My Genealogy Hound

JOSEPH APPLEYARD was born November 22, 1834, at a place about one mile west of Haworth — the home of the gifted Bronte family — Yorkshire, England. On the maternal side of his father’s family, his ancestors belonged to the sturdy old Cromwell stock, whose niece married Archbishop Tillotson, who in his time did so much to frame public opinion, lifting up the English clergy, and, by wise counsel, influencing Queen Anne to a marked degree, during her reign. On his father’s side he claims connection with the valued craftsmen imported into England from the Netherlands, on account of their skill in the manipulation of wool, now known as worsted goods. For generations back these commodities were manufactured in the homes of the peasants and so satisfied were they with the profession that each member of the family was inducted into its mysteries, following the footsteps of their sire with a regularity and precision almost without exception. When the subject of this history entered life, the most conspicuous pieces of furniture in the home were a number of hand-looms, and the first and last notes of his daily life were those created by the sonorous noise of the flying shuttle, driven by manual force across the web and on the dexterity of which depended both the comfort and necessaries of life. Put to work, first to wind the yarn on the spools for the filling, then advanced to the loom while yet not in his teens, he became an expert, so that when by the introduction of steam, weaving became centralized in factories, a practical knowledge had been obtained which made it easy to adapt himself to the new condition of things. From the position of weaver to that of overseer was a laudable desire which his ambition soon made possible, and by the realization of which, he acquired a qualification to maintain a distinguished relation to some of the leading manufacturers of the Bradford trade.

In 1872, through his brother, he concluded an engagement with Hall, Broadhead & Turner to take the management of the weaving department in the enterprise to be established in Jamestown, New York, and in the summer of the following year took up his residence in that city, and set up the requisite machinery, producing the first piece of alpaca ever made in that new industry, and which has given to Jamestown such a world-wide reputation. After three years of hard service he severed his connection with the firm — they having discarded their obligation made by Mr. Turner — and engaged with the firm of William Broadhead & Sons, the senior member of which only a short time before, having also withdrawn from the first mentioned firm. In 1876 he began the Broadhead Mills, which stand as a monument of persevering energy and practical skill. With an indomitable will and an assiduous application, an integrity and devotion rarely paralleled, for sixteen years he has faithfully striven to keep up to the times and still merits the confidence of all who know him. Politically he is a republican, though an unswerving advocate of temperance; in religious sentiment he is a Methodist and is sustaining the position of trustee to the First Methodist Episcopal church in Jamestown. Previous to coming to America he joined the Odd Fellows and now is a member of the Sons of St. George — a secret society organized for beneficial purposes to its membership — and has served as its treasurer for nine years; Mr. Appleyard is also a prominent member of the Jamestown Permanent Loan and Investment Association.

In 1860 he married Mary, the eldest daughter of John and Jane Ogden of Keighley, Yorkshire, England, and to them have been born one son and three daughters: the son and one daughter died previous to their coming to the United States; of the others, Sara, a noted vocalist, and Ada M., a distinguished artist and decorator of china, now live with their parents at No. 39 Center street, Jamestown, New York.