Jacob Loucks learned the Paper Making Trade near Hunt Valley, Maryland; P. H. Glatfelter followed in his footsteps
I know my assertion that Jacob Loucks learned the paper making trade at a Paper Mill located near what is now known as Hunt Valley, Maryland, runs counter to information in some publications. Additionally the information found on the Internet sometime morphs into other variations.
My intent was to pinpoint the location of this Paper Mill for a simple illustration about Jacob Loucks stint as a Paper Maker prior to being one of the founders of the York Manufacturing Company. Information in current publications had enough discrepancies that caused me to dig deeper in my research. The deeper I dug, the more discrepancies I found. I resorted to using some classic family history research tools to discover, what I consider, the truth. Please read the results of my research and post a comment if you think my reasoning is correct; or not correct.
Other posts in this series on The Origins of the York Manufacturing Company include:
- S. Morgan Smith’s Success Washing Machine; Origins of the York Manufacturing Company
- S. Morgan Smith, patentee Success Washing Machine, at 436 West Market Street in York
- S. Morgan Smith learns a valuable lesson about patents; at the hands of McGinnes & Carter
- Jacob Loucks; Family History of a Founder of the York Manufacturing Company
- Jacob Loucks affiliations with Four Paper Mills make him Relatively Wealthy; prior to providing Start-up Cash for York Manufacturing Company
- Oliver J. Bollinger brought Manufacturing Experience to the York Manufacturing Company in addition to contributing his patent on a Turbine Water Wheel
- Oliver J. Bollinger and his initial Patented Bollinger Turbine Water Wheel
- O. J. Bollinger & Co. plus S. Morgan Smith and Jacob Loucks form the York Manufacturing Company in 1874
In this post I delve into the initial papermaking career of Jacob Loucks. This ties into Loucks’ $10,000 cash buy-in as a founder of the York Manufacturing Company. Jacob Loucks paper-making career also crosses paths with his brother-in-law Philip H. Glatfelter, founder of the P. H. Glatfelter Company, paper makers of Spring Grove, PA. Philip H. Glatfelter later bails out and takes control of Loucks’ York Manufacturing Company when it ran into financial troubles.
Several of the sources that I initially examined include:
- The Legend of York International by Jeffrey L. Rodengen (For this 1997 book much of the earliest history associated with the founders of York Manufacturing Company came from F. O. Metz, an officer of York Manufacturing Company hired in 1898. Metz’s written comments on the company’s history were recorded in 1934 on a document filed in the company archives)
- Seventy-Five Years of Paper-Making, 1864-1939 by P. H. Glatfelter Company
- From Pig Iron to Cotton Duck, A History of Manufacturing Villages in Baltimore County, by John W. McGrain in 1985
- Paper, People, Progress; The Story of the P. H. Glatfelter Company, by Mark Lipper, Ph.D. in 1980
- The Flowering of the North Codorus Township, by Armand Gladfelter in 1988
Recall from my previous Jacob Loucks post: George Prowell’s 1907 History of York County, PA, Volume II, page 219, says this about Jacob Loucks first son, “George W. S. Loucks was born Sept. 29, 1856, at Hoffmansville, Baltimore Co., Md.”
I believe discrepancies in published sources and on the Internet stem from confusion of paper mills associated with Hoffmansville and Hoffmanville in Baltimore County. Hoffmansville and Hoffmanville are situated at distinctly different locations in Baltimore County!
HOFFMANVILLE
J. Thomas Scharf’s’ 1881 History of Baltimore City and County, Maryland notes on page 870 the following detail about the sixth district, which is in the northwestern corner of Baltimore County; adjacent to the Pennsylvania state line:
On the falls of the Gunpowder are located the largest paper-mills in the State. At the Paper Mills Post-Office William H. Hoffman has four mills constantly running.
William H. Hoffman was a third generation Hoffman paper maker in this area. Paper Mills Post-Office becomes Hoffmanville in 1883; as it is currently listed on maps just south of the northwestern extremities of the Prettyboy Reservoir. Jacob Loucks ends his Maryland Paper Making stint at a Hoffmanville paper mill in partnership with William H. Hoffman. That paper mill site is unfortunately under water as part of Prettyboy Reservoir.
HOFFMANSVILLE
Hoffmansville is a more obscure settlement; however it was of greater interest to me, because Jacob Loucks first son, George W. S. Loucks was born Sept. 29, 1856, at Hoffmansville.
