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History of the Malta Furniture Manufactory
The first settlers in Morgan County, Ohio, lived in log cabins without floors. They used their trunks as tables and blocks sawed off the ends of logs as chairs. They slept on the ground on straw mattresses. As they began to build frame houses they needed furniture for their living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and kitchens. Skilled and enterprising residents soon established businesses to meet these needs. This is the story of some of these individuals and their families.
William “Graytail” Palmer
William Palmer (1787 ─ 1865) was born in New York of English Quaker stock and served as a ship’s carpenter during the War of 1812. In the fall 1818 William came west with his wife, Hannah Conklin Palmer (1787 ─ 1858), and children to Malta as one of the first six pioneer families. With another family they wintered in a log cabin. As the first carpenter of the village, he immediately began working at his trade, cabinet making, and for many years supplied the demand for various articles of furniture. He also built frame houses and enlarged the town of Malta by an addition in 1829.
William Palmer was an innkeeper and grocer as well. During the administration of President James Buchanan he served as Postmaster of Malta. He also sold whiskey to local residents. Though he had no religious connections and never went to church, he always wore a long tail gray coat similar to the dress of Quakers, thus acquiring the nickname of “Graytail.” A member of his family remembered William as the contrariest creature on the face of the earth. Few people could cook food to his satisfaction. He could turn the most innocent and well-meaning remark completely around. Once a concerned friend asked if he had hurt himself falling downstairs while going for whiskey. William snapped back: “How the devil can I tell till tomorrow?”
In 1841 William Palmer founded the Malta Furniture Manufactory with his son James Jackson Palmer (1815 ─ 1884). At first all of the work was done by hand, but in 1851 a steam engine was added. This engine, the first built in the county, was a product of the foundry of Dunsmoor & Dickerson.
Another of William’s sons, Ambrose Webb Palmer (1820 ─ 1874), was a forty-niner in the California gold rush. He eventually became the Sherriff of Calaveras County, home of Mark Twain’s jumping frog, and had many exciting adventures in the wild period following the discovery of gold. A daughter, Rachel Palmer (1806 ─ 1896), married William Sherwood (1801 ─ 1891), another of Malta’s pioneer settlers.
Hiel Dunsmoor
Hiel Dunsmoor (1807 ─ 1883) was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, one of eight children (seven survived) of Phineas (1773 ─ 1823) and Polly Gage Dunsmoor (1782 ─ 1857). In 1816 Phineas moved to nearby Goshen where he was a hotel keeper and farmer. But Phineas had a great desire to acquire enough land so that each of his children could have a farm and live near him. So in the spring of 1822 the family left New Hampshire in two covered wagons drawn by horses and came to Washington County, Ohio, to a tract of 905 acres for which Phineas had traded his Goshen properties. No sooner had they raised a house than Phineas died of the tuberculosis from which he had long suffered. It was then left to his wife Polly to raise the family.
In 1827 Hiel married Susannah Mellor (1808 ─ 1853) and began his business career as a farmer on the eighty acres left to him by his father during the summer; in winter he taught school. Soon he bought a general store in Brown’s Mills which he enlarged and operated for a time with his brother Abner Gage Dunsmoor (1804 ─ 1874) as partner. The two brothers engaged in flat boating, that is, buying or building a suitable boat and loading it with country produce such as pork, flour, salt from the wells near Malta, mutton, and potatoes. Then one of the brothers, with several helpers, embarked for New Orleans, stopping and selling the produce to people at towns on the way down. The boats were made with pins so they could be taken apart at the end of the trip and the lumber sold. After seeing the sights of the Crescent City, they would return by steamer or some times even on foot.
Hiel came to Malta in 1837 after his military service in the Ohio Militia ended and engaged in various enterprises including the mercantile business, merchandising, clock sales, and, in 1844, a foundry with David Dickerson. It was Dunsmoor & Dickerson who supplied William Palmer with a steam engine. After many changes in ownership and name, this firm eventually became the basis of the Brown-Manly Plow Works.
