The Life and Letters of Kate Gleason

3 The Office Boss of the Gleason Iron Works

19 CHAPTER 3 The Office Boss of the Gleason Iron Works On September 18, 1888, all the shareholders of the Gleason firm— William Gleason, Amos Walder, Kate Gleason, Alexander Allan, Ferdinand Schwab, John Lauth, and James Henry—gathered to adopt bylaws for a newly formed enterprise, the Genesee Foundry Company, and all were named directors. Certificates indicate that there were four hundred shares at fifty dollars each, and the capital stock of twenty thousand dollars was fully paid. Two stock certificates were subsequently issued on October 9: number one to William Gleason, for one hundred shares, and number two to Kate Gleason, for twenty shares. The other five employee-directors were granted shares in 1889 or 1890. In September, Jim traveled to Cornell for his entrance examinations, and Kate, who jokingly referred to herself as “the office boss of the Gleason Iron Works,” began a steady correspondence with her brother. Three days after the shareholder meeting, she wrote: Dear Jim, Just about this time you must be wrestling with that arithmetic examination,—you want to pass that whatever you do and then it won’t seem so bad if you are ‘busted’ on all the others. Papa says that he will not blame you if you can’t get through the examinations because of course with the little time for preparation you’ve had, you have not had a fair chance. Don’t forget the laundry I recommended to you. Here is a diagram, showing the way to find it,—the others are too steep in price and don’t do things up so well. Remember to send me the question papers, if you mail em Sunday I can tell pretty well whether you are going in or not without waiting to hear from the examination committee. Lovingly, Kate1 20 the life and letters of kate gleason September 24, 1888 My Dear Jim, Your card was received Saturday and it lifted a two ton pressure off my mind. If you passed the three examinations of the first day you will probably get in any way. By the way wasn’t Grammar one of them [?] You don’t mean to insinuate, do you, that you have passed Grammar? If you have there won’t be anything in this town too good for you. The German Club was at our house Saturday night. I had forgotten that it was coming and when George Fleckenstein arrived I was sitting in the library with disheveled locks and a dirty face trying to make up my mind whether I would go to bed or go over to see Emma. Luckily he came some time ahead of the others so I had time to slick up. Fleckenstein is very agreeable, he speaks German well and he has considerable to say for himself in English too. He is quite exquisite, wore a ruffled shirt that came out of his vest in a regular puff. Vicinus doesn’t curl his moustache at the ends any more and he doesn’t plaster his hair low down on his forehead or part it in the middle. If it were not for his high hat and his russet leather shoes, I could have doubted whether it were him.2 October 2, 1888 Dear Jim, … Papa is going down to Connecticut to-night and I will run the shop alone some more. I am getting so much practice at manageing this business by myself that pretty soon I will be able to let you and papa bend your mighty energies to running for aldermen or governors while I rake in the shekels … I think of those girls I send you letters to, you will like Marian Colt and Nellie Lamson best. Marian Colt was my favorite but Nellie Lamson was a more general belle. You better call on them pretty soon for it must be pretty nearly time for the ‘hop’ and you musn’t miss an invitation to that occasion to sport your dress suit. As I didn’t succeed in making out all the bills yesterday and it is one of my firm principles to send the bills out as near the first of the month as possible,—I will have to cut off the flow of my eloquence and go to work at them. Lovingly yours, Kate Gleason3 The Kidd Foundry & Steam Engine Works, Rochester, N.Y., 1865. William Gleason at machine, circa 1888. A youthful Ellen McDermot...