This is my fourth year working on this year-long 52 Ancestors in
52 Weeks prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow. I will write each week in one of
my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or at My Trails into the Past. I
have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.
I have written about Thomas N. Davey before “Rich
Man – Thomas N. Davey of Carthage, Missouri.” One thing really jumped out
when the theme of “power” came up and it was this entry in a city directory.
Directory Entries
In a 1909 Carthage city directory entry, Thomas is listed as vice president of
the Empire Electric Power & Supply Company. It was located at 112 West 4th.[1]
The next available directory at Ancestry is 1912 and Thomas was back being
a mine operator. He is listed as vice president of this company in only one
record.
Next, I checked the entry for Empire Electric Power & Supply Company
to get more information. I learned that T.T. Luscombe was the president, T.N.
Davey the vice president, and R.J. Claflin was the secretary treasurer.[2]
In checking the 1912 directory for Luscombe, he was back to
working in mining. Claflin was an agent for lighting supplies.[3]
The electric company was listed at 110 W 4th but only one employee was listed.[4]
Power Company Information
The next step was to learn about the Empire Electric Power & Supply. When I
searched for this company, all the returns came up for the Empire District
Electric Company, which started in 1909. It was formed by merging many small
companies that were already in the area: Joplin Light Power & Water Co,
Consolidated Light Power & Ice Co, and Golane Light & Power Co. These
three had predecessor companies, too, but none named Empire Electric Power
& Supply.[5]
An organization chart, clearly gave conflicting information about who ran the
company. There is no Thomas Davey, Thomas Luscombe, or R.J. Claflin on the
chart.[6]
So, what gives? Were there two companies with similar names? Did the Empire District Electric Company buy out the Empire Electric Power & Supply?
To try to answer these questions, I searched in newspaper
collections looking for articles about the Empire Electric Power & Company.
Nothing came up in Missouri newspapers but when I searched nationwide, a
Wichita, Kansas newspaper gave a clue. There was a full-page ad for a General
Electric Fan with listings of General Electric dealers in different towns in
Arkansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri. In Carthage, the dealer was
Empire Electric Power & Supply Company. In Joplin, it was both Empire
District Electric Company and the Ozark Power & Water Company.[7]
Perhaps the power companies sold both electricity and electrical items to use
the electricity.
Finally, I posed a query to the Jasper County Archives & Records Center in Joplin, Missouri, asking if they have any records about the two companies and what happened to the one in Carthage. I will report back when I hear from them.
In this research session, I also came across a reference to a April 4, 1924 newspaper article about Thomas N. Davey from the Jasper County
Democrat. I couldn’t find an online source for the paper, so sent a query
to the Carthage Public Library to get a scan of the article. I am looking
forward to their reply.
So far, the answer is no. Thomas N. Davey was not a vice president
of the Empire District Electric Company, but rather the Empire Electric &
Power Company for a short time period. Interesting, though, Joseph N. Gorrell,
the husband of Thomas’ niece, Matilda Davey Gorrell, did work for the Empire
District Electric Company most of his career as a lineman. For a photo of his
ID card, see this post.
[1] “U.S.,
City Directories, 1822-1995,” digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/11465955),
Missouri > Carthage > 1909 > Carthage, Missouri, City Directory, 1909,
image 24, Dunham Directory Co’s Carthage Missouri Directory, 1909,
p 47, Thos N Davey.
[2]
Ibid, p. 54, Empire Electric Power & Supply Co.
[3] “U.S.,
City Directories, 1822-1995,” digital image, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com),
Missouri > Carthage > 1912 > Carthage, Missouri, City Directory, Dunham
Directory Co’s Carthage Missouri Directory, 1912, image 22, p. 36,
R. James Claflin; image 26, p. 45, Thos N. Davey; image 55, p. 102, Thos T
Luscombe.
[4] Ibid,
Image 97, p. 185, Empire Electric Power & Supply Co.
[5] “Celebrating
a Century of Service,” The Empire District Electric Company, 2009, p. 9.
[6]
Ibid, p. 13.
[7] B-R
Electric Company ad, Wichita Sunday Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), 20 Jun
1920, p. 36.
[8] Empire
District Electric Company ad, Webb City Register (Webb City, Missouri),
21 Mar 1910, p. 8.
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