meeting House (fence) Edison Light and Power Co. occupies the site now."

This home was originally owned by Peter Tomes and then his wife Sarah after his death. William A. inherits the property after the death of his mother in 1886.

Peter is again seen in the newspapers as serving in an emergency militia in July of 1864 that guards the railroads from York to Baltimore. This emergency militia was raised because of the confederates last push towards Washington DC and the Battle of Monocacy Creek happens. Peter's boss and proprieter of Variety Iron Works serves as this militias Quartermaster.

Peter takes ill in Dec of 1880 and passes away at the end of Feb. 1881. The following are the paper clippings associated with his death:

(From -"The York Daily - Monday 2.28.1881")

(From - "The York Daily Friday 3.4.1881")

(From - "The Evening Dispatch, York PA, Thursday 3.3.1881)