Shockoe Machine Works, 1880

In 1833 the Shockoe Manufacturing Co. was established in Richmond, Va. A history written much later claims the business was established by Charles Talbott, who would have been only 20 years old at the time, which seems unlikely. In any event, a foundry and machine shop were constructed, powered by a 15 HP high-pressure steam engine built in another Richmond Shop, D. J. Burr & Co.

In 1839 brothers Samuel Talbott, Charles Talbott and James M. Talbott formed Talbott Brothers (sometimes "Talbott & Brothers") to operate the Shockoe Foundry, sometimes called, especially in later years, the Shockoe Foundry & Machine Shops. In 1844 Samuel, the eldest brother, died, and the name changed to Talbott & Brother. Within a few years they had 50 employees and were manufacturing steam engines, circular and reciprocating sawmills, and by 1851 they made locomotive engines and tenders, which proved to be a short-lived venture for them.

With the outbreak of the Civil War the facilities of the Shockoe Foundry were at the disposal of the Confederate Army. The Foundry was kept busy building engines, doing foundry work and making repairs. With the evacuation of Richmond at the end of the war, most of the company's records were lost.

A massive fire in October 1869 destroyed the Works, which covered more than a city block. James M. Talbott decided to withdraw from the partnership, which left Charles Talbott to run the business himself. In January 1870 he was joined by his sons, Charles H. Talbott and Allan Talbott, and they did business as Talbott & Sons. The business continued until the death of the senior Talbott in 1881. We are uncertain what happened to the business after 1881 but it seems that it did not continue under the Talbott or Shockoe names.

Information Sources

• Index to Enrolled Bills of the General Assembly of Virginia, 1776 to 1862 lists an 1833-34 bill to incorporate Shockoe Manufacturing Company.
• 1838 United States Congressional Serial Set, Volume 345 has a list of steam engines in Richmond, Va., including a 15 HP high-pressure engine at Shockoe Manufacturing Company, built 1830 by D. J. Burr & Co.
• December 1845 Fisher's National Magazine and Industrial Record, in an article on the "Manufactures of Richmond, Virginia": "There are several other well-conducted foundries in the city, the most important of which are those of Messrs. Pea, Burr, & Sampson; Talbott & Brothers; and Barnes & Co."
• March 1846 New York Farmer and Mechanic, in an article on the businesses of Richmond, Va. "The Shockoe Foundry manufacture mill work, steam machinery, bells, &c., employ 50 hands..."
• 1848-49 Journal of the House of Delegates of the Commonwealth of Virginia lists a payment on 1848-03-22 to "Talbott & Brother, for repairs to armory engine, $95.00".
• 1851-52 Thomson's Mercantile and Professional Directory has a text ad:

  Charles Talbott, James M. Talbott
  Talbott & Brother
  Shockoe Foundry
  Cary Street
  Richmond, Virginia
  Manufacturers of
  Locomotive Engines and Tenders,
  Chilled Wheels for Railroads, Axles and Railroad Work of every
  description—Portable Steam Engines, from 4 to 100 horse power, adapted
  to every description of machinery—Circular Saw Mills, complete—
  Wrought and Cast Iron Work for Vertical Saw and Grist Mills—
  Tobacco Presses and Screws—Flattening Mills, Flattening Frames
  —Levers, Sinkers, &c. &c.
  Brass and Iron Castings and Wrought Iron Work of every description,
  made to order with despatch, and on reasonable terms

