Ira Thorne Clement
1813-1898
1813-1898
"Well known businessman, operating the boats between Sunbury and Northumberland and Shamokin Dam. It was said, in his obituary, that he gave employment to more men in Sunbury than any other citizen. At the time of his death he was the largest individual property owner in Sunbury, having over 150 fifty houses besides a large number of outlying lots, which are worth a great deal of money. Many of his projects failed but just as many paid. He lost thousands of dollars in his veneering works, and made just as many out of his table works."
"Ira T. Clement was born Jan. 11, 1813, in New Jersey. He was a young child when he came with his mother to Northumberland County, and in fact was only five years old when his mother indentured him to Jacob Hoover, with whom he lived on what is now the Odd Fellows Orphanage farm. "...
"Some years ago be was stricken with rheumatism and Professor Levis of Philadelphia cut the tendons in his legs, making him a cripple and almost helpless. " - From his obituary
"Mr. Clement relinquished comparatively little control of his affairs in his old age, being active to the end of his days. Although rheumatism affected and finally destroyed his power of locomotion, he never lost interest in the condition and management of his numerous business concerns, giving them his direct personal supervision, as he had been in the habit of doing, and he continued to be a power in local industrial and commercial matters until his death. " - Floyd's
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PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES
T. Clement House - 160 Arch Street, Sunbury Pa
"He also invested heavily in real estate, buying the Kutz farm in Upper Augusta Township and the Oberdorf farm in East Sunbury, on which he made vast improvements, and at the time of his death he owned over one hundred houses in Sunbury, of which borough he was the heaviest taxpayer. He engaged in contracting to some extent in 1876-77 building the Northumberland County prison; and other buildings, including the city hall and the Moore & Dissinger block on Market Street, were of his construction. In this line he also gave employment to a considerable number of men." - Floyds
Where Clement lived while his house was being built
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STORE
To the left, the sign for the Ira R. Clement store can be made out under the roof.
"In 1847 he went to Sunbury and engaged in merchandising in connection with the lumber business. He soon built a saw mill and about 1868 built his first planing mill, five years later the coffin works, and about 1883 the table works. For many years he had a line of steamboats plying on the Susquehanna.
He also owned two farms which he superintended. He did more to build up Sunbury than any other man. He built the Northumberland County jail, the Sunbury City Hall, and the Clement and Dissinger block on Market Street. At the time of his death he owned more than one hundred houses and was the heaviest individual taxpayer in Sunbury. The one hundred and sixty employees in his various works all knew his as "Grandpa." - FLoyds
He also owned two farms which he superintended. He did more to build up Sunbury than any other man. He built the Northumberland County jail, the Sunbury City Hall, and the Clement and Dissinger block on Market Street. At the time of his death he owned more than one hundred houses and was the heaviest individual taxpayer in Sunbury. The one hundred and sixty employees in his various works all knew his as "Grandpa." - FLoyds
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PLANING MILL
He learned the carpenters trade, which he followed for a few years, but he soon embarked in the mercantile business on his own account in Sunbury, continuing in that line for thirty years. However, there were too many opportunities in this then opening region to permit him to devote all his energies to one field of enterprise. He had a small tract of land and a sawmill near Arters station, a few miles east of Sunbury, and he worked in the woods during the day, getting out his logs, which he sawed into lumber at night.
In 1847 he came to Sunbury, where in that year he built the first sawmill established in the place, at what was later the site of his table factory on Front Street, having bought the land shortly after his arrival here, from Ebenezer Greenough. Besides conducting this place, he engaged in the mercantile business, his first store in Sunbury being located on Market Street, near Third Street. He ran the sawmill until 1867, when he sold it to William Reagan, and it was subsequently owned successively by the Sunbury Lumber Company and the firm of Friling, Bowen & Engle. After they failed, in 1877, it was conducted in the interest of their creditors until 1883, when Mr. Clement repurchased it.
