(Source: http://wickware.wordpress.com/gallery-people/#)
Wickwire Origins
The Wickwire family originated from Gloucestershire, England. Jordan De la War was the founder of Wick in Gloucestershire. The American family of Wickwire originated in New London, Connecticut in 1675.
Getting to know the Wickwires
Raymond Wickwire left Cream Hill Connecticut in 1863 and moved to Cortland, NY. There he bought a plot of land from his brother which he farmed and raised his family on. Raymond married Elmira Greenman and had five children: Chester, Theodore, Mary, Ella, and Chauncey.
Chester Wickwire was born in 1843 on the family farm. He attended schools in Cortlandville and later on moved to Cortland. He inherited $2,000 from his father when he died and another $5,000-6,000 from an unknown source. He married Ardell Rouse soon after and received her $2,000 dowry. The dowry and the inherited money were utilized to later fund his business. Chester had two sons named Charles and Frederic. Their third son, Raymond, died at the age of six.
Ardell Wickwire agreed with her husband about the importance of participating in activities that made the community a better place. She was therefore engaged in many activities. She associated herself with an elite society of women and enjoyed social get-togethers at local parks such as Little York and Sylvan Beach.
What were the Wickwire’s known for?
Chester sold the grocery store he owned on 16 Main Street after acquiring his inheritance and money from the dowry and ventured into the hardware business. In 1866 at the age of 23, Chester began as a small merchant in the hardware business. In 1873 he acquired an old carpet loom as payment for a debt. He converted this loom to weave wire and by 1874 was producing $10,000 worth of wire per day. He began to manufacture wire and wire products and thus the business known as the Wickwire factory was born.
Chauncey became Chester’s partner but unfortunately died in 1872. Theodore took Chauncey’s place and became Chester’s partner shortly after. By the 1880s Wickwire Brothers had become one of the biggest manufacturers in Cortland.
(Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/the1890house/6011325555/)
A prominent Cortland family
By the mid 1800s, the Chester Wickwire family had become very prominent in Cortland. The wealthy family attracted attention from the newspapers which chronicled their daily lives. Chester spent many hours attending the affairs of his business but made time to be active in community organizations.
Source:
Deligato, Yvonne. The Wickwire Family and The 1890 House. May 1982. Biography. Cortland County Historical Society, Cortland.
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