[p. 754] superintendent
of the Standard Tube Company, of Ellwood
City, which is the largest concern of
its kind in the world, has been identified
with this enterprise since its inception.
Mr. Brown, nevertheless, is a comparatively
young man, having been born October 8,
1862, and is a native of Erie County,
Pennsylvania. His parents were Thomas
R. and Anna (Jordan) Brown.
The father of Mr. Brown was born in Scotland and when he first came to America he settled in Massachusetts, where he engaged in ship-building and construction work. Later, he came to Erie County and became interested in dealing in live stock. Both he and wife died in Erie County. They had the following children: Edward who served as a soldier in the Confederate Army during the Civil War; John, who served as a soldier in the Union Army and later settled in the far West; William and Richard T.
Richard T. Brown was educated in the common and high schools of Erie County and then went to sailing on the lakes and subsequently learned the machinist trade, following it until he came to Ellwood City, where he became an assistant to Mr. Stiefel in 1895, who was the first man to produce a seamless tube from a solid ingot. Mr. Brown served in the capacity of assistant superintendent for two years and in 1897, when the Ellwood Seamless Tube Company built a branch at Greenville, Pa., Mr. Brown took charge and continued there for two years. When a start was made in the erection of the Standard Tube Company's great works, in 1899, Mr. Brown was with Mr. Stiefel when the latter broke the first ground, and he has been superintendent of this extensive plant ever since. To realize the great responsibility thus entailed it must be remembered that this plant has been enlarged and at the present time is the largest seamless tube plant in the world; that its capital stock is $6,000,000; that it produces seamless tubing from the smallest to seven inches in diameter, the products being used by locomotive and boiler builders, for mechanical purposes and for high pressure steam pipes, and also for Government requirements. The capacity of this plant is 350 tons a day and the works cover an area of nine acres. Employment is given to 2,200 men.
The Standard Tube Company is a subsidiary part of the United States Steel Corporation, of which R. C. Stiefel is general manager. It was originally an independent plant and was purchased and transferred to the National Tube Company in 1901, and in the same year it was incorporated as a part of the United States Steel Corporation, the business being conducted under the style of the Standard Tube Company.
Mr. Brown was united in marriage with Anna Johnston, who is a daughter of Robert and Ellen Johnston, of Chautauqua County, New York. They had two children born to them: Leeanna, who is deceased, and Catherine M., who is the wife of A. M. Jones, who is secretary and treasurer of the Glen Manufacturing Company, of Ellwood City. Mr. Brown is a thirty-second degree Mason, a Knight of Pythias and an Elk. In politics, he is an ardent Republican, and has been a strong supporter of President Roosevelt and his policies. He is a man of engaging personality and is recognized as one of Ellwood City's active and useful citizens.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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