Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Silver Brothers Iron Works photograph collection, 1900-1991
Overview of the Collection
- Collector
- Silver, James Watson
- Title
- Silver Brothers Iron Works photograph collection
- Dates
- 1900-1991 (inclusive)19001991
- Quantity
- 124 items, (1 box)
- Collection Number
- P1455
- Summary
- The Silver Brothers Iron Works was founded as the Silver Iron Works by William John Silver in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1862 or 1863. It was taken over and renamed by three of his sons around 1897; after it was foreclosed upon in 1915, the company was renamed the Salt Lake Iron and Steel Company while the Silver family left and founded a new company, the Ogden Iron Works, around 1916. This collection contains images documenting the Silver Brother Iron Works and Ogden Iron Works as well as images of the Silver family dating from approximately 1900 to 1990.
- Repository
-
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860
Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Silver Brothers Iron Works was founded by William John Silver (1832-1918) in 1862 or 1863. Silver was born in London, England, and immigrated to Utah in 1859 with his wife, Mary Askie Silver, and their four young children. Silver founded one of the earliest foundries and machine shops in Utah. His company, named Silver Iron Works, was located in Salt Lake City. Silver Iron Works was involved in the manufacture of several Salt Lake City landmarks, including the cast oxen for the Salt Lake City temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the iron fence surrounding the Brigham Young cemetery.
A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, William J. Silver married five additional women between 1862 and 1880. He later moved to Colorado. After William Silver moved, three of his sons with his first wife took over the company. John, Hyrum, and Joseph Askie Silver (1857-1930), took over the company around 1897, renaming it the Silver Brothers Iron Works. Under the brothers, the company manufactured industrial machinery, such as steam engines, boilers, and equipment for mining and smelting. About ten years after taking over the company, circa 1910, John Silver also moved and left the company to his brothers and to Joseph’s son, James Watson Silver (1881-1965). Around this time, the company began to manufacture machinery for Utah's sugar beet industry. In 1912, Joseph Silver also learned the Bessemer process to make steel, making their company the first in Utah to make steel castings.
Around the beginning of World War I, the bank foreclosed on the Silver Brothers Iron Works due to debt and other losses. In November 1915, the company was reorganized and renamed the Salt Lake Iron and Steel Company. James Watson Silver remained as general manager of the company for about a year before moving to Ogden. There, he founded the Ogden Iron Works, which manufactured machinery for the sugar beet and mining industries. This company went out of business around 1991. (Source, Don Strack, “Iron and Steel Foundry and Machine Companies, 1850-1950,” UtahRails.net)
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Silver Brothers Iron Works photograph collection consists of 124 black-and-white photographs, negatives, and cabinet cards documenting the Silver Brothers Iron Works, later the Ogden Iron Works. The collection includes both family and business related images. The material dates from approximately 1900 to 1990.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Silver Brothers Iron Works photograph collection must be obtained from the Special Collections Manuscript Curator.
Preferred Citation
Initial Citation: Silver Brothers Iron Works photograph collection, P1455, Box [ ]. Special Collections and Archives. University of Utah, J. Willard Marriott Library. Salt Lake City, Utah.
Following Citations: P1455.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
Arranged by subject
Acquisition Information
Purchased from Ken Sanders Rare Books in 2007.
Processing Note
Processed by Special Collections staff.
Separated Materials
See also the Silver Brothers Iron Works records (ACCN 2357) and the William John Silver papers (ACCN 2870) in the Manuscripts Division of Special Collections.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
| Container(s) | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Box | Folder | |
| 1 | 1 | Railroad |
| 1 | 2 | Mine cars |
| 1 | 3 | Ogden Iron Works |
| 1 | 4 | Beet Piler |
| 1 | 5 | Silver Piler |
| 1 | 6 | Silver Brothers |
| 1 | 7 | Silver Family Photos |
| 1 | 8 | Silver Brothers Irons Works Employees |
| 1 | 9 | Joseph Askie Silver rail tie invention |
