Arthur Briggs Farquhar
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Arthur Briggs Farquhar (September 28, 1838 – March 5, 1925) was an American businessman, multi-millionaire and writer. He was the founder of
A.B. Farquhar Company The Oliver Farm Equipment Company was an American farm equipment manufacturer from the 20th century. It was formed as a result of a 1929 merger of four companies: the American Seeding Machine Company of Richmond, Indiana; Oliver Chilled Plow Wor ...
in
York, Pennsylvania York is a city in York County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. Located in South Central Pennsylvania, the city's population was 44,800 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in ...
.


Early life

Arthur Briggs Farquhar was born at ''The Cedars'' in
Sandy Spring, Maryland Sandy Spring is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Geography Sandy Spring's boundaries are roughly defined as Brooke Road and Dr. Bird Road to the north and west, Ednor Road to the ...
, on September 28, 1838, to Margaret (née Briggs) and William Henry Farquhar. He attended school at the
Sandy Spring Friends Meetinghouse The Sandy Spring Friends Meetinghouse is a historic building located at Sandy Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland. It is a large, Flemish bond brick, Federal-style Quaker Meeting House built in 1817. The meetinghouse is on two acres deeded by ...
and later the Hallowell Boarding School in
Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in Northern Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Washington, D.C., D.C. The city's population of 159,467 at the 2020 ...
, founded by his uncle Benjamin Hallowell. From an early age, he had an interest in the manufacture of agricultural machinery. He was the nephew of
Isaac Briggs Isaac Briggs (1763– January 5, 1825) was an American engineer, surveyor and manufacturer. He lived much of his adult life with his family in Brookeville, Maryland. Early life Isaac Briggs was born in Haverford, Pennsylvania in 1763 to Samuel a ...
.


Career


A.B. Farquhar Company

On April 4, 1856, he moved to
York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...
to live with the family of Edward Jessop, a friend of his father and future father-in-law. Three days after arriving, he became an apprentice at W.W. Dingee & Co. In 1858, he became a partner of the firm. In 1861, the W.W. Dingee & Co. factory burned down and Farquhar took over the liabilities and assets in 1862, and the company became known as the Pennsylvania Agricultural Works. To keep the business going during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Farquhar secured a contract with the government to supply chairs and stretchers to hospitals. In 1876, the factory caught fire again and the factory was rebuilt and expanded to a 500,000 square feet facility. In 1889, the company was renamed as the A.B. Farquhar Company and he became president. The company was known worldwide for its agricultural machinery, including its Farquhar Ajax steam traction engines, vertical
baler A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store. Often, bales are config ...
, corn and cotton planters and
threshing machine A threshing machine or a thresher is a piece of agricultural machinery, farm equipment that separates grain seed from the plant stem, stalks and husks. It does so by beating the plant to make the seeds fall out. Before such machines were developed ...
s. The company's machinery was showcased at a number of expositions, including the
Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...
,
World Cotton Centennial The World Cotton Centennial (also known as the World's Industrial and Cotton Centennial Exposition) was a World's Fair held in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States, in 1884. At a time when nearly one third of all cotton produced in the United St ...
,
World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
,
Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a world's fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park–Front Park System, Delaware Park, extending ...
, and the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federa ...
. In the late 19th century, A.B. Farquhar Company employed the most people in
York County, Pennsylvania York County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 456,438. Its county seat is York, Pennsylvania, ...
. In 1911, he passed his business over to his son Francis. Initially a pacifist, Farquhar did not want to profit off of European war contracts. In 1916, he served as a member of the
American Manufacturers Export Association American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
's American Industrial Commission to France and was appointed to the Pennsylvania Defense Organization in 1917. The company supplied hydraulic powder presses, boilers, sterilizers, shot trucks and machine tools during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. In 1952, the company was sold to
Oliver Farm Equipment Company The Oliver Farm Equipment Company was an American farm equipment manufacturer from the 20th century. It was formed as a result of a 1929 merger of four companies: the American Seeding Machine Company of Richmond, Indiana; Oliver Chilled Plow Wor ...
. He was also the owner of the ''
York Gazette The ''York Daily Record'' is a newspaper and news publisher serving York, Pennsylvania, United States, and the surrounding region. Its news publications are the ''York Daily Record'' and ''York Sunday News''. At the end of 2014, the newspaper's c ...
'' and the president of
York Hospital York Hospital is a teaching hospital in York, England. It is managed by York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, an NHS foundation trust, NHS Foundation Trust which also runs several other hospitals in North Yorkshire and ...
. He was state commissioner from Pennsylvania and Commissioner of Europe for the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893. He was also elected as president of the National Association of Executive Commissioners. He was a delegate to the first
National Conservation Congress The National Conservation Commission was appointed on June 8, 1908, by President Theodore Roosevelt and consisted of representatives of the United States Congress and relevant executive agency technocrats; Gifford Pinchot served as chairman of its ...
and served as director of the National Conservation Association. He was also vice president and director of the
United States Chamber of Commerce The United States Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is a business association advocacy group and is the largest lobbying group in the United States. The group was founded in April 1912 out of local chambers of commerce at the urging of President Will ...
. In 1911, he was elected to the York Chamber of Commerce and held the position of president until 1914.


