Edward Baker's Iron Molding Career

Four cylinder crank case and flywheel housing molds produced by Allyne-Ryan Foundry, about 1913.

I’m looking into the reasons for my great grandfather Edward Joseph Baker’s migration from St. Catharine, Ontario, to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1910. In my first post in this series, I reviewed documents created at the time of his migration for clues. This week, I’m looking at Edward’s career as an iron molder as a reason for his move to the U.S.


Edward Joseph Baker entered the United States in early 1910 to look for work as an iron molder, an occupation he began in his early 20s in St. Catharine’s, Ontario. It’s possible his older brother Joseph V. Baker introduced him to the occupation, as he was also a molder as early as 1906 in Port Dalhousie, Ontario.¹

What is Molding?
Casting (or “molding”) is a manufacturing process where molten iron is poured into a mold containing a hollowed-out shape to create various objects. Once solidified in the mold, the iron is called a casting, which is then either broken out of the mold or ejected from it. Smaller castings were done at a bench or on the floor with the molder carrying molten iron in a hand ladle from furnace to mold. Larger floor castings could require a crane ladle to pour the iron. Molds are created from various materials, but the most used historically—and what Edward used—was sand, which was economical and offered flexibility in creating smaller and more complex pieces.²

The Molder
As an occupation, iron molders required various skills. A 1918 book of occupations describes the molder’s qualifications: “The iron and brass molder must be a thoroughly experienced practical molder on miscellaneous large iron and brass foundry work. He should have a thorough knowledge of general foundry practice and be able to produce first-class work for simple or intricate castings. He should be familiar with the nature of molding sands…core making and setting…lifting and handling small and medium size molds and should have some knowledge of the use of molding machines and best mixtures of sand, and have a knowledge of the casting temperatures of iron and brass.”³

“The molder was supreme. He was supposed to be core-maker, molder, and cupola tender all in one…had very little to work with except iron, fuel, sand and a few simple tools…Tho rough and dirty, molding was a highly skilled trade requiring considerable proficiency, and in which the processes, many of them apparently simple, demanded long training and experience.”⁴

Both physical and practical dangers were part of the molder’s job. Inexperienced or inattentive molders could suffer burns or explosions. If a worker made a mold improperly, any number of circumstances could ruin the casting. In these cases, the molder’s “...time and the material had been wasted.”⁵ 

Edward must have been a quick study. Once in Cleveland he was very quickly employed. Though he arrived in the U.S. in late February 1910, by April he was already working as a molder in one of the more than forty foundries then located in Cleveland, and he, wife Catherine, and son Charles were settled on the city’s near west side.⁶

Edward's athletic nature could have been an asset in his career. Here, he is shown playing hockey in Cleveland.⁷

Edward as Molder
In period photos (above and below), young Edward appears healthy and athletic, with a powerful build—characteristics well suited to iron molding’s demanding physical nature. 

One photo touts a championship lacrosse team that Edward played for in 1906, and offers a clue to his career beginnings. The lacrosse team represented McKinnon Dash and Hardware Shop in St. Catharines, which could have been Edward's first employer. They specialized in brass and iron fittings for carriages and harnesses, and later for autos. Edward could have begun learning the foundry trade at McKinnon's shop.⁸

Edward "Eddie" Baker was a member of the 1906 McKinnon champion lacrosse team in St. Catharines.

McKinnon Dash & Hardware could have been Edward's first foundry employer in St. Catharines.

Allyne-Ryan Foundry
Though his earliest Cleveland employer is unknown, by 1917 Edward was working as a molder for Allyne-Ryan Foundry at Aetna and E. 91st Street in Cleveland. Allyne-Ryan was founded in July 1913 to manufacture gray iron castings for use in automobiles; it was one of many specialty auto shops around Cleveland and Detroit which made such castings. At the time, one specialty was a four-cylinder crank case and flywheel housing cast in one piece.⁹

Allyne-Ryan of the early 1900s used state-of-the-art machines to draw the patterns for the molds and cores. The equipment sped up the part output and standardization. Fewer workers were needed, and more castings were produced on an average day than when all molds were done by hand. For example, a crew of two molders such as Edward and a helper could produce seventy twin cylinder casting in a day using Allyne-Ryan’s modern equipment; the previous average output was five molds per man per day.¹⁰

Edward continued to work as an iron molder throughout his life and was a longtime Allyne-Ryan employee. He rose through the ranks, starting out as a molder, and was made a foreman in about 1942. By 1950, at age 63, he was promoted to supervisor. He worked through about 1954 at Allyne-Ryan and gave 40+ years to the company.¹¹

Edward’s Migration: Canada’s Loss
Edward’s lengthy career success in the molding profession proves that his migration from St. Catharines was a shrewd choice that paid off.

And he was one of many Canadians to immigrate in the late 1800s and early 1900s for better opportunities in the United States. Canada lamented its population loss to its southern neighbor, “...there was a continuous exodus of young and enterprising men and women, who were born, nurtured, and educated in Canada, only to leave the country when they reached maturity.” These migrants tended to move to various cities immediately south of the border— like Detroit, Buffalo, and Cleveland.¹²

What could the impulse to migrate be attributed to? “The prizes which await even the moderate success in the United States have an appeal that will not be denied; they make their home across the border. Once established there, they soon find reasons for remaining.” Like so many of his countrymen, Edward found success in the United States—and made it his family's home.¹³

Employment opportunities called Edward Baker from Canada to the U.S. But was he the first to make the move from Canada? I’ll look at that question next time.

Until next time...

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This post is a Friday Family History Find.  Thank you, Linda!

