Elias Cornelius Atkins...

The early years involving Armstrong's partner Elias Atkins are sketchy as census records show Elias living in Atlanta, Idaho in 1870, a silver mining community discovered in 1863. Elias worked as Superintendent at the quarts mill in Atlanta and it was here that some of Elias Atkin's children would be born and would possibly remain while their father traveled from one mining community to the next, investing his money and efforts. It is not clear why Elias Atkins chose to struggle along in the primitive conditions of these mining communities, being a man of remarkable wealth and highly successful in his saw manufacturing empire, except that an early account makes mention of going west to higher elevations to build up his fragile health due to a lung condition. Newspaper accounts would occasionally make mention of Atkins and his ongoing fragile state of health.

In 1873, Elias Atkins and Noah Armstrong would form a partnership at Indianapolis for the sole purpose of mining exploration and development under the name of Armstrong, Atkins, & Co. They secured the services of B. S. Harvey and Dr. S. C. Day as prospectors. Together, the two men had the resources and knowledge to successfully locate and purchase mining properties and acquire ore at a reasonable price from the local miners. Many of the mines located in and around the Bryant District had ore building up on the dumps awaiting shipment which was costly and difficult given the weather conditions and the difficulty of freighting it out.

Hauling ore out was costly and time consuming and with a lack of capitol for the miners, made it an attractive venture for Armstrong, Atkins, and Dahler. For the miners, hauling ore to Glendale reduced their costs and provided much faster returns on their hard work. Early on, ores were shipped by ox-teams to Corinne Utah where the Central Pacific Railroad would then rail to San Francisco where it was then shipped to Swansea Wales. Prior to the arrival of the Utah Northern in Montana, these factors greatly reduced the profits.

The circumstances behind Atkins and Armstrong's initial meeting are unclear but census records place both men in the gold fields of Idaho Territory during the 1860s so it is quite possible they met either in Idaho, Utah, or possibly Montana. Elias Atkins was the financier in the partnership of "Armstrong, Atkins & Co" and though Armstrong was neither hungry, lacked education or finances, he lent his expertise to the firm by way of chemistry and mining expertise. Noah offered a more hands on approach in the day to day operations of the business. 

At some point in 1872 to 1873, prior to the discoveries in the Trapper or Bryant Mining District of Montana, Noah Armstrong and Elias Atkins were at the Mammoth Mine, located in the Tintic District, (named in honor of Chief Tintic of the Goshute Tribe) in Utah Territory conducting assay work and possibly prospecting for Mining claims. The discoverer dubbed it the Mammoth Mine in about 1869, citing that, “this was going to be a mammoth discovery”.

Elias Atkins, at the time, was a self-made millionaire, operating one of the largest saw manufacturing companies in the world, based at Indianapolis. Elias Atkin's Great Grandson, Stuart, recalls of his Grandfather leaving the business at Indianapolis to head west, leaving his wife to manage the day to day affairs of the business. Though his wife may have had some oversight and involvement of the company during Elias' travels, Henry Knippenberg would manage the day to day affairs of the Saw Manufacturing Company. It is possible that Atkin's wife may have played an active role in the management of his company, however, it was not customary for a lady to take such a role in her husband's affairs with such young children at home. Henry Knippenberg, would later relocate to Glendale, Montana to relieve Atkins of his duties as Superintendent and transform the Mining Company and it's operations into one of the most successful entities of it's day.

Henry Knippenberg became affiliated with Elias Atkins as early as 1866. At about the time Henry was entering the saw manufacturing business at Indianapolis, Elias would surface on the Federal Census in Atlanta, Idaho along with his wife and children. It is likely that Atkins was in Idaho during the latter part of the 1860s as this is where his children were born. The 1870 census would show that his wife and children were with him in Atlanta, Idaho.

Elias Cornelius Atkins was born to Rollin and Harriet Atkins in Bristol, Connecticut on June 28, 1833. Elias was the son of a clock maker who possessed mechanical skills and turned to the manufacturing of saws but did not live to see the growth of the business he started. He would have no way of knowing that he laid the ground work which would eventually become the largest and most successful manufacturer of saws in the world.

In 1850, at the age of only 17 years old, Elias was well on his way of learning the saw trade. Elias would eventually establish his company at Cleveland, Ohio and in 1855 established the first saw factory in that city. The following year, He would make his way to Indianapolis with five hundred dollars in his pocket and began the trade of saw manufacturing. His beginnings were humble and he would eventually grow his company to employ more than a thousand men making him one of the most influential and chief sources of prosperity to the growing city of Indianapolis. His saws would eventually be carried at more than a half dozen branch houses in major cities throughout the United States and numberless retail stores all over the world.

