Jabez Coney was an American millwright and engineer. He maintained his own business first in Dedham and later in South Boston.
Background
Jabez Coney was born on October 21, 1804 in Dedham, Massachusetts, United States. One of the sixth generation of Coneys descended from John Coney of Boston, Lincolnshire, who settled in Boston, Massachusetts, prior to 1628, he was the second of eight children of Jabez and Irene (Gay) Coney. His father was a carpenter and builder (“housewright”).
Career
Coney became an expert in his father’s trade but a machinist as well. He commenced business on his own account in Dedham at an early age and before he was twenty-one had established a high reputation as a millwright. Later he removed his shop to South Boston where he set up as a machinist, developed a large business, and performed heavy contracts for his day. The two largest contracts of his concern were the building for the United States government of the iron steamer McLean in 1843 and five years later the machinery for the warship Saranac, the first vessel to which the navy applied steam.
Overwork brought a physical collapse and a paralytic stroke in 1850, which forced him to suspend his business at the height of its prosperity. Although confined to his house as a cripple for twenty- two years, he established a school for mechanics where he fitted many for the navy and for other positions. Harrison Loring, who built up a foundry for marine engines and iron ships after Coney’s retirement, had served his apprenticeship in Coney’s shop. In 1847 and 1850 Coney represented Ward 10 (South Boston) in the Boston City Council.
Achievements
Connections
Coney married Mary Whiting on October 25, 1827, by whom he had three children.