A Researcher’s Aside
I’m reminded once again to look through past research—including emails. I came upon this 2015 email from my father about Edward Baker: “Grandpa Baker, who worked in a foundry here for years, saved a guy’s life from an engine block almost falling from a crane onto him. Grandpa pushed the guy out of the way and his (Edward’s) hand got hit and injured, as I recall.”

I’m curious if this incident was reported in any newspapers…

IMAGE: Photo from The Foundry (United States: Penton Publishing, 1913), Vol. 41, No. 7, July 1913, p. 261, "Secrets of Automobile Casting Manufacture"; digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Foundry/HVfoAAAAMAAJ : 4 October 2023); citing University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

NOTES
¹ St. Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada, Births, 1908, #104, Edward Charles Baker, 1 May 1908; database and images, "Ontario, Canada Births, 1869-1912," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9Q97-Y3S7-23B : 10 October 2023). Also: Vernon's City of St. Catharines and Thorold, Ontario, Directory, 1906 (Hamilton, Ontario: Henry Vernon, 1906), p. 180, Baker, Jos. V., mldr, John; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/840803/?offset=&return=1#page=180&viewer=picture&o=search&n=0&q=baker : 10 October 2023); citing National Library. All men listed as molders in the 1906 St. Catharines city directory worked for McKinnon.

² Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casting : 15 October 2023), "Casting," last revised 7 September 2023, at 02:21 (UTC). Quaker City Castings (https://quakercitycastings.com/iron-casting/ : 10 October 2023), “Iron Casting Basics,” 2020. Also: United States Department of Labor, Descriptions of Occupations, Metal Working, Building and General Construction, Railroad Transportation, Shipbuilding (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1918), p. 26, "molder, iron and brass"; digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Descriptions_of_Occupations/45pJAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=molder : 29 September 2023); citing University of Michigan.

³ United States Department of Labor, Descriptions of Occupations, Metal Working, Building and General Construction, Railroad Transportation, Shipbuilding, p. 26.

⁴ Margaret Loomis Stecker, "The Founders, the Molders, and the Moulding Machine," The Quarterly Journal of Economics (Feb. 1918), pp 278-308; image copy, JSTOR (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1885429 : 4 October 2023).

⁵ Ibid.

⁶ 1910 United States Census, Cuyahoga County, ED 125, Sheet 3B, Cleveland Ward 6, line 87, Edward J. Baker, age 23; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7884/images/4449824_00881 : 12 October 2023); citing National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm publication T624, Washington, D.C. Also: "U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995," Cleveland, Ohio, 1910, p. 76, Baker, Edw. J molder r 3115 W 11th SW; digital image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/3986162 : 29 September 2023), image 798.

⁷ Undated photo of Edward Baker playing hockey, unknown photographer; photo location unknown. Digital image supplied by T. Gilbride to N. Gilbide Casey, 2017.

⁸ Newspaper clipping of 1906 league champions McKinnon's team of St. Catharines Factory Lacrosse League, unidentified newspaper, published about 1946; clipping location unknown. Digital image supplied by T. Gilbride to N. Gilbide Casey, 2022. Also: St. Catharines, The Garden City, 1904 (St. Catharines: The Print Shop, 1904) n.p., The McKinnon Dash & Hardware, St. Catharines; image, Brock University (https://dr.library.brocku.ca/handle/10464/4820 : 12 October 2023); citing Internet Archive. 

⁹ "U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918," images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/18652230:6482 : 13 October 2023), card for Edward J. Baker, serial number 205, Local Draft Board No. 2, Cuyahoga County, Ohio; citing United States, Selective Service System, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, National Archives and Records Administration, microfilm publication M1509, Washington, D.C. Also: The Foundry (United States: Penton Publishing, 1911), Vol. 39, No. 1, September 1911, p. 44, "General Industrial News"; digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Foundry/HVfoAAAAMAAJ : 4 October 2023); citing University of Michigan. Also: The Foundry (United States: Penton Publishing, 1913), Vol. 41, No. 7, July 1913, p. 261, "Secrets of Automobile Casting Manufacture"; digital image, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/Foundry/HVfoAAAAMAAJ : 4 October 2023); citing University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

¹⁰ Ibid, p. 270. Cores were inserts placed in the mold’s interior to provide a shape which could not be made by the pattern.

¹¹ The Cleveland Directory Co.'s Cleveland City Directory, 1941 (Cleveland, Ohio, 1941), p. 75, Baker, Edw J, mldr; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/3757852 : 12 October 2023). Also: The Cleveland Directory Co.'s Cleveland City Directory, 1942 (Cleveland, Ohio, 1942), p. 78, Baker, Edw J, frmn; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/3767934 : 12 October 2023). Also: 1950 United States Census, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, population schedule, ED 92-1136, sheet 16, line 19, Edward J. Baker, superintendant, foundry; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62308/images/43290879-Ohio-043745-0017 : 12 October 2023); citing National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 29, Roll 1144, Washington, D.C. Also: The Cleveland Directory Co.'s Cleveland City Directory, 1955 (Cleveland, Ohio, 1955),p. 72, Baker, Edw J., no occupation listed; database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2469/images/4133096 : 12 October 2023). Also: Ohio Department of Health, Certificate of Death 8495, Edward J. Baker, 27 December 1961; image copy, personal collection of author, Tioga, Texas. Notes “Allyn Ryan Fdry” under Kind of Business or Industry.

¹² G. E. Jackson. “Emigration of Canadians to the United States.” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 107, 1923, pp. 25–34; digital copy, JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/1014691 : 21 September 2023).

¹³ Ibid.