In 1858 Hiel, with Sam McCaslin, bought the furniture establishment of Jackson Palmer which in 1861 became Dunsmoor & Son. Hiel energetically carried on this business until his death. The company made furniture for both homes and businesses using mostly walnut, many times trading furniture for lumber. From a small beginning the works grew in size and importance until it ranked among the chief industries of the area, employing eight or ten workers. In 1875 the first parlor organ made in Morgan County was manufactured in this establishment. Records show chairs made for the Morgan County Court House cost 50 cents each. In 1885, H. Dunsmoor & Son was still one of the leading business firms of Malta.
Hiel was elected and served for many years as a Justice of the Peace. He was a Master Mason of the McConnelsville Lodge which he joined in 1846 when it was organized and was a charter member of the Malta Masonic Lodge. He was also a member of the Universalist Church for fifty years and an organizer and one of the first trustees of the McConnelsville Universalist Church.
But life was not always smooth for Hiel. Some of his many business ventures were successful but many were not. Nevertheless, Hiel always prided himself on paying off his business debts in full. His greatest setbacks, however, came on a more personal level. His wife and daughters all died of the tuberculosis that had claimed his father. Hiel once lamented, "thus in a few years' time, with that fell disease consumption, have I been deprived of a dear wife and four children, leaving me none except my son Ephraim of all my family. Could the fact have been made known to me that in so short a time death was to deprive me so nearly of all my family, it seems to me that it would have dethroned my reason; still the back is prepared for the burden and man submits to the Divine will; these oft dispensations of Providence convince us that this is not our abiding place. I feel that I have treasures in heaven and will shortly be there with them."
Augustus Miller Dunsmoor
When the brothers Abner and Hiel Dunsmoor dissolved their partnership, Abner moved to Quincy, Illinois, where he went into business and became very prosperous until, as the story goes, one of his partners swindled him. Abner and his wife Sally Ann Miller (1821 ─ 1845) of Quincy had two children, Augustus Miller Dunsmoor (1843 ─ 1935) and a daughter. Abner’s wife, daughter and son Augustus all had typhoid fever at the same time. Sally and the daughter died, but Augustus survived. Abner sent word to his brother Hiel to come and take the two year old Augustus home with him to Malta. Hiel did so and Augustus never saw his father again as Abner was too busy tending his grocery store ever to return to Ohio.
Hiel raised Augustus as his own son and when he was grown took him in as a partner in the furniture business. At first, Augustus had 1/4 or 1/3 ownership and eventually acquired the whole business which was renamed the A.M Dunsmoor Furniture Factory.
An announcement in a commercial directory of the time descrives the enterprise in glowing terms:
“A.M. Dunsmoor, Furniture Factory.
“As one of the leading and most extensive establishments of its kind in the three counties, of Morgan, Noble and Monroe, the above named firm merits more than passing notice in this Business Review. For many years it has occupied an important place among the manufacturing establishments of Malta. It has been under the present management for the past eight years; prior to that time it was know by the firm name of H. Dunsmoor & Son. The plant consists of three substantial frame buildings, used for various purposes. The main building which is 50 X 60 feet in dimensions, and two stories high is equipped with all the facilities for conducting the work in the most efficient manner, such as saws, planers, mortising machines, turning lathes, etc., all of which are propelled by a twenty-horse power engine. The products of this firm embrace all kinds of furniture, including parlor, library, drawing room, bedroom, dining room and kitchen sets in all varieties of styles and designs to suit the tastes and financial ability of the patrons. His elegant line of fine upholstered parlor sets needs only to be seen to be admired, and can be had in full sets or single pieces. He also carries the latest improved bed-springs, mattresses and all notions pertaining to this line of trade. All articles sold are guaranteed to render entire satisfaction in every particular and are sold at prices consistent with the lines. Mr. Dunsmoor is a native of Quincy, Ill., born in 1844. During his business career in Malta he has established a reputation for honorable and liberal business methods and fully merits the large patronage that he receives from the public. Persons desiring furniture or anything in his line will do well to call and examine his stock and procure prices before dealing elsewhere.”