While primarily a manufacturer, Elias C. Atkins was a many sided business man, and it was only natural that his interests assumed widespread proportions. His name is permanently identified with the development of the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company which he helped charter in 1877. That same year, when Armstrong would go east to Indianapolis, Atkins would take on a more active role in the Hecla Mining Company's affairs, first by acquiring an equal majority stake in the new company along with his partner Noah. In 1879, Atkins would make Glendale his home and serve as acting Superintendent of the Hecla properties until 1881.

At a point when the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company found itself in debt of nearly 78,000, Henry Knippenberg, Atkin's business partner at Indianapolis, would take Atkin's place as Supt. and General Manager at Glendale and transform the Hecla Mining Company into the silver producing giant it became during the 1880s, pulling the company out of debt and paying it's shareholders handsome dividends for twenty straight years. Many credit Knippenberg for the success that the company would go on to realize but Knippenberg's tenure in Montana produced something that Elias did not have, "a railroad".

While Elias operated the mines in Montana, ore and bullion was shipped overland by wagon to the nearest railroad which was at Corinne, Utah. This greatly increased the overhead and reduced profits as ore had to be carried by the wagonload rather than hauling out several boxcars at a time. It wasn't until 1881, that the Utah Northern would extend a branch into Montana which dropped Knippenberg off at the door step of the Hecla Mining Company. In the writer's opinion, though Knippenberg was an extremely business savvy man and was crucial in the re-organization of the properties, the railroad was strategic and key to the success of the Hecla Company from 1881 forward.

Atkins, through his correspondences and the state in which the Hecla Company found itself by 1881, either pointed to Elias' lack of faith and interest in the company's future success or that Atkins failed to see the potential that lay ahead for the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company as was evident in his urgency to sell. By 1880, Atkins main objective was to broker the property for no less than 1,000,000 and return to his life at Indianapolis.

Though interested parties stepped forward, the Company failed to sell and would go on to show substantial returns under the management of Knippenberg. In all fairness to Elias Atkins, at the point in which he managed the properties in Montana, the great wealth this area had to offer was yet to be discovered, much capitol and many improvements were yet to be made which would allow for profits. It wasn't until the 1880s that many of the elements were in place for this to be realized and it was anyone's guess as to the future promise these mines may hold. Ironically, though Elias was willing to sell the properties for a mere 1,000,000 in 1879-1880, the company would eventually produce millions of dollars following Elias Atkin's departure.

At the time of his death in 1901, Atkins was President of the Manufacturers Natural Gas Company of Indianapolis, Indiana. Atkins was also a philanthropist having donated money and land to academic and religious organizations. Elias was married to Sarah J. Wells and had a daughter, Harriet, who married John L. McMahon. Elias married a second time to Mary Dolbeare and their child passed. On August 17, 1865, Elias married his third wife, Miss Sarah F. Parker. She was born at Methuen, Massachusetts, July 26, 1837, Daughter of Rev. Addison and Eunice (Brigham) Parker. Elias and Sarah had five children, Mary D., who married Nelson A. Glading; Henry C.; Sarah Frances, widow of Thomas Reed Kackley; Emma L., who married Edward B. Davis; and Carra, who married Major Sandford H. Wadhams.

Upon the death of Elias Atkins, his son Henry took control of the family saw works business. Henry was born in the Northwest while his father was engaged in the mining business. Henry was born in Atlanta, Johnson County, Idaho on November 27, 1868. He grew up in Indianapolis, attended local schools and worked in his father's factory during vacations. Henry attended Yale where he earned his Bachelors of Arts degree with the class of 1889 at the age of twenty. His first job in an official capacity was that of Superintendent of the Saw Works and in 1892 was chosen as the Vice President of the company. Henry married Miss Sue Winter on January 7, 1896. She was born at Columbus, Indiana February 10, 1872, daughter of Ferdinand and Mary (Keyes) Winter. Her father was for many years a prominent member of the Indianapolis bar. Henry and Sue had three children, Elias C. (named in honor of Grandpa), Keyes W., and Henry C. Junior. Elias Atkins was married a third and final time on August 17th, 1865.

