James Peter Allaire
Encyclopedia
James Peter Allaire was a noted master mechanic and steam engine builder, and founder of the Allaire Iron Works
(est. 1815), the first marine steam engine
company in New York City, and later Howell Works
(est. 1822), in Wall Township, New Jersey
. His credits also include building both the first compound engine for marine use and the first New York City tenement
structure.
, or under self-preserving exile in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
, Canada. A large number of "Tory" Loyalist individuals and families fled New York to Canada during the British evacuation of New York after the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783
ended the United States War of Independence
, including branches of the Allaire Family that took residence in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
. Petitions to the Continental Congress
in 1784 by a Peter A. Allaire of New York, a Colonial American Loyalist
, indicates a high probability that the relevant branch of the Allaire family may have remained in New York during and after the British evacuation. Sometime after 1793, the Allaire patriarch purchased a house in New York City, and found work as a livery stabler
.
In 1802, at the age of 17, his oldest son, James Peter, began working for Francis Elsworth, a brass founder in the city. Allaire would marry Frances Duncan, a distant cousin, two years later, and he continued to advance at the brass foundry. They would eventually have nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood.
By 1806, having learned the brass business, Allaire opened his own foundry. Before the War of 1812
, Allaire’s foundry received an order from Robert Fulton
to make the brass works for the Clermont
, the first commercially successful steamboat
. After Fulton’s death in 1815, Allaire leased that gentleman’s Jersey City, NJ shop and tolls from the estate. He then took as a partner Charles Soutinger, Fulton’s chief engineer. Under that partnership, Allaire and Stoutinger built the engine for Fulton’s last steamship design, the Chancellor Livingston, as well as the air cylinder for the Savannah
, the first steam powered vessel to successfully cross the Atlantic.
When Soutinger died shortly thereafter, Allaire removed the business to Corlear’s Hook in lower Manhattan
where his brass foundry was located. By 1820, Allaire was operating that largest marine engine building shop in the United States. He personally held a number of patents for steam engine improvements developed at his shop, which was known as the James P. Allaire Works
.
During the War of 1812
, an embargo on British products and goods caused businessmen like Allaire much difficulty in procuring the resources needed for America's fledgling industrial base. For Allaire, the embargo created a scarcity of iron stock necessary for his manufacturing operations and led him to look at acquiring a satisfactory means of assuring a steady, inexpensive supply of raw materials.
What initially interested Allaire in the property now known as Historic Allaire Village
was the presence of significant quantities of bog iron
ore. This bog ore, so called because of its formation in marshes and swampy areas, was a valuable resource in America before the discovery of vast ore deposits in the mountains of Northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Unlike the latter ore, bog ore is easily accessible and requires no deep shaft or strip mining to get it.
More significantly, bog ore is a renewable resource when mined and utilized with care. It is produced when rain water leaches out humic and tannic acid
s and carbon dioxide
, which is produced as a part of the natural life-cycle of microorganisms in the soil. Part of this leachate
consists of iron particles from deeper in the soil. As the water passes through these areas of loamy soil, also called marl, it deposits a solution of iron carbonate which rises up to the surface. This iron carbonate then combines with the surface soil and, over time, hardens into a solid mass. This process only takes about 25 to 35 years, making it an ideal, almost perpetual resource for industry but only if treated with respect. If the ore bed is left undeveloped and unpolluted, the beds can be mined indefinitely. Farther south in New Jersey, the operators of furnaces were forced to purchase ore from Staten Island, New York, because the ore beds had been over-mined.
James Peter Allaire, Find a Grave
Allaire Iron Works
The Allaire Iron Works was a leading 19th-century American marine engineering company based in New York City. Founded in 1816 by engineer and philanthropist James P...
(est. 1815), the first marine steam engine
Marine steam engine
A marine steam engine is a reciprocating steam engine that is used to power a ship or boat. Steam turbines and diesel engines largely replaced reciprocating steam engines in marine applications during the 20th century, so this article describes the more common types of marine steam engine in use...
company in New York City, and later Howell Works
Howell Works
Howell Works was a bog iron-based production facility for pig iron which was established in New Jersey in the early 19th century by American engineer and philanthropist James P. Allaire...
(est. 1822), in Wall Township, New Jersey
Wall Township, New Jersey
Wall Township is a township in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 26,164.Wall Township was formally incorporated as a township by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 7, 1851...
. His credits also include building both the first compound engine for marine use and the first New York City tenement
Tenement
A tenement is, in most English-speaking areas, a substandard multi-family dwelling, usually old, occupied by the poor.-History:Originally the term tenement referred to tenancy and therefore to any rented accommodation...
structure.
Life and career
Allaire was born either in his family's ancestral home city of New Rochelle, New YorkNew Rochelle, New York
New Rochelle is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state.The town was settled by refugee Huguenots in 1688 who were fleeing persecution in France...
