Thomas William Lewis
Thomas William (1818-1900)
c1818 Born, descendant of five generations associated with the development of the minerals and the construction of the ironworks in Merthyr.
1860 Thomas William Lewis, Engineer, Plymouth Iron Works, Myrthr Tydvil.[1] - Plymouth Iron Co
His youngest son was also named Thomas William Lewis
1900 Died age 82
Obituary 1900 [2]
"...death of Mr. T. W. Lewis, C.E. father of Sir W. T. Lewis, Bart., and one of the oldest mechanical engineers of South Wales. At the age of twelve he was apprenticed as a mechanical engineer, or, as then called, a millwright, under Messrs. Hill, of Plymouth Works, went through the pattern shop, foundry, fitting shop, and drawing office, and on the death of the chief engineer was appointed to succeed him, though not then twenty-five years of age. For twenty years he had charge of the erection of various new rolling mills and the whole of the machinery in connection with the mills, forges, blast furnaces, etc. At the death of Mr Anthony Hill he resigned his position to his son Henry Watkin, and from 1862 he was extensively engaged as a consulting mechanical engineer in connection with the sinking of pits, and the equipment of collieries throughout the whole of the South Wales coalfield. In later years he was consulting mechanical engineer for the collieries of Messrs Crawshay and the Lewis Methyr Navigation Company. He was justly credited immune from accident, due in greater part to the great strength of whole machinery that he designed. He very inventive and was known for his improved winches and the appliances he brought to bear in colliery work. This was brought specially under notice in connection with his life-long friend, Mr. Nixon, who consulted with him to the last. When Mr. Nixon invented the spiral drum, Mr. Lewis was the only ironworks engineer who got over the difficulty that Mr. Nixon had in the rolling of the angle iron for the forming of the spiral around the winding drum..."More.