Augustus lived to a ripe old age. Here is his newspaper obituary in the local newspaper:
“Oldest Resident of Malta Dies.
“A. M. Dunsmoor Rites on Tuesday.
“McConnelsville, O., August 26, 1935. ─ Augustus M. Dunsmoor, 92, died Sunday evening about 8 o'clock at the home of his daughter Mrs. Marian McLane, Malta, following a several months' illness from infirmities. His wife, who was formerly Miss Annie Lutton, passed away many years ago.
“The deceased, who was the oldest resident of Malta, was a cabinet maker by trade and had his shop in the building where the Ohio Fuel Gas office now is located. Later Mr. Dunsmoor was employed with the Malta Manufacturing Company.
“He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and is survived by three children, Frank, Pittsburgh; William, Zanesville and Mrs. McClane, Malta. Funeral services will be held at 10 o'clock Tuesday morning at the McLane home and burial will be made in McConnelsville Cemetery.”
Augustus’s son William learned the cabinet maker’s trade when he was a boy and worked with his father in the factory. But in the 1880’s the furniture business was not good, so William quit the factory and had several odd jobs before joining the Mosaic Tile Company in Zanesville.. William worked there as a mold maker and maintenance foreman for fifth years (1898 to 1948).
The author is the grandson of William Dunsmoor and the fourth great grandson of William Palmer, but unfortunately did not inherit their skills in carpentry ─ he cannot even drive a nail straight!. While composing this sketch on a computer, he sat on a chair made in the A.M. Dunsmoor Furniture Factory. Are there perhaps others reading this who still possess articles of furniture made in one of these venerable Malta establishments? If so, I would very much like to hear from you.
Any suggestions for corrections, additions or improvements in this history are welcomed.
Many sources were used for this sketch without attribution. They include:
Gard, Nellie Ataline. Ancestors and Descendants of Phineas and Polly (Gage) Dunsmoor, Marietta, Ohio, 1971.
Robertson, Charles. History of Morgan County, Ohio, Chicago, 1886.
Franz W. Schneider
William “Graytail” Palmer
William Palmer (1787 ─ 1865) was born in New York of English Quaker stock and served as a ship’s carpenter during the War of 1812. In the fall 1818 William came west with his wife, Hannah Conklin Palmer (1787 ─ 1858), and children to Malta as one of the first six pioneer families. With another family they wintered in a log cabin. As the first carpenter of the village, he immediately began working at his trade, cabinet making, and for many years supplied the demand for various articles of furniture. He also built frame houses and enlarged the town of Malta by an addition in 1829.
William Palmer was an innkeeper and grocer as well. During the administration of President James Buchanan he served as Postmaster of Malta. He also sold whiskey to local residents. Though he had no religious connections and never went to church, he always wore a long tail gray coat similar to the dress of Quakers, thus acquiring the nickname of “Graytail.” A member of his family remembered William as the contrariest creature on the face of the earth. Few people could cook food to his satisfaction. He could turn the most innocent and well-meaning remark completely around. Once a concerned friend asked if he had hurt himself falling downstairs while going for whiskey. William snapped back: “How the devil can I tell till tomorrow?”
In 1841 William Palmer founded the Malta Furniture Manufactory with his son James Jackson Palmer (1815 ─ 1884). At first all of the work was done by hand, but in 1851 a steam engine was added. This engine, the first built in the county, was a product of the foundry of Dunsmoor & Dickerson.
Another of William’s sons, Ambrose Webb Palmer (1820 ─ 1874), was a forty-niner in the California gold rush. He eventually became the Sherriff of Calaveras County, home of Mark Twain’s jumping frog, and had many exciting adventures in the wild period following the discovery of gold. A daughter, Rachel Palmer (1806 ─ 1896), married William Sherwood (1801 ─ 1891), another of Malta’s pioneer settlers.