Hoffmansville was located in the eighth district, of Baltimore County; it no longer appears on maps primarily because all buildings were removed when Loch Raven Reservoir was constructed.
Hoffmansville also owes its name to the first family of paper making in Maryland. In 1850 John Hunter constructed a large paper mill where the present Paper Mill Road Bridge crosses Loch Raven Reservoir, just east of Hunt Valley, Maryland. Almost immediately, William H. Hoffman acquired Hunter’s paper mill; at that time along The Great Gunpowder Falls.
The mill was known as the Marble Vale Paper Mill. A 1851-52 Baltimore County mercantile directory indicates the paper mill is co-owned by Mathews & Hoffman. As the paper mill and group of houses grew near the Paper Mill Covered Bridge over the Gunpowder at that location, the settlement took on the name Hoffmansville.
Jacob Loucks begins his Maryland Paper Making stint at this paper mill; initially learning the paper making trade and rising to foreman of this paper mill (Reference: From Pig Iron to Cotton Duck, page 270). It is doubtful if Jacob Loucks ever was a co-owner of this mill; the 1865 Simon J. Martenet map of Baltimore County continues to have the mill noted as Mathews & Hoffman Paper Mills. This was a very profitable paper mill; it supplied the paper to print the Baltimore Sun exclusively.
In the following section of the 1857 Robert Taylor Map of Baltimore County, Maryland, I’ve circled the location that would pick up the name Hoffmansville. The 2013 annotated map, at the beginning of this post, corresponds to this same map area shown on the 1857 map; I’ve also transferred the four building in the 1857 settlement onto the 2013 map.
Classic family history research tools to establish locations of people at particular times are U.S. Census Records and Tax Records. Lets look at the 1860 U.S. Census for Jacob Loucks.
On the August 10, 1860 date that the census taker visited the home of Jacob Loucks, this is the information that was recorded. It shows that the family is living in the eighth district of Baltimore County and the nearest post office is Cockeysville. Jacob Loucks is a 31 year old Paper Maker. Coupling this 1860 Census listing with his son George telling George Prowell that he was born Sept. 29, 1856, at Hoffmansville, is pretty good evidence to conclude that Jacob Loucks learned the paper making trade at the Mathews & Hoffman Paper Mills located near what is now known as Hunt Valley, Maryland.
LOUCKS & HOFFMAN in Hoffmanville
When did Jacob Loucks move to the northwest part of Baltimore County, i.e. 6th District. For that answer, I turned to tax records. The earliest Jacob Loucks tax record I’ve been able to find, for that area, is during September 1862. The following tax assessments include business license taxes and personal luxury taxes. In this case a horse carriage was taxed as a luxury at $1.00 each.
Note that both the individual Jacob Loucks and the business Loucks & Hoffman are listed with residence in the 6th (District); i.e. where Hoffmanville is located. How long was Jacob Loucks and his family located at Hoffmanville? Jacob Loucks, the widower in 1864 (Catherine died Sept. 3, 1863) and his children, were definitely at this location until May 27, 1864; which is the day his young son Sylvester Jacob Loucks drowned in the mill race (Baltimore County Advocate issue of June 4, 1864).
The title of this post is Jacob Loucks learned the Paper Making Trade near Hunt Valley, Maryland; P. H. Glatfelter followed in his footsteps. I’ve seen a range of ages when P. H. Glatfelter initially arrives at a Maryland paper mill to begin his papermaking apprenticeship; however in every instance he arrives in Maryland well before 1860. If Philip H. Glatfelter learned the paper making trade under the tutelage of Jacob Loucks, he would have almost certainly started at Hoffmansville (i.e. near Hunt Valley) under paper mill foreman Jacob Loucks and possibly continued as an employee at Loucks & Hoffman in Hoffmanville.
In my series of posts on the Top 50 York County Factories at the end of 19th Century, I search out trade journals for business details. A similar trade journal search with Hoffmansville as one of the search terms, resulted in a nice find.
PAPER was A Weekly Technical Journal Devoted to Manufacture, Sale and Use of Pulp and Paper. The January 15, 1913 issue contained an article on the death of Jacob Loucks. People in the paper industry called him a Pioneer Papermaker. This article does lend credence to the supposition that Philip H. Glatfelter followed in Jacob Loucks footsteps and also learned the papermaking trade at the Hoffmansville paper mill located near what is now known as Hunt Valley, Maryland. After you read the following article, let me know if you agree or disagree.
