ENOCH FILER,
coal dealer and operator, was born in England January 15, 1833, and
is a son of Thomas and Ann (Barber) Filer, who lived and died in
England. Enoch came from England to Mercer County, Penn., in
March, and began working at the coal business, which he had followed in
his native land. In 1859 he sank the first large shaft on the farm of
John Hofius, Hickory Township, this being the introduction of that
class of mining in Mercer County, and the first in which machinery was
used for hoisting the coal. He subsequently sank a shaft for
Kimberly, Forker & Co., and also one for Scott & Allen. He
afterward spent a couple of years in the oil region, where he was
engaged in the coal business for himself, In 1866 he returned to Mercer
County, purchased an interest in the original shaft on the Hofius farm,
and soon after went into partnership with Samuel Kimberly, as Kimberly
& Filer. He was afterward connected in the coal business with James
Westerman, whose estate is still a part of the company. Mr. Filer is,
today, the oldest and most prominent coal operator in Mercer County,
and has been very successful in business. He was married May 21, 1853,
to Elizabeth Lawton, a native of England, by whom he has five sons and
one daughter: John F., Enoch L., Frank P., Henry J., Walter G. and
Clara. He is a Democrat, a K.T. of the Masonic fraternity, and is one
of the enterprising, progressive business men of the Shenango Valley.
The family belongs to the Episcopal Church.
History of Mercer County, 1888, pages 723
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