Meantime, about 1868, he had built the first planing mill in Sunbury, originally a two-story frame building 60 by 80 feet in dimensions, but later enlarged considerably to meet the demands of expanding business. In 1875 the upper story of this structure was equipped for the manufacture of coffins, but the coffin business grew so rapidly that in 1887 a two-story frame building 40 by 140 feet was built for its sole accommodation. In 1880 Mr. Clement had begun the manufacture of extension tables at the planing mill, and in 1887 his old mill, which as recorded he had repurchased in 1883, was adapted for this special branch of manufacturing.
Clement properties on the 1887 Map
For a number of years his combined industries occupied an extensive site extending from Front Street to Third, north of Race, the saw mill, planing mill, table factory and coffin factory affording employment to one hundred and twenty-five men, with an annual product valued at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The influence of such an establishment on the general prosperity May be easily conjectured.
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1895 Invoice
Ira T. Clement
Manufacturer of Coffins, Caskets, Robes, Lining and Undertakers Hardware
Bill Lumber, Shingles, Paling, Lath, Doors, Sash, and all kinds of planing and mill work
Extension tables, table slides, sideboards, etc
Manufacturer of Coffins, Caskets, Robes, Lining and Undertakers Hardware
Bill Lumber, Shingles, Paling, Lath, Doors, Sash, and all kinds of planing and mill work
Extension tables, table slides, sideboards, etc
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BOATS
"Further, Mr. Clement established the Sunbury Steam Ferry and Tow Boat Company, of which he was the president, and which or many years kept a line of steamboats plying on the Susquehanna between Sunbury, Northumberland, Shamokin Pam and other points. " - Floyds
The Borough of Sunbury built a public wharf for the municipal ferry and on June 29, 1799 William Dewart and several other borough officials were picked to select the site of the wharf. This ferry privilege was taken away from Sunbury by an act of the Pennsylvania Legislature of April 11, 1859 which gave the same to Dr. Isaac Hottenstein of Shamokin Dam as compensation for land damages occasioned by the canal which the State created on the West Side of the River. His heirs passed this right to Ira T. Clement and he used it as the basis of his steamboat lines. His Sunbury Steam Ferry and Tow Boat Company, which traveled between Sunbury, Northumberland and Shamokin Dam, was an outgrowth of early ferry privileges.
1889 Advertisement
More about the Clement Ferry/Steam Boats
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Clement's Park
View From Clements Park
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CLEMENT HOUSE
This house of entertainment was built by Messrs. Moore .and Dissinger, and was opened to the public on March 13th, 1871. It was named in honor of Ira T. Clement, Esq., of Sunbury. It was occupied by different landlords till January, 1875, when the present proprietor, Peter . Burrell, assumed charge. The hotel is furnished with all the modern appliances of convenience and . comfort. It contains the largest rooms of any hotel in the borough, is heated by furnaces and has gas in every apartment. It is also supplied with hot and cold water, and has a bath-room for the accommodation of guests. There is also in the building a hair-dressing saloon. The Clement House is the only hotel in the place that is furnished with the conveniences just enumerated. In addition to these, it has also the other essentials of sample-room, reading-room, parlor, etc. It is enjoying a deserved popularity under the efficient management of the accommodating proprietor, Peter Burrell, and the polite attentions
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DESCENDENTS
"Mr. Clement married, when in his twenty-second year, in 1834, Sarah Martz, of Shamokin Township, daughter of David and Magdalena (Shissler) Martz, and twelve children were born to them, namely: Amelia, who died unmarried; Henry; Catharine A., who died young; David; a child that died in infancy; Mary Jane, who married John W. Bucher; Louisa, widow of Henry E. Moore; Sarah Frances, who married David C. Dissinger, who died before she did; Laura I., who married Dietrich James; Maria W., who died unmarried; and Grace and Emma, who died young. Only two of this family, Henry and Mrs. Moore, survived the father, who died Oct. 28, 1898, attaining the great age of eighty-five years, nine months, seventeen days. He was buried at Sunbury." - Floyd
Ira had Twelve children.