, or under self-preserving exile in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
, Canada. A large number of "Tory" Loyalist individuals and families fled New York to Canada during the British evacuation of New York after the Paris Peace Treaty of 1783
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris, signed on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War between Great Britain on the one hand and the United States of America and its allies on the other. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of...
ended the United States War of Independence
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, including branches of the Allaire Family that took residence in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
Annapolis Royal is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia. Known as Port Royal until the Conquest of Acadia in 1710 by Britain, the town is the oldest continuous European settlement in North America, north of St...
. Petitions to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
in 1784 by a Peter A. Allaire of New York, a Colonial American Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...
, indicates a high probability that the relevant branch of the Allaire family may have remained in New York during and after the British evacuation. Sometime after 1793, the Allaire patriarch purchased a house in New York City, and found work as a livery stabler
Livery yard
A livery yard or livery stable , or boarding stable is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire...
.
In 1802, at the age of 17, his oldest son, James Peter, began working for Francis Elsworth, a brass founder in the city. Allaire would marry Frances Duncan, a distant cousin, two years later, and he continued to advance at the brass foundry. They would eventually have nine children, five of whom lived to adulthood.
By 1806, having learned the brass business, Allaire opened his own foundry. Before the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, Allaire’s foundry received an order from Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton
Robert Fulton was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the first commercially successful steamboat...
to make the brass works for the Clermont
North River Steamboat
The North River Steam Boat or Clermont was the first commercially successful steamship of the paddle steamer design. It operated on the Hudson River between New York and Albany...
, the first commercially successful steamboat
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
. After Fulton’s death in 1815, Allaire leased that gentleman’s Jersey City, NJ shop and tolls from the estate. He then took as a partner Charles Soutinger, Fulton’s chief engineer. Under that partnership, Allaire and Stoutinger built the engine for Fulton’s last steamship design, the Chancellor Livingston, as well as the air cylinder for the Savannah
SS Savannah
SS Savannah was an American hybrid sailing ship/sidewheel steamer built in 1818. She is notable for being the first steamship in the world to cross the Atlantic Ocean, a feat that was accomplished from May to June 1819, although only a fraction of the distance was covered with the ship under steam...
, the first steam powered vessel to successfully cross the Atlantic.
When Soutinger died shortly thereafter, Allaire removed the business to Corlear’s Hook in lower Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
where his brass foundry was located. By 1820, Allaire was operating that largest marine engine building shop in the United States. He personally held a number of patents for steam engine improvements developed at his shop, which was known as the James P. Allaire Works
Allaire Village
Allaire Village is a living history museum located within New Jersey's Allaire State Park in Wall Township, New Jersey. The village was originally established as a bog iron furnace known as the Howell Works, which the company's owner, philanthropist James P. Allaire, endeavoured to turn into a...
.
During the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
, an embargo on British products and goods caused businessmen like Allaire much difficulty in procuring the resources needed for America's fledgling industrial base. For Allaire, the embargo created a scarcity of iron stock necessary for his manufacturing operations and led him to look at acquiring a satisfactory means of assuring a steady, inexpensive supply of raw materials.
What initially interested Allaire in the property now known as Historic Allaire Village
Allaire Village
Allaire Village is a living history museum located within New Jersey's Allaire State Park in Wall Township, New Jersey. The village was originally established as a bog iron furnace known as the Howell Works, which the company's owner, philanthropist James P. Allaire, endeavoured to turn into a...
was the presence of significant quantities of bog iron
Bog iron
Bog iron refers to impure iron deposits that develop in bogs or swamps by the chemical or biochemical oxidation of iron carried in the solutions. In general, bog ores consist primarily of iron oxyhydroxides, commonly goethite...
ore. This bog ore, so called because of its formation in marshes and swampy areas, was a valuable resource in America before the discovery of vast ore deposits in the mountains of Northern New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Unlike the latter ore, bog ore is easily accessible and requires no deep shaft or strip mining to get it.
More significantly, bog ore is a renewable resource when mined and utilized with care. It is produced when rain water leaches out humic and tannic acid
Tannic acid
Tannic acid is a specific commercial form of tannin, a type of polyphenol. Its weak acidity is due to the numerous phenol groups in the structure...
s and carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
, which is produced as a part of the natural life-cycle of microorganisms in the soil. Part of this leachate
Leachate
Leachate is any liquid that, in passing through matter, extracts solutes, suspended solids or any other component of the material through which it has passed....
consists of iron particles from deeper in the soil. As the water passes through these areas of loamy soil, also called marl, it deposits a solution of iron carbonate which rises up to the surface. This iron carbonate then combines with the surface soil and, over time, hardens into a solid mass. This process only takes about 25 to 35 years, making it an ideal, almost perpetual resource for industry but only if treated with respect. If the ore bed is left undeveloped and unpolluted, the beds can be mined indefinitely. Farther south in New Jersey, the operators of furnaces were forced to purchase ore from Staten Island, New York, because the ore beds had been over-mined.
Anthony Allaire
Allaire's uncle, Anthony Allaire, fought with the British Armies during the war under the infamous Col. Tartleton and Major Patrick Ferguson’s famed rifle corps during the Carolina campaigns. It was Col. Tartleton who issued the notorious decree offering freedom to any slave wishing to join his army.External links
James Peter Allaire, Find a Grave