Benjamin Franklin Jones

Background

Benjamin Franklin Jones was born on August 8, 1824 in Claysville, Washington County, Pennsylvania, the son of Jacob Aik Jones and Elizabeth (Goshorn) Jones. His family, coming from Wales, had settled in Philadelphia in 1682.

Education

At the age of thirteen Benjamin lived in New Brighton and studied in New Brighton Academy, but he left at nineteen to go to Pittsburgh.

Career

After studying in New Brighton Academy and then leaving for Pittsburgh, he was employed there, without salary at first, as receiving clerk with the Mechanics' Line, a transportation company operating between Pittsburgh and Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, chiefly by way of the Pennsylvania State Canal.

Samuel M. Kier, the owner, encouraged young Jones; in 1845 appointed him manager of the Mechanics' Line; and in 1847 took him into partnership. Jones continued to manage the Mechanics' Line and the younger Independent Line, founded by Kier in 1846, until 1854, when the Pennsylvania Railroad took complete possession of the field.

Jones's connection with iron and steel, which was eventually to occupy his full attention, began about 1846, when with Kier he bought an iron furnace and forge near Armagh, Pennsylvania. At this time practically no pig iron was produced in Pittsburgh.

In 1850 Jones became interested in the American Iron Works begun that year by Bernard Lauth, and in 1851 the firm of Jones & Lauth was formed. In 1854 James Laughlin entered the firm, and in 1857 the name became Jones & Laughlin. That year the Falcon furnace at Youngstown was purchased, and in 1861 two blast furnaces were erected in Pittsburgh. With the entrance into the business of Laughlin's sons in 1861, the title was changed to Jones & Laughlins; the business was incorporated in 1883 as Jones & Laughlins, Limited, and in 1902 became the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company.

He died after a brief illness on May 19, 1903 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania.

Achievements

• Benjamin Jones's chief achievement was in co-founding along with James H. Laughlin the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, a steel mill heavily dependent on river transportation. Jones was a man of great foresight and originality and it is possible to trace in his activities a number of ideas that have become fundamental in American industry. He had a clear conception of what is technically known today as "vertical combination"; that is, that a company should own its raw-material supply as well as all the intermediate steps in the producing of a finished product. To this end, he was among the first iron manufacturers to buy iron mines in the Lake Superior region and coal in the Connellsville region for conversion into coke. To him must also be credited the plan of the sliding scale of wages under which mill workers are paid at a stated rate per unit based on the selling price of the product.

Politics

In his political affiliation Benjamin Jones was a Republican. His interest in politics as well as his close friendship for James G. Blaine led the latter to appoint him chairman of the Republican National Committee in 1884.

Views

Pursuing a just and liberal policy in his treatment of employees, Jones enjoyed unbroken peace in a troublesome industry. He was an ardent protectionist, and his article in the North American Review for April 1888 indicated his belief that a protective-tariff policy aided every one. He also offered some practical ideas on the financing of the Civil War.

Personality

A friend, writing just prior to his death, characterized him as "a man of rare mind, broadened and matured by close observation, a profound thinker, logical reasoner, and careful student. "

Quotes from others about the person

• A friend, wrote just prior to his death: "Anything he undertakes he carries forward to successful completion by his excellent judgment and tenacity of purpose. .. He is genial, companionable, and although he has passed his seventy-eighth milestone in the journey of life, I cannot detect the least deterioration in his mental or physical vigor. "
  
  When Andrew Carnegie learned of his death, he sent a cablegram which well sums up Jones' standing in industry: "Benjamin Franklin Jones, the Nestor in manufacturing has gone". The Iron Age spoke of him as "the most highly respected man in the iron trade. "

Connections

Benjamin Franklin Jones married Mary McMasters of Allegheny County, May 21, 1850, and became the father of four children.

Father:

Jacob Aik Jones

Mother:

Elizabeth (Goshorn) Jones

Wife:

Mary McMasters

Partner:

Samuel M. Kier

American inventor and businessman who is credited with founding the American petroleum refining industry.

Son:

Benjamin Franklin Jones, Jr.

Friend:

James G. Blaine

American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876.

associate:

James H. Laughlin

He was a pioneer of the iron and steel industry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

References

• Statistics of the American and Foreign Iron Trade.: Annual Statistical Report of the American and Steel Association. 1898-1903
• Standard History of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania (Classic Reprint)