Savery family.

The Savery family of Chester County, Pa., produced two generations of eminent mechanical engineers.

Thomas Savery was born on May 31, 1837 in Philadelphia, Pa. After attending the Friends Select School and the Westtown Boarding School in Chester County, he then became apprentice machinist at William Sellers & Company of Philadelphia. After finishing this apprenticeship he was employed as a foreman in the shops of the Columbus, Piqua & Indiana Railroad. He then became superintendent in the Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona shops.

In 1864 Savery became shop foreman for Pusey, Jones & Company, in Wilmington, Delaware, shipbuilders and manufacturers of papermaking machinery. In 1874 when the company was on the verge of bankruptcy he was named general manager, chief operating officer, and vice president. He later became president. During the 1880s and 1890s Savery became more interested in the production of paper and wood pulp. He patented several papermaking machines which were widely used, and Pusey & Jones became a leader in the industry.

With several associates Savery bought several properties on the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia in 1884, including the site of the famous ante-bellum armory. He first established paper mills on these sites and in the mid 1890s began building electric power generating facilities. He organized the Harpers Ferry Electric Light & Power Company. Savery had the engine house used by John Brown as a fort exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

In the 1890s, Savery invested in a new sulfite pulp mill and a paper mill near Denver, Colorado. Savery poured much of his own money into this venture, but it proved to be his only failure. Around 1900, Savery helped to organize the York Haven Paper Company and the York Haven Water & Power Company on the Susquehanna River. In his later years Savery held a number of corporate directorates. He was president of the Wilmington Savings Fund Society. He retired from Pusey & Jones in 1907 and died three years later.

William Savery, the son of Thomas Savery and Sarah Pim Savery, was born on October 24, 1865 in Wilmington, Delaware. He was educated at Haverford College and later went to work for his father at the Pusey & Jones Company. He was president and general manager of the Parsons Engineering Company. He was also president of the Harpers Ferry Electric Light and Power Company, the York Haven Paper Company, and the Shenandoah Pulp Company, enterprises that had been started by his father in the late 19th century. He was active in the Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry. William Savery died on December 25, 1946.

From the description of Papers, 1713-1949. (Hagley Museum & Library). WorldCat record id: 122355358