Edward P. Allis
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Edward Phelps Allis (May 12, 1824April 1, 1889) was an American businessman who founded the Edward P. Allis Company, a manufacturer of milling and mining equipment, steam engines, and other large-scale
capital equipment A fixed asset, also known as long-lived assets or property, plant and equipment (PP&E), is a term used in accounting for assets and property that may not easily be converted into cash. Fixed assets are different from current assets, such as cash ...
. He was a notable ideologue in the Greenback Movement, running for governor of Wisconsin as a candidate of the
Greenback Party The Greenback Party (known successively as the Independent Party, the National Independent Party and the Greenback Labor Party) was an American political party with an anti-monopoly ideology which was active between 1874 and 1889. The party ran ...
. About a decade after his death, his company merged with others to form the
Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial set ...
. In 1883, Allis was elected a fellow of the
American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
.Proceedings of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Vol. XIV, page 168. Accessed a
Hathi trust
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Early life and business career

Allis was born on May 12, 1824, in
Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove , Theophile Cazenove, the ''Agent Gener ...
. A graduate of
Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
in 1845, Allis moved to
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, in 1846 and started a leather company with a tannery in Two Rivers. In 1856 he sold out to his partners, and for a period of time, he was out of business, until 1860 when he purchased an iron products manufacturing company. The company grew rapidly and by 1867 had built a large manufacturing works on the near south side on Florida Street. Most of the early business involved making flour mill apparatus, Wisconsin at that time being a leading wheat-producing state. The south-side facility was known as the "Reliance Works" which became the brand name for these products. Eventually, the Edward P. Allis Company expanded into steam engines, sawmill equipment, iron piping, and other products. In 1878 and 1879, the company built roller flour mills for Cadwallader Washburn's Washburn-Crosby mills and Charles A. Pillsbury's mills. These installations represented a significant new change in flour production in the United States, leading to the predominance of Pillsbury Best and Gold Medal flour brands and to a major shift in wheat cultivation to states west of the Mississippi. Between 1879 and 1889, the Reliance Works manufactured 50,000 flour mill rolls used in "new process" milling, selling them to mills worldwide.


Political activity

Allis was a leading figure of the Greenback Party, which was named for the fact that the party favored issuance of paper money ("greenbacks") as issued originally during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Allis, who up until that time was a
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
, catapulted to prominence in November 1875 when he wrote a letter to the ''
Milwaukee Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently ...
'' in which he expressed the view that government financial policy was ruining the prosperity brought about in the wake of the war. After expressing these views, he was recruited into Milwaukee's Greenback Club and was the Greenback Party candidate for
Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...
in 1877 and 1881. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for nomination as the party's presidential candidate in 1880. After the party collapsed, Allis was never otherwise involved in politics.


Personal life

Allis married Margaret Watson of
Geneva, New York Geneva is a City (New York), city in Ontario County, New York, Ontario and Seneca County, New York, Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is at the northern end of Seneca Lake (New York), Seneca Lake; all land port ...
, in 1848. He died on April 1, 1889, and is buried in Milwaukee. He was survived by his wife and eleven children. One of his children, also called Edward Phelps Allis, was a leading anatomist and evolutionary morphologist. His grandson,
William Allis William Phelps Allis (November 15, 1901 – March 5, 1999) was an American theoretical physicist specializing in electrical discharges in gases. He was the grandson of Edward P. Allis,Morse, 1967 p. 100 founder of the E.P. Allis Company, whic ...
, became a noted physicist.


Legacy

In 1901 the Edward P. Allis Company merged with the Fraser and Chalmers Company, becoming
Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company Allis-Chalmers was a U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various industries. Its business lines included agricultural equipment, construction equipment, power generation and power transmission equipment, and machinery for use in industrial set ...
, which continued to predominate in large scale industrial equipment and agricultural machinery for many decades.
West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Histo ...
, is named after the fact that Allis-Chalmers built a new large manufacturing facility at that location shortly after the founding of the merged company. In 1883, Allis was elected a fellow of the
American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...
.


References

;Attributions * * * * *


Further reading

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allis, Edward American civil engineers People from Cazenovia, New York People from Two Rivers, Wisconsin Businesspeople from Milwaukee Allis-Chalmers Manufacturing Company Union College (New York) alumni 1824 births 1889 deaths Wisconsin Greenbacks 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American businesspeople