Civil War

Twice during the
Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was a three-day battle in the American Civil War, which was fought between the Union and Confederate armies between July 1 and July 3, 1863, in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle, won by the Union, ...
, Farquhar rode into Confederate lines to negotiate with Brigadier General
John Brown Gordon John Brown Gordon () was an American politician, Confederate States Army general, attorney, slaveowner and planter. "One of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals" by the end of the Civil War according to historian Ed Bearss, he strongly oppos ...
about the Confederate occupation of York. After Gettysburg, he volunteered in the field hospitals and helped the wounded. Farquhar wrote a piece for ''
McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...
'' about his experience, including meeting
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was the 16th president of the United States, serving from 1861 until Assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his assassination in 1865. He led the United States through the American Civil War ...
and
Edwin Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War, U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's manag ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, after the battle.


Publications

Farquhar wrote two books: * *


Personal life

On September 26, 1860, he married Elizabeth Jessop of
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
, daughter of Edward Jessop. Together, they had five children: * Benjamin Hallowell Farquhar, named after educator Benjamin Hallowell * Francis Farquhar, graduate of
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
and
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...
, president of A.B. Farquhar Company from 1925 to 1944, president of York Hospital and York National Bank *
Percival Farquhar Percival Farquhar (1865–1953) was an American investor and financier with extensive interests in Latin America and pre-Soviet Russia, including railways, mines, hotels, and restaurants. Early life Farquhar was born to a wealthy Maryland-Penn ...
, railroad man in Cuba, Brazil, and Guatemala * William E. Farquhar, worked as secretary-treasurer of A.B. Farquhar Company He was an
Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...
. He was friends with
Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...
and
William A. Clark William Andrews Clark Sr. (January 8, 1839March 2, 1925) was an American entrepreneur, involved with mining, banking, and railroads, as well as a politician. Biography Clark was born in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He moved with his family to ...
.


Later life and death

In 1875, Farquhar built the ''Edgecombe'' estate in York. In 1911, Farquhar purchased the ''Sharon'' estate in
Olney, Maryland Olney is a census-designated place and an unincorporated area in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is located in the north central part of the county, north of Washington, D.C. Olney was largely agricultural until the 1960s, when g ...
, the home of his grandfather. He restored the old log house on the property and built a mansion nearby. Farquhar died on March 5, 1925, at ''Edgecombe''. He had been hit by an automobile years earlier. He was buried at Prospect Hill Cemetery in York.


Awards and legacy

*In the 1880s, he created the Farquhar Park and a pavilion in York. *On August 21, 1897, Farquhar donated land to the city of York in the northwestern part of the city. *In 1902, he received an honorary degree from
Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...
. *In 1999, York County Chamber of Commerce awarded the Keystone Award to Farquhar posthumously.


References


External links


Writings of Arthur Briggs Farquhar (Ramapo College)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farquhar, Arthur Briggs 1838 births 1925 deaths People from Sandy Spring, Maryland People from York, Pennsylvania Businesspeople from Pennsylvania People of Pennsylvania in the American Civil War American Civil War industrialists American people of Scottish descent United States Chamber of Commerce people 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers Episcopalians from Maryland Episcopalians from Pennsylvania