Hiel Dunsmoor
Hiel Dunsmoor (1807 ─ 1883) was born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, one of eight children (seven survived) of Phineas (1773 ─ 1823) and Polly Gage Dunsmoor (1782 ─ 1857). In 1816 Phineas moved to nearby Goshen where he was a hotel keeper and farmer. But Phineas had a great desire to acquire enough land so that each of his children could have a farm and live near him. So in the spring of 1822 the family left New Hampshire in two covered wagons drawn by horses and came to Washington County, Ohio, to a tract of 905 acres for which Phineas had traded his Goshen properties. No sooner had they raised a house than Phineas died of the tuberculosis from which he had long suffered. It was then left to his wife Polly to raise the family.
In 1827 Hiel married Susannah Mellor (1808 ─ 1853) and began his business career as a farmer on the eighty acres left to him by his father during the summer; in winter he taught school. Soon he bought a general store in Brown’s Mills which he enlarged and operated for a time with his brother Abner Gage Dunsmoor (1804 ─ 1874) as partner. The two brothers engaged in flat boating, that is, buying or building a suitable boat and loading it with country produce such as pork, flour, salt from the wells near Malta, mutton, and potatoes. Then one of the brothers, with several helpers, embarked for New Orleans, stopping and selling the produce to people at towns on the way down. The boats were made with pins so they could be taken apart at the end of the trip and the lumber sold. After seeing the sights of the Crescent City, they would return by steamer or some times even on foot.
Hiel came to Malta in 1837 after his military service in the Ohio Militia ended and engaged in various enterprises including the mercantile business, merchandising, clock sales, and, in 1844, a foundry with David Dickerson. It was Dunsmoor & Dickerson who supplied William Palmer with a steam engine. After many changes in ownership and name, this firm eventually became the basis of the Brown-Manly Plow Works.
In 1858 Hiel, with Sam McCaslin, bought the furniture establishment of Jackson Palmer which in 1861 became Dunsmoor & Son. Hiel energetically carried on this business until his death. The company made furniture for both homes and businesses using mostly walnut, many times trading furniture for lumber. From a small beginning the works grew in size and importance until it ranked among the chief industries of the area, employing eight or ten workers. In 1875 the first parlor organ made in Morgan County was manufactured in this establishment. Records show chairs made for the Morgan County Court House cost 50 cents each. In 1885, H. Dunsmoor & Son was still one of the leading business firms of Malta.
Hiel was elected and served for many years as a Justice of the Peace. He was a Master Mason of the McConnelsville Lodge which he joined in 1846 when it was organized and was a charter member of the Malta Masonic Lodge. He was also a member of the Universalist Church for fifty years and an organizer and one of the first trustees of the McConnelsville Universalist Church.
But life was not always smooth for Hiel. Some of his many business ventures were successful but many were not. Nevertheless, Hiel always prided himself on paying off his business debts in full. His greatest setbacks, however, came on a more personal level. His wife and daughters all died of the tuberculosis that had claimed his father. Hiel once lamented, "thus in a few years' time, with that fell disease consumption, have I been deprived of a dear wife and four children, leaving me none except my son Ephraim of all my family. Could the fact have been made known to me that in so short a time death was to deprive me so nearly of all my family, it seems to me that it would have dethroned my reason; still the back is prepared for the burden and man submits to the Divine will; these oft dispensations of Providence convince us that this is not our abiding place. I feel that I have treasures in heaven and will shortly be there with them."
Augustus Miller Dunsmoor
When the brothers Abner and Hiel Dunsmoor dissolved their partnership, Abner moved to Quincy, Illinois, where he went into business and became very prosperous until, as the story goes, one of his partners swindled him. Abner and his wife Sally Ann Miller (1821 ─ 1845) of Quincy had two children, Augustus Miller Dunsmoor (1843 ─ 1935) and a daughter. Abner’s wife, daughter and son Augustus all had typhoid fever at the same time. Sally and the daughter died, but Augustus survived. Abner sent word to his brother Hiel to come and take the two year old Augustus home with him to Malta. Hiel did so and Augustus never saw his father again as Abner was too busy tending his grocery store ever to return to Ohio.
