Luke Taft | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1783-06-03)June 3, 1783 |
| Died | April 7, 1863(1863-04-07) (aged 79) Uxbridge, Massachusetts, US |
| Occupation | Textile pioneer |
| Known for | Established two early water-powered woolen mills at Uxbridge |
| Spouse(s) | Mercy (Day) Taft, and Nancy (Wood) Taft |
| Children | 5, includingMoses Taft |
Luke Taft (3 June 1783 – 7 April 1863[1]) was an industrial pioneer in the manufacture ofwoolens[2] in 19th centuryNew England.
Luke Taft was a fifth-generation descendant ofRobert Taft I,[1] of the AmericanTaft family. Robert Taft I had settled from England in the western section of Mendon in 1679 which later became Uxbridge in 1727. Luke was the son of Esther and James Taft of Uxbridge, and born into a family of eight other siblings.[1] Luke Taft marriedDaniel Day and Sylvia (Wheelock) Day's daughter, Mercy Day, and was also subsequently married to Nancy (Wood) Taft. He had a total of five children, including a son, Moses, who was his second born in Uxbridge in January 1812. He also had four other children, James, Joseph, Robert,[1] and a daughter Irene who may have been born from a later marriage.[1]
Luke became an early American industrial pioneer and the builder of two earlytextile mills. Luke Taft built a dam, and his first textile mill on theWest River (Massachusetts), in 1824. This was the third woolen mill in Uxbridge, a very early US industrial center.[3] Luke Taft was the son-in-law ofDaniel Day, who had earlier established the first woolen mill in theBlackstone Valley, at Uxbridge, circa 1810. Luke Taft's first textile mill was located near the site of the now formerWaucantuck Mill Complex site, a national historic site.[3]
Luke Taft later built a secondtextile mill in 1833, on theBlackstone River at the site of the present dayStanley Woolen Mill. This mill was also known as the "Luke Taft Mill". Luke's son,Moses Taft, built a larger mill at this same site in 1852.
These mills, together with theDaniel Day Mill, and family connections to the Taft and Wheelock families, became the longest-running family-ownedtextile mills in the Northeastern US (perhaps in the US). Daniel Day was also a member of theTaft family as his mother was Deborah (Taft) Day. Daniel Day's wife was Sylvia (Wheelock) Day. The Wheelock family ownership of this local family-owned textile dynasty continues today under the name of Berroco Inc., a yarn distribution company, headquartered at the site of Daniel's original carding mill until 2010. In that year Berroco moved a few miles south to neighboringNorth Smithfield, RI, the first planned mill village started byJohn Slater (industrialist) andSamuel Slater.
Uxbridge is in the heart of the Blackstone Valley, a major contributor to the earliest industrialization of the U.S.[4] Luke Taft was a member of the famousTaft family which has its roots inMendon and Uxbridge. The Waucantuck mill, in later years, became the first manufacturer of "wash and wear" fabric in the U.S.[3] The historicmill town of Uxbridge was noted for leading with many advancements in thetextile industry inAmerica includingpower looms for woolens, completevertical integration oftextiles to clothing lines, blended fabrics and "satinet".[4]