During the Summer of 2010, Elias Atkin’s family arrived in Montana to place their daughter in college at Bozeman. As a side note, the family was interested in exploring the properties that their ancestor, Elias helped establish nearly 140 years before. The Morning started out with an introduction at Melrose and a quick review of some photos and materials. We then embarked on a day long trip to the Hecla Mines at Lion Mountain, stopping at several points along the way, Glendale, Greenwood, Lion City, and Hecla. We discussed the area’s history and shared information relating to Elias Atkin’s involvement in the formation of the Hecla Company. We took many photographs and even took time to explore a mine tunnel long since abandoned, this mining tunnel being one of the properties that his Grandfather helped finance and develop. It was an incredible experience, sharing what I love to do, with the family of the man responsible for making these mines and communities come to life.
 

Atkin's Biographies
 

The foundation of this flourishing industry dates back to 1857, the founder having been Mr. Elias C. Atkins, who selected Indianapolis as a site for a saw manufactory because of the abundant timber surrounding it. His beginning was most modest and unpretending, as became a man with a capital of only $300 in money. At the outset fortune appeared to be against him, for twice was his little establishment destroyed by fire; but he early established a reputation for furnishing a thoroughly reliable article at a fair price and his business began to prosper, so that in 1866, needing an increased capital, he associated with himself Messrs. Knippenberg & Kappes.

In 1872 Mr. Atkins visited England, in order to obtain better stock than was obtainable at that time in this country, and succeeding, on his return began the manufacture of the now widely known Silver Steel Diamond Cross Cut Saws, of which the firm is the sole makers. These saws are recognized by the trade generally as being the best in the market.
In January, 1881, the firm was reorganized, Messrs. George W. Atkins, Walter L. Gallup and Merritt A. Potter being admitted to partnership by Mr. Elias C. Atkins. The works have occupied the same grounds since 1860, and the plant has grown with the growth of the trade, until now it is one of the largest and best equipped industrial establishments in the country.

Here one hundred and thirty-five workmen are employed under the personal supervision of members of the firm. The equipment of machinery, much of it the invention of the senior partner, is the very best made, the patents for which are owned by the firm. The methods used in tempering, straightening and grinding saws are the latest and most improved and are the outgrowth of Mr. Atkins' long experience and constant study. Only the finest grade of saw steel is used and every saw is tested and warranted perfect in every respect.

The buildings occupied, are substantial and conveniently arranged brick structures. The annual business now reaches $400,000, and is increasing from year to year. To supply the wants of customers they carry a full stock of files, gummers, emery wheels, belting, saw mandrels, swages and every description of mill supplies. Mr. E. C. Atkins was born in Bristol, Conn., in 1833, and learned his trade with his father, who was one of the first saw manufacturers in this country.
Manufacturing and Mercantile Resources of Indianapolis, 1883
 

E. C. Atkins & Company (incorporated), manufacturers of saws and saw tools, is one of the very oldest industrial establishments of this city. The beginning of this important business was laid by Elias C. Atkins in 1856, when he began it single-handed in a little wooden building about 16 X 20 feet in dimensions. Today it is recognized as the largest and foremost concern engaged in the manufacturing of saws in the country. The firm manufactures solid and insert tooth saws, shingle, heading, metal, grooving, band, hand, cross-cut, butcher, kitchen, compass, hack and wood saws; in fact, every style and kind of saw known to the trade, as well as tools for the care of saws.

The superiority of the Atkins saws has been evidenced by the gold medals which have been awarded them at the World's Fair, Chicago, the Paris Exposition and the Pan-American Exposition, also many other important industrial expositions held in this country during the last quarter of a century. Trade extends throughout every state and territory of the United States, as well as Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Australia, Japan, etc. The works cover over three acres, with substantial and compactly built buildings ranging from two to five stories in height, and equipped throughout with the latest and most improved special machinery, much of which is of Mr. Atkins' invention and covered by patents.

The company has a capital of $650,000 and does a business of over $2,000,000 annually. Extensive branches are operated at Memphis, Tenn., New York City, Atlanta, Ca., Minneapolis, Minn., and Portland, Ore. The present officers are: H. C. Atkins, president and superintendent; N. A. Gladding, vice-president and secretary; M. A. Potter, treasurer; A. D. Gates, assistant treasurer, and F. C. Gardner, cashier.
The Journal, Handbook of Indianapolis - an Outline History
Max R. Human, Editor, 1902
 

One of the greatest industries in America for the manufacture of saws is located in Indianapolis and is the E. C. Atkins and Company. The experience of three generations of the Atkins family has entered into the business. Atkins saws are used all over the world and are known for their high standard of excellence and quality. As a result of the late Elias C. Atkins, founder of the business the industry was established at Indianapolis when it was a small town and for a period of fifty years it has been one of the chief sources of industrial prosperity to the growing city.
 