Amelia Clement F 1836 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, USA
Henry T Clement M 4 Sep 1838 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
James Clement M 1839 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Pennsylvania,
Catherine A Clement F 1840 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
David Clement M 13 Aug 1840 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
Mary Jane Clement F 30 Jun 1843 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
Louisa H Clement F 31 Aug 1845 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Sarah F Clement F 22 Aug 1848 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
Laura C Clement F 26 Mar 1851 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Back to Index
Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, by J. L. Floyd Published Chicago, Ill., 1911. pg. 64
Amelia Clement F 1836 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Pennsylvania, USA
Henry T Clement M 4 Sep 1838 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
James Clement M 1839 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Pennsylvania,
Catherine A Clement F 1840 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
David Clement M 13 Aug 1840 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
Mary Jane Clement F 30 Jun 1843 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
Louisa H Clement F 31 Aug 1845 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Sarah F Clement F 22 Aug 1848 in Sunbury, Northumberland,
Laura C Clement F 26 Mar 1851 in Sunbury, Northumberland, Back to Index
Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, by J. L. Floyd Published Chicago, Ill., 1911. pg. 64
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Ira Thorne Clement Dissinger [1867-1912] was the son of David & Sarah Francis [Clement] Dissinger.
He, along with Dr Shindel, authored and published Gossip Magazine in Sunbury.
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This is one of the oddest photos I have come across - and that's saying something.
And then the newspaper photographer photographed a group of young boys posed with the body.
See more here:
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READ MORE
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Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, by J. L. Floyd Published Chicago, Ill., 1911. pg. 64
IRA T. CLEMENT, late of Sunbury, was a leading citizen of that community to the close of his long life, which covered a period of over eighty-five years. In his day there was scarcely a more conspicuous figure in the development of the borough and the surrounding territory, and his descendants are classed among the most valuable citizens there today. His interests as merchant and manufacturer not only brought to him means and influence, but were also the means of enhancing the industrial facilities of the entire region. A man of strong character, of progressive disposition, of foresight, he combined the possession of all these traits with sufficient enterprise to launch and carry through the various undertakings he felt could be successfully prosecuted in this section. His sons in time engaged in business with him, and in the activities of various members of the family the position of the Clements among the most prominent residents of this section has been well sustained.
Joseph Clement, the father of Ira T. Clement, died on Staten Island, New York. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. [War of 1812]
In 1805, in Sussex County, N.J., he married Hannah Hazen, daughter of Samuel or Ezra Hazen, and to them were born three children: Augustus married Caroline Lyons, and died in Sunbury; Sarah was twice married, first to a Mr. Hazen and later to Dr. Woodbridge, and raised a large family (she died at Buchanan, Mich.); Ira T. is mentioned below. After the death of Joseph Clement his widow married Solomon Smith, of Amherst, Mass., and they moved out to Ohio, where they settled and reared their family. Mr. Smith died there, and Mrs. Smith then came to Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa., where she spent several years before her death, which occurred June 25, 1868, in her eighty-fourth year. She was born April 12, 1785, in Woodbury, New Jersey.
Joseph Clement, the father of Ira T. Clement, died on Staten Island, New York. He served as a soldier in the Revolutionary war. [War of 1812]
In 1805, in Sussex County, N.J., he married Hannah Hazen, daughter of Samuel or Ezra Hazen, and to them were born three children: Augustus married Caroline Lyons, and died in Sunbury; Sarah was twice married, first to a Mr. Hazen and later to Dr. Woodbridge, and raised a large family (she died at Buchanan, Mich.); Ira T. is mentioned below. After the death of Joseph Clement his widow married Solomon Smith, of Amherst, Mass., and they moved out to Ohio, where they settled and reared their family. Mr. Smith died there, and Mrs. Smith then came to Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa., where she spent several years before her death, which occurred June 25, 1868, in her eighty-fourth year. She was born April 12, 1785, in Woodbury, New Jersey.
Ira T. Clement was born Jan. 11, 1813, in New Jersey. He was a young child when he came with his mother to Northumberland County, and in fact was only five years old when his mother indentured him to Jacob Hoover, with whom he lived on what is now the Odd Fellows Orphanage farm.
