His father, Eliaa Johnson (who married Laura, daughter of Solomon Gale, of Vermont), was a resident of Westfield, Mass., from which place he removed to Troy, and was for many years extensively engaged in the manufacture of stoves as a member of the well-known firm of Johnson, Cox & Fuller. He was the first manufacturer who used a cupola-furnace, for melting iron, north of Philadelphia, and the business of the firm assumed large pro- [ portions, the products of their works being shipped to all parts of the country, while, during the Mexican War, they furnished to the government large quantities of shot and shells.

Mr. Johnson was educated for a civil engineer and B.N.S., and graduated at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N. Y., in 1848. He practiced the profession of an engineer for a short time, and then found employment from the firm of which his father was a partner. Soon after he went to Philadelphia studied chemical analysis, and took lessons in drawing at the Franklin Institute. About this time his attention was drawn to the subject of malleable iron,

HISTORY OF WESTCHESTER COUNTY.

and to this he devoted his time and labor, conducting a series of experiments which led to very important discoveries. The malleable iron which was produced at that time was an inferior article, no means having been discovered for making it of a uniform quality and sufficiently good to answer the many purposes for which it was required. The great object of his labors and experiments was to find some means hy which articles now made by the slow process of forging could be made from cast iron. These eflbrts have been crowned with complete success, and bid fair to work a complete revolution in the manufacture of iron implements. In 1853 Johnson, Cox & Fuller came to Spuyteu Duyvil and purchased a tract of one hundred and eighty acres of land, on the north side of Spuyten Duyvil Creek and adjoining Hudson River.