It seems appropriate that the business itself is a development of Yankee industry and ingenuity. The founder of this branch of the Atkins family in America was Thomas Atkins, a native of England who went to Connecticut about the middle of the seventeen century. In a later generation was Samuel Atkins, a sturdy and representative citizen of his native state of Connecticut, where he spent all his life. The firm Atkins & Downs consisted of Irenus and Rollin Atkins and Anson Downs. They were listed as being in business from 1831-1832 in Bristol, Conn. Irenus was an ordained Baptist Minister besides being a clock maker. Primarily built clocks for George Mitchell who was a retailer, and married to the Atkins brother's sister Polly. Anson left the firm in 1832 and went to Waterville, Conn. where he went into the cutlery business. Anson was the younger brother of Ephraim Downs who was also an important figure in the Connecticut clock industry.

In 1859, Irenus Atkins started The Atkins Clock Company which prospered successfully for 20 years making shelf, calendar, and marine clocks. Irenus retired from the clock making industry in 1879 due to failing eyesight. One of his twelve children was Rollin Atkins, who early in life learned the trade of clock maker. He possessed special mechanical ability and finally took up the manufacture of saws. He however did not live to develop the business to large proportions and died in the prime of his manhood. He served as a captain of the Fourth Company, Fourth Regiment of Connecticut Militia.

Rollin Atkins married Harriet Bishop, daughter of Austin and Anna Stalker Bishop, the former born in 1764 and the latter in 1766. Austin Bishop was a perfect representative of the old fashioned pious New England deacon. He died September 23, 1833, and his wife on October 22 1840.
In the home of Rollin Atkins and wife at Bristol, Connecticut, Elias Cornelius Atkins was born June 28, 1833. The close of his honored and useful life came at Indianapolis April 18, 1901. When he was a mere boy the death of his father threw upon him practical responsibility in providing not only for his own support but for other members of the family.

At the age of eleven he was working on a farm, but the following year begun an apprenticeship at the saw making trade under a paternal uncle. At the age of seventeen he had mastered the business and was foreman of the shop. Besides a high degree of mechanical skill the dominating characteristic of the late Elias C. Atkins was industry. He was a dynamo of energy and there was no cessation of his activities until practically the end of his life. As a young apprentice he put in much overtime in order to provide his mother with certain luxuries and also pay his pew rent in church.
Excerpt from "Indiana and Indianans"

In 1855, at the age of twenty two, Elias C. Atkins went to Cleveland, Ohio, and established the first saw factory in that city. The next year he came to Indianapolis. Five hundred dollars summed up his cash capital and when he arrived in this city, and compared with the vast enterprise which subsequently expended under his management it was truly humble beginning which he made in a little corner of the old Hill Planing Mill. A year or so later he took more ample quarters in the old City Foundry.

At first he did all his own work not only because limited capital, but because competent men in that time were not easily secured. Finally he brought to Indianapolis a young German mechanic whom he had known back in Bristol, Connecticut. Louis Suher, who it is said, came all the way from the East to Indianapolis on foot in order to take the position. Mr. Suher remained faithful worker in the Atkins plant until his death.

It is not difficult to account to the success which followed out of the enterprise of Elias C. Atkins. Though starting with limited capital, he had unlimited courage, ability, and determination. He not only manufactured good saws but was a capable salesman of his goods. He took great pride in his work. It was a point of honor with him never to let saw go out of his shop unless it was perfect. As he prospered his business required more space and it continued to grow in spite of two disastrous fires.

From the old city foundry his shop was moved to Illinois Street and there after addition after addition and changes and modifications it grew into a great institution employing over 1000 men. Eventually its capital stock reached $600,000 and today (1919) the Atkins saws are handled through branch houses in half a dozen of the larger cities of America and numberless retail stores all over the world. While primarily a manufacturer, Elias C. Atkins was a many sided business man, and it was only natural that his interests assumed widespread proportions. His name is permanently identified with the development of the silver, copper, and lead mines of the Hecla Consolidated Mining Company.