He learned the carpenters trade, which he followed for a few years, but he soon embarked in the mercantile business on his own account in Sunbury, continuing in that line for thirty years. However, there were too many opportunities in this then opening region to permit him to devote all his energies to one field of enterprise. He had a small tract of land and a sawmill near Arters station, a few miles east of Sunbury, and he worked in the woods during the day, getting out his logs, which he sawed into lumber at night.
In 1847 he came to Sunbury, where in that year he built the first sawmill established in the place, at what was later the site of his table factory on Front Street, having bought the land shortly after his arrival here, from Ebenezer Greenough. Besides conducting this place, he engaged in the mercantile business, his first store in Sunbury being located on Market Street, near Third Street. He ran the sawmill until 1867, when he sold it to William Reagan, and it was subsequently owned successively by the Sunbury Lumber Company and the firm of Friling, Bowen & Engle. After they failed, in 1877, it was conducted in the interest of their creditors until 1883, when Mr. Clement repurchased it.
Meantime, about 1868, he had built the first planing mill in Sunbury, originally a two-story frame building 60 by 80 feet in dimensions, but later enlarged considerably to meet the demands of expanding business. In 1875 the upper story of this structure was equipped for the manufacture of coffins, but the coffin business grew so rapidly that in 1887 a two-story frame building 40 by 140 feet was built for its sole accommodation. In 1880 Mr. Clement had begun the manufacture of extension tables at the planing mill, and in 1887 his old mill, which as recorded he had repurchased in 1883, was adapted for this special branch of manufacturing.
For a number of years his combined industries occupied an extensive site extending from Front Street to Third, north of Race, the saw mill, planing mill, table factory and coffin factory affording employment to one hundred and twenty-five men, with an annual product valued at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The influence of such an establishment on the general prosperity May be easily conjectured.
Further, Mr. Clement established the Sunbury Steam Ferry and Tow Boat Company, of which he was the president, and which or many years kept a line of steamboats plying on the Susquehanna between Sunbury, Northumberland, Shamokin Pam and other points.
He also invested heavily in real estate, buying the Kutz farm in Upper Augusta Township and the Oberdorf farm in East Sunbury, on which he made vast improvements, and at the time of his death he owned over one hundred houses in Sunbury, of which borough he was the heaviest taxpayer. He engaged in contracting to some extent in 1876-77 building the Northumberland County prison; and other buildings, including the city hall and the Moore & Dissinger block on Market Street, were of his construction. In this line he also gave employment to a considerable number of men.
Mr. Clement relinquished comparatively little control of his affairs in his old age, being active to the end of his days. Although rheumatism affected and finally destroyed his power of locomotion, he never lost interest in the condition and management of his numerous business concerns, giving them his direct personal supervision, as he had been in the habit of doing, and he continued to be a power in local industrial and commercial matters until his death.
A born leader, he was foremost in many movements which have made a permanent impression upon the development and welfare of Sunbury. He was one of the pioneer casket manufacturers of Pennsylvania, and as such started a line of industry in Sunbury which continues to be one of its business factors. Though he never took any direct part in public affairs he had strong convictions on political questions, and, originally a Whig, changed his allegiance to the Republicans and later to the Democratic party. He and his family were members of the Reformed Church.
Mr. Clement married, when in his twenty-second year, in 1834, Sarah Martz, of Shamokin Township, daughter of David and Magdalena (Shissler) Martz, and twelve children were born to them, namely: Amelia, who died unmarried; Henry; Catharine A., who died young; David; a child that died in infancy; Mary Jane, who married John W. Bucher; Louisa, widow of Henry E. Moore; Sarah Frances, who married David C. Dissinger, who died before she did; Laura I., who married Dietrich James; Maria W., who died unmarried; and Grace and Emma, who died young. Only two of this family, Henry and Mrs. Moore, survived the father, who died Oct. 28, 1898, attaining the great age of eighty-five years, nine months, seventeen days. He was buried at Sunbury.
Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, by J. L. Floyd Published Chicago, Ill., 1911. pg. 64
Genealogical and Biographical Annals of Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, by J. L. Floyd Published Chicago, Ill., 1911. pg. 64
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