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Horace Capron was born August 31, 1804 in Attleboro, Massachusetts. He was the son of Revolutionary War veteran Seth Capron and Eunice Mann Capron. The family moved to New York state, where Seth became a prosperous wool and cotton manufacturer. |
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Seth Capron (l) and Eunice Mann Capron (r).
Photos courtesy Banfield Capron |
Marquis de Lafayette
As a young man Horace's family connections gave him a front row seat to major events in America during his youth.
He met the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 at West Point. Lafayette at the time was making a grand tour of the United States, and everyplace he stopped became a major social event.
"I...had the honor of shaking hands with the Hero" Horace Capron Autobiography
As a young man Horace's family connections gave him a front row seat to major events in America during his youth.
He met the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824 at West Point. Lafayette at the time was making a grand tour of the United States, and everyplace he stopped became a major social event.
"I...had the honor of shaking hands with the Hero" Horace Capron Autobiography
Savage Mill. The Bollman Bridge was built after Capron's time.
The Erie Canal
He was there at the opening of the Erie Canal.
"...the grand opening of the Erie Canal...I also witnessed." Horace Capron Autobiography p. 87
Family financial setbacks kept Horace from college. He also failed to get a desired appointment to West Point (which one of his brothers had attended.) He decided to go into the family business, and went to work in a family mill.
Coming to Maryland 1829
He was hired to run a large mill in Warren, Maryland on the Gunpowder River. Unfortunately, the mill burned. A new opportunity quickly arose.
"I accepted an offer from the Messrs Williams of Baltimore to take charge of their works on the little Patuxent river,...called the Savage factory, at a largely increased salary. Horace Capron Autobiography p. 40.
Capron was an employee at Savage Mill from approximately 1832-1834/35.