Hiel raised Augustus as his own son and when he was grown took him in as a partner in the furniture business. At first, Augustus had 1/4 or 1/3 ownership and eventually acquired the whole business which was renamed the A.M Dunsmoor Furniture Factory.
An announcement in a commercial directory of the time descrives the enterprise in glowing terms:
“A.M. Dunsmoor, Furniture Factory.
“As one of the leading and most extensive establishments of its kind in the three counties, of Morgan, Noble and Monroe, the above named firm merits more than passing notice in this Business Review. For many years it has occupied an important place among the manufacturing establishments of Malta. It has been under the present management for the past eight years; prior to that time it was know by the firm name of H. Dunsmoor & Son. The plant consists of three substantial frame buildings, used for various purposes. The main building which is 50 X 60 feet in dimensions, and two stories high is equipped with all the facilities for conducting the work in the most efficient manner, such as saws, planers, mortising machines, turning lathes, etc., all of which are propelled by a twenty-horse power engine. The products of this firm embrace all kinds of furniture, including parlor, library, drawing room, bedroom, dining room and kitchen sets in all varieties of styles and designs to suit the tastes and financial ability of the patrons. His elegant line of fine upholstered parlor sets needs only to be seen to be admired, and can be had in full sets or single pieces. He also carries the latest improved bed-springs, mattresses and all notions pertaining to this line of trade. All articles sold are guaranteed to render entire satisfaction in every particular and are sold at prices consistent with the lines. Mr. Dunsmoor is a native of Quincy, Ill., born in 1844. During his business career in Malta he has established a reputation for honorable and liberal business methods and fully merits the large patronage that he receives from the public. Persons desiring furniture or anything in his line will do well to call and examine his stock and procure prices before dealing elsewhere.”
Augustus lived to a ripe old age. Here is his newspaper obituary in the local newspaper:
“Oldest Resident of Malta Dies.
“A. M. Dunsmoor Rites on Tuesday.
“McConnelsville, O., August 26, 1935. ─ Augustus M. Dunsmoor, 92, died Sunday evening about 8 o'clock at the home of his daughter Mrs. Marian McLane, Malta, following a several months' illness from infirmities. His wife, who was formerly Miss Annie Lutton, passed away many years ago.
“The deceased, who was the oldest resident of Malta, was a cabinet maker by trade and had his shop in the building where the Ohio Fuel Gas office now is located. Later Mr. Dunsmoor was employed with the Malta Manufacturing Company.
“He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and is survived by three children, Frank, Pittsburgh; William, Zanesville and Mrs. McClane, Malta. Funeral services will be held at 10 o'clock Tuesday morning at the McLane home and burial will be made in McConnelsville Cemetery.”
Augustus’s son William learned the cabinet maker’s trade when he was a boy and worked with his father in the factory. But in the 1880’s the furniture business was not good, so William quit the factory and had several odd jobs before joining the Mosaic Tile Company in Zanesville.. William worked there as a mold maker and maintenance foreman for fifth years (1898 to 1948).
The author is the grandson of William Dunsmoor and the fourth great grandson of William Palmer, but unfortunately did not inherit their skills in carpentry ─ he cannot even drive a nail straight!. While composing this sketch on a computer, he sat on a chair made in the A.M. Dunsmoor Furniture Factory. Are there perhaps others reading this who still possess articles of furniture made in one of these venerable Malta establishments? If so, I would very much like to hear from you.
Any suggestions for corrections, additions or improvements in this history are welcomed.
Many sources were used for this sketch without attribution. They include:
Gard, Nellie Ataline. Ancestors and Descendants of Phineas and Polly (Gage) Dunsmoor, Marietta, Ohio, 1971.
Robertson, Charles. History of Morgan County, Ohio, Chicago, 1886.
Franz W. Schneider
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