Thomas Taylor Tasker

Thomas was born in England of humble beginnings but he developed mechanical skill, leadership ability, and a devout Christian character that garnered great respect from the people of Philadelphia.  His father was a land surveyor, and was able to give his son a better than ordinary English education. At the age of 13 the boy began a seven-year apprenticeship in the copper and ironsmith trades.

He sailed for America in 1819 and settled in Philadelphia, briefly employed in stove manufacturing. In 1820 he established a coppersmith and iron company in West Chester Pennsylvania. In 1824 he left that company and moved back to Philadelphia to work for Steven P. Morris, a manufacturer of stoves and grates.

Thomas was considered a genius in mechanical engineering and was soon put in charge of the mechanical department. He received a patent in 1842 for a water hydrant, although he isn’t credited with actually inventing the fire hydrant. He was promoted to partner as the business took off. Products included valves, faucets, boilers, radiators, steam whistles, cast and wrought iron pipe, street light posts, hitching posts, and yes, fire hydrants.

Elizabeth Hickman became his wife for life on February 24, 1829. They had nine children, six of whom lived to adulthood. The Taskers lived for most of the latter half of the 1800s at 1502 South 5th Street.

The company’s name changed several times between 1836 and the end of the 19th century as the Tasker and Morris families supplied sons and brothers to the ownership as the elders retired. The original S.P. Morris & Co. would become Morris, Tasker & Morris, then Pascal Iron Works, then Morris, Tasker & Co. In 1858 Thomas retired and the head of the company was eventually left to his son, Stephen.  In 1872 there were two plants in Philadelphia; one at 3rd and Walnut Street, the other at 5th and Tasker St.

The demand for their products grew and the payroll expanded to include more than 2,000 employees. Stephen realized it would be more efficient to connect the two plants which were about 1.5 miles apart. The company petitioned the city of Philadelphia to allow a rail line to be laid to make the connection, but the city rejected the idea.

With advice from his father, Stephen looked elsewhere to build a new plant and settled on New Castle, Delaware. The pipe mill, named Tasker Iron Works, was built on 35 acres beside on the Delaware River. The Delaware Iron Company was incorporated in 1876, and prospered until Stephen died in 1899. It merged that year with another company which was bought two years later by US Steel. Manufacturing was then  consolidated in McKeesport, Pennsylvania.

Following his retirement in 1858, Thomas purchased 400 acres in various locations in Ridley Township, just southwest of Philadelphia.  As a hobby he raised breeds of cattle, beginning with Durham cattle, then Ayrshires and Guernseys.

When the Civil War started in 1861 the Taskers were enthusiastic supporters. He was one of the founders and president of the Citizens Volunteer Hospital located at Broad and Washington in Philadelphia. Under his administration it operated on a broad and humane basis, helping both Union and Confederate soldiers equally.

By the end of the war the hospital had treated over 200,000 soldiers. It was appropriately named because all of the operating expenses were covered by voluntary contributions, mostly from Philadelphians. When it closed, the remaining funds ($4,000) were given to the Soldiers’ Orphan Asylum in D.C.

When Lincoln was assassinated in 1865 the funeral train route made its way back to Springfield, Illinois. Following the viewing in the Capitol, the train’s third stop was in Philadelphia where Thomas had the honor of being a pall bearer.

His inventive mind remained active, acquiring another patent in 1866 for a self-regulating hot water apparatus for private dwellings, schools, and offices.  He invested in the New Castle community by founding both the Water Works and the Gas Works. Pipes manufactured by his company provided that gas for cooking, heating, and lighting to homes and businesses throughout the city.

Regular Bible study was an important part of the Tasker family’s life. From his knowledge of the Word he became a preacher of the Word on an as-needed basis in Methodist churches.  He helped start the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church in his Southwark neighborhood in 1841, serving and worshipping there for 50 years, even serving as interim pastor in 1872.

From his resources came the funds and land to establish new churches, including the New Castle Methodist Church in 1863. It remains to this day at 510 Delaware Street. That’s a block north of Foundry Street, which pays homage to the once-dominant pipe mill Stephen built and operated.

Thomas died in 1892 and was interred with his wife, who died 15 years earlier. Nine other members of the family share the plot in Section 130, known as the Wharton Street Methodist Episcopal Church plot.

South Philly’s Franklin Street had been renamed Tasker Street in his honor while he was alive, and the city opened a public school named for him in 1912, located at 9th and Tasker Streets. The subway station at 1600 South Broad Street commemorates the famous partners because Tasker Street is to the north and Morris Street is to the south.