Three Generations of Iron Workers at Pencoyd

The building above is the remains of what was once Pencoyd Iron Works. Located on the west side of the Schuylkill River in Belmont Hills (once called West Manayunk), this mill was the employer of John Keller (my grandfather William Gallagher's grandfather), William Gallagher (my grandfather's father) and my grandfather William Gallagher. John Keller was a "heater" of iron at the mill and in 1890 he was involved in an explosion. Though he did not perish right away, he did eventually die from burns he received at the mill. My grandfather William Gallagher was a "roller of steel" at the mill and in the early 1930's was asked by the mill's owner to relocate to South Africia to open a plant down there. However, he turned down this opportunity because of pressure from his family to remain in Philadelphia. An opportunity, he regretted until the day he died in 1980 because shortly thereafter the mill suffered financial loss and many of its employees were laid off including my grandfather and his father.