• 1857-10-03 American Railroad Journal has a text ad from "Talbott & Brother / Shockoe Foundry and Machine Shops". The remainder of the ad is the same as the above-quoted ad from the 1851-52 Thomson's Mercantile and Professional Directory except that no railway-related items are listed, the largest steam engine is 40 HP not 100, and it concludes with, "T. & B. are also Sole Manufacturers and Agents in this city of LEAVITT'S 'YOUNG AMERICA CORN and COB CRUSHER'".
• 1874 Wiley's American Iron Trade Manual of the Leading Iron Industries of the United States: "TALBOT & SONS—Iron foundry, steam engines, saw mills, etc." That source was rather casual about spelling.
• The 1880 book by J. B. Hunter, Useful Information Concerning Yellow Tobacco, and Other Crops, as Told by Fifty of the Most Successful Farmers of Granville County, N. C., mentions "Talbott & Sons, Shockoe Machine Works, Richmond, V.A."
• The cover of Talbott's 1880 catalog has an illustration of a city-block size complex at Cary and S. 17th streets, extending to the James River at its tideline. Other items manufactured included grist mills, tobacco factory machinery, turbine water wheels, brass and iron castings, and wrought iron work.
• March 1905 The Foundry.

  The foundry connected with the plant of the Wm. R. Trigg Co., of Richmond, Va., which is now in the hands of a receiver, has been leased and will be operated by W. H. Woody. Jr., and Chas. Winburne, under the name of the Shockoe Foundry Co. These men were both connected with the company before it passed into the hands of a receiver.

• An archive.org version of a Lexis-Nexis collection, Slavery in Ante-Bellum Southern Industries, mentions "...a bond, 1871, of Richmond L. Williams and Talbott & Sons of Richmond, Virginia, to Thomas C. Howard (witnessed by Joseph H. Johnson and John W. Williams, and bears receipts of Thomas C. Howard and U.S. Internal Revenue Service tax stamps)"
• 2009 book Descendants of Richard & Elizabeth (Ewen) Talbott

  SAMUEL TALBOTT, born near Ellicott City, 12 June 1806... (Got married and then) They settled at Richmond, Va., where in 1839 Samuel Talbott entered into a partnership with his brothers Charles and James M. Talbott, under the name of Talbott Brothers, which firm bought the Shockoe Machine Works, and operated same until the death of the senior partner. Samuel Talbott, an unusually gifted man, died at Richmond, 18 Jan, 1844 (or 1843?).

  CHARLES TALBOTT, born 14 Sept., 1813, near Ellicott City... (Got married and then) They removed to Richmond, Va., where he engaged in the manufacture of machinery, with his brothers, Samuel and James M. Talbott, under the name of Talbott Brothers. After the death of the senior partner in 1843 or 1844, the surviving partners, under the name of Talbott & Brother, carried on the business until the destruction of the works by fire, 30 Oct., 1869; after which James M. Talbott withdrew from the firm, and the rebuilding of the new works upon the old site began at once. Charles Talbott associated his sons Charles H. and Allan Talbott with him 1 Jan. 1870, and the firm of Talbott & Sons carried on the business until the death of the head of the house nearly twelve years later, when other changes occurred. CHarles Talbott died at Richmond, 16 Dec., 1881.

• 2014 book, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Father of Oceanography: A Biography, by John Grady. "Talbott & Brothers, a large Richmond foundry, turned over its entire business to the Confederate Navy in February 1862 and announced the delivery of five double engines for the gunboats."
• 2018 book, Engines of Rebellion: Confederate Ironclads and Steam Engineering in the American Civil War, by Saxon T. Bisbee.

  The Shockoe Foundry in Richmond (formally called Talbott & Brother) was closely tied to Tredegar Iron Works in the manufacture of marine steam machinery. This facility produced small steam engines and sawmills before the war... This large establishment was important in the manufacture of steam machinery in the Confederate capital, but little is known of its true output because of the destrucxtion of its records at the war's end.

  By 1862 the Shockoe Foundrry was more than a full city block in size. It was located at 17th and Cary Streets in Richmond. The large establishment consisted of a fitting shop, turning shop, smith's shop, foundry, drying oven, boiler room, and flash room. By that time it was only surpassed in size and output by neighboring Tredegar, which Shockoe often supplied with parts and materials.

  First founded as the Shockoe Manufacturing Company by Charles Talbott, the former manager of the Seaboard and Roanoke Railroad, the foundry remained prosperous through the 1850s with the growth of Virginia's railroads. The firm even began producing its own locomotives in 1855...