June 5, 1834 Horace Capron married
Louisa V. Snowden daughter of the late Nicholas Snowden and
Elizabeth Snowden. Louisa was raised at
Montpelier, a former
plantation which is today located on what is now Route 197,
approximately 3.5 miles from the Laurel Museum.
The Snowden family had extensive land
holdings, including land on the Patuxent River on which a small
cotton factory, originally a grist mill, had been operating.
His marriage to Louisa brought Horace land
to contribute to a new manufacturing venture in which he would
be an owner rather than employee: The Patuxent
Manufacturing Company.
The Patuxent Manufacturing Company was
officially chartered by the State of Maryland in June, 1835. Its cotton mill,
lands, houses, stores, machine shop and road down to the newly
opened B&O Rail stop became the foundation for today's Laurel.
Horace Capron was related to most
of his new partners. This was common practice in 19th
C. manufacturing. Partners in the new venture included Capron, Theodore Jenkins,
his brother-in-law, (married to Juliana Snowden), mother-in-law
Elizabeth Snowden, O.C. Tiffany (a first cousin of Horace
Capron), A.E. Hall, and W.C. Shaw. Deeds for property
and stock for the new venture were signed by Jenkins,
Capron, Osmond Tiffany and Comfort Tiffany, also Capron
cousins, who were involved in a variety of Mill ventures in
Maryland. Osmond
Tiffany's son George P. Tiffany was mill superintendent from 1857-1877.