In order to develop these natural resources he spent four years in the mountains of the West. The primary consideration that led him into this work was to build up his shattered health, and in doing so he lived the strenuous and rough life of mining camps. But it was also exceedingly profitable vacation. Under his direction the original investment of the mining company was increased from $60,000 to $1,500,000 and he was thus identified as a founder of one of the greatest industrial organizations of the world. He had many other business interests, and at the time of his death was president of the Manufacturers Natural Gas Company of Indianapolis.

His insistence upon honest and perfect workmanship and material in his saws was only a direct proof of the perfect integrity of his character. He could never be brought to lend his influence or support to anything he considered unworthy or not justified by legitimate business. Once he withdrew from and caused the dissolution of an English syndicate in which he had invested quite heavily because after considerable experience he deemed the product of proposed manufacture unessential to the needs of the business world. He was old fashioned employer, and having risen from the rank himself he understood the point of view of the laboring man, and gave them his sympathy and perfect understanding even after his organization comprised a small army. Among other qualities he had a faculty of making and retaining friends, and no one ever reposed a confidence in him which was misplaced.

In the realm of practical philanthropy he was liberal, and was a true and upright Christian gentleman. In 1856 he united with the Baptist Church if Indianapolis, soon after he came to the city, and for many years was one of the most prominent Baptist layman in the country. He was especially a friend of education. He contributed a large sum to the Baptist Female Seminary, which occupied the site of the present Shortridge High School in Indianapolis. An earnest effort was made by him to secure the establishment of the Baptist University in Indianapolis, and for that purpose he gave forty acres of land lying between Meridian Street and Central Avenue north of Thirty-Second Street.

This property is now known as University Place. The plan so far as Indianapolis was concerned as to the site did not materialize, since Mr. Atkins subsequently donated the track at a represented value of $20,000 to comprise one of the original gifts together with those of John D. Rockefeller in establishing the Theological Seminary of the University of Chicago. Mr. Atkins was one of the trustees of Morgan Park Seminary at Chicago until it merged with the University of Chicago, and from that time was a member of the official board of university.

Elias C. Atkins was three time married. His first wife, Sarah J. Wells, left one daughter, Harriet, who married John L. McMahon. His second wife was Mary Dolbeare, and her only child is deceased. August 17, 1865 Elias C. Atkins married Miss Sarah F. Parker. She was born at Methuen, Massachusetts July 26, 1837, daughter of Rev. Addison and Eunice Brigham Parker. The five children of Elias C. Atkins and his third wife were: Mary D., Henry C., Sarah Frances, Emma L., and Carra. Elias Cornelius Atkins died on April 18, 1901.
Excerpt from "Indiana and Indianans"
by Jacob Piatt Dunn, 1919.


Henry Cornelius Atkins:
 

Henry Cornelius Atkins, a son of the late Elias C. Atkins, is now president of the E. C. Atkins & Company. He has spent nearly all his life in Indianapolis but was born in the far Northwest while his father was engaged in the mining business. His birth occurred at Atlanta, Johnson County, Idaho, November 27, 1868. He grew up in Indianapolis, attended local schools and worked in his father's factory during vacation.

He graduated from the Indianapolis Classical School at the age of sixteen, and in 1885 entered Yale University, where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with the class of 1889 at the age of twenty. He had already acquired more than a routine knowledge of his father's business and after his university carrier he entered with enthusiasm and many of the business qualities inherited from his father into the practical work, of which there is not a detail , whether connected with the technical manufacture or the office and sales end, with which he is not familiar. He was first made superintendent of the factory and in 1892 was chosen vice president of the company and superintendent, and in 1901 succeeded his father as president and directing head.

While the management of this business has involved tremendous responsibilities, and in themselves constitute a bit public service, Mr. Atkins has on many occasions demonstrated his public spirit by wholesome cooperation with movements affecting the general welfare of his home city. He is a republican, has been member of the First Baptist Church of Indianapolis since 1877, is a member of the Columbia Club, the Commercial Club, the Country Club, the Indianapolis Board of Trade, and is affiliated with Mystic Tie Lodge No. 398, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.
 

January 7, 1896 Mr. Atkins married Miss Sue Winter. She was born at Columbus, Indiana, February 10, 1872, daughter of Ferdinand and Mary Keyes Winter. Her father was for many years a prominent member of the Indianapolis bar. The three children of Mr. and Mrs. Atkins are Elias C., Keyes W. and Henry C. Junior.
Excerpt from "Indiana and Indianans"
by Jacob Piatt Dunn, 1919.

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