John West (Pennsylvania)
Engineer of the Lehigh Zinc Company from c.1867 to ?. He was responsible for the design of several large pumping engines for mine drainage, including the largest beam engine ever built in North America. This was for the Ueberroth Mine, the largest of the company's Friedensville mines. The single cylinder was 110" diameter. It was built by Merrick and Sons of Southwark Foundry, Philadelphia, with many of the castings coming from Lazell, Perkins and Co.
John West was born in Cornwall, and some sources state that he was a nephew of the respected engineer William West (William West (1801-1879)?).
Another source[1] says that this was John West Junior, son of John West of Tuckingmill, and quotes another source stating that the 110" engine was erected by 'Simeon Noell, who has had twenty-one years experience in this kind of work in Cornwall.'
A correspondent writes:[2]
The confusion resulting in two theories, previously viewed as possibly in conflict, results from the abundance of males named John West in the large family in which “John West (Pennsylvania)” was raised. John West (born 1799) & Jennifer/Jane Eustice (born 1798) were the parents of 13 children, and they somehow managed to have two living sons named John West. At least six of those children were born at Tuckingmill in the Illogan parish of Cornwall located close to Camborne. Their eldest son (second child) was John West (born 1825). Their third son (fourth child) was John West (born 1827), and he became the man featured as “John West (Pennsylvania)” on your webpage. All three men named John West (i.e. the father and both sons) are described on census records as civil engineers, and that makes it entirely plausible that each of the three was involved in designing steam engines for mining and other industrial applications.
Given these circumstances, there was surely potential for confusion when the name “John West” was mentioned within steam engine circles. It was perhaps to avoid some of that confusion that the younger son John elected to adopt a middle name distinguishing himself from his father and elder brother. He chose the maiden surname of his paternal grandmother. As a result, his name became John Gartrell West, with Gartrell West becoming the name by which he was known in Cornwall. Both the record of his 1844 marriage and the baptism records of his two Cornwall-born children show his name as Gartrell West. When he emigrated to Pennsylvania, he left the confusion behind and was known simply as John West. However, his obituary refers to him as John Gartrell West.
It is perhaps not surprising that two separate theories evolved as to the identity of the man who went on to achieve fame as an engine builder in Pennsylvania. In reality, evidence supports the conclusion that John Gartrell West was both the son of John West “of Tuckingmill” and the great grandnephew of the renowned engine builder William West. Many years of genealogy studies involving Cornish families have taught me that people were not always precise in the manner in which relationships were described. The word “nephew” was often used a bit loosely. In this instance, the technical jargon (“great grandnephew”) became abbreviated to a more streamlined “nephew” in describing the relationship to William West.
The attached chart shows the relationships described in this message.
Joseph West (had two sons)
- William West (1772-1832)
- Joseph West (1744-1825) - had son William West (c1765-1844) - had son John West (1799- ) - had son John Gartell West (1827- )
Therefore John Gartrell West is the